Timeline of Orthodoxy in China

The History of Orthodoxy in China is recent when compared to that of the Orthodox Church as a whole. While there is archaeological evidence of Christianity reaching western China in the seventh and eighth centuries in the form of the heretical Nestorian form, and even earlier speculative evidence to as early as the first to third centuries, historically the beginnings of Orthodox Christianity in China is traced from the seventeenth century.

The Beijing Mission, the earliest of all the foreign missions of the Russian Orthodox Church, was founded at a time when the Qing dynasty in China was conducting an isolationist policy of “closed doors.” Up to 1864, the Mission actually served as Russia’s unofficial diplomatic mission in China and was subordinated to the Holy Synod and to the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. Emperor Kangxi conferred high court ranks on all the Mission’s members and allotted state living quarters next to the Albazinian church, near the east gate of Beijing. Except for Russia, no state had representatives of its own in China under the Qing dynasty until the 1860s.

The activities and achievements of the Orthodox Church, especially since the 17th century, have been understated in many historical studies of Christianity in China. By 1955, on the eve of its establishment as an independent entity, the Orthodox Church in China reached its greatest numbers. There were more than 100,000 communicants in former Russian territory in Manchuria, with 200 priests and 60 parishes, as well as monasteries and a seminary. Elsewhere, in China, there were another 200,000 Orthodox Christians and 150 parishes. These conservative figures mean that at that time, around 6% of Chinese Christians were adherents of the Orthodox Church.

The First Orthodox Christians in China (1242-1651)

• 1242 Greek Orthodox Russians in the Western Army of the Mongols entered China; they are said to have established a small church in the far western region, site now unknown.
• 1270 The Mongol Emperor of China imported a group of Russian goldsmiths.
• 1584 Russian army defeats the Khanate of Siberia, opening up the overland way to the east; initial development of Russian settlements in the area to the south and east of Lake Baikal (Transbaikal) begins, with Cossacks and others under service contract to the state (sluzhilye liudi) exploring new trading routes to China.
• 1587 Russians found Tobolsk, the historic capital of Siberia.
• 1613 Romanov Dynasty is founded in Russia (1613-1917).
• 1632 Russians establish Yakutsk; from this settlement they explored the more fertile lands to the southeast, along the Amur River.
• 1644 Qing conquest of Beijing; Qing (Manchu) Dynasty is establised (1644-1912), the last ruling dynasty of China.

From Albazin to Beijing (1651-1715)

• 1651 Russian Cossack Erofey (Geoffery) Khabarov founded the fort-town of Albazin on the Amur River.
• 1652 Irkutsk is founded by Lake Baikal.
• 1665 The earliest known Orthodox Church, the Church of the Resurrection, and a monastery is founded in the Russian fort-town of Albazin (Yakela) in Northeast China.
• 1670 Emperor Kangxi (1661-1722) issued the Sacred Edict, consisting of 16 moral maxims based on Confucian teachings.
• 1685 Chinese capture Albazin, razing Church of the Resurrection; Group of 45 Albazin Russians, including Priest Maxim Leontiev, are re-settled to Beijing by Chinese; Emperor Kangxi ordered the Buddhist temple of Guangi Miao (Temple of the War God) in the northeast corner of the imperial city to be cleared for the Russian inhabitants, becoming known as the Nikolsky Chapel ("Sheng Ni Gula"; later consecrated as the Church of Hagia Sophia), the first Orthodox Church in China.
• 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk established Amur River as boundary between Russia and China, recognzing Russia's sovereignty over eastern Siberia.
• 1691 Qing control of Inner Mongolia.
• 1698 Consecration of the first Orthodox church, in the name of Hagia Sophia, or Divine Wisdom, in Beijing, recognized by Ignatius, Metropolitan of Tobolsk; on this auspicious occasion many Chinese received Holy Baptism, and thus the consecration of the first Orthodox Church coincided with the introduction of Orthodoxy among the Chinese.
• 1700 Peter the Great published an Ukase (edict) on June 18th that made a resounding appeal for the propagation of the faith in Siberia and China.
• 1702 In response to the Ukase of 1700, Philothei (Leschinsky) of Kiev is chosen as Metropolitan of Tobolsk and All Siberia (1702-1711), long since a center of missionary operations, in order to "lead the natives in China and Siberia to the service of the true and living God"; he built 37 churches and personally accounted for the baptism of 40,000 Siberian tribesmen by 1721 .
• 1712 Death of Fr. Maxim Leontiev; Emperor Kangxi gives permission through the Lifan yuan (Office of Border Affairs) for several new priests to come in China.

Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in China (1715-1956)

Era of Diplomatic Representatives (1715-1858)

