We all know our college emblem, the familiar gold lotus cross on a crimson background, but do you know the history behind it?

After the Roman Empire converted to Christianity in the fourth century, many Christians debated the nature of Jesus Christ. Nestorians, after the bishop Nestorius (386–451) whose views they followed, left the Roman Empire and went into exile in neighbouring Persia (modern Iraq and Iran), where they established the ‘Church of the East’.

From the sixth to the eighth centuries, the Nestorians of Persia began to travel east along the famous trade route known as the Silk Road. This eventually brought them to China, then ruled by the Tang Dynasty (618–907). The Tang emperors welcomed them and they established many churches and monasteries in the country.

To commemorate their presence in China, the Nestorian Christians set up a monument known as a ‘stele’ in the city of Xi’an in the year 781. The long inscription on the stele describes the Christian faith as the ‘Illustrious Religion’, while the carving at the top shows the recognisable cross perched on a lotus amid the clouds. This is the origin of the Lotus Cross, an illustrious symbol of Christianity in China.

Professor James Morton // Department of History