St John's Cathedral, Langzhong Explained

St John's Cathedral, Langzhong
Other Name:Gospel Church
Native Name:聖約翰座堂
Native Name Lang:zh-hant
Location:5 Yangtianjing Street, Langzhong, Sichuan
Country:China
Denomination:Three-Self Church (Protestant)
Churchmanship:Low church evangelical
Founded Date:1908
Founder:William Cassels (China Inland Mission)
Dedication:John the Evangelist
Status:Church
Functional Status:Active
Architect:George A. Rogers
Style:Gothic Revival with traditional Sichuanese elements
Groundbreaking:1913
Completed Date:1914

St John's Cathedral, today known as Gospel Church, is a Protestant church situated on Yangtianjing Street in the county-level city of Langzhong, Nanchong, Sichuan Province. Founded in 1908, the church had been the Anglican cathedral, originally designated as a pro-cathedral,[1] of the Szechwan Diocese (and later of East Szechwan) of the Church in China,[2] and the largest Anglican church in Southwest China.[3] It has been subjected to the control of the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Church since 1954.

History

The first Anglican church in Langzhong (then known as Langchung, Paoning or Paoning Foo [Baoning / Baoning Fu]), the Trinity Church, built in 1893, had become too small as the number of converts had increased.[4]

After a series of problems, St John's was eventually built on Yangtianjing Street, under the supervision of William Cassels, one of the Cambridge Seven, and the then missionary bishop in the Diocese of Western China. Construction began in 1913 and finished in 1914.[5]

The cathedral was designed by the Australian architect George A. Rogers, and built in the fusion of neo-Gothic and traditional Sichuanese architectural styles.[6] It occupies an area of nearly 4000 square metres, with a cemetery, a library, a well, a flower garden and a vegetable garden. Cassels died in 1925 and buried in the garden of St John's. Montagu Proctor-Beauchamp, also one of the Cambridge Seven, was buried in the cemetery of the cathedral in 1939.[7] [8]

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 St John's into the communist-established Three-Self Patriotic Church.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Broomhall, Marshall . Marshall Broomhall . 1926 . W. W. Cassels: First Bishop in Western China . London . The China Inland Mission . 289–290.
  2. Book: Wang, Meng . 2010 . 守望吾土吾乡 . “剑桥七杰”与阆中圣约翰教堂 . The 'Cambridge Seven' and St John's Church in Langzhong . https://www.sohu.com/a/298350862_762570 . zh-hans . Yinchuan . Ningxia People's Publishing House . 9787227044475.
  3. Web site: 中国式教堂建筑巡礼之三:百年古老福音堂重放昔日光彩 . Chinese-style Church Architecture Tour 3: The Century-old Gospel Church Restored to Its Former Glory . . 2012 . wh.cnki.net . zh-hans . 8 May 2021.
  4. Book: Gray, G. F. S. . 1996 . Anglicans in China: A History of the Zhonghua Shenggong Hui (Chung Hua Sheng Kung Huei) . New Haven, CT . The Episcopal China Mission History Project . 34 . 10.1.1.695.4591 .
  5. Web site: 剑桥七杰之一:四川圣约翰堂首任主教盖士利传 . One of the Cambridge Seven: An Introduction to William Cassels, the First Bishop of St John's Cathedral in Sichuan . John . 10 April 2019 . christiantimes.cn . zh-hans . 8 May 2021.
  6. Web site: 劍橋七傑——蓋士利主教(上) . Cambridge Seven: The Bishop William Cassels (part 1) . Wong . Sik Pui . Lee . Po Ching . 2019 . ccmhk.org.hk . zh-hant . 8 May 2021.
  7. Web site: 2014馬禮遜學園史蹟之旅--華西古道行,成都、閬中、重慶7日遊 . 2014 Historical Sites Tour Organised by Morrison School: 7-day Tour of Ancient Roads in West China, Chengdu, Langzhong and Chongqing . . 2014 . goodnews.org.tw . zh-hant . 27 May 2021.
  8. Web site: 閬中古城名醫多 . Famous Doctors in the City of Langzhong . Wei . Wai-yang . 2014 . ccmm.org.tw . zh-hant . 27 May 2021.