The Assyrian Church of the East is the apostolic church of Mesopotamia, Persia, India and the Far East. It was devided from the other apostolic churches by the Nestorian Schism during the 5th century. Today it has only a few million adherents which are scattered mostly over Iraq, India, and the US. During the early Christian centuries and the Middle Ages it was the dominant Church in Asia and could easily compare itself to the western churches.
In the west the church it is often referred to as the Nestorian Church. Nestorius is indeed one of the doctors of the church, though not the most important. The Assyrian Church has never taught Nestorianism, the belief that Jesus consisted of two separate persons, one human and one divine.
At the heart of the theology of the Assyrian Church stand the theologians Diodorus of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia which headed the important school of Antioch during the 4th century. Only few of their writings have survived. Babai the Great (551-628) compiled the systematic Christology of the Assyrian Church. His principle surviving Christological work is the 'Book of Union'. In it he explains that the two qnome (essence) of Christ are unmingled but eternally united in his one parsopa (personality). This, and not Nestorianism, is the teaching of the Nestorian Church.
Articles in category "Assyrian Church of the East"
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Last updated: 05-13-2005 07:56:04
