Fangcheng Fellowship
Encyclopedia
The Fangcheng Fellowship (Chinese
: 方城团契) of China
is a Christian religious movement founded by Li Tianen in the early 1970s
. The Fangcheng Fellowship is now considered one of the largest Henan
-based house church
networks now estimated to number in the millions throughout China. They regard themselves as a church with more unified principles when compared to the Tanghe Fellowship.
, a captain in the Chinese Nationalist army, Gao Yongjiu, was converted to Christianity and became a zealous local evangelist
in Fangcheng County
of Henan
province. During the first year of the Communist occupation of Fangcheng County, he and other Christian groups were largely left alone. Once the Three-Self began to assert control over China's Protestants in the 1950s, however, Gao and two other prominent, independent local Christians were targeted at accusation meetings and jailed as counterrevolutionaries for several years.
In 1970, after being released from a labor camp, Li Tianen began evangelizing throughout Henan. He often lived in the home of fellow Christian workers in Fangcheng County, training up to twenty young people at a time, and travelling to other counties and even provinces for additional teaching sessions. Thousands of Christians were active by 1974, with no fewer than four thousand attending a clandestine training session that year.
In the early 1990s
, the Fangcheng Fellowshjip had sent evangelistic teams to thirty provinces and municipal regions, including China's largest cities of Beijing
, Shanghai
, and Chongqing
. The number of Christians associated with the network was around five million , according to Zhang Rongliang.
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 方城团契) of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
is a Christian religious movement founded by Li Tianen in the early 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
. The Fangcheng Fellowship is now considered one of the largest Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
-based house church
Chinese house church
Chinese house churches are a religious movement of unregistered assemblies of Christians in the People's Republic of China, which operate independently of the government-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement and China Christian Council for Protestant groups and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic...
networks now estimated to number in the millions throughout China. They regard themselves as a church with more unified principles when compared to the Tanghe Fellowship.
Historical background and influences
In the 1940s1940s
File:1940s decade montage.png|Above title bar: events which happened during World War II : From left to right: Troops in an LCVP landing craft approaching "Omaha" Beach on "D-Day"; Adolf Hitler visits Paris, soon after the Battle of France; The Holocaust occurred during the war as Nazi Germany...
, a captain in the Chinese Nationalist army, Gao Yongjiu, was converted to Christianity and became a zealous local evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
in Fangcheng County
Fangcheng County
Fangcheng County is a county of Nanyang, Henan, China, has an area of 2,542 square kilometers and a population of 970,000 as of 2002.-External links:*...
of Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
province. During the first year of the Communist occupation of Fangcheng County, he and other Christian groups were largely left alone. Once the Three-Self began to assert control over China's Protestants in the 1950s, however, Gao and two other prominent, independent local Christians were targeted at accusation meetings and jailed as counterrevolutionaries for several years.
In 1970, after being released from a labor camp, Li Tianen began evangelizing throughout Henan. He often lived in the home of fellow Christian workers in Fangcheng County, training up to twenty young people at a time, and travelling to other counties and even provinces for additional teaching sessions. Thousands of Christians were active by 1974, with no fewer than four thousand attending a clandestine training session that year.
In the early 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
, the Fangcheng Fellowshjip had sent evangelistic teams to thirty provinces and municipal regions, including China's largest cities of Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, and Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
. The number of Christians associated with the network was around five million , according to Zhang Rongliang.