GCDFL.ORG is a non-profit platform. Its only goal is introduing the Eastern Churches through academic lectures.
All the contents of this site will be public and free.
We offer:
Free academic lectures and pilgrimage touring lectures every Friday.
The origin of the name The name
Light from the East (Chinese name 光从东方来) this website aims to introduce the Eastern Church tradition from a scholarly point of view. The so-called Eastern Churches, as opposed to the Latin-speaking Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches in the West, mainly refer to the Eastern Roman Empire and the local churches outside of the Roman Empire, including the Eastern Orthodox Churches (mainly Greek-speaking churches and later the Slavic Churches), and other churches outside the country that were separated as a result of the Council of Gadianton, which were divided into the following languages: the Syriac Church (including the Nestorian Church) and the Eastern Church (including the Nestorian Church). Syriac) Church (including the Nestorians), the Coptic Church, the Armenian Church, etc. The Church of the Armenians is the most important of the local churches outside the Empire.
Of course, one sister reminded that geographically, the Chinese Church is also affiliated with the East. Historically and geographically, the Church in China does belong to the Eastern Churches. Therefore, this website also includes the Chinese Church in the study of the Eastern Church.
In the summer of 2020, I was invited by a pastor to give a lecture on the spiritual tradition of the Eros Collection. The pastor suggested the term “Light from the East”, and the name of this website was also inspired by this pastor, for which I would like to express my gratitude.
Light from the East is derived from the Latin ex oriente lux, which originally means the sun rises in the east, but in Europe, from a Christian perspective, the light here refers specifically to Jesus Christ’s coming from the east. For the purposes of this website, it refers specifically to the traditions of the Eastern Churches that developed in and around the origins of Christianity, including the Greek Church, the Syriac Church, the Coptic Church, the Slavic (Russian) Church, the Armenian Church, the Ethiopian Church, and other traditions relative to the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches of Europe.
Promotion from an Academic Perspective, Not Spiritual Pastoral Care
Light from the East presents the traditions of the Eastern Churches from an academic perspective. By an academic perspective, I mean that we do not talk nonsense or hearsay, but present the Eastern Church traditions in a well-reasoned manner. An academic perspective also means that the ministry of Light from the East will not cover the level of spiritual pastoral care*, but will focus on popularizing it from an academic perspective.
In addition, Light from the East also adds a missionary perspective. Since the Nestorianism of the Tang and Yuan dynasties, the Catholicism of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the Protestantism of Christ, the vestiges and influences of the Eastern church traditions in the Tang and Yuan dynasties have not yet been expounded, and the view of the history of the church in the Ming and Qing dynasties inevitably carries a Euro-American-centered tone, which is less colorful than that of the Eastern church traditions. This is a pity rather than a blessing for the people of China, and it is hoped that the ministry of Light from the East can partially make up for it.
*Spiritual pastoral care refers specifically to the clergy in the Church and the priests and elders in the monastic tradition. Light from the East will not cover this dimension, but readers are welcome to contact us if they have a need in this area, and we will try to provide you with such avenues as much as possible.
The presentations on this site follow a historical-geographical perspective as well as a historical-chronological sequence. Geographically, it is the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the Xinjiang region of China and neighboring Central Asia, encompassing both ends of the ancient Silk Road; chronologically, we have a two-step approach, firstly, we cover the Apostolic Church through to the Yuan Dynasty in China (i.e. 15th century, before the Age of Sail, before the Reformation, and before the rise of the Church in Russia); and secondly, we cover from the 15th century through to the modern 21st century.
Our Vision
I. We study the Church of the East from a historical-geographical perspective (i.e.not the perspective of Protestantism or Catholicism).
II. We present the Eastern Church tradition from an academic perspective, but follow the methodology of building our house on the rock (cf. Matthew 7:24-27)
III. We do not aim at evangelization, but mainly introduce the Eastern Church tradition through translation and academic lectures.
IV. Our team of co-workers, speakers and consultants must be believers with the basic methodology of “building our house on the rock” (cf. Matthew 7:24-27).
This site aims to create a new wind for the benefit of China
This website aims to create a new wind through the introduction of the Eastern Church tradition for the benefit of China. This site is interdenominational, although it adheres to the position of the Church of the East. If the reader encounters any tension with his or her own denominational teaching, he or she may choose to accept or reject it, and need not rush to argue, rather than letting the “bullets” fly for a while.
Before the rise of the Age of Sail, the center of the Church was not Europe or the United States, but the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the region of Xinjiang, China, and the surrounding Central Asia, at both ends of the Silk Road. The study of the Church of the East is situated between these two ends. This site attempts to move away from the Euro-American ecclesiocentric perspective and replace it with an Oriental ecclesiocentric (Mediterranean coast all the way to Central Asia and even China) perspective.
This site is not only about Orthodoxy, but also about Nestorianism, which is closely related to China, and other Eastern ecclesiastical traditions.
The author’s purpose in opening this website is to provide a window of understanding and learning for the Church in China and for all who are interested in the Eastern Churches, to provide a new perspective, and to bring in a new wind.
May this light from the East also shine in China.
Abou me
- 2021-2024 SOAS University of London, MPhil/PhD Candidate
- 2019-2021 Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, MTS (Syriac Christianity)
- 2017-2018 Hellenic College Holy Cross, ThM (Greek Patristic Spirituality)
- 2015-2017 Hellenic College Holy Cross, MTS (Christianity and History)