• 1715 Archimandrite Ilarion (Lezhaisky) arrived in Beijing with staff, icons, sacred vessels, and service books as head of the first Russian Orthodox Mission (1715-28); staff included Hieromonk Lavrenty, Hierodeacon Filipp, and seven junior monks; Emperor Kangxi had initiated the practice of receiving missions of Orthodox clergy and students of about ten-years each.
• 1717 Archimandrite Ilarion (Lezhaisky) reposed in Beijing.
• 1721 Emperor Kangxi issued a decree indicating he wished to proscribe Western Christian missions in China.
• 1724 Emperor Yongcheng issues imperial edict promoting Confucianism as the proper way of life, and proscribing Roman Catholicism, and to some degree Buddhism and Taoism as heterodox cults; foreign missionaries were deported to Canton, and later to Macao, and urban churches were gradually closed; during this time the Orthodox were certainly treated more favourably, as persecution of the Western Christian missionaries was never extended to the Orthodox.
• 1727 The first mission is recorded in the Russo-Chinese treaty of 1727 (Treaty of Kyakhta), in Article V, allowing for the legal establishment of a Russian religious institution in Beijing, as well as defining official trade ties and demarcating the border.
• 1729 Archimandrite Antony (Platkovsky) arrives as head of the second Mission (1729-35), along with Fr. Ioann Filimonov, Hierodeacon Ioasaf Ivanovsky, and nine junior monks.
• 1730 The mission reported that there were more than 50 baptized persons among the Chinese and Manchus, excluding women; construction of the Tea Road (Siberian Route) begun, starting in Moscow and terminating at Kyakhta, a trading point on the border between the Russian and Qing Empires.
• 1733-43 The Second Kamchatka expedition achieves the geographical mapping of the north east part of Asia.
• 1733 The first local persection of (Western) Christians, in Fujian, in late 1733.
• 1734 The newly establised Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg completed a Chinese-Latin dictionary, including ten-thousand characters, ultimately remaining as a single copy in the Academy library, due to difficulties in creating the 10,000 wood blocks needed for mass publishing.
• 1736 Archimandrite Ilarion (Trusov) arrives in Beijing as head of the third Mission (1736-45), along with Hieromonk Lavrenty Uvarov, Hieromonk Antony L'khovsky, Hieromonk Lavrenty Bobrovnikov (after 1741), and three junior monks in 1742.
• 1741 Archimandrite Ilarion (Trusov) reposed in Beijing; Empress Elizabeth issued a decree offically recognizing the Tibetan branch of Buddhism in Russia, authorizing the establishment of 11 Buddhist monasteries (datsans), with 150 lamas on the staff.
• 1745 Archimandrite Gervasy (Lintsevsky) arrives in Beijing as head of the fourth Mission (1745-55), along with Hieromonk Loil' Vrublevsky, Hieromonk Feodosy Smorzhensky, and one junior monk.
• 1747 Under Emperor Qianlong persecution recommenced in 1747, extending over all the provinces, with no more (Western) missionaries being permitted to enter the country.
• 1755 Archimandrite Amvrosy (Yumatov) arrives in Beijing as head of the fifth Mission (1755-71), along with Hieromonk Silvestr Spitsyn, Hieromonk Sophrony Argievsky, and Hierodeacon Sergei.
• 1768 Emperor Qianlong issued a very stern decree, prohibiting all Manchurians, Chinese, Mongolians and Koreans to convert into a foreign faith under pain of terrible punishment; Sino-Russian protocol of October 18, 1768 amended Article X of the Treaty of 1727, dealing with border traffic between the two states.
• 1771 Archimandrite Amvrosy (Yumatov) reposed in Beijing.
• 1771 Archimandrite Nikolai (Tsvet) arrives in Beijing as head of the sixth Mission (1771-81), along with Hieromonk Iust, Hieromonk Ioanniki Protopopov, Hierodeacon Nikifor, and four junior monks.
• 1781 Archimandrite Ioakim (Shishkovsky) arrives in Beijing as head of the seventh Mission (1781-94), along with Hieromonk Antony Sedel'nikov, Hieromonk Alexei Bogolepov, Hierodeacon Israil, and three junior monks.
• 1790 Classes in Mongolian, Chinese, and Manchu were successively opened in the provincial academy in Irkutsk, but after four years these were abandoned due in large part to their difficulty.
• 1794 Archimandrite Sofrony (Gribovsky) arrives in Beijing as head of the eighth Mission (1794-1807).
• 1796-1804 Rebellion of the White Lotus Society, a secret Taoist society that forecast the advent of Maitreya (the future Buddha), restoration of the native Chinese Ming dynasty, and promised personal salvation to its followers.
• 1806 By this time eight separate missions had been sent to live in the Manchu capital and the Russian establishment included buildings that housed the mission proper (Uspeniya Presvyatoi Bogoroditsu) or "Conception of the Holiest Mother of God", the Church of Hagia Sophia (the Nikolsky church), a school of Chinese and Manchu studies, and a Manchu school of Russian studies.
• 1807 Archimandrite Iiakinf (Bichurin) arrives in Beijing as head of the ninth Mission (1807-21), became an imminent sinologist.
• 1812 Following Napoleon's invasion of Russia, all contact between the mission and the homeland was lost, and for a time the mission members had to survive by their own efforts and small allowances from the Chinese govemment.
• 1813 Rebellion of the Eight Trigrams Society (Baguajiao), a secret Taoist society closely related to the millennarian White Lotus tradition, galvanized into revolt by their belief that the millennium had arrived.
• 1821 Archimandrite Peter (Kamensky) arrives in Beijing as head of the tenth Mission (1821-30).
• 1820-50 During the reign of the Daoguang Emperor most anti-Christian edicts were rescinded, and a subsequent imperial edict pardoned those Christians who practiced the faith for moral perfection.
• 1830 Hieromonk Veniamin (Morachevich) arrives in Beijing as head of the eleventh Mission (1830-40).
• 1835 The Manchu New Testament was published, translated by Stepan Vaciliyevich Lipovtsov (1770-1841) who learned Manchu after journeying to Beijing in 1794 as a member of the eighth Russian Ecclesiastical Mission.
• 1839-42 First Opium War; Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain from China as part of the concessions from the Opium War.
• 1840 Archimandrite Policarp (Tugarinov) arrives in Beijing as head of the twelfth Mission (1840-49).
• 1850 Archimandrite Pallady (Kafarov) arrives in Beijing as head of the thirteenth Mission (1850-58).
• 1850-65 Taiping Rebellion, a heretical Christian-inspired Chinese millenarian movement, described as the most destructive civil war in the history of the world (estimated death toll of between 20 and 30 million).
• 1856-60 Second Opium War.

Era of Limited Missionary Activities (1858-1896)

Northeast China (Inner Manchuria), and Outer Manchuria (Russian Manchuria).

