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History Byzantine Empire Crusades Ecumenical council Baptism of Kiev Great Schism By region Eastern Orthodox history Ukraine Christian history Asia Eastern Christian history Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions and churches which developed in Greece, Russia, Armenia, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, northeastern Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity. ... Image File history File links HY002563. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... The Siege of Antioch, from a medieval miniature painting, during the First Crusade. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      An Ecumenical Council (also sometimes Oecumenical... The ruins of Korsun: the place where the Russian and Ukrainian church was born. ... For the later Papal Schism in Avignon, see Western Schism. ... Orthodox Christian culture reached its golden age during the high point of Byzantine Empire and continued to flourish in Russia, after the fall of Constantinople. ... This article should include material from Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchy, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and Patriarch Filaret (Mykhailo Denysenko). ...

Traditions Oriental Orthodoxy Coptic Orthodox Church Armenian Apostolic Church Syriac Christianity Assyrian Church of the East Eastern Orthodox Church Eastern Catholic Churches The term Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only the first three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus — and reject the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon. ... Jesus Christ in a Coptic icon The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Coptic: , literally: the Egyptian Orthodox Church of Alexandria) is the official name for the largest Christian church in Egypt. ... Official standard of Karekin II Catholicos of Armenia The Armenian Apostolic Church (Armenian: Õ€Õ¡Õµ Ô±Õ¼Õ¡Ö„Õ¥Õ¬Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶ Եկեղեցի, Hay Arakelagan Yegeghetzi), sometimes called the Armenian Orthodox Church or the Gregorian Church, is the worlds oldest national church[1] [2] and one of the most ancient Christian communities [3]. // Baptism of Tiridates III. The earliest... Syriac Christianity is a culturally and linguistically distinctive community within Eastern Christianity. ... The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܘܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ) under His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV is a Christian church that traces its origins to the See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, said to be founded by Saint Thomas the Apostle as well as Saint Mari and Addai as evidenced in the... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Eastern Orthodox Church... The Eastern Catholic Churches are autonomous particular Churches in full communion with the Pope of Rome. ...

Liturgy and Worship Sign of the cross Divine Liturgy Iconography Asceticism Omophorion The Sign of the Cross is a ceremonial hand motion made by the vast majority of the worlds Christians. ... The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. ... Look up Iconography in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In the Orthodox liturgical tradition, the omophorion is one of the bishops vestments and the symbol of his spiritual and ecclesiastical authority. ...

Theology Hesychasm - Icon Apophaticism - Filioque clause Miaphysitism - Monophysitism Nestorianism - Theosis - Theoria Phronema - Philokalia Praxis - Theotokos Hypostasis - Ousia Essence-Energies distinction Hesychasm (Greek hesychasmos, from hesychia, stillness, rest, quiet, silence) is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some other Eastern Churches of the Byzantine Rite, practised (Gk: hesychazo: to keep stillness) by the Hesychast (Gr. ... Look up icon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Negative theology - also known as the Via Negativa (Latin for Negative Way) and Apophatic theology - is a theology that attempts to describe God by negation, to speak of God only in terms of what may not be said about God. ... In Christian theology the filioque clause or filioque controversy (filioque meaning and [from] the son in Latin) is a heavily disputed addition to the Nicene Creed, that forms a divisive difference in particular between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. ... Miaphysitism (sometimes called henophysitism) is the christology of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. ... Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning one, alone and physis meaning nature) is the christological position that Christ has only one nature, as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human. ... Nestorianism is the doctrine that Jesus exists as two persons, the man Jesus and the divine Son of God, or Logos, rather than as a unified person. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      In Eastern Orthodox and... Theoria is contemplation or perception of beauty, esp. ... Phronema is a Greek term that is used in Eastern Orthodox theology to refer to mindset or outlook; it is the Orthodox mind. ... The Philokalia (Gk. ... Praxis is the customary use of knowledge or skills, distinct from theoretical knowledge. ... Theotokos of Kazan Theotokos (Greek: , translit. ... In Christianity, the Greek word hypostasis [1] is usually translated into Latin as natura and then into English as nature, although the specific Greek word for nature and substance is physis. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... The Energies of God are a central principle of theology in the Eastern Orthodox Church, understood by the orthodox Fathers of the Church, and most famously formulated by Gregory Palamas, against charges of heresy brought by Barlaam of Calabria. ... This box: view • talk • edit

Judging from the New Testament account of the rise and expansion of the early church, during the first few centuries of Christianity, the most extensive dissemination of the gospel was not in the West but in the East. In fact, conditions in the Parthian empire (250 BC - A.D. 226), which stretched from the Euphrates to the Indus rivers and the Caspian to the Arabian seas, were in some ways more favourable for the growth of the church than in the Roman world. And though opposition to Christianity increasingly mounted under successive Persian and Islamic rulers, Christian communities were eventually established in the vast territory which stretches from the Near to the Far East possibly as early as the first century of the church. This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... Parthian Empire at its greatest extent, c60 BCE. The Parthian Empire was the dominating force on the Iranian plateau beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 190 BCE and 224 CE. Parthia was the arch-enemy of the Roman Empire in the east and... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC - 250s BC - 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC Years: 255 BC 254 BC 253 BC 252 BC 251 BC - 250 BC - 249 BC 248 BC... Events: Accession of Wei Mingdi as emperor of the Kingdom of Wei of China. ... Surfer Rosa The Euphrates (IPA: /juːˈfreɪtiːz/; Greek: Euphrátēs; Akkadian: Pu-rat-tu; Hebrew: פְּרָת Pĕrāth; Syriac: Prâth; Arabic: الفرات Al-Furāt; Turkish: Fırat; Kurdish: فرهات, Firhat, Ferhat, Azeri: Fərat) is the western of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (the other... Satellite image of the Indus River basin. ... For Caspian Sea, go to: Caspian Sea CASPIAN Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN) is a national grass-roots consumer group dedicated to fighting supermarket loyalty or frequent shopper cards. ... The Arabian Sea (Arabic: بحر العرب; transliterated: Bahr al-Arab) is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui, the north-east point of Somalia... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... The far east as a cultural block includes East Asia, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and South Asia. ...

