Beijing. Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Xuanwumen Church is the oldest Catholic cathedral in Beijing. The temple was built in 1605 in the thirty-third year of the reign of Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty. In 1650, under the leadership of the German Jesuit monk Johann Adam Schall von Bell, a new church building was built on the site of the Xuanwumen chapel. In 1703, the cathedral was expanded and repaired, but already in 1720 it was completely destroyed by an earthquake. The newly rebuilt church was damaged by an earthquake in 1730 and a fire in 1775. And in 1900, during the uprising, the church was destroyed again.

So, only one foundation remains from the original building, and the current church building, built in the Baroque style, dates back to 1904.

Asbruy Church

Asbruy Church, or Chongwenmen Church as it is also called, is the first American Christian Methodist church in northern China. It was built in 1870. Initially the church was designed for 400-500 people. In 1882 the church was reconstructed, but in 1900 it was burned down during the uprising. It was only in 1904 that the Asbruy Church was rebuilt with money from the Chinese government. It is this church building, significantly expanded and designed for 2000 parishioners, that we can see today. Its architectural style incorporates a mixture of different cultures.

Xishiku Church

Xishiku Church, also known as the Church of the Savior, is considered a historical relic of China. Of all the Catholic churches and cathedrals located in Beijing, Xishiku Church is the most ornate. The church was originally built by the Jesuits in 1703 in a different location, but in 1887, at the request of Emperor Guangxu, it was rebuilt near the Forbidden City, where it remains to this day. The church was built in the Gothic style and has an elaborate gray marble façade. It is located on a spacious area surrounded by pine and oak trees and two Chinese pavilions.

Orthodoxy on Chinese soil has suffered a lot. It is all the more joyful to realize that today we are witnessing its revival in places where it would seem impossible.

In the center of a huge metropolis alien to Orthodoxy with bizarre high-rise buildings stands the only functioning Orthodox church in Beijing

In the north-eastern part of Beijing, on the territory of the Russian Embassy, stands the Assumption Church, extraordinary in its beauty - the only functioning Orthodox church in the Chinese capital. The fact that it arose here, in the center of a huge metropolis alien to Orthodoxy with bizarre high-rise buildings, far from Russia, is a real miracle. However, for those who happen to visit here for the first time, it seems that the temple has always been here. But that's not true.

Its history began in 1685, when a group of Russian Albazians, descendants of Russian Cossacks, settled in the Beiguan courtyard. They built St. Nicholas Church, which was destroyed in 1730 during an earthquake. Two years later, another church was built in its place, which was consecrated on August 15 according to the old style (28 according to the new style), in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God. This temple existed for 168 years. In June 1900, during the Yihetuan uprising, it was destroyed along with other buildings on the territory of the Russian Spiritual Mission.

In 1902–1903, the Assumption Church was built anew, also on the territory of the Mission (in the area called Beiguan - Northern Compound), but in a different place, about 500 meters southeast of the old one. And on the old one they built the Church of All Holy Martyrs, which was destroyed in 1957. Now there is a marble Worship Cross here.

“Differentiated by internal splendor”

The Assumption Church was then assigned the role of a temporary refectory church, since along with it others were built: in honor of All Holy Martyrs, in the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov at the Russian cemetery in the Andingmen area (now Qinnianhu Park), the building for the temple in the name of St. Innocent of Irkutsk was rebuilt. For the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, they planned to build a cathedral in the southern Mission Park, but this plan was not destined to come true.

Archbishop Victor (Svyatin) with the clergy and dairy farm workers on the territory of the Russian Spiritual Mission. Early 1950s

What the Assumption Church looked like then can be judged from the message of the “News of the Brotherhood of the Orthodox Church in China” dated August 8, 1904: “This church is of quite significant size, distinguished by its internal splendor, abundance of light, beauty of the iconostasis with beautiful local icons of human height , favorable conditions for the resonance of singing and reading, and most importantly, it has second entrance doors directly from the street, which provides the opportunity for unhindered entry into it for everyone who wants to see its interior and listen closer to church singing, due to the ringing voices of Chinese singers and the large composition of the choir , resounding with harmonious chords in the vicinity of the temple.”

Assumption Church 190-1903

Uspensky boor converted into a garage for the USSR Embassy. 1957-1959

The church kept the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, brought by the Albazians from Russia in 1685, as well as icons of the holy great martyrs Demetrius of Thessaloniki and the Healer Panteleimon. The fate of these shrines is now unknown.

