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Christianity in Sichuan

August 27, 2023

Christianity is a minority religion in the Chinese province of Sichuan (formerly romanized as Szechwan or Szechuan; also referred to as "West China" or "Western China"). The Eastern Lipo, Kadu people and A-Hmao are ethnic groups present in the province.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Chengdu (Catholic)
St John's Cathedral, Langzhong (Anglican)
American Methodist Episcopal church, Chongqing (Methodist)
St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church, Chongqing (Catholic)
Monochrome pictures indicate the denomination having been merged into government-controlled "Three-Self Church".

History Edit

East Syriac Christianity Edit

 
East Syriac Christian figure representing Jesus Christ or a saint

A presence of the East Syriac Christianity can be confirmed in Chengdu during the Tang dynasty (618–907),[1] and two monasteries have been located in Chengdu and Mount Emei.[2] A report by the Tang-dynasty writer Li Deyu included in the Quan Tang Wen [zh] states that a certain Daqin cleric proficient in optometry was present in the Chengdu area.[3]

According to the Southern Song essay collection Nenggai zhai manlu [de] by Wu Zeng, during the Tang dynasty, Persian missionaries built a Daqin temple [ja] (East Syriac Christian church) into the existing ruins of the former Castle of Seven Treasures (七寶樓) at Chengdu, which was constructed by ancient Shu kings of the Kaiming dynasty, with pearl curtains installed as decorative applications. It was later destroyed by the Great Fire of Shu Commandery [zh] during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (141 BC – 87 BC). The temple consisted of a gatehouse, halls and towers, just like the former castle, its doors were decorated with curtains made of gold, pearls and green jasper,[4] hence known as the 'Pearl Temple' (珍珠樓, formerly written as 眞珠樓, lit. 'Pearl House' or 'Pearl Tower').[5]

 
One of the Ciqikou crosses found on a street, is fundamentally identical to crosses found in Aleppo, Syria.

The name Bakos, of a priest from Chongqing, is recorded on the left side, second row, at the very top of the "Nestorian" Xi'an Stele.[6] A pilgrim cross and several crosses of Syrian design were identified by a Syriac Orthodox priest Dale Albert Johnson in Ciqikou, Chongqing, dated to the 9th century. The pilgrim cross embedded in a stone on Ciqikou street has a simple style as the type carved by pilgrims and travelers.[7] Of the Syrian-designed crosses, one was found on the same street as the pilgrim cross, is fundamentally identical to crosses found in Aleppo, Syria.[8] The icon consists of a cross within a circle touching eight points. Two points on each end of the four ends of the cross touch the inner arch of the circle. Each arm of the cross is narrower near the middle than at the ends. The center of the cross draws to a circle at the center.[9] The rest are crosses within Bodhi leaves carved on a round granite stone base sitting in front of a curio shop on a side street in Ciqikou. According to Johnson, crosses within Bodhi leaves (heart shape or spade designs) are identified as Persian crosses associated with the Syrian Christians of India.[10]

Roman Catholicism Edit

Main article: Catholic Church in Sichuan
 
Synodus Vicariatus Sutchuensis, published in Rome in 1822. The Synod of Sichuan was the first Catholic synod held in China.

The first Roman Catholic mission in Sichuan was carried out by Gabriel de Magalhães and Lodovico Buglio, during the 1640s. After the massacre of Sichuan by Zhang Xianzhong, and consequently, the immigration movement of repopulation of Sichuan [zh], a search for surviving converts was carried out by Basil Xu [no], the then intendant of Eastern Sichuan Circuit [zh], and his mother Candida Xu, who were both Catholics. They found a considerable number of converts in Baoning, Candida then invited the priest Claudius Motel to serve the congregation. Several churches were built in Chengdu, Baoning and Chongqing under the supervision of Motel.[11]

 
Coat of arms of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chengdu.

The predecessor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chengdu—the Apostolic Vicariate of Setchuen (Sichuan)—was established on 15 October 1696, and Artus de Lionne, a French missionary, was the first apostolic vicar.[12] In 1753, the Paris Foreign Missions Society took over responsibility for Catholic mission in Sichuan. In 1803, the first synod ever celebrated in China took place in Chongqingzhou, convened by Louis Gabriel Taurin Dufresse.[12][13][14] By 1804, the Sichuanese Catholic community included four French missionaries and eighteen local priests.[15] By 1870, the Church in Sichuan had 80,000 faithful, which was the largest number of Catholics in the entire country.[16]

The first group of Spanish Redemptorists left for China in February 1928: Segundo Miguel Rodríguez, José Morán Pan and Segundo Velasco Arina. They were active in the Apostolic Vicariate of Chengdu and the Apostolic Vicariate of Ningyuanfu in Xichang,[17]:15 and had a house and chapel built in Chengdu.[18] The last Spanish Redemptorists were expelled from China by the Communist government in 1952.[17]:15

The Sichuan Major Seminary [zh] was established in 1984 in Chengdu.[19] In 2000, Lucy Yi Zhenmei, a 19th-century virgin martyr from Mianzhou (now Mianyang), was canonised a saint by Pope John Paul II. Today, the Catholic population of the province is estimated at 250,000 persons.[20]

Protestantism Edit

Main article: Protestantism in Sichuan
See also: Anglicanism in Sichuan, Methodism in Sichuan, Quakerism in Sichuan, Baptist Christianity in Sichuan, and Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sichuan
 
Former headquarters of China Inland Mission (CIM) at London. The CIM carried out the first Protestant mission in Sichuan, in 1877.
 
