The Lutheran Church of China (LCC; ) was a Lutheran church body in China from 1920 to 1951. It was established as a result of the consultations between the various Lutheran missionary bodies in China that was initiated during the China Centenary Missionary Conference held in Shanghai in 1907.Carlberg, Gustav: "The Changing China Scene : The Story of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Its Church and Political Setting Over a Period of Forty-Five Years, 1913-1958", Hong Kong: Lutheran Literature Society, 1958 The church survived as an organised body after the Chinese Communist Revolution but was absorbed into the state-backed Three-Self Patriotic Movement.
History The early Chinese Lutheran churches were the result of the work of western mission societies in the 19th century. Until 1907, no less than 25 European and American Lutheran mission bodies were working in China; most of them independently from each other and some within other organisations such as the China Inland Mission.
Early history (1831–1847) Karl Gützlaff (also known by his Chinese name, or in Pinyin) is generally regarded as the first Lutheran missionary to China. Originally accredited to the Netherlands Missionary Society, Gützlaff first arrived in East Asia in 1823. As China adopted a strict closed-door policy in that period, he was unable to set foot on China until 1831. Arriving in Tianjin, he was able to distribute some religious pamphlets and gospel tracts.
Although Gützlaff's methods and results were controversial,China Insight Newsletter: "American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1867, repr., Taipei: Ch'eng-wen Publishing Company, 1966 his major contribution included the promotion of the Chinese mission field to European mission societies, particularly Lutheran bodies.
First Lutheran missions (1847–1890) Following Gützlaff's appeal, three German mission societies, the Barmen Mission (later known as the Rhenish Missionary Society or ), the Berlin Missionary Society (), and the Basel Mission (), sent missionaries to China. On March 19, 1847, Theodore Hamberg () and Rudolph Lechler () of the Basel Mission, together with Heinrich Köster () and Ferdinand Genähr () of the Barmen Mission, arrived in Hong Kong and under Gützlaff's guidance began working in different areas of Guangdong province. The Basel missionaries concentrated among the Hakka speaking people in the eastern part of the province whereas the Barmen missionaries worked among the Cantonese speakers of the western part of the province. The churches they founded were called the Chongzhen Church (Tsung-Tsin Church or ) and Lixian Church (Rhenish Church or ) respectively.
The Berlin Missionary Society sent its first missionary to China in 1851 and initially confined its work to the Hakka speaking people in Guangdong province. It eventually extended its work to the Mandarin-speaking people in Jiangxi and Shandong provinces. The church they founded was eventually called the Yuegan Church ().Tang, Christopher (湯清): "The First Hundred Years Of Protestant Mission In China (Published in Chinese as 中國基督教百年史)", page 276, Hong Kong: Taosheng Publishing House, 1987
Other Lutheran missions (1890–1907)
Between 1890 and 1907, a number of American and Scandinavian Lutheran mission societies established a presence in China. The notable ones include:Hsiao, Andrew: "A Brief History of the Chinese Lutheran Church", Hong Kong: Taosheng Publishing House, 1999, University of San Francisco: The Ricci 21st Century Roundtable on the History of Christianity in China, The Ricci Institute (URL last accessed on April 24, 2007)
American Lutheran Mission (1890) - Mission in the provinces of Henan and Hubei - Started the Yu'e Lutheran Church ()
Hauge's Synod Mission or (1891) - Mission in Hubei province - Work later merged in 1917 with the American Lutheran Mission as the United Lutheran Mission () American Theological Library Association: "Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church. Board of Foreign Missions: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Annual Reports and Minutes, 1913-1948 " (URL last accessed on April 24, 2007)
Norwegian Lutheran China Mission Association or (1891) - Mission in the provinces of Hubei, Henan, and Shaanxi - Started the Yu'eshaan Lutheran Church ()
Danish Lutheran Mission or (1896) - Mission in Manchuria - Started the Northeastern Lutheran Church ()
Kiel China Mission or (1897) - Mission in Guangdong province - Work transferred to the Schleswig-Holstein Evangelical Lutheran Mission () in 1921 - Church eventually known as the Yuenan Lutheran Church ()
Finnish Missionary Society or (1901) - Mission in the provinces of Hunan and Hubei - Started the Xiang Xibei Lutheran Church ()
American Lutheran Brethren Mission or (1902) - Mission in Henan and Hubei border region - Started the Yu'xi Lutheran Church ()
Norwegian Missionary Society or (1902) - Mission in Hunan province - Started the Xiangzhong Lutheran Church ()
Augustana Synod Mission or (1905) - Mission in the provinces of Henan, Hubei and Jiangxi - Started the Yu’zhong Lutheran Church ()
Towards union (1907–1920) The China Centenary Missionary Conference was held from April 25 to May 8, 1907, in Shanghai in commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of the arrival of Robert Morrison, the first Protestant missionary to China. According to the Index of Missions released during the conference, 25 mission bodies with a Lutheran background were working in China. The Boxer Rebellion of 1900 and other experiences acted as an impetus to encourage the various Lutheran bodies to unite into a single organisation to effectively work in China. The entrance of new Lutheran missions into China after 1907 including the Evangelical Lutheran Mission for China () in 1913, the Lutheran Free Church Mission () in 1917, and the Church of Sweden Mission () in 1918, added an extra sense of urgency to the need for a nationwide Lutheran union.
