“My hometown church has been closed for two years. Now that many churches in Shangqiu have reopened, our church is still forbidden to reopen,” said Xiao Hui, a Christian lady.
Originally from Wolong Village, Yongcheng, Shangqiu, China’s central Henan Province, Xiao Hui lives in Beijing and attends Gangwashi Church. For a small village, a place where about 1,000 people attend is not a small church.
On June 1, 2020, Henan Christian Council & Three-Self Patriotic Movement (CC&TSPM) issued a notice regarding the measures that need to be taken for Christian churches to reopen. The notice said that with epidemic prevention and control measures in place, local Christian churches and gathering points can be reopened to the public after receiving approval from local authorities.
The policy was carried out in numerous cities and counties. While many qualified churches were reopened, Hui felt anxious and confused that her hometown church was not allowed to open as believers needed to worship God together.
The church is adjacent to the local township government, about 100 meters away, and a private kindergarten sits about 80 meters east of the building. The proximity to these buildings is the reason why the church was banned during the Henan cross-removal and church merging campaign in 2018. It has been renovated and made into a cultural activity center.
Hui said that since churches in Shangqiu have been able to reopen since mid-June, most local churches began to hold Sunday services one month later. She said, “But our church is not allowed. Since our church suspended services in July 2018, reopening has been hopeless until early September. Online services in groups are still underway.” She added, “Our church has many elderly believers, some of whom don’t know how to use smartphones. For some families with children it is inconvenient to attend other churches.”
In 1988, Wolong Village Church was granted land on which to build under the approval of Director Liu of the Yongcheng Bureau of Religious Affairs and Secretary Liu of the Village Party Committee. Over a period of two years, a two-meter deep waste pit was filled with dirt by believers who moved dirt from a place one kilometer away. In 1990, a church building 8 meters by 17.5 meters was completed. Two additional 5 by 10 meters houses were built. A new gate, 4 meters by 3.5 meters and a half meter long was erected. After the congregation grew larger, the church was renovated into a building made of steel-reinforced concrete, covering an area of 500 square meters.
The church has legal permits, such as a certificate for use of the land as a religious venue, and a certificate of incorporation. In August 2010, the church purchased an area of about 998 square meters from a local financial office, another area of around 1677 square meters from the local taxation office, and a place covering 805 square meters from the family planning and health service commission. The value is estimated at 80 or 90 million yuan.
It was the first registered church in the village. Every Sunday service lasted from six in the morning to nine, attended by elderly people who accounted for eighty percent of the participants. “In order not to affect other sites, we never placed a stereo outside the church or turned up the volume of the microphone and loudspeaker. What was more, we did not interfere with the nearby kindergarten, which was never open on Sundays.”
Before the closure, the church carried out charitable activities, such as constructing roads and draining water from wet land. Believers visited seniors whose children work in cities and also orphans and widows. The church also donated 15,000 yuan to Wenchuan after the 2008 earthquake. A pastor told a story about the mother of a child suffering from an eye disease. She and her husband were unable to pay the expensive treatment charges by a hospital in Beijing. His church donated more than 70,000 yuan to them.
“Our church has always obeyed the country’s laws and shown its love of our country and other churches.”
However, the silence was broken in 2018. In mid-August, village officials and surrounding villages’ Party secretaries stood guard at the entrances to the village, forbidding believers from coming into the church. They also threatened that their land rights would be taken and they would be detained and punished if they insisted on gathering. Since then, the church has been closed and the donations have been frozen.
Some officials wanted to cancel the church because of its close proximity to government and school buildings, but they did not produce a legal certificate or formalize the banning. He said, “Our church construction was approved by the village and the Bureau of Religious Affairs. We also went through the legal formalities. More than a decade later, the kindergarten was built (around 2009). Whatever perspective you hold, it is unreasonable for officials to keep our church from meeting.”
He cited Article 50 in Chapter Seven of the Regulations on Religious Affairs, “No organization or individual may encroach upon, loot, privately divide up, damage, destroy, or, illegally seal up, impound, freeze, confiscate or dispose of the legal property of a religious body or a site for religious activities, nor damage or destroy cultural relics possessed or used by a religious body or a site for religious activities.”
