Where does the name

Where does the name 'Church of the East' come from?

The name Church of the East was inherited because of popular usage, like a nickname that stuck. We guess the proper name, The Way, was not descriptive enough to help people pinpoint the specific organisation they were referring to. It became common use to refer to the devotees of The Way in the mountains of North Eastern Persia, North India and South Western China as the easternmost congregation (ecclesia [G] =church) or community—Church of the East.

By the 5^th century the name, meaning ‘congregation of the East’, was in common use.

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