Diocese of Western China

Anglican diocese of the Church in China

Diocese of Western China
Diocese of Szechwan
(Diocese of East Szechwan;
Diocese of West Szechwan)

聖公會華西教區
聖公會四川教區
(聖公會東川教區;
聖公會西川教區)

The diocesan cathedral, circa 1914

Diocesan seal

Location
Country| Qing and Republican China
Territory| Szechwan
Ecclesiastical province| Church in China
Headquarters| Paoning
Information
Denomination| Anglican
Rite| Anglican Rite
Established| 1895
Dissolved| c. 1958
Cathedral| St John's Cathedral, Paoning (Western China & East Szechwan)
St John's Cathedral, Chengtu (West Szechwan)
Language| English, Szechwanese
Parent church| Church of England

The Diocese of Western China (Chinese: 聖公會華西教區; Wade–Giles: Shêng Kung Hui Hua Hsi Chiao Chʽü; lit. 'Anglican Diocese of Western China'), also known as Diocese of Szechwan (Chinese: 聖公會四川教區; Wade–Giles: Shêng Kung Hui Ssu Chʽuan Chiao Chʽü; lit. 'Anglican Diocese of Szechwan') or Hua Hsi Diocese (華西教區), was an Anglican diocese in late-Qing-dynasty and Republican China, established in 1895,[1] under the supervision of the Church of England. It had belonged to the Church in China since its outset, and had been part of the Chinese Anglican Church since 1912. In 1936, it was divided into the Diocese of East Szechwan (聖公會東川教區) and Diocese of West Szechwan (聖公會西川教區).[2]

## History

[edit]

Main article: History of Anglicanism in Szechwan

Location of Szechwan within China, map in W. W. Cassels: First Bishop in Western China, by Marshall Broomhall.

The Cambridge Seven, who were missionaries to China through the China Inland Mission (CIM), arrived in Shanghai in 1885. Four of them —William Cassels, Arthur T. Polhill-Turner, Cecil H. Polhill-Turner, and Montagu Proctor-Beauchamp— were sent up by the CIM into the Western Province of Szechwan, where they established a proper Church of England diocese.[3] Arthur's elder brother, Cecil, felt drawn towards the people of Tibet, went to Tatsienlu, a Khams Tibetan city located in western Szechwan, and he had laboured on the Sino and Indo-Tibetan borders since then.[4][5]

At the close of 1891, Rev. James Heywood Horsburgh of the Church Missionary Society (CMS), along with his wife Mrs Horsburgh, Rev. O. M. Jackson, three laymen, and six single women missionaries, entered Szechwan as the first band of CMS missionaries to take up work in that province.[6] By 1894, CMS work had started in Mienchow, Chungpa, Anhsien, Mienchu and Sintu, all of which are in the west of the region.[1] Meanwhile the CIM workers, based in Paoning, were also breaking ground in East Szechwan.

The Bulletin of the Diocese of Western China (No. 121) published in July 1934.

In 1895, steps were taken for the formation of a new diocese, due to the fact that the Church was represented by two Societies on the field. Cassels was eventually consecrated Bishop of Western China on 18 October 1895, in Westminster Abbey. As aforementioned, the CMS worked the western portion, the CIM the eastern portion. But after Cassels's consecration, the work was being more and more co-ordinated under his guidance.[6]

The diocesan newsletter, The Bulletin of the Diocese of Western China, was founded in 1904. It was renamed several times during its 54-year run, with the last print published in 1958.[7]

A Chinese translation of the Book of Common Prayer was published in 1932, revised and authorized for use in the Diocese of Szechwan.[8]

The Diocese was split into Dioceses of East Szechwan and West Szechwan in 1936.[2]

## Bishops and assistant bishops

[edit]

William Cassels, the first Bishop of Western China. Seal of the Diocese of Western China, as seen on the memorial of John Holden at Truro Cathedral.

