Lesson plan
Alopen
Alopen ( ; ; also rendered A-lo-pen, Aleben, Aluoben, Olopen, Olopan, or Olopuen) was a 7th-century Church of the East monk and missionary and the first recorded Christian missionary to have reached China during the Tang dynasty. He is described as a Persian Christian monk and was probably a Syriac speaker from either the Sasanian Empire or Byzantine Syria. Alopen is known exclusively from the Xi'an Stele, discovered by Jesuits in 1625, which records his arrival at the Tang capital of Chang'an in 635 and his acceptance by Emperor Taizong (r. 627–650). According to the stele, the emperor granted Alopen and sixty-seven others permission to work as missionaries in Sian-fu. His is the earliest known name associated with the history of the Church of the East in China. The missions subsequently established an extensive Christian church in China, which was eventually brought to an end by Ming persecutions.
Article summary
Alopen ( ; ; also rendered A-lo-pen, Aleben, Aluoben, Olopen, Olopan, or Olopuen) was a 7th-century Church of the East monk and missionary and the first recorded Christian missionary to have reached China during the Tang dynasty. He is described as a Persian Christian monk and was probably a Syriac speaker from either the Sasanian Empire or Byzantine Syria. Alopen is known exclusively from the Xi'an Stele, discovered by Jesuits in 1625, which records his arrival at the Tang capital of Chang'an in 635 and his acceptance by Emperor Taizong (r. 627–650). According to the stele, the emperor granted Alopen and sixty-seven others permission to work as missionaries in Sian-fu. His is the earliest known name associated with the history of the Church of the East in China. The missions subsequently established an extensive Christian church in China, which was eventually brought to an end by Ming persecutions.
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Discussion questions
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