Turkic Christians
Turkic 'Christians' are ethnic Turkic people who follow Christianity. The Christian Turkic peoples represent an intersection of Turkic and Christian cultural and historical dynamics, particularly within the context of Central Asia, Balkans, and the Caucasus. Historically, the most prominent group within this category were the Bulgars. Currently, The major Christian-Turkic peoples include the Chuvash of Chuvashia, and the Gagauz of Moldova and Yakuts of the Sakha Republic. The vast majority of Chuvash and the Gagauz are Eastern Orthodox Christians.
The Bulgars were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between the 5th and 7th centuries. They became known as nomadic equestrians in the Volga-Ural region, but some researchers believe that their ethnic roots can be traced to Central Asia. The Bulgars converted to Christianity during the early medieval period, around the 10th century. Under Khan Boris I, they officially adopted Christianity in 865 and embraced Eastern Orthodoxy in 879. Their Christian identity was shaped by a blend of Byzantine and local Eastern Christian traditions, which significantly influenced their cultural and political relations with neighboring states.
Between the 9th and 14th centuries, the Church of the East, often referred to as the Nestorian Church, had a notable presence among Turkic peoples, including the Naimans, a prominent Turkic tribe. Between the 9th and 14th centuries, it represented the world's largest Christian denomination in terms of geographical extent, and in the Middle Ages was one of the three major Christian powerhouses of Eurasia alongside Latin Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy. It established dioceses and communities stretching from the Mediterranean Sea and today's Iraq and Iran, to India, the Mongol kingdoms and Turkic tribes in Central Asia, and China during the Tang dynasty. This period marked a significant expansion of the Church's influence into Central Asia and beyond. It even revived in Gaochang and expanded in Xinjiang in the Yuan dynasty period. The rise of Islam in the region and the decline of Mongol power contributed to the persecution and eventual disappearance of the Church of the East from Central Asia.
In the 19th century, numerous Turkic groups within the Russian Empire, such as the Nağaybäk, Chuvash of Chuvashia, and Yakuts of the Sakha Republic, increasingly adopted Russian ways of life. Many of these communities converted en masse to Russian Orthodox Christianity, reflecting the broader cultural and religious influences of the empire during this period. Most Nağaybäks are Christian and were largely converted during the 18th century.
History
Middle Ages
The Bulgars, a Turkic semi-nomadic semi-nomadic warrior tribe thrived in the expansive landscapes of the Pontic-Caspian steppe and the Volga region from the 5th to the 7th centuries. Originating from Central Asia, the Bulgars became renowned as skilled equestrians and fierce warriors, adapting to the demands of their environment while establishing a formidable presence in the region. By the 10th century, they began to embrace Christianity, a pivotal transformation that would shape their identity and influence in the broader Eurasian context. The Bulgars’ conversion to Christianity was formalized during the reign of Khan Boris I, who ruled from 852 to 889. Under his leadership, the Bulgars officially adopted Christianity in 865, subsequently embracing Eastern Orthodoxy in 879. This shift was not merely a religious change but a complex interplay of cultural exchanges with the Byzantine Empire and local Eastern Christian traditions. As a result, their Christian identity emerged from a rich tapestry of influences, which significantly impacted their political and cultural relationships with neighboring states and peoples.The Uyghur Khaganate had established itself by the year 744 AD. Through trade relations established with China, its capital city of Ordu Baliq in central Mongolia's Orkhon Valley became a wealthy center of commerce, and a significant portion of the Uyghur population abandoned their nomadic lifestyle for a sedentary one. The Uyghur Khaganate produced extensive literature, and a relatively high number of its inhabitants were literate. The official state religion of the early Uyghur Khaganate was Manichaeism, which was introduced through the conversion of Bögü Qaghan by the Sogdians after the An Lushan rebellion. The Uyghur Khaganate was tolerant of religious diversity and practiced variety of religions including Buddhism, Christianity, shamanism and Manichaeism.
The term "Gagauz" collectively refers to Turkic people in the Balkans who speak the Gagauz language, distinct from Balkan Gagauz Turkish. Two main theories exist regarding their origins. The first suggests that the Gagauz are descendants of the Pechenegs and Kumans, who migrated south into Bulgaria and intermingled with Oghuz Turks, which may explain their Christian faith. However, the Gagauz language shows no signs of Kipchak influence, being classified solely as a Western Oghuz Turkish dialect. The second theory posits a purely Oghuz origin, suggesting that Seljuk Turks from Anatolia migrated to the Byzantine Empire in the 13th century, converted to Christianity, and were settled in Dobruja, now part of Bulgaria and Romania.