Easterners at Pentecost

Luke informs us in Acts 2:5-11 that there were present in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost “devout men from every nation under heaven.” Among these were “Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia...and Arabians”. Moreover, these pilgrims included “both Jews and proselytes,”alike in their familiarity with the culture of their respective countries and the revelation of the Old testament Scriptures. The most plausible explanation of the early appearance of Christian communities in these lands is that some of these pilgrims were converted and returned to the East as spirit-filled missionaries. Furthermore, the question immediately arises as to whether any of the apostles had a part in this eastern mission. According to two historians, Eusebius and Socrates, the twelve apostles parceled among themselves missionary responsibility for the known world. Thomas was assigned to the Parthian Empire and India, with Bartholomew sharing in the latter rea of mission.^[1][2] Luke the Evangelist (לוקא, Greek: Loukas) is said by tradition to be the author of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, the third and fifth books of the New Testament. ... The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... The Descent of the Holy Spirit in a 15th century illuminated manuscript. ... Reproduction of a Parthian warrior as depicted on Trajans Column The Parthian Empire was the dominating force on the Iranian plateau beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 190 BCE and 224 CE. Origins Bust of Parthian soldier, Esgh-abad Museum, Turkmenia. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The ancient Elamite Empire lay to the east of Sumer and Akkad, in what is now southwestern Iran. ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, and parts of eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and southwest Iran. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب) are a heterogenous ethnic group who are predominantly speakers of the Arabic language, mainly found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... Eusebius is the name of several significant historical people: Pope Eusebius - Pope in AD 309 - 310. ... This page is about the ancient Greek philosopher. ... Parthian Empire at its greatest extent, c60 BCE. The Parthian Empire was the dominating force on the Iranian plateau beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 190 BCE and 224 CE. Parthia was the arch-enemy of the Roman Empire in the east and...

The many Jews who lived in the vast territories of the Middle East were the descendants of those who were exiled at the time of the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities and later deportations. Most settled down in the comparatively stable and tolerant society of the East, and many prospered and became influential. Their biblically-inspired Messianic hope was doubtless a contributing factor to the widespread expectation of the coming King, so vividly portrayed in the coming of the magi (Matt. 2:1-2). It is not without significance that this visit is only recorded in Matthew, the gospel which had wide circulation in the East, including India, from the first century.^[3] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Gospel of Matthew (literally, according to Matthew; Greek, Κατά Μαθθαίον or Κατά Ματθαίον, Kata Maththaion or Kata Matthaion) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 99. ...

The spoken language of the dispersion was Aramaic, and the Syriac version of the Old Testament was in common use. Syriac or Aramaic was destined to become the religious language of the Eastern or Assyrian church, commonly known as Nestorian. many of the early churches grew out of the Jewish synagogues of the dispersion, with these often serving as a kind of bridge between Israel and the Gentiles. Though the early establishment of churches in the vast and populous countries of the East cannot be questioned, there is a scarcity of original sources of information. Thus we are often almost completely dependent upon traditional material, which is difficult to verify with absolute certainty. With few exceptions, the Christian community never became a dominant element in the population, nor did Christianity become the state religion. moreover, the church usually found itself confronted by long-established ethnic religions of eclectic character, which were resistant to the exclusive claims of the gospel. Thus, from the third century there were long periods of persecution which involved the ruthless destruction of churches and monastic institutions and other depositories of invaluable historical documents. Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh to refer to its canon, which corresponds to the Protestant Old Testament. ... For other uses, see Gospel (disambiguation). ... (2nd century - 3rd century - 4th century - other centuries) Events The Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east. ...

Origin and Expansion of the Church of the East

Strangely, the church which spread throughout most of Asia bears the appellation “Nestorian,”after the fifth century patriarch of Constantinople, Nestorius, who was condemned by Rome as a heretic in A.D. 430. The name is actually a misnomer which became current in the West; the Roman See had sought to discredit this church, which had renounced Rome's primacy for geographical, political, linguistic, and doctrinal reasons. Nestorian was not the name by which the church knew itself., nor was it so commonly designated in Asian lands. It was rather known as the Church of the East, or Easterns, to distinguish it from the Greek and Latin churches in the West which were divided by subtle theological controversies little appreciated by the Eastern Christians. It also came to be known as the Assyrian church because of the location of its successive headquarters, and also as the Luminous Religion, especially in China. Nestorius - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

This ancient church claimed a first-century origin and developed almost wholly apart from the Greek and Roman churches. It did not embrace the heresy of which Nestorius was accused, though it endorsed his opposition to the Roman doctrines of purgatory and Mariolatry, especially her title as “Mother of God.”For at least twelve hundred years the church of the Easterns was noted for its missionary zeal, its high degree of lay participation, its superior educational standards and cultural contributions in less developed countries, and its fortitude in the face of persecution. Illustration for Dantes Purgatorio (18), by Gustave Doré. Purgatory refers to the Catholic doctrine of the the final purification of the elect which states that, all who die in Gods grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they...

Parthian and Persian Empires

The Church of the East had its inception at a very early date in the buffer zone between the Parthian and Roman Empires in Upper Mesopotamia. The vicissitudes of its later growth were rooted in its minority status in a situation of international tension. The rulers of the Parthian empire (250 BC - AD 226) were on the whole tolerant in spirit, and with the older faiths of Babylonia and Assyria in a state of decay, the time was ripe for a new and vital faith. The rulers of the Second Persian empire (226-640) also followed a policy of religious toleration to begin with, though later they gave Christians the same status as a subject race. However, these rulers also encouraged the revival of the ancient Persian dualistic faith of Zoroastrianism and established it as the state religion, with the result that the Christians were increasingly subjected to repressive measures. Nevertheless, it was not until Christianity became the state religion in the West that enmity toward Rome was focused on the Eastern Christians. After the Mohammedan conquest in the seventh century, the caliphate tolerated other faiths but forbade proselytism and subjected Christians to heavy taxation. Parthian Empire at its greatest extent, c60 BCE. The Parthian Empire was the dominating force on the Iranian plateau beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 190 BCE and 224 CE. Parthia was the arch-enemy of the Roman Empire in the east and... Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht). ... ( 6th century - 7th century - 8th century - other centuries) Events Islam starts in Arabia, the Quran is written, and Arabs subjugate Syria, Iraq, Persia, Egypt, North Africa and Central Asia to Islam. ...

