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| Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong Kau Yan Church | |
|---|---|
基督教香港崇真會救恩堂 | |
_-_404.jpg) The church building's exterior, 2017 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Christianity |
| Sect | Protestantism |
| District | Sai Ying Pun |
| Location | |
| Location | 97A High Street |
| Country | Hong Kong |
  Shown within Hong Kong | |
| Geographic coordinates | 22°17′08″N 114°08′27″E / 22.285494°N 114.140864°E |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Palmer and Turner |
| Style | External: Neo-Gothic & Tudor Internal: Romanesque & Neo-Classical |
| Founder | Rudolf Lechler of the Society of Basel Mission (巴色傳道會) |
| Date established | 1852 |
| Groundbreaking | 1 June 1931 |
| Completed | 24 December 1932 |
| KX675/Sandbox 3 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 救恩堂 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Salvation Grace Church | ||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 基督教香港崇真會救恩堂 | ||||||||
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The Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong Kau Yan Church is a church in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. The building is located at Western Street, between Third and High Streets. It was the first Basel Mission church in Hong Kong and its administration is now succeeded by the Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong.[1]
The existing Gothic Revival church building was completed in 1932,[2] but the church's history dates back to 1861, when Rev Theodore Hamberg relocated his Hakka congregation to the site.[1]
History
editOrigins
editThe origins of Kau Yan Church could be traced back to 1851, when Basel Mission missionary Theodore Hamberg established a Hakka-speaking congregation near Western Market in Sheung Wan.[3] This marked the beginning of the Basel Mission's evangelisation efforts in the then Crown Colony of Hong Kong. In the following year, Hamberg formed another Hakka congregation in Sai Ying Pun and succeeded in obtaining a plot of land from the colonial government.
With the passing of Hamberg in 1853, his partner Rudolf Lechler took over his work. In 1861, Lechler erected on the plot his residence and office called "Sai Kwok Lau" (四角樓).[4] His wife Louise Stotz later ran a free school for girls at the site. During the Taiping Rebellion, Lechler helped many Hakka refugees who came to Hong Kong to apply from the government land in the church's surroundings which they could build their home on. Many of the beneficiaries joined the congregation and decent church premises was needed. In 1865, Lechler acquired the plot of land at 96 Third Street, right next to Sai Kwok Lau, and constructed a meeting hall on it. The hall was not only where the congregation calls home to, but also acted as a base for missionary work to China. Missionaries would stay at the hall before and after their evangelical trips into the interior of China.[5]
Current structure
editArchitecture
editThe current church building, designed by Palmer and Turner Architects (now P&T Group), was completed in 1932. It is built of concrete and stone in the Gothic Revival style.[2]
Administration
editSee also
editExternal links
edit
Media related to Kau Yan Tsung Tsin Church at Wikimedia Commons- Historic Building Appraisal: Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong Kau Yan Church
- ^ a b Academia Sinica Center for Digital Cultures. "The Story of Missionaries who Preached Halfway Across the Globe: Karl Gützlaff, Theodore Hamberg, and Rudolf Lechler". Open Museum. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ a b Antiquities and Monuments Office. "Central and Western Heritage Trail - Kau Yan Church". Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ Tong, Wing Sze (1999). 香港崇真會史之研究 (BSSc). Hong Kong Baptist University.
- ^ Antiquities and Monuments Office. Historic Building Appraisal: Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong Kau Yan Church (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong Kau Yan Church. "教會簡史". 基督教香港崇真會救恩堂. Retrieved 31 August 2022.