Chongzhen Church (Chinese: 崇真堂; pinyin: Chóngzhēntáng; lit. 'worship truth church'), full name Christian Chongzhen Church, is the oldest Christian Protestant church in Wuhan, China. It is in Gothic style and can accommodate 400 people worshipping at the same time. [1][2]
History
editIn 1864, Chongzhen Church was built in Gejiaying neighborhood of Wuchang, Wuhan under the leadership of Griffith John, a pastor from the London Missionary Society. It was the first Christian church in Wuchang, the provincial capital of Hubei.[1] [3]
The church was subordinated to Church of Christ in China, and the first pastor was Bao Tingzhan. Foreign missionaries also worked at the church.[1][3]
In 1951, the church became one of the learning centers of the "three-self" revolution study group. [2]
In 1958, joint worship was implemented, the staff of Chongzhen Church were merged into the Life Church at Hanyangmen, and the building was converted into a paper mill warehouse.[3]
In 2005, the church was listed among the "Second Batch of Outstanding Historical Buildings in Wuhan City", with the reasons given as "A typical Gothic building, the earliest existing Christian church in Wuhan". The property rights of the church belong to the Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement. [3][4]
Description
editLocated at No. 44, Gejiaying, Wuchang District, Chongzhen Church was founded in 1864. It is the oldest existing Protestant church in Hubei Province and Wuhan City. The church can accommodate around 400 worshippers.[3] [2]
The church is a single-deck Gothic architecture, featuring a flat Latin cross layout and pointed arches. It is a brick-and-wood structure with a construction area of 1,200 square meters. [2][3] In addition to the main hall, the church has a small garden, a two-story western-style building where pastoral staff lived, and two large classrooms for the charity school attached to it at that time.[3]
The church was renovated and expanded in 1895 and again in 1924.[2][3] A major renovation took place in 2000 to restore its historical architecture and functionality as a place of worship.[2][1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d ChinaSource Team (2016-10-04). "The Oldest Church in Wuhan". ChinaSource.
- ^ a b c d e f Yetta Yao (2016-08-23). "The Oldest Christian Church in Wuhan, Chongzhen Church of Wuchang". The China Christian Daily.
- ^ a b c d e f g h 刘谦定 Liu Qianding (2010-05-10). "武昌崇真堂今年140岁 (Wuchang Chongzhen Church is 140 years old this year)" (in Chinese). 武昌区方志网 (Wuchang District Local Chronicles Network). Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
- ^ "第二批优秀历史建筑名单公布16处老房子被"收编" (The second batch of outstanding historical buildings announced with 16 old houses included)". 数字武汉——国土资源和规划网 (Digital Wuhan - Land, Resources and Planning Network)（reprinted from 长江日报 Changjiang Daily). 2005-03-04. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2012-06-27.