Chinese Orthodox Church The Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church
(Chinese: 中华东正教会; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Dōngzhèngjiàohuì) is an
autonomous Eastern Orthodox church in China. It was granted
autonomy by its mother church, the Russian Orthodox Church in
1956. Christianity is believed to have been founded in China by
the apostle Thomas around the year 68 AD.123 There is also
evidence to suggest the missionary of a few Syrian Christians
during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220AD).4 Some Christians
attribute Isaiah 49:12 to be a prophecy of the foundation of
Christianity in China.5 After the East-West Schism, the church
in China was divided into two groups, Roman Catholicism and
Chinese Orthodoxy, both present in significant amounts.
Nestorian Christianity (not to be confused with Chinese
Orthodoxy) was introduced to China in the 7th century by a
Persian Nestorian missionary, but was suppressed in the 9th
century. The Nestorian Christianity of that period is
commemorated by the Nestorian Stele and Daqin Pagoda of Xi'an.
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