• 1858 Archimandrite Gury (Karpov) arrives in Beijing as head of the fourteenth Mission (1858-64); the status of the mission changed after the Treaty of Tianjin in that its diplomatic activities on behalf of Russia became obsolete; the treaty also allowed missionaries to leave Beijing for other provinces of the country, having a positive impact on the activity of the Beijing mission; the Russian-Chinese Treaty of Aigun established much of the modern border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China (Manchuria), its provisions being confirmed by the Treath of Peking in 1860, reversing the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689) by ceding parts of Outer Manchuria to the Russian Empire.
• 1858-71 Hieromonk Isaiah (Polikin) arrives in Beijing, becoming a tireless preacher and gifted administrator (1858-71), organizing parishes south of Beijing and leaving behind an array of Chinese language texts
• 1860 About 150 missionaries worked in the mission, although it is estimated that there were not more than 200 Orthodox in Beijing, including the descendants of naturalized Russians; after the Treaty of Peking other countries as well as Russia were allowed to open diplomatic embassies; the old Russian presence in Beijing became known as the Northern Yard (Beiguan - reserved for the Russian Orthodox priests), and a Southern Yard (Nannguan) was established for the Ambassador, both remaining important.
• 1864 Archimandrite Gury (Karpov) completes translation of the New Testament and church services into Chinese; the proper foundation of the mission was completed when it was separated from Russian politics, and in 1864 answered directly to the Holy Synod only.
• 1865 Archimandrite Pallady (Kafarov) returns in Beijing as head of the fifteenth Mission (1865-78), translating more works into Chinese including the Book of Psalms and Book of Services.
• 1866 Allowance is granted to conduct religious services in Chinese.
• 1868 Hieromonk Isaiah (Polikin) baptized several Chinese families in the village of Dunding'an.
• 1879 Archimandrite Flavian (Gorodetsky) arrives in Beijing as head of the sixteenth Mission (1879-84); he conducts services in Chinese; this mission was mainly occupied by scholastic and publishing activity.
• 1882 Fr. Mitrophan Ji ordained, in Tokyo, Japan, as first Chinese Orthodox priest by St Nicholas of Japan.
• 1884 Archimandrite Amfilohil (Lutovinov) arrives in Beijing as head of the seventeenth Mission (1884-96), making little progress for lack of funds and training; during his tenure the Liturgy was performed at sites in Hankou, Tianjin, Kalgan, and Urga, in addtion to Beijing and the Dunding'an village.
• 1889 Chinese-Russian dictionary is published, being the chief work of Fr. Pallady (Kafarov), containing the explanations of 11,868 characters and published after his death in 1889.
• 1893 St. Alexander Cathedral of Wǔhàn , Hànkǒu , China is built.
• 1894-95 First Sino-Japanese War.

Era of Active Mission (1896-1956)

• 1896 Archimandrite Innocent (Figurovsky) arrives in Beijing as head of the eighteenth Mission (1896-1931), spearheading many modern Chinese translations of Orthodox liturgical and catechetical books, and setting a more missionary spirit, revitalizing the mission; he established a monastery, instituted daily services in Chinese, and dispatched preachers to the lands outside Beijing to spread the Gospel.
• 1898 The modern city of Harbin is founded, with the start of the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway by Russia (an extension of the Trans-Siberian Railway), eventually becoming a major centre of White Russian émigrés, and Imperial Russia’s only colony; 200th anniversary of the consecration of the first Orthodox church in China.
• 1900 Yihetuan (Boxer) revolt, an anti-Western and anti-missionary uprising in China, results in destruction of Orthodox Mission and death of 222 Chinese Orthodox martyrs; the Guan Miao area where the Albazine community lived was laid to rubble, including destruction of its famous library and printing press, where nearly 30,000 engraved Chinese signs were lost, together with service books and the mission archive; the Church of China lost about 1,000 followers either through martyrdom or due to abandonement of the faith.
• 1902 Archimandrite Innocent (Figurovsky) consecrated Bishop in Russia, and returned as first bishop in China. Patriarchate of Moscow glorifiies the 222 Chinese Orthodox martyrs on April 22, 1902 (decree №2874).
• 1903 Orthodox communities in Manchuria (Harbin) placed under Bp. Innocent, Bishop of Beijing; church of the All Holy Martyrs of the Yihetuan Uprising is built on the grounds of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Beijing where many of the 222 martyrs were slain.
• 1907 St. Sophia Cathedral is built in Harbin City, expanded and renovated from 1923-32, becoming the largest Orthodox church in the far east.
• 1912 The Republic of China was established by Sun Yat-sen on January 1, 1912, after over two thousand years of imperial rule.
• 1910 Chinese Prayer book is compiled by Bishop Innokenty (Figurovsky) of Beiguan, Beijing.
• 1915-21 New Culture Movement springs from disillusionment with traditional Chinese culture, and a call for the creation of a new Chinese culture based on global and western standards, especially democracy and science.
• 1916 There were 19 churches in China (including four in Beijing), 3 monasteries in Beijing, and 32 missions (including 14 in Zhili province, 12 in Hebei, 4 in Henan, 1 in Xi’anfu, and 1 in Mongolia), with 5,587 Orthodox Chinese adherents (including 583 who were baptized in 1915), and a thriving and expanding mission; within twenty years that number was estimated at 10,000; the church also ran schools and orphanages including 17 schools for boys and 3 for girls.
• 1917 The Russian Revolution separated the Orthodox Church of China from its traditional support base in Russia, and the Chinese church had to fend for itself; the numbers of Orthodox faithful in China swelled in the wake of the Russian revolution, when anti-Bolshevik Russian emigres (White émigrés) poured across the border into China, forming colonies in Harbin, Shanghai and Beijing; Harbin held the largest Russian population outside of the state of Russia.
• 1922 Orthodox bishops in China came under the jurisdiction of the Synod of Russian Bishops Outside Russia ROCOR (from 1922-1945 in Harbin, 1922-49 in Shanghai); formation of Diocese of Beijing (including the vicariates of Shanghai and Tianjin, and later Hankou), and of the Diocese of Harbin (including Qiqihar and Hailar vicariates), under ROCOR; Protection (Pokrov) of the Theotokos Church is founded in Harbin City.
• 1919 May Fourth Movement; anti-foreign demonstrations.
• 1925 Death of St. Jonah of Manchuria, Bishop of Hankou (1922-1925).
• 1927-1950 Chinese Civil War (Nationalist-Communist Civil War).
• 1929-49 The Jesuit-operated Lyceum of St. Nicholas, in Harbin City, open to both Russian Catholic and Orthodox students, trained many leaders of the Russian Catholic (Uniate) community of Australia and the United States between the World Wars.
• ca.1930 There were more than 50,000 Orthodox in China, mostly Russians; Dioceses were established in Shanghai and Tianjin, in addition to those in Harbin and Beijing.
• 1930 Protection (Pokrov) of the Theotokos Church in Harbin City is rebuilt of brick.
• 1931-45 Japanese-dominated state of Manchukuo ("State of Manchuria") is formed by former Qing Dynasty officials with help from Imperial Japan.
• 1931 Archbishop Simon (Vinogradov) arrives in Beijing as head of the nineteenth Mission (1931-33).
• 1933 Bishop Victor (Svyatin) arrives in Beijing as head of the twentieth and last Mission (1933-56).
• 1934 Shanghai cathedral (Cathedral of the "Surety of Sinners", or "Intercessions of Sinners") is completed, as the newly consecrated Bishop John (Maximovitch) arrives from Serbia.
• 1934-46 St. John (Maximovitch), Bishop of Shanghai.
• 1935 Chinese Orthodox Association of Shanghai is established, sponsored in part by Archpriest Nikolai Li Xunyi.
• 1937-41 Second Sino-Japanese War.
• 1941 Holy Annunciation Church of Harbin is completed in the Neo-Byzantine style, striking in its grandness and rare decorative effects; later destroyed in 1970; Nazi Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa).
• 1945 Diocese of Harbin is subordinated under the Moscow Patriarchate after arrival of the Soviet Army; short occupation of Harbin by the Soviet Army from August 1945 to April 1946, resulting in thousands of Russian emigres being forcibly removed to the Soviet Union; the Moscow Patriarchate resumed jurisdiction over the episcopate in China from ROCOR (i.e. - the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, passed a resolution on December 27, 1945, whereby an integrated metropolitan district within the bounds of China and Korea was formed, led by the Metropolitan of Harbin and East Asia).
• 1946 ROCOR elevated John (Maximovitch) to Archbishop; since ROCOR and the MP were not in communion at this time, Abp. John (Maximovitch) was Archbishop not only of Shanghai, but of all China for the White Russian immigrants; Harbin and East Asia Diocese is transformed into the East Asia Exarchate, by Patriarchal Edict 664 of 11 June 1946, a district uniting the eparcies of Beijing, Harbin, Shanghai, Tianjin and Xinjiang.
• 1946-49 St. John (Maximovitch), Archbishop of Shanghai and over all the Russian faithful in China.
• 1948 St. John (Maximovitch) blessed a revised edition of the 1910 Chinese prayer book of Bishop Innokenty (Figurovsky), with more catechetical material, compiled by Archpriest Nikolai Li Xunyi.
• 1949 Establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China, by the victorious Communists, who end all Chrisitan missionary work; by this time 106 Orthodox churches had been opened in China, with the parishioners generally being Russian refugees, and the native Chinese element constituting at least 10,000 faithful; until 1949 there were more than 15 Russian Orthodox churches and two cemeteries in Harbin alone; treaties were signed between the Soviet and Chinese governments that provided for the turning over of Russian churches to Chinese control; most of the Russians left for Australia, the United States and other places.
• 1950 Symeon (Du) consecrated Bishop of Tianjin in July, becoming the first Chinese Orthodox bishop. Later, in September, he was transferred to be Bishop of Shanghai (1950-1965).
• 1954 East Asia Exarchate (Diocese of Harbin and East Asia) abolished.
• 1956 Archbishop Victor (Svyatin), the last Russian bishop and leader of the 20th Spiritual Mission, returned to the Soviet Union, following agreements reached between Nikita Khruschev and Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung), drawing to a close a variegated chapter in the history of Orthodoxy in China.

