AHC: East Asian Christians introduce Christianity to Native Americans before Europe

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How could Christians from East Asia introduce Christianity to the natives of America before Europeans even set foot there?

Bonus points if these East Asian Christians were originally converted by Europeans, meaning the Christianity that reaches the Americas would have both European and Asian influences before getting there.
 
Well, define "Europeans." Although the Wikipedia article refers to the first Christian missionaries arriving in the 840s (which would make the Nestorians and probably Persians or Turks), this article references it arriving in the 4th Century and I remember some new information indicating the first Christian missionaries might've arrived in the first century (!).

The earlier you get, the more likely the missionaries are going to be of Roman, not Persian, origin, since the first Christians were within the Roman borders (mostly).

Here's an article written by the PCA about the Nestorian missions to Asia.

http://www.aina.org/books/bftc/bftc.htm

It's got some anti-Catholic commentary, but it's really interesting. It's a good source of information on the Church of the East.

About the OP, the only idea I can think of is that the Mongols conquer Japan or the Philippines and Nestorian Christians get established there. The fall of the Mongol regime leads to persecution and an exodus in search of a new homeland that takes them into Alaska and ultimately the Pacific Northwest.

Alternatively, the article references the probable conversion of a Japanese empress to Christianity in 724. If there's a significant Nestorian presence in Japan, the behavior of the Mongols (who had prominent Nestorians) could cause them problems and they leave Japan in search of a new home.
 
Well, define "Europeans." Although the Wikipedia article refers to the first Christian missionaries arriving in the 840s (which would make the Nestorians and probably Persians or Turks), this article references it arriving in the 4th Century and I remember some new information indicating the first Christian missionaries might've arrived in the first century (!).

The earlier you get, the more likely the missionaries are going to be of Roman, not Persian, origin, since the first Christians were within the Roman borders (mostly).

Here's an article written by the PCA about the Nestorian missions to Asia.

http://www.aina.org/books/bftc/bftc.htm

It's got some anti-Catholic commentary, but it's really interesting. It's a good source of information on the Church of the East.

About the OP, the only idea I can think of is that the Mongols conquer Japan or the Philippines and Nestorian Christians get established there. The fall of the Mongol regime leads to persecution and an exodus in search of a new homeland that takes them into Alaska and ultimately the Pacific Northwest.

Alternatively, the article references the probable conversion of a Japanese empress to Christianity in 724. If there's a significant Nestorian presence in Japan, the behavior of the Mongols (who had prominent Nestorians) could cause them problems and they leave Japan in search of a new home.

Mongol conquest of what is OTL Philippines may be the only choice though, but for this to work, maybe the Mongol invasion force meant for Java is somehow blown way off course, and lands in Luzon Island. There, the Mongols could try and re-establish communications between their current location and the Yuan Empire. At the same time, they would most likely interact with the Ilocano population, since their crash site will definitely be within Ilocano territory.
 
Mongol conquest of what is OTL Philippines may be the only choice though, but for this to work, maybe the Mongol invasion force meant for Java is somehow blown way off course, and lands in Luzon Island. There, the Mongols could try and re-establish communications between their current location and the Yuan Empire. At the same time, they would most likely interact with the Ilocano population, since their crash site will definitely be within Ilocano territory.
Actually, there are already Nestorians in the Philippines at that time so there is no need got mongols to come you just need to have the Nestorians in the OTL Philippines and Korea to survive.
 

elkarlo

Banned
Actually, there are already Nestorians in the Philippines at that time so there is no need got mongols to come you just need to have the Nestorians in the OTL Philippines and Korea to survive.


Really? I thought they had died off largely by the 1400's?

Only mention of this is by Heaven's Net is Wide, other than that fictional account, I have read nothing.
 
And what evidence do we have for such a thing? I'm not sure where to look though.

Really? I thought they had died off largely by the 1400's?

Only mention of this is by Heaven's Net is Wide, other than that fictional account, I have read nothing.


I have proofs, the Ilongots worship Cain and Abel, I think they are descendants of the old Nestorian Christians in Luzon, they are illiterate so the faith syncretized and mutated..

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif] The gods of the Ilongots are Cain and Abal, two brothers who are the creators and guardian lords of all things. They are benevolent and their particular care is that of the people who live on earth. They are invincible and live in the sky, Taon, sometimes on the sun, Elag, or the moon, Dalan, or perchance some star, Pandac. Their messengers are called Binangunan or Cabuligian. Cain and Abal travel from place to place. Their road is called Keat (lightning). Kidu (thunder) follows the road. [/FONT]
http://web.archive.org/web/20110916053211/http://litera1no4.tripod.com/ilonggot_frame.html

Even Sumeragi, a banned member pointed out that there were once Nestorians in Korea which were absorbed by the Buddhists during the mongol dominance in Korea.
 
Even with Nestorianism arriving in the Philippines, there isn't enough people to make even a decent sized congregation.
If we need it to have a decent sized congregation earlier we need to have the Sri-Vijayan Empire to have a strong Nestorian population, I think that would be if the Nestorianism had a resurgence in India or perhaps if we have the Chola convert to Nestorianism since Chola occupied the areas of the Sri-Vijayan Empire, Korea I think if the Christians in China fled to Korea in times of persecution instead of converting back to Chinese folk religion or hiding, that will make Nestorian Christianity a strong religion in Korea.

I prefer a Pagan Selurong than a Christian Selurong since it makes it more native SE Asian, a Christian Selurong will most likely be an Ethiopia analog in South East Asia and a possible Russian puppet state later on..

Missionaries from a Christian Korea could proselytize to Siberia perhaps reaching alaska later on.
 
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