American Baptist church at Yazhou (Yachowfu)
 
American Methodist Episcopal church at Chengdu (Chengtu)
 
English Quaker meeting house at Tongchuan (Tungchwan)

In 1868, Griffith John of the London Missionary Society and Alexander Wylie of the British and Foreign Bible Society entered Sichuan as the first Protestant missionaries to take up work in that province. They travelled throughout Sichuan and reported the situation along the way to the headquarters of various missionary societies in Britain and missionaries in China, which opened the door for the entry of Protestantism into Sichuan.[21]

However, no other missionaries visited this province again until 1877, when Rev. John McCarthy of the China Inland Mission (CIM), after landing at Wanxian, travelled via Shunqing to Chongqing, where he arrived on 1 May. There he rented premises for other CIM missionaries to use as a base.[22][23]

In 1882, American Methodist Episcopal missionaries arrived in Chongqing (Chungking). Their early efforts encountered strong resistance and riots that led to the abandonment of the mission. It was not until 1889 that these Methodists came back and started the mission again.[24]

The year 1887 marks the arrival of the Anglican representatives of the CIM. William Cassels, already in holy orders; Arthur T. Polhill-Turner, was reading for orders when he volunteered for China; and Montagu Proctor-Beauchamp. All three were members of the Cambridge Seven.[25]

In 1888, the London Missionary Society began work in Sichuan, taking Chongqing as their center, a city in the east of the province. In addition, they had a large district to the south and southeast.[26]

The first American Baptist missionaries to reach the province were Rev. W. M. Upcraft and Rev. George Warner, who sailed in 1889. The journey required many weeks before their arrival in Suifu, where they established the first mission station.[27] Four more stations were established in Jiading (Kiating, 1894), Yazhou (Yachow, 1894), Ningyuan (1905), and Chengdu (Chengtu, 1909).[28]

Robert John and Mary Jane Davidson of Friends' Foreign Mission Association introduced Quakerism into Tongchuan (Tungchwan) in 1889. Within 19 years five monthly meetings were successively established in Chengdu, Chongqing, Tongchuan, Tongliang (Tungliang) and Suining.[29]

At the close of 1891, the Rev. James Heywood Horsburgh, along with Mrs. Horsburgh, Rev. O. M. Jackson, three laymen, and six single women missionaries, entered Sichuan as the first band of Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionaries to take up work in that province.[30] By 1894, CMS work had started in Mianzhou (Mienchow), Zhongba (Chungpa), Anhsien, Mianzhu (Mienchu) and Xindu (Sintu).[31] Their first church was founded in 1894 in Zhongba.[32]

 
First Canadian Methodist missionaries to Sichuan, 1891.

In 1892, the Canadian Methodist Mission established missionary stations in Chengdu and Leshan.[33] A church and a hospital [zh] were subsequently built in Jinjiang District, Chengdu, which was the result of a team effort by O. L. Kilborn, V. C. Hart [zh], G. E. Hartwell, D. W. Stevenson and others.[34] In 1910, the Canadian Mission took over Chongqing district from London Missionary Society.[35]

 
Seal of the Anglican Diocese of Szechwan.
 
William Cassels, first bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Szechwan.

The Anglican Diocese of Szechwan was established in 1895, under the supervision of the Church of England. The foundation of the diocese was the result from the efforts of William Cassels, Arthur T. Polhill-Turner and Montagu Proctor-Beauchamp.[36] Cassels was consecrated as the first diocesan bishop in Westminster Abbey, in the same year.

In 1897, Cecil Polhill, also one of the Cambridge Seven, along with other four China Inland Mission missionaries, they established a missionary station in Dajianlu (Tatsienlu), western Sichuan, which paved the way for the future construction of the Gospel Church.[37][38]

The West China Union University was launched in 1910, in Chengdu. It was the product of a collective effort of four Protestant missionary boards: American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (American Baptist Churches USA), American Methodist Episcopal Mission (Methodist Episcopal Church), Friends' Foreign Mission Association (British Quakers) and Canadian Methodist Mission (Methodist Church of Canada).[39] The Church Missionary Society (Church of England) became a partner in the university in 1918.[40][41]

In 1914, the Adventist Mission established a mission station in Chongqing. Their Sichuan Mission was officially formed in 1917.[42] In 1919, the mission was divided into East Sichuan Mission and West Sichuan Mission for easier administration.[43][44]

By 1922, the Foreign Christian Missionary Society had its center at Bathang. Due to the constitution of Sichuan at the time, Bathang fell outside the western boundary and belonged to the special territory of Xikang (Chwanpien).[45]

Lutheranism also had a small presence in Chongqing, which was part of east Sichuan. The Lutheran Holy Cross Church was founded in Wan County in 1925, under the supervision of George Oliver Lillegard [zh],[46] a pastor-missionary sent by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.[17]

In 1940, the Church of Christ in China established the first mission station in Lifan, a county lying in the Sichuan-Khams Tibetan border region, as part of their Border Service Movement. This movement had a marked character of Social Gospel, with the aim of spreading Christianity to the Tibetan, Qiang and Yi peoples.[47]

In 1950 it was estimated there were more than 50,000 Protestants in Sichuan, meeting in hundreds of churches and chapels.[48] Today, the number of Protestants exceeds 200,000—many Christians reside in rural areas.[48] Panzhihua was an area of rapid growth of Christianity in around 2000.[48] A Sichuan Theological College exists.

Current situation Edit

After the communist takeover of China in 1949, Protestant churches in the country were forced to sever their ties with respective overseas churches, which has thus led to the merging of all the denominations into the communist-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Church.[49] As for the Catholic Church in China, all legal worship has to be conducted in government-approved churches belonging to the Catholic Patriotic Association, which does not accept the primacy of the Roman pontiff.[50] Some missionaries were arrested and sent to "thought reform centers" in which they underwent disturbing re-education process in a vindictive prison setting.[51]

On 20 June 2009, the police in Langzhong set free 18 house church leaders arrested on 9 June.[52] In 2018, Wang Yi, a well-known pastor from Chengdu, along with 100 Christians, was detained by authorities. Wang was reportedly arrested on allegations of "inciting subversion of state power".[53] That same year, four Christian churches in Sichuan were given an ultimatum and told they must join the Three-Self Church or be shut down.[54] In 2019, 200 congregants in Chengdu began to meet in secret after their state-registered Three-Self church had been shut down.[55] On 14 August 2022, police in Chengdu raided a Sunday gathering of the Early Rain Covenant Church and detained a leader.[56]

Maps Edit

See also Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ Li & Winkler 2016, p. 261.
  2. ^ Baumer, Christoph (2016). The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity (New ed.). London: I.B. Tauris. p. 183. ISBN 978-1-78453-683-1.
  3. ^ Kotyk, Jeffrey. "DDB: Nestorian Christianity in China". academia.edu. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  4. ^ Wu, Zeng (1843). Nenggai zhai manlu (in Traditional Chinese).
  5. ^ Wongso, Peter (1 May 2006). 認識基督教史略: 二千年教會史簡介 [A Concise Illustration to History of Christianity] (in Traditional Chinese). Hong Kong: Golden Lampstand Publishing Society. p. 216. ISBN 9789627597469.
  6. ^ Li & Winkler 2016, p. 42.
  7. ^ Johnson, Dale A. (2012). "Did the Syriac Orthodox Build Churches in China?". soc-wus.org. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  8. ^ Li & Winkler 2016, p. 44.
  9. ^ Li & Winkler 2016, p. 43.
  10. ^ Li & Winkler 2016, p. 48.
  11. ^ Gourdon 1981, pp. 63–64.
  12. ^ a b Charbonnier, Jean. . mepasie.org (in French). Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  13. ^ Wright, Arnold, ed. (1908). Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China: Their History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. London: Lloyd's Greater Britain publishing Company.
  14. ^ Synodus Vicariatus Sutchuensis habita in districtu civitatis Tcong King Tcheou; Anno 1803, Diebus secunda, quinta, et nona Septembris [The Synod of the Vicariate of Sichuan held in the District of the City of Chongqingzhou, in the Year 1803, on the Second, Fifth, and Ninth Days of September] (in Latin). Rome: Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide. 1822. hdl:2027/coo.31924023069010.
  15. ^ Ma, Te (8 November 2018). "On the Trail of Sichuan's Catholic Past". u.osu.edu. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  16. ^ Lü 1976, p. 266.
  17. ^ a b c Tiedemann, R. G. (1 July 2016). Reference Guide to Christian Missionary Societies in China: From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Century. Milton Park: Routledge. ISBN 9781315497310.
  18. ^ Donnithorne, Audrey G. (29 March 2019). China in Life's Foreground. North Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing. ISBN 9781925801576.
  19. ^ . sedcontra.fr (in French). 29 April 2011. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  20. ^ (PDF). unhcr.org. 16 June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  21. ^ Wang, Yi (30 August 2007). [Outline of the History of Protestant Christianity in Sichuan]. observechina.net (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 3 January 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  22. ^ Doyle, G. Wright. "John McCarthy". Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  23. ^ Broomhall 1907, p. 229.
  24. ^ Baker, Richard T. (1946). Methodism in China: The War Years. New York: Board of Missions and Church Extension. p. 19.
  25. ^ Gray, G. F. S. (1996). Anglicans in China: A History of the Zhonghua Shenggong Hui (Chung Hua Sheng Kung Huei). New Haven, CT: The Episcopal China Mission History Project. p. 13. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.695.4591.
  26. ^ Davidson & Mason 1905, p. 154.
  27. ^ ABFMS 1920, p. 18.
  28. ^ ABFMS 1920, p. 26.
  29. ^ Du, Swun Deh (1937). "Quakerism in West China". Bulletin of Friends Historical Association. 26 (2): 88–91. JSTOR 41944051. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  30. ^ Norris, Frank L. (1908). "Chapter X. The Church in Western China". Handbooks of English Church Expansion: China. Oxford: A. R. Mowbray.
  31. ^ Keen, Rosemary. "Church Missionary Society Archive—Section I: East Asia Missions: Western China". ampltd.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  32. ^ China Continuation Committee, ed. (1915). 中華基督教會年鑑 [The China Church Year Book] (in Traditional Chinese). Shanghai: The Commercial Press. p. 114.
  33. ^ Lü 1976, p. 270.
  34. ^ Yang, Tao (28 December 2013). [Sishengci Street: An Area for Wealthy Families and Their Mansions]. news.163.com (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  35. ^ Bond 1911, p. 147.
  36. ^ Austin, Alvyn (1996). "Missions Dream Team". Christian History. Worcester, PA: Christian History Institute. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  37. ^ Zi, Yu (2017). "A Description of CIM Missionary Workers to the Tibetan Highlands Prior to 1950". omf.org. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  38. ^ Zhu, Yaling (2015). "传教士顾福安及其康藏研究" [The Missionary Robert Cunningham and His Tibetan Studies of the Khams Area] (PDF). 藏学学刊 [Journal of Tibetology] (in Simplified Chinese). Chengdu: Center for Tibetan Studies of Sichuan University (1): 192. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  39. ^ "West China Union University". library.vicu.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  40. ^ "West China Union University" (PDF). divinity-adhoc.library.yale.edu. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  41. ^ Stauffer 1922, p. 231.
  42. ^ Hook, Milton (2020). "Szechwan Mission (1917–1919)" (PDF). encyclopedia.adventist.org. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  43. ^ Hook, Milton (28 November 2021). "East Szechwan Mission (1919–1951)". encyclopedia.adventist.org. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  44. ^ Hook, Milton (28 November 2021). "West Szechwan Mission (1919–1951)". encyclopedia.adventist.org. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  45. ^ Stauffer 1922, p. 222.
  46. ^ Dai, Yuetan (28 September 2016). [A Centenary History of the Holy Cross Church in Wanzhou District, Chongqing]. gospeltimes.cn (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  47. ^ Yang, Tianhong (2010). "中华基督教会在川、康边地的宗教活动" [The Religious Activities of the Church of Christ in China in the Sichuan-Xikang Border Region] (PDF). Historical Research (in Simplified Chinese) (3): 165–182. ISSN 0459-1909. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  48. ^ a b c Chen, Jianming; Liu, Jiafeng, eds. (2008). . omf.org. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  49. ^ Ferris, Helen (1956). The Christian Church in Communist China, to 1952. Montgomery, AL: Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center. p. 8. OCLC 5542137.
  50. ^ Moody, Peter R. (2013). "The Catholic Church in China Today: The Limitations of Autonomy and Enculturation". Journal of Church and State. 55 (3): 403–431. doi:10.1093/jcs/css049. JSTOR 23922765. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  51. ^ Lifton, Robert J. (1957). "Chinese Communist 'Thought Reform': Confession and Re-Education of Western Civilians". Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine. 33 (9): 626–644. PMC 1806208. PMID 19312633.
  52. ^ "La Chine libère le leader religieux Wusiman Yiming". dohi-pei.org (in French). 24 November 2009. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  53. ^ Berlinger, Joshua (17 December 2018). "Detention of 100 Christians raises concerns about religious crackdown in China". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  54. ^ Zaimov, Stoyan (19 November 2018). "Christian churches facing ultimatum in China's Sichuan: Join Communist network or be shut down". christianpost.com. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  55. ^ "Courageous Chinese Christians 'Meet in Secret' After Sichuan Three-Self Church Shutdown". barnabasfund.org. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  56. ^ "Chinese police raid Christian gathering, arrest one". ucanews.com. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.

