Sociocultural anthropologists have taken increasing interest in the global communities established by Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, but the many streams of Eastern Christianity have so far been neglected. "Eastern Christians in Anthropological Perspective" fills this gap in the literature. The essays in this pioneering collection examine the primary distinguishing features of the Eastern traditions - iconography, hymnology, ritual, and pilgrimage - through meticulous ethnographic analysis. Particular attention is paid to the revitalization of Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches that were repressed under Marxist-Leninist regimes.

Sociocultural anthropologists have taken increasing interest in the global communities established by Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, but the many streams of Eastern Christianity have so far been neglected. "Eastern Christians in Anthropological Perspective" fills this gap in the literature. The essays in this pioneering collection examine the primary distinguishing features of the Eastern traditions - iconography, hymnology, ritual, and pilgrimage - through meticulous ethnographic analysis. Particular attention is paid to the revitalization of Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches that were repressed under Marxist-Leninist regimes.

The Christian-Armenian culture in Cilicia came to its end by the genocide of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the times of World War I. During the deportations, the monastic brotherhood of the Catholikosate of Cilicia was expelled from Sis (Turkish Kozan). By inexpressible efforts, they were able to save to Aleppo the treasures of St. Sophia's Cathedral, including liturgical instruments, precious vestments and holy relics, which have been guarded for centuries. The dramatic rescue operation became famous as Vankin karawane - the monastery caravan. When the Catholikosate of Cilicia was relocated to the Lebanon in 1930 the treasure accompanied it. Since 1918, it has found its home in the Cilicia Museum in Antelias. The explanations of the monastery treasure are supplemented by unknown contemporary photos and documents from the Johannes Lepsius Archives in Halle about the fate of the Cilician Armenians at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as by the eye-witness report of the monastery caravan, which has been translated from the Armenian language for the first time.