Church of the East & Abroad
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Church of the East & Abroad is a Christian denomination claiming its origin during the Second Temple era of Judaism. It describes itself as a Nasrani Nestorian Orthodox Church, and claims a common history with the Assyrian Church of the East, which is denied by the latter.
It is one of several groups of Saint Thomas Christians tracing their origins to St. Thomas the Apostle who, according to tradition, came to India in AD 52.
This church has been referred by other names, such as Nazaraean Church of Jerusalem, Universal Bible Church - St. Thomas Christian Church, Mar Thoma Nasrani Church of the East & Abroad, The Nasrani-Nestorian Orthodox Church and The Nazaraean Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. They presently have small memberships in Syria, Israel, India, Burma, Brazil, Turkey and in the USA. They are a very tiny association of small communities world-wide.
As with many other denominations, this sect claims an Apostolic Succession. They believe that its patriarchs are descendants of Desposyni, inheritants of the true belief from direct teaching, lining up to the first Church of Jerusalem and the See of Jerusalem (said to be founded by Saint James the Apostle). They also believe that its line of patriarchs originates from James the Just and the relatives of the Virgin Mary, making it a blood line directly from Jesus Christ. Other links with the bloodline and teaching of Christ were are claimed by asserting that it shared Patriarchs with the Assyrian Church of the East in the 1500's. The church teaches that the Desposyni were leaders of a Jewish community which has moved to Mesopotamia during the second century. In the sixteenth century the center of the church became a Burmese community. In the last century, the church sources claim that their see moved to India, then to Portugal, USA and later to Israel.
Currently its leader +Mar Michai lives in Jerusalem. Believers hold that he is above all human judgement and their clergy are required to sign a Loyalty Oath.
The believers state that they depend upon their scriptures, traditions, revelations and the magisterium of the Church for their faith, morals, practices and customs. They believe it is their duty to guard over the original faith of Jerusalem and have created an organization known as Guardians of Jerusalem, e.g., they observe both Sunday and the Sabbath, the Kosher food and Torah observance. They claim to be the original church, and refer to nominal Christian churches by the name Klal Kristiani (i.e. all of anti-Semitic Christian groups), which they teach is corrupted, westernized, paganized and anti-Semitic. They now also have a new front organization known as the International Christian Church of Jerusalem, through which they seek to proselytize among Euro-Americans.
It is said that in 2003 some 1000 Burmese Christians joined their church, and were granted the name Burmese Orthodox Church along the border of Myanmar extending from Laos to the Adaman Sea, in an area which they call The Kingdom of Nettara and which is located within Thailand's Burmese Refugee Camp Areas. The church claims that the area hosts about 25,000 Christian refugees.
According to this church they also have a Sanhedrin of Nasrani Rabbis located in Jerusalem and through the world.