### Western China

[edit]

* 1895–1925: William Cassels
* 1926–1933: Howard Mowll
* 1933–1936: John Holden

#### Assistant bishops

[edit]

* 1922–1926: Howard Mowll
* 1929–1936: Ku Ho-lin
* 1929–1936: Song Cheng-tsi

### East Szechwan

[edit]

* 1936–1940: Frank Houghton
* 1940–1950: K G Bevan
* 1950–19??: Tsai Fuh-tsu [zh]

#### Assistant bishops

[edit]

* 1936–1947: Ku Ho-lin

### West Szechwan

[edit]

* 1936–1937: John Holden
* 1937–1950: Song Cheng-tsi

#### Assistant bishops

[edit]

* 1936–1937: Song Cheng-tsi
* 1943–1950: H A Maxwell

## See also

[edit]

* Brook Hannah
* Frederick Boreham
* Vyvyan Donnithorne
* Canadian Methodist Mission in Szechwan
* Protestantism in Szechwan
* Roman Catholic dioceses in Szechwan
* Category:Anglican dioceses in China
* Category:Anglican missionaries in Szechwan
* Category:Former Anglican churches in Szechwan

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Keen, Rosemary. "Church Missionary Society Archive—Section I: East Asia Missions: Western China". ampltd.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
2. ^ a b Wickeri, Philip L., ed. (2015). Christian Encounters with Chinese Culture: Essays on Anglican and Episcopal History in China (PDF). Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. p. 211\. ISBN 9789888208388. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-09-18. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
3. ^ Austin, Alvyn (1996). "Missions Dream Team". Christian History. Worcester, PA: Christian History Institute. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
4. ^ Usher, John M. (ed.). "About Cecil Polhill". pconline.org.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
5. ^ "Papers of Cecil and Arthur Polhill". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
6. ^ a b Norris, Frank L. (1908). "Chapter X. The Church in Western China". Handbooks of English Church Expansion: China. Oxford: A. R. Mowbray.
7. ^ Tiedemann, R. G. (1 July 2016). Reference Guide to Christian Missionary Societies in China: From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Century. Milton Park: Routledge. ISBN 9781315497310.
8. ^ Cranmer, Thomas, ed. (1932). 公禱書 [Book of Common Prayer] (PDF) (in Traditional Chinese). Paoning: Diocese of Szechwan.

* v
* t
* e

Christianity in Sichuan

Main article

Church of the East

(Main article)

* Pearl Temple
* Fang Guan
* Li Xun [zh]
* Li Xuan [zh]
* Li Shunxian

Catholic
(Main article)

* An Account of the Entry of the Catholic Religion into Sichuan
* Synodus Vicariatus Sutchuensis
* La Vérité [zh]
* Liu Yuliang [zh]
* Batang uprising
* Youyang anti-missionary riot
* Bailu Town
* Moxi Town

Mission
societies

* Jesuit missions in China
* Paris Foreign Missions Society
* Spanish Redemptorist missions in Sichuan
* Congregation of the Mission

|

Dioceses

* Chengdu
* Chongqing
* Jiading
* Kangding
* Ningyuan
* Shunqing
* Suifu
* Wanxian

Church
buildings

* Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Chengdu
* St. Joseph's Cathedral, Chongqing
* Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral, Leshan
* Sacred Heart Cathedral, Kangding
* Cathedral of the Angels, Xichang
* Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral, Nanchong [zh]
* Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, Yibin
* Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Wanzhou
* Annunciation Seminary, Bailu
* St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church, Chongqing
* Annunciation Church, Dengchigou [fr]
* Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Mianyang
* Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Mianzhu [zh]
* St. Anne's Church, Moxi
* (more churches)

Missionaries

* Luigi Antonio Appiani
* Eusebio Arnáiz Álvarez
* Jean Basset
* Lodovico Buglio
* Juan Campos Rodríguez
* Célestin Chouvellon [fr]
* Armand David
* Joseph Desflèches
* Jules Dubernard [fr]
* Gabriel-Taurin Dufresse
* Marie-Julien Dunand
* Jean-Louis Florens [no]
* Jean de Guébriant [fr]
* Joannes-Baptista Kou
* Jean-François Martin de La Baluère
* André Ly
* Gabriel de Magalhães
* Joachim-Enjobert de Martiliat
* Jean-Théodore Monbeig
* Claude Motel
* Jean-Martin Moye
* Johannes Müllener [ru]
* Pascual Nadal Oltra [es]
* Jacques-Léonard Pérocheau
* Pierre-Julien Pichon [fr]
* Henri Pinault
* François Pottier [fr]
* Jacques-Victor-Marius Rouchouse
* Adolphe Roulland
* Jean-Didier de Saint-Martin
* Jean-André Soulié
* Léon Thomine Desmazures [fr]
* Eleutherius Winance
* (more missionaries)

Native
Catholics

* John Chen Xianheng [pl]
* Matthew Chen Zhemin [zh]
* John Dong Shizhi [zh]
* Lawrence Hu Shï-lu
* Paul Liu Hanzuo
* Thaddeus Liu
* Benoît Sen
* Paule Song [zh]
* Lucy Yi Zhenmei
* Joseph Yuan
* Joseph Zhang Wenlan [pl]
* (more native Catholics)

Related

* Jean-Charles Cornay
* Audrey Donnithorne
* Artus de Lionne
* Joche Albert Ly
* Ignatius Persico
* Thérèse of Lisieux
* Maurice Tornay
* Agnes Tsao Kou Ying
* John Baptist Wang Ruohan [pl]
* Candida Xu
* St. Andrew's Abbey
* Our Lady of Joy Abbey
* Catholic Church in Tibet

Protestant
(Main article)

* The West China Missionary News
* Journal of the West China Border Research Society
* West China Union University
* West China College of Stomatology
* West China Medical Center
* University Road
* Early Rain Covenant Church

Missionary
societies

* China Inland Mission
* Canadian Methodist Mission
* Church Missionary Society
* American Baptist Foreign Mission Society
* American Methodist Episcopal Mission
* Friends' Foreign Mission Association
* (full list)

|

Anglican
(Main article)

Dioceses

* Szechwan
* East Szechwan
* West Szechwan

|

Church
buildings

* Trinity Church, Langzhong
* St John's Cathedral, Langzhong
* St John's Cathedral, Chengdu
* Gospel Church, Jiangyou
* Gospel Church, Mianyang
* (more churches)

Missionaries|

* W. H. Aldis
* Frederick Boreham
* William Cassels
* Vyvyan Donnithorne
* Alice Entwistle
* Brook Hannah
* James Heywood Horsburgh
* Montagu Robert Lawrence
* John Howard Lechler
* Howard Mowll
* Cecil H. Polhill
* Arthur T. Polhill
* Montagu Proctor-Beauchamp
* Richard Alexander Whiteside
* (more missionaries)

Methodist
(Main article)

* Gospel Hospital, Chengdu [zh]
* The West China Missionary News

Church
buildings

* Sï-Shen-Tsï Methodist Church
* Gospel Church, Jiangbei [zh]
* Agape Church, Yuzhong [zh]

|

Missionaries|

* Frederick Elmer Leighton Abrey
* Joseph Beech
* George John Bond
* Newton Ernest Bowles
* Harry Lee Canright
* Charles Rupert Carscallen
* Virgil Chittenden Hart [zh]
* George Everson Hartwell
* Gordon Douglass Hoople
* Charles Julius Pasmore Jolliffe
* Leslie Gifford Kilborn
* Omar Leslie Kilborn
* William John Mortimore
* Walter Small
* Theo Sørensen
* David W. Stevenson
* Charles Winfield Service
* Edward Wilson Wallace
* Ralph A. Ward [zh]
* Lucius Nathan Wheeler
* (more missionaries)

Quakers
(Main article)

Church
buildings

* Tongchuan Meeting House

|

Missionaries|

* Alice M. Beck
* Mira L. Cumber
* A. Warburton Davidson
* Robert John Davidson
* Mary Jane Davidson
* Frederic S. Deane
* Lucy E. Harris
* Elizabeth Joy Hodgkin
* Henry Hodgkin
* Esther L. Mason
* Isaac Mason
* H. T. Silcock
* Caroline N. Southall
* Margaret Southall
* Clifford Morgan Stubbs
* Edward B. Vardon
* Margaret Vardon
* Leonard Wigham

Related

* W. Brian Harland
* Fred Rowntree

Baptists
(Main article)

Church
buildings

* Baptist Church, Ya'an
* Baptist Chapel, Xichang

|

Missionaries|

* Alfred James Broomhall
* David Crockett Graham
* William Reginald Morse
* Esther Nelson
* Henry James Openshaw
* Joseph Taylor
* William M. Upcraft
* George Warner
* Robert Wellwood

Seventh-day
Adventist
(Main article)

* Huayang Adventist Church
* Francis Arthur Allum
* John Nevins Andrews
* Claude Lockyer Blandford
* Alexander Blackburn Buzzell
* Holman Carl Currie
* Johann Heinrich Effenberg
* Cecil Bennett Guild
* Alton Eugene Hughes
* Sidney Henton Lindt
* Ernest L. Lutz
* Ida Mae Matson
* Emma Neale Ortner
* Evaline Osborne
* Dorothy Spicer
* Merritt C. Warren
* Dallas R. White
* George L. Wilkinson
* Charles A. Woolsey

Lutheran

* Holy Cross Church, Wanzhou
* Edvard Amundsen
* George Oliver Lillegard [zh]

YMCA

* Chengdu Young Men's Christian Association [zh]
* Grace Service
* Robert Roy Service
* S. C. Yang [zh]
* Y. C. James Yen

Disciples of
Christ

* Marion Herbert Duncan
* Zenas Sanford Loftis
* James Clarence Ogden
* Susanna Carson Rijnhart
* Albert Shelton

Mennonites

* Henry Cornelius Bartel [zh]
* Paul Henry Bartel [zh]
* Nellie Schmidt Bartel

Other
denominations

* Gospel Church, Kangding
* Robert Cunningham
* James Huston Edgar
* Griffith John
* Robert Henry Mathews
* Thomas Torrance
* Alexander Wylie

Native
Protestants

* Chang Chʽün
* Lincoln L. G. Dsang
* Ruth Dsang
* S. H. Fong
* Susan Huang
* Ku Ho-lin
* Li Bifeng
* Liu Zhongjing [zh]
* Ran Yunfei
* Song Cheng-tsi
* Tsai Fuh-tsu [zh]
* Wang Yi
* Stephen Yang
* Y. C. James Yen
* Yu Jie
* Zhang Jin

Eastern Orthodox|

* Eastern Orthodoxy in Sichuan

* v
* t
* e

Anglican missionary bishops in China, 1849–1949

Shensi|

* Shen Zigao
* Newton Liu

Chekiang|

* William Russell
* George Moule
* Herbert Molony
* John Curtis
* Kimber Den

North China|

* Charles Scott
* Frank Norris
* Thomas Scott

Western Szechwan|

* John Holden
* Song Cheng-tsi

Eastern Szechwan|

* William Cassels
* Howard Mowll
* John Holden
* Frank Houghton
* Kenneth Bevan

Shantung|

* Geoffrey Iliff
* Thomas Scott
* John Wellington

Fukien|

* Horace Price
* John Hind
* Christopher Sargent
* Michael Chang

Honan|

* William White
* Lindel Tsen

Kwangsi and Hunan|

* William Banister
* John Holden
* Percy Stevens

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