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Sï-Shen-Tsï Methodist Church

Sï-Shen-Tsï Methodist Church
Gospel Church
Gracious Light Church
Enguang Protestant Church
四聖祠禮拜堂
Map
Location17 Sishengci North Street, Jinjiang District, Chengdu, Sichuan
CountryChina
DenominationThree-Self Church (Protestant)
Previous denominationMethodist
History
StatusChurch
Founded1894
Founder(s)Virgil Chittenden Hart
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architect(s)Walter Small
StyleGothic Revival
Groundbreaking1894

Sï-Shen-Tsï Methodist Church[a],[2] also called Enguang Church,[3] is a Protestant church situated on Sishengci North Street in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province (formerly romanized as Sz-Chuan or Szechwan, also referred to as "West China"). It is the first church in Chengdu built by the Canadian Methodist Mission.[2] It has been subjected to the control of the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Church since 1954.

History

Sï-Shen-Tsï Church was erected in 1894 by the Rev. Virgil Chittenden Hart [zh], leader of the West China Mission of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Church in Canada (MCC),[1] which at the time was practically a chapel.

The church was designed by Walter Small,[4] a Victoria University graduate known as the "Mission's Builder".[5] Its walls were made of solid brick. It was built in semi-native style with fine board floors, and seated three hundred persons.[6]

A year later, it was destroyed by the anti-religious turmoil (Chengdu Mission Case) in 1895. It was rebuilt the following year. In 1900, when the Boxer Rebellion broke out, the church was destroyed again and rebuilt again.[7]

It was doubled in size in 1911.[1] The building cost $1,000 in gold, a sum gifted by Jairus Hart, Esq., of Halifax, N.S.[8]

At that time, the situation was not considered particularly good. The Jinjiang District, in where the church was erected, was comparatively poor, and had not the best reputation. But this had changed much by 1920. This change was due in part to the general growth of the city, in part to the opening of a new city gate in the near vicinity. According to Rev. Newton Ernest Bowles, Canadian missionaries believed this was in no small measure due to the general influence of the church itself.[2]

The present church building covers an area of more than 3,000 square meters, with a usable area of more than 1,200 square meters. The height of the church is about 18 meters. The Sichuan Theological Seminary is located next to the church.[9]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Traditional Chinese: 四聖祠禮拜堂; simplified Chinese: 四圣祠礼拜堂; pinyin: Sìshèngcí Lǐbàitáng; Wade–Giles: Ssu4-Shêng4-Tzʻu2 Li3-pai4-tʻang2; Sichuanese romanization: Sï4 Shen4 Tsʽï2 Li3 Pai4 Tʽang2; lit. 'Sï-Shen-Tsï Chapel'; also spelled Sz Shen Tsz;[1] also known as The First [Methodist] Church of [Chengtu],[2] Gospel Church (Chinese: 福音堂; pinyin: Fúyīn Táng; Wade–Giles: Fu2-yin1 Tʻang2; Sichuanese romanization: Fu5 In1 Tʽang2) or Enguang Protestant Church (Chinese: 恩光堂; pinyin: Ēnguāng Táng; Sichuanese romanization: Ngen1 Kuang1 Tʽang2; lit. 'Gracious Light Church').

References

  1. ^ a b c Bond 1911, p. 56.
  2. ^ a b c d Various authors 1920, p. 170.
  3. ^ "Chengdu Enguang Church". China Christian Council. 2017-12-07.
  4. ^ Ma, Xiaobing (February 3, 2015). "百年德式教堂恩光堂：成都开放教堂中最古老" [Hundred-year-old German-style Enguang Church: The oldest church in Chengdu still in use]. Chengdu Evening News (in Simplified Chinese). Chengdu. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  5. ^ "1900s Walter & Lottie Small and Family". library.vicu.utoronto.ca. 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  6. ^ Wallace 1903, p. 61.
  7. ^ 杨涛 (Yang Tao) (2013-12-28). "四圣祠街：旧时公馆大户扎堆地 (Sishengci Street: A place where wealthy families gathered in old mansions, photos)" (in Chinese). 网易 (NetEase; source: West China Metropolis Daily 华西都市报). Archived from the original on 2017-12-10. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  8. ^ Bond 1911, pp. 56–57.
  9. ^ Zuo, Yanan (2018). "从恩光堂探析清末民国时期基督教加拿大差会在成都地区传教情况" [Enguang Church: An Analysis of the Missionary Methods of the Canadian Methodist Mission in Chengdu during the Late-Qing and Republican China] (PDF). Journal for Research of Christianity in China (in Simplified Chinese) (10): 95. Retrieved October 18, 2022.

Bibliography
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