Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian Nestorius, who promoted specific doctrines in the fields of Christology and Mariology. The second meaning of the term is much wider, and relates to a set of later theological teachings, that were traditionally labeled as Nestorian, but differ from the teachings of Nestorius in origin, scope and terminology. The Oxford English Dictionary defines Nestorianism as:
"The doctrine of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, by which Christ is asserted to have had distinct human and divine persons."
The Xi'an Stele or the Jingjiao Stele, sometimes translated as the "Nestorian Stele," is a Tang Chinese stele erected in 781 that documents 150 years of early Christianity in China. It is a limestone block 279 centimetres high with text in both Chinese and Syriac describing the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China. It reveals that the initial Church of the East had met recognition by the Tang Emperor Taizong, due to efforts of the Christian missionary Alopen in 635. According to the stele, Alopen and his fellow Syriac missionaries came to China from Daqin in the ninth year of Emperor Taizong (635), bringing sacred books and images. The Church of the East monk Adam composed the text on the stele. Buried in 845, probably during the Huichang persecution of Buddhism, the stele was not rediscovered until 1625. It is now in the Stele Forest in Xi'an.
A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The use of such markers is traditional for Chinese, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic burials, as well as other traditions. In East Asia, the tomb's spirit tablet is the focus for ancestral veneration and may be removable for greater protection between rituals. Ancient grave markers typically incorporated funerary art, especially details in stone relief. With greater literacy, more markers began to include inscriptions of the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death, often along with a personal message or prayer. The presence of a frame for photographs of the deceased is also increasingly common.
A stele, from Greek στήλη, stēlē, plural στήλαι stēlai, is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected in the ancient world as a monument. The surface of the stele often has text, ornamentation, or both. These may be inscribed, carved in relief, or painted.
The Church of the East was a Christian organization with a presence in China during two periods: first from the 7th through the 10th century in the Tang dynasty, when it was known as Jingjiao, and later during the Yuan dynasty in the 13th and 14th centuries, when it was described alongside other foreign religions like Catholicism and possibly Manichaeism as Yelikewen jiao.
The Ongud were a Turkic tribe that later became Mongolized active in what is now Inner Mongolia in northern China around the time of Genghis Khan (1162–1227). Many Ongud were members of the Church of the East. They lived in an area lining the Great Wall in the northern part of the Ordos Plateau and territories to the northeast of it. They appear to have had two capitals, a northern one at the ruin known as Olon Süme and another a bit to the south at a place called Koshang or Dongsheng. They acted as wardens of the marches for the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) to the north of Shanxi.
The Azure Dragon, also known as Qinglong in Chinese, is one of the Dragon Gods who represent the mount or chthonic forces of the Five Regions' Highest Deities. It is also one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations, which are the astral representations of the Wufang Shangdi. The Azure Dragon represents the east and the spring season. It is also sometimes referred to as the Blue-green Dragon, Green Dragon, or the Blue Dragon.
The lotus, Nelumbo nucifera, is an aquatic plant that plays a central role in the art of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
Stone lanterns are a type of traditional East Asian lantern made of stone, wood, or metal. Originating in China, stone lanterns spread to Japan, Korea and Vietnam, though they are most commonly found in both China – extant in Buddhist temples and traditional Chinese gardens – and Japan. In Japan, tōrō were originally used only in Buddhist temples, where they lined and illuminated paths. Lit lanterns were then considered an offering to Buddha. Their use in Shinto shrines and also private homes started during the Heian period (794–1185).
In modern times the Mongols are primarily Tibetan Buddhists, but in previous eras, especially during the time of the Mongol empire, they were primarily shamanist, and had a substantial minority of Christians, many of whom were in positions of considerable power. Overall, Mongols were highly tolerant of most religions, and typically sponsored several at the same time. Many Mongols had been proselytized by the Church of the East since about the seventh century, and some tribes' primary religion was Christian. In the time of Genghis Khan, his sons took Christian wives of the Keraites, and under the rule of Genghis Khan's grandson, Möngke Khan, the primary religious influence was Christian.
Mar Thoma Sleeva (Saint Thomas Cross) are ancient crosses associated with the community of Indian subcontinent, who trace their origins to the evangelism of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century AD. The Saint Thomas Christians, which is one of the oldest Christian communities of the world, survive in the Malabar region in state of Kerala, India and have a diaspora in other parts of the Indian subcontinent. Saint Thomas Christian crosses are known as Mar Thoma Sleeva (Saint Thomas cross), Indian cross, or Persian Cross in English, as well as Nasrani Sthambam in Malabarese.
