friends and disciples among his parishioners at Constantinople, but in Syria his adherents predominated and the bitterness with which they were condemned by Cyril's party led to a schism and the establishment of an independent Syrian Church. The Nestorians of Syria recognized the bishop of Seleucia as their head, under the name of Catholicus.
These Syrian Christians shared the fervor and missionary zeal of their founder Nestorius. They distinguished themselves through
THE CROSS ON THE TOMB OF ST. THOMAS NEAR MADRAS.[1]
learnedness and established good schools wherever they went. Their main seat and center of learning was Nisibis. The Nestorians sent out missionaries toward the East and extended their Church into Mesopotamia, Persia, India and Tibet.
The Indian Nestorians are commonly called St. Thomas Christians, and there is a remarkable monument left of them near Madras
- ↑ It may be of interest to note that the cross preserved on the Nestorian stone bears a great resemblance to that on the tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle, near Madras, India, which for good reasons is assumed to date from the same century. Marco Polo's interesting account of it can be found in Chapter XVIII of his well-known book of travel. We reproduce the picture from page 353 of the edition of Henry Yule published by Charles Scribner's Sons.
