Korean Anglicans Celebrate centennial, Pledging to Work for Unification
Episcopal News Service. October 10, 1990 [90262]
Margaret Larom, Information Officer for the World Mission Unit of the Episcopal Church.
The Anglican Church in Korea celebrated its centennial, September 24-30, with a keen awareness that it serves a divided nation and with a pledge to work toward reunification and reconciliation between north and south.
There were many heartbreaking as well as joyous moments, visitors reported. The most moving event was the Service of Prayer for Reunification on Saturday afternoon, right beside the barbed wire of the Demilitarized Zone on the Imjin River. Emotion ran deep in the crowd of 2,000 as it witnessed to the tragedy of 45 years of separation. It is estimated that 10 million people have been separated from families and friends by this border that has been absolutely sealed, permitting no mail, telephone calls, or visits in two generations.
As military trucks rumbled back and forth, and the archbishop of Canterbury, the primate of Japan, and other foreign dignitaries looked on, the simple service proceeded under the guidance of the three Korean bishops. Participants were overcome by emotion. A lay reader wept as she quoted from Ezekiel, and a Korean priest from America prayed with tears streaming down his cheeks; he broke down in sobs when he was finished.
The Rt. Rev. Simon Kim, bishop of Seoul and chairman of the National Synod, had already declared that during its centennial year the church would work for reunification and reconciliation.
"Our country has been divided north and south since the end of World War II," Kim said. "During the past 45 years both governments continuously have developed the tension and conflict. I am sure that this situation is the great obstacle to proclaiming the Gospel in this country. Therefore, we believe the first duty of church mission and all national affairs is toward reunification and reconciliation between north and south. Our centennial slogan is 'Jesus Christ is the life of our nation."'
Repentance and reflection were keystones of the centennial planning process, Kim emphasized, with renewal and decision serving as the focus of the second century of mission.
One of the days during the week of centennial activities was devoted to memorializing the Korean martyrs. A monument was unveiled at the cathedral in Seoul, whose doors still bear bullet holes from June 1950, when a number of diocesan workers and priests, including missionaries, were killed.
The Great Memorial Mass on Sunday at the Olympic Gymnasium, attended by 10,000 people, was "supremely well organized," according to the Rev. J. Patrick Mauney, who represented the presiding bishop on behalf of the Episcopal Church. The "superb" liturgy was enhanced by 25 to 30 musicians playing ancient Korean instruments. Every priest received a specially made silk stole, and there were many other touches demonstrating the tremendous care taken with the event.
Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie preached and used the occasion to announce that the Anglican Church in Korea is near full autonomy status. Although some work still needs to be done on the proposed constitution, he said he was "fully confident" that autonomy would happen soon. In another emotional moment, he invited Bishop Kim, as chairman of the National Synod, to the next Primates Meeting, scheduled for April in Belfast.
The Anglican Church in Korea has been under the metropolitan authority of Canterbury since the mission started, but for the past three years a Council of Advice, composed of representatives from fellow communions, has been working to help the Korean Church achieve autonomy. These communions are the Nippon Seikokai, the church in Japan, which recently celebrated its centennial; the Episcopal Church in the USA, and the Anglican Churches of England, Australia and Canada.
The Anglican work in Korea began at the end of the 19th century, with an emphasis on mission through medical care and education. "From the beginning," according to a brief history prepared by the Centennial Planning Committee, the missionaries "tried to understand Korean culture and to respect Korean feeling and so celebrated the mass in the Korean language, sang the hymns in ballad melody, and built the church buildings according to the traditional building style."
However, mission activity began to shrink because of the Japanese occupation (which began with an invasion in 1910 and lasted for 36 years). In 1941, the Japanese government drove out all the missionaries. They returned after Korea's liberation and tried to recover church mission activity, but the Korean civil war broke out in 1950. A bishop, some priests, nuns, and church leaders were arrested and martyred, and all the mission activities, education, and medical care were stopped.
Nevertheless, the church struggled to recover from damages of the civil war and began new mission activity in industrial and mining areas. Since 1980, the church has focused on running institutions for the poor.
Plans for the future include publishing some books on the history of the church and revising the Book of Common Prayer and hymnal, in addition to the work toward reunification and reconciliation.