The Russian Orthodox Cross is a variation of the Christian cross since the 16th century in Russia, although it bears some similarity to a cross with a bottom crossbeam slanted the other way (upwards) found since the 6th century in the Byzantine Empire. The Russian Orthodox cross has three horizontal crossbeams, with the lowest one slanted downwards. Today it is a symbol of the Russian Orthodox Church and a distinctive feature of the cultural landscape of Russia. Other names for the symbol include the Russian cross, and Slavonic or Suppedaneum cross.
Yunju Temple is a Buddhist temple located in Fangshan District, 70 kilometers (43 mi) southwest of Beijing and contains the world's largest collection of stone Buddhist sutra steles. Yunju Temple also contains one of only two extant woodblocks for the Chinese Buddhist Tripitaka in the world as well as rare copies of printed and manuscript Chinese Buddhist Tripitakas. It also has many historic pagodas dating from the Tang and Liao dynasty.
The Church of the East or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian Church, is one of three major branches of Nicene Eastern Christianity that arose from the Christological controversies in the 5th century and the 6th century, alongside that of Miaphysitism and the Chalcedonian Church.
The Anuradhapura cross is a form of the Christian cross symbol. It is the most ancient symbol of Christianity in Sri Lanka.
The Mogao Christian painting, also known as Painting of a Christian figure or Fragment of a Christian figure, is a fragmentary silk painting of a haloed man with crosses on his head and chest who has been interpreted as a Christian figure associated with the Church of the East. The painting dates to the end of the 9th century, during the Guiyi rule of Dunhuang under the Zhang family. It was discovered by the Hungarian-born British archaeologist Aurel Stein at the Library Cave of the Mogao Caves in 1908, and is now kept in the British Museum, London.
The Manichaean Painting of the Buddha Jesus (Chinese: 夷數佛幀; pinyin: Yí shù fó zhēn; Wade–Giles: I2-shu4 fo2-chên1; Japanese: キリスト聖像; rōmaji: Kirisuto Sei-zō; lit. 'Sacred Image of Christ'), is a Chinese Southern Song dynasty silk hanging scroll preserved at the Seiunji Temple in Kōshū, Yamanashi, Japan. It measures 153.5 cm in height, 58.7 cm in width, dates from the 12th to 13th centuries, and depicts a solitary nimbate figure on a dark-brown medieval Chinese silk. According to the Hungarian historian Zsuzsanna Gulácsi, this painting is one of the six documented Chinese Manichaean hanging scrolls from Zhejiang province from the early 12th century, which titled Yishu fo zhen (lit. "Silk Painting of the Buddha [Prophet] Jesus").
The exact date of the entry of the Syriac Church of the East into modern-day Sichuan province is not clear, but probably occurred in the 7th century not long after the arrival of Alopen in the Tang capital Chang'an in 635. The provincial capital Chengdu is the only inland city in the southwest where a Christian presence can be confirmed in the time of the Tang dynasty (618–907). Two monasteries have also been located in Chengdu and Mount Omei. David Crockett Graham noted that Marco Polo found East Syriac monasteries in Sichuan and Yunnan in the 13th century.
The Nestorian pillar of Luoyang is a Tang Chinese pillar erected in 814–815 CE, which contains inscriptions related to early Christianity in China, particularly the Church of the East. It is a Nestorian pillar, discovered in 2006 in Luoyang, which is related to the Xi'an Stele.
The Cross Temple is a former place of worship in Fangshan, Beijing. The temple was used during different periods by Buddhists and early Chinese Christians. Though it was originally built as a Buddhist temple, some scholars hypothesise that it saw Christian use during the Tang dynasty (618–907). The temple was used by Buddhists during the Liao dynasty (916–1125) and by Christians during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). It returned to Buddhist use during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), before being sold in 1911. It was first recorded in modern scholarship in 1919, damaged during the Cultural Revolution, and re-established as a national-level protected site in 2006. Some scholars consider it to be the only place of worship of the Church of the East discovered in China.
Nestorian headstone
Nestorian cross found in China
Nestorian cross found in China
Two Nestorian crosses found in China
The cross from the Nestorian Stele
Nestorian altar-type grave monument shows a stone grave marker with cross symbol on its flat top
Saint Thomas Christian cross from India
Nestorian headstone rubbing with cross-on-lotus symbol
Rubbing of a Nestorian cross at the Cross Temple, Fangshan
Rubbing of a Nestorian cross at the Cross Temple, Fangshan
Cross in the headdress of a Christian figure, detail of the Mogao Christian painting, 9th century.
Relief of a cross at Rabban Hormizd Monastery
Yuan dynasty stone-carved Nestorian cross from Cross Temple, Fangshan, Beijing (then called Khanbaliq)
Modern rendition of the Nestorian Cross at Huizhong Church, Shanghai
