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==The beginnings of Chinese Christianity==
[[Introduction to Orthodox Christianity|Christianity]] was first introduced to China via an [[Assyrian Church of the East|Assyrian]] mission in in 635, and is commemorated in the [[Nestorianism|Nestorian]] Stele of Xi'an.
[[Orthodoxy]] arrived in China, via Siberia, in 1685. In that year, the Kangxi Emperor resettled the inhabitants of the [[Russia]]n border towns he had captured in China. [[Maxim Leontiev]], a [[priest]] who went with them, dedicated the first Orthodox church in Beijing. In the first century-and-a-half of its presence in China, the church did not attract a large following. It is said that in 1860 there were not more than 200 Orthodox in Beijing, including the descendants of the naturalized Russians.
In the second half of the 19th century, however, the Orthodox Church made bigger strides. The [[Russian Orthodox Mission in China|Spiritual Mission of the Russian Orthodox Church]] in Beijing was blessed with scholarly and religious clergy. Numerous translations into Chinese of religious publications were made.
The mission published four volumes of research in Chinese studies in the 1850s and 60s. Two clerics became well-known for scholarship in the subject, Father [[Iakinf (Bichurin) of Beijing|Iakinf Bichurin]], and the [[Archimandrite]] [[PalladiusPallady (Kafarov) of Beijing|Pallady]], who also compiled a "very valuable" dictionary.
The Boxer (Yihetuan Movement) Rebellion of 1898-1900, an anti-Western and anti-missionary uprising in China, saw violent attacks on Chinese converts to Christianity. The Orthodox Chinese were among those put to the sword, and in June every year the 222 Chinese Orthodox, including Father [[Mitrophan Ji]], who died for their faith in 1900 are commemorated during the upheavals as remembered on the [[icon]] of the [[Holy Martyrs of China]]. In spite of the uprising, by 1902 there were 32 Orthodox churches in China with close to 6,000 adherents. The church also ran schools and orphanages.
===Leaders of the Russian Mission===
*Father [[Maxim LeontieffLeontiev]], 1685-1712.*Archimandrite [[Ilarion (Lezhaisky) 1716]] 1715-17281717.
*Archimandrite Antony (Platkovsky) 1729-1735.
*Archimandrite Illarion (Trusov) 1736-1745.
*Hieromonk Benjamin (Morachevich) 1830-1840).
*Archimandrite [[Policarp (Tougarinov)]], 1840-1849.
*Archimandrite [[Pallady (KaffarovKafarov) of Beijing|Pallady (Kafarov)]], 1850-1858 and 1865-1878.
*Archimandrite [[Gury (Karpov)]], 1858-1864.
*Archimandrite [[Flavian (Gorodetsky) of Kiev and Galich|Flavian (Gorodetsky)]], 1879-1883.
===Episcopacy of the Autonomous Chinese Orthodox Church===
*Bishop [[Vasily (Shuan) of Beijing|Vasily (Shuan)]] of Beijing and All-China, 1956-1962.
*Bishop [[Symeon (Du) of Shanghai|Symeon (Du)]] of Shanghai, 19511950-1960's1965.
==Orthodoxy Today==
Two former Orthodox churches in Shanghai, until recently, were being used as restaurants and nightclubs.
Meanwhile, as of the early 21st century, the church operates freely in Hong Kong (, where the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]] has sent Metr. established the [[Nikitas (Lulias) Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong|Nikitas (Lulias)and Southeast Asia]](OMHKSEA) ; and Taiwan (where [[HieromonkOrthodoxy in Taiwan|Taiwan]] [[Jonah (Mourtos)]] leads a , where rival mission church) under churches representing OMHKSEA and the [[Russian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast AsiaChurch Outside Russia]](ROCOR) exist.
In December 2007, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided at its winter session 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.{{ref|1}}
*[[Russian Orthodox Mission in China]]
*[[Holy Martyrs of China]]
*[[Timeline of Orthodoxy in China]]
*[[Orthodoxy in Taiwan]]
==Further Reading==
* Baker, Dr. Kevin Baker. [http://www.mellenpress.com/mellenpress.cfm?bookid=6574&pc=9 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)* (Christensen), Hieromonk Damascene, Lou Shibai, You-Shan Tang. [http://books.google.com/books?id=3QV5AAAAMAAJ&pgis=1 Christ the Eternal Tao]. Valaam Books, Platina, California, 1999. 554 pp. (ISBN 0938635859; PagesISBN 9780938635857)* Doubrovskaia, Dina V. ''[http: 288//books.google.ca/books?id=vEZI_ULqp7EC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=%22Sophia%22+AND+%22Nikolskii+church%22&source=bl&ots=psj3iv2BZA&sig=RPrM4cmayYM7JPJPckaSbXiXYxE&hl=en&ei=lMXzSaTGFI-eMp3Hka4P&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA163,M1 The Russian Orthodox Church in China]''. In: Stephen Uhalley and Xiaoxin Wu, '''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=vEZI_ULqp7EC China and Christianity: Burdened Past, Hopeful Future]'''. M.E. Sharpe, 2001. 499 pp. (pp.163-176). (ISBN 0765606615; ISBN 9780765606617) * Sui, Zhang (张绥) (1943- ). [http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an15614849 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. :''(In Chinese; Available through the National Library of Australia, [http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an15614849 here].)''* (Velimirović), St. Nikolaj (Свети Владика Николаj Велимирович). [http://orthodox.cn/saints/nikolaivelimirovich/1934-38littlemissionary_en.htm The Chinese Martyrs] (Китаjски Мученици). Little Missionary (Мали Мисионар), 1934-1938. pp 33-40.:''(In original Serbian [http://orthodox.cn/saints/nikolaivelimirovich/1934-38littlemissionary_sr.htm here].)''* Widmer, Eric. [http://books.google.ca/books?id=3ZjnRS1g6zkC The Russian ecclesiastical mission in Peking during the eighteenth century]. Harvard Univ Asia Center, 1976. 262 pp. (ISBN 0674781295; ISBN 9780674781290)
==External links==
