Lutheran Church of China


The Lutheran Church of China was a Lutheran church body in China from 1920 to 1951. It was established as a result of the consultations between the various Lutheran missionary bodies in China that was initiated during the China Centenary Missionary Conference held in Shanghai in 1907. The church survived as an organised body after the Chinese Civil War but was gradually absorbed into the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China.

History

The early Chinese Lutheran churches were the result of the work of western mission societies in the 19th century. Until 1907, no less than 25 European and American Lutheran mission bodies were working in China; most of them independently from each other and some within other organisations like the China Inland Mission.

Early history (1831-1847)

is generally regarded as the first Lutheran missionary to China. Originally accredited to the Netherlands Missionary Society, Gützlaff first arrived in East Asia in 1823. As China adopted a strict closed-door policy in that period, he was unable to set foot on China until 1831. Arriving in Tianjin, he was able to distribute some religious pamphlets and gospel tracts.
Although Gützlaff's methods and results were controversial, his major contribution included the promotion of the Chinese mission field to European mission societies, particularly Lutheran bodies.

The first Lutheran missions (1847-1890)

Following Gützlaff's appeal, three German mission societies; the Barmen Mission, the Berlin Missionary Society and the Basel Mission sent missionaries to China. On March 19, 1847, Theodore Hamberg and Rudolph Lechler ; both of the Basel Mission; together with Heinrich Köster and Ferdinand Genähr ; both of the Barmen Mission; arrived in Hong Kong and under Gützlaff's guidance began working in different areas of Guangdong province. The Basel missionaries concentrated among the Hakka speaking people in the eastern part of the province whereas the Barmen missionaries worked among the Cantonese speakers of the western part of the province. The churches they founded were called the Chongzhen Church and Lixian Church respectively.
The Berlin Missionary Society sent its first missionary to China in 1851 and initially confined its work to the Hakka speaking people in Guangdong province. It eventually extended its work to the Mandarin speaking people in Jiangxi province and Shandong province. The church they founded was eventually called the Yuegan Church.

Other Lutheran missions (1890-1907)

Between 1890 and 1907, a number of American and Scandinavian Lutheran mission societies established a presence in China. The notable ones include:
The China Centenary Missionary Conference was held from April 25 to May 8 of 1907 in Shanghai in commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of the arrival of Robert Morrison, the first Protestant missionary to China. According to the Index of Missions released during the conference, 25 mission bodies with a Lutheran background were working in China. The Boxer Rebellion of 1900 and other experiences acted as an impetus to encourage the various Lutheran bodies to unite into a single organisation to effectively work in China. The entrance of new Lutheran missions into China after 1907 like the Evangelical Lutheran Mission for China or 福音道路德教, the Lutheran Free Church Mission or 信義公理會 and the Church of Sweden Mission or 湘北瑞華信義會 added an extra sense of urgency to the need for a nationwide Lutheran union.
In May 1907, a Lutheran missionary consultation was held with representatives from 10 Lutheran mission bodies. While there was a general agreement that Lutheran unity be achieved, practical concerns such as the linguistic differences of the mission fields, the diverse national backgrounds of the missionaries and a poor nationwide transportation system were voiced. It was however agreed that union should be sought first by adopting the name Xinyi, meaning Faith and Righteousness, to emphasise on Luther's doctrine of justification by faith, union be first achieved in the field of literature and education and that the five mission bodies working in the central Chinese provinces would spearhead the creation of a united Lutheran body. The result of this consultation was the creation of a Union Lutheran Conference which was mandated to follow up and implement the proposals of unity that had been discussed.
On August 28–30, 1908, the first ULC meeting was held in Jigongshan or Cockerel Mountain, Henan and during this and subsequent conferences, a number of plans were drafted to publish books, compiling a hymnal, designing worship liturgies, establishing schools and establishing a national Lutheran Church. To realise these plans, it was decided that priority should be given towards establishing a union Lutheran seminary.
On March 29, 1913, the Lutheran Theological Seminary or 信義神學院 was opened in Shekou, Hubei. The seminary was sponsored by the American Lutheran Mission, the Hauge's Synod Mission, the Norwegian Missionary Society and the Finnish Missionary Society. Oscar R. Wold of the Hauge Synod Mission was elected the first president and the campus was dedicated on October 19 of the same year. The seminary also served as a publishing house and on September 15, 1913 published The Lutheran Bulletin that served the various Lutheran bodies throughout China.
In 1915, the Temporary Committee of the Lutheran Church of China was formed and took up the task of establishing a single national Lutheran Church. By the second ULC meeting in 1917, all preparations, including a draft constitution was finalised.
However, in 1915, another Lutheran mission in China began, affiliated with the member synods of the Synodical Conference, which did not participate in the merger. Later, during the communist era this separate mission ceased organized activity, and its church workers set up in Hong Kong instead.

The Lutheran Church of China (1920-1951)

The united Lutheran Church of China was formally established on August 22, 1920 in Jigongshan, Henan and the first General Assembly of the LCC was also convened there.

First General Assembly (1920)

The first assembly convened on August 22–29, 1920 in Jigongshan, Henan and officially adopted the constitution of the LCC. Five mission bodies took part in the founding of the LCC and the mission churches founded by these bodies became the LCC's first five synods :
Oscar Wold was elected the first president of the LCC and a resolution was passed to request all LCC synods as well as other churches in China to observe the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival; which falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese calendar; as a Day of Thanksgiving.