Until 1957, in the Assumption Church and other churches of the Mission (All Holy Martyrs, St. Innocent of Irkutsk), spiritual nourishment was provided for Orthodox believers from both the Chinese and Russians who lived in Beijing or came here for a while. The chronicle of the temple concerns the destinies of outstanding people. In the twentieth century, the brilliant figures of the heads of the Mission stood out among them - Metropolitan Innocent (Figurovsky) and Metropolitan Victor (Svyatin), a former second lieutenant and graduate of the Kazan Theological Academy.

Not everyone liked it

After the revolution and the Civil War in Russia, the Mission came under the subordination of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia organized in Yugoslavia, headed by Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky). In the 1920s, the Mission became a place of salvation for Russian emigrants, but with the general intensification of Orthodox life, emigrants not so much revived as suppressed its activities. The clergy was preoccupied with caring for the needs of refugees; the half-million Russian emigration, busy with its own problems, did not take advantage of the historical chance to introduce the indigenous population to Orthodoxy.

Difficult times for the Assumption Church and believers began in 1937 with the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War. During the Second World War, the Mission lost contact with the Synod of Bishops in Yugoslavia, so in 1944 the head of the Mission, Archbishop Victor (Svyatin), sent a letter to Moscow with a request to accept the Mission into the bosom of the Moscow Patriarchate. In 1946, an answer came from the capital - the Russian Spiritual Mission in Beijing would be under the direct authority of the Moscow Patriarch.

However, not everyone liked it. Bishop John of Shanghai, who initially agreed with such a transition, changed his mind, deciding to remain faithful to the Orthodox Church Abroad. A split occurred among the clergy and believers: some wanted to remain under the jurisdiction of the ROCOR, others wanted to move to the Moscow Patriarchate. After the victory of the Chinese Communist Party in the civil war and the proclamation of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, part of the clergy, led by John of Shanghai, and part of the Russian emigrants left for the USA, Australia and other countries. Those who remained in China accepted Soviet citizenship and by 1955 left for the USSR. The mission was closed. Almost all of the billions of dollars in real estate, with the exception of what was left for the needs of the USSR Embassy, was transferred free of charge, in a sweeping gesture, to the Chinese government. In 1958, the Autonomous Chinese Orthodox Church was created with a small Chinese clergy. But its activity was short-lived; during the “cultural revolution” of 1966–1969 it ceased to exist.

Restored within a year

After a 40-year break, the practice of regular Orthodox services was revived on the territory of the Russian Embassy in Beijing. They took place in the preserved Innocent Church, which could accommodate up to 300 people. In 2002, believers living in the Chinese capital created an initiative group to restore the Assumption Church. Her appeal to the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate received support. Russian President V.V. paid special attention to the restoration of the temple. Putin, who has repeatedly raised this issue in negotiations with his Chinese colleagues.

Work on the reconstruction of the shrine began in June 2008 and ended exactly a year later. A previously inconspicuous corner of the embassy, used for economic purposes, has turned into a beautifully decorated place, in the center of which an Orthodox church in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God was erected - a visible monument to the labors of many generations of ministers of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in China. The church building also houses a museum exhibition telling about the history of the RDM.

The procession during the consecration of the Assumption Church on October 13, 2013. Led by Archbishop of Yegoryevsk Mark (Golovkov)

The rite of the great consecration of the Assumption Church with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' on the eve of the Feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God on October 13, 2009 was performed by Bishop Mark (Golovkov) of Yegoryevsk.

China(Chinese trad. 中國, ex. 中国, pinyin: Zhongguo), official name - People's Republic of China(Chinese trad. 中華人民共和國, exercise 中华人民共和国, pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó, pal.: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo) - a socialist (communist) state in East Asia. The largest state in the world by population (over 1.35 billion, the majority of the population are ethnic Chinese, self-name - han); ranks third in the world in terms of territory, behind Russia and Canada.

Largest cities

Chongqing
Shanghai
Beijing
Tianjin
Guangzhou

Orthodoxy in China

Orthodoxy in China- history of the spread and position of Orthodoxy in China. At the moment, we can only speak relatively about the spread of the Orthodox faith among the inhabitants of China, although its history in China apparently began in the first centuries of our era, and representatives of the Russian Orthodox tradition in China have been present at least since Horde times, when Russians served in garrison of one of the Horde capitals - Khanbalyk, the future Beijing. Since the 17th century, the presence of Orthodox Christians, albeit in small numbers, has become constant, mainly in the border regions of the empire - in the form of prisoners of war, ambassadors and merchants.

