635AD Christian Missions History Musings (CMHM). Moving East
Christian Missions in the 4th and 5th centuries seemed to grind to a halt. If I remember right, Patrick Johnstone described this period as the “First Stagnation.” PERHAPS that is the “triple whammy” one gets from Christianity becoming a state religion.
#1. There is the temptation to see the faith as an “Ethnic Religion”— seeing it as being ‘for us’ and NOT ‘for them.’
#2. There is a tendency for surrounding nations to look unfavorably on the faith, seeing it as an ally of the enemy.
#3. Tying one’s religion to one’s political state can lead to feelings of “failure” when one’s state is in decline or overthrow. (The millennia-old belief that battling human armies are the earth-side reflection of heaven-side battles between the gods is an amazingly enduring idea.)
This period of time that surrounds the decline of the (Western branch of the) Roman Empire reflected a general decline in missions in the West. However, in the 6th century some stirrings are seen in the West. Patrick, Columba, and Columban in the British Isles in the late 6th century started this mission work. The Roman church did not have much to do with that. However, around the end of the 6th century, we find Pope Gregory the Great sending a missions group to England. This group was going to a place where Christianity has existed at least on some level for decades if not centuries. However, any positive move forward should be recognized. All of this work in the British Isles eventually reversed with the Celtic Missions movement of the following two centuries.
But things were different in the East. I chose 635AD for this post, because according to the Nestorian Stele, this was the year that the Christian Gospel arrived in China. We call it the Nestorian movement because they were from a church movement loosely tied to the theologian Nestorius. While it is common (especially in the West) to see Nestorianism (diophysitism) as heresy, the differences between it and orthodox beliefs are pretty subtle. To me, it is a doctrinal dispute long deserving of making peace over.
The push East seems consistently stronger than to the West in the First Millennium. The Alexandrian Christian teacher and philosopher Pantaenus apparently visited India at the end of the 2nd century and already found an active Christian church there. While there is a question on how that church started, its ties to St. Thomas (or perhaps St. Bartholomew) cannot be completely discounted.
The Western Church was tied to the Roman Empire (Western half in Rome) and the Eastern (Orthodox) Church was tied to the Eastern half of the Roman Empire (in Constantinople). This tie to the state gave it (or them, depending on how you see the church) strength and protection. However, neither were particularly motivated to take international missions particularly seriously. The Nestorians had its roots more tied to the Antioch church and was gradually pushed east through political action. This relative statelessness seems to have helped it spread.
Of course, what help could later hurt. China, welcomed the Nestorian teachers but when there was a change of dynasty, their work was crushed. When Muslim invaders came into Central Asia, their work was slowly stifled. Perhaps even more importantly, the squabbles between the imperial Christian faiths and the Nestorians (often seemingly driven more by power than belief) left them exposed. While the Celtic Missions could be absorbed by the Roman Church, the Nestorians were often labeled as heretics that needed to be destroyed.
And yet they weren’t destroyed. Nestorian Christianity still exists today. The exact numbers are hard to say. I see numbers like 200,000 or 400,000. Part of the problem is that many of them live in some of the more religiously repressive places in the world. Their early missionary zeal has shifted to a more insular “ethnic faith” for self-preservation.
Their ability to spread without state support, and endure hostility from other religions (including rival Christian denominations) and governments for centuries certainly point (to me at least) to a vitality of faith that should be recognized and honored.
Back at seminary, I wrote a paper on the Nestorian missions. You are welcome to read it by CLICKING HERE.