Autonomy and Decline (1956-1984)

• 1956 Church of China under Chinese administration is established under pressure from the Chinese authorities; all non-Chinese clergy leave China; on the orders of then-Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev, the Soviet Embassy took over the territory of the Russian Orthodox mission and tore down the church; On April 24, He Chenxiang, head of the religious affairs department of the State Council of China approved the appointment of Archimandrite Vasily (Shuan) as bishop of Beijing.
• 1957 Holy Synod of the Church of Russia granted autonomy to the Church of China; Vasily (Shuan) consecrated Bishop of Beijing; Church of the All Holy Martyrs of the Yihetuan Uprising is destroyed by the Soviets.
• 1958-61 Great Leap Forward.
• 1960-85 Sino-Soviet split, relations between China and Russia break down.
• 1962 Bp. Vasily reposed; no successor is seated as Bishop of Beijing due to Chinese government constraints.
• 1965 Bp. Symeon (Du) reposed, leaving the Chinese Church without any bishops.
• 1966-76 The Cultural Revolution almost totally destroyed the young Chinese Orthodox Church, with some clergymen being persecuted and exiled, others tortured, churches being closed, their property confiscated, and religious activity forbidden or driven underground.
• 1969 Clashes between China and Russia on the northern border.
• 1970 Death of Archpriest Stefan Wu Zhiquan, the new martyr.
• 1978 The Constitution of the People's Republic of China guaranteed "freedom of religion" with a number of restrictions; the five recognized religions by the state include Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism; (Orthodoxy not registered as of yet).

Revival of the Church (1984-Present)

