Lands of Asia layouts (Eng) 26.11.21

part iii | cultural and spiritual development
united Orthodox Church, eventually led to a schism and the formation of several
sects and different movements.
Nestorianism emerged definitively in the first half of the 5th century AD as a
result of fierce disputes among Christians about Christ’s single or dual nature, divine
and human.
Nestorianism, represented by its spiritual leader Nestorius, was condemned as
heresy at the Council of Ephesus in AD 431. Nestorians stressed the distinction between
the two natures of Christ, admitting only an external connection between them; they
also refused to accept the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God. This movement, known
as Dyophysitism, mainly had followers in the Eastern Syrian (‘Nestorian’) Church,
whereas the followers of another movement, Monophysitism, recognised only the
divine nature of Christ, and considered His human nature to be merely a part of Him,
which had no value in and of itself. Among the supporters of Monophysitism were
the Armenian, Egyptian and Western Syriac churches. In the struggle between the
Monophysites and the Dyophysites the former prevailed, and the Nestorians, who
constituted the majority of the second trend, fled to Iran. It should be noted, that
by this time, both of these movements had split from the Orthodox Church. In Iran,
the majority of the Orthodox Christians adopted the Nestorian doctrine. Nestorians
played an important role here, occupying positions in the government and in trade,
and they included skilled doctors, scientists and craftsmen.
It should also be noted that before the mass influx of Nestorians into Persia, large
Christian communities had already existed here, and been recorded as early as the
2nd century AD. The positions enjoyed by Christians had become especially strong
in the Sassanian state under Shah Yazdegerd I (399–420), when the Christian Church
in Persia declared itself independent of Byzantium. After settling in Persia, under
Shah Peroz (459–484), the Nestorian Church received even more support and was
recognised here as the official Church, while the position of the Melchite orthodox
Church diminished considerably, primarily for political reasons. Sassanian Iran was
almost permanently at war with Byzantium and, having been driven out from there,
the Nestorians had no sympathy for Byzantium. Nevertheless, the Nestorians, as well
as other Christian movements, periodically also suffered persecution in Persia, and
the Zoroastrian priesthood, afraid of losing its position, played a part in this.
This was one of the reasons for the mass exodus of Nestorian Christians from
Persia to Central Asia and further to the East from the end of the 5th and into the 6th
century AD, although the missionary activity characteristic of this religion should
not be ignored either.
However, Christianity had made its way to Central Asia long before the arrival of
the Nestorians.
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