ip idols," put themselves under the imperial
protection, and they remained closely in connection with the Armenian
Church till 608 when they accepted the decisions of Chalcedon. They
remained independent and orthodox till their union, a century ago, with
the Russian Church.

[Sidenote: Separation from the Church.]

In Armenia, similarly, had grown up a national Church, which had a
catholicos, a hierarchy, a vernacular liturgy of its own. When in the
middle of the fifth century the ancient kingdom was split up between
the Empire and the Persians, the Armenian Church still remained apart.
Its national features were strongly marked even before dogmatic
differences arose. With the Nestorian and Monophysite heresies new
divisions took place. The Persians gradually, between 435 and 480,
accepted Nestorianism, and in 483 definitely separated from the
Catholic Church, and Nisibis became a school of Nestorian theology.
The Armenians survived this danger but were led into Monophysitism, and
in 505 they pronounced against the Council of Chalcedon. Their
theology became tainted with further heresy in the sixth century, and
they are still separate from the orthodox Church of the East. Thus, at
the time with which we have to deal, as we have said, Christianity east
of Antioch and on the borders of Persia was under Nestorian influence.
After 431 Nestorianism became gradually established {96} as the
dominant creed. The Church of the East, as it was officially called,
rejected the Third General Council, and was cut off from the Catholic
Church. It long remained a strong body. The great schools of Nisibis,
Edessa, and Baghdad were centres of religion, learning, and
civilisation.

[Sidenote: The Nestorians.]

The Nestorians[5] also sent out missionaries northward among the
wandering Tartar tribes and along the shores of the Caspian; southward
to Persia, India and Ceylon; and eastward across the steppes of Central
Asia into China. The bilingual inscription of Singanfu, in Chinese and
Syriac, relates that Nestorian missionaries laboured in China as far
back as A.D. 636.[6] In the sixth and seventh centuries the Church of
the East could count its twenty-five metropolitans or archbishops; and
the number and remoteness of their sees, stretching from Jerusalem to
China, testifies to her missionary zeal. Those who dwelt nearest to
Baghdad met the catholicos in yearly synod; those farthest off sent
their confession of faith to hi