The modern history of Orthodoxy in China began at the end of the 17th century, when the Cossacks of the Albazin fortress, led by priest Maxim Leontyev, captured in 1684 by the Chinese army, were taken to Beijing and founded a Russian community there. For their care, as well as for the development of Russian-Chinese relations, the Russian Spiritual Mission was founded in Beijing in 1712.

Formed in 1956 by decision of the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church at the end of the 1960s, it practically ceased its visible existence and has not been de jure restored to this day, although the Moscow Patriarchate continues to consider it to exist.

According to Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev), there are up to 15 thousand Orthodox Christians in China.

Orthodoxy is recognized as the religion of the Russian national minority in the Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia Special Autonomous Regions, Heilongjiang Province.

The emergence of Christianity in China

According to legend, Christianity was preached in China by the Apostle Thomas, but the confirmed history of Christianity in China begins from the time of the Tang Dynasty (7th century), when Nestorian preachers arrived in China. The first European Christian missionaries in China were the Franciscans (XII-XIV centuries), and in the 16th century the Jesuits arrived in China, and within a hundred years they created a powerful church organization in China that had enormous influence at the imperial court.

Albazinians

After the surrender of the Ablazinsky fort on June 26, part of the Cossacks (45-50 people) with their families were taken to Beijing, where, by order of the emperor, they were allocated a plot of land for permanent residence on the northeastern outskirts of Beijing, near the fortress wall. A special imperial company was made up of Albazians - the “Banner with a Yellow Border” detachment. Despite the small number, the strong influence of the Chinese environment and mixed marriages, the descendants of the Albazinians retained the Orthodox faith. In many ways, this became possible thanks to the work of Russian spiritual missions, which were regularly sent to Beijing with the consent of the Chinese emperor since 1713 to care for the Albazinians.

Russian spiritual mission in Beijing

In the 17th - mid-20th centuries, the Russian spiritual mission operated in Beijing. It played an important role in establishing and maintaining Russian-Chinese relations, and was a center for the scientific study of China and the training of the first Russian sinologists. Due to the lack of diplomatic relations between both states, the mission's servants for a long time served as unofficial representatives of the Russian government in China.

Pallady (Kafarov), Iakinf (Bichurin), Alexy (Vinogradov) and other members of the mission made a great contribution to the study of religions, language, culture and history of China.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the construction of new Orthodox churches began in China: in 1900, St. Nicholas Cathedral, built of wood in the style of Russian tent churches, was consecrated in Harbin; churches were founded at the CER stations (among which one of the first was built in 1901 was the St. Sergius Church in Imyanpo); a plot was purchased and construction began on the mission's courtyard with the Annunciation Church in Harbin.

The Yihetuan Rebellion and the 222 Martyrs of the Chinese Orthodox Church

222 martyrs of the Chinese Orthodox Church

The Yihetuan uprising of 1900, which destroyed the buildings of the Beijing Mission and physically destroyed 222 Orthodox Chinese, dealt a crushing blow to the preaching of Orthodoxy in China.

Nevertheless, in 1900, the Annunciation Metochion was opened in Harbin, and starting from 1902, the activities of the Beijing Ecclesiastical Mission were not only restored, but also received additional development - the Head of the Mission, Archimandrite Innokenty (Figurovsky), was ordained a bishop, and the material resources allocated were increased for the Mission (instead of the previous annual 15,500 rubles, 30,000 rubles were assigned; in addition, 150,000 rubles were allocated at a time from the Holy Synod for the restoration of buildings and facilities destroyed by the “Boxers”).

In 1902, together with Bishop Innocent, a new composition of the spiritual Mission arrived in Beijing: 1 archimandrite, 2 hieromonks, 3 hierodeacons and 30 novices.

Orthodoxy during the Republic of China

The period after 1917 became complex and at the same time fruitful, when hundreds of thousands of Orthodox refugees came from Russia to China and found refuge in China. By 1949, up to 106 Orthodox churches had been built in China. After the “exodus” of Russian believers from China in 1949, 10,000 Orthodox Christians remained in the country.

