A Silk Road Pilgrimage: Discovering the Church of the East

by Richard Showalter

The silk road is a loose network of trade routes from China to Bulgaria. In 2007, Richard and Jewel Showalter traveled this ancient highway and visited with missionaries, church leaders, pastors, and ordinary people of the Church of the East, an expression of Christianity little known to the West. In this book they share glimpses of their journey across Asia and invite readers to explore the historical landscape that was, in their words, endlessly thrilling, sobering, and beckoning.

119 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2009

Reviews

[Tristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice account, but I’m still left with a lot of questions about the Church of the East. Is it a closely interconnected network of churches in the east? It seemed like they sprang from different missionary backgrounds, yet I couldn’t quite understand what made them part of the denomination (if that’s the right word). I got that the “religion is in the bloodline” is a major school of thought, and barrier to entry, that pervades the church. Yet, I still was wanting for more discussion of distinctiveness.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of Heart of Dakota’s World Geography curriculum. This was a fascinating account of the Church in a part of the world that we don’t normally think of as Christian. I enjoyed learning about Christians along the Silk Road.