Assyrian Christianity

In the earliest days of Christianity, there were three languages that were an important part of its development and spread: Greek, Latin, and Classical Syriac. In the Near East, a distinctive form of Syriac Christianity evolved into two branches: East and West.

The East Syriac Rite uses the so-called "Liturgy of Addai and Mari" that supposedly was outlined by Saint Addai, a disciple of "Doubting" Thomas of whom legend says he went to India to preach. The East Syriac Rite is also called the Assyrian, Chaldean, or Persian Rite. The West Syriac Rite uses the Liturgy of St. James, James the Just (and sometimes said to be the brother of Jesus) who became patriarch of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.

The Roman conquest of the area in 116 - 118 CE created the Roman province of Assyria. Although Rome's occupation of the area waxed and waned, the city of Edessa became the major center of Syriac Christianity by the 3rd century CE. This early adoption of Christianity also made Assyria a stepping stone to spreading Christianity to the Far East, even though the later Muslim conquests made Christians a minority in their homeland.

In 410 there was a Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, located on the Tigris. (It was later destroyed by al-Mansur to reduce its prominence so he could build Baghdad and make it the greatest city.) The Council codified the East Syriac Church. It organized the area into provinces, each presided over by a bishop called a metropolitan. The archbishop in the capital of Seleucia-Ctesiphon was called the Grand Metropolitan. Because he held authority over all the provinces, he was later referred to as the Catholicos, from the word for "whole" or "universal."

This council affirmed the decisions of the First Council of Nicaea and adopted the Nicene Creed (thereby avoiding a huge fight over the nature of Jesus).

Assyrian Christians figure in previous posts, such as the wife of Hulagu Khan, Doquz Khatun. A grandson of Genghis Khan, Hulagu thought having a Christian wife would help him negotiate with Western Europe. Genghis Khan's youngest son also married an Assyrian Christian, Sorghaghtani. In fact, Sorghaghtani raised Möngke, Hulagu, Kublai, and Ariq Böke (mentioned in posts but not featured). She must have had an interesting life. Let's talk about some prominent Assyrian Christian women next time.