Nternattona Ettn

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Nternattona Ettn Vol. 8, No.4 nternattona• October 1984 ettn• Mission in Wilderness Places artin Luther once wrote a trenchant warning about the Doubtless all of us long for the days when mission issues Mlimitations of pure research: "No one is taught through were more pleasant, or at least more easily defined. We dread the much reading and thinking. There is a much higher school where journeys into the wilderness of our world. But as Luther reminds one learns God's Word. One must go into the wilderness. There us, they may be the very places where we encounter Christ, and Christ comes and one becomes able to judge the world." become able to judge the world. The world is still full of wilderness places where those in­ volved in Christian mission must venture in faith. Despite the fact that both the problems and their outcomes in some of those wil­ derness spots do not seem to be clearly discernible, we need to throw out some experimental probes toward an uncertain future. Norman Horner looks at Christian mission in Lebanon, and affirms that despite the monumental uncertainties about the On Page future of the tragic situation there, Christians will have a vital role to play in the life of that land. 146 The Future of Christian Mission in Lebanon The wilderness of urban mission is the topic of the next two Norman A. Horner articles. Raymond J. Bakke reviews four years and sixty-eight cit­ 149 Urban Evangelization: A Lausanne Strategy since 1980 ies visited with urban consultations under the Lausanne Strategy RaymondJ. Bakke for world-class cities. He finds that a crucial element involving those working in what seem like urban jungles is not simply 156 Nineveh Revisited: Theory and Practice in Interfaith amassing more information, but creating networks among those Relations committed to Christian ministry in the cities and empowering Christopher Lamb them to carry on amid overwhelming odds. Christopher Lamb ex­ amines some of the problems in interfaith relations that arise in a 160 Five Statistical Eras of Global Mission: A Thesis and city like Birmingham, England. Here again, matters are not re­ Discussion solved solely through "much reading and thinking" but through DavidB. Barrett commitment to what Lamb calls a "missionary mode" of interfaith 169 Muhammad, Prophet of Islam, and Jesus Christ, Image encounter. of God: A Personal Testimony David Barrett takes us on a historical tour of five eras of global Lamin Sanneh mission, and discusses the increasingly important role that statis­ tical information can play in developing mission strategies. Our 174 The Legacy of D. T. Niles readers have been, and will continue to be helped by Barrett's Creighton Lacy incisive analysis. Lamin Sanneh tells of his striking-and to most readers, very 178 Noteworthy surprising-journey from Muslim to Christian faith, in his search 179 Book Reviews for divine transcendence. This intensely personal journey had a remarkable outcome. 184 Index,1981-1984 Another journey of personal experience, that of the mission statesman D. T. Niles, is outlined by Creighton Lacy, in our con­ 192 Book Notes tinuing Legacy series. Niles faced a series of undefined, bewilder­ ing tasks in his eventful career, and was sustained throughout by a deep personal faith in Jesus Christ. of issionaryResearch The Future of Christian Mission in Lebanon Norman A. Horner n January 1977 I published an article in the Occasional and business, better educational facilities than existed anywhere I Bulletin of Missionary Research' under the title "The else in the region, and relative economic affluence. It was also the Churches and the Crisis in Lebanon." I had just returned from a one country of the area where Christians and Muslims collabo­ mission of eight years in the Middle East, with primary residence rated more or less harmoniously in the social and political order. in Beirut, and had personally experienced the first eighteen Under the surface, however, there was resentment in other months of the Lebanese civil war. In that article I maintained that Christian communities as well as among the Muslims and Druze this war is basically over social and political issues rather than re­ against the Maronite hegemony. There was also as much resis­ ligious issues as such. I believe that my analysis accurately re­ tance to any change in religious affiliation as existed in the more flected the situation at that time, and I would not now retract any conservative Muslim states of the region. Any increase in the ratio of the statements except for a too-eas y assumption that the coun­ of Christians to Muslims was seen by the Muslims as a further try was even then on the road to recovery. The war has instead threat to the uneasy population balance and to their already sub­ dragged on for seven more years, reaching an intensity that no servient position in the body politic. Hence