True Jesus Church was a church building which was located in the town of Caidu in

Shangcai County Shangcai County () is a county in the south of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhumadian. Administrative divisions As 2017, this county is divided to 4 subdistricts, 12 towns and 10 townships. ...

which is under the jurisdiction of the city of

Zhumadian Zhumadian (; postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to the northwest, Luohe to the north, Zhoukou to the northeast, and the province of An ...

and located in

Henan province Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The large church building was destroyed by Communist Party officials in 2019. Of China's 23 provinces, Henan province has had the highest percentage of Christians since 1999. Communist officials stated that the church had engaged in illegal fundraising. On June 22, 2019, the process of removing the church building began with the arrival of about 60 officials from the Religious Affairs Bureau. The director of the Religious Affairs Bureau told the congregation that the church was to be converted into a nursing home. The electrical supply of the church was cut, and the gate lock was broken. On July 26, 2019, at around 3 o'clock in the morning, about 1,000 government officials and personnel from several county departments arrived to demolish the church. Two elderly people were injured while the church was being razed. The church had been estimated to be worth $1.4 million US dollars. In August 2019, after the church had been destroyed, persecution of citizens continued with eight people in charge of the church and 13 churchgoers arrested. A new lawn with small trees was planted in the place where the church had stood. The True Jesus Church in Caidu was part of a network of churches by the same name. The original

True Jesus Church The True Jesus Church (TJC) is a non-denominational Christian Church that originated in Beijing, China, during the Pentecostal movement in the early twentieth century. The True Jesus Church is currently one of the largest Christian groups in Chin ...

was started in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

in 1917 by Paul Wei, a cloth merchant who converted to Christianity. The True Jesus Church does not belong to the state-approved

Three-Self Patriotic Movement The Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM; ) is the official government supervisory organ for Protestantism in the People's Republic of China. It is colloquially known as the Three-Self Church (). The National Committee of the Three-Self Patriot ...

External links

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Officials demolish A True Jesus Church in Caidu, China
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References

{{coord missing, Henan Christianity in Henan Destroyed churches Buildings and structures demolished in 2019 Religious persecution True Jesus Church Demolished buildings and structures in China