Church Organization of Nestorian Christianity in China

Timeline

1. c. 431–500Seleucia-Ctesiphon · Sasanian PersiaAfter the Council of Ephesus, the Church of the East (Nestorian tradition) formed an independent ecclesiastical hierarchy within the Syriac cultural sphere and on the Persian frontier, with a Catholicos at Seleucia, laying the organizational and theological foundation for the later eastward spread to Central Asia and China.
2. 501–600Persian Empire · Sasanian PersiaIn the sixth century the Church of the East within Sasanian Persia gained a measure of state tolerance, perfected its ecclesiastical hierarchy, established dioceses across Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau, and dispatched missionaries eastward via the Silk Road, forming a West Asia-Central Asia missionary corridor that prepared the organizational network for Jingjiao's entry into China.
3. 635Chang'an · Tang dynastyThe Persian monk Alopen arrived in Chang'an, was received by Emperor Taizong of Tang, and built a Persian church in Yining Ward, beginning the mission in China. The church spread scriptures in Syriac-Chinese bilingual form, forming the early church organization and monastic establishment of Jingjiao in China; the Nestorian Stele (781) traces back to this origin.