Second General Assembly (1924)

The assembly was convened a year late in Taohualun, Hunan on March 30 to April 2, 1924 due to the political unrests in Hunan. The Lutheran College that was promised by the Church of Sweden during the previous assembly was located here together with other institutions of the LCC as it was the working base of both the Norwegian Missionary Society and the Xiangzhong Synod. Unfortunately the Lutheran College could not survive the political upheavals that ravaged China during that period and was closed in 1931.
Two new synods were added to the LCC during this assembly:
The management of the Lutheran Board of Publication was also transferred to the LCC and marked the first step towards the indigenisation of Chinese Lutheran literature work.

Third General Assembly (1928)

Continued political unrest in China delayed the convening of the third assembly from the fall of 1926 to May 1928. The venue was also changed from Xuchang, Henan to the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Shekou. A revised Lutheran Book of Worship & Liturgy was adopted by this assembly and the following synods were added:
The assembly was convened in Qingdao, Shandong on June 21–28, 1931. Among the important resolutions passed during this assembly was the establishment of a 1:1 quota for Chinese and non-Chinese representatives from each Synod to the National Council and the establishment of the Qingdao Lutheran Bible School for Women.

Fifth General Assembly (1934)

The assembly was convened in the YMCA, Shanghai on June 10–15, 1934. Regulations and principles were drafted and approved regarding the invitation of non Lutheran revivalists. This was in view of the growing revivalist movement in China marked by the ministries of individuals like John Sung, Wang Mingdao and others which had affected many Lutheran churches; both positively and negatively.

Sixth General Assembly (1937)

This was the last pre-war assembly to be convened, and it was held on June 13–18, 1937, in Loyang, Henan. Far-reaching plans were made, including the release of a statement on social issues from a Lutheran perspective, the establishing of a Youth Committee and the expansion of theological training and literature work. Also notable was the decision made to excommunicate members who participated in the practice of concubinage and polygyny.

Seventh General Assembly (1946)

The assembly was originally scheduled to be held in Guangzhou, Guangdong in 1940 but had to be postponed due to the Sino-Japanese War. It was finally held on October 21–25, 1946 in the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Shekou. According to an incomplete survey, church membership increased by 62% from the reported membership of 47,473 in the last assembly to 76,953 right after the war.
Several important resolutions were also passed including a decision to apply for membership in the newly formed Lutheran World Federation and to send a delegation to the First Assembly of the LWF to be held in Lund, Sweden in 1947 and to invite the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod related Evangelical Lutheran Mission for China to join the Lutheran Board of Publications.
The following synods were also accepted to the LCC :
Due to changing circumstances and the rapid development of the Chinese Civil War, the Seventh General Assembly, proved to be last full assembly held by the Lutheran Church of China.

Eight General Assembly (1949)

Due to the fall of most of mainland China to the forces of the Communist Party of China, and the continued fighting in other parts of China, the scheduled assembly that was to be held in Guangzhou, Guangdong on October 10, 1949 could not be held. An attempt to move the assembly to Hong Kong also turned out to be impossible. The National President, Peng Fu, who was in Hong Kong at that time, finally decided to hold a National Council meeting instead.
The 27th Council met in Tao Fong Shan, Shatin, Hong Kong on November 4–5, 1949. Tao Fong Shan has been the centre of the Christian Mission to Buddhists since 1930 and was also the temporary campus of the Lutheran Theological Seminary after its evacuation from Shekou on December 1, 1948.
Four new members were accepted into the LCC:
By LCC regulations, these four synods were to be renamed according to the area that they worked in. However, since both the Rhenish and Basel missions have been at work for more than 100 years, and the nature of the work of the Daoyouhui had been very different, it was difficult to decide on which names that the new Synods were to adopt. However, as the political situation in China was changing, this matter was eventually dropped altogether.
By now, the large majority of the Lutheran missions working in China at that time had joined the LCC and according to incomplete statistics published, the LCC had a total of 104,799 members making it one of the largest Protestant churches in China.

The Lutheran Church in China (1950-1951)

On January 25, 1951, with the National President unable to return to China, the LCC called an extended Council meeting in Hankou under the leadership of Yu Jun, the National Vice-President. In this meeting, it was decided that:
This episode effectively ended the existence of the LCC as an entity in China and by 1958, the TLCC was also abolished with the introduction of union worship and imposition of "post-denominationalism" by the Three-Self Patriotic Movement.

Organisation and structure

The LCC was organised on four levels; the National Assembly, Synod, District and Congregation. The General Assembly was to meet once every three years to elect a National Council headed by a National President. The Synod and District levels met annually to elect a Synod Council and District Council respectively and the Congregations elected a Deacons Board annually.

Presidents

Although the LCC only lasted 30 years as an organised entity in China, her legacy to the development of Lutheranism in East Asia has been substantial. Many Lutheran Churches in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore trace their beginnings to the work and missions of the LCC.

Hong Kong

Of the eight Lutheran churches in Hong Kong, six can trace the legacy of the LCC in their work :
There are six Lutheran churches in Taiwan, of which five can trace the legacy of the LCC in their work:
Of the four Lutheran churches in Malaysia, two can trace the legacy of the LCC in their work:
The Lutheran churches in Singapore are organised under one national body which originated as a mission by LCC related missionaries and workers.