Church for Confucius hometown
Source: Xinhua |
December 14, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE hometown of Chinese philosopher Confucius in east China's Shandong Province is to build its first large Christian church.
Holy Trinity Church, covering 2,667 square meters, will be in Yuzhuang Village of Qufu City, 3 kilometers from the Confucius Temple. The Gothic-style church will be 41.7 meters high.
"It will be the first 'real' church in Qufu, since the one we have now is a makeshift building. It can only hold 700-800 people and is not big enough," said Feng Zongjie, head of the Qufu Municipal Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China.
Qufu has nearly 10,000 Christians, said Feng.
Although building a church in China is nothing new, it means a lot since the Christian church is to be built in Confucius' hometown, a symbol of Chinese civilization, said pastor Kong Xiangling, a 75th generation descendent of Confucius.
An exchange center for Christianity and Confucianism will also be built as a venue to hold forums for the exchange and dialogue between the two civilizations, said pastor Gao Ming, head of the Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches and the Christian Council of Jijing City, which administers Qufu.
"The building of the church shows the spread of Christianity, while the exchange center will facilitate Christianity to blend in to China and have an impact on China," said Gao.
Yang Guoqing, a Christian, said: "To build a church here means it will be a place where two different civilizations meet and mix."
The church is expected to cost 20 million yuan (US$3 million) and a third of the money has been raised. The land use has been approved and the blueprint is under review, said Feng.
"The new church will be able to hold 3,000 people. Construction is expected to be completed in two years," said Kong Wei, head of the Qufu Municipal Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau.
Holy Trinity Church, covering 2,667 square meters, will be in Yuzhuang Village of Qufu City, 3 kilometers from the Confucius Temple. The Gothic-style church will be 41.7 meters high.
"It will be the first 'real' church in Qufu, since the one we have now is a makeshift building. It can only hold 700-800 people and is not big enough," said Feng Zongjie, head of the Qufu Municipal Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China.
Qufu has nearly 10,000 Christians, said Feng.
Although building a church in China is nothing new, it means a lot since the Christian church is to be built in Confucius' hometown, a symbol of Chinese civilization, said pastor Kong Xiangling, a 75th generation descendent of Confucius.
An exchange center for Christianity and Confucianism will also be built as a venue to hold forums for the exchange and dialogue between the two civilizations, said pastor Gao Ming, head of the Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches and the Christian Council of Jijing City, which administers Qufu.
"The building of the church shows the spread of Christianity, while the exchange center will facilitate Christianity to blend in to China and have an impact on China," said Gao.
Yang Guoqing, a Christian, said: "To build a church here means it will be a place where two different civilizations meet and mix."
The church is expected to cost 20 million yuan (US$3 million) and a third of the money has been raised. The land use has been approved and the blueprint is under review, said Feng.
"The new church will be able to hold 3,000 people. Construction is expected to be completed in two years," said Kong Wei, head of the Qufu Municipal Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau.
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