Underlying this overlapping of Buddhist iconography and Christian images would be the early links drawn by Nestorian Christians between the message of compassion of the Lord Buddha, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Trading communities in the little state of Sogdiana between the rivers of Amu Darya and Syr Darya, whose capital was Samarkhand, on the Silk Route, seem to have been often followers of a form of Christian Faith which came to be known as the Church of Light. Between the seventh and eleventh centuries of our Common Era, missionaries were sent from the Persian Church to the Far East, reaching as far as the Great Wall of China. An engraved limestone Stele was unearthed in the late Ming Dynasty (between 1623 and 1625) and was subsequently studied by the Jesuit Alvaro Semedo. It appears that this monument was originally erected around 781 CE during the Tang Dynasty, and concerns the teaching of a Persian monk called the Venerable Alopen, who left behind “Twenty seven standard books. These set forth the great conversion for the deliverance of the soul”.
This early introduction of Christian mystical thought into China was of interest to the Jesuits Mission founded by Matteo Riccci (born 1552)who played a significant role in creating links between the Catholic Church and Chinese culture.He received an invitation of the governor of Zhaoqing, who was keen to learn from Ricci about his knowledge of mathematics, and the making of maps.
This early introduction of Christian mystical thought into China was of interest to the Jesuits Mission founded by Matteo Riccci (born 1552)who played a significant role in creating links between the Catholic Church and Chinese culture.He received an invitation of the governor of Zhaoqing, who was keen to learn from Ricci about his knowledge of mathematics, and the making of maps.
Underlying this overlapping of Buddhist iconography and Christian images would be the early links drawn by Nestorian Christians between the message of compassion of the Lord Buddha, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Trading communities in the little state of Sogdiana between the rivers of Amu Darya and Syr Darya, whose capital was Samarkhand, on the Silk Route, seem to have been often followers of a form of Christian Faith which came to be known as the Church of Light. Between the seventh and eleventh centuries of our Common Era, missionaries were sent from the Persian Church to the Far East, reaching as far as the Great Wall of China. An engraved limestone Stele was unearthed in the late Ming Dynasty (between 1623 and 1625) and was subsequently studied by the Jesuit Alvaro Semedo. It appears that this monument was originally erected around 781 CE during the Tang Dynasty, and concerns the teaching of a Persian monk called the Venerable Alopen, who left behind “Twenty seven standard books. These set forth the great conversion for the deliverance of the soul”.
This early introduction of Christian mystical thought into China was of interest to the Jesuits Mission founded by Matteo Riccci (born 1552)who played a significant role in creating links between the Catholic Church and Chinese culture.He received an invitation of the governor of Zhaoqing, who was keen to learn from Ricci about his knowledge of mathematics, and the making of maps.
This early introduction of Christian mystical thought into China was of interest to the Jesuits Mission founded by Matteo Riccci (born 1552)who played a significant role in creating links between the Catholic Church and Chinese culture.He received an invitation of the governor of Zhaoqing, who was keen to learn from Ricci about his knowledge of mathematics, and the making of maps.
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