Christianity in Mongolia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christians in Mongolia are considered a minority ethnic group. Accounts of the exact number of Christians vary as no nationwide statistics have even been released. As of 2005, the United States Department of State reports that approximately 24,000 Christians live in Mongolia's capital, Ulan Bator, which is around 3 percent of the entire registered population of the city.^[1]

With the end of Mongolia's communist regime in 1990, numbers of Christian followers have started to steadily increase again. Foreign Christian missionary groups have also returned to Mongolia, including Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians, various evangelical Protestant groups, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah's Witnesses, and Seventh-day Adventists.

Contents 1 Nestorianism 2 Roman Catholicism 3 Protestantism 4 Notes and references

[edit] Nestorianism

As activities of the Assyrian Church of the East after the Nestorian Schism expanded eastwards during the 7th century, Nestorianism became the first form of Christianity to be introduced in Mongolia.^[2] During the rise of the Mongol Empire, the Great Khans, though mostly Buddhist, were religiously tolerant towards the Nestorian Christians, Muslims, Manicheists and shamans.^[3]

Due to the region's harsh weather conditions, many of the region's archaeological and architectural remains have been destroyed, making it difficult to study and research the archaelogical evidence of Nestorianism in Mongolia. However, large amounts of wall paintings, clothing, and manuscripts still survive, especially those hidden within caves and other rock landforms.^[4]

[edit] Roman Catholicism

Main article: Roman Catholicism in Mongolia

Catholicism was introduced in Mongolia during the first evangelization of China, in the 13th century, during Mongol rule of the Yuan Dynasty, but was forced underground until after the Opium war of the mid-19th century. In time, a mission was founded for Outer Mongolia, giving Mongolia its first Roman Catholic jurisdiction, but all work ceased within a year when a communist regime came to power and freedom of thought and religion were no longer permitted.^[5]

With the introduction of democracy in 1990, Roman Catholic missionaries returned and rebuilt the church from scratch. As of 2006, there is an Apostolic Prefecture, a bishop, three churches, and diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Mongolia since 1992. Pope John Paul II originally planned to visit Mongolia along with Kazan, but he eventually cancelled the trip, explaining to the press that "Our Lord does not want it".^[6]

[edit] Protestantism

Like Catholicism, the rise of a Communist government in Mongolia caused the number of Protestant followers to rapidly decrease. By the time China's Cultural Revolution began, the number of Protestants had been reduced to around 8,775 followers.

However, this decline in followers ended once the Communist regime collapsed in favor of a democratic government. The majority of these modern Protestants are mainly from the Han ethnic group as well as from Mongolia's urban regions.^[7]

[edit] Notes and references