Will the true church please stand up (John Chysostom)

"There comes a heathen and says, “I wish to become a Christian, but I know not whom to join: there is much fighting and faction among you, much confusion: which doctrine am I to choose?” How shall
we answer him? “Each of you” (says he) “asserts, ‘I speak the truth.’” No doubt: this is in our favour. For if we told you to be persuaded by arguments, you might well be perplexed: but if we bid you believe the
Scriptures, and these are simple and true, the decision is easy for you. If any agree with the Scriptures, he is the Christian; if any fight against them, he is far from this rule."

(John Chrysostom, quoted by P. Schaff) 

Madeira, Pearl of the Atlantic

Madeira is a beautiful archipelago, known as the "Pearl of the Atlantic" off the northwest coast of Africa, which has had strong ties with Portugal since it was colonised in 1419 - the first territory to so be "discovered" during the Age of Exploration. Its capital is Funchal and its total population, which is Portuguese speaking, is just under 300 thousand. The main island is about the same area as the county of Middlesex in England. 

In 1838 Dr Robert Reid Kalley from Scotland began a work which led to the creation in 1845 of the first Portuguese-speaking gospel church. It met in the capital, Funchal. This work grew to 2000 people, but bitter persecution led to this community of believers being dispersed, many going into exile, particularly to Jackson in the USA. Dr. Kalley himself only escaped the island with his life by being carried on a stretcher disguised as an old woman. He went on to be a missionary in Brazil, where he died in 1888. 

There are currently several, mainly expatriate churches on Madeira. 

Two Portuguese-speaking families with connections to Brazil, one of them native to the island, have recently moved to the island with a vision to start a gospel church, and services have already started. If you are interested in hearing more, please contact me by email! 

Origins of Christianity in India

St Thomas Cross

Christianity reached India from the earliest times. There is a reliable tradition that the Apostle Thomas preached there from the year 52, seeing the conversion of members of the Brahman caste, as well as local Jews, founding a church at Kodungallur on the Malabar coast and ordaining local clergy. Thomas himself was martyred at Mylapore, near Madras. Indian believers in Christ were called "nasrani" from the word "Nazareth". 

In 180 it is possible that Pantaenus, the Christian teacher from Alexandria, found this church, which had the gospel of Matthew in "Hebrew". 

Thus, when trader-missionary Thomas of Cana arrived from Mesopotamia in 345, along with 400 refugee believers, there was already a community of Christians. The incoming, newly-arrived Christians belonged to the Church of the East ("Nestorians") with its central episcopal see at Seleucia-Ctesiphon. They settled in the south of the city of Kodungallur, while the longer-standing existing community were based in the north. The language of the liturgy was Syriac. Over time, links with the Nestorian Church of the East were strengthened; Patriarch Timothy I (780–823 AD) set up the Metropolitan See of India. The map shows other places in India and Sri Lanka where the Church of the East was represented. 

In the 1500s, explorers and missionaries arrived in India to evangelise, and found an existing, indigenous church which used Syriac in its liturgy, held allegiance to the Church of the East, and was led by a bishop from Mesopotamia. Over time, as a result of contact with the incoming Portuguese Roman Catholic Christians, and later other denominations, the Thomas Christians divided into various communions. In the 1600s a sizeable number of Thomas Christians transferred their allegiance to the Oriental Orthodox ("Monophysite") West Syrian church.  

Hades took a body, and met God face to face! (Catechetical Sermon of St. John Chrysostom)

If any man be devout and love God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord. If any have labored long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any have wrought from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If any have come at the third hour, let him with thankfulness keep the feast. If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; because he shall in nowise be deprived therefor. If any have delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near, fearing nothing. If any have tarried even until the eleventh hour, let him, also, be not alarmed at his tardiness; for the Lord, who is jealous of his honor, will accept the last even as the first; he gives rest unto him who comes at the eleventh hour, even as unto him who has wrought from the first hour. And he shows mercy upon the last, and cares for the first; and to the one he gives, and upon the other he bestows gifts. And he both accepts the deeds, and welcomes the intention, and honors the acts and praises the offering. Wherefore, enter you all into the joy of your Lord; and receive your reward, both the first, and likewise the second.

You rich and poor together, hold high festival. You sober and you heedless, honor the day. Rejoice today, both you who have fasted and you who have disregarded the fast. The table is full-laden; feast ye all sumptuously. The calf is fatted; let no one go hungry away. Enjoy ye all the feast of faith: Receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness. Let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death has set us free. He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into Hades, He made Hades captive. He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh. And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry: "Hades, said he, was embittered, when it encountered Thee in the lower regions." It was embittered, for it was abolished. It was embittered, for it was mocked. It was embittered, for it was slain. It was embittered, for it was overthrown. It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains. It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen.

O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. Amen.

I did not send them....

 "I did not send them; they sped of themselves; hence they are unable to preserve their very selves, much less to build up another's soul." 

(quoted by Yannoulatos, "Monks and Mission in the Eastern Church)  

"Я их не посылал: они сами побежали, посему они не могут хранить самих себя, тем более созидать чужую душу." 

