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On this day in 1253, William of Ruisbroek left Constantinople, hoping to visit the court of the Great Khan Mangu in the heart of Mongolia. This trip was initiated after King Louis IX of France heard a report that the Mongol warlord Sartak was a Christian and decided that contact must be made with him. William, a Franciscan friar, was chosen for the job and sent along with a small team to Sartak’s home north of the Crimean Sea.
When William arrived, he learned that although Sartak was not a Christian, there were Christians in his camp, and even his father had received some Christian influence. William and his team decided to travel north to Batu, where they were given guides and then sent further east. After traveling across difficult terrain for weeks in the depths of winter, they finally arrived in Karakoram in Mongolia in January 1254.
The team discovered other Europeans already present, as captives of war. Some of these were Christians, although their theology was suspect. William was granted the opportunity to meet the Khan, and he even shared the Christian faith with him. During William’s eight-month visit there, he preached the Word and baptized some Believers. Historians George Grant and Gregory Wilbur conclude that this “11,000-mile missionary journey opened the world of Asia to the West.”