Edessa (now Şanlıurfa) in northwestern Mesopotamia was from apostolic times the principal center of Syriac-speaking Christianity. it was the capital of an independent kingdom from 132 BC to A.D. 216, when it became tributary to Rome. Celebrated as an important centre of Greco-Syrian culture, Edessa was also noted for its Jewish community., with proselytes in the royal family. Strategically located on the main trade routes of the Fertile Crescent, it was easily accessible from Antioch, where the mission to the Gentiles was inaugurated. When early Christians were scattered abroad because of persecution, some found refuge at Edessa. thus the Edessan church traced its origin to the apostolic age. (which may account for its rapid growth), and Christianity even became the state religion for a time. The heritage of Roman Edessa survives today in these columns at the site of Urfa Castle, dominating the skyline of the modern city of Åžanlı Urfa. ... Shows the location of the province and city of Åžanlıurfa. ... The Fertile Crescent is a historical crescent-shape region in the Middle East incorporating the Levant, Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Antakya. ... Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch...

An ancient legend recorded by Eusebius (A.D. 260-340) and also found in the Doctrine of Addai (c. A.D. 400) (from information in the royal archives of Edessa) describes how King Abgar V of Edessa communicated with Jesus, requesting Him to come and heal him, to which appeal he received a reply. After the resurrection, the Apostle Thomas sent one of the seventy (Luke 10:1), Addai or Thaddaeus, to preach the gospel and heal the king, with the result that the city was won to the Christian faith. In this mission he was accompanied by a disciple, Mari, and the two are regarded as cofounders of the church, according to the Liturgy of Addai and Mari (c. A.D. 200), which is still the normal liturgy of the Assyrian church. The Doctrine of Addai further states that Thomas was regarded as an apostle of the church, which long treasured a letter written by him from India.^[4][5] Eusebius is the name of several significant historical people: Pope Eusebius - Pope in AD 309 - 310. ... Tenth-century icon of Abgar with the mandylion, the image of Christ For the other historical kings Abgar of Osroene, see Osroene. ...

Thus it was from Edessa that a missionary movement began which gradually spread throughout Mesopotamia, Persia, Central Asia and China. According to another ancient tradition, Mari was sent as a missionary to Seleucia (on the Tigris River near Baghdad), which, with its twin city of Ctesiphon across the river, became another canter of missionary outreach. Mari was also regarded as the pioneer evangelist in the whole region of Adiabene to the north, of which Arbela (now Erbil) was the capital.^[6] By the latter half of the second century, Christianity had spread east throughout Media, Persia, Parthia, and Bactria. The twenty bishops and many presbyters were more of the order of itinerant missionaries, passing from place to place as Paul did and supplying their needs with such occupations as merchant or craftsman. By A.D. 280 the metropolis of Seleucia assumed the title of “Catholicos,”and in A.D. 424 a council of the church at Seleucia elected the first patriarch to have jurisdiction over the whole church of the East, including India and Ceylon. The seat of the Patriarchate was fixed at Seleucia-Ctesiphon, since this was an important point on the East-West trade routes which extended both to India and China, Java and Japan. Thus the shift of ecclesiastical authority was away from Edessa, which in A.D. 216 had become tributary to Rome. the establishment of an independent patriarchate with nine subordinate metropoli contributed to a more favourable attitude by the Persian government, which no longer had to fear an ecclesiastical alliance with the common enemy, Rome. Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, and parts of eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and southwest Iran. ... For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... Seleucia (Greek: Σέλεύχεια) – also transliterated as Seleuceia, Seleukeia, or Seleukheia – may refer to many cities of the Seleucid Empire (Syria): Seleucia on the Tigris (first capital of the Seleucid Empire; currently in Iraq) Seleucia (Sittacene) – in antiquity, across the Tigris from the above city, currently in Iraq Seleucia above Zeugma – on... The Tigris (Old Persian: Tigr, Syriac Aramaic: Deqlath, Arabic: دجلة, Dijla, Turkish: Dicle; biblical Hiddekil) is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of Anatolia through Iraq. ... Ctesiphon, 1932 Ctesiphon (Parthian and Pahlavi: Tyspwn as well as Tisfun, Persian: ‎, also known as in Arabic Madain, Maden or Al-Madain: المدائن) is one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia and the capital of the Parthian Empire and its successor, the Sassanid Empire, for more than 800 years... Adiabene (In Syriac: ܚܕܝܐܒ) was an ancient Assyrian kingdom in Mesopotamia with its capital at Arbela. ... Arbil, (or Erbil or Irbil, known as Hewler in Kurdish), is one of Iraqs larger cities, located at 36. ... ( 1st century - 2nd century - 3rd century - other centuries) Events Roman Empire governed by the Five Good Emperors ( 96– 180) – Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius. ... Parthia[1] (Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was a civilization situated in the northeast of modern Iran, but at its height covering all of Iran proper, as well as regions of the modern countries of Armenia, Iraq, Georgia, eastern Turkey, eastern Syria, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, the Persian Gulf... Bactria, about 320 BC Bactria (Bactriana, Bākhtar in Persian, also Bhalika in Arabic and Indian languages, and Ta-Hia in Chinese) was the ancient Greek name of the country between the range of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya (Oxus); its capital, Bactra or Balhika or Bokhdi (now... Events The Chinese Jin Dynasty under Emperor Wu of Jin China unifies China by conquering the Kingdom of Wu, ending the Period of the Three Kingdoms. ... Events Song Wen Di succeeds Song Shao Di as ruler of the Chinese Song Dynasty. ... Ctesiphon, 1932 Ctesiphon (Parthian: Tyspwn as well as Tisfun) is one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia and the capital of the Parthian Empire and its successor, the Sassanid Empire, for more than 800 years located in the ancient Iranian province of Khvarvaran. ...

