wfn.org | China's last Anglican bishop reflects on the future of the church in his country

[ENS@ecunet.org]

For more information contact:
James Solheim
Director
jsolheim@dfms.org
http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/ens

2000-216a

China's last Anglican bishop reflects on the future of the church in his country

by James Solheim

     (ENS) China's last Anglican bishop, K.H. Ting, may be moving a bit more 
slowly these days. But at the age of 85, he has seen the most important 
developments in the life of the Chinese Christian church--and he has some deep 
concerns about its future.

     At a dinner with members of a delegation from the Episcopal Church, Ting 
said that Anglicanism seems to have disappeared in the post-denominational church 
in China but "Anglican bishops and priests have been greatly appreciated for 
better learning and theological education." As a result, they have exerted a 
strong influence on the formation of church life at the local and regional level, 
as well as providing leadership for the China Christian Council, the national 
organization that supervises church life.

     Although he is the last bishop and there are no priests who function as 
Anglicans, he detects a new interest in the Prayer Book and the Anglican style of 
worship centered in the Eucharist. And Chinese students return from their studies 
abroad, sometimes bringing with them elements of Anglican liturgy, even a few 
vestments. "I like to think with pride that we are an experiment on behalf of the 
whole church," he said.

A few worries

     The rapid growth of the church is causing some problems for the church in 
China, and Ting is open in describing his deep concern for its theological 
direction. The key to maintaining unity is an attitude of mutual respect in 
matters of faith and worship, he said during a two-hour conversation with the 
delegation at his home in Nanjing. The church's strong interest in evangelism 
means, however, that there is not much discussion about sacramental theology.

      "We are paying a heavy price in order to maintain the present unity," he 
said. "Many things are being omitted in our church life in order to be mutually 
respective. In building up our theological life and thinking we are trying to 
emphasize that we all need more diversity. We are doing our best to encourage 
students to be interested in theology, not just schools of theology."

     Ting was appointed a bishop in Hanzhou while teaching at Nanjing Seminary in 
the early 1950s after graduating from Columbia/Union Seminary in New York. The 
church was not anti-communist then, and he said, "The mission of the church in 
China will be fruitless if it adopts anti-communism as our mission, especially 
these days." He is convinced that "the Communist Party is changing its attitude 
towards the church. I am quite firm in my thinking that we can't treat communists 
as our enemies. It's true that, at the grassroots, some officials can be very 
rude in their treatment of church people. But the higher you go you discover that 
the attitude towards the church has changed. You no longer hear any talk of 
religion as an opiate of the people. That doesn't mean," he adds, that communists 
are being converted to the Christian faith but they now know they must respect 
the church its leaders."

     Communist leaders are more interested in mobilizing citizens to work in 
building the nation, "no longer enthusiastic about converting everyone into a 
Marxist," Ting said. "Their goal is now much more limited… and that means that we 
can be friends much more easily than in the 1950s or the time of the Cultural 
Revolution, when religion was considered an evil to be eradicated."

Surviving during the Cultural Revolution

     Ting and his family were driven from their home in 1966. "We were given four 
or five hours to move out," he said. He was not even allowed to take his books--
not even Chairman Mao's writings, "because as intellectuals we weren't 
qualified." The seminary became the headquarters of the Nanjing Red Guards and 
his house was headquarters of the university Red Guards. The family moved to a 
small house owned by the university. When China became a member of the United 
Nations, he found some work translating.

     Although the churches were closed, Ting said that Christians found ways to 
meet. No Bibles were available but people would write down passages to be 
"spiritually supportive" of each other.

     Despite what he considers a vastly improved climate for the church, Ting is 
realistic about its role in the church in the life of the nation. While 
Christians are naturally sympathetic with the struggle for human rights, the 
church hasn't made public statements "because we are too small. Church leaders 
don't think it is worthwhile because we are such a minority," he said. "And if we 
do such a thing it will not be good for the church in the long run."  He is also 
convinced that it would encourage China's strongest critics on the international 
level. Yet the church has other ways to express its opinions to the government.

     The conversation ended with some practical discussion of how the 
international church could help support the Chinese, especially as they struggle 
for more openness in their theology. And of course there were greetings to 
American friends who have supported the Chinese church over the years.

--James Solheim is director of the Episcopal Church's Office of News and 
Information and accompanied the delegation.