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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.
Chaldean/Assyrian parishes in Southern California include:
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