Christianity in Sichuan

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 [fr] (Catholic)
St John's Cathedral, Langzhong (Anglican)

Christianity is a minority in Sichuan province of the People's Republic of China, despite the fact that the Christian presence dates back to the Tang dynasty (618–907). Eastern Lipo, Kadu people and A-Hmao are ethnic groups present in the province.

History[]

East Syriac Christianity[]

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]

According to the Southern Song essay collection,  [de] by Wu Zeng, during the Tang dynasty, Persian missionaries built a  [ja] (East Syriac Christian church) into the existing ruins of the former Castle of Seven Treasures (七寶樓), which was constructed by ancient Shu kings of the  [zh], with pearl curtains installed as decorative applications. It was later destroyed by the Great Fire of  [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,[3] hence known as the 'Pearl Temple' (珍珠樓, formerly written as 眞珠樓, lit. 'Pearl House' or 'Pearl Tower').[4]

Roman Catholicism[]

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  [zh], a search for surviving converts was carried out by  [no], the then intendant of  [zh], and his mother Candida Xu, who were both Catholics. They found a considerable number of converts in Paoning, Candida then invited the priest Claudius Motel to serve the congregation. Several churches were built in Chengdu, Paoning and Chongqing under the supervision of Motel.[5]

In 1696, the French missionary Mgr Artus de Lionne became apostolic prefect of Sichuan.[6] In 1753, the Paris Foreign Missions Society took over responsibility for Catholic mission in Sichuan. By 1804, the Sichuanese Catholic community included four French missionaries and eighteen local priests.[7] The  [zh] was established in 1984 in Chengdu.[8] In 2000, Lucy Yi Zhenmei, a 19th-century virgin martyr from Mianyang, was canonised a saint by Pope John Paul II. Today, the Catholic population of the province is estimated at 250,000 persons.[9]

Protestantism[]

In 1868, Griffith John of London Missionary Society and Alexander Wylie of British and Foreign Bible Society entered Sichuan as the first Protestant missionaries to take up work in that province. They travelled throughout Sichuan, 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.[10]

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, who were members of the Cambridge Seven.[11] Cassels was consecrated as the first diocesan bishop in Westminster Abbey, in the same year. Lutheranism also had a presence in Chongqing, which was part of east Sichuan. The Lutheran Holy Cross Church was founded in Wan County in 1925.

In 1897, Cecil Polhill, also one of the Cambridge Seven, along with other four China Inland Mission missionaries, they established a missionary station in Tatsienlu, west of Sichuan, which paved the way for the future construction of the Gospel Church.[12][13]

The West China Union University was launched in 1910, in Chengdu. It was the product of the collective efforts of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (American Baptist Churches USA), the Board of Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Friends Foreign Mission Association (Quakers) and the General Board of Missions of the Methodist Church of Canada.[14]

In 1950 it was estimated there were more than 50,000 Protestants in Sichuan, meeting in hundreds of churches and chapels.[15] Today, the number of Protestants exceeds 200,000. [16] Many Christians are in rural areas. [17] Panzhihua was an area of rapid growth of Christianity in around 2000 AD.[18]

On 20 June 2009, the police in Langzhong set free 18 house church leaders arrested on 9 June. [19] A exists.

Roman Catholic dioceses in Sichuan[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Li, Tang; Winkler, Dietmar W., eds. (2016). Winds of Jingjiao. "orientalia – patristica – oecumenica" series (vol. 9). Münster: LIT Verlag. p. 261. ISBN 9783643907547.
  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. ^ Wu, Zeng (1843). Nenggai zhai manlu (in Traditional Chinese).
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Gourdon, François-Marie-Joseph, ed. (1981). 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. pp. 63–64.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2011-07-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ Ma, Te (8 November 2018). "On the Trail of Sichuan's Catholic Past". u.osu.edu. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2011-07-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/4b6fe1be1.pdf
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Austin, Alvyn (1996). "Missions Dream Team". Christian History. Worcester, PA: Christian History Institute. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  12. ^ Zi, Yu (2017). "A Description of CIM Missionary Workers to the Tibetan Highlands Prior to 1950". omf.org. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "West China Union University". library.vicu.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  15. ^ http://www.omf.org/omf/us/resources__1/newsletters/global_chinese_ministries/gcm_newsletter_2010/global_chinese_ministries_may_2010__2/christianity_in_sichuan
  16. ^ http://www.omf.org/omf/us/resources__1/newsletters/global_chinese_ministries/gcm_newsletter_2010/global_chinese_ministries_may_2010__2/christianity_in_sichuan
  17. ^ http://www.omf.org/omf/us/resources__1/newsletters/global_chinese_ministries/gcm_newsletter_2010/global_chinese_ministries_may_2010__2/christianity_in_sichuan
  18. ^ http://www.omf.org/omf/us/resources__1/newsletters/global_chinese_ministries/gcm_newsletter_2010/global_chinese_ministries_may_2010__2/christianity_in_sichuan
  19. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2011-07-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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