Since the church can no longer be used by the believers, it has been turned into “The People’s Cultural Activity Center in Wolong Town.”The exterior wall has a sign that says, “Anyone who carries out illegal religious activities will be fined 20,000 yuan.” The altar has been transformed into a stage. Entertainment facilities, poker and electronic mahjong tables have been placed in the hall where locals can hold square dances. But he said that nobody dared to have fun there, knowing it used to be a church. So the activity site has been put on hold.
He stated that the staff just wanted to resume religious services, disagreeing with the cancellation or renting the facility. “The voice of the church’s congregation is that the church should be reopened instead of being cancelled.” At the end of last July, he said that local officials asked if the church building could be sold, rented, or leased. The church head said no.
Asked why the church could be not reopened, they answered, “That is based on the policy.”
Refusing to give in and negotiating with the local authorities, Hui and her hometown pastors are still eager to know what the future will be for their church.
- Translated by Anthony Li
河南省商丘市某教堂疫情之后仍不被允许开放 或因离乡政府和学校太近 “我老家的教会，拖了两年，现在商丘当地多处教会都复堂了，但还是不允许我们堂开放。”基督徒小惠略带无奈地说。 她在北京，平时去缸瓦市堂做礼拜，老家教会地处河南省商丘市永城市卧龙乡。对于一个小乡镇来说，平时接近上千信徒做礼拜的地方已经不是小教会了。 2020年6月1日，河南省基督教两会发布了《关于做好我省基督教活动场所有序开放和常态化疫情防控工作的通知》，上面写道：在落实好防控举措的前提下，各基督教活动场所再经当地主管部门评估且同意开放后，可对外开放。 这一政策逐步落实到河南各市县，眼看着多数教会在符合条件之后都重新开放，而自己的教会却依然不被允许聚会，她愈发着急、不知所措，毕竟信徒们需要到教堂聚集、敬拜神。 这个教堂毗邻当地乡镇府和学校——教堂离乡政府100米左右，位于乡政府后面；私人幼儿园和学校离教堂80米左右，位于教堂东面。这在2018年河南省强拆十字架和合并教会风波中成为了它必须被取缔的理由，还一度被改为文化活动中心。 疫情之后，国内各地基督教堂在符合防疫要求的情况下，都陆续开始恢复礼拜。小惠说，商丘市的教会在6月中旬就已被允许开放，经过申请，7月中旬基本已经正常聚会。“可我们教会还是不被允许，自从2018年7月停止聚会，后面建群开展线上礼拜，到现在都9月初了还是复堂无望。” “我们教会老年信徒多呀，有的不会用智能手机，有的带着孩子，不方便去其他教会。”她越说越着急了。 1988年，经永城市宗教局局长刘某和卧龙乡党书记魏某的批准，卧龙乡基督教堂得到了一片建筑用地——2米的废池深坑，信徒们从一公里外用手推车、簸箕拉土，一点点填平了废坑，前后耗时两年，于1990年建成宽8米、长17.5米宽的主教堂，宽5米、长10米的三间配房，以及宽4米、长3.5米的门楼一间。信徒增多后，又集资在200年将期改建为钢筋混凝土结构的主教堂，总面积500平方米。 并且，这个教堂所需合法证件，包括土地使用证、宗教活动场所登记证、法人代表证等都齐全。2010年8月大家信徒集资又买下财政所总面积998.2平方米，地税所总面积1677.5平方米，计生办指导站总面积805平方米，现价值估算八九百万的教产，并在当地司法所公证。 这是卧龙乡第一个正式批准建立的教堂，80%以上的信徒都是老人，每个主日都举行礼拜，从早晨六点开始到九点结束。“为了不影响其他场所，我们不在礼拜堂外放置音响，室内麦克风和音响的声音从不调高。而且临近的幼儿园周日不上课，基本上互不影响。” 此前，除了正常的礼拜活动，该教会还开展公益活动，比如修路排水；看望慰问老人，让其子女能安心在外打工；在汶川地震后捐款15000元；看望村里的孤儿寡母，帮助贫困村民；在春秋佳节时，教会服侍人员会去乡镇的各个敬老院慰问和看望老人。