Monasteries in China

Until 1967, the Chinese Orthodox Church had eight monasteries, as well as 2 monasteries. All of them ceased to exist in the late 1960s and were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

Dormition Monastery (Beijing)
Intercession Convent (Beijing)
Holy Cross Monastery (in the Xi-shan mountains near Beijing)
Kazan Monastery (Harbin)
Vladimir Convent (Harbin)
Grieving Women's Community (Harbin)
Grieving Men's Community (Harbin)
Tabyn-Kazan Convent (Kakagashi, Dairen)
Vladimir Monastery (Three Rivers, northern Manchuria)

Situation after 1949

Due to political circumstances, in 1954 the Russian Spiritual Mission in China was abolished. By that time, it was in charge of more than 100 churches and houses of worship; all her property was transferred to the People's Republic of China and the USSR Embassy. Beiguan (Northern Compound), where there were three churches, a convent, most of the buildings, and which included a historical plot of land, first allocated in Beijing for the needs of the Orthodox mission, was transferred to the USSR Embassy in 1985. The main temple of the Mission in honor of All Holy Martyrs, near which the heads of the Mission were buried and in which the relics of the Chinese martyrs and the bodies of members of the Imperial family who were shot in Alapaevsk rested, was destroyed, and other temples were desecrated. Temples outside the embassy territory fell into disrepair and were demolished.

On April 24, 1956, the head of the Department of Cults under the State Council of the People's Republic of China, He Chenxiang, gave permission to appoint Archimandrite Basil (Shuang) as Bishop of Beijing, who was also supposed to temporarily serve as head of the Chinese Orthodox Church. On November 23, 1956, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to grant autonomy to the Orthodox Church in China and consecrate Archimandrite Vasily (Shuang) as Bishop of Beijing. The latter was ordained Bishop of Beijing on May 30, 1957 in Moscow.

After the death of Bishop Basil (Shuang) of Beijing and China (1962) and Bishop Simeon (Du) of Shanghai (1965), the Chinese Orthodox Church lost its episcopal hierarchy. Under the conditions of the cultural revolution that soon began, the external life of the POC ceased.

Current state

In 1986, the Intercession Church in Harbin was opened for worship, where the only Chinese Orthodox priest who received state registration, Archpriest Gregory Zhu, served.

On January 31, 1994, the Regulations on the Regulation of Religious Activities of Foreign Citizens on the Territory of the People's Republic of China came into force, allowing foreign clergy to perform services at the invitation of Chinese religious organizations with the consent of the Office of Religious Affairs under the State Council of the People's Republic of China. In 1996, Gregory Zhu received an antimension and chrism from the Moscow Patriarchate and used them in worship until his death in 2000.

“Since at present the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church The Church does not have its own Primate; until he is elected by the Local Council of this Church, in accordance with Orthodox canons, the canonical administration of the dioceses of the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church is carried out by the Primate of the Mother Church - the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. Resolution of practical issues regarding the regulation of Orthodox life in China within the framework consistent with Chinese legislation should be entrusted to the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations.” In September 2000, the rector of the Intercession Church died in Harbin. city of Harbin, Father Gregory Zhu, the only Orthodox priest officially serving in China at that time.

On March 1, 2005, new “Regulations on Religious Affairs” came into effect, expanding the religious freedom of Chinese citizens.

On March 9, 2008, on the Week of Cheese, the cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church, Priest Alexy Kiselevich, performed a divine service on the premises of the Russian Consulate General in Shanghai, during which the oldest clergy of the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church, Priest Mikhail Wang and Protodeacon Evangel Lu, prayed and received Holy Communion. The latter were presented with awards from the Russian Orthodox Church in connection with the 50th anniversary of the granting of autonomy to the Chinese Orthodox Church.

Repeated attempts by priest Mikhail Li to obtain permission to perform divine services were unsuccessful, as a result of which Father Mikhail emigrated to Australia, where he serves in a Chinese parish under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

The Holy Synod of the Church of Constantinople in 2008 declared China the territory of its Hong Kong Metropolitanate, also including a number of countries in Southeast Asia, which caused protest from the Russian Orthodox Church.

In the late 2000s, the Chinese government allowed Orthodox missionary activity in China on the condition that all missionaries be Chinese by nationality.

