Monday, February 28, 2011

The Chaldean Church--An Introduction

From http://www.faswebdesign.com/ECPA/Syria/Chaldean.html:

Not only did the area of ancient Babylon and Assyria resist the influence of Constantinople, but it also rejected the Hellenizing influence of Antioch from the beginning. This East Syrian Church and its liturgy developed from Palestinian Christianity through Antioch and Edessa with minimal Greek influence. The Mesopotamian region was evangelized in the second half of the first century by Mar Addai and Mar Mari. In the 4tgh century Seleucia-Ctesophone became the ecclesiastical center and self governance was proclaimed in 424. The Chaldean/Assyrian Church adopted Nestorianism in 486 soon after the Council of Ephesus in 431. This division reflected a political and theological tension between two distinct world views. The Chaldean/Assyrian Church continued its missionary activity in Persia, India and China, particularly from the 8th to eh 13th century, but began to decline in the 14th century following the conversion of the Mongolian invaders to Islam. Communion with the Church of Rome began in the 16th century and has continued with more and more success. The Moslem Turks inflicted cruel persecutions upon the faithful during World War I and greatly reduced their number. In 1999 the Chaldean/Assyrian Church had 3,588,995 members.

No comments:

Post a Comment