File:Moscow KrutitskyTeremok Y49h.jpg|thumb|The Diocese of the Russian Church historically served as the seat of Sarai
The Cumans were a Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia, part of the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. In 1227, they were baptized en masse in Moldavia by Robert, Archbishop of Esztergom, following the orders of Bortz Khan, who pledged allegiance to King Andrew II of Hungary. As a result, many Cumans in the region began to embrace Catholicism. In 1228, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cumania was established as a Latin-rite bishopric west of the Siret River, in present-day Romania, and it existed until 1241. This area had been under Cuman control since around 1100. Catholic missions in the region began after King Andrew II granted Burzenland to the Teutonic Knights in 1211. Although Andrew expelled the Knights from the territory in 1225, Dominican friars continued the mission to convert the Cumans. Two years later, Robert baptized Boricius, a prominent Cuman chieftain, further solidifying the Cumans’ conversion to Catholicism. The term Cumania had come to mean any Catholic subordinated to the Milcovul Diocese, so much so that in some cases, the terms Cuman and Wallach were interchangeable.
The Church of the East
The Church of the East played a major role in the history of Christianity in Asia, between the 9th and 14th centuries, it represented the world's largest Christian denomination in terms of geographical extent, and in the Middle Ages was one of the three major Christian powerhouses of Eurasia alongside Latin Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy. It established dioceses and communities stretching from the Mediterranean Sea and today's Iraq and Iran, to India, the Mongol kingdoms and Turkic tribes in Central Asia, and China during the Tang dynasty. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the church experienced a final period of expansion under the Mongol Empire, where influential Church of the East clergy sat in the Mongol court.Many Mongol and Turkic tribes, such as the Keraites, the Naimans, the Merkit, the Ongud, and to a large extent the Qara Khitai, were Nestorian Christian. The Keraites had converted to the Church of the East in the early 11th century and are one of the possible sources of the European Prester John legend. The Naimans that adopted Nestorianism probably converted around the same time the Keraites adopted the religion in the 11th century.
The Karluks were a prominent nomadic Turkic tribal confederacy residing in the regions of Kara-Irtysh and the Tarbagatai Mountains west of the Altay Mountains in Central Asia. The Karluks converted to Nestorian Christianity at the end of the 8th century CE, about 15 years after they established themselves in the Jetisu region. This was the first time the Church of the East received such major sponsorship by an eastern power. Particularly, the Chigils were Christians of the Nestorian denomination.
File:WangKhan.JPG|thumb|Depiction of Toghrul Khan as "Prester John" in Le Livre des Merveilles, 15th century
The practice of milk-drinking during these fasts was first sanctioned by the Nestorian Church in the 11th century in order to accommodate the conversion of some 200,000 Turkic Christians, who lived on meat and milk, to Nestorian Christianity. The first account suggests that Markus Buyruk Khan, formerly known as Sadiq Khan, converted to Nestorian Christianity in 1007 CE, along with about 200,000 of his Turco-Mongolic nomadic tribespeople. The Keraite were one of the five dominant tribes in the Tatar confederation before Genghis Khan united these tribes into the Mongol Empire. They lived in the Orkhon Steppes, located south of Lake Baikal and north of the Gobi Desert, in what is now known as the Altai-Sayan region. Following their conversion, the Nestorian Metropolitan consulted Patriarch John VI about fasting practices for the new converts. It was decreed that they should abstain from meat and replace fermented horse milk with fresh milk. This adaptation preserved key aspects of their nomadic diet while integrating Christian practices.
Prominent Nestorian Turkic Christian figures include Yahballaha III, who served as Patriarch of the East from 1281 to 1317. Rabban Bar Sauma, a Uyghur or Ongud monk, became a diplomat for the Nestorian Church of the East in China. Additionally, Toghrul was a khan of the Keraites, a notable Turkic group. Other figures of include Aïbeg and Serkis and Sergius of Samarkand.
However, the rise of Islam and the subsequent decline of Mongol power led to increasing persecution of the Nestorian Christians. By the late medieval period, these dynamics contributed to the gradual disappearance of the Church of the East from Central Asia, erasing a once-vibrant Christian presence in the region. Tamerlane virtually exterminated the Church of the East, which had previously been a major branch of Christianity but afterwards became largely confined to a small area now known as the Assyrian Triangle, currently divided between present-day Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria.