A Protestant house church pastor in China was sentenced to eight years after being charged with “fraud”, with regards to the handling of her church’s offerings.
Echeng District Court in Ezhou, Hubei Province sentenced Hao Zhiwei, a 51-year-old female pastor of a house church after being charged with “fraud” in the first trial on February 11, according to Union of Catholic Asian News.
Refusing to join the state-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant churches in China, Hao was charged with “preaching the gospel without authorization and fraud for collecting church offerings”.
Having graduated from Zhong Nan Theological Seminary in 2001, she was a former preacher at Egangqiao Church. Not approving the administration of the local religious affairs bureau over the official church, she applied for the certificate of a pastor but failed. The TSPM church was banned but continued to exist in the form of a house church. She pastored the congregation for 18 years. Based on house church traditions, she was ordained as a pastor by three pastors invited by the church.
She had been arrested by the local authorities since July 31, 2019.
因拒绝加入三自教会，于2019年7月31日被捕、羁押长达两年半的湖北鄂州家庭教会牧师郝志娓，于2022年2月11日一审被鄂州市鄂城区法院以“诈骗罪”判处有期徒刑8年。她被控在没有经过基督教两会批准的情况下，擅自传道，并收取奉献涉嫌诈骗。
郝志娓牧师今年51岁，2001年毕业于中南神学院，后被鄂州三自教会——鄂钢桥教会请去做传道人。由于郝志娓牧师不认同宗教局对教会的管理，宗教局试图阻拦她讲道。2007年，她向官方申请牧师资格未获批准。这间三自教会后来被取缔，取缔后，以家庭教会的形式继续存在，郝志娓继续牧养这里的会众达18年。2013年，根据家庭教会传统，教会请来三个牧师为郝牧师施行了按立仪式。
——湖北鄂州
A Protestant house church pastor in China was sentenced to eight years after being charged with “fraud”, with regards to the handling of her church’s offerings.
Echeng District Court in Ezhou, Hubei Province sentenced Hao Zhiwei, a 51-year-old female pastor of a house church after being charged with “fraud” in the first trial on February 11, according to Union of Catholic Asian News.
Refusing to join the state-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant churches in China, Hao was charged with “preaching the gospel without authorization and fraud for collecting church offerings”.
Having graduated from Zhong Nan Theological Seminary in 2001, she was a former preacher at Egangqiao Church. Not approving the administration of the local religious affairs bureau over the official church, she applied for the certificate of a pastor but failed. The TSPM church was banned but continued to exist in the form of a house church. She pastored the congregation for 18 years. Based on house church traditions, she was ordained as a pastor by three pastors invited by the church.
She had been arrested by the local authorities since July 31, 2019.
House Church Pastor Sentenced to 8 Years on ‘Fraud’ Charges