The Great Persecution

The great persecution fell upon the Christians in Persia about the year 340. Though the religious motives were never unrelated, the primary cause of the persecution was political. When Rome became Christian, its old enemy turned anti-Christian. Events Constantine II attacks his brother Constans near Aquileia, aiming for sole control of the western half of the Roman Empire, but is defeated. ...

Up to then the situation had been reversed. For the first 300 hundreds after Christ it was in the West that Christians were persecuted. For two hundred and fifty years Persia had been a refuge from Roman persecution. The Parthians were too religiously tolerant to persecute, and their less tolerant Sassanian successors on the throne were too busy fighting Rome, Persian emperors were inclined to regard them as friends of Persia.

It was about 315 that an ill-advised letter from the Christian emperor Constantine to his Persian counterpart Shapur II probably triggered the beginnings of an ominous change in the Persian attitude toward Christians. Constantine believed he was writing to help his fellow believers in Persia but succeeded only in exposing them. He wrote to the young shah:

"I rejoice to hear that the fairest provinces of Persia are adorned with...Christians...Since you are so powerful and pious, I commend them to your care, and leave them in your protection^[7]".

It was enough to make any Persian ruler conditioned by 300 years of war with Rome suspicious of the emergence of a fifth column. Any lingering doubts must have been dispelled when about twenty years later when Constantine began to gather his forces for war in the East. Eusebius records that Roman bishops were prepared to accompany their emperor to "battle with him and for him by prayers to God whom all victory proceeds".^[8] And across the border in Persian territory the forthright Persian preacher Aphrahat recklessly predicted on the basis of his reading of Old testament prophecy that Rome would defeat Persia.^[9]

It is little wonder then, that when the persecutions began shortly thereafter, the first accusation brought against the Christians was that they were aiding the Roman enemy. The shah Shapur II's response was to order a double taxation on Christians and to hold the bishop responsible for collecting it. He knew they were poor and that the bishop would be hard-pressed to find the money. Bishop Simon refused to be intimidated. He branded the tax as unjust and declared, "I am no tax collector but a shepherd of the Lord's flock." Then the killings began.

A second decree ordered the destruction of churches and the execution of clergy who refused to participate in the national worship of the sun. Bishop simon was seized and brought before the shah and was offered gifts to make a token obeisance to the sun, and when he refused, they cunningly tempted him with the promise that if he alone would apostasize his people would not be harmed, but that if he refused he would be condemning not just the church leaders but all Christians to destruction. At that, the Christians themselves rose up and refused to accept such a deliverance as shameful. So according to the tradition in the year 344, he was led outside the city of Susa along with a large number of Christian clergy. Five bishops and one hundred priests were beheaded before his eyes, and last of all he himself was put to death.^[10] Events Emperor Mu succeeds Emperor Kang as emperor of China. ...

For the next two decades and more, Christians were tracked down and hunted from one end of the empire to the other. At times the pattern was general massacre. More often, as Shapur decreed, it was intensive organized elimination of the leadership of the church, the clergy. A third category of suppression was the search for that part of the Christian community that was most vulnerable to persecution, Persians who had been converted from the national religion, Zoroastrianism. As we have already seen, the faith had spread first among non-Persian elements in the population, Jews and Syrians. But by the beginning of the fourth century, Iranians in increasing numbers were attracted to the Christian faith. For such converts, church membership could mean the loss of everything - family, property rights, and life itself. Converts from the "national faith" had no rights and, in the darker years of the persecution, were often put to death. The major agents in the slaughter were Zoroastrian clergy, but sometimes Christians suspected the Jews and accused them of acting as informers.

The martyrdom of Simon and the years of persecution that followed wiped out the beginnings of the central national organization the Persian church had only so recently achieved. As fast as the Christians of the capital elected a new bishop after Simon, the man was seized and killed. Inflaming the anti-Roman political motivation of the government's role in the persecutions was a deep undercurrent of Zoroastrian fanaticism and hatred of other religions.

Sometime before the death of Shapur II in 379, the intensity of the persecution slackened. Tradition calls it a forty-year persecution, lasting from 339-379 and ending only with Shapur's death.

When at last the years of suffering ended around the year 401, the historian Sozomen, who lived near enough to that time of tribulation to remember the tales of those who experienced it, wrote that the multitude of martyrs had been "beyond enumeration".^[11] One estimate is that as many as 190,000 Persian Christians died in the terror. It was worse than any suffering in the West under Rome. // Events Pope Innocent I succeeds Pope Anastasius I. The Vandals start their westward trek from Dacia and Hungary (or 400). ...

Conditioning Factors of Missionary Expansion

Several important factors help to explain the extensive growth in the Church of the East during the first twelve hundred years of the Christian era. Geographically, and possibly even numerically, the expansion of this church outstripped that of the church in the West in the early centuries. The outstanding key to understanding this expansion is the active participation of the laymen - the involvement of a large percentage of the church's believers in missionary evangelism.^[12] The following significant factors inducing that church growth are all based largely on the fact that it was a lay as well as a clerical movement. Church of the East related to those churches under the dominion of the first Patriarchate of Jerusalem which was first transferred from Jerusalem to Pella as following the 135CE Roman ban on Jews the city was given over to Antiochs jurisdiction. ...

1) The church promoted an effective system of popular education, producing a literate Christian community, knowledgable in the Scriptures. This training was based on use of the Syriac Old Testament and had available the canonical gospels before the end of the first century, though the Harmony of the Four, a life of Christ compiled by Tatian (c. A.D. 160), an Assyrian Christian, was the most popular Scripture portion for several centuries. traveling Christians carried with them everywhere these portions of the Scripture, usually a gospel or the Harmony and parts of the Old Testament. Syriac is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh to refer to its canon, which corresponds to the Protestant Old Testament. ... (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 99. ... In Rome, the manufacturing of soap containing grease, lime and ashes begins. ...

