Event-Review: Chinese Church Music since the Tang Dynasty

This short review is dedicated to the long-awaited event ‘Beijing Symposium of Sinicised Catholic Theology – The Chinese Face of Jesus Christ’ and deals with the historical background of some its events. It is also a personal document filled with statements derived from the given observations.

Towards a Future of Reconciliation

This article explores the hope for unity and reconciliation within the divided Chinese Catholic Church from three aspects: The Second Vatican Council as well as the reformation of the Chinese society as an initiative for dialogue; the overlapping membership between the registered church and the unregistered church as a bridge for dialogue; and public theology in Chinese society as a ground for dialogue. Thus, the article concludes that despite the many obstacles in the way of reconciliation, the hope for the Chinese Church to achieve reconciliation with the Chinese government is sure; and, at the same time, the road to unity for the Catholic Church in China is long and full of challenges.

Biblical Ecclesiology and the Chinese Church

The challenge of the Chinese Church is to explore an innovative and effective operational model of its own. This essay studies the phenomenon of the Chinese Church in mainland China but does not include those in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. It discusses the complexity of Chinese churches as they have survived and thrived over the centuries and explores the compatibility of Chinese Christians’ religious experiences with the biblical tradition of the church. It surveys the rise, the struggle, the mission, and the hope of the following churches in China: Chinese Three-Self Patriotic Protestant (TSP), Protestant Family Churches, Catholic Churches, and Russian Orthodox Churches.

The Bible and Chinese Church Music

Christianity came to China four times since the Tang dynasty, bringing with it the gospel of Jesus Christ with various biblical texts, interpretations, hymns, and songs. This essay surveys Chinese church music and shows the multi-cultural richness of worship life in the Chinese church. It will show that cultural differences do not hinder people of God in foreign cultural settings from understanding the Bible and seeking new ways of expressing their love and devotion to God. Yet, it also will show that, at the same time, Chinese believers seek to imitate and preserve the dominant musical style of Euro-American traditions.

COVID-19 and the Chinese Christian Community in Britain: Changing Patterns of Belonging and Division

This article draws on interview data with Chinese Christian leaders to explore how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the Chinese Christian church in Britain. Based upon twelve semi-structured interviews conducted with Christian leaders in nine cities, the research identifies the ways in which the COVID-19 outbreak is shaping the dynamics of intragroup and intergroup connectedness within and beyond the Chinese church in Britain. It finds that COVID-19 is playing a significant role in social connectedness. This manifests in three ways: the reconfiguration of a sense of belonging at church, the perception of outreach and evangelism, and the relationship between Chinese Christians from different regional backgrounds. These findings outline that the COVID-19 pandemic is triggering both cohesion and division. On the one hand, the outbreak is functioning as an incubator for a stronger sense of belonging to the church and appears to encourage the church to reach out to seekers and the wider community. On the other hand, the pandemic is also dividing the Chinese church through conflicts in political views and social attitudes. Such conflicts, which are primarily about democratic values and views of China's communist regime, are particularly observable between Mandarin-speaking Christians from mainland Chinese backgrounds and Cantonese-speaking Christians from Hong Kong backgrounds. The article argues that the coronavirus pandemic has initiated deeper reconstruction and reform in the Chinese Christian community in Britain in terms of organisation and mission.