Bibliography Edit

  • Missionary Cameralogs: West China. New York: American Baptist Foreign Mission Society. 1920.
  • Bond, Geo. J. (1911). Our Share in China and What We Are Doing with It. Toronto: Missionary Society of the Methodist Church.
  • Broomhall, Marshall, ed. (1907). "The Province of Szechwan". The Chinese Empire: A General & Missionary Survey. London: Morgan & Scott.
  • Davidson, Robert J.; Mason, Isaac (1905). Life in West China: Described by Two Residents in the Province of Sz-chwan. London: Headley Brothers.
  • Gourdon, François-Marie-Joseph, ed. (1981) [1918]. 圣教入川记 [An Account of the Entry of the Catholic Religion into Sichuan] (PDF) (in Simplified Chinese). Chengdu: Sichuan People's Publishing House.
  • Li, Tang; Winkler, Dietmar W., eds. (2016). Winds of Jingjiao: Studies on Syriac Christianity in China and Central Asia. "orientalia – patristica – oecumenica" series (vol. 9). Münster: LIT Verlag. ISBN 9783643907547.
  • Lü, Shih-chiang (1976). "晚淸時期基督敎在四川省的傳敎活動及川人的反應（1860–1911）" [The Evangelization of Sichuan Province in the Late Qing Period and the Responses of the Sichuanese People (1860–1911)]. History Journal of the National Taiwan Normal University (in Traditional Chinese). Taipei: National Taiwan Normal University Department of History. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  • Stauffer, Milton T., ed. (1922). The Christian Occupation of China. Shanghai: China Continuation Committee.

