Tweet
ANCIENT ASIA'S EMBRACE OF CHRISTIANITY
Deseret Morning News
Salt Lake City, Utah
June 17, 2012 Sunday
by William J. Hamblin and Daniel Peterson For the Deseret News
Many in the West see Christianity as a European religion, but its
roots reach far back to the ancient Near East. The first nation to
officially become Christian was not the Roman empire under Constantine,
as is generally thought, but the ancient kingdom of Armenia (comprising
much of modern eastern Turkey), whose king, Tiridates, was converted
by Gregory the Illuminator in 301. Likewise, one of the largest and
most important ancient Near Eastern branches of Christianity was
the "Church of the East," more commonly known as the Nestorian or
Assyrian Church. For 1,500 years, Nestorians were the predominant
form of Christianity in Iraq and Iran, and most of Asia.
According to Nestorian legends (recorded in the third century Acts
of Thomas), within a few decades after the death of Jesus Christ,
Christianity was introduced into Iraq by Thomas the apostle and
Thaddaeus, one of the Seventy.
In the following two centuries, missionaries formed Christian
communities throughout Iraq, Arabia, Iran and the west coast of India.
Although Christianity never became the predominant religion in any
of these regions, it has been estimated that by the 4th century, 10
percent of the population of Iran and Iraq were Christians ? about the
same as the percentage of Christians in the Roman empire at that time.
However, whereas in Rome, the emperor Constantine converted to
Christianity, thereby facilitating the rapid conversion of his empire,
in the east no Persian emperor ever converted; instead they remained
faithful to their ancient Zoroastrian heritage. Although initially
in communion with the Christians within the Roman empire, doctrinal
controversy caused a schism between the Nestorians and western
Christians in the 5th century. The name "Nestorian" derives from the
Syrian theologian and monk Nestorius (386-451). His fame as a scholar
and preacher eventually reached the Roman emperor Theodosius, who,
in 428, appointed him as patriarch of Constantinople ? the highest
Christian office of the time, more significant than the pope of Rome.
Nestorius's brief reign as patriarch was filled with controversy,
centering on questions about the divine nature of Christ. He rejected
the use of the term "Mother of God" (theotokos) to refer to the Virgin
Mary, since he believed Mary was the mother only of the human Jesus,
not the divine Christ. He was condemned as a heretic by the Roman
pope Celestine in 430, but Nestorius, as patriarch of Constantinople,
refused to recognize the pope's authority. A general council of
the bishops of the church was summoned to resolve the controversy;
meeting at Ephesus in 431 they deposed Nestorius. He was banished
to upper Egypt, where he died around 451. From this period Nestorian
Christians ? those who rejected the Council of Ephesus and followed
the theological interpretations of Nestorius ?became increasingly
distinct from the West, developing an independent theology, liturgy
and hierarchy. The fundamental Christological idea of the Nestorians
was that there are two separate "persons" in Christ, one human and
one divine; Catholic and Greek Orthodox Christians, following the
formulations of the Council of Ephesus, generally believed that Christ
was a single "person": simultaneously fully human and fully divine.
These irreconcilable theological differences culminated in the
formation of a distinct Nestorian denomination. For the next thousand
years, Nestorians were the major form of Christianity east of the
Euphrates River. One of the great achievements of the Nestorians was
their missionary efforts throughout Asia. In the early 7th century ?
when the Anglo-Saxons of England were first converting to Christianity,
and when their Viking cousins were still three centuries from
conversion ? a Nestorian missionary named Abraham reached China.
In 635 he preached to the Chinese emperor, was granted imperial
recognition, and established a Nestorian Christian mission in China
which flourished for centuries. (Visitors to Xian China's "Forest
of Stelae" Museum can still see a a large stone inscription written
in Chinese and Syriac describing this grant of imperial recognition
to Nestorian Christians.) Nestorian missionaries also preached among
the nomads of Central Asia, converting several tribes to Christianity.
Rumors of the existence of these Christian nomads reached Europe in
the form of the legends of Prester John. In 1287, the Mongol emperor
Kublai Khan dispatched a Mongolian Nestorian monk named Sauma as
his ambassador from Beijing to the pope at Rome; the diaries of his
journey to Italy survive and make fascinating reading. In India,
on the western coast of Malabar, communities of Nestorian Christians
developed, tracing their origins back to the preaching of Thomas the
apostle. Numbering several hundred thousand today, small communities
of Nestorian Christians still survive in Iraq, Iran and India.
