Chinese Bishop Surveys the Future and Sees Hopeful Signs
Episcopal News Service. November 23, 1993 [93214]
Christianity in China continues to grow in numbers and in hope despite a climate of anxiety and economic hardship, according to Bishop Shen Yi-fan of the Chinese Christian Council.
During a recent tour of the United States that included a visit to the Diocese of Rochester, a companion diocese with the Chinese Christian Council, Shen described the political climate in China as "still in the process of changing toward greater democratization." He said that several church leaders are even participating in formal structures leading to reform of the political order. "Bishop Ting [president of the Chinese Christian Council] has made some strong criticisms and I think the government has taken notice and are doing things to correct mistakes," he added.
Shen suggested that many people in China would prefer to have "a gradual, peaceful change rather than chaos." However, he seemed pleased to report that "some of the demands of the student uprising in Tian'anmen Square are being gradually carried out. I think we will see a greater openness in the future."
Shen also expressed guarded optimism about the imminent integration of Hong Kong into the People's Republic of China. He reported that there have been recent exchanges and other communication efforts between the church in China and the churches in Hong Kong as the reunification approaches.
"After Hong Kong is reunited it will be a highly autonomous region, maintaining free markets and social system," Shen insisted. He added that the posture of the church in China toward churches in Hong Kong would be "maintaining mutual respect and non-interference. I would hope that both sides will respect each other. And maybe in the future there will be some kinds of cooperation," he said. "But I don't think we will seek to unite the two."
On a more somber note, Shen said that people in China have new anxieties about rumors of nuclear arms in North Korea. "I would hope for diplomatic negotiations to be successful in order that someday we might have a nuclear-free Asia," he said.
As the political future unfolds in China, Shen suggested that there was a similar unfolding for the life of the church there. Since 1954, Chinese Protestants have set aside denominational structures in the interest of survival and growth.
"Protestants in China describe ourselves as 'post-denominational,'" Shen said. We are a uniting church. We are not completely united yet, but we are still growing and learning to respect each other's sacraments and ministries. The church in China seeks to incorporate what is best from each of the denominational traditions," Shen said.
Nearly two years ago, Chinese Christians took an important step on their journey as a Christian community when it adopted a new church order for the church in China, Shen said. "In that plan, we have bishops in the ministry," he said. "However the role of the bishop is somewhat different than in the Episcopal Church."
In China, bishops no longer have administrative responsibility but serve as pastoral leaders. "This kind of bishop can be accepted by Christians of different denominational traditions," Shen said. He visits congregations, meeting and advising local pastors, as well as conducting workshops and retreats. Still, local congregations have latitude to decide whether and how they will relate to bishops.
Shen said that the Chinese church has tried to maintain a sense of the apostolic succession, "but the emphasis is on the historic episcopate, not the succession," he quickly added.
Shen's own family history is a kind of testimony to Anglican history in China. He was raised in a family that was Anglican for three generations and his father was an Anglican bishop. Shen's father-in-law was also an Anglican priest who came to the United States to attend seminary in the 1920s. At Shen's consecration, four former Anglican bishops participated in the laying on of hands.