August 27, 2023
christianity, sichuan, christianity, minority, religion, chinese, province, sichuan, formerly, romanized, szechwan, szechuan, also, referred, west, china, western, china, eastern, lipo, kadu, people, hmao, ethnic, groups, present, province, cathedral, immacula. Christianity is a minority religion in the Chinese province of Sichuan formerly romanized as Szechwan or Szechuan also referred to as West China or Western China The Eastern Lipo Kadu people and A Hmao are ethnic groups present in the province Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Chengdu Catholic St John s Cathedral Langzhong Anglican American Methodist Episcopal church Chongqing Methodist St Therese of Lisieux Church Chongqing Catholic Monochrome pictures indicate the denomination having been merged into government controlled Three Self Church Contents 1 History 1 1 East Syriac Christianity 1 2 Roman Catholicism 1 3 Protestantism 2 Current situation 3 Maps 4 See also 5 References 5 1 BibliographyHistory EditEast Syriac Christianity Edit East Syriac Christian figure representing Jesus Christ or a saintA presence of the East Syriac Christianity can be confirmed in Chengdu during the Tang dynasty 618 907 1 and two monasteries have been located in Chengdu and Mount Emei 2 A report by the Tang dynasty writer Li Deyu included in the Quan Tang Wen zh states that a certain Daqin cleric proficient in optometry was present in the Chengdu area 3 According to the Southern Song essay collection Nenggai zhai manlu de by Wu Zeng during the Tang dynasty Persian missionaries built a Daqin temple ja East Syriac Christian church into the existing ruins of the former Castle of Seven Treasures 七寶樓 at Chengdu which was constructed by ancient Shu kings of the Kaiming dynasty with pearl curtains installed as decorative applications It was later destroyed by the Great Fire of Shu Commandery zh during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han 141 BC 87 BC The temple consisted of a gatehouse halls and towers just like the former castle its doors were decorated with curtains made of gold pearls and green jasper 4 hence known as the Pearl Temple 珍珠樓 formerly written as 眞珠樓 lit Pearl House or Pearl Tower 5 One of the Ciqikou crosses found on a street is fundamentally identical to crosses found in Aleppo Syria The name Bakos of a priest from Chongqing is recorded on the left side second row at the very top of the Nestorian Xi an Stele 6 A pilgrim cross and several crosses of Syrian design were identified by a Syriac Orthodox priest Dale Albert Johnson in Ciqikou Chongqing dated to the 9th century The pilgrim cross embedded in a stone on Ciqikou street has a simple style as the type carved by pilgrims and travelers 7 Of the Syrian designed crosses one was found on the same street as the pilgrim cross is fundamentally identical to crosses found in Aleppo Syria 8 The icon consists of a cross within a circle touching eight points Two points on each end of the four ends of the cross touch the inner arch of the circle Each arm of the cross is narrower near the middle than at the ends The center of the cross draws to a circle at the center 9 The rest are crosses within Bodhi leaves carved on a round granite stone base sitting in front of a curio shop on a side street in Ciqikou According to Johnson crosses within Bodhi leaves heart shape or spade designs are identified as Persian crosses associated with the Syrian Christians of India 10 Roman Catholicism Edit Main article Catholic Church in Sichuan Synodus Vicariatus Sutchuensis published in Rome in 1822 The Synod of Sichuan was the first Catholic synod held in China The first Roman Catholic mission in Sichuan was carried out by Gabriel de Magalhaes and Lodovico Buglio during the 1640s After the massacre of Sichuan by Zhang Xianzhong and consequently the immigration movement of repopulation of Sichuan zh a search for surviving converts was carried out by Basil Xu no the then intendant of Eastern Sichuan Circuit zh and his mother Candida Xu who were both Catholics They found a considerable number of converts in Baoning Candida then invited the priest Claudius Motel to serve the congregation Several churches were built in Chengdu Baoning and Chongqing under the supervision of Motel 11 Coat of arms of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chengdu The predecessor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chengdu the Apostolic Vicariate of Setchuen Sichuan was established on 15 October 1696 and Artus de Lionne a French missionary was the first apostolic vicar 12 In 1753 the Paris Foreign Missions Society took over responsibility for Catholic mission in Sichuan In 1803 the first synod ever celebrated in China took place in Chongqingzhou convened by Louis Gabriel Taurin Dufresse 12 13 14 By 1804 the Sichuanese Catholic community included four French missionaries and eighteen local priests 15 By 1870 the Church in Sichuan had 80 000 faithful which was the largest number of Catholics in the entire country 16 The first group of Spanish Redemptorists left for China in February 1928 Segundo Miguel Rodriguez Jose Moran Pan and Segundo Velasco Arina They were active in the Apostolic Vicariate of Chengdu and the Apostolic Vicariate of Ningyuanfu in Xichang 17 15 and had a house and chapel built in Chengdu 18 The last Spanish Redemptorists were expelled from China by the Communist government in 1952 17 15The Sichuan Major Seminary zh was established in 1984 in Chengdu 19 In 2000 Lucy Yi Zhenmei a 19th century virgin martyr from Mianzhou now Mianyang was canonised a saint by Pope John Paul II Today