• 1984 Protection (Pokrov) of the Theotokos Church of Harbin is reopened, with a few Russian refugees and the Orthodox Chinese being allowed to pray there in 1986; at this time it is the only Orthodox church in the territory of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) where services have been going on; the resident priest Fr. Grigori Zhu (+2000) attended to the parish consisting of 144 souls ranging in age from 68 to 92.
• 1985 According to the Harbin municipal religious archive, at the end of 1985, Hieromonk Fr. Simon (Bai Zenglin) and Fr. Gregory Zhu were the two remaining priests in Harbin.
• 1986 About 3,000 Orthodox Christians living in the predominantly Muslim autonomous area of Xinjiang were allowed to reconstruct their church of St Nicholas in Urumqi, but with no priest present the community could only meet to pray.
• 1991 Soviet Union collapses, ending Cold War.
• 1993 A delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church including Kirill the Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad visited China.
• 1996 Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (OMHKSEA) founded, with its status recognised by the city's parliament, and the church operating freely in Hong Kong and Taiwan; Metr. Nikitas (Lulias) of Dardanellia becomes first Metropolitan of Diocese of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (1996-2007).
• 1997 On the occasion of 40th year anniversary of the autonomy of the Orthodox Church in China, the Holy Synod of the ROC met on February 17 1997, deciding to take care of the Orthodox faithfull in China under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, until a Head of the OCC can be elected; in Harbin, the beautiful St. Sophia Cathedral was renovated and opened as a museum; Hong Kong is returned to Chinese control by the British in July; Abp. Hilarion of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand along with eleven others went on a pilgrimage to China to visit Orthodox holy places in Shanghai, Beijing, Harbin and Manzhouli (Manchzhuria).
• 1998 300th anniversary of the consecration of the first Orthodox church in China.
• 1999 The Russian-Chinese Orthodox Missionary Society is founded in Sydney, Australia, under ROCOR, with the aim of spiritual enlightenment of the Chinese speaking population of the country.
• 2000 Death of Fr. Grigory Zhu in September, leaving the Protection (Pokrov) of the Theotokos Church in Harbin without a priest; Archimandrite Fr. Jonah (Mourtos) arrived in Taiwan in September to lead the mission of the church there, having spent seventeen years as a monk on Mount Athos; St Nicholas Church is rebuilt by the local government in Ghulja (Yining), Xinjiang; according to the 2000 census, 30,505 Evenks were counted in China, a nominally Orthodox Christian ethnic group (self-identified Orthodox minority in China), living in the Hulunbuir region in the north; in December, Abp. Hilarion of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand visited China on a missionary and spiritual trip.
• 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship is signed by Jiang Zemin and Vladimir Putin.
• 2002 A notable improvement in the situation for China's Orthodox may be traced to the installation of Hu Jintao as the country's leader in 2002, according to a Chinese Orthodox source from Shanghai.
• 2003 Death of Fr. Alexander Du Lifu in December, the last remaining Orthodox priest in Beijing, who died without realising his dream of reopening a church in Beijing; Kazakhstan-based Russian Orthodox priest Fr. Vianor Ivanov visited the Xinjiang region to serve the local Orthodox who have no priests, but was detained by Chinese customs, was interrogated for a week, had his religious literature and baptismal crosses confiscated and was deported.
• 2004 Attempts are made to grow the church through cyberspace, as Mitrophan Chin, a young Chinese-American who converted to the Orthodox religion, volunteers as the webmaster for www.orthodox.cn; the Chinese government allowed hieromonk Fr. Moisei (Pilats) of the Monastery of the New Russian Martyrs in Alapayevsk, Russia to visit the Pokrov Church in Harbin to hear confessions in both Russian and Chinese in July; in August a Russian Orthodox Church delegation led by Bishop Mark of Egorevsk met with Chinese officials and representatives of the country's various religious organizations; Brotherhood of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul parish (MP) is established in Hong Kong under Fr Dionisy (Pozdnyaev), dedicated to assist the revival of the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church; the first Sunday school in China began in the fall on the grounds of the Russian Embassy, for the Orthodox community in Beijing.
• 2005 As of 2005 there were only five priests, a number expected to grow because several Chinese nationals are currently studying in Orthodox seminaries with the intention of returning to China to serve as priests (depending on the blessing of the Chinese government).
• 2006 Currently there are around 13,000 Orthodox Christians in China, with an estimated 400 residing in the capital Beijing, but they are not recognized as an official religious community; 13 Chinese Orthodox students are undergoing studies at the Sretenskaya Theological Academy in Moscow and the Academy of St Petersburg, to pave the way for a minimal presence of clergy in China; the Russian Orthodox Church did its utmost through president Vladimir Putin, to gain recognition of Orthodoxy in China before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing; Publication of first Orthodox prayer book in both Chinese and Russian, following the editions of 1948 and 1910; the Orthodox Fellowship of All Saints of China (OFASC) is launched in the US, with the strategic vision of producing easy-to-read and accurate modern Chinese translations of important Orthodox texts.
• 2007 50th anniversary of the autonomy of the Orthodox Church in China; the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to open a department concerned with the Chinese Orthodox Autonomous Church (COAC), stressing the need to continue efforts taken by its Department for External Church Relations in the dialogue with the Chinese authorities to normalize the situation of the Orthodox Church in China; Easter liturgies were offered in Russia’s diplomatic missions in China, with over 300 walking in an Easter procession in the Russian Embassy in Beijing, and 120 more attending the Easter liturgy in the Russian Consulate General in Shanghai; the Municipal Housing Bureau of Shanghai mandated the restoration of the Shanghai Cathedral to prepare it as a historical museum; death of Protopresbyter Elias Wen; world's first Russian-Chinese dictionary of Orthodox vocabulary is printed in Moscow; Patr. Alexei II criticized the People's Republic of China for the fate of China’s Orthodox Church, which is denied freedom of religion and deprived of clergy; Metr. Nikitas (Lulias) of Dardanellia called on the government of Beijing to recognise Orthodoxy among the country’s official religions and expressed concern about the plight of Christians in Asia.
• 2008 Fr. Mikhail Wang Quansheng and Protodeacon Evangelos Lu Yaofu, the only indigenous Orthodox clergy left in China, took part in Divine Services for the first time in 46 years, at the Russian consulate in Shanghai, and were awarded medals of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh (I Degree) by Patr. Alexei of Moscow; Metr. Nektarios (Tsilis) becomes new Orthodox Bishop of Diocese of Hong Kong; Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church glorifies Archimandrite Gury (Karpov); an Orthodox Liturgy was Celebrated at the Olympic Village in Beijing; a Memorial Service in memory of those killed during WWII was served at the Cross Shrine on the grounds of the Embassy of the Russian Embassy, on Victory Day.
• 2009 Archpriest Georges Florovsky's book "Christianity and Culture" is published in the Chinese language; solemn Paschal night Divine Services took place in several Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong; in Beijing, Divine Services of Passion Week and Holy Pascha were performed by Archpriest Dionisy (Pozdnyaev) (MP) and Fr. Alexis Dyuka (ROCOR) in the house church of St. Innocent of Irkutsk (Red Fangzi) on the territory of the Russian Embassy; Patr. Kirill met with Ye Xiaowen, China’s Religious Affairs minister, in trying to breathe new life into China’s Orthodox Church.; the Church of St. Innokenty of Irkutsk was consecrated on Sunday August 30 in Labdarin (Inner Mongolia), being the first Orthodox Church consecrated in China in over 50 years, mainly for Russian descendants.

