Ancient missionaries spread a version of Christianity to China over a millennium ago
Long before the age of exploration, missionaries from the Church of the East traveled the Silk Road to establish a thriving version of Christianity in China by the 8th century.
Over a millennium ago, the Church of the East spread its faith across Asia, reaching China, India, and Sudan. At its peak around 1000 AD, this branch of Christianity likely had more followers than the Roman and Byzantine churches combined. A famous stone stele discovered in Xi'an, dating to 781 AD, records how these 'Nestorian' missionaries arrived centuries earlier, blending their teachings with local Zoroastrian and Buddhist concepts.
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