Nanxun Christian Church () is a

Protestant church Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes justification of sinners through faith alone, the teaching that salvation comes by unmerited divine grace, the priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the sole infallible sourc ...

located in

Nanxun District Nanxun District () is a district in the prefecture-level city of Huzhou, Zhejiang province, China. Nanxun Town, an ancient water town, is located in the district. It is one of the most well-preserved old towns in this region and is known for it ...

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, China.

History

The introduction of Christianity into the

Nanxun Nanxun () is a historic town in Nanxun District of Huzhou, Zhejiang, China. As of the 2007 census it had a population of 119,300 and an area of . Name The name of Nanxun was coined by a combination of the initial Chinese characters of two place' ...

area began in 1860, belonging to the

American Methodist Episcopal Mission American Methodist Episcopal Mission (AMEM; also known as Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church ''MEFB was the missionary society of the Methodist Episcopal Church that was involved in sending workers to countries such as A ...

. In 1927, American Christian Slote appropriated USD$30 million for building the Church. It was named "Slote Church" in memory of her after completion. Yu Zhizhai () was the first rectorship and Tang Musan () was the first archpriest. After the defeat of the Nationalists by the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

in 1949, Nanxun Christian Church under the jurisdiction of the government. Religious activities had been forced to stop in the following year. In 1958 the Church was used as residential building for locals. In 1966,

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

launched the ten-year

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, the

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

attacked the Church. It was spared destruction and was boarded up till 1986. After the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, a policy of some

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

was implemented in 1986. On 29 March 1987, the Church held the first Sunday Services since 1950. In December that same year, Lü Haisheng () was proposed as the new director of its Management Committee. In October 1992, Wang Jinkang () replaced Lü Haisheng as the second director.

Gallery

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nanxun Christian Church Buildings and structures in Huzhou Churches in Zhejiang Tourist attractions in Huzhou 1927 establishments in China Protestant churches in China Churches completed in 1927