Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
church situated on Tiantai Road in
Wanzhou District
Wanzhou District ( zh, s=万州区 , t=萬州區 , p=Wànzhōu Qū) is Chongqing's second most populated urban core area on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing ...
,
Chongqing
ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...
. Built in 1901, it was formerly an
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
was first introduced to Wanzhou (then known as Wanhsien
an County
Anzhou District () formerly An County is a district of the city of Mianyang, in northeastern Sichuan province, China.
It has an area of and a population of 372,962 in 2020.
Administrative divisions
Anzhou has 9 towns and 1 township
A township ...
was part of
Sichuan Province
Sichuan is a Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capita ...
) by a British Anglican missionary in 1882. The first baptism took place in 1896, conducted by two British missionaries, with 16 locals being baptised into Anglican Church.
In 1901, a residential property on Sanma Road was purchased for 2400
sycee
A sycee (;.. from Cantonese , zh, j=Sai3 Si1, y=sai-sī, ). or yuanbao ( zh, t= 元寶, s= 元宝, poj=Goân-pó, j=jyun4 bou2, p=yuánbǎo, l=primary treasure, first=t) was a type of gold and silver ingot currency used in imperial China from ...
by the local Anglican missionary Chao Shang-lien, and was converted into a place of worship named Gospel Church. In 1919, the East Szechwan School of Theology was established by a British missionary in Wanhsien. The church became one of the county's main venues for Protestant worship along with the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
Holy Cross Church.
The Wanhsien incident in 1926 forced all foreign missionaries out of Sichuan, the congregation had sunk into slumber since then. It was not until 1934, when Pastor
Andrew Gih
Andrew Gih or Ji Zhiwen ( zh, t=計志文, s=计志文, first=t, w=Chi Chih-wên, p=Jì Zhìwén; January 10, 1901 – February 13, 1985) was a Chinese Protestantism, Protestant Evangelism, evangelist who cofounded the Bethel Worldwide Evangelis ...
led a group of missionaries from Shanghai Bethel Mission, entered Wanhsien to set up a special sermon which lasted for a week, that revived the church.
After the communist takeover of China in 1949, Christian Churches in China were forced to sever their ties with respective overseas Churches, which has thus led to the merging of Gospel Church into the communist-established Three-Self Patriotic Church.
During the 2000s, in order to support
Three Gorges Project
The Three Gorges Dam (), officially known as Yangtze River Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project () is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River near Sandouping in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downs ...
, the church was moved to its present location and rebuilt in
neo-Romanesque
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...
St John's Cathedral, Langzhong
St John's Cathedral,; Sichuanese Pinyin, Sichuanese romanization: ''Shen Io Han Tso Tʽang''. today known as Gospel Church,; Sichuanese romanization: ''Fu In Tʽang''. is a Protestantism in Sichuan, Protestant church situated on Yangtianjing Stree ...
Wanzhou
Wanzhou District ( zh, s=万州区 , t=萬州區 , p=Wànzhōu Qū) is Chongqing's second most populated urban core area on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing M ...
Wanzhou
Wanzhou District ( zh, s=万州区 , t=萬州區 , p=Wànzhōu Qū) is Chongqing's second most populated urban core area on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing M ...
Wanzhou
Wanzhou District ( zh, s=万州区 , t=萬州區 , p=Wànzhōu Qū) is Chongqing's second most populated urban core area on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing M ...