When the first Jesuit missionaries gained a foothold in central China in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, they made a search for any Chinese Christians that might already exist. They had read how numerous Christian congregations had been seen by the Franciscans and Dominicans who traveled to the Mongol courts in the thirteenth century, and they knew that a Catholic parish with bishops and an archbishop had existed near Peking in the years around 1300. Their search, however, was in vain.
Then, about 1625, a great stone stele was discovered that told the story of an even earlier Christian presence in China. The beautiful Tang dynasty calligraphy was accompanied by another strange script (Syriac), and this quickly caused Western Christians to label the stone as “Nestorian.” While the Jesuits and other Europeans eagerly studied and translated the stele, giving impetus in the process to the creation of Western Sinology, the church it described was categorized as a heretical sect, a failure and a lame predecessor to more modern missionary activity. This attitude, combined with the fact that the following three centuries produced little additional archaeological or literary evidence about this early church, accounts for the lack of interest and the dearth of historical study of the Jingjiao, the Luminous Teaching/Religion, the name the stele uses of this early form of Chinese Christianity. The discovery of additional writings from this early church at the beginning of the twentieth century, and the gradual accumulation of knowledge about the Syriac-speaking Church of the East’s missionary activities all along the Silk Road, now allow us to more accurately write the remarkable history of this church and to more accurately evaluated its theology.
The Jingjiao story is one of faithful mission presence and preaching, of outreach while under government supervision, of attempts to enculturate the gospel into Chinese culture and society while maintaining biblical truth—a story that can inform and inspire the work of the modern Chinese church.
We are excited to announce that we have invited Dr. Thompson to the Twin Cities on March 20, 2025 to deliver a public lecture, titled “China’s Earliest Christians: Who Were They and What Can We Learn from Them? ”
Date: March 20, 2025
Time: 6:15 pm—join us for light refreshments before the lecture in the rotunda of historic Nazareth Hall.
7:00 pm—the lecture begins
Venue: Nazareth Chapel, University of Northwestern-St. Paul, 3003 Snelling Avenue North, Roseville, MN
This event is free and open to the public. An RSVP is NOT required, but we would be grateful if you do as it will help us plan for refreshments. Feel free to bring others as well, and to share this link with anyone who might be interested.
About Glen Thompson
Dr. Glen Thompson is a Professor Emeritus at Asia Lutheran Seminary (Hong Kong). Prior to his time in Hong Kong, he served in pastoral and cross-cultural ministries in the United States and Zambia. During his ministerial and teaching career, Dr. Thompson has regularly presented papers at the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the North American Patristics Society. He is the author of “Jingjiao: The Earliest Christian Church in China” (2024), which earned an Award of Merit from Christianity Today as one of the top books of Christian history in 2024. Dr. Thompson currently makes his home in Milwaukee, WI.
A recording of this event will be made available on the ChinaSource website and YouTube channel following the event. All those who RSVP will receive an email notification when the video is posted.
We are grateful to the University of Northwestern-St. Paul for hosting this event, and to Anselm House (MN) for co-sponsoring.