there were actually one dreamed possible even in the dark days of early 1976, and no less Muslim converts to Christianity in the otherwise liberal real solution has yet been reached. atmosphere of Lebanon than in Iran where the population is 98 I shall here introduce three propositions: (1)The future course percent Muslim . of Christian mission in Lebanon will be conditioned very largely Today the demography of Lebanon has changed. There are by the future of Lebanon itself as an autonomous state-and that probably sixty Muslims and Druze to every forty Christians. An is presently quite unclear. (2) Evangelization, if it is to be authen­ unofficial estimate published on November 5, 1975 in Beirut's tic, must be characterized by genuine outreach to the non-Chris­ prestigious French-language newspaper al-Nahar,» edited by tian population. It can no longer consist of intra-Christian Greek Orthodox Lebanonese Christians, gave a combined Muslim proselytism, of merely winning people who are already at least and Druze total of about 2 million and a Christian total of approx­ nominally Christian from one ecclesiastical allegiance to another, imately 1,200,000. Those numbers would obviously be somewhat a procedure that has too often stained the record of the past. (3) different nearly a decade later, in 1984, but the ratio of Christians The healing of a sorely broken Lebanese society will require an un­ to Muslims has surely not increased on the Christian side, and it precedented measure of collaboration among all the churches rep­ is probable that proportionately more Christians have emigrated resented in the country. If the currently warring factions , during those years of almost continuous warfare. Christian and Muslim alike, are to regain enough mutual trust If Lebanon's confessional system of government is to survive even to coexist peacefully in a common political order, such rec­ in an autonomous state, it is clear that the representation of the onciliation must begin within the household of Christian faith . several religious communities must reflect the actual demographic situation and not that of forty years ago. This would not only I. The Future of Lebanon as an Autonomous mean the end of Maronite hegemony, but it would also require a State more equitable representation of the Shi'ite Muslims who now considerably outnumber the Sunnis. The current Shi'ite unrest is Lebanon is the only country in the Arab East where Christians still in fact caused no less by the intransigence of the Sunni establish­ constitute a large percentage of the total population. No official ment than by that of the Maronite Christians. census of religious affiliation has been taken since 1932, but that There is no evidence to suggest that the confessional system census gave Christians a slight majority over the combined total of of government is doomed. For the first thirty-two years, from in­ Muslims and Druze. The country's full autonomy in 1943 was dependence in 1943 to the outbreak of civil war in 1975, Lebanese achieved largely at the initiative of the Maronites, an Eastern-rite Muslims as well as Christians benefited from that collaboration. Catholic community and the largest of several major Christian They enjoyed more freedom and prosperity than in the tradition­ churches in Lebanon. A unique "confessional system" of govern­ ally Muslim states of the region, and they would be reluctant to ment was established, the distribution of representation based on see it disappear. There is even now no Widespread popular objec­ the 1932 census. By gentlemen's agreement rather than constitu­ tion to retaining a Maronite as president of the republic,' so long tional mandate, the president of the republic would always be a as other Christians as well as Muslims and Druze are equitably Maronite Christian and the prime minister a Sunni Muslim . represented in the decision-making process. This leads the pres­ Although the Shi'ite and Druze communities were represented ent writer to speculate that Amin Gemayel, a Maronite Christian in parliament according to their presumed numerical size, and in and the current president of Lebanon, will survive politically. Un­ the less sensitive ministries, the major political, economic, and like his brother, Bashir, who was assassinated only weeks after as­ military power remained in Christian hands. suming the presidential office, Amin has not been as identified The result was outwardly spectacular. Lebanon came to be with the right wing of the predominantly Maronite Phalangists called " the Switzerland of the Middle East," with a free economy, and has shown himself to be more politically astute in dealing freedom of the press, a favorable climate for international banking with both Lebanese Muslims and the Syrian government. Ifa po­ litical structure based on Christian-Muslim collaboration fails, it will be because external forces oppose it and not because it is ob­ Norman A.