On August 30, 2009, a temple was consecrated in honor of St. Innocent of Irkutsk in the city of Labudalin (Labdarin) - the center of Argun-Yuqi county in the Hulun-Buir urban district in the northeast of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; The consecration was performed by Shanghai priest Mikhail Wang, co-served by the rector of the parish of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Hong Kong, Archpriest Dionisy Pozdnyaev. The Temple of St. Sergius of Radonezh was also opened in the city of Shenzhen (Guangdong Province). In Hong Kong, the priest of the Moscow Patriarchate Dionisy Pozdnyaev serves, caring for the parish in the name of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

On October 13, 2009, Bishop Mark (Golovkov) of Yegoryevsk consecrated the Assumption Church, restored on the territory of the Russian embassy in Beijing.

In September 2010, a delegation from the State Administration of Religious Affairs of the People's Republic of China visited Russia as guests of the Russian Orthodox Church and met with Moscow and St. Petersburg theological schools to determine where students from China would study.

On December 6-7, 2012, events were held in Hong Kong to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the presence of the Russian spiritual mission in China. The program of events includes a conference, a book fair, a round table and festive services.

From May 10 to 15, 2013, for the first time in history, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' visited China. Patriarch Kirill met with President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and Director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs under the State Council of the People's Republic of China Wang Zuoan. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church performed the Divine Liturgy on the territory of the Russian Embassy in Beijing, in the Church of the Intercession in Harbin and in the building of the former cathedral in honor of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Helper of Sinners” in Shanghai. The Patriarch's visit showed a special level of Russian-Chinese relations in the religious sphere and gave impetus to further steps in the process of reviving Orthodoxy in the PRC - the ordination of the first priests, and, in the future, the registration of the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church.

The Saints

St. svschmch. Pavel Wang Wen-heng
St. svschmch. Mitrofan Ji Chun
St. svschsp. Sergiy Srebryansky
St. St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco
St. St. Jonah Pokrovsky

Temples

Cathedral of the Icon of the Mother of God "Helper of Sinners" (Shanghai)

In 1928, Archbishop Simon (Vinogradov) of Shanghai first appealed to Russian Orthodox believers to raise money for the construction of a large Orthodox church in Shanghai. Despite the wide enthusiasm of the parishioners, very little money was collected: the well-being of Russian emigrants left much to be desired. Nevertheless, the construction of the Cathedral was the constant dream of Bishop Simon. He made a second appeal to raise funds for the Orthodox Church in 1930, already a deeply ill man. This time a church loan was announced - for every 10 dollars of contribution, a 100 dollar return was promised with an annual interest of 6%. The total loan amount was $30,000. In February 1933, Archbishop Simon died. Bishop Victor (Svyatin) took charge of turning his dream into reality. Thanks to his energy and will, the construction of the temple was started despite very meager funds.

The laying of the foundation of the Cathedral of the “Most Holy Mother of God, Help of Sinners” took place in May 1933. More than 1000 people attended the laying ceremony of the Cathedral: public figures of the Russian emigration, members of the French Municipal Council, leaders of the Chinese city, many foreigners.

Address: China, Shanghai, intersection of Xinle-lu and Xiangyangbei-lu streets

Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Beijing)

Parish of St. Apostles Peter and Paul (Hong Kong)

This parish in Hong Kong was officially registered as the Orthodox Brotherhood of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (Moscow Patriarchate) in 2004 for the pastoral care of both Orthodox foreigners living in Hong Kong and permanent residents of Hong Kong. The Brotherhood is headed by the Chairman, priest Dionisy Pozdnyaev, who also assists in the revival of the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church. With the support of the Brotherhood, various missionary projects are carried out, including translations and publications of Orthodox literature in Chinese. The original parish of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Hong Kong was located at 12 Essex Crescent Kowloon Tong and was closed shortly after the death of its rector, Rev. Dmitry Uspensky, who served in Hong Kong since 1933. Divine services in the parish of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Hong Kong were resumed after the church was moved and repaired. The new temple is located on Hong Kong Island in the Shenwan district by the address:

#701, 7/F, Arion Commercial Center
2-12 Queen's Rd West
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 9438 5021
Fax: +852 229 09125
www.orthodoxy.hk

Source: http://www.orthodox.cn

Interview with Fr. Dionisy Pozdnyaev, rector of the Peter and Paul Church in Hong Kong:

- Father, how do you define your purpose for yourself here in Hong Kong, by and large?