the Catholic population of the province is estimated at 250 000 persons 20 Protestantism Edit Main article Protestantism in Sichuan See also Anglicanism in Sichuan Methodism in Sichuan Quakerism in Sichuan Baptist Christianity in Sichuan and Seventh day Adventist Church in Sichuan Former headquarters of China Inland Mission CIM at London The CIM carried out the first Protestant mission in Sichuan in 1877 American Baptist church at Yazhou Yachowfu American Methodist Episcopal church at Chengdu Chengtu English Quaker meeting house at Tongchuan Tungchwan In 1868 Griffith John of the London Missionary Society and Alexander Wylie of the British and Foreign Bible Society entered Sichuan as the first Protestant missionaries to take up work in that province They travelled throughout Sichuan and reported the situation along the way to the headquarters of various missionary societies in Britain and missionaries in China which opened the door for the entry of Protestantism into Sichuan 21 However no other missionaries visited this province again until 1877 when Rev John McCarthy of the China Inland Mission CIM after landing at Wanxian travelled via Shunqing to Chongqing where he arrived on 1 May There he rented premises for other CIM missionaries to use as a base 22 23 In 1882 American Methodist Episcopal missionaries arrived in Chongqing Chungking Their early efforts encountered strong resistance and riots that led to the abandonment of the mission It was not until 1889 that these Methodists came back and started the mission again 24 The year 1887 marks the arrival of the Anglican representatives of the CIM William Cassels already in holy orders Arthur T Polhill Turner was reading for orders when he volunteered for China and Montagu Proctor Beauchamp All three were members of the Cambridge Seven 25 In 1888 the London Missionary Society began work in Sichuan taking Chongqing as their center a city in the east of the province In addition they had a large district to the south and southeast 26 The first American Baptist missionaries to reach the province were Rev W M Upcraft and Rev George Warner who sailed in 1889 The journey required many weeks before their arrival in Suifu where they established the first mission station 27 Four more stations were established in Jiading Kiating 1894 Yazhou Yachow 1894 Ningyuan 1905 and Chengdu Chengtu 1909 28 Robert John and Mary Jane Davidson of Friends Foreign Mission Association introduced Quakerism into Tongchuan Tungchwan in 1889 Within 19 years five monthly meetings were successively established in Chengdu Chongqing Tongchuan Tongliang Tungliang and Suining 29 At the close of 1891 the Rev James Heywood Horsburgh along with Mrs Horsburgh Rev O M Jackson three laymen and six single women missionaries entered Sichuan as the first band of Church Missionary Society CMS missionaries to take up work in that province 30 By 1894 CMS work had started in Mianzhou Mienchow Zhongba Chungpa Anhsien Mianzhu Mienchu and Xindu Sintu 31 Their first church was founded in 1894 in Zhongba 32 First Canadian Methodist missionaries to Sichuan 1891 In 1892 the Canadian Methodist Mission established missionary stations in Chengdu and Leshan 33 A church and a hospital zh were subsequently built in Jinjiang District Chengdu which was the result of a team effort by O L Kilborn V C Hart zh G E Hartwell D W Stevenson and others 34 In 1910 the Canadian Mission took over Chongqing district from London Missionary Society 35 Seal of the Anglican Diocese of Szechwan William Cassels first bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Szechwan The Anglican Diocese of Szechwan was established in 1895 under the supervision of the Church of England The foundation of the diocese was the result from the efforts of William Cassels Arthur T Polhill Turner and Montagu Proctor Beauchamp 36 Cassels was consecrated as the first diocesan bishop in Westminster Abbey in the same year In 1897 Cecil Polhill also one of the Cambridge Seven along with other four China Inland Mission missionaries they established a missionary station in Dajianlu Tatsienlu western Sichuan which paved the way for the future construction of the Gospel Church 37 38 The West China Union University was launched in 1910 in Chengdu It was the product of a collective effort of four Protestant missionary boards American Baptist Foreign Mission Society American Baptist Churches USA American Methodist Episcopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Church Friends Foreign Mission Association British Quakers and Canadian Methodist Mission Methodist Church of Canada 39 The Church Missionary Society Church of England became a partner in the university in 1918 40 41 In 1914 the Adventist Mission established a mission station in Chongqing Their Sichuan Mission was officially formed in 1917 42 In 1919 the mission was divided into East Sichuan Mission and West Sichuan Mission for easier administration 43 44 By 1922 the Foreign Christian Missionary Society had its center at Bathang Due to the constitution of Sichuan at the time Bathang fell outside the western boundary and belonged to the special territory of Xikang Chwanpien 45 Lutheranism also had a small presence in Chongqing which was part of east Sichuan The Lutheran Holy Cross Church was founded in Wan County in 1925 under the supervision of George Oliver Lillegard zh 46 a pastor missionary sent by the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod 17 In 1940 the Church of Christ in China established the first mission station in Lifan a county lying in the Sichuan Khams Tibetan border region as part of