Recommended publications
  • East Syriac Christianity in Mongol-Yuan China (12Th 14Th Centuries)
    Orientalia biblica et christiana 18 East Syriac Christianity in Mongol-Yuan China (12th–14th centuries) Bearbeitet von Li Tang 1. Auflage 2011. Buch. XVII, 169 S. Hardcover ISBN 978 3 447 06580 1 Format (B x L): 17 x 24 cm Gewicht: 550 g Weitere Fachgebiete > Religion > Christliche Kirchen & Glaubensgemeinschaften Zu Inhaltsverzeichnis schnell und portofrei erhältlich bei Die Online-Fachbuchhandlung beck-shop.de ist spezialisiert auf Fachbücher, insbesondere Recht, Steuern und Wirtschaft. Im Sortiment finden Sie alle Medien (Bücher, Zeitschriften, CDs, eBooks, etc.) aller Verlage. Ergänzt wird das Programm durch Services wie Neuerscheinungsdienst oder Zusammenstellungen von Büchern zu Sonderpreisen. Der Shop führt mehr als 8 Millionen Produkte. Li Tang East Syriac Christianity in Mongol-Yuan China 2011 Harrassowitz Verlag · Wiesbaden ISSN 09465065 ISBN 978-3-447-06580-1 III Acknowledgement This book is the outcome of my research project funded by the Austrian Science Fund (Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung, abbreviated as FWF) from May 2005 to April 2008. It could not be made possible without the vision of FWF in its support of researches and involvement in the international scientific community. I take this opportunity to give my heartfelt thanks, first and foremost, to Prof. Dr. Peter Hofrichter who has developed a passion for the history of East Syrian Christianity in China and who invited me to come to Austria for this research. He and his wife Hilde, through their great hospitality, made my initial settling-in in Salzburg very pleasant and smooth. My deep gratitude also goes to Prof. Dr. Dietmar W. Winkler who took over the leadership of this project and supervised the on-going process of the research out of his busy schedule and secured all the ways and means that facilitated this research project to achieve its goals.
    [Show full text]
  • Tombstone Carvings from AD 86
    Tombstone Carvings from AD 86 Did Christianity Reach China In the First Century? † Wei-Fan Wang Retired Professor Nanjing Theological Seminary 1 This study, carried out as part of the Chaire de recherche sur l’Eurasie (UCLy), will be issued in English in the volume The Acts of Thomas Judas, in context to be published in the Syro- Malabar Heritage and Research Centre collection, Kochin (Indian Federation) 2 Table of contents I. The Gospel carved on stone ......................................................................................... 5 Fig. 1 situation of Xuzhou .............................................................................................. 5 Fig. 2 : The phoenixes and the fish ................................................................................ 6 II. The Creation and the Fall ........................................................................................... 7 Fig. 3: Domestic animals ................................................................................................ 7 Fig. 4: temptation of Eve ................................................................................................ 7 Fig. 5: The cherubim and the sword ............................................................................... 8 ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Fig. 6: The exit of the Eden garden ................................................................................ 9 Fig. 7: Pillar of ferocious
    [Show full text]
  • Jingjiao Under the Lenses of Chinese Political Theology
    religions Article Jingjiao under the Lenses of Chinese Political Theology Chin Ken-pa Department of Philosophy, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 24205, Taiwan; kenpa.mnf@gmail.com Received: 28 May 2019; Accepted: 16 September 2019; Published: 26 September 2019 Abstract: Conflict between religion and state politics is a persistent phenomenon in human history. Hence it is not surprising that the propagation of Christianity often faces the challenge of “political theology”. When the Church of the East monk Aluoben reached China in 635 during the reign of Emperor Tang Taizong, he received the favorable invitation of the emperor to translate Christian sacred texts for the collections of Tang Imperial Library. This marks the beginning of Jingjiao (oY) mission in China. In historiographical sense, China has always been a political domineering society where the role of religion is subservient and secondary. A school of scholarship in Jingjiao studies holds that the fall of Jingjiao in China is the obvious result of its over-involvement in local politics. The flaw of such an assumption is the overlooking of the fact that in the Tang context, it is impossible for any religious establishments to avoid getting in touch with the Tang government. In the light of this notion, this article attempts to approach this issue from the perspective of “political theology” and argues that instead of over-involvement, it is rather the clashing of “ideologies” between the Jingjiao establishment and the ever-changing Tang court’s policies towards foreigners and religious bodies that caused the downfall of Jingjiao Christianity in China. This article will posit its argument based on the analysis of the Chinese Jingjiao canonical texts, especially the Xian Stele, and takes this as a point of departure to observe the political dynamics between Jingjiao and Tang court.
