Changchung Cathedral

Changchung Cathedral
Chosŏn'gŭl	장충성당
Hancha	長忠聖堂
Revised Romanization	Jangchung-seongdang
McCune–Reischauer	Changch'ung-sŏngdang

Changchung Cathedral
Changchung Cathedral
	Exterior of Changchung Cathedral
Religion
Affiliation	North Korean Catholic
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Cathedral
Leadership
Status	No bishop
Location
Location	Changchung, Songyo-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea
	Location in Pyongyang
Geographic coordinates	39°00′25″N 125°46′40″E / 39.00694°N 125.77778°ECoordinates: 39°00′25″N 125°46′40″E / 39.00694°N 125.77778°E
Architecture
Completed	1988

Interior of the Changchung Cathedral

Changchung Cathedral is the nominal cathedral of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Pyongyang, North Korea, located in the Changchung neighborhood of Songyo-guyok, Pyongyang. It is one of only four official Christian places of worship in Pyongyang. It operates under the .^[1]

History[]

Before the division of Korea, Pyongyang was the city with the highest number of Christian believers in Korea, and was known as the "Korean Jerusalem".^[2] By 1945, nearly 1/6 of its citizens were Christians. Therefore, Pyongyang was made into the only diocese in northern Korea.

After the division of Korea, however, the Communist government under Kim Il-sung persecuted Christians as imperialist collaborators and spies; even the famous Christian Nationalist Cho Man-sik, initially more influential than Kim, was arrested and shot. Much of the Catholic community was either killed or imprisoned, and many more fled south.

The original cathedral, built of red brick in the late 19th century, was destroyed in the Korean War by American forces. Earlier, in 1949, the last formal Bishop of Pyongyang, Francis Hong Yong-ho, had been imprisoned by the communist government; he later disappeared.

In 1988 a new cathedral was opened in East Pyongyang. At the same time, two nondenominational "protestant" churches were opened in an effort by the government to show religious freedom.^[3]

Operation[]

The cathedral is operated by the and is not affiliated with the Holy See.^[1]^[4] Because of the strained relations with the Holy See, the cathedral currently has no bishop or even an ordained priest.^[3]^[2] There is no resident priest either. Masses are offered by foreign clergy.^[1]

There is a noodle factory associated with the church that receives financial support from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul and Catholic Koreans in the United States.^[1]