该教会的杨传道讲了一个故事，2015年的时候，在石桥村郑楼村庄，楼某双眼患疾，眼珠一凸一凹，生活十分困难。想到北京治疗，但费用昂贵，其父母无法承担医药费。其母在北京想要跳楼自杀，经王某办理，卧龙基督教会捐款七千多元给楼某治眼。 “我们教会向来遵从国家政策、爱国爱教。” 可这间教会的平静在2018年被打破了。时年8月中旬，乡政府官员连同周围乡村书记，把守着各个村口，不允许信徒到教堂聚会，还威胁信徒说，如果继续聚会就要剥夺他们的土地耕种权，并进行殴打和拘留，诸如此类。从那时起，教会就不再被允许聚会，其奉献款也被冻结。 以距离政府和学校近为由，乡政府的个别官员想注销了此教堂，且不给办理取缔证书及任何手续。对此，杨传道表示，“我们教堂在1988年的时候可是经乡政府和宗教局同意选址建的，并办理了合法场所手续，我们教会成立了10多年后才建了幼儿园（2009年前后），不管从什么角度，乡政府个别人员想取缔我们的教会，都是不合理的。” 他提到了《宗教事务条例》，其中第7章第50条规定：宗教活动场所合法使用土地，房屋、构筑物、设施以及其他合法财产，收益受法律保护，任何组织或者个人不得侵占、私分、损坏或非法查封、扣押、冻结、没收。 此后，该教堂还一度被改为“卧龙镇群众文化活动中心”，教堂外墙上写了这样一行字：为违法宗教活动提供条件处2万罚款。原本做礼拜的地方，讲台变成了“卧龙镇文化大舞台”，堂内被摆上了棋牌和麻将桌，还可以跳广场舞。可是，杨某说，大家都知道那里是教堂，没有人敢去玩。久而久之，也就搁置了。 杨传道表示，教会坚决不注销，也不会同意租借等方案，他们只想恢复正常的宗教活动。“卧龙教堂信徒们的心声是：保留卧龙教堂，不能注销。” 今年7月底，据杨传道讲述，乡政府及乡村书记八九个人还去找了他和教会负责人，再次询问能否把教会产权或卖或租或借，作为他用。教会负责人回答“一不租二不卖三不借。” 当询问为何不让教会正常开放时，对方只回答“这是政策”。 疫情之后，基督教堂如何重新开放，看各地政策都大同小异，但落实到具体教会身上都是挑战。卧龙乡基督教堂将何去何从，能否顺利开放，还是继续被停止聚会却不给注销理由和证明？在僵持和谈判中，小惠和她老家教堂的传道人们依然着急着。
“My hometown church has been closed for two years. Now that many churches in Shangqiu have reopened, our church is still forbidden to reopen,” said Xiao Hui, a Christian lady.
Originally from Wolong Village, Yongcheng, Shangqiu, China’s central Henan Province, Xiao Hui lives in Beijing and attends Gangwashi Church. For a small village, a place where about 1,000 people attend is not a small church.
On June 1, 2020, Henan Christian Council & Three-Self Patriotic Movement (CC&TSPM) issued a notice regarding the measures that need to be taken for Christian churches to reopen. The notice said that with epidemic prevention and control measures in place, local Christian churches and gathering points can be reopened to the public after receiving approval from local authorities.
The policy was carried out in numerous cities and counties. While many qualified churches were reopened, Hui felt anxious and confused that her hometown church was not allowed to open as believers needed to worship God together.
The church is adjacent to the local township government, about 100 meters away, and a private kindergarten sits about 80 meters east of the building. The proximity to these buildings is the reason why the church was banned during the Henan cross-removal and church merging campaign in 2018. It has been renovated and made into a cultural activity center.
