During a visit to the Church of Heavenly Peace on Cangqian Mountain, Fuzhou, Fujian, Reverend Chen Andi introduced us to this 165-year-old church.
In 1840, after the Opium War, China was forced to open to the outside world. Fuzhou and Xiamen, included in the five treaty ports, were the first to open. The Methodist Episcopal Church and other churches sent missionaries to China and Protestant churches entered Fuzhou on a large scale.
The Church of Heavenly Peace, which is located at No. 15 Tian’an Li, Cangshan District, was built under the supervision of Robert Samuel Maclay, a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was completed and dedicated to God on October 18, 1856. “People on earth strive for fame and wealth, instead of seeking the blessed peace inside. So I gather the toiling masses to approach the Christ here, and name it ‘peace’ to enlighten the masses.” So Maclay called it the Church of Heavenly Peace.
In 1897, Pastor Huang Zhiji raised 20,000 yuan to expand the church into a cathedral that could accommodate a thousand people, and the 50th anniversary of the introduction of Methodist Episcopal Church into Fuzhou was celebrated there. In 1915, the Office of the Methodist Episcopal Church was built near the church as a center for missionary activities in China. In 1988, the church was designated a historical building by the cultural preservation society of the Cangshan District. In 1996, it was rebuilt with a new reinforced concrete structure. On October 30, 1999, a dedication ceremony was held. The church can accommodate more than 1,000 worshippers.
Constructed of red brick with stone corners, this single-story church has a cruciform horizontal plane. It is a relatively tall building, equivalent to two floors of ordinary houses of the same time period. It has a wooden truss roof covered with Chinese-style tiles. The windows have two forms: gothic arched windows on the eave surface, and ordinary rectangular windows on the gable surface, with a rose window in the gable. In the southeast corner of the intersection of the cruciform plane is the bell tower, which is three floors high. The first floor is the same height as the church, with the main door of the church opening to the south. A small rectangular window is above the door.
In 1881, the church established a private missionary middle school, the Anglo-Chinese College (now Fuzhou Senior High School), on Yantai Mountain. Next year will be the 140th anniversary of its founding.
During the visit, I saw a busy construction site around the church, where buildings that appear old have been preserved. The Office of Methodist Episcopal Church, built in 1915, has been restored and the interior is being renovated. All the century-old buildings on Cangqian Mountain will be restored in time for the session of the World Heritage Committee to be held in Fuzhou next May.
Reverend Chen Andi also told us that during the coronavirus pandemic this year, the Church of Heavenly Peace ended all of its services and launched an online Sunday worship service, which was hugely popular. Even though the epidemic has stalled and they are able to meet in person, they maintain the online services as well, with over 500 people attending each time.
Christmas is coming, and the church is actively preparing for the Christmas gathering at the church's Cangshan Xiaoling Chapel.
(The article is originally published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
前几天我到福州仓前山天安堂参观，陈安俤牧师向我们介绍这座巳有165年历史的老教堂。
1840年，鸦片战争后，国门被迫打开，福州，厦门作为五口通商口岸率先开埠，美以美会等教会纷纷派遣传教士来华传教，基督新教大规模进入福州。
美以美会传教士麦利和主持修建仓山区天安里15号礼拜堂，1856年10月18日举行落成和献堂仪式；“以世人争趋名利，不求天锡之安，故取基督劳苦负重就我，我锡尔安之意以启之”，麦利和为之定名为“天安堂”。
1897年，黄治基牧师筹集银两万元将该堂扩为千人大教堂，并在此纪念美以美会传入福州50周年。1915年在天安堂附近兴建以美会公所，作为来华传教士活动场所。1988年，天安堂被定为仓山区级文物保护单位。1996年，重建为钢筋混凝土结构新建筑。1999年10月30日举行献堂典礼，可容纳信徒千余人。
天安堂位于福州仓前山的天安里，由红砖砌筑，石勒脚；教堂平面十字形，单层，高度较大，约相当于同时期的普通住宅两层，木桁架屋顶小青瓦屋面，立面窗户有两种形式：屋檐所在面开设哥特风格的高直尖券窗，山墙面则为普通矩形窗，其上设置玫瑰窗。在平面十字交叉处东南角有钟楼，高三层，首层与教堂同高，南面开门，为教堂的主入口，门上方设置小矩形窗，东面为一个与主体相同的高直尖券窗钟楼为开敞的亭阁。