2) The Church backed specialized training programmes for youth, monastic Bible schools for laymen, theological schools for clergy, etc. As they travelled, the Christians introduced Syriac learning to the illiterate Turks, Uighurs, Mongols, and Manchus, whose alphabets as a result are largely derived from the Syriac writing system. the first monastic schools at Edessa, later moved to Nisibis in 489, had eight hundred students enrolled. the church trained deaconesses, medical students in church hospitals, and musicians in church music schools, which stimulated an indigenous hymnody of the church of the East. Thus from scores of such schools a constant stream of well-trained Christians, clergy and lay, travelled throughout Asia, self-supporting and often enthusiastically witnessing - a strategy of mission which was not achieved in the West for hundreds of years. Uyghurs (also called Uighurs, Uygurs, or Uigurs) (Chinese: 維吾爾 or 维吾尔 in pinyin: wéiwúěr) are a Turkic ethnic group of people living in northwestern China (mainly in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where they are the dominant ethnic group together with Han people... The name Mongols (Mongolian: Mongol) specifies one or several ethnic groups. ... The Manchu (manju in Manchu; 滿族 (pinyin: mǎnzú) in Chinese, often shortened to 滿 (pinyin: mǎn) are an ethnic group who originated in northeastern Manchuria. ... Syriac is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ... The heritage of Roman Edessa survives today in these columns at the site of Urfa Castle, dominating the skyline of the modern city of Åžanlı Urfa. ... The newly excavated Church of Saint Jacob in Nisibis. ... Events Theoderic, king of the Italy with the approval of the eastern emperor Zeno. ...

3) Persecution strengthened and spread the Christian movement in the East. A great influx of Christian refugees from the Roman persecutions of the first two centuries gave vigour to the Mesopotamian church And persecution within the Persian empire saw thousands slain for the faith (at least sixteen thousand under the reign of Sapor II, A.D. 307-379) and numberless thousands more reported or fleeing as refugees to witness as far as Arabia, India, and other Central Asian countries. Following a period of relative quiet in the empire under Bahram V (420-38), more terrible persecution broke out, culminating in the massacre of ten bishops and 153,000 Christians within a few days. March 31 — After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Emperor Maximian. ... January 19 - Theodosius I is elevated as Roman Emperor at Sirmium. ... The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... Bahram V, King of Persia (421–438), also called Bahram Gur, son of Yazdegerd I of Persia (399–421), after whose sudden death (or assassination. ...

Early Muslim conquest of these lands in the seventh and eighth centuries did not introduce direct persecution. However, Muslim apostasy was curbed by threat of death, and many nominal Christians began to gradually defect to Islam to avoid discrimination and heavy taxation. This type of subtle oppression stifled Christian growth, backed the church into ghetto communities, and discouraged evangelism. Muslim governments eventually gained control of the great trade routes, and the Islamic world became virtually closed to the proclamation of the gospel. For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ...

Arabian Peninsula

In our consideration of the penetration of the Arabian peninsula by the gospel, it is necessary to distinguish between the marauding Bedouin nomads of the interior, who were chiefly herdsmen and unreceptive to foreign influence, and the inhabitants of the settled communities of the coastal areas and oases, who were either middlemen traders or farmers and were receptive to influences from abroad. Christianity apparently gained its strongest foothold in the ancient center of Semitic civilisation in South-west Arabia or Yemen, (sometimes known as Seba or Sheba), whose queen visited Solomon. Because of geographic proximity, acculturation with Ethiopia was always strong, and the royal family traces its ancestry to this queen.

The presence of Arabians at Pentecost and Paul's three-year sojourn in Arabia suggest a very early gospel witness. A fourth-century church history, states that the apostle Bartholomew preached in Arabia and that Himyarites were among his converts.^[13] Arabia's close relations with Ethiopia give significance to the conversion of the treasurer to the queen of Ethiopia, not to mention the tradition that the Apostle Matthew was assigned to this land.^[14] Eusebius says that “one Pantaneous (c. A.D. 190) was sent from Alexandria as a missionary to the nations of the East,^[15],”including southwest Arabia, on his way to India. Eusebius is the name of several significant historical people: Pope Eusebius - Pope in AD 309 - 310. ... Events A part of Rome burns, and emperor Commodus orders the city to be rebuilt under the name Colonia Commodiana First year of Chuping era of Chinese Han Dynasty Births 190 is a number Deaths Athenagoras of Athens, Christian apologist Categories: 190 ... Nickname: Alexandria on the map of Egypt Map of Alexandria Coordinates: , Country Egypt Founded 334 BC Government  - Governor Adel Labib Population (2001)  - City 3,500,000 Time zone EET (UTC+2)  - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3) Twin Cities  - Baltimore  United States  - Cleveland  United States  - ConstanÅ£a  Romania  - Durban  South Africa...

Cosmos Indicopleustes, navigator and geographer of the sixth century, wrote about Christians, bishops, monks, and martyrs in Yemen and among the Himyarites.^[16] In the fifth century a merchant from Yemen was converted in Hira, in the northeast, and upon his return led many to Christ, (4th century - 5th century - 6th century - other centuries) Events Rome sacked by Visigoths in 410. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

During the early centuries Christianity also penetrated Arabia from numerous points on its periphery. The kingdom of Hira in northeastern Arabia and near the border of Mesopotamia flourished from the end of the third to the end of the sixth century and was apparently evangelized by Christians from the Tigris-Euphrates Valley in the Fourth Century. The kingdom of Ghassan on the northwest frontier was also a sphere of missionary activity. In fact, by A.D. 500 many churches were also in existence along the Arabian shore of the Persian Gulf and in Oman, with all connected with the Church of the East in the Persian Empire. Arabian bishops were found among those in attendance at important church councils in Mesopotamia. in the Seventh century, however, with the rise of Islam seriously inhibited the growth of the church in Arabia. The regulations imposed throughout Persian and Arab territories upon non-Muslims however, progressively reduced both the numbers and public roles of Christians. Yet it was only in the wake of the Crusades that the antagonism between Christian and Muslim become sharp enough to bring comprehensive discrimination and the consequent dismantling of Christian influence. Existing churches were gradually eliminated by Muslim oppression. Many of the remaining Christians fled the country and found refuge in Mesopotamia. (5th century — 6th century — 7th century — other centuries) Events The first academy of the east the Academy of Gundeshapur founded in Persia by the Persian Shah Khosrau I. Irish colonists and invaders, the Scots, began migrating to Caledonia (later known as Scotland) Glendalough monastery, Wicklow Ireland founded... Map of the Persian Gulf. ...

