settling in Xi'an alone. These immigrants would have brought their religion with them --
Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism and Nestorian and Monophysite Christianity.
So the Gospel did not first penetrate China with Alopen's mission. The faith had spread
through China at the grassroots level for some time before. What Alopen did achieve,
however, was bringing the visible church and its organizational structure to China. Before
his arrival Christians may have worshiped at home, may have had only limited access to the
sacraments, and probably had few if any trained clergy. Alopen, under official patronage,
was able to set up a series of churches and monasteries that could provide what had been
missing, with the monasteries, as in the west, served as theological schools.
B. Limits and Effects of Royal Patronage
Imperial patronage did not necessarily mean imperial conversion. The Nestorian Stele
commends Emperor Kao-Tsung for "giving the True Religion (Christianity) the proper
elegance and finish, causing monasteries of the Luminous Religion to be founded in every
prefecture, and honoring Alopen as great Patron and Spiritual Lord of the Empire." But we
also know from other historical sources that in a decree of AD 666 the same emperor
honored Lao-Tzu with the title "Most High Emperor of Mystic Origin" (placing him above
even Buddha and Confucius), ordering temples to be built to him, and ordering high officials
to study his writings. Chinese tradition and culture did not make it necessary to choose one
religion over another. A wise person might well hedge his bets by extolling and supporting
several religions simultaneously. So we must be careful not to read too much or too little
into the royal patronage. Patronage was real and it was highly significant and useful, but it
was not necessarily exclusive.
What imperial patronage did provide was legality and backing. The statements about
building churches and monasteries in every province were not mere hyperbole. The
geographical spread of surviving evidence confirms that Christianity did spread widely
during this period. Yet it probably never became more than one of the many minority
religions. The famous monk Hsi-ming-ssu stayed from 804-806 in the Buddhist monastery
in the I-ning Ward of Xi'an within a few blocks of the Nestorian monastery, yet never
mentions the Christians even once in his 50 volume literary output.
Patronage also came at a price. The stele tells how the emperor had Alopen's books
translated in the Imperial Library. Was there a check on the accuracy of the translation?
Missionaries today would not trust Buddhists to produce an accurate translation of the New
Testament, but that seems to be what happened at Xi'an. The stele states "the proper officials
were again ordered to take a faithful portrait of the Emperor and have it copied on the walls
of the monastery. The celestial beauty appeared in its rainbow of colors and the dazzling
splendor illumined the congregation. The sacred features conferred great blessing and
illuminated the church forever." Was this just the ancient equivalent of having Chairman
Mao's portrait staring down from the wall? Or was this the creation of a new holy icon that