    [Show full text]
  • The Multiple Identities of the Nestorian Monk Mar Alopen: a Discussion on Diplomacy and Politics
    _full_alt_author_running_head (neem stramien B2 voor dit chapter en nul 0 in hierna): 0 _full_alt_articletitle_running_head (oude _articletitle_deel, vul hierna in): Introduction _full_article_language: en indien anders: engelse articletitle: 0 Introduction 37 Chapter 3 The Multiple Identities of the Nestorian Monk Mar Alopen: A Discussion on Diplomacy and Politics Daniel H.N. Yeung According to the Nestorian Stele inscriptions, in the ninth year of the Zhen- guan era of the Tang Dynasty (635 AD), the Nestorian monk Mar Alopen, carry- ing with him 530 sacred texts1 and accompanied by 21 priests from Persia, arrived at Chang’an after years of traveling along the ancient Silk Road.2 The Emperor’s chancellor, Duke3 Fang Xuanling, along with the court guard, wel- comed the guests from Persia on the western outskirts of Chang’an and led them to Emperor Taizong of Tang, whose full name was Li Shimin. Alopen en- joyed the Emperor’s hospitality and was granted access to the imperial palace library4, where he began to undertake the translation of the sacred texts he had 1 According to the record of “Zun jing 尊經 Venerated Scriptures” amended to the Tang Dynasty Nestorian text “In Praise of the Trinity,” there were a total of 530 Nestorian texts. Cf. Wu Changxing 吳昶興, Daqin jingjiao liuxing zhongguo bei: daqin jingjiao wenxian shiyi 大秦景 教流行中國碑 – 大秦景教文獻釋義 [Nestorian Stele: Interpretation of the Nestorian Text ] (Taiwan: Olive Publishing, 2015), 195. 2 The inscription on the Stele reads: “Observing the clear sky, he bore the true sacred books; beholding the direction of the winds, he braved difficulties and dangers.” “Observing the clear sky” and “beholding the direction of the wind” can be understood to mean that Alopen and his followers relied on the stars at night and the winds during the day to navigate.
    [Show full text]
  • Nestorians Jǐngjiàotú ​景教徒
    ◀ Neo-Confucianism Comprehensive index starts in volume 5, page 2667. Nestorians Jǐngjiàotú ​景教徒 Nestorians refer to Christians who follow Nestorians first translated their scriptures into Chinese Nestorius, a leader of an early Eastern Chris- and established a Nestorian church in Chang’an. After tian tradition. Persecution for heresy forced the that many Nestorians came to China either by land from Nestorians toward Central and East Asia, includ- Central Asia or by sea from Persia (Iran). The Nestorian Stele was erected in 781, a time of relative prosperity for ing China. As the first generation of Christians Chinese Nestorianism. It is said to have been inscribed coming to China, they arrived in the Tang court by a Nestorian priest named “Adam” (“Jingjing” in Chi- in the early seventh century, and remained in the nese) with the sponsorship of a larger congregation. The country for two hundred years. stele offers a brief but thorough history of Nestorianism in Tang China. According to manuscript sources, the Ne- storian leader Adam translated about thirty-five​­ scriptures hristianity was introduced to China during the into Chinese. Several of these translations survived as the Tang dynasty (618– 907 ce) and became widely manuscripts from Dunhuang; one of them is identified as known as “Jingjiao” (Luminous Teaching) dur- Gloria in excélsis Deo in Syriac texts. However, after 845 ing the Tianqi period (1625– 1627) of the Ming dynasty the Nestorians virtually disappeared in Chinese sources, (1368– 1644) after the discovery of a luminous stele (a having suffered political persecution under the reign of carved or inscribed stone slab or pillar used for commem- the Emperor Wuzong.
    [Show full text]
  • Director's Address
    NJG 02 Director’s Address Faith and Order from Today into Tomorrow (Director’s Address) I. China, Contextuality and Visible Unity As the WCC Commission on Faith and Order meets for the first time in mainland China, we remember with gratitude the witness of Alopen and other Assyrian Christians of the 7th century to what was then called in China the “Luminous Religion”, until Assyrian Christianity virtually disappeared under persecution centuries later; we remember the witness of Franciscan friars; the enlightened and inculturated ministry of the Jesuits; and the work of Orthodox missionaries, some of them later recognised as martyrs. We remember the witness of the first Protestant missionaries early in the 19th century and their concern for the translation of Scriptures, without losing sight of the tragic connection between the Protestant presence in China, colonialism, and the tragedy of opium addiction. The secular history of Christianity in China has been a history marked by fascination for this civilisation; by attempts at Western colonisation; by the search for an autonomous Chinese Christianity; and by much suffering. It imposes respect rather than quick judgement. Almost one hundred years ago, in May 1922, the Chinese Protestant churches held in Shanghai a National Christian Conference attended by one thousand people, half of them foreign missionaries, half of them Chinese. The theme of the conference was “The Chinese Church”. A “massive volume” published for the occasion was titled The Christian Occupation of China1. The Conference issued a message called “The United Church”. We Chinese Christians who represent the various leading denominations, the Conference message read, “express our regret that we are divided by the denominationalism which comes from the West”2.
