The Syrian or Assyrian Church existed at least 400 years before the Nestorian Schism. During the times where Christians were being persecuted abroad, including Rome, there remained a sect of Christianity that resided in Persia. In 424, after the Council of Patriarch Mar Dadeesho the Persian Church declared independence from the Roman Empire (Aprem 29). Not long after the Nestorian Schism ensued and the Nestorius and his followers were forced to leave Antioch. It was at this point in time we see the amalgamation of the two Christian sects as “the Assyrians became known as Nestorians, because of their hospitality and Christian service which they rendered to the Christian refugees to Persia who were condemned as heretics and banished from the Roman Empire” (Emhardt 49). The Assyrians, although they took no part in the schism, sided with Nestorius and his dualist theology.
Eventually the Nestorians began to separate themselves from their Antioch roots. It was during the Formula of Reunion in 433, as earlier mentioned, that John of Antioch, in hopes of a peaceful resolve, agreed to use the title Theotokos and lost much of his support. In 489 the school of Edessa was closed and “by 498, at the Council of Seleucia, the Nestorians severed forever their ties with the patriarchate of Antioch” ( Jones 6480). After the closure of the school and the move into Persia the Nestorians enjoyed the protection of their new home and eventually became fully affiliated with, and known as, the Persian church.
Since this time the Assyrian Church has spread throughout the world. It has dioceses in Australia, New Zealand, Persia, Canada, America and elsewhere. Although, originally viewed as a ‘heretical sect’ the Assyrian Church today has made efforts to work together with the Catholic Church, even with their distinct ideologies. They continue to support the idea of Mary as Mother of Christ, as shown in a recent Appendice to the Chaldean Catholic Church: “Therefore, we call upon all of our sons and daughters…under the patronage of the Virgin Mary, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Aprem 243).
