The Holy Apostolic and Catholic Assyrian Church of the East is a Christian church that traces its origins to the See of Babylon, said to be founded by Saint Thomas the Apostle. In India, it is known as the Chaldean Syrian Church. In the West it is often known, inaccurately, as the Nestorian Church. The Assyrian Church is the original Christian church in what was once Parthia; today Iraq and western Iran.