Page:Christianity in China, Tartary, and Thibet Volume I.djvu/56

44 We have seen that the fact of the Apostleship of St. Thomas in Upper Asia is supported by the constant and unvarying tradition of the Church; by the testimony of Greek, Latin, and Syriac writers; by the most ancient liturgies; and by the most authentic archæological monuments ; and the propagation of the Christian faith in China bears an equal character of antiquity, since, according to the catalogue of Amrus, cited in the Bibliothèque Orientale, by the learned Assemani, the metropolitan see of China is placed on a level with that of India.

It has seemed to us important to dwell on these proofs of the introduction of Christianity into China during the first ages of the Church, because, if it is demonstrated that the Gospel was known in those countries before the seventh century, the possible authenticity of the monument of Si-gnan-Fou, into which we are now about to inquire, may be admitted à priori.