The History and Prospects for the Orthodox Church in China: An Interview with Mitrophan Chin
While the
presence of Western Christian Churches in China is a well-known fact, many
people are not aware that the Orthodox Church has also been present in that
country for more than 300 years. In this interview, the webmaster of
Orthodox.cn, Mitrophan Chin, tells us more about the history, current situation
and prospects for the Orthodox Church in China.
The
Orthodox Church in China was given a status of autonomy by the Moscow
Patriarchate in 1956 and had two Chinese bishops, several priests and possibly
up to 20,000 faithful in the early 1960s.
But it
has never fully recovered from the turmoils of the “cultural revolution” of the
1960s and its antireligious policies. In December 2004, the last Chinese
Orthodox priest living in China, Father Alexander Du Lifu, passed away in
Beijing at the age of 80. He did never manage to get permission from the
government to open a church in Beijing: the authorities argued that the
community (about 300 faithful) was too tiny.
However,
there are efforts from several sides to revive Orthodox life in China, and a
few Chinese students are reported to be currently training in Russian
theological schools. According to estimates by Father Dionisy Pozdnyaev, who is
in charge of Chinese affairs at the Department of External Relations of the
Moscow Patriarchate, there are some 13,000 Orthodox faithful living in China.
There are parishes – without clergy – in Xinjiang, in Inner Mongolia and in
Harbin, where the Russian church building is a local landmark. The Moscow
Patriarchate would like to see the Orthodox Church recognized officially, but
its small size seems to present an obstacle.
Attempts
to revive Orthodoxy in China also take place in virtual space. An Orthodox
believer of Chinese background living in the United States, Mitrophan Chin, is
the webmaster of the website Orthodoxy in China, which was launched in Spring
2004. In this interview, he tells us more about the history, current situation
and prospects for the Orthodox Church in China.
***
Religioscope:
How did Orthodoxy reach China
first, more than 300 years ago.
Mitrophan Chin: Orthodoxy
reached China with the eastern expansion of the Russian empire across the
Siberian Far East in 1651. At around the same time in 1644, the Ming dynasty
was overthrown in China by the Manchurians who introduced the Qing dynasty
which lasted until the Nationalist revolt of 1911. The Russian Cossack
settlements along the Amur River at Albazin eventually was met by fierce
attacks by the Chinese army in 1685 which led to the downfall of Albazin, and
the captives were taken to the capital city of Beijing.
Religioscope:
The first Orthodox in China could
thus be described as “immigrants”. When did missionary activities directed
toward Chinese begin, and how successful were they?
Mitrophan Chin: Missionary
activities started when a number of the original captives of the Albazinians
were given the honor to serve the Chinese Emperor Kangxi in the Imperial
capital of Beijing in one of the most prestigious banners of the honor guards.
The first Orthodox priest, Fr Maxim Leontiev, was sent unwillingly to provide
spiritual guidance to these new Albazinian immigrants. An old Buddhist temple
was provided at the northeastern corner of the capital, and it was converted to
an Orthodox chapel bearing the name of St Nicholas the Wonderworker in honor of
the miracle-working icon that Fr Maxim brought along with him.
Thus the
seed of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission has been planted on Chinese soil. In
the 200 years leading up to the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, the Mission took in
only a small number of indigenous Chinese converts, mostly through
inter-marriage with the Albazinians. This stood in stark contrast with active
missionary efforts by rival Catholic and Protestant missionaries.
Religioscope:
Orthodoxy in China had its first
martyrs at the time of the uprising of the Boxers, which not only targeted
Catholics and Protestants, but Orthodox as well. Your Christian name,
Mitrophan, is the name of a martyred Chinese priest, isn’t it?
Mitrophan Chin: St
Mitrophan, along with over 200 other Chinese and Albazinians in Beijing gave
their lives up for the Christian faith during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, or
the Yihetuan Movement as the Chinese called the uprising. Albazinians at this
time have pretty much assimilated with the local population after two centuries
of cohabitation. Their outward appearance is not much different from the
majority Han Chinese population even though ethnically they consider themselves
of Russian descent.
Religioscope:
After the Bolshevik revolution in
Russia, many Russians fled East and settled in China, where there was during a
few decades a very active church life. When did those Russian emigrants then
leave China? Are there still some of them left?
Mitrophan Chin: The
Orthodox population swelled in the 20th century in China, mostly due to the
influx of white Russians. At the same time, the Boxer uprising had not stopped
the blood of the Martyrs from bringing forth a new generation of Chinese
believers. Archimandrite Innokenti Figurovsky, who in 1902 became the first
Bishop of Beijing, initiated translations of liturgical and catechetical
Orthodox material for the first time into spoken Chinese called guanhua.
