Dr. Dickens, one of the research fellows with the Department of Nestorian Studies, and an expert on reading Syriac, came to Almaty to present a couple of seminars as well as to help interpret some Syriac inscriptions on some of gravestones found at Ilibalyk.

The first seminar was held at Agape church on Tuesday evening.  This event was aimed at local churches and others interested in the historical presence of Christianity in the region.  Around 150 people attended the event where Dr. Dickens presented on the spread of the Church of the East along the ancient Silk Road and how there were established Churches and Christian communities in what is now Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China.  This was until the mid 14th Century before it all disappeared and left little evidence in the history books.

After the presentation, he, along with Dr. Steven Ortiz and Dr. Dima Voyakin, answered questions from those attending.

The main event was held on Friday at the Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences.  This event was aimed at gathering academics, business people and expats.  The material was similar but a little bit more in depth and aimed at those who know about the field of study.  After the presentation, and during the break, people had a chance to network and ask questions as well as view some of the artifacts that had been found in recent digs.

A videos of the presentation are available here:

Official Seminar at the Academy of Science

Official Seminar at the Academy of Science (Russian)

Public Seminar at Agape Church (Russian)

Public Seminar at Agape Church (Kazakh)

Hosting seminars such as this is exciting for us, and it is encouraging to see the number of people turning up for these events.  We hope to be able to host more of these seminars and conferences.