Notes

• Some of these dates are necessarily a bit vague, as records for some periods are particularly difficult to piece together accurately.
• The division of Church History into separate eras as done here will always be to some extent arbitrary, though it was attempted to group periods according to major watershed events.
• This timeline is necessarily biased toward the history of the Orthodox Church, though a number of non-Orthodox or purely political events are mentioned for their importance in history related to Orthodoxy or for reference.

Presence of Orthodox Communities in China

People's Republic of China (PRC): Administrative Divisions, and Territorial Disputes.

Historically

• Its first communities were made up of Russian immigrants concentrated in the north of the country in Albazin (near the town of Skovorodino, in Russia's Amur Oblast region.
• A group of Albazin Russians were then re-settled in Beijing by Chinese, setting up the Russian Mission (1715-1956).
• Dioceses were later established in Shanghai and Tianjin, in addition to those in Harbin and Beijing;
• The regions of Inner Mongolia, Hankou, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong also had Orthodox churches.

Currently

• In addition to Beijing, where there are about 400 faithful, and Hong Kong and Taiwan, most believers live in four main locations, still mainly of Russian origin:

1. Harbin in Heilongjiang Province, where there is a parish dedicated to the Protective Mantle of the Mother of God.
2. Ergun (Labdarin) in Hulunbuir Province, (Inner Mongolia).
3. Ghulja (Yining, Kulj, Kulj-i), in Xinjiang Province, of north west China (in the Tacheng Prefecture).
4. Urumqi, in Xinjiang Province, of north west China.

Qing Dynasty Emperors (1644-1912)

• 1644-1661 Shunzhi.
• 1661-1722 Kangxi.
• 1722-1735 Yongzheng.
• 1736-1796 Qianlong.
• 1796-1820 Jiaqing.
• 1820-1850 Daoguang.
• 1850-1861 Xianfeng.
• 1861-1875 Tongzhi.
• 1875-1908 Guangxu.
• 1908-1912 Xuantong.

See also

• Church of China
• Russian Orthodox Mission in China
• Holy Martyrs of China
• Timeline of Church History

External Links

Orthodox

• Orthodoxy In China (Official page of the Group for Study of Orthodoxy in China, organized by Department for External Church Relations of Moscow Patriarchate (DECR MP))
• Ecumenical Patriarchate: Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. (OMHKSEA)
• The Orthodox Church in Taiwan. The Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (OMHKSEA).
• Orthodoxy In China (Mitrophan Chin's website)
• List of Persons in the Local Chinese Church.
• Chinese Orthodox Translation Project
• Chinese Orthodoxy on the Web (Website of St. Jonah Orthodox Church, North Houston, Texas)
• The Russian Embassy - Beijing Travel. tour-beijing.com
• THE CENSER (Official publication of OMHKSEA).
• Orthodox China Discussion Group on Yahoo. ( Recent News )

Wikipedia

Origins in Albazin (Post-1685)

• Albazinians
• Russian–Manchu border conflicts

Russian Emigration to China (Post-1897)

• Harbin Russians
• Russians in China
• Chinese Eastern Railway

Russian Emigrees from Communism (Post-1917)

• White émigré

Roman Catholic

• Roman Catholicism in China
• Jesuit China missions
• List of Roman Catholic missionaries in China
• Chinese Rites Controversy
• Martyr Saints of China (120 martyr-saints in the Roman Catholic Church)
• Studium Biblicum Version (1968; "Franciscan version"; considered by many to be the Chinese Catholics’s Bible).
• Paris Foreign Missions Society
• Pope Pius XII and the Church in China
• Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association

Protestant

• Protestant missions in China 1807-1953
• List of Protestant missionaries in China
• China Martyrs of 1900
• Chinese Underground Churches
• Back To Jerusalem Movement
• Born Again Movement (China)
• List of Chinese Bible translations
• Chinese Union Version (1919; considered by many to be the Chinese Protestant’s Bible).
• Amity Foundation, China (known for its Amity Printing Company (APC), the largest Bible producer in China).

General

• Christianity in China
• Religion in China
• Timeline of Chinese History
• Bibliography of Christianity in China

Heterodox

• Asia Harvest. Christians in China. (Extensive China-wide summary table of Protestant and Roman Catholic populations in all 31 provinces, Municipalities and Administrative Regions in China (plus Hong Kong and Macau).
• Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity.
• CHINA.ORG.CN Books on Christianity Published in China from 1978 to 2002.
• UCANEWS.com. Union of Catholic Asian News. (News about and of interest to the Church in Asia)
• Yutopian Online. History of Christianity in China. (various links)

Institutes

• Institute of Sino-Christian Studies in Hong Kong.
• Monumenta Serica Institute.
• University of San Francisco (USF). The Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History.
• The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies.
• Institute of Oriental and Asian Studies - University of Bonn.
• School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

• Center for East European and Byzantine Studies at Nankai University, Tianjin, China.

Further Reading

Orthodox

• Dina V. Doubrovskaia. The Russian Orthodox Church in China. In: Stephen Uhalley and Xiaoxin Wu, China and Christianity: Burdened Past, Hopeful Future. M.E. Sharpe, 2001. 499 pp. (pp.163-176). (ISBN 0765606615; ISBN 9780765606617)
• Dr. Kevin Baker. A History of the Orthodox Church in China, Korea and Japan. The Edwin Mellen Press, 2006. 288 pp. (ISBN 0-7734-5886-7; ISBN 978-0-7734-5886-4)
• Eric Widmer. The Russian ecclesiastical mission in Peking during the eighteenth century. Harvard Univ Asia Center, 1976. 262 pp. (ISBN 0674781295; ISBN 9780674781290)
• Hieromonk Damascene, Lou Shibai, You-Shan Tang. Christ the Eternal Tao. Valaam Books, Platina, California, 1999. 554 pp. (ISBN 0938635859; ISBN 9780938635857)
• Fr. Seraphim Rose, Abbot Herman, Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood. Blessed John, the Wonderworker. 3rd Ed., illustrated. St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1987. 477 pp. (ISBN 0938635018; ISBN 9780938635017)

In Chinese

• Zhang Sui (张绥) (1943- ). The Orthodox Church and Orthodox Church in China (东正教和东正教在中国).