Creation of the Orthodox Church of China... Preaching Orthodoxy, involving the Chinese in understanding the Orthodox confession of Christ, in church life.

But what about Russia, our country, which also needs this? Which is baptized, but not enlightened...Perhaps it would be better to direct all efforts, all the resources of active people, both priests and laity, to preaching Orthodoxy in Russia? After all, these are our close and dear people, often, like the Chinese, who live without Christ and have a very superficial and formal understanding of Orthodox Christianity...

Well, in Russia there are still enough people capable of doing this work. It is my deep conviction that preaching Orthodoxy in China and creating our own Chinese Church here is the work of the entire Church. That Ecumenical and Conciliar Church, of which the Russian Orthodox Church is a part. I am absolutely sure of the necessity of my stay here...

We are sitting in a small coffee shop on the ground floor of a huge office building in the center of Hong Kong. My interlocutor is Father Dionisy Pozdnyaev, a priest of the Moscow Patriarchate, who came to China with his mother and two children about five years ago. Young, energetic, enthusiastic. It’s always surprising and joyful to meet such people, and I always want there to be as many of these people in Russia as possible.

Of course, before our eyes we have the feat of St. Nicholas of Japan,” I say, “who created from scratch during a period of difficult relations between Russia and Japan, which even included war, the autonomous Orthodox Church of Japan. As far as I know, there have already been attempts to preach Orthodoxy in China, there have been waves of Russian emigration; quite a lot of priests, among whom were prominent hierarchs of the ROCOR, lived directly in China. Why didn’t it work out, why now in the entire 1.5 billion mainland China there is not a single Orthodox church, not a single directly Chinese parish?
- This is a big and painful question. And it's a multifaceted problem. Partly, probably, due to the wrong approach to China. The preaching of Orthodoxy here was closely linked with politics, which, by the way, also applied to other Christian denominations, both Catholics and Protestants. And this created the effect of rejection, since behind the visible gestures and preaching of Christianity, the Chinese guessed the specific interests of specific states. Which ultimately led to a ban on preaching and, in general, on any activity of foreign missionaries. Therefore, I now live in Hong Kong, where the legislation in this regard is much softer, from here it is quite convenient to travel to China, here you can translate, print and distribute Orthodox literature throughout China. Here we have our own house church, library, we teach Russian language courses, organize Sunday school and catechism courses. “Come on, let’s go up to the temple, I’ll show you how it is here,” Fr. smiles. Dionitsius, you will see everything for yourself.

We take the elevator to the second floor. There are two doors on the site, one leads to an Orthodox church, the other... to a Protestant one!

Yes, we are neighbors, - seeing my surprised look, he says. Dionysius. – In general, I have good relations with them and with Catholics, which cannot be said about the Greek clergy. There are Orthodox Greek parishes, churches, and even a Metropolitan of Hong Kong, but no matter how much I tried to interact with them, nothing worked. Maybe because they belong to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, maybe there are other reasons, I don’t know...
We enter a small cozy temple. In the center is an icon of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. A few more icons on the sides. Father Dionysius also shows an icon of the Mother of God, which immediately attracted my attention with its unusualness and originality.

This icon is from Japan, embroidered with silk. I was there recently, and Japanese priests gave it to me. By the way, it was a very useful trip. I saw there how a parish could be organized, how the entire external church organization could be organized simply, clearly and transparently. Each temple and each parish approves all costs of financing and organizing the temple per month. Everything is calculated down to the smallest detail: utilities, transportation costs, mail, salaries for priests, financial assistance, etc. Thus, the parish, that is, the specific people who make it up, know and see how much money is needed for the normal functioning of the church and the clergy, and they contribute their money, seeing and knowing what it is spent on. This greatly organizes the parishioners themselves, creates a sense of responsibility for their parish and their church, and the clergy, who understand and share this feeling and this responsibility. All this brings us together very well...

It seems to me that here in Russia it would be nice to use such experience. And in general, this is a huge misfortune - the absence of a parish as a single family, and parish life as a constant interaction between members of this family.

I suggest praying in front of this embroidered icon. Father agrees, and together we sing an akathist to the Mother of God. Amazing, gracious and bright. Where am I, in Hong Kong, far away, or in Russia, or on Mount Athos? Also a feeling of tenderness and joy.

