Leaders of the Chinese Protestant community traveled the country in October, visiting their ecumenical partners from Canada and the United States, including the National Council of Churches and Church World Service, to reaffirm their long-standing relationship.
"The church is prospering now in China," said the Rev. Cao Shengjie, president of the China Christian Council (CCC). She said there are more than 16 million Protestants and 50,000 Protestant churches and meeting places in China.
Cao recalled the CCC's long-time relationship with the American ecumenical movement, and then said of the future: "We are looking forward and hope our visit will help promote more mutual understanding and mutual support."
Presbyter Ji Jianhong, chairperson of the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China, said the Chinese church's principle of independence in propagation, support and governance does not preclude friendship. Mutual visits are a must for developing the relationship between the churches, he said.
The nine-member delegation from China visited the New York offices of the NCC and CWS, global humanitarian agency of the U.S. member churches. They also met an Episcopal Church delegation at the New York Theological Education Center where they were greeted by Suffragan Bishop Rodney Michael of Long Island and former Episcopal Asiamerican Ministry Council presidents, the Rev. Fran Toy of San Francisco and Peter Ng of New York.
Links of 150 years
They worshiped at Grace Episcopal Church in New York, where Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky was consecrated Episcopal Bishop of Shanghai in 1877 and viewed a Schereschewsky archival display in the library of General Theological Seminary with representatives from the seminary, the Anglican and Global Relations office of the national church and the Diocese of New York.
The delegation spoke about the need for "theological reconstruction" the church now faces. Members said that during the Cultural Revolution, between 1966 and 1976, churches and Christians continued to experience persecution and many churches were closed. Then, when China was opened up, the China Christian Council was established in 1980.
"We are making an effort to help grassroots churches organize," said Cao. "We need to train leaders, theologians and teachers." The China Christian Council has established 18 theological seminaries and Bible schools and more than 70 centers across China for distributing Bibles and hymnals.
Cao described the Chinese church as being in a "post-denominational stage" and said the task is to deepen understanding of the faith among all believers. At a meeting with the NCC, she was critical of outside groups, including some from the United States, that come to the Chinese Christians and say, "We want to help but you must do things the way we want.
They tell us, 'You aren't a real church.' That sometimes causes a split in our church, and social disorder," she said.
She said it is generally recognized that problems do exist for Christian communities in China, but that significant improvement have been achieved over two decades. "Some people have a memory of the Cultural Revolution. That ended more than 20 years ago. They take for granted things are the same. They are not," she said.
The history of Christianity in China dates to the seventh century, and through missionary efforts from the 18th through the mid-20th century, it burgeoned to a community of 700,000 at mid-century, a harbinger of the Protestant future in China.
