Dear Colleagues,

I'm writing to introduce the Department of Nestorian Studies and to invite you to the 6th International Conference on Syriac Christianity in China and Central Asia which will take place in Almaty, Kazakhstan from June 20 - 27, 2019.

This department was created in 2017 by the Kazakhstan Archeological Institute of the Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences to investigate recent significant finds of Syriac Christianity, so termed Nestorian in the Russian-speaking academy.

This new department was created to facilitate the investigation of the role Syriac Christianity played in the territories of what is to today Kazakhstan and other Central Asian nations. This vision is expressed as well in the new program Course Ahead: Spiritual Renewal.

In discussions on economic development, particularly as it relates to the One Belt One Road project, Kazakhstan understands the significant role religions of the Silk Road played in trade and commerce. As Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev succinctly stated: “We need to look into the past in order to understand the present and foresee the future.”

Please find all information and forms on our events page.

We hope you will able to come and are indeed very excited to host this conference. We will do all we can to make your stay most enjoyable. As noted in the attachments, this conference will be unique in that it will feature artifacts and finds as well as a tour to Ilibalik where there have been significant Nestorian finds. We also welcome any participants who may wish to stay longer for further investigations.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. We heartily welcome your collaboration and are here to serve you and your research interests.

Sincerely,

Kevin White, PhD (c)