Dear readers,
Today, I have stumbled upon a blog called “East Meets East”, which is dedicated to exploring the theological tradition of the Assyrian Church of the East, somewhat in light of Eastern (Chalcedonian) Orthodoxy.
The author, Fr. Ephraim Alkhas, has not blogged in a while (a matter of years) but from what I’ve read, he does very intentional, thoughtful, scholarly, and charitable writing. There is an obvious interest in truth and in examining the heritage of the Church of the East for what it really is.
For those unfamiliar: the Assyrian Church of the East is an apostolic communion which broke ties with the other churches in light of the Council of Ephesus (431.) This Church has historically been referred to as the “Nestorian” Church (for the sake of convention, if not for the sake of slur,) but it seems as though their Christology does not really qualify as such. This Church sent missionaries even further east than Syria, eventually reaching all the way to China, several centuries before the Jesuits made their first historic mission trips to those regions (surprising them to find any sort of Christianity present upon their arrival.)
This Church also suffered the development of two different schismatic groups, both of which ultimately entered into communion with the Pope of Rome, becoming what is known as the Chaldean Catholic Church (which actually now outnumbers the original Assyrian Church from which it split.)
Church history enthusiasts, theologians, and truth-oriented ecumenists will most likely find this blog highly interesting.
http://eastmeetseastblog.blogspot.com
- - -
St. Ephrem the Syrian, ora pro nobis
