Alopen
The name "Alopen" (阿羅本) in theXi'an Stele.
Traditional Chinese	阿羅本
Simplified Chinese	阿罗本
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Āluóběn IPA [á.lwǒ.pə̀n] Middle Chinese Middle Chinese alapuənX

Alopen (Chinese:阿羅本,fl. AD 635; also "Aleben", "Aluoben", "Olopen," "Olopan," or "Olopuen") is the first recorded AssyrianChristianmissionary to have reachedChina, during theTang dynasty. He was a missionary from theChurch of the East (also known as the "Nestorian Church"),^[1] and probably aSyriac speaker from theSasanian Empire or fromByzantine Syria.^[2] He is known exclusively from theXi'an Stele, which describes his arrival in the Tang capital ofChang'an in 635 and his acceptance byEmperor Taizong of Tang. His is the earliest known name that can be attached to the history of theChurch of the East in China.

Alopen's name is known only from the Chinese of theXi'an Stele. This may be a transliteration of the Semitic "Abraham"^[3] oraloho punoya, "the conversion of God."^[4] Amy Chua posits that his name could be a transcription of "Ruben",^[5] Alexis Balmont rather advocates for Ardaban.^[6]

According to the Stele, Alopen and his fellow missionaries came to China fromDaqin (or Ta Tsin – theByzantine Empire) in the ninth year ofEmperor Taizong (Tai Tsung; 635), bringing sacred books and images.^[7] He would have come to China via theSilk Road. The Church of the East mission benefited from Taizong's policy ofreligious tolerance, which reversed measures his fatherGaozu had taken againstBuddhism and other foreign religions and influences.^[1] Many of the religions that were tolerated entered through the Silk Road:Zoroastrianism,Manichaeism,Judaism,Islam, andChristianity. Taizong appreciatedJesus as anothersage, and Christian doctrines as being profound and promoting peace, and therefore welcome to be preached throughout the Empire.^[5]

太宗文皇帝，光華啓運，明聖臨人，大秦國有上徳曰阿羅本，占青雲而載真經，望風律以馳艱險。貞觀九祀，至扵長安。
In the time of the accomplished Emperor Taitsung, the illustrious and magnificent founder of the dynasty, among the enlightened and holy men who arrived was the Most-virtuous Olopun, from the country of Syria. Observing the azure clouds, he bore the true sacred books; beholding the direction of the winds, he braved difficulties and dangers. In the year AD 635 he arrived at Chang-an.

According to the Stele, Taizong welcomed Alopen and arranged for the translation of the holy writings he had brought with him at the Imperial Library. Upon studying them, Taizong, a great scholar and patron, found them most acceptable and arranged for their dissemination. Indeed, fourdocuments from the early period of Christianity in China date to around Alopen's time.^[1] Three years later, in 638, Taizong issued an official declaration protecting the Church of the East. He erected China's first Christian church and recognized twenty-one priests, likely all Persians, to administer it. Under Taizong's son and successorGaozong, who continued this policy of toleration, Alopen's status expanded even further, and he was appointedbishop over the many churches built by the emperor.^[10]

After Alopen's time, the Church of the East was prominent in China for the remainder of the Tang Dynasty's power. Different emperors treated it differently, with some showing it the tolerance it received in the early decades, and some openly persecuting it. The Church of the East disappeared with the fall of the Tang Dynasty in the early 10th century. It did not return for three centuries, when it was reintroduced by theMongols.^[1] The story of Alopen became prominent again in the 17th century, when theXi'an Stele was rediscovered and the Chinese were surprised to find that the "new" religion being preached by the missionaries, had actually been in existence in China more than 1,000 years earlier.

• Adam (monk)

• Early Christianity in China
• Samuel Hugh Moffett, "Alopen,"Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity.

• Christian missionaries in China
• Church of the East in Shaanxi
• 7th-century bishops of the Church of the East
• History of Christianity in Asia
• 7th-century Christian clergy
• Assyrian Christian clergy

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing Chinese-language text
• Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text
• Year of birth unknown
• Year of death unknown
• Place of birth unknown