Hui said that since churches in Shangqiu have been able to reopen since mid-June, most local churches began to hold Sunday services one month later. She said, “But our church is not allowed. Since our church suspended services in July 2018, reopening has been hopeless until early September. Online services in groups are still underway.” She added, “Our church has many elderly believers, some of whom don’t know how to use smartphones. For some families with children it is inconvenient to attend other churches.”
In 1988, Wolong Village Church was granted land on which to build under the approval of Director Liu of the Yongcheng Bureau of Religious Affairs and Secretary Liu of the Village Party Committee. Over a period of two years, a two-meter deep waste pit was filled with dirt by believers who moved dirt from a place one kilometer away. In 1990, a church building 8 meters by 17.5 meters was completed. Two additional 5 by 10 meters houses were built. A new gate, 4 meters by 3.5 meters and a half meter long was erected. After the congregation grew larger, the church was renovated into a building made of steel-reinforced concrete, covering an area of 500 square meters.
The church has legal permits, such as a certificate for use of the land as a religious venue, and a certificate of incorporation. In August 2010, the church purchased an area of about 998 square meters from a local financial office, another area of around 1677 square meters from the local taxation office, and a place covering 805 square meters from the family planning and health service commission. The value is estimated at 80 or 90 million yuan.
It was the first registered church in the village. Every Sunday service lasted from six in the morning to nine, attended by elderly people who accounted for eighty percent of the participants. “In order not to affect other sites, we never placed a stereo outside the church or turned up the volume of the microphone and loudspeaker. What was more, we did not interfere with the nearby kindergarten, which was never open on Sundays.”
Before the closure, the church carried out charitable activities, such as constructing roads and draining water from wet land. Believers visited seniors whose children work in cities and also orphans and widows. The church also donated 15,000 yuan to Wenchuan after the 2008 earthquake. A pastor told a story about the mother of a child suffering from an eye disease. She and her husband were unable to pay the expensive treatment charges by a hospital in Beijing. His church donated more than 70,000 yuan to them.
“Our church has always obeyed the country’s laws and shown its love of our country and other churches.”
However, the silence was broken in 2018. In mid-August, village officials and surrounding villages’ Party secretaries stood guard at the entrances to the village, forbidding believers from coming into the church. They also threatened that their land rights would be taken and they would be detained and punished if they insisted on gathering. Since then, the church has been closed and the donations have been frozen.
Some officials wanted to cancel the church because of its close proximity to government and school buildings, but they did not produce a legal certificate or formalize the banning. He said, “Our church construction was approved by the village and the Bureau of Religious Affairs. We also went through the legal formalities. More than a decade later, the kindergarten was built (around 2009). Whatever perspective you hold, it is unreasonable for officials to keep our church from meeting.”
He cited Article 50 in Chapter Seven of the Regulations on Religious Affairs, “No organization or individual may encroach upon, loot, privately divide up, damage, destroy, or, illegally seal up, impound, freeze, confiscate or dispose of the legal property of a religious body or a site for religious activities, nor damage or destroy cultural relics possessed or used by a religious body or a site for religious activities.”
Since the church can no longer be used by the believers, it has been turned into “The People’s Cultural Activity Center in Wolong Town.”The exterior wall has a sign that says, “Anyone who carries out illegal religious activities will be fined 20,000 yuan.” The altar has been transformed into a stage. Entertainment facilities, poker and electronic mahjong tables have been placed in the hall where locals can hold square dances. But he said that nobody dared to have fun there, knowing it used to be a church. So the activity site has been put on hold.
He stated that the staff just wanted to resume religious services, disagreeing with the cancellation or renting the facility. “The voice of the church’s congregation is that the church should be reopened instead of being cancelled.” At the end of last July, he said that local officials asked if the church building could be sold, rented, or leased. The church head said no.
Asked why the church could be not reopened, they answered, “That is based on the policy.”
Refusing to give in and negotiating with the local authorities, Hui and her hometown pastors are still eager to know what the future will be for their church.
- Translated by Anthony Li
Church in Henan not Permitted to Reopen, May be too Close near Local Gov’t, School
