Jesus Sutras

La Estela de Xi’an o “Estela Nestoriana” y los “Documentos Jingjiao” hallados en Dunhuang, testimonian la presencia del Cristianismo en China en época tan temprana como el año 635 d. JC. Se muestra con ellos el mensaje cristiano considerando el contexto cultural y religioso en que se manifiesta y por ello se “viste” singularmente con los “ropajes del budismo y del taoísmo”. Con todo hay indicios, de clara verosimilitud, que atestiguarían expresiones cristianas en China en época tan incipiente como el siglo III de la Dinastía Han y aun más todavía, en el periodo apostólico del siglo I. Por asombroso que pueda parecer, es necesario recordar el puente fluido de comunicación que desde antes del comienzo de la era cristiana ya existía entre el occidente y el oriente conocidos: La Ruta de la Seda y las rutas marítimas.
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The Xi’an Stele or “Nestorian Stele” and the “Jingjiao Documents” found in Dunhuang, testify to the presence of Christianity in China at an early time as 635 AD. JC The Christian message is shown with them considering the cultural and religious context in which it manifests itself and, therefore, it "dresses" singularly with the "clothing of Buddhism and Taoism." However, there are indications, of clear credibility, that would witness Christian expressions in China at a time as incipient as the third century of the Han Dynasty and even more so, in the apostolic period of the first century. As amazing as it may seem, it is necessary to remember the fluid bridge of communication that, since before the beginning of the Christian era, already existed between the known west and east: The Silk Road and the sea routes.

The Jesus Sutras – the first Christological synthesis of the Far East
The article presents research on historic "Nestorian documents" called the Jesus Sutras, which were created during the first mission of the Church of the East to China in the Seventh century under the leadership of Alopen. These texts are a synthesis of Christology and elements of Christian theology relevant to the mission in China. They describe Christian dogmas using Taoist and Buddhist terminology, philosophy, anthropology, cosmology and symbolism. They testify to the development of the Church in China during the three centuries of the Tang Dynasty. The sutras of Jesus are the answer to the question: what and how did the Church talk about Jesus Christ for the first time with the Far East? Most of the texts discussed were discovered in 1900 and are the subject of theological and sinologistical research, mainly Japanese, Chinese and American. At the same time, these studies are completely unknown in the Polish theological thought. The article presents a full list of these documents, proposes Polish names and provides a brief discussion of them as a contribution to their further research. Among the Sutras of Jesus, the stone Stela of Xi'an deserves special attention, with an engraved doctrinal and historical text that is also important from the point of view of the development of Christian doctrine in China. The conclusions emphasize the importance of studying non-European theology encoded in other systems of culture and philosophy and some possibilities of transmitting Christian doctrine into the symbolism of other religions (Taoism, Buddhism) while simultaneously preserving the essence of Christian doctrine.