Shanghai: Xuelin Publishing House (上海 : 學林出版社 : 新華書店上海发行所发行), 1986. 345 pp.

(Available through the National Library of Australia, here.)

• Prof. YUE, Feng (岳峰). History of Orthodoxy ("Dongzhengjiao shi").

(Reviewed by A.V.Lomanov).

In Russian

• Archpriest Pyotr Ivanov (D.Sc. (History)). From the History of Christianity in China. Russia Academy of Sciences: Institute of Oriental Studies (RAS IOS), Moscow, 2005. 224 pp.

(Book review: S. Bakonina. P. Ivanov, priest. From the History of Christianity in China. Far Eastern Affairs, No.004 Vol.35, 2007, pages: 145-149. (English).

• Valeriĭ Pereleshin. Russian Literary and Ecclesiastical Life in Manchuria and China from 1920 to 1952: Unpublished Memoirs of Valerij Perelešin. The Hague: Leuxenhoff, 1996. (ISBN 9072922069)

Articles

• A.S. Ipatova (Lead researcher, Institute of Far Eastern Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences). The Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Beijing: 150 Years at the Service of the Church and Diplomacy. DIPLOMAT Monthly: Column - Diplomacy And Religion. Issue 9/2008.
• APOSTOLIKI DIAKONIA (Prof. George Emmanuel Piperakis, University of Athens). SYNAXARION ORTHODOX CHINESE MARTYRS.
• Antoaneta Bezlova. Old time religion struggles to survive. Asia Times, January 12, 2002.
• AsiaNews.it A Russian Orthodox Book of Prayers published in Chinese. AsiaNews.it, November 10, 2004.
• AsiaNews.it Russian Orthodox church to be set up in Beijing shortly. AsiaNews.it, July 06, 2006.
• AsiaNews.it Aleksej II criticises China, Taiwan accepts to open a church. AsiaNews.it, April 12, 2007.
• AsiaNews.it Orthodox Metropolitan: Beijing should allow real religious freedom. AsiaNews.it, July 10, 2007.
• AsiaNews.it Patriarch Kirill meets Ye Xiaowen, China’s Religious Affairs minister. AsiaNews.it, February 12, 2009.
• Ecumenical News International (ENI). Asian Christians persecuted, says Orthodox leader. 2 July 2007.
• Geraldine Fagan. CHINA: Will Orthodox Christians soon be allowed priests?. Forum 18 News, Oslo, Norway. September 22, 2004.
• Igor Rotar. XINJIANG: Security service investigation followed Orthodox priest's deportation. Forum 18 News, Oslo, Norway. September 9, 2004.
• Paul Mooney (Beijing). Keeping the Faith. South China Morning Post, March 28, 2005.
• Religioscope. Toward a rebirth of the Orthodox Church in China - Interview with Mitrophan Chin. Religioscope, 23 Oct 2004.

General

• Harry Schwartz. Tsars, Mandarins, and Commissars: A History of Chinese-Russian Relations. Revised, Illustrated. Anchor Books, 1973. 300 pp. (ISBN 0385025602; ISBN 9780385025607)
• Prof. David Wolff. To the Harbin Station: The Liberal Alternative in Russian Manchuria, 1898-1914. Stanford University Press, 1999. 255 pp. (ISBN 0804732663; ISBN 9780804732666)

Heterodox

Scholarly Historical Surveys

• Dr. Jost Zetzsche. The Bible in China: History of the Union Version, or The Culmination of Protestant Missionary Bible Translation in China. Publ: Monumenta Serica Monograph Series 45. Nettetal: Monumenta Serica. 1999. (ISBN 3805004338; ISBN 9783805004336)
• Dr. Fr. Jean Charbonnier (MEP). Christians in China: A.D. 600 to 2000. Transl. M. N. L. Couve de Murville. Ignatius PR, 2007. 605 pp. (ISBN 0898709164; ISBN 9780898709162)
• Dr. Nicolas Standaert, (Ed.). Handbook of Christianity in China, Volume One: 635-1800. Brill: Leiden, Boston, Koln, 2001. 964 pp. (ISBN 9004114319; ISBN 9789004114319)
• Dr. R.G. Tiedemann, (Ed.). Handbook of Christianity in China, Volume Two: 1800‑Present. Brill, Leiden. ( In Progress )
• Dr. Samuel H. Moffett. A History of Christianity in Asia: Beginnings to 1500. Vol. 1; 2nd Ed. Orbis Books, 1998. 560 pp. (ISBN 1570751625; ISBN 9781570751622)
• Dr. Samuel H. Moffett. A History of Christianity in Asia. Vol.2, 1500-1900. Vol. 2. Orbis Books, 2007. 742 pp. (ISBN 1570757011; ISBN 9781570757013)
• Fr. Arnulf Camps (O.F.M) and Fr. Patrick McCloskey, (O.F.M). The Friars Minor in China 1294-1955: Especially the Years 1925-55. (Based on the Research of Friars Bernward Willeke and Domenico Gandolfi, OFM). St. Bonaventure University: The Franciscan Institute, 1995, 316 pp. (ISBN 157659002X; ISBN 9781576590027)
• Lauren Arnold. Princely Gifts and Papal Treasures: The Franciscan Mission to China and its Influence on the Art of the West, 1250-1350. San Francisco: Desiderata Press, 1999. 239 pp. (ISBN 0967062802; ISBN 9780967062808)
• Prof. Kenneth Scott Latourette. A History of Christian Missions in China. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), 1929. (Repr.: Russell & Russell, 1967). 930 pp. (ISBN 0846209926; ISBN 978-0846209928)
• Prof. Alvyn Austin. China's millions: the China Inland Mission and late Qing society, 1832-1905. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007. 506 pp. (ISBN 0802829759; ISBN 9780802829757)
• Prof. Dr. Lars Laaman. Christian Heretics in Late Imperial China: Christian Inculturation and State Control, 1720-1850. Routledge, 2007. 204 pp. (ISBN 0415297796; ISBN 9780415297790)
• Prof. Liam Matthew Brockey. Journey to the East: the Jesuit mission to China, 1579-1724. Harvard University Press, 2007. 496 pp. (ISBN 0674024486; ISBN 9780674024489)
• Rev. Bob Whyte, (foreword by the Abp. of Canterbury). Unfinished Encounter: China and Christianity. London: Fount Paperbacks, 1988. (Repr. Morehouse, 1990). 537 pp. (ISBN 0819215279; ISBN 9780819215277)

