St. Joseph Cathedral (Chinese: 圣若瑟主教座堂; pinyin: Shèng Ruòsè Zhǔjiào Zuòtáng), also known as the Xikai Church (Chinese: 西開堂; pinyin: Xikāi Táng), is a Roman Catholic church located in the central commercial district and former French concession of Tianjin, China. It is at the southern end of Binjiang Dao (滨江道) in Heping District. The cathedral is one of Tianjin's protected historical relics.[1] The church was built in 1913 under the name of MG Church before it was renamed St. Joseph's Church. It is the largest Roman Catholic Church in Tianjin.
In August 1913, construction began, and each brick had to be shipped from France. In June 1916, Xikai was completed and became the main cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tianjin. Afterward, Bishop Paul-Marie Dumond opened the St. Joseph's Primary School (now Tianjin No. 21 Middle School). Since then the diocese also acquired a St. Joseph's School of Law and the Catholic Hospital (now Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Tianjin).
At the start of construction, the French concession of Tianjin was ordered to station police in the area. On October 20, 1916, however, the French stationed police was forced to disarm by local Chinese police who detained the bridge and caused massive public protests in Tianjin. Later, the Sino-French people of the region maintained control. On August 23, 1966, the Red Guards attacked the area, during which three towers were destroyed and were not rebuilt until the 1980s.
The 1976 Tangshan earthquake also caused some damage. The two front shock towers at the base of the dome were severely damaged, and the repairs to the base did not begin until 1979. They were completed in the Fall of 1980 when the official opening was celebrated. In August 1991, August, Xikai was listed on Tianjin's cultural relics protection list. As of today, the church is still the largest Catholic Church in the Tianjin metropolitan area.
Architectural styleedit
Inside Xikai CathedralXikai Cathedral profile
Xikai is northern China's largest Romanesque church, with an area of 1891.95 square meters and can accommodate 1,500 people. The giant dome has a "product" shape with a green copper surface on the outside, supported by a wood structure and topped with a bronze cross. At the time it was built, the bishop refused to install a lightning rod on the dome, but 50 years later it was added. However, 80 years later when the area became a commercial center for Tianjin, the church was no longer the tallest building and therefore no longer required a lightning rod. Xikai's walls are checkered with red and yellow tiles and framed with white water masonry. Circular windows, columns, large indoor paintings, a large pipe organ, and semi-circular windows accent the building. The entrance consists of two doors in the back of Xikai, originally meant to allow men and women to enter through separate doors.
The interior of Xikai is based on French and Roman architecture styles. The long main hall is lined by 14 large columns (two rows of seven), leading to a gallery-style tee. The nave has a stacked composite side portico, supported by semi-circular tops. The tall central dome consists of an octagonal drum roof that complements the octagonal windows throughout the church. Its side windows are stained glass with inlay painting. Painted, ornate murals, full of Biblical scenes, cover the walls.
Religious activitiesedit
There are two Our Lady of China, Tianjin (OLCTJ) parishes that celebrate at this cathedral: Chinese and English.
Every morning the Chinese parish holds a Mass, while also providing additional Saturday and Sunday services.
The English speaking parish,[2] started in 2007 by Father Joseph Loftus, celebrates at 11:30am every Sunday, with special Masses around certain holidays. Since this parish began, the English speaking foreign celebrants have created a Council to run all of the parish activities including a Music Ministry, Youth Group, Rosary Group, potluck meals, a RCIA, and a Charity Ministry. More specifically, the Xikai English parish has developed partnerships to help with Tianjin's local Huiling Orphanage[3] and TICCO.