(А. Яннулатос цитирует отца церкви)

VIb. The Church of the East, the East Syrians or "Nestorians" (Excursus)

Of the Apostles it is Thomas, along with Thaddeus of Edessa and Mari, who is associated with the spread of the gospel in Mesopotamia; there were established Christian communities here by the mid-third century. The lingua franca of these areas was Syriac, closely related to the Aramaic spoken by the Lord. These churches initially came under the patriarchal see of Antioch in Syria. The political power in control of this area was first the Parthian Empire, and then, from 224, the Sasanid Empire.

From 311 Christianity was first tolerated and then officially adopted in the Roman Empire. This meant that Christians in the Sasanid Empire become politically suspect, and there were persecutions of Christians, particularly under rulers Shapur II (339-379) and Khosrau I (ending 545). 

In the fifth century, both for the above political reasons, and also in connection with the Nestorian controversy, the Christian church in the Persian empire became autonomous. In 410 the Catholicos of Ctesiphon was declared Grand Metropolitan (later Patriarch), and in 424 independent of the "western fathers". After the condemnation of Nestorius in 431, in 484 the self-styled "Church of the East", i.e. the Christian church in the Sasanid Empire, affirmed the theology of Theodore of Mopsuestia, which emphasised (some would say over-emphasised) the two distinct natures of Christ (the Nestorian tendency). In 489 the theological school at Edessa was moved to Nisibis within the borders of the Persian Empire. The theology of the Church of the East was further articulated by Babai the Great (551-628) in his work, Book of Union, which speaks of Christ's "two qnome (natures)". 

Following the Muslim conquest of Persia in 644, the Christians of the Seleucia Catholicate-Patriarchate made a major contribution to the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, translating works into Arabic, and also in the fields of philosophy, science and medicine. 

Already by the sixth century the Church of the East had expanded with missionary work into Central Asia, India and among the Mongols. By 635 the Church of the East had reached China, as commemorated by the Nestorian stele. The scrolls found at Turfan (modern-day Xinjiang province, China, dated to the eighth century) include many Christian texts in Syriac, Sogdian and Turkic (Uighur). 

A major figure in the Church of the East was Patriarch Timothy I (780-823) under whose ministry missionary work progressed further. Incidentally, Timothy I's Dialogue with Al-Mahdi demonstrates both a powerful Christian apologetic vis-à-vis Islam, and also the amicable relations which existed between the Muslim Abbasid rulers and their Christian subjects. The period from 800-1200 represents the apex of the Church of the East, embracing the Kara Khitai (in modern-day Kyrgyzstan), India (Kerala and Patna), and the Kerait, Naimans and Merkits (north of China). Navekath in modern-day Kyrgyzstan was a major episcopal see, and in this area there are remains of churches with open-air naves, arguably an architectural form later used by Muslim mosques. There are even possible Christian sites in Korea (Geongju) and Japan (Koryungi Temple). 

In 1368 the Mongol dynasty in China was overthrown and the Mongols, along with the Christians, thrown out. This was followed by the rule of Tamerlane (1370-1405), who almost completely eradicated the church. Only seven bishoprics survived.  

Введение в книгу: "20 этапов по пути от Эфеса до краев земли"

 

С какого места начать повествование об истории церкви? Кто-то начнет с Эдемского сада, где, как только согрешили наши прародители, Бог изрек евангельское обетование: «…оно будет поражать тебя в голову, а ты будешь жалить его в пяту». Кто-то начнет с города Харрана на Ближнем Востоке, где Бог призвал Авраама, праотца еврейского народа, оставить дом отца и идти в землю обетованную, или же с Синая, где Бог дал закон народу Израильскому, только что избавленному Им от рабства в Египте. Можно начать повествование с города Назарета, где пребывала Матерь Господа Нашего, Мария, когда Ангел возвестил ей о том, что она родит Иисуса-Спасителя; или же с Вифлеема, где родился Христос… Можно было бы начать с реки Иордан, где Иоанн Креститель крестил Иисуса, когда почил на Нем Дух Святой, и Отец возгласил: «Сей есть Сын Мой возлюбленный». Городок Капернаум в Галилее стал «штаб-квартирой» земного служения Иисуса, когда «Он ходил, благотворя и исцеляя всех, обладаемых диаволом, потому что Бог был с Ним». В горнице Он установил Вечерю («…сие есть тело Мое»), на Голгофе Он был распят и взял на себя все грехи мира, в гробе Иосифа из Аримафеи Он воскрес из мертвых… На горе Елеонской Он попрощался с учениками, пообещав сошествие Духа Святого на учеников, что и произошло в день Пятидеятницы. Оттуда Апостолы распространили свидетельство об Иисусе Христе «в Иерусалиме и во всей Иудее и Самарии и даже до края земли».

Все эти места важны, но, если говорить о начале послеапостольского времени, то вернее сказать, что это место – город Эфес, с которого мы и начнем путь следования по ключевым событиям и явлениям церковной истории. Каждый этап этой истории будет представлен ключевым городом, который олицетворяет самые главные явления этого этапа. В совокупности их будет двадцать: столько, сколько веков насчитывает христианская история.