India

According to Eusebius' record, Thomas and Bartholomew were assigned to Parthia and India. The Didache (dating from the end of the first century) states, “India and all countries condering it, even to the farthest seas...received the apostolic ordinances from Judas Thomas, who was a guide and ruler in the church which he built.”Moreover, there is a wealth of confirmatory information in the Syriac writings, liturgical books, and calendars of the Church of the East, not to mention the writings of the Fathers, the calendars, the sacramentaries, and the martyrologies of the Roman, Greek and Ethiopian churches.^[17] Since trade routes from the East were wide open at the time and were used by early missionaries, there are no circumstantial reasons why Thomas could not have visited India in the first century. And his visit is the most plausible explanation for the early appearance of the church there. (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 99. ...

An early third-century Syriac work known as the Acts of Thomas^[18] connects the apostle's Indian ministry with two kings, one in the north and the other in the south. According to one of the legends in the Acts, Thomas was at first reluctant to accept this mission, but the Lord appeared to him in a night vision and said, “Fear not, Thomas. Go away to India and proclaim the Word, for my grace shall be with you.”But the Apostle still demurred, do the Lord overruled the stubborn disciple by ordering circumstances so compelling that he was forced to accompany an Indian merchant, Abbanes, to his native place in northwest India, where he found himself in the service of the Indo-Parthian king, Gundaphorus. The apostle's ministry resulted in many conversions throughout the kingdom, including the king and his brother.^[19]

Critical historians treated this legend as an idle tale and denied the historicity of King Gundaphorus until modern archeology established him as an important figure in North India in the latter half of the first century. many coins of his reign have turned up in Afghanistan, the Punjab, and the Indus Valley. Remains of some of his buildings , influenced by Greek architecture, indicate that he was a great builder. Interestingly enough, according to the legend, Thomas was a skilled carpenter and was bidden to build a palace for the king. However, the Apostle decided to teach the king a lesson by devoting the royal grant to acts of charity and thereby laying up treasure for the heavenly abode. Although little is known of the immediate growth of the church, Bar-Daisan (A.D. 154-223) reports that in his time there were Christian tribes in North India which claimed to have been converted by Thomas and to have books and relics to prove it.^[20] But at least by the time of the establishment of the Second Persian Empire (A.D. 226), there were bishops of the Church of the East in northwest India, Afghanistan and Baluchistan, with laymen and clergy alike engaging in missionary activity.^[21] Punjab, 1903 Punjab Province, 1909 Punjab (Persian: ‎, meaning Land of the five Rivers) (c. ... Major ethnic groups in Pakistan and surrounding areas, in 1980. ...

the Acts of Thomas identifies his second mission in India with a kingdom ruled by King Mahadwa, one of the rulers of a first-century dynasty in southern India. It is most significant that, aside from a small remnant of the Church of the East in Kurdistan, the only other church to maintain a distinctive identity is the Mar Thoma or “Church of Thomas” congregations along the Malabar Coast of Kerala State in southwest India. According to the most ancient tradition of this church, Thomas evangelized this area and then crossed to the Coromandel Coast of southeast India, where, after carrying out a second mission, he suffered martyrdom near Madras. Throughout the period under review, the church in India was under the jurisdiction of Edessa, which was then under the Mesopotamian patriarchate at Seleucia-Ctesiphon and later at Baghdad and Mosul. Historian Vincent A. Smith says, “It must be admitted that a personal visit of the Apostle Thomas to South India was easily feasible in the traditional belief that he came by way of Socotra, where an ancient Christian settlement undoubtedly existed. I am now satisfied that the Christian church of South India is extremely ancient... ”.^[22] For other uses, see Kurdistan (disambiguation). ... The Saint Thomas Christians (Malayalam: Nasrani) are a group of Christians from the Malabar coast (now Kerala) in South India, who follow Syriac Christianity. ... Malabar Coast, Kerala Bekal Fort Beach, Kerala The Malabar Coast also known as the Malabarian Coast, is a long and narrow south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. ... , Kerala ( ; Malayalam: കേരളം; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... Districts along the Coromandel Coast Map of the coast (French) The Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian peninsula. ... Madras refers to: the Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, the former Indian state, now known as Tamil Nadu (Plural of Madra): Ancient people of Iranian affinites, who lived in northwest Panjab in the Uttarapatha division of ancient India. ... The heritage of Roman Edessa survives today in these columns at the site of Urfa Castle, dominating the skyline of the modern city of Åžanlı Urfa. ... Ctesiphon, 1932 Ctesiphon (Parthian: Tyspwn as well as Tisfun) is one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia and the capital of the Parthian Empire and its successor, the Sassanid Empire, for more than 800 years located in the ancient Iranian province of Khvarvaran. ... Thomas was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus. ... Map of the Socotra archipelago Socotra or Soqotra (Arabic سقطرى ; Suquá¹­ra) is a small archipelago of four islands and islets in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia some 350 km south of the Arabian peninsula. ...

Although there was a lively trade between the Near East and India via Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf, the most direct route to India in the first century was via Alexandria and the Red Sea, taking advantage of the Monsoon winds, which could carry ships directly to and from the Malabar coast. The discovery of large hoards of Roman coins of first-century Caesars and the remains of Roman trading posts testify to the frequency of that trade. in addition, thriving Jewish colonies were to be found at the various trading centers, thereby furnishing obvious bases for the apostolic witness. Nickname: Alexandria on the map of Egypt Map of Alexandria Coordinates: , Country Egypt Founded 334 BC Government  - Governor Adel Labib Population (2001)  - City 3,500,000 Time zone EET (UTC+2)  - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3) Twin Cities  - Baltimore  United States  - Cleveland  United States  - ConstanÅ£a  Romania  - Durban  South Africa... Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ...

