Did you know that Christianity spread to Asia in the first century? At one time the Church of the East was bigger than the Roman Catholic Church. Although often overlooked, this part of the world is critical to our understanding Christianity in the last five hundred years. Our guest lecturer, Matthew Elton, guides us through an enlightening and helpful survey of the history of Asian Christianity.
This is lecture 8 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen.
All the notes are available here as a pdf.
—— Notes ——
Early Christianity (1st Century)
- Christianity spreads in Arabia, Persia, India.
Nestorian Schism (431)
- Nestorius was bishop of Constantinople (present day Istanbul, Turkey).
- Disagreement over unity vs. separation of human and divine natures in Christ.
- Disagreement over title of Mary: theotokos (“God-bearer”) vs. Christotokos (“Christ-bearer”).
- Nestorius accused of heresy, excommunicated, and exiled to Egypt.
- 17 other bishops also excommunicated.
- Nestorian view of Christ accepted by Church of the East (Nestorian Church).
The Church of the East (~431 to Present)
- Also called the Nestorian Church.
- Split from the western church as a result of the Nestorian Schism.
- Main power base was in Persia (present day Iran).
- Spread east into India, Nepal, Mongolia, China.
- Height of power c. 700-1000. During this time it was the largest and possibly most populous church in the world, more powerful than the Catholic church.
- Islam founded by Muhammad in early 7th
- Church of the East collapses under Muslim persecution and war, almost extinct by 1500.
- Survives today in very small “Assyrian Church of the East” in U.S. and groups active in Iraq, Syria, etc.
Early Christianity in China (7th Century)
- Aluoben was a Nestorian Christian from Persia.
- Led the first mission to China in 635.
- Emperor Tang Taizong calls Christianity “religion of light,” commands that it be spread throughout China.
- Oldest church in China is in Xi’an, dates to 640, still standing today.
- Nestorian Monument erected in 781 to celebrate Chinese Christianity.
- “Jesus Sutras”: Early Chinese Christian texts discovered in a cave in Dunhuang. Recently translated into English.
- Persecution in later dynasties diminished Christianity in China.
Christianity in Japan: Francis Xavier (active 1541-1552)
- Jesuit missionary from Portugal.
- Wins converts in Africa, India, Indonesia.
- Meets Anjiro, an exiled samurai, in Indonesia.
- Travels to Japan with Anjiro aboard a pirate ship.
- Third European to go to Japan, and first to learn Japanese.
- Preached in Japan 3 years but won few converts due to cultural barriers.
- Christianity in Japan grew rapidly c. 1550-1600.
The Tokugawa Shogunate (1600-1868)
- Shoguns (warlords) ruled Japan for almost 300 years.
- They hated foreigners and persecuted Christians.
- February 5, 1597: 26 Christians crucified in Nagasaki.
- 1632: 55 Christians crucified.
The Meiji Restoration (1868)
- Emperor Meiji restores the rule of the emperor.
- Modernizes Japan with western technology.
- Establishes a democratically elected parliament (Diet of