their Border Service Movement This movement had a marked character of Social Gospel with the aim of spreading Christianity to the Tibetan Qiang and Yi peoples 47 In 1950 it was estimated there were more than 50 000 Protestants in Sichuan meeting in hundreds of churches and chapels 48 Today the number of Protestants exceeds 200 000 many Christians reside in rural areas 48 Panzhihua was an area of rapid growth of Christianity in around 2000 48 A Sichuan Theological College exists Current situation EditAfter the communist takeover of China in 1949 Protestant churches in the country were forced to sever their ties with respective overseas churches which has thus led to the merging of all the denominations into the communist sanctioned Three Self Patriotic Church 49 As for the Catholic Church in China all legal worship has to be conducted in government approved churches belonging to the Catholic Patriotic Association which does not accept the primacy of the Roman pontiff 50 Some missionaries were arrested and sent to thought reform centers in which they underwent disturbing re education process in a vindictive prison setting 51 On 20 June 2009 the police in Langzhong set free 18 house church leaders arrested on 9 June 52 In 2018 Wang Yi a well known pastor from Chengdu along with 100 Christians was detained by authorities Wang was reportedly arrested on allegations of inciting subversion of state power 53 That same year four Christian churches in Sichuan were given an ultimatum and told they must join the Three Self Church or be shut down 54 In 2019 200 congregants in Chengdu began to meet in secret after their state registered Three Self church had been shut down 55 On 14 August 2022 police in Chengdu raided a Sunday gathering of the Early Rain Covenant Church and detained a leader 56 Maps Edit Seven apostolic vicariates of Sichuan Catholic MEP Western Szechwan mission Catholic MEP Eastern Szechwan mission Catholic MEP Southern Szechwan mission Catholic China Inland Mission Anglican and free church Map of Sichuan showing Anglican mission stations of China Inland Mission CIM Church Missionary Society CMS and Bible Churchmen s Missionary Society BCMS Canadian Methodist Mission in central Sichuan West China Mission of the United Church of Canada Methodist American Methodist Episcopal Mission area in Sichuan Map of Sichuan showing American Baptist mission stations Area of Sichuan compared with British Isles Shaded portion is Friends Foreign Mission Association s district Friends Foreign Mission Association s Quaker district in Sichuan Map of Sichuan showing division of the field by seven Protestant mission societies ABM AMEM CIM CMM CMS FFMA and LMSSee also EditAn Account of the Entry of the Catholic Religion into Sichuan Anti Christian Movement China Anti missionary riots in China Antireligious campaigns of the Chinese Communist Party Chinese Rites controversy Denunciation Movement Islam in Sichuan Underground church Category Catholic Church in Sichuan Category Protestantism in Sichuan Christianity in Sichuan s neighbouring provinces Christianity in Guizhou Christianity in Qinghai Christianity in Shaanxi Christianity in TibetReferences Edit Li amp Winkler 2016 p 261 Baumer Christoph 2016 The Church of the East An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity New ed London I B Tauris p 183 ISBN 978 1 78453 683 1 Kotyk Jeffrey DDB Nestorian Christianity in China academia edu Retrieved 26 July 2022 Wu Zeng 1843 Nenggai zhai manlu in Traditional Chinese Wongso Peter 1 May 2006 認識基督教史略 二千年教會史簡介 A Concise Illustration to History of Christianity in Traditional Chinese Hong Kong Golden Lampstand Publishing Society p 216 ISBN 9789627597469 Li amp Winkler 2016 p 42 Johnson Dale A 2012 Did the Syriac Orthodox Build Churches in China soc wus org Retrieved 20 September 2022 Li amp Winkler 2016 p 44 Li amp Winkler 2016 p 43 Li amp Winkler 2016 p 48 Gourdon 1981 pp 63 64 a b Charbonnier Jean Partir en mission a la Chine Place aux pretres chinois mepasie org in French Archived from the original on 15 August 2011 Retrieved 1 July 2011 Wright Arnold ed 1908 Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong Shanghai and other Treaty Ports of China Their History People Commerce Industries and Resources London Lloyd s Greater Britain publishing Company Synodus Vicariatus Sutchuensis habita in districtu civitatis Tcong King Tcheou Anno 1803 Diebus secunda quinta et nona Septembris The Synod of the Vicariate of Sichuan held in the District of the City of Chongqingzhou in the Year 1803 on the Second Fifth and Ninth Days of September in Latin Rome Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide 1822 hdl 2027 coo 31924023069010 Ma Te 8 November 2018 On the Trail of Sichuan s Catholic Past u osu edu Retrieved 21 June 2021 Lu 1976 p 266 a b c Tiedemann R G 1 July 2016 Reference Guide to Christian Missionary Societies in China From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Century Milton Park Routledge ISBN 9781315497310 Donnithorne Audrey G 29 March 2019 China in Life s Foreground North Melbourne Australian Scholarly Publishing ISBN 9781925801576 Eglises du silence Chine la grande inconnue sedcontra fr in French 29 April 2011 Archived from the original on 27 May 2011 Retrieved 24 July 2022 Refugee Review Tribunal Australia PDF unhcr org 16 June 2009 Archived from the original PDF on 18 October 2012 Retrieved 24 July 2022 Wang Yi 30 August 2007 基督教在四川的历史要略 Outline of the History of Protestant Christianity in Sichuan observechina net in Simplified Chinese Archived from the original on 3 January 2009 Retrieved 8 June 2021 