General

• Dr. David Aikman. Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming China And Changing the Global Balance of Power. Regnery Publishing, Inc., An Eagle Publishing Company, 2006. 418 pp. (ISBN 1596980257; ISBN 9781596980259)
• Dr. Carol Lee Hamrin, and Stacey Bieler. Salt and Light: Lives of Faith That Shaped Modern China. Series: Studies in Chinese Christianity. Pickwick Publications, 2008. 240 pp. (ISBN 1556359845; ISBN 9781556359842)
• Dr. Jason Kindopp, and Dr. Carol Lee Hamrin. God and Caesar in China: Policy Implications of Church-State Tensions. Brookings Institution Press, 2004. 200 pp. (ISBN 0815749368; ISBN 9780815749363)
• Fr. George Minamiki, (S.J.) The Chinese Rites Controversy. Loyola University Press, 1985. 353 pp. (ISBN 0829404570; ISBN 9780829404579)
• Hans Küng and Julia Ching. Christianity and Chinese Religions. Doubleday, 1989. 309 pp. (ISBN 0385260229; ISBN 9780385260220)
• Klaus Koschorke, Frieder Ludwig, Mariano Delgado, and Roland Spliesgart. A history of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 1450-1990: a documentary sourcebook. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007, 426 pp. (ISBN 0802828892; ISBN 9780802828897)
• Peter C.H. Chiu. An Historical Study of Nestorian Christianity in the T'ang dynasty between A.D. 636-845. (Ph.D. diss.), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1987. 319 pp.
• Peter Chen-main Wang (Ed.). Contextualization of Christianity in China: An Evaluation in Modern Perspective. Monumenta Serica Institute, 2008. (ISBN 978-3-8050-0547-0) (11 essays in 4 parts)
• Martha Avery. The Tea Road: China and Russia meet across the Steppe. China Intercontinental Press, 2003. 198 pp. (ISBN 7508503805; ISBN 9787508503806)
• Martin Palmer, Eva Wong. The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity. Ballantine, 2001. 270 pp. (ISBN 0345434242; ISBN 9780345434241)
• Dr. Paul Hattaway. China's Christian Martyrs. Kregel Pub., 2007. 496 pp., 195 illustrations. (ISBN 185424762X; ISBN 9781854247629)
• Dr. Paul Hattaway, Brother Yun. Back to Jerusalem: Three Chinese House Church Leaders Share Their Vision to Complete the Great Commission. Gabriel Publishing, 2003. 162 pp. (ISBN 1884543898; ISBN 9781884543890)
• Prof. Daniel H. Bays. Christianity in China: From the Eighteenth Century to the Present. Stanford University Press, 1999. 508 pp. (ISBN 0804736510; ISBN 9780804736510) (20 essays)
• Prof. Dr. John S. Peale. The Love of God in China: Can One be both Chinese and Christian? Publ. by iUniverse, 2005. (ISBN 0595784224; ISBN 9780595784226)
• Prof. Jacques Gernet. China and the Christian Impact: A Conflict of Cultures. Transl. Janet Lloyd. Cambridge University Press, 1985. 310 pp. (ISBN 0521266815; ISBN 9780521266819)
• Prof. Philip Jenkins, Geraint H. Jenkins. The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia - And How It Died. Publ. by Harperone, 2008. (ISBN 0061472808; ISBN 9780061472800)
• Prof. Dr. Roman Malek (Ed.). The Chinese Face of Jesus Christ. 5 VOLS. Jointly published by Institute Monumenta Serica and China-Zentrum, Sankt Augustin — Nettetal 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007. (All Vols.: ISBN 3805004761)
• Prof. Dr. Roman Malek and Peter Hofrichter (Eds.). Jingjiao. The Church of the East in China and Central Asia. Monumenta Serica Institute. Nettetal: Steyler Verlag, 2007. 701 pp. (ISBN 3805005342; ISBN 9783805005340)
• Scott Sunquist, John Hiang Chea Chew, David Wu Chu Sing, et al. A Dictionary of Asian Christianity. W.B. Eerdmans, 2001. 937 pp. (ISBN 080283776X; ISBN 9780802837769)
• Tony Lambert (OMF), Ross Paterson, David Pickard. China's Christian Millions. Monarch Books, 2006. 288 pp. (ISBN 0825461154; ISBN 9780825461156)

Articles

• Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America. White Paper--Freedom of Religious Belief in China. Beijing, October, 1997.
• Igor Rotar. XINJIANG: China's isolated Xinjiang religious minorities. Forum 18 News, Oslo, Norway. August 15, 2006.
• Joanna Jiang. History of Christianity in China. 2/17/2008.
• Sarah Schafer. Onward, Christian Soldiers: Chinese Missionaries Are Winning Souls Across The Middle Kingdom - And Plan To Spread Even Farther. NEWSWEEK, May 10, 2004.
• Simon Elegant. The War For China's Soul. TIME. Sunday, Aug. 20, 2006.
• The Economist.com. Christianity in China: Sons of Heaven. The Economist (Print edition). October 2, 2008.
• The New York Times. Christian Martyrs: The Murdering of Missionaries by the Boxers -- A Chinese Nero. August 8, 1903.