In May 1907, a Lutheran missionary consultation was held with representatives from ten Lutheran mission bodies. While there was a general agreement that Lutheran unity be achieved, practical concerns such as the linguistic differences of the mission fields, the diverse national backgrounds of the missionaries, and a poor nationwide transportation system were voiced. It was agreed that union should be sought by first adopting the name Xinyi (), meaning Faith and Righteousness, to emphasise Luther's doctrine of justification by faith; union would be achieved first in the field of literature and education and that the five mission bodies working in the central Chinese provinces would spearhead the creation of a united Lutheran body. The result of this consultation was the creation of a Union Lutheran Conference (ULC) which was mandated to follow up and implement the proposals of unity that had been discussed.
On August 28–30, 1908, the first ULC meeting was held in Jigongshan or Cockerel Mountain (Wade-Giles: Kikungshan; Traditional Chinese﹕雞公山), Henan, and during this and subsequent conferences, a number of plans were drafted to publish books, compile a hymnal, design worship liturgies, establish schools and establish a national Lutheran Church. To realise these plans, it was decided that priority should be given towards establishing a union Lutheran seminary.
On March 29, 1913, the Lutheran Theological Seminary or (LTS) was opened in Shekou (Shekow), Hubei. The seminary was sponsored by the American Lutheran Mission, the Hauge's Synod Mission, the Norwegian Missionary Society and the Finnish Missionary Society. Oscar R. Wold of the Hauge Synod Mission was elected the first president and the campus was dedicated on October 19 of the same year. The seminary also served as a publishing house and on September 15, 1913, published The Lutheran Bulletin that served the various Lutheran bodies throughout China.
In 1915, the Temporary Committee of the Lutheran Church of China was formed and took up the task of establishing a single national Lutheran Church. By the second ULC meeting in 1917, all preparations, including a draft constitution had been finalised.Cf. "Proceedings of the Union Lutheran Conference", Kikungshan, August 23–27, 1917
However, in 1915, a Lutheran mission affiliated with the member synods of the Synodical Conference began work and did not participate in the merger. Later, during the communist era, this separate mission ceased organized activity, and its church workers set up operations in Hong Kong instead.
The Lutheran Church of China (1920–1951) The united Lutheran Church of China was formally established on August 22, 1920, in Jigongshan, Henan, and the first General Assembly of the LCC was also convened there.
First General Assembly (1920) The first assembly convened on August 22–29, 1920, in Jigongshan, Henan, and officially adopted the constitution of the LCC. Five mission bodies took part in the founding of the LCC and the mission churches founded by these bodies became the LCC's first five synods :
Xiangbei Synod () - Church of Sweden Mission - Northern Hunan Xiangxi Synod () - Finnish Missionary Society - Western Hunan Xiangzhong Synod () - Norwegian Missionary Society - Central Hunan Yu’e Synod () - United Lutheran Mission - Henan and Hubei Yuzhong Synod () - Augustana Synod Mission - Central Henan
Oscar Wold was elected the first president of the LCC and a resolution was passed to request all LCC synods as well as other churches in China to observe the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival; which falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese calendar; as a Day of Thanksgiving.Cf. "Proceedings of the First General Assembly of the Lutheran Church of China", 1920Cf. "Proceedings of the Church Council of the Lutheran Church of China", page 42, 1921
Second General Assembly (1924) The second assembly convened in Taohualun, Hunan, on March 30 to April 2, 1924, a year later than scheduled due to the political unrest in Hunan. The Lutheran College that had been promised by the Church of Sweden during the previous assembly was located there together with other institutions of the LCC because it was the working base of both the Norwegian Missionary Society and the Xiangzhong Synod. Unfortunately the Lutheran College could not survive the political upheavals that ravaged China during that period and was closed in 1931.
Two new synods were added to the LCC during this assembly:Cf. "Proceedings of the Second General Assembly of the Lutheran Church of China", 1924
Yudong Synod () - Lutheran Free Church Mission - Eastern Henan
Yuenan Synod () - Schleswig-Holstein Evangelical Lutheran Mission - Southern Guangdong
The management of the Lutheran Board of Publication was also transferred to the LCC and marked the first step towards the indigenisation of Chinese Lutheran literature work.
Third General Assembly (1928) Continued political unrest in China delayed the convening of the third assembly from the fall of 1926 to May 1928. The venue was also changed from Xuchang, Henan, to the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Shekou. A revised Lutheran Book of Worship & Liturgy was adopted by this assembly and the following synods were added:Cf. "Proceedings of the Third General Assembly of the Lutheran Church of China", Shekou, 1928
Yuegan Synod () - Berlin Missionary Society - Guangdong & Jiangxi
Ludong Synod () - United Lutheran Church of America - Shandong
Dongbei Synod () - Danish Mission Society - Manchuria & the Northeast
Fourth General Assembly (1931) The assembly was convened in Qingdao, Shandong, on June 21–28, 1931. Among the important resolutions passed during this assembly was the establishment of a 1:1 quota for Chinese and non-Chinese representatives from each synod to the national council and the establishment of the Qingdao Lutheran Bible School for Women.Cf. "Minutes of the Fourth Assembly of the Lutheran Church of China", pp. 7-26, 1931
Fifth General Assembly (1934)