8,921
edits
Changes
m
→Revival of the Church (1984-Present): 2007
*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 (''according to the External Church Relations Department of the Moscow Patriarchate''), with an estimated 400 residing in the capital Beijing, but they are not recognized as an official religious community;<ref>AsiaNews.it [http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=6625 Russian Orthodox church to be set up in Beijing shortly]. ''AsiaNews.it'', July 06, 2006.</ref> 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'' ([http://www.orthodox.cn/ofasc/index_en.html 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 [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] decided to open a department concerned with the [[Church of China|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 [http://www.orthodox.cn/contemporary/shanghai/cathedral_en.htm Shanghai Cathedral] to prepare it as a historical museum; death of Protopresbyter [[Elias Wen]]; Patr. [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Aleksei 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<ref>AsiaNews.it [http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=8981 Aleksej II criticises China, Taiwan accepts to open a church]. ''AsiaNews.it'', April 12, 2007.</ref>; Metr. [[Nikitas (Lulias) of Dardanellia]] called on the government of Beijing to recognise Orthodoxy among the country’s official religions and expressed [http://kkp.catholic.org.hk/lo/lo3307/lo3307_04.htm concern about the plight of Christians in Asia].
*2008 Fr. [http://www.orthodox.cn/contemporary/shanghai/frmichaelwang_en.htm Mikhail Wang Quansheng] and Protodeacon [http://www.orthodox.cn/contemporary/shanghai/frdnevangellu_en.htm Evangelos Lu Yaofu], 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 II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei of Moscow]]; Metr. [[Nektarios (Tsilis) of Hong Kong|Nektarios (Tsilis)]] becomes new Orthodox Bishop of Diocese of Hong Kong; Holy Synod of the [[Church of Ukraine|Ukrainian Orthodox Church]] glorifies Archimandrite [[Gury (Karpov)]].
*2009 Archpriest [[Georges Florovsky|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. [[Kyrill I (Gundyayev) of Moscow|Kirill]] met with Ye Xiaowen, China’s Religious Affairs minister, in trying to breathe new life into China’s Orthodox Church.<ref>AsiaNews.it [http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=14464&size=A Patriarch Kirill meets Ye Xiaowen, China’s Religious Affairs minister]. ''AsiaNewst.it'', February 12. 2009.</ref>
