Church of the East
| Church of the East | |
|---|---|
| ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ | |
| Type | Eastern Christian |
| Orientation | Syriac Christianity |
| Theology | East Syriac theology |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Head | Catholicos-Patriarch of the East |
| Region | Middle East, Central Asia, Far East, India |
| Liturgy | East Syriac Rite (Liturgy of Addai and Mari) |
| Headquarters | Seleucia-Ctesiphon (410–775) Baghdad (775–1317) Rabban Hormizd Monastery, Alqosh |
| Founder | Jesus Christ (by sacred tradition) Thomas the Apostle |
| Origin | Apostolic Age, by its tradition Edessa, Mesopotamia |
| Branched from | Nicene Christianity |
| Separations | Its schism of 1552 divided it originally into two patriarchates, and later four, but by 1830 it returned to two, one of which is now the Chaldean Catholic Church, while the other sect split further in 1968 into the Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East. |
| Other name(s) | Nestorian Church, Persian Church, East Syrian Church, Chaldean Church, Assyrian Church, Babylonian Church |
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The Church of the East (Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā) or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church, the Chaldean Church or the Nestorian Church, is one of three major branches of Eastern Nicene Christianity that arose from the Christological controversies in the 5th century and the 6th century, alongside that of Miaphysitism (which came to be known as the Oriental Orthodox Churches) and Chalcedonian Christianity (from which Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism would arise).
Having its origins in Mesopotamia during the time of the Parthian Empire, the Church of the East developed its own unique form of Christian theology and liturgy. During the early modern period, a series of schisms gave rise to rival patriarchates, sometimes two, sometimes three. In the latter half of the 20th century, the traditionalist patriarchate of the church underwent a split into two rival patriarchates, namely the Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East, which continue to follow the traditional theology and liturgy of the mother church. The Chaldean Catholic Church based in Iraq and the Syro-Malabar Church in India are two Eastern Catholic churches which also claim the heritage of the Church of the East.