Thank God that there is such a place here, in China, where the Lord lives, and God willing, the efforts of Fr. Dionysius will not be in vain, and will bear fruit.

This weekend, Orthodox Christians in China celebrated the Resurrection of Christ. A festive liturgy with a procession of the cross took place in the capital of the People's Republic of China. According to established tradition, the church service was held in the church at the Russian Embassy in the People's Republic of China.

According to the latest information, approximately 15 thousand Orthodox Christians live in the Middle Kingdom. Most of them live in Shanghai, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang. The largest number of Orthodox Christians live in Inner Mongolia (8 thousand people). Below we will talk about Orthodox churches that officially operate in the Middle Kingdom.

1. Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, located in Beijing.

The temple was founded in 1902, on the site of the Christian Mission, destroyed during the Yihetuan (Boxer) riot in 1899. Soon after the proclamation of the People's Republic of China, the temple began to be used as a garage (1954). This temple was rebuilt and consecrated only in 2009. Priests who come from the Russian Federation hold services here during major Orthodox holidays.

2. Red fanza or temple named after.

St. Innocent of Irkutsk is another famous Beijing temple. This church became the first church in Beijing to begin holding services after decades of persecution of Christianity in the Middle Kingdom. The Red Fanza was acquired by the Orthodox Church in 1901, and it was then that the building was consecrated as a temple. After the transfer of church property to the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the 50s, the church housed a banquet hall for diplomatic events and an embassy hotel. The first Orthodox service, after forty years of oblivion, was held in front of the walls of Krasnaya Fanza in 1996. Directly in the building itself, services began to be held in 2001. However, until 2009 the building was used for official events of the embassy.

3. Holy Protection Church, located in Harbin.

The building was erected in 1922. Since the 1960s, it has not been operational for a long time. Services began to be held again only in 1986. It was the first Orthodox Church in the Celestial Empire, which began to function after many years of persecution of the local Orthodox Church during the Cultural Revolution. Gregory Zhu, the first priest to receive official state registration, served here. After the death of Gregory Zhu in 2000, the temple lost its own clergyman, and today services are held here only occasionally and only in a lay manner. In 2009, Volokolamsk Archbishop Hilarion held a service there.

4. Temple named after Saint Innocent of Irkutsk.
This temple is also located in Harbin. This is a newly built temple, erected in 1990. It is one of the few official Orthodox churches registered in the Middle Kingdom. The Transbaikal Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church helped the temple a lot, which donated all the necessary church utensils, priests' vestments, and iconostasis. The church was officially consecrated by Mikhail Wang, a clergyman who arrived for this purpose from Shanghai in the summer of 2009. The service in the temple is carried out in a lay manner, since it does not have its own clergyman. In winter, services are not held because there is no heating.

5. Temple named after. St. Nicholas, located in Urumqi.

The very first Orthodox church in Urumqi was built at the beginning of the 20th century, and destroyed in 1960, after the last clergyman in the region, Abbot Sophrony, left for the Soviet Union. After the request of the Orthodox believers of Urumqi, in 1991, on the site of the destroyed temple, the government of Xinjiang built a new temple, called Nikolsky. There is no priest in the church, so all services are held in a lay manner. The service is held every Sunday and on the most significant church holidays. Occasionally, once every couple of years, Orthodox clergy from other countries visit the city: the Russian Federation, Australia, Kazakhstan and conduct church sacraments for local believers.

6. Temple named after. St. Nicholas in Gulja.
The very first, temporary, Orthodox church in Kulzha was erected in 1872 by the Russians living here. It was then that systematic church services began to be held. The home Orthodox church began operating in 1915 under the consulate of the Russian Empire. The present temple was erected in 1938 with money raised by the local community. The last rector of the temple died in 1957. For some time, services in the church were held by the laity, until the building was demolished in the 1960s, during the “cultural revolution”. The temple was rebuilt again in 1992 at the expense of local authorities. The temple received consecration only in 2003.

7. Church of the Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul.

The church is located in Hong Kong. The Peter and Paul Parish in Hong Kong first appeared in 1934, when Archpriest D. Uspensky came to the city to serve. After the death of Rector Dmitry in 1970, the parish closed. The revival of the Orthodox brotherhood in Hong Kong took place in 2004, when the parish was created anew. In 2008, the parish received official recognition. Today the church is located in a rented building, where a Sunday school and Russian language courses also operate.