Emigrant Nestorian communities can also be found in England and in
the Chicago area. Further Reading: "Christoph Baumer, The Church of
the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity," (Tauris,
2006). email: [email protected]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Deseret Morning News
Salt Lake City, Utah
June 17, 2012 Sunday
by William J. Hamblin and Daniel Peterson For the Deseret News
Many in the West see Christianity as a European religion, but its
roots reach far back to the ancient Near East. The first nation to
officially become Christian was not the Roman empire under Constantine,
as is generally thought, but the ancient kingdom of Armenia (comprising
much of modern eastern Turkey), whose king, Tiridates, was converted
by Gregory the Illuminator in 301. Likewise, one of the largest and
most important ancient Near Eastern branches of Christianity was
the "Church of the East," more commonly known as the Nestorian or
Assyrian Church. For 1,500 years, Nestorians were the predominant
form of Christianity in Iraq and Iran, and most of Asia.
According to Nestorian legends (recorded in the third century Acts
of Thomas), within a few decades after the death of Jesus Christ,
Christianity was introduced into Iraq by Thomas the apostle and
Thaddaeus, one of the Seventy.
In the following two centuries, missionaries formed Christian
communities throughout Iraq, Arabia, Iran and the west coast of India.
Although Christianity never became the predominant religion in any
of these regions, it has been estimated that by the 4th century, 10
percent of the population of Iran and Iraq were Christians ? about the
same as the percentage of Christians in the Roman empire at that time.
However, whereas in Rome, the emperor Constantine converted to
Christianity, thereby facilitating the rapid conversion of his empire,
in the east no Persian emperor ever converted; instead they remained
faithful to their ancient Zoroastrian heritage. Although initially
in communion with the Christians within the Roman empire, doctrinal
controversy caused a schism between the Nestorians and western
Christians in the 5th century. The name "Nestorian" derives from the
Syrian theologian and monk Nestorius (386-451). His fame as a scholar
and preacher eventually reached the Roman emperor Theodosius, who,
in 428, appointed him as patriarch of Constantinople ? the highest
Christian office of the time, more significant than the pope of Rome.
Nestorius's brief reign as patriarch was filled with controversy,
centering on questions about the divine nature of Christ. He rejected
the use of the term "Mother of God" (theotokos) to refer to the Virgin
Mary, since he believed Mary was the mother only of the human Jesus,
not the divine Christ. He was condemned as a heretic by the Roman
pope Celestine in 430, but Nestorius, as patriarch of Constantinople,
refused to recognize the pope's authority. A general council of
the bishops of the church was summoned to resolve the controversy;
meeting at Ephesus in 431 they deposed Nestorius. He was banished
to upper Egypt, where he died around 451. From this period Nestorian
Christians ? those who rejected the Council of Ephesus and followed
the theological interpretations of Nestorius ?became increasingly
distinct from the West, developing an independent theology, liturgy
and hierarchy. The fundamental Christological idea of the Nestorians
was that there are two separate "persons" in Christ, one human and
one divine; Catholic and Greek Orthodox Christians, following the
formulations of the Council of Ephesus, generally believed that Christ
was a single "person": simultaneously fully human and fully divine.
These irreconcilable theological differences culminated in the
formation of a distinct Nestorian denomination. For the next thousand
years, Nestorians were the major form of Christianity east of the
Euphrates River. One of the great achievements of the Nestorians was
their missionary efforts throughout Asia. In the early 7th century ?
when the Anglo-Saxons of England were first converting to Christianity,
and when their Viking cousins were still three centuries from
conversion ? a Nestorian missionary named Abraham reached China.
In 635 he preached to the Chinese emperor, was granted imperial
recognition, and established a Nestorian Christian mission in China
which flourished for centuries. (Visitors to Xian China's "Forest
of Stelae" Museum can still see a a large stone inscription written
in Chinese and Syriac describing this grant of imperial recognition
to Nestorian Christians.) Nestorian missionaries also preached among
the nomads of Central Asia, converting several tribes to Christianity.
Rumors of the existence of these Christian nomads reached Europe in
the form of the legends of Prester John. In 1287, the Mongol emperor
Kublai Khan dispatched a Mongolian Nestorian monk named Sauma as
his ambassador from Beijing to the pope at Rome; the diaries of his
journey to Italy survive and make fascinating reading. In India,
on the western coast of Malabar, communities of Nestorian Christians
developed, tracing their origins back to the preaching of Thomas the
apostle. Numbering several hundred thousand today, small communities
of Nestorian Christians still survive in Iraq, Iran and India.
Emigrant Nestorian communities can also be found in England and in
the Chicago area. Further Reading: "Christoph Baumer, The Church of
the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity," (Tauris,
2006). email: [email protected]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress