ASSYRIAN OR NESTORIAN COLLEGE.
The golden age of this church was the period from the fourth to the thirteenth century. They had twenty-five flourishing colleges. The most important schools were located at Oddessa, Nesibis, and Urhai. The latter was called the queen of schools. These schools, while they flourished, were the secret of the churches' strength. The instructors were the most learned men of their age. Aiwaz and St. Basil of Nesibis and Urhai were among the most learned teachers. The Assyrian, Arabic and Greek languages were taught classically. Medicine, astronomy, and mathematics including geometry were taught. Especial attention was given to the study of theology. There were as many as 2,000 monks and students in some of these institutions. Their doctors of medicine were given high positions under the Arabian and Persian governments. Literature in the eastern languages was rich. From these schools came great church fathers who defended the church from the heretics of the age. There is one MSS 900 years old in the library of the Presbyterian Mission which is called "Persecuted Simon." It was written by Simon, a student in one of these colleges. It contains twelve lectures all against the heretics of his age. During that period about 700 such MSS were written. There are to-day in Europe many MSS written by these scholars that are from 300 to 1500 years old. The New Testament was translated into the Assyrian language in the middle of the second century. These MSS are skillfully executed and show the beauty and antiquity of this church. Only three of these ancient MSS are now to be found in Persia, but there are many of them scattered in the libraries of Europe.
CHAPTER VI.
ASSYRIAN MISSIONARY SPIRIT.
The aim of the schools mentioned in the preceding chapter was to educate monks to become missionaries and spread the gospel. These schools were fountains from which flowed living waters for a thirsty land. There was no other nation in their age that possessed such a spirit of Christian vitality. Zeal for the spread of the gospel was burning in their hearts as a divine flame. There was a class of bishops appointed by their leaders to awaken and keep alive this missionary spirit. "The dying love of Christ for sinners" was the text from which they preached. Also His last commission to His disciples, Matt. 28:19, 20. These bishops preached with an inspiration from God, and enflamed many hearts until they were ready to sacrifice their lives for Christ. These missionaries wore sandals on the feet, carried a staff of peace in the hand, and a knapsack on the shoulder containing bread and manuscripts of sacred writing. Thus equipped, they journeyed into heathen lands, following the command of their Nazarene teacher. The church was very poor and had no board of foreign missions to guarantee even a small income. The missionaries went forth trusting in their heavenly Father. If He took care of the birds of the air, how much more would He care for the heralds of His gospel. The week before departure was spent in fasting and prayer and consecration. On the last day they partook of communion from the hand of their leader, and solemn advice was given by the bishop. In parting the bishop kissed the missionary's brow, and the latter kissed the bishop's hand; and the bishop would say: "The Lord God of the prophets and apostles be with you; the love of Christ defend you; the Holy Spirit sanctify and continually comfort you." Some of the missionaries went to distant lands, requiring eight to twelve months to make the journey on foot. They worked in China, India, Tatariston, Persia, Bloogistan, Afghanistan, and northern Africa. Success followed their work. In the territory between China and Tatariston, they converted 200,000 heathen. Not long ago a monument was unearthed in China which had been set about 600 years ago by one of these pioneers of the cross. On it were engraved the names of many of their leaders, and also the creed, doctrine of the Trinity, and incarnation of Christ. They established twenty-five churches in northern Persia. In southern India is a small church planted at that time. These followers are now called the disciples of St. Thomas, and sometimes their young priests come to Persia to be ordained by the patriarch, who resides in the Kurdiston mountains. This spirit which was shining as the sun in heaven began to languish in the tenth century, and by the fourteenth century had entirely died. At that time some of the church's true sons in lamentation said: "How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!" Hundreds of their missionaries had become martyrs of Christ in a heroic spirit. They would enter fire singing praises to God, believing their shed blood would be the seed of the church.
CHAPTER VII.
THEIR PERSECUTIONS.
This ancient church of the Assyrians which began with the apostles, has been praised in all the eastern and western churches for its zeal in spreading the gospel, but at no time in its history has it been free from persecution. Like the burning bush of old, this church has been burning with persecution, but has not been consumed. The ten plagues of Egypt have been here repeated several times. It has passed through the agony of blood, but with a spirit of submission to the will of God who rules over all the changes of a nation for the good of His own kingdom. Severe persecutions began in A.D. 325. When Constantine convened the Nicean council of the 100 delegates from the eastern church, mostly from Assyria, only eleven of them were free from mutilation in some form. At the time the Sassanites dynasty ruled over Assyria. Their patriarch was St. Shumon, son of a painter. No other Assyrian patriarch was equal to him in piety, integrity, and his heroic spirit of martyrdom. He was patriarch from 330 to 362 A.D. In that period the king of Persia was second shafoor of the fire-worshipers. The fire-worshipers believed in two creative powers, Hurmizd and Ahramon. Every good thing as virtue, success, long years, praise, truth, purity, were created by Hurmizd; while wickedness, hate, war, disaster, etc., issued from Ahramon, their creator. Shafoor worshiped clean creatures of Hurmizd, such as sun, moon, and fire. Christianity was strong then, some of the royal family being Christians. The Christians were antagonized by the fire-worshipers because they rejected the sun and moon and de-defiled fire. Other objections were that the Christians taught that God had become incarnate and come to earth; and also that they preferred poverty to wealth and did not marry, thus diminishing the strength of the nation. The emperor issued an edict that those who would not worship the sun and the moon should pay a large sum of money. The patriarch answered that "while God is the creator of the sun we can not substitute the created for the creator. Concerning a fine we have no money to pay your lord the sum required, as our Lord commanded us not to lay up our treasures on earth." Then the king commanded that all Christians be put to death by terrible torture, except the patriarch. Him he would spare to the last, that he might be moved by the torture of others and worship the sun. But St. Shumon meantime was urging the Christians to stand firm in the faith. The king requested that the patriarch and two chief bishops be brought before him. It had been a custom to prostrate himself before the king as a token of honor, but on this occasion he wished to avoid any show of worshiping a creature and did not prostrate himself before the ruler. The king asked him to worship the sun. St. Shumon replied: "If I refuse to worship the king how can you expect me to worship the sun, a creature without life." Being unable to make him worship the sun the king put him in jail for the night. Next morning the patriarch was taken before the king again. On his way he met a steward of the king who was a Christian but had been worshiping the sun to please the king. St. Shumon rebuked the steward for being faithless. The steward was touched by this rebuke and, going before the king, confessed that he was a Christian and must therefore be beheaded. But he requested that a herald be sent through the streets to proclaim that he had been a faithful subject to his ruler, and that he must die because he was a Christian. This was granted.