Understanding Christianity, Islam, and the Modern World
St Hirmiz Chaldean Church in Mardin, Turkey
We had to ask around to figure out who could let us into this old church. We have been told that there is a single Chaldean Christian family left in the city of Mardin by a couple of local Christians. The church itself is very large and could easily fit well over a hundred people.
The plaque on the outside wallA small side altar in the rear of the churchJesus blesses the childrenThe altar and side attars are behind curtains. There is a chandelier in front of the center curtain.More artworkJesus and St Mary with Joseph?A tomb with Syriac inscriptions (?)The front altar, with the curtain withdrawn.Yet another altarThe curtain has the Ascension of ChristThe principal domeAnother secondary altar
I was born in Montana and grew up in Colorado and Puebla (in Mexico). I completed a BA in philosophy at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and then an MA in theology at St Mary's University (also in San Antonio). Later life took me to Jordan where my wife and I studied Arabic, to Israel where I helped found a seminary, and to Scotland for doctoral work, among other places.
I'm highly interested in the interactions of Islam, Christianity and secularism in modern contexts. My main areas of research for my PhD in divinity were religious conversion from Islam to Christianity, contextual theology, and the shari'a's treatment of apostates. I've also published research on global Anglicanism and the history of Anglican mission in the Ottoman Empire.
I've had the pleasure of teaching in many places over the years: from Costa Rica to Turkey, and Kenya to Tunisia. Presently, I live in San Antonio where I am lecturer and researcher in Muslim-Christian relations at The Christian Institute of Islamic Studies (ticks.org), and sometime adjunct professor of theology at St Mary's University.
Visit my blog (duanemiller.wordpress.com) or academia.edu page for more information or to have me speak at your church, university or seminary.
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