joseph, cathedral, tianjin, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, joseph, cathedral, tianjin, news, newspa. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources St Joseph Cathedral Tianjin news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message St Joseph Cathedral Chinese 圣若瑟主教座堂 pinyin Sheng Ruose Zhǔjiao Zuotang also known as the Xikai Church Chinese 西開堂 pinyin Xikai Tang is a Roman Catholic church located in the central commercial district and former French concession of Tianjin China It is at the southern end of Binjiang Dao 滨江道 in Heping District The cathedral is one of Tianjin s protected historical relics 1 The church was built in 1913 under the name of MG Church before it was renamed St Joseph s Church It is the largest Roman Catholic Church in Tianjin St Joseph CathedralFacade of St Joseph s Catholic ChurchReligionAffiliationRoman CatholicDistrictRoman Catholic Diocese of TianjinRegionHebei Province of ChinaStatusActiveLocationLocationXining Road Heping District Tianjin ChinaArchitectureTypeChurchStyleNeo Byzantine architectureGroundbreaking1913Completed1916SpecificationsDirection of facadeNortheastCapacity1 500 peopleInterior area1 891 95 m2 20 364 8 sq ft Websitewww wbr tj church wbr org Contents 1 History 2 Architectural style 3 Religious activities 4 Images 5 References 6 External linksHistory editIn 1912 the Holy See issued an edict announced by Zhili Vicariate on behalf of the Northern Territory Zhili Vicariate Tianjin s Bishop House was located near the Sancha River in the Wanghailou Church and the first apostolic vicar was Paul Marie Dumond of the Congregation of the Mission In August 1913 construction began and each brick had to be shipped from France In June 1916 Xikai was completed and became the main cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tianjin Afterward Bishop Paul Marie Dumond opened the St Joseph s Primary School now Tianjin No 21 Middle School Since then the diocese also acquired a St Joseph s School of Law and the Catholic Hospital now Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Tianjin At the start of construction the French concession of Tianjin was ordered to station police in the area On October 20 1916 however the French stationed police was forced to disarm by local Chinese police who detained the bridge and caused massive public protests in Tianjin Later the Sino French people of the region maintained control On August 23 1966 the Red Guards attacked the area during which three towers were destroyed and were not rebuilt until the 1980s The 1976 Tangshan earthquake also caused some damage The two front shock towers at the base of the dome were severely damaged and the repairs to the base did not begin until 1979 They were completed in the Fall of 1980 when the official opening was celebrated In August 1991 August Xikai was listed on Tianjin s cultural relics protection list As of today the church is still the largest Catholic Church in the Tianjin metropolitan area Architectural style edit nbsp Inside Xikai Cathedral nbsp Xikai Cathedral profileXikai is northern China s largest Romanesque church with an area of 1891 95 square meters and can accommodate 1 500 people The giant dome has a product shape with a green copper surface on the outside supported by a wood structure and topped with a bronze cross At the time it was built the bishop refused to install a lightning rod on the dome but 50 years later it was added However 80 years later when the area became a commercial center for Tianjin the church was no longer the tallest building and therefore no longer required a lightning rod Xikai s walls are checkered with red and yellow tiles and framed with white water masonry Circular windows columns large indoor paintings a large pipe organ and semi circular windows accent the building The entrance consists of two doors in the back of Xikai originally meant to allow men and women to enter through separate doors The interior of Xikai is based on French and Roman architecture styles The long main hall is lined by 14 large columns two rows of seven leading to a gallery style tee The nave has a stacked composite side portico supported by semi circular tops The tall central dome consists of an octagonal drum roof that complements the octagonal windows throughout the church Its side windows are stained glass with inlay painting Painted ornate murals full of Biblical scenes cover the walls Religious activities editThere are two Our Lady of China Tianjin OLCTJ parishes that celebrate at this cathedral Chinese and English Every morning the Chinese parish holds a Mass while also providing additional Saturday and Sunday services The English speaking parish 2 started in 2007 by Father Joseph Loftus celebrates at 11 30am every Sunday with special Masses around certain holidays Since this parish began the English speaking foreign celebrants have created a Council to run all of the parish activities including a Music Ministry Youth Group Rosary Group potluck meals a RCIA and a Charity Ministry More specifically the Xikai English parish has developed partnerships to help with Tianjin s local Huiling Orphanage 3 and TICCO Images edit nbsp Church interior rear view nbsp Virgin Mary outside the Church nbsp Church Night nbsp 2010 Easter of the Western churchReferences edit Welcome to nginx eaa1a9e1db47ffcca16305566a6efba4 185 15 56 1 Archived from the original on 2013 06 28 Retrieved 2011 07 18 https www facebook com olctj user generated source Home huiling org cn External links editOfficial website 39 07 01 N 117 11 15 E 39 11694 N 117 18750 E 39 11694 117 18750 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Joseph Cathedral Tianjin amp oldid 1175609484, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
