Nestorian? Or Not?
But the question is: should we still use the term "Nestorian" to refer to this early Chinese Christian movement?
Xi’an
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Collective Misunderstanding
Deeply committed Syrian Christians traveled thousands of miles to plant a church in China, enjoyed a season of imperial favor during which the gospel took root and spread, and succeeded in communicating the essential message of Christ’s suffering for the salvation of the world and his resurrection from the dead.
Jingjiao—Not Nestorian
In AD 635 Christian missionaries whose worship language was Syriac traveled thousands of miles down the Silk Road to plant a church in China. The imperial officials examined their teaching and issued a decree (preserved in the stele) allowing the church to be established.
![A photo of the top of the Stele in Xi’an, China. It is inscribed with an Assyrian cross and Chinese characters. Readers [of Jingjiao] will not only be equipped with the fascinating history of Jingjiao, which helps overcome the anti-Christian narrative that Christianity was brought into China by European and American colonial imperialists. Christians and missionaries in various global cultural contexts will also benefit from this book by learning from the Church of the East missionaries’ creative strategies of inculturation.](https://media.chinasource.org/uploads/2024/04/BL240419-header-ChinaSource-Jingjiao-Xian-stele-Church-of-the-East-in-China-300x150.jpg)
The Earliest Chinese Christianity Brought Back to Life
Readers [of Jingjiao] will not only be equipped with the fascinating history of Jingjiao, which helps overcome the anti-Christian narrative that Christianity was brought into China by European and American colonial imperialists. Christians and missionaries in various global cultural contexts will also benefit from this book by learning from the Church of the East missionaries’ creative strategies of inculturation.
No Need to Pack for a Dream Trip to China
Travel to China may be difficult, but we can still dream. If you could pick six Chinese cities to visit, where would you go?
Xi’an!
How I spent my first Christmas holiday in China.