For sites about the current community of The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, its branches, and its history.
Important elements of the community's identity include:
The 1st century spread of Christianity eastwards among Syriac/Aramaic speaking peoples (Syriac is still retained as the language of the liturgy);
The political and theological ferment of the early 5th century, with particular debate on the nature of Christ (hence the disputed use of the term, "Nestorian Church", by many western church authorities, historians and scholars);
Missionary effort and consolidation through the Persian Empire and beyond, with communities established in Arabia, India, Tibet, Central Asia, China and Japan, until the rise of the Mongol-Turks, and their conversion to Islam;
Survival of remnants in their heartland of modern Iran and Iraq, and also in India (known as the Chaldean Syrian Church);
Communities in Iraq and Iran survived the chaotic collapse of the Ottoman Empire, but a refugee diaspora led to significant communities being established in North America and Australia;
Since the 1990s the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East has been in dialogue with the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches, with a view to re-establishing communion.