1881年教会在烟台山创办一所私立教会中学，鹤龄英华书院，现为福州高级中学。明年将是该校建校140周年庆。
参访中看到天安堂周边工地上一片忙碌，颇具岁月感的建筑都被保留下来。1915年教会兴建的美以美会公所已恢复原貌，正在内部装修，仓前山上所有的百年建筑将重新再现，以迎接明年5月世界遗产大会在福州召开。
陈安俤牧师还告诉我们，今年疫情开始，天安堂停止各种聚会，开展主日网络崇拜，深受大家欢迎，如今疫情虽然有所缓，他们还是线上、线下崇拜同步，如今每次的主日崇拜也有500多人。
圣诞节即将到来，教会正积极筹备中，圣诞节在天安堂属下的仓山小岭礼拜堂再欢聚！
为迎接2021年世界遗产大会，福州百年美以美会公所正在修建中！
During a visit to the Church of Heavenly Peace on Cangqian Mountain, Fuzhou, Fujian, Reverend Chen Andi introduced us to this 165-year-old church.
In 1840, after the Opium War, China was forced to open to the outside world. Fuzhou and Xiamen, included in the five treaty ports, were the first to open. The Methodist Episcopal Church and other churches sent missionaries to China and Protestant churches entered Fuzhou on a large scale.
The Church of Heavenly Peace, which is located at No. 15 Tian’an Li, Cangshan District, was built under the supervision of Robert Samuel Maclay, a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was completed and dedicated to God on October 18, 1856. “People on earth strive for fame and wealth, instead of seeking the blessed peace inside. So I gather the toiling masses to approach the Christ here, and name it ‘peace’ to enlighten the masses.” So Maclay called it the Church of Heavenly Peace.
In 1897, Pastor Huang Zhiji raised 20,000 yuan to expand the church into a cathedral that could accommodate a thousand people, and the 50th anniversary of the introduction of Methodist Episcopal Church into Fuzhou was celebrated there. In 1915, the Office of the Methodist Episcopal Church was built near the church as a center for missionary activities in China. In 1988, the church was designated a historical building by the cultural preservation society of the Cangshan District. In 1996, it was rebuilt with a new reinforced concrete structure. On October 30, 1999, a dedication ceremony was held. The church can accommodate more than 1,000 worshippers.
Constructed of red brick with stone corners, this single-story church has a cruciform horizontal plane. It is a relatively tall building, equivalent to two floors of ordinary houses of the same time period. It has a wooden truss roof covered with Chinese-style tiles. The windows have two forms: gothic arched windows on the eave surface, and ordinary rectangular windows on the gable surface, with a rose window in the gable. In the southeast corner of the intersection of the cruciform plane is the bell tower, which is three floors high. The first floor is the same height as the church, with the main door of the church opening to the south. A small rectangular window is above the door.
In 1881, the church established a private missionary middle school, the Anglo-Chinese College (now Fuzhou Senior High School), on Yantai Mountain. Next year will be the 140th anniversary of its founding.
During the visit, I saw a busy construction site around the church, where buildings that appear old have been preserved. The Office of Methodist Episcopal Church, built in 1915, has been restored and the interior is being renovated. All the century-old buildings on Cangqian Mountain will be restored in time for the session of the World Heritage Committee to be held in Fuzhou next May.
Reverend Chen Andi also told us that during the coronavirus pandemic this year, the Church of Heavenly Peace ended all of its services and launched an online Sunday worship service, which was hugely popular. Even though the epidemic has stalled and they are able to meet in person, they maintain the online services as well, with over 500 people attending each time.
Christmas is coming, and the church is actively preparing for the Christmas gathering at the church's Cangshan Xiaoling Chapel.
(The article is originally published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Old Methodist Episcopal Church in Fuzhou under Renovation for 2021 World Heritage Convention
