Repercussions from the Far East: A Comparison of the Catholic and Nestorian Presence in China

In the middle ages, Franciscan monks from Western Europe and Nestorian monks from Syria traveled to the Far East to spread the gospel and to establish their churches in the region. Although they shared similar goals, Franciscans and Nestorians employed different methods of persuasion, so the results...

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Main Author: Thomas Ertl
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg 2015-12-01
Series:Transcultural Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/index.php/transcultural/article/view/19773
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spelling doaj-1f62980d4b7b499a8b4f61bf5d96a2db2021-05-02T23:02:55ZengRuprecht-Karls-Universität HeidelbergTranscultural Studies2191-64112015-12-0162386310.17885/heiup.ts.1977319773Repercussions from the Far East: A Comparison of the Catholic and Nestorian Presence in ChinaThomas Ertl0Vienna UniversityIn the middle ages, Franciscan monks from Western Europe and Nestorian monks from Syria traveled to the Far East to spread the gospel and to establish their churches in the region. Although they shared similar goals, Franciscans and Nestorians employed different methods of persuasion, so the results and legacy of their missionary work differed considerably. The Nestorians were remarkably successful in the Far East, as proven by the gravestones in the Mongolian steppes; in their home countries, ironically, they were increasingly marginalized. In contrast, the Franciscans and other European travelers to the Far East did not achieve similar missionary success and scarcely left a mark on the region after the mid-fourteenth century. The travelogues and letters they composed for their audiences at home, however, had a great impact, both on late-medieval European ambitions to open up the world and on the return of the Catholic mission in seventeenth-century China. In summary, the Nestorians’ legacy was stone monuments in the East and the Franciscans left inspiring texts in the West. A comparison of the respective practices of Christian missionary activity in the Far East may further recognition of how medieval cross-cultural travel affected both the regions of origin and the regions of destination in various ways. Therefore, even though the Christian presence in the Far East vanished in the late middle ages, it had lasting consequences for the societies from whence the missionaries came. It not only broadened the West’s knowledge of the Far East but also influenced the renewal of Christian missions in the region from the seventeenth century onwards.https://heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/index.php/transcultural/article/view/19773medievalmissionary historycultural exchange
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Thomas Ertl
spellingShingle Thomas Ertl
Repercussions from the Far East: A Comparison of the Catholic and Nestorian Presence in China
Transcultural Studies
medieval
missionary history
cultural exchange
author_facet Thomas Ertl
author_sort Thomas Ertl
title Repercussions from the Far East: A Comparison of the Catholic and Nestorian Presence in China
title_short Repercussions from the Far East: A Comparison of the Catholic and Nestorian Presence in China
title_full Repercussions from the Far East: A Comparison of the Catholic and Nestorian Presence in China
title_fullStr Repercussions from the Far East: A Comparison of the Catholic and Nestorian Presence in China
title_full_unstemmed Repercussions from the Far East: A Comparison of the Catholic and Nestorian Presence in China
title_sort repercussions from the far east: a comparison of the catholic and nestorian presence in china
publisher Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
series Transcultural Studies
issn 2191-6411
publishDate 2015-12-01
description In the middle ages, Franciscan monks from Western Europe and Nestorian monks from Syria traveled to the Far East to spread the gospel and to establish their churches in the region. Although they shared similar goals, Franciscans and Nestorians employed different methods of persuasion, so the results and legacy of their missionary work differed considerably. The Nestorians were remarkably successful in the Far East, as proven by the gravestones in the Mongolian steppes; in their home countries, ironically, they were increasingly marginalized. In contrast, the Franciscans and other European travelers to the Far East did not achieve similar missionary success and scarcely left a mark on the region after the mid-fourteenth century. The travelogues and letters they composed for their audiences at home, however, had a great impact, both on late-medieval European ambitions to open up the world and on the return of the Catholic mission in seventeenth-century China. In summary, the Nestorians’ legacy was stone monuments in the East and the Franciscans left inspiring texts in the West. A comparison of the respective practices of Christian missionary activity in the Far East may further recognition of how medieval cross-cultural travel affected both the regions of origin and the regions of destination in various ways. Therefore, even though the Christian presence in the Far East vanished in the late middle ages, it had lasting consequences for the societies from whence the missionaries came. It not only broadened the West’s knowledge of the Far East but also influenced the renewal of Christian missions in the region from the seventeenth century onwards.
topic medieval
missionary history
cultural exchange
url https://heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/index.php/transcultural/article/view/19773
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