Piecing together the various traditions, one may conclude that Thomas left northwest India when invasion threatened and traveled by vessel to the Malabar coast, possibly visiting southeast Arabia and Socotra enroute and landing at the former flourishing port of Muziris on an island near Cochin (c. A.D. 51-52). From there he is said to have preached the gospel throughout the Malabar coast, though the various churches he founded were located mainly on the Periyar River and its tributaries and along the coast, where there were Jewish colonies. he reputedly preached to all classes of people and had about seventeen thousand converts, including members of the four principal castes. Later, stone crosses were erected at the places where churches were founded, and they became pilgrimage centres. In accordance with apostolic custom thomas ordained teachers and leaders or elders, who were reported to be the earliest ministry of the Malabar church. Malabar Coast, Kerala Bekal Fort Beach, Kerala The Malabar Coast also known as the Malabarian Coast, is a long and narrow south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. ... Muziris is a lost port city in the southern Indian state of Kerala which was a major center of trade, especially pepper and other spices, with the Roman Empire from the 1st or 2nd century BCE to probably as late as 6th century CE. Large hordes of coins and innumerable... Cochin may refer to: Cochin China Kingdom of Kochi, a former princely state of India, merged with Travancore to form the State of Kerala Cochin city, the former name of the city of Kochi, in Kerala Hôpital Cochin, a famous hospital in Paris, France Cochin font, from the Adobe... This article is about the year 51. ... A Roman law prohibits the execution of old and crippled slaves. ... Periyar is one of the major river in Kerala. ...

Thomas next proceeded overland to the Coromandel coast and ministered in what is now the Madras area, where a local king and many people were converted. One tradition related that he went from there to China via Malacca and, after spending some time there, returned to the Madras area (Breviary of the Mar Thoma Church in Malabar). Apparently his renewed ministry outraged the Brahmins, who were fearful lest Christianity undermined their social structure, based on the caste system. So according to the Syriac version of the Acts of Thomas, Masdai, the local king at Mylapore, after questioning the apostle condemned him to death about the year A.D. 72. Anxious to avoid popular excitement, “for many had believed in our Lord, including some of the nobles,”the king ordered Thomas conducted to a nearby mountain, where, after being allowed to pray, he was then stoned and stabbed to death with a lance wielded by an angry Brahmin. A number of Christians were also persecuted at the same time; when they refused to apostatize, their property was confiscated, so some sixty-four families eventually fled to malabar and joined that Christian community.^[23] Districts along the Coromandel Coast Map of the coast (French) The Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian peninsula. ... Madras refers to: the Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, the former Indian state, now known as Tamil Nadu (Plural of Madra): Ancient people of Iranian affinites, who lived in northwest Panjab in the Uttarapatha division of ancient India. ... State motto: Bersatu Teguh State anthem: Melaka Maju Jaya Capital Malacca Ruling party Barisan Nasional  - Yang di-Pertua Negeri Mohd Khalil Yaakob  - Ketua Menteri Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam History    - Malacca Sultanate 13th century   - Portuguese control 24 August 1511   - Dutch control 14 January 1641   - British control 17 March 1824   - Japanese occupation... Young Indian brahmachari Brahmin A Brahmin (less often Brahman) is a member of the Hindu priestly caste. ... , Mylapore is one of the oldest areas within Chennai (formerly Madras), the capital of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. ... For other uses, see number 72. ...

The Expansion of Christianity in Central Asia

the agents of missionary expansion in central Asia and the far east were not only monks and clergy trained in the mesopotamian monastic schools, but also in many cases Christian merchants and artisans, often with considerable biblical training. They frequently found employment among people less advanced in education, serving in government offices and as teachers and secretaries and more advanced medical care. they also helped to solve the problem of illiteracy in backward lands by inventing simplified alphabets based on the Syriac language. Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... St. ... Syriac ( Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ...

Persecution often thrust them forth into new and unevangelized lands to find refuge. The dissemination of the gospel by largely Syriac-using people had its advantages, but it was also a hindrance to indigenizing the church in the new areas. Because Syriac never became dominant, competition from ethnic religions was always a serious problem. For these reasons of political vicissitude, in later centuries Christianity suffered an almost total eclipse in Asia until the modern period. The golden age of early missions in central Asia extended from the end of the fourth to the latter part of the ninth century, although in the Far East Christianity again became resurgent in the latter half of the thirteenth century. An important factor which finally inhibited the permanent establishment of the Church of the East in central Asia and the far East was the expansion of Islam and Mahayana Buddhism. (8th century - 9th century - 10th century - other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial The Magyars arrive in what is now Hungary, forcing the Serbs and Bulgars south... The far east as a cultural block includes East Asia, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and South Asia. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Guan Yin from Mt. ...

Christianity had an early and extensive dissemination throughout the vast territory north of Persia and west and East of the Oxus River. As early as the fourth century cities like Merv, Herat and Samarkand had bishops and later became metropolitanates. Christians were found among the Hephthalite Huns from the fifth century, and the Mesopotamian patriarch assigned two bishops (John of Resh-aina and Thomas the Tanner) to both peoples, with the result that many were baptized. They also devised and taught a written language for the Huns and with the help of an Armenian bishop, taught also agricultural methods and skills. The Amu Darya (in Persian آمودریا; Darya means river in Persian) rises in the Pamirs and flows mainly north-west through the Hindu Kush, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to join the Aral Sea in a large river delta. ... (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Merv – Persian name: مرو; formerly Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana (Greek: Αντιόχεια η Μαργιανή) – in current-day Turkmenistan, was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near todays Mary. ... Samarkand (Tajik: Самарқанд, Persian: ‎ , Uzbek: , Russian: ), population 412,300 in 2005, is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province. ... The Huns were an early confederation of Central Asian equestrian nomads or semi-nomads. ... (4th century - 5th century - 6th century - other centuries) Events Rome sacked by Visigoths in 410. ...

