Donguang Church (), located in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China, is one of the largest and oldest Protestant churches in

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of ...

. It is also known as the cradle of Christianity of the

Koreans in China Koreans in China (), Korean Chinese (), Joseonjok, Chosŏnjok (), or Chaoxianzu (), are Chinese by nationality and are Koreans by ethnicity (with either full or partial Korean ancestry). A majority of the chaoxianzu are descendants of immigran ...

and in the Korean Peninsula.

General

Donguan Church, built in the second half of the 19th century, is located in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. It is one of the largest and oldest Protestant churches in

. It was so named because it was built just outside East Gate, also called Dongguan (East Barrier), as a church was not allowed within the city wall. John Ross (his Chinese name: ), sent by the United Presbyterian Church,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, to

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

, went first to

Yingkou Yingkou () is a coastal prefecture-level city of central southern Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, on the northeastern shore of Liaodong Bay. It is the third-smallest city in Liaoning with a total area of , and the ninth most popul ...

, then moved to

Mukden Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu name Mukden, is a major Chinese sub-provincial city and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. Located in central-north Liaoning, it is the prov ...

(Shenyang) and established a church here in 1889. This church building was destroyed during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, but was reconstructed in 1907. It was damaged during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, yet enlarged in 1992. An Annex was built in 1998. The centennial of the 1907 church building dedication was celebrated in 2007. Today, Christian worship is held in the main Church building and, on Sundays (7:00, 9:00 and 11:00 am), relayed also to the 5-storey Annex building behind, by cable TV. On the right of the main building is John Ross Memorial Hall, which is also open to the public.

First Korean Bible translation

While in China, John Ross met traders from Korea one day, and decided to get a Korean translation of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

Bible, which was completed in 1887 and brought to Korea.John Ross (1842-1915), Scottish Presbyterian Missionary in Manchuria

General

First Korean Bible translation

References

See also