China Christian Independent Church

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The China Christian Independent Church (Chinese: 中[Zhōng] 國[guó] 耶[Yē] 穌[sū] 教[jiào ] 自[Zì] 立[lì] 會[Huì]), began before 1910 with headquarters in Shanghai. By the 1920s, this church had well over one hundred congregations affiliated with it. This church usually remained on fairly good terms with mission groups, participated in some ecumenical activities, and retained their original denominational creeds and practices, often a variety of Presbyterianism.

History

Independent Chinese christian leaders, that is those who consciously broke away or distanced themselves from the foreign missionary structures, had been visible since the early 1900s. Early in the 20th century the Shanghai Presbyterian pastor Yu Guozhen and several colleagues formed an all-Chinese organization called The Chinese Christian Union (基督徒會). In about 1906 they and other churches in the region followed suit in becoming independent of missions. By 1910 Yu's group had a newspaper, The Chinese Christian (中國基督徒報), which later became The Sacred News (聖報). Out of these elements a federation of churches emerged called the China Christian Independent Church. In 1920, this federation had over 100 member churches, an annual national meeting, and full bylaws, in addition to its own newspaper ^[1]. It continued to grow during the 1920s. Many of its member churches were formerly Presbyterian or Congregational, made up largely of urban middle-class Chinese.

The first National Delegates Conference of the China Christian Independent Church was held in 1920 which resulted in the formation of the National General Assembly, which counted a membership of twenty thousand members in one hundred and eighty nine chapels in sixteen provinces. Yu Guozhen was chosen as president for life. However Yu resigned in 1924 due to a dispute over the ownership of the Zhabei Presbyterian church. Yu later designated the chapel in Jiangwan as the National General Assembly headquarters of this church.

As the tide of Chinese nationalism later receded, the influence of this independent church was also affected. During the outbreak of the January 28 Incident in 1932, the Jiangwan area soon became the centrepoint of the war zone. The General Assembly office headquarters including Yu's home residence were destroyed, artillery shells blasted the roof of the Yongzhi chapel resulting in severe damage. On November 16, Yu fell ill while he was conducting a sermon in Wenzhou.

The Yongzhi chapel was repaired in 1934 and the office of the General Assembly was restored there. Unfortunately during the 1937 Battle of Shanghai on August 13, Jiangwan once again became a battle zone and this time the Yongzhi chapel was completely destroyed. At the commencement of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the General Assembly lost all contact with its members. Services were unable to be held on Yongzhi chapel until on January 1939.

In 1954, under the 'self-mobilization' of the General Assembly, a message was propagated to all its members that they were to join the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. By 1958, the Yongzhi chapel congregation were to join the Zhabei District joint worship area and from here onwards, religious activities were no longer permitted to be carried out as an independent church entity.

Notes

1. ^ Sources on the Zilihui are: Zhao Tianen, "Zili"; Chabei Shanghai Church.