    [Show full text]
  • NEH Summer Seminar: Central Asia in World History Final Project Sam Thomas University School Hunting Valley, OH <Sthomas@Us.E
    NEH Summer Seminar: Central Asia in World History Final project Sam Thomas University School Hunting Valley, OH <sthomas@us.edu> In this project, students will be asked to use a variety of primary sources to answer a central historical question: Were the Nestorians truly Christian? The Nestorians were a heretical sect of Christianity that made its way to east Asia in the second half of the first millennium. Much of Nestorian history is obscure, but when European monks arrived in Asia in the thirteenth century they found practitioners who claimed to be Christian, although it is clear that they had incorporated elements of other religions (particularly Buddhism) into their beliefs and practice. In order to complete this exercise, students will wrestle with a number of questions, large and small: • How should they use evidence that is scattered across centuries and thousands of miles? • How reliable is a given source, when it is written by someone from outside the culture he is observing? • How can archeological artifacts be ‘read’? • What does it mean to be a Christian, and by extension, what does it mean to follow any given faith? There are a lot of documents here, and you can pull them some of the texts out as you see fit. If you’d like an electronic copy of this packet, feel free to send me an email. Document A: Berkshire Encyclopedia of China Christianity was introduced to China during the Tang dynasty (618-907) and became widely known as “Jingjiao” (Luminous Teaching) during the Tianqui period (1625-1627) of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) after the discovery of a luminous stele (a stone pillar used for commemorative purposes).
    [Show full text]
  • Confucian and Christian Canons
    論儒家經典西譯與基督教聖經中譯 247 Confucian and Christian Canons 論儒家經典西譯與基督教聖經中譯 Dai Wei-Yang 戴維揚 CONFUCIAN AND CHRISTIAN CANONS 百le initial ideological encounter between Chines€. and Europeans was carriedout mainly by Christian missionaries. Merchants and politicians, with their profit and power orientation, cared little about cultural contacts. Only the educated Christian missionaries bridged the ideological gulf between the Oriental and the Occidental.甘lese missionaries were following out one of the commands of their Lord: Go ye therefore, and teach all na位ons , baptizing 也em in the name of the Father, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commended you. • . 1 Christian teachings had already carried missionaries and proselytes 切 almost every corner of the world. Since the Chinese comprise almost a quarter of the world's popula­ tion, the territory of China represents one of the most important missionary areas on earth. Missionary efforts in a culturally advanced country such as China, however, are !"~lOre complicated than in countries lacking highly-developed cultural identities. In the history of Christianity's proselytizing activities in China, three groups of Christian missionaries came to the fore at three different times. In chronological order, they are the Nestorians, the Catholics, and the Protestants. The goals of 血 is article will be to examine the accomplishments of each group in regard to making the Bible available to the Chinese on one hand, and Confucian canons to the West, on the other. A. The Nestor i ans The first group of Christian missionaries to reach the Middle Kingdom was the 1. Matthew 28 :19-20. Sc riptural references are usually to the King James Version, unless otherwise noted.
    [Show full text]
  • Catholic Missionaries on China's Qinling Shu Roads
    Catholic Missionaries on China’s Qinling Shu Roads: Including an account of the Hanzhong Mission at Guluba David L B Jupp URL: http://qinshuroads.org/ September 2012. Addenda & Corrigenda: November 2013, April 2015, July 2016 & January 2018. Minor edits January 2020. Abstract: The background to this document is found in the history of China’s Shu Roads that passed through the Qinling and Ba Mountains for many years. The roads have linked the northern and southern parts of western China since the earliest records and probably before. In all that time, the common description of the Shu roads was that they were “hard”. In the Yuan, Ming and Qing periods when China was open and accessible, foreign travellers visited the Shu Roads and some left accounts of their travels. Among the early travellers were Catholic Missionaries who moved into the west of China to spread Christianity. This document first outlines the historical environment of the open periods and then identifies various events and Catholic Priests who seem to have travelled the Shu Roads or have left descriptions that are of interest today. The main focus of this document is on the recorded experiences of Missionaries mostly from the Jesuit, Franciscan and Vincentian orders of the Catholic Church of Rome who travelled to the Hanzhong Basin. The main items include: Marco Polo’s (circa 1290) account of travels in China which many Priests who arrived later had read to find out about China; Jesuit Fr. Étienne Faber’s travels to Hanzhong in 1635; Jesuit Fr. Martino Martini’s description of Plank Roads in his Atlas of China in 1655; Franciscan Fr.
