General Conference of Missionaries, Native Preachers, and Teachers working in Syria, Palestine, and other parts of the Levant
Held at Brummana, Mount Lebanon, August 13-19, 1901  

The Near East School of Theology (N.E.S.T.) launched the Preserving Protestant Heritage in the Middle East (PPHME) initiative in November of 2013. The PPHME seeks to preserve the unique but fragile heritage of Protestantism in the Middle East. Encompassing the churches of the Reformed, Anglican, and Lutheran traditions, as well as other Evangelical denominations, Protestantism in the Middle East is diverse and multifaceted. Its influence reaches beyond that of church institutions, as Protestants have played important roles in the founding of influential schools, hospitals, and printing presses all over the region of the Middle East. The Archives and Special Collections (ASC) includes over 1,000 archival items, hundreds of rare books, and a unique collection of manuscripts, and the original Arabic manuscripts of the translation of the Bible, otherwise known as the Bustani-Smith-Van Dyck Bible Manuscript. The collection also includes the custom-made commemorative Van Dyck cabinet which was presented to Cornelius Van Dyck in 1890 by the local Protestant community to honor his fifty years of service in Lebanon. The ASC is the heart of the PPHME initiative which aims to both preserve and bring visibility to the collection by making it more accessible to researchers and scholars locally and internationally. 

Thanks to the generous donation of Mrs. Leila Saad, one of the most important goals of the PPHME was achieved in the summer of 2017: namely, the complete renovation of the Archives and Special Collections Room. The renovation involved the installation of mobile shelving, a comprehensive fire prevention system, and a new climate control system. The photographs below show the Archives and Special Collections room before renovation and after.




Future PPHME projects include: 
1) The digitization of particularly unique items in the ASC (that would involve purchasing equipment and staff training), with the hopes of establishing a dedicated digitization center. 
2) The procurement of a professional cleaning and preservation service for the collection.
3) Updating the PPHME website. In the meantime, please visit the old one, through this link: www.protestantheritagenest.omeka.net

There are many ways to support PPHME:
- Donate archival material to the Archives and Special Collections
- Sponsor one the above listed projects
- Participate in public lectures and workshops related to the PPHME

If you are interested in contributing to the N.E.S.T. PPHME initiative, 
please contact President George Sabra at: president@theonest.edu.lb or call 961-1-349 901

 Request Materials 

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