Diocese of Western China

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Diocese of Western China

聖公會華西教區
St John's Cathedral, Paoning.jpg
The diocesan cathedral, circa 1914
Location
CountryQing and Republican China
TerritorySzechwan
Ecclesiastical provinceChina
Information
DenominationAnglican
RiteAnglican Rite
Established1895
Dissolvedc. 1958
CathedralSt John's Cathedral, Paoning
LanguageEnglish, Szechwanese

The Diocese of Western China (Chinese: 聖公會華西教區; Wade–Giles: Shêng Kung Hui Hua Hsi Chiao Chʽü; lit. 'Anglican Diocese of Western China'), also known as Diocese of Szechwan (Chinese: 聖公會四川教區; Wade–Giles: Shêng Kung Hui Ssu Chʽuan Chiao Chʽü; lit. 'Anglican Diocese of Szechwan') or Hua Hsi Diocese (華西教區), was an Anglican diocese in late-Qing-dynasty and Republican China, established in 1895,[1] under the supervision of the Church of England. It had belonged to the Church in China since its outset, and had been part of the Chinese Anglican Church since 1912. In 1936, it was divided into Diocese of East Szechwan (聖公會東川教區) and Diocese of West Szechwan (聖公會西川教區).[2]

History[]

The Cambridge Seven, who were missionaries to China through the China Inland Mission (CIM), arrived in Shanghai in 1885. Three of them, William Cassels, Arthur T. Polhill-Turner and Montagu Proctor-Beauchamp, were sent up by the CIM into the Western Province of Szechwan, where they established a proper Church of England diocese.[3] Arthur's elder brother, Cecil H. Polhill-Turner, felt drawn towards the people of Tibet, went to Tatsienlu, a Khams Tibetan city within Szechwan, and he had laboured on the Sino and Indo-Tibetan borders since then.[4][5]

At the close of 1891, the Rev J H Horsburgh of the Church Missionary Society (CMS), along with his wife Mrs Horsburgh, the Rev O M Jackson, three laymen, and six single women missionaries, entered Szechwan as the first band of CMS missionaries to take up work in that province.[6] By 1894, CMS work had started in Mienchow, Chungpa, Anhsien, Mienchu and Sintu, all of which are in the west of the region.[1] Meanwhile the CIM workers, based in Paoning, were also breaking ground in East Szechwan.

In 1895, steps were taken for the formation of a new diocese, due to the fact that the Church was represented by two Societies on the field. Cassels was eventually consecrated Bishop of Western China on 18 October 1895, in Westminster Abbey. As aforementioned, the CMS worked the western portion, the CIM the eastern portion. But after Cassels's consecration, the work was being more and more co-ordinated under his guidance.[6]

The Diocese was split into Dioceses of East Szechwan and West Szechwan in 1936.[2]

Bishops and assistant bishops[]

Western China[]

Assistant bishops[]

  • 1922–1926: Howard Mowll
  • 1929–1936: Ku Ho-ling
  • 1929–1936: Song Cheng-chih

East Szechwan[]

Assistant bishops[]

  • 1936–1947: Ku Ho-ling

West Szechwan[]

  • 1936–1937: John Holden
  • 1937–1950: Song Cheng-chih

Assistant bishops[]

  • 1936–1937: Song Cheng-chih
  • 1943–1950: H A Maxwell

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Keen, Rosemary. "Church Missionary Society Archive—Section I: East Asia Missions: Western China". ampltd.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b Wickeri, Philip L., ed. (2015). Christian Encounters with Chinese Culture: Essays on Anglican and Episcopal History in China (PDF). Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. p. 211. ISBN 9789888208388.
  3. ^ Austin, Alvyn (1996). "Missions Dream Team". Christian History. Worcester, PA: Christian History Institute. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  4. ^ Usher, John M. "About Cecil Polhill". pconline.org.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Papers of Cecil and Arthur Polhill". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  6. ^ a b Norris, Frank L. (1908). "Chapter X. The Church in Western China". Handbooks of English Church Expansion: China. Oxford: A. R. Mowbray.
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