When did it begin?
The Church of the East began during the missionary activity
which took place in the Apostolic Age. Written records
have been traced to the late second century of the Christian
era. The numbers of people who belonged to the Church at
that time, and the broad area it covered, would indicate
that there had been a long period of development and growth,
possibly reaching back into the first century and the time
of the Apostles. Tradition in the Church of the East dates
its founding in the middle of the first century.
How did it begin?
The Church of the East developed first in what was known
as the Parthian Empire, and when that empire was overthrown
by the Persians in the third century it continued its development
under the Persian government. This was the region lying to
the east of the Roman border, stretching as far as to India.
The exact location of the Church's first congregations cannot
be established from the historical record, but it is thought
that it began its most serious development in the region
of Kh'dayab (Adiabene) in northern Mesopotamia, spreading
from there in all directions throughout the empire.
The Assyrian people of upper Mesopotamia have always been
an important part of the Church of the East, though historically
they were only one ethnic group among many others within
the Church. However, today they represent the single surviving
cultural grouping. Though the Church moved far beyond its
beginnings in upper Mesopotamia, the language of that region
(Syriac) remained the language of the Church, and its vocabulary,
with a certain amount of Greek added in, was the source of
its characteristic theological formulations.
How is it organized?
The Church of the East is governed according to the Apostolic
model of bishops, presbyters, and deacons. At the turn of
the fourth century (c. AD 310) Papa bar Gaggai, the bishop
of the capital city of the Persian Empire, Seleucia-Ctesiphon,
organized the bishops of the Church in a form which resembled
the model developed in the West. He centralized the administration
of the Church under his own jurisdiction and assumed the
title
"Catholicos of the East." From that time on, the
bishop of the imperial capital held this office. The Catholicos
became the presiding bishop over the entire Church, and his
dignity and power were subsequently added to in the fifth
century when he received the title "Patriarch".
This was done at a general synod called by the Catholicos,
Isaac, at Seleucia-Ctesiphon in AD 410. At this synod Marutha,
a representative from the Roman Emperor, brought to the assembled
bishops the canons and creed of the Council of Nicaea, and
they were officially approved and received by the Church
of the East.
Historically, the Catholicos-Patriarch governed the general
synod of the bishops. The general synod was made up of all
"Metropolitans" (Archbishops) and bishops. The
Metropolitans were in charge of provinces, which each contained
four to eight bishops. This historic model no longer exists
due to the greatly reduced numbers within the Church and
the dislocations of its membership. A bishop is considered
legitimate if he has been ordained into the Apostolic succession
by at least two (preferably more) other bishops who are themselves
properly ordained and in full communion with their fellow
bishops. A bishop's legitimacy endures only so long as he
himself maintains such full communion.
How does it worship?
The Church of the East has a sacramental system which resembles
the sacramental systems of the Greek and Latin traditions.
The Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist are primary, and
the Sacrament of Holy Orders affects the other Sacraments.
Confirmation is administered with Baptism, and Absolution
is a benefit of the Eucharist, though Absolution is also
administered separately during a common service of Absolution,
and is also administered to individuals, with penance, in
the case of serious sin. The Sign of the Cross, Unction,
and "Holy Leaven"
are defined as additional Sacraments.
The central feature of the worship life of the Church of
the East is the Eucharist, known in the Syriac language of
the Church as the "Qurbana Qaddisha", or "Holy
Offering". The liturgy of the Eucharist is attributed
to "the Apostles, Addai and Mari, who discipled the
East". The liturgy consists of a service for the catechumens
and a service for the faithful. The Host is a leavened loaf,
and the cup is an equal mixture of wine and water. The baptized
faithful receive the body and blood of Christ under both
species of bread and wine, and the "real presence" of
Christ is understood in the elements. A priest ordained by
a bishop in the apostolic succession is required for the
Consecration, and a deacon is required to assist the celebrant.
A community of worshipping believers must be present at the
celebration.
Baptism is administered to infants of Christian families
and to new converts. It is not given to those who, for
whatever reasons, enter the Church from other Christian
bodies and have already been baptized with a Trinitarian
formula. Infant baptisms oblige parents and sponsors to
rear the child in the Christian faith and to nourish him
or her at the altar and within the community of faith.
The baptismal liturgy resembles the Eucharistic liturgy
in form. Following an anointing with oil there is a triple
immersion in consecrated water in the name of the Holy
Trinity, and a final "sealing", which is Confirmation,
with the imposition of hands at the door of the altar.
Matrimony and funeral services consist largely of Psalms,
anthems, and blessings. They are lengthy, colourful, and
emotional occasions, and reflect ancient customs and usages.
What does it believe?
The teaching of the Church of the East is based on the faith
of the universal Church as set forth in the Nicene Creed.
The mystery of the Holy Trinity and the mystery of the Incarnation
are central to its teaching. The church believes in One Triune
God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It also believes and teaches
that the Only-begotten Son of God, God the Word, became incarnate
for us men and for our salvation and became man. The same
God the Word, begotten of his Father before all worlds without
beginning according to his divinity, was begotten of a mother
without a father in the last times according to his humanity,
in a body of flesh, with a rational, intelligent, and immortal
soul which he took from the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary
and united to himself, making it his very own at the moment
of conception. The humanity which he took for his own was
assumed by God the Word, who was, thenceforth and for ever,
the personal subject of the divine and human natures. His
divine and human natures retain their own properties, faculties,
and operations unconfusedly, immutably, undividedly, and
inseparably.
Therefore, because the divinity and humanity are united in
the Person of the same and only Son of God and Lord Jesus
Christ, the Church of the East rejects any teaching which
suggests that Christ is an "ordinary man" whom
God the Word inhabited, like the righteous men and the
prophets of old. The Church of the East further rejects
any teaching that explicitly or implicitly suggests that
there are two Sons, or two Lords, or two Christs in our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but we confess one Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is the same yesterday,
today, and forever. The same, through his passion, death,
burial, and resurrection, redeemed humanity from the bondage
of sin and death, and secured the hope of resurrection
and new life for all who put their faith in him, to whom,
with his Father and the Holy Spirit, belongs confession,
worship, and adoration unto ages of ages. Amen.
A summary view
The Church of the East began in the late Apostolic age, flourished
in upper Mesopotamia, and spread quickly throughout the Parthian
(later Persian) Empire. Its language is classical Syriac
(Aramaic), its government is Episcopal, its worship is sacramental
and liturgical, its theology is according to the Nicene Creed
and the teaching of the fathers of the Church, its customs
are Semitic, and its present attitude toward other Christians
is ecumenical. It exists in greatest numbers in Iraq, Iran,
Syria, and Lebanon, but also in Europe, North America, Australia,
and India.