    [Show full text]
  • Allgemeines Über Die Bibel
    © Dr. Ludwig Neidhart, Augsburg 2017 Allgemeines über die Bibel online veröffentlicht auf der Seite http://catholic-church.org/ao/ps/Bibel.html, 2017 revidierte Version vom 19. Januar 2018 Inhalt 1. Begriffsklärung und Einordnung................................................................................................................2 2. Altes Testament (oder Alter Bund), kurz AT...............................................................................................7 3. Neues Testament (oder Neuer Bund), kurz NT...........................................................................................9 4. Verfasser, Abfassungszeit und Entstehungshypothesen............................................................................10 5. Handschriften mit biblischen Texten; Zuverlässigkeits-Vergleich mit anderen antiken Schriften...........15 6. Typen des griechischen Abschriften des NT.............................................................................................17 7. Übersetzungen der Bibel in alte Sprachen................................................................................................18 8. Übersetzungen der Bibel in neue Sprachen..............................................................................................20 9. Wissenschaftliche Druckausgaben der maßgeblichen biblischen Texte...................................................32 10. Hilfsmittel der Bibelwissenschaft...........................................................................................................34 11.
    [Show full text]
  • The Centuries-Old Dialogue Between Buddhism and Christianity
    Acta Theologica 2009: 2 M. Clasquin-Johnson THE CENTURIES-OLD DIALOGUE BETWEEN BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY ABSTRACT This article examines the pre-history of today’s dialogue between Buddhists and Christians. Contrary to what one might think, pre-modern Europeans did have some understanding of Buddhism, however limited and distorted it might have been. Asians during the same period had a far better chance of understanding Christianity, because of the widespread presence of the Nestorian Church from Arabia to China. We do have evidence that inter- action between Buddhists and Christians lead to some creative synthesis between the two. 1. INTRODUCTION Early in January 2000, Peter Steinfels, a staff reporter at the New York Times, wrote that all too often, the only news about religion is that there is no news. Religious development, he says, occurs at a glacial pace, even when we look at things over the course of an entire millennium. Today’s list of the most im- portant religions looks much the same as that of a thousand years ago. True, some of the contenders have faded from the scene: Odin and Thor have few devotees today. Also, there have been plenty of internal struggles. But no new religions have arisen (Steinfels 2000). One could argue that he is wrong. There is currently a revival of interest in the old Norse gods in the west, under the name Asatru. The Baha’i faith is clearly an interesting and important new candidate in the list of religions. One could also ask whether or not the Mormons, to name just one example, have not moved so far from normative Christianity as to constitute a new religion (not, of course that the Mormons would agree with such an evaluation).
    [Show full text]
  • Catholicism in 21St Century China
    Catholicism in 21st Century China Joseph You Guo Jiang, SJ BEATUS POPULUS, CUIUS DOMINUS DEUS EIUS Copyright, 2017, Union of Catholic Asian Editor-in-chief News ANTONIO SPADARO SJ All rights reserved. Except for any fair dealing permitted under the Hong Kong Editorial Board Copyright Ordinance, no part of this Antonio Spadaro SJ – Director publication may be reproduced by any Giancarlo Pani SJ – Vice-Director means without prior permission. Inquires Domenico Ronchitelli SJ –Senior Editor should be made to the publisher. Giovanni Cucci SJ, Diego Fares SJ, Francesco Occhetta SJ, Giovanni Sale SJ Title: La Civiltà Cattolica, English Edition Emeritus editor: Virgilio Fantuzzi SJ, Giandomenico Mucci SJ, GianPaolo Salvini SJ Published by Union of Catholic Asian News P.O. Box 80488, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong Phone: +852 2727 2018 Fax: +852 2772 7656 www.ucanews.com Publishers: Michael Kelly SJ and Robert Barber Production Manager: Rangsan Panpairee CATHOLICISM IN 21st CENTURY CHINA Catholicism in 21st Century China Joseph You Guo Jiang, SJ Christianity first came to China over one thousand years ago but it did not last long. Alopen, a Syrian monk, introduced Nestorian Christianity in the Tang Dynasty and founded several monasteries and churches. Nestorian Christianity reemerged in 1 the Mongol era in the early 14th century. Nestorian Christianity declined in China substantially in the mid-14th century. Roman Catholicism in China grew at the expense of the Nestorians during the late Yuan dynasty. Franciscan Bishop John of Montercorvino began his evangelization mission of the Mongols in Beijing, but his mission ceased with the end of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in 1368.
    [Show full text]