13Story

23 June 2010

Early Christian communities in Asia: Nestorianism

Routes of Exchange

* The Roots of Silk Road     * The Silk Road and the Nomads     * The Silk Road and China    * Inscriptions    * Diplomatic documents    * Maps    * Dunhuang along the Silk Road     * Early Christian communities in Asia: Nestorianism

 

Early Christian communities in Asia: Nestorianism On the western side of the Silk Route religions like Judaism, Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism flourished. There was also a branch of Christianity that enjoyed success in the East: Nestorianism. Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople (428-431) was banned from the Church during the Council of Ephesus in 431 because of his “heretical” teachings: Jesus Christ has both a human and a divine nature instead of a single divine aspect. Moreover, Nestorius found that the traditional title of Mary, Theotokos, or “Mother of God,” belied Christ’s humanity. He called her Christotokos, “Mother of Christ.” The Nestorian schism caused an exodus of its adherents to Persia, where they regrouped within the “Church of the East.” Nestorianism enjoyed great success in Persia underthe Sassanids (224-651) in spite of persecution by the adherents of Zoroastrianism. In 635 a certain Alopen brought Nestorianism to China, where it established itself at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The Chinese valued the priests for their knowledge of astrology and medicine. In 845, Emperor Wu Tsung made all foreign religions illegal and by 980 Nestorianism had vanished from China. It remained strong in Central Asia, particularly among the Turkic-Mongolian tribes. In Dunhuang, Turfan and Niya Nestorian texts have been found that date to the 6th century. With their shamanistic traditions and ideas, the inhabitants of the region sometimes considered Nestorian priests to be shamans of sorts: one of them was even able to tame a violent storm using a crucifix. The Mongolian Empire was tolerant toward the Nestorians, and some of the wives of the Great Khans were Christians. After the division of the Mongolian Empire in the 14th century, Nestorianism disappeared as well.

  

 

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