Gospel Church, Mianzhu
| Gospel Church, Mianzhu | |
|---|---|
福音堂 | |
| Location | 26 Minzhu Alley, Mianzhu, Deyang, Sichuan |
| Country | China |
| Denomination | Three-Self Church (Protestant) |
| Previous denomination | Anglican |
| Churchmanship | Low church evangelical |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | 1923 |
| Founder(s) | John Howard Lechler, et al. |
| Past bishop(s) | William Cassels |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Style | Sichuanese architecture (old church building) Gothic Revival (new church building) |
| Groundbreaking | 1923 (old church building) 2010 (new church building) |
| Administration | |
| Province | China (formerly) |
| Diocese | Szechwan (formerly) West Szechwan (formerly; since 1936) |
Gospel Church[a] is a Protestant church situated in Minzhu Alley, in the county-level city of Mianzhu, Sichuan Province. First built in 1923, it was formerly an Anglican church in the West Szechwan Diocese of the Church in China.[1] It has been subjected to the control of the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Church since 1954.
After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, a new Gospel Church was built on Yuxian Road. The original church is also known simply as the Chapel.[b][2]
History
Protestantism was first brought to Mianzhu (formerly romanised as Mienchu) around 1894. In 1923, the medical missionary, John Howard Lechler (1883–1977),[3] of the Church of England Church Missionary Society, together with other three missionaries, established the small chapel denominated Gospel Church. It is built in traditional Sichuanese architectural style with neo-Gothic elements, covering an area of 300 square metres. A two-storey wooden house providing accommodation for pastors and preachers was built in the courtyard.[1]
The missionaries also established a church school and the Jen Tse Hospital.[4][1] Lechler returned to England in 1932, for reporting his work to the Church. Before his departure, he invited Dr Montagu Robert Lawrence, the elder brother of T. E. Lawrence, to working as a locum in the hospital during his absence.[5][6]
After the communist takeover of China in 1949, Christian Churches in China were forced to sever their ties with respective overseas Churches, which has thus led to the merging of Gospel Church into the communist-established Three-Self Patriotic Church. During the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, the church was damaged beyond repair. A new Gospel Church was built on Yuxian Road, completed in an entirely neo-Gothic style.[1]
See also
- Anglicanism in Sichuan
- Category:Former Anglican churches in Sichuan
- St John's Church, Chengdu – former cathedral of West Szechwan
Notes
- ^ Chinese: 福音堂; pinyin: Fúyīn táng; Wade–Giles: Fu2-yin1 tʽang2; Sichuanese romanization: Fu5 In1 Tʽang2.
- ^ Chinese: 禮拜堂; pinyin: Lǐbài táng; Wade–Giles: Li3-pai4 tʽang2; lit. 'place [chapel] of worship'.
References
- ^ a b c d Ning, Ning (7 June 2018). "听老信徒讲述：中国风的绵竹市基督教福音堂" [An Old Christian Recounting the History of the Chinese-style Gospel Church in Mianzhu City]. gospeltimes.cn (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "绵竹这些地方很多你都没去过" [You Have Never Been to Many of These Places in Mianzhu]. 163.com (in Simplified Chinese). 5 October 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "Obituary: J H Lechler". British Medical Journal. 1 (6105): 116–117. 14 January 1978. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.6105.116. S2CID 220180368. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "四川敎區：綿竹會議紀聞" [Diocese of Szechwan: Newsletter of the Church Conference at Mienchu] (PDF). 聖公會報 [The Chinese Churchman] (in Traditional Chinese). Shanghai: St. John's University, Shanghai. 15 October 1929. p. 15. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "Lawrence of China – T.E.'s Missionary Brother". chinarhyming.com. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ Wei, Wai-yang (2014). "閬中古城名醫多" [Famous Doctors in the City of Langzhong]. ccmm.org.tw (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 13 May 2021.
External links