This was
considered the golden era of Orthodoxy in China, with many churches being
built. Unfortunately, most of the Russians fled China when the Communists took
over in 1949. Some returned back to Russia but many others immigrated to
Australia or America.
The
famous St John, who was Archbishop of Shanghai, was one of the last to leave
when the Communists took over and eventually settled in California. Also, Fr
Elias Wen, who was the rector of the Church dedicated to the Surety of Sinners
Icon of the Theotokos in Shanghai fled to Hong Kong and eventually immigrated
to San Francisco. Fr Elias is the oldest Orthodox priest still alive and will
be approaching 108 years of age this November. May God grant him many years!
Also, the
priest Michael Wang, and protodeacon Evangelos Lu stayed behind in Shanghai and
suffered much through the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). They have likewise
reached an old age and have withdrawn from active clerical involvement as there
are no functional Orthodox Churches in Shanghai. Another Protopriest Michael
Li, also originally of Shanghai, immigrated to Australia and serves as the
spiritual father of Russian-Chinese Orthodox Missionary Society of Sydney.
Today,
there are a few hundreds of Albazinian or Russian descent who consider
themselves Orthodox that reside in each of the major cities of China, such as
Beijing, Shanghai, and Harbin. Many more are scattered in the western and
northern autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. In all, the most
recent Chinese census have recorded around 13,000 Chinese citizens of Russian descent.
Religioscope:
How did the Church first manage
to continue its activities under the Communist government? What happened then
to Chinese Orthodox at the time of the “cultural revolution”? Did some type of
underground church life continue, insofar we know it?
Mitrophan Chin: The
Church was required to be independent by Chinese government. Therefore the
archbishop Victor consecrated Archimandrite Vasily to be the first Chinese
bishop of Beijing in preparation to lead the Church to autonomy which was eventually
granted in 1957. The Cultural Revolution destroyed most of the Church buildings
and many believers were persecuted. Church life was practically eliminated and
the believers have to resort to reader services in private homes to continue
living their faith.
The
Chinese Martyrs icon mounted at the entrance to the Orthodox Church of St. Luke
the Evangelist in Hong Kong was commissioned to the famed Greek iconographer
Maria Sigala.
Religioscope:
In recent years, there have been
attempts by several Orthodox Churches to help Chinese believers. The Moscow
Patriarchate has been quite active, including attempts to convince the Chinese
government to register the Church. The Ecumenical Patriarchate (Constantinople)
has established a diocese in Hong Kong – which is now part of Chinese territory
– in 1996, serving South Asia and the Far East. Moreover, priests of the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia have also been regular visitors to the
Chinese mainland. Those visiting priests have performed baptisms and celebrated
liturgies for scattered communities of believers. Would you please summarize
those efforts?
Mitrophan Chin: Efforts
by non-indigenous priests have been hampered, including the recent deportation
of an Orthodox priest who was secretly crossing the border between serving the
spiritual needs of the Orthodox Faithful in Xinjiang in the western frontiers
of China in December 2003.
The
Chinese government is usually flexible with small group prayers in private
homes, but they will start noticing if there are more than a handful gathering
together. Visiting priests usually have to work within the supervision of the
State Administration of Religious Affairs if they do not wish to encounter any
obstacles, and for the most are only allowed to hold services for foreign
compatriots working or residing in China. Such services are normally held in an
embassy and are off limit to Chinese believers.
Religioscope:
The major step to be taken seems
to be the registration of the Church. Are there indications that this might
take place in a foreseeable future? And what about those Chinese priests now in
training in Russian seminaries?
Mitrophan Chin: The
Chinese seminarians in the Russian seminaries do hope to return back to China
to serve the Orthodox faithful there. This is a sensitive issue and requires
the blessing of the Chinese government and their future is uncertain.
Russian
President Putin has visited China, and has promised the Bishops Council of the
Moscow Patriarchate that he will bring up with the Chinese authorities during
his visit to allow an iconostasis which has been held up in customs for four
years, to finally enter China to be installed in a church temple built by the
Chinese goverment in 1999 in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The
Chinese government has been seen as more accommodating in recent years
including allowing a hieromonk from Russia to visit the Pokrov Church in Harbin
to hear confessions in both Russian and Chinese in July 2004, and also the
August 2004 visit by Russian Bishop Mark to Beijing at the official invitation
of local religious leaders and the State Administration of Religious Affairs.
Religioscope:
I understand that there are also
efforts for reaching diaspora Chinese. For instance, a few months ago, the
Russian Orthodox Church has decided to celebrate liturgies in Chinese in
Vladivostok and other places of the Russian Far East. Are there already small
groups of Chinese-speaking Orthodox outside of mainland China?
