Holy Trinity Church, Shanghai ( zh, t=上海聖三一堂, s=上海圣三一堂, p=Shànghǎi shèng sānyī táng), is a Protestant (and formerly

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 ...

) church in Huangpu District of

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. The church, consecrated in 1869 was designed in a Gothic Revival style by British architect Sir

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

. After 1875, upon the appointment of Bishop William Russell as the first

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Bishop in the

Diocese of North China The Diocese of North China ( zh, t=聖公會華北教區, w=Shêng Kung Hui Hua Pei Chiao Chʽü, l=Anglican Diocese of North China), also known as Hua Pei Diocese (), was an Anglican diocese in China established under the supervision of the Chur ...

, the church was commonly referred to as a

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, and the senior priest was known as the Dean. This cathedral designation was however mainly by way of common convention than fact as the titular bishop of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

located in Shanghai at the time was

Channing Moore Williams Channing Moore Williams (July 17, 1829 – December 2, 1910) was an Episcopal Church missionary, later bishop, in China and Japan. Williams was a leading figure in the establishment of the Anglican Church in Japan. His commemoration in some Angl ...

of the Episcopal Church. The church has recently undergone restoration and has been serving as the main church and headquarters of the

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 Patrio ...

in Shanghai since 2006. However, as of June 2018, the church was still not open for worship. The bookshop located in the former school, however, remained open.

History

Tcitp d381 the shanghai anglican cathedral

Prior to the construction and dedication of Holy Trinity in 1847, church services attended by the British community were held in the British Consulate. Thomas Chaye Beale of Dent & Co. purchased and donated the current site of Holy Trinity as a gift to the church. The first church structure on the site was of poor quality; the roof collapsing, following intense rainfall, on 24 June 1850. The

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

design of the current church by

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

, was modified by William Kidner, a junior architect in Scott's office due to budget constraints and in an effort to accommodate a growing congregation. The foundation stone was laid in 1866 and the church was eventually dedicated in 1869. The laying of the foundation stone was a grand public event. A procession for the event starting from the nearby Masonic Hall heading to the cathedral site, and the laying of the stone was a full Masonic ceremony under the direction and superintendence of the Provincial Grand Lodge of China. A spire was added to the original tower in 1901 although this was later removed during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

. Holy Trinity faces

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, which is roughly in the west. When introduced in 1914, the church had the largest organ in Asia an instrument supplied by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd of London. Before the forced amalgamation of Anglican denominations in

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

into the

lianghui The Two Sessions () is the collective term for the annual plenary sessions of the National People's Congress and of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which are typically both held every March a ...

in 1958, the church served as the cathedral of the Anglican Church in China, known as Holy Trinity Cathedral ( zh, t=聖三一主敎座堂, s=圣三一主教座堂, first=t, p=Shèngsānyī Zhujiaozuotáng, links=no), and the oldest such cathedral in China. It was colloquially known as "the Red Church". It was the English speaking Anglican church of Shanghai in 1866–1949. It also had a boys' school attached, built in 1928. This was attended by the author JG Ballard in his youth, and it features in his novel, '' Empire of the Sun''. The 1st Shanghai Baden-Powell Group was based there. Later, it became the cathedral of the Diocese of Chekiang in 1930, still an English speaking church.

Location

Its address is 201, Jiujiang Road. The nearest station on the

Shanghai Metro The Shanghai Metro (; Shanghainese: ''Zaon6he5 Di6thiq7'') is a rapid transit system in Shanghai, operating urban and suburban transit services to 14 of its 16 List of township-level divisions of Shanghai, municipal districts and to the neighb ...

Nanjing Rd East Station Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

. It has a separate

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

Renovations

Its spire was destroyed during the cultural revolution and has since been restored. During the

, it was confiscated by the Huangpu District authorities and converted into a cinema. A stage was installed in the chancel, a second floor and sloping floor were introduced and the brickwork was covered by plaster and painted. Peter Hibbard, who described it as "a central feature of British life in a faraway land," was consulted in its restoration. The restoration was carried out by Zhang Ming Architectural Design Firm. Carved teak pews were provided by a furniture factory in

Zhejiang province ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

. The church was reopened in December 2017.

Current use

It now serves as the headquarters of the

, having been used for police offices and the exit visa bureau. The church complex was handed back to the

in 2006.

Marriages

* Kenneth Bevan * Alfred Brooke-Smith *

William Cassels William Wharton Cassels (11 March 1858 – 7 November 1925) was an Anglican missionary bishop. Early life and education Cassels was born in Oporto, Portugal, the sixth son of John Cassels, a merchant, and Ethelinda Cox, a distant relation of Wa ...

William Herbert Vacher William Herbert Vacher (ca.1826 in London – 1899 in Hastings, England) was a prominent British merchant and banker who was a member of the Shanghai Municipal Council, a chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, founding manager ...

* Hiram Parkes Wilkinson * Louie Yim-qun * Henry Jackson Yue *

Margaret Williamson King Margaret Williamson King (1861–1949) was a Scottish author born in Ardrossan Road, Saltcoats, Ayrshire Scotland. She used various pen names, including Veronica King and Madge King, and with her husband, William A. Rivers. Early life Margare ...

References

{{shanghai Former Anglican churches in China Churches completed in 1869 Churches in Shanghai Culture in Shanghai Tourist attractions in Shanghai Landmarks in Shanghai Anglican cathedrals in China George Gilbert Scott buildings Gothic Revival church buildings in China Cathedrals in Shanghai 1869 establishments in China Three-Self Patriotic Movement 19th-century Anglican church buildings in China 19th-century churches in China Christianity and Freemasonry Freemasonry in China