Which Christian sect was expelled from Byzantium and became the dominant mode of Christian expression in Asia?

• A. Maronites
• B. Copts
• C. Armenians
• D. Nestorians

Answer: (D)

Nestorian Christians, also known as the Church of the East, spread Christianity along the Silk Road after being condemned by the Byzantine church in the aftermath of the Council of Ephesus in 431. With the Byzantine imperial link severed, they established a vigorous East Syriac tradition in Persia and carried it further into Central Asia, India, and China. Over many centuries this form of Christian expression grew to become the major Christian presence in Asia, well beyond Byzantine influence. By contrast, the Maronites stayed in the Levant and aligned with Rome, the Copts remained in Egypt, and Armenians developed their own national church, but none achieved the same widespread Asia-wide expansion as the Nestorian tradition.