Mitrophan Chin: Vladivostok
Diocese has a creative missionary endeavor by actually allowing its church to
serve as a one of the tourist sites for Chinese tourists visiting the city. The
church has prepared an explanation of the Orthodox Church and its divine
services in Chinese which is given to the tour guides to explain to the
visitors, and at the end of the tour, the tourists actually get to light a
candle in front of an icon of the Chinese Martyrs.
Not only
tourism but Chinese immigrants outside the Chinese border in Russia have
swelled tremendously. They have been seen as a rival economic force in Russia,
as evident when the recent Bishop Council of the Russian Orthodox Church
brought up this demographic issue with President Vladimir Putin. Putin turned
the table around and asked the bishops about the conversion of the Chinese to
Orthodoxy, since Orthodoxy has always been universal or catholic, and,
furthermore, Putin emphasized that each person’s spiritual state is important.
Religioscope:
Let’s now come to your website.
Orthodoxy in China – http://orthodox.cn – seems to be on its way to become a
major resource for Orthodox material in Chinese as well as for information on
Orthodoxy in China. Could you tell us more about the content and purpose of
this website?
Mitrophan Chin: Orthodox.cn
is created to be the portal of everything you will ever want to know concerning
Orthodoxy as it developed in China and its environs, and especially where it is
today and where it will be tomorrow. Catechetical literature and liturgical
texts in classical and modern Chinese are gathered here for easy access for
anyone interested in learning more of what Orthodoxy have to offer.
Links to
various Internet resources and Chinese Orthodox discussion boards are also
provided to take advantage of the strength of the Internet in providing a
wealth of information and exchange of ideas which no one site can provide.
News
articles related to Chinese Orthodoxy from Russian language media are
translated into English and disseminated to keep the international
English-speaking community in the loop concerning missionary activity made from
the Russian Orthodox part of the world.
Religioscope:
You intend also to make
liturgical and devotional material available in Chinese. Are most Orthodox
liturgical texts already available in Chinese? Are they being reprinted, or is
the Web currently the best solution to make them available again?
Mitrophan Chin: Currently,
an online library of most of the extant classical Chinese Orthodox text that
were produced in the 19th and early 20th century Russian Ecclesiastical Mission
in China have been scanned in and being made available for free distribution
via the web, which is the most economical and quickest way for those in China
to get a personal copy of these rare historical texts. More recent Chinese
translations suitable for the younger Chinese generation have also been made
available online for the daily prayers with various canons and akathist plus
the divine liturgy of St John Chrysostom. Most of this freely distributable
material can be burned onto CD upon request for those in China without
convenient Internet access, and they are encouraged to copy and share with
family and friends.
Religioscope:
An ambitious project which you
have is the Chinese translation of the Prologue of Ohrid, a collection of lives
of the saints for every day of the year…
Mitrophan Chin: This
project has been spurred by a Hong Kong Protestant who did preliminary
translation of half a year’s readings of the the lives of saints section of the
Prologue of Ohrid. He has passed the torch to a Chinese Orthodox convert
currently living in Romania to revise and complete translating the rest of the
readings including hymns, contemplation, reflections and homilies. The fruits
of this project will greatly enrich the daily devotional life of the Orthodox
faithful in China and also to introduce the riches of Eastern Orthodoxy to our
non-Orthodox readers.
Religioscope:
While your website is a useful
resource for people who would like to know more about Orthodoxy in China, it is
also meant as a service to Orthodox faithful living in mainland China, a
country where there are already several dozens of millions people online. Do
Orthodox believers in China use the Web and write to you for material?
Mitrophan Chin: Most
Orthodox believers that are online are mostly converts and are usually
self-motivated in seeking out the truth. They usually post anonymously to
various online religious message boards to ask questions about the Orthodox
faith. In the physical world, many times they would be drawn by the beauty of
some of the restored Orthodox churches in China and would travel to visit such
former churches like the St Sophia in Harbin or they may be curious and go seek
out the existence of any former Orthodox church buildings that may have
survived the destruction caused by the Cultural Revolution and ask around if
there are any cradle Orthodox believers in the vicinity. Since mainstream
Chinese media lacks coverage of Orthodox concerns, the web site also provides a
much needed international and domestic Orthodox newsfeed in Chinese.
Religioscope: Are
there also other Orthodox websites in Chinese?
Mitrophan Chin: The Parish website of the
Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Taiwan is also in Chinese, but uses traditional
Chinese characters which are different from what is taught in mainland China
which uses simplified characters, introduced by the Communist government to
combat illiteracy among the vast Chinese population. The Holy Trinity parish is
under the pastoral care of the Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East
Asia, and His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas has given his blessing to allow the
use of their Chinese Orthodox material from their site to be hosted on
Orthodox.cn in Simplified Chinese catered to the mainland Chinese audience.
Source: http://journeytoorthodoxy.com/2013/05/rebirth-of-the-orthodox-church-in-china-an-interview-with-mitrophan-chin/