In 644, Abdisho, the metropolitan, had succeeded in drawing a large number of Turks, beyond the Oxus River, into the Church of the East. Colleges were established in Merv and a further monastery was founded there in the eighth century. In fact, so successful were the missionary efforts that it appeared that Christianity might become the dominant faith in the whole region between the Caspian Sea and Sinkiang in Northwest China. The largely animistic and polytheistic religions there offered little or no effective resistance to the higher faith. Moreover, Islam at first made little headway in that area, and the dualistic faith of Manichaeism also had scant appeal. Christian Turks visiting Cteisphon in connection with the election of a new metropolitan about this time were described as people of clean habits and orthodox beliefs and as readers of the Scriptures in both Syriac and their own language. Though there was a mass conversion of Turks to Islam in the eleventh century, the Moslems did not dominate the area until the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Tang dynasty of China begins invasion of Koguryo. ... The Caspian Sea (Russian: Каспийское море; Kazakh: Каспий теңізі; Turkmen: Hazar deňizi; Azeri: XÉ™zÉ™r dÉ™nizi; Persian: دریای خزر Daryā-ye Khazar) is the largest lake on Earth by area[2], with a surface area of 371,000 square kilometers (143,244 sq mi) and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometers (18... Xinjiang (Chinese: 新疆; pinyin: Xīnjiāng; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang; literal meaning: New Frontier; Uyghur: شينجاڭ) Uyghurs Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), sometimes known as Chinese Turkestan, Eastern Turkestan (Turkestan also spelt Turkistan... Manichean priests, writing at their desk, with panel inscription in Sogdian. ...

Once the Christian faith had been established in the valleys of the Oxus and Jaxartes Rivers, it was easily carried further east into the basin of the Tarim River, then into the area north of the Tien Shan Mountains, and finally down into far northwest China, above Tibet. This was the principal caravan route, and with so many Christians engaged in the trade it was natural that the gospel was early planted in the towns and cities which were caravan centers. The Mesopotamian patriarch in the eighth century wrote that he was appointing a metropolitan for Tibet, implying that their churches were numerous enough to require bishops and lesser clergy. Thus Christians were to be found in Sinkiang, and possibly in Tibet, as early as the ninth century. But it was not until the beginning of the eleventh century that the faith spread among the nomadic peoples of this and other central Asian regions. These Christians were chiefly Turko-Tatar peoples, including the Keraits, Onguts, Uyghurs, Naimans, Merkits, and Mongols. The Tarim River (Mandarin Dayan) is the principal river of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Tian Shan (Chinese: 天山; Pinyin: Tiān Shān; celestial mountains) mountain range is located in Central Asia, in the border region of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of western China. ... Xinjiang (Chinese: 新疆; pinyin: Xīnjiāng; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang; literal meaning: New Frontier; Uyghur: شينجاڭ) Uyghurs Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), sometimes known as Chinese Turkestan, Eastern Turkestan (Turkestan also spelt Turkistan... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་; Wylie: Bod; Lhasa dialect IPA: [; Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 西藏, Hanyu Pinyin: XÄ«zàng; also referred to as 藏区 (Simplified Chinese), 藏區 (Traditional Chinese), ZàngqÅ« (Hanyu Pinyin), see Name section below) is a plateau region in Central Asia and the indigenous home to the Tibetan people. ... (8th century - 9th century - 10th century - other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial The Magyars arrive in what is now Hungary, forcing the Serbs and Bulgars south... (10th century - 11th century - 12th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... A Mongol people (though some historians claim a Turkic origin) living in Central Asia. ... Uyghurs (also called Uighurs, Uygurs, or Uigurs) (Chinese:维吾尔 or 維吾爾 ; in pinyin: wéiwúěr) are a Turkic ethnic group of people living in northwestern China (mainly in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where they are the dominant ethnic group together with Han people... The Naimans (Naiman also means eight in Mongolian) were a Mongol people dwelling on the steppe of central Asia, closely related to the Kara-Khitai, and subservient to them until 1177. ... The name Mongols (Mongolian: Mongol) specifies one or several ethnic groups. ...

The Introduction of the "Luminous Religion" to China

When Christianity was first introduced to China three major religious systems, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, were already popular there, woven into the ancient traditions and customs of the people. The average Chinese did not regard himself as an exclusive adherent of any one of the three, but rather as a follower of a general Chinese religion made up of both animistic and polytheistic elements which represented a syncretistic conglomeration of ideas. Thus the Church of the East encountered grave difficulties as it sought to introduce the “Luminous Religion” to China. Only in the periods of the Tang (A.D. 618-906) and Yuan (A.D. 1206-1368) dynasties did the gospel enterprise have any considerable degree of success. Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Wenmiao Temple, a Confucian Temple in Wuwei, Gansu, China Confucian temple in Kaohsiung, Republic of China (Taiwan). ... Taoism (Daoism) is the English name referring to a variety of related Chinese philosophical and religious traditions and concepts. ... China under the Tang Dynasty (yellow) and its sphere of influence Capital Changan (618–904) Luoyang (904-907) Language(s) Chinese Religion Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism Government Monarchy Emperor  - 618-626 Emperor Gaozu  - 684, 705-710 Emperor Zhongzong  - 684, 710-712 Emperor Ruizong  - 904-907 Emperor Ai History  - Li Yuan... The four successor Khanates of the Mongol Empire Capital Dadu Language(s) Mongolian Chinese Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1260-1294 Kublai Khan  - 1333-1370 Ukhaatu Khan History  - establishing the Yuan Dynasty 1271  - Fall of Dadu September 14, 1368 Population  - 1330 est. ...

It is difficult to determine the exact time when the Christian gospel first reached China. the ancient Breviary of the Syrian church of Malabar (India) states that “By the means of St. Thomas the Chinese...were converted to the truth...By means of St. Thomas the kingdom of heaven flew and entered into China...The Chinese in commemoration of St. Thomas do offer their adoration unto Thy most Holy Name, O God.” Some authors have claimed to have found in a very ancient Taoist writing evidence of a spiritual awakening in China in the latter part of the first century.