Doyle G Wright John McCarthy Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity Retrieved 28 August 2022 Broomhall 1907 p 229 Baker Richard T 1946 Methodism in China The War Years New York Board of Missions and Church Extension p 19 Gray G F S 1996 Anglicans in China A History of the Zhonghua Shenggong Hui Chung Hua Sheng Kung Huei New Haven CT The Episcopal China Mission History Project p 13 CiteSeerX 10 1 1 695 4591 Davidson amp Mason 1905 p 154 ABFMS 1920 p 18 ABFMS 1920 p 26 Du Swun Deh 1937 Quakerism in West China Bulletin of Friends Historical Association 26 2 88 91 JSTOR 41944051 Retrieved 27 August 2022 Norris Frank L 1908 Chapter X The Church in Western China Handbooks of English Church Expansion China Oxford A R Mowbray Keen Rosemary Church Missionary Society Archive Section I East Asia Missions Western China ampltd co uk Retrieved 1 September 2022 China Continuation Committee ed 1915 中華基督教會年鑑 The China Church Year Book in Traditional Chinese Shanghai The Commercial Press p 114 Lu 1976 p 270 Yang Tao 28 December 2013 四圣祠街 旧时公馆大户扎堆地 Sishengci Street An Area for Wealthy Families and Their Mansions news 163 com in Simplified Chinese Archived from the original on 10 December 2017 Retrieved 5 July 2022 Bond 1911 p 147 Austin Alvyn 1996 Missions Dream Team Christian History Worcester PA Christian History Institute Retrieved 10 June 2021 Zi Yu 2017 A Description of CIM Missionary Workers to the Tibetan Highlands Prior to 1950 omf org Retrieved 10 June 2021 Zhu Yaling 2015 传教士顾福安及其康藏研究 The Missionary Robert Cunningham and His Tibetan Studies of the Khams Area PDF 藏学学刊 Journal of Tibetology in Simplified Chinese Chengdu Center for Tibetan Studies of Sichuan University 1 192 Retrieved 10 June 2021 West China Union University library vicu utoronto ca Retrieved 8 June 2021 West China Union University PDF divinity adhoc library yale edu Retrieved 24 July 2022 Stauffer 1922 p 231 Hook Milton 2020 Szechwan Mission 1917 1919 PDF encyclopedia adventist org Retrieved 27 August 2022 Hook Milton 28 November 2021 East Szechwan Mission 1919 1951 encyclopedia adventist org Retrieved 27 August 2022 Hook Milton 28 November 2021 West Szechwan Mission 1919 1951 encyclopedia adventist org Retrieved 27 August 2022 Stauffer 1922 p 222 Dai Yuetan 28 September 2016 重庆市万州区基督教圣十字堂的百年历史 A Centenary History of the Holy Cross Church in Wanzhou District Chongqing gospeltimes cn in Simplified Chinese Archived from the original on 2 June 2021 Retrieved 5 July 2022 Yang Tianhong 2010 中华基督教会在川 康边地的宗教活动 The Religious Activities of the Church of Christ in China in the Sichuan Xikang Border Region PDF Historical Research in Simplified Chinese 3 165 182 ISSN 0459 1909 Retrieved 28 August 2022 a b c Chen Jianming Liu Jiafeng eds 2008 Christianity in Sichuan omf org Archived from the original on 29 September 2011 Retrieved 24 July 2022 Ferris Helen 1956 The Christian Church in Communist China to 1952 Montgomery AL Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center p 8 OCLC 5542137 Moody Peter R 2013 The Catholic Church in China Today The Limitations of Autonomy and Enculturation Journal of Church and State 55 3 403 431 doi 10 1093 jcs css049 JSTOR 23922765 Retrieved 28 August 2022 Lifton Robert J 1957 Chinese Communist Thought Reform Confession and Re Education of Western Civilians Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine 33 9 626 644 PMC 1806208 PMID 19312633 La Chine libere le leader religieux Wusiman Yiming dohi pei org in French 24 November 2009 Archived from the original on 29 July 2012 Retrieved 24 July 2022 Berlinger Joshua 17 December 2018 Detention of 100 Christians raises concerns about religious crackdown in China edition cnn com Retrieved 28 August 2022 Zaimov Stoyan 19 November 2018 Christian churches facing ultimatum in China s Sichuan Join Communist network or be shut down christianpost com Retrieved 28 August 2022 Courageous Chinese Christians Meet in Secret After Sichuan Three Self Church Shutdown barnabasfund org 12 March 2020 Retrieved 28 August 2022 Chinese police raid Christian gathering arrest one ucanews com 17 August 2022 Retrieved 28 August 2022 Bibliography Edit Missionary Cameralogs West China New York American Baptist Foreign Mission Society 1920 Bond Geo J 1911 Our Share in China and What We Are Doing with It Toronto Missionary Society of the Methodist Church Broomhall Marshall ed 1907 The Province of Szechwan The Chinese Empire A General amp Missionary Survey London Morgan amp Scott Davidson Robert J Mason Isaac 1905 Life in West China Described by Two Residents in the Province of Sz chwan London Headley Brothers Gourdon Francois Marie Joseph ed 1981 1918 圣教入川记 An Account of the Entry of the Catholic Religion into Sichuan PDF in Simplified Chinese Chengdu Sichuan People s Publishing House Li Tang Winkler Dietmar W eds 2016 Winds of Jingjiao Studies on Syriac Christianity in China and Central Asia orientalia patristica oecumenica series vol 9 Munster LIT Verlag ISBN 9783643907547 Lu Shih chiang 1976 晚淸時期基督敎在四川省的傳敎活動及川人的反應 1860 1911 The Evangelization of Sichuan Province in the Late Qing Period and the Responses of the Sichuanese People 1860 1911 History Journal of the National Taiwan Normal University in Traditional Chinese Taipei National Taiwan Normal University Department of History Retrieved 5 July 2022 Stauffer Milton T ed 1922 The Christian Occupation of China Shanghai China Continuation Committee Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Christianity in Sichuan amp oldid 1172369029, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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