[19] It established dioceses and communities stretching from the Mediterranean Sea and today's Iraq and Iran, to India (the Saint Thomas Syrian Christians of Kerala), the Mongol kingdoms and Turkic tribes in Central Asia, and China during the Tang dynasty (7th–9th centuries).

[21][22][23] 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.

Many of these communities converted en masse to Russian Orthodox Christianity, reflecting the broader cultural and religious influences of the empire during this period.

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.

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.

[28] Through trade relations established with China, its capital city of Ordu Baliq in central Mongolia's Orkhon Valley became a wealthy center of commerce,[29] and a significant portion of the Uyghur population abandoned their nomadic lifestyle for a sedentary one.

[30] 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 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.

[34] 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.

[36] 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.

[38] 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.

[19] It established dioceses and communities stretching from the Mediterranean Sea and today's Iraq and Iran, to India (the Saint Thomas Syrian Christians of Kerala), the Mongol kingdoms and Turkic tribes in Central Asia, and China during the Tang dynasty (7th–9th centuries).

[41][42] Many Mongol and Turkic tribes, such as the Keraites,[43] the Naimans, the Merkit, the Ongud,[44] and to a large extent the Qara Khitai (who practiced it side-by-side with Buddhism),[45] were Nestorian Christian.

[59][60][61] 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.

[62] 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,[63] currently divided between present-day Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria.

[75] Eftim I praised the attack when addressing the public, and called for the resignation of Meletius IV, who he referred to as an "enemy of the Turkish people".

[76] On October 2, 1923, Eftim I and his followers, accompanied by some Turkish policemen, forcefully entered the Holy Synod when it was in session, and ordered the bishops to declare Meletius IV deposed.

The Minister of Justice stated in the TBMM that the Patriarchate was solely a religious institution and that the Turkish government approved of the election of Gregorios VII.

Many of these communities converted en masse to Russian Orthodox Christianity, reflecting the broader cultural and religious influences of the empire during this period.

[95] Molokans from Tambov, who proselytized in settlements along the Volga River and in the Orenburg, Saratov, and Astrakhan provinces, were primarily of Slavic descent.

[96] It is well known that a segment of ethnic Russians has mixed ancestry that includes Middle Eastern or Mongolic Turkic influences alongside Slavic roots.

[97] Molokans complicated the Eastern Orthodox Church's efforts to convert Tatar or Turkic Muslims, as they taught that religious iconography was a sin.

[108] According to the historian Geoffrey Blainey from the University of Melbourne, since the 1960s there has been a substantial increase in the number of conversions from Islam to Christianity, mostly to the Evangelical and Pentecostal forms.

[109] Turkic Christians of Muslim background communities can be found in Azerbaijan,[110][111] Bulgaria,[112][113] Germany,[114][115] Kazakhstan,[116] Kyrgyzstan,[117][118] Russia,[119] Turkey,[120][121][122][123] and Uzbekistan.

[13][125][14] The Chuvash people are a Turkic ethnic group, a branch of the Ogurs, native to an area stretching from the Idel-Ural (Volga-Ural) region to Siberia.

This theory could explain their Christian faith; however, it is important to note that there are no signs of a Kipchak origin in the Gagauz language, which is exclusively Western Oghuz and classified as a Turkish dialect.

[153] They claim there is evidence that, due to repeated invasions and migrations, the aboriginal Caucasian population may have gradually been culturally and linguistically assimilated, first by Iranian peoples, such as the Persians,[154] and later by the Oghuz Turks.

[173][122] Though, there are several significant and major Protestant churches and worship sites in Turkey protected legally, most of them are located in the 4 large cities of Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara and Bursa.

Prominent ethnic Turkish Christians include Paul Mulla, Antuan Ilgit and Julio Murat, these Turkish prelates of the Catholic Church; Nazlı Tolga, a journalist;[174][175] Leyla Gencer, an operatic soprano;[176] Ziya Meral, a scientist and economist; Rabia Kazan, an author and activist;[177] Tunch Ilkin, a football player;[178] along with Hakan Taştan and Turan Topal.

[183] A similar project was put into motion in October 2018, when the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited the Republic of Moldova and toured the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia.