Chinese Orthodox Celebrate First Easter Service Since 1957

May 24, 2005

The Chinese community of Orthodox Christians conducted their first public Easter prayer service since 1957 in a Beijing Catholic Cathedral on May 2, report RIA Novosti and ITAR TASS. Beijing religious authorities granted permission for the prayer service (Easter matins, not the divine liturgy), which was conducted by laymen, since no Chinese Orthodox priests remain in Beijing and Chinese law forbids foreign priests from conducting religious services for Chinese citizens. The Catholic cathedral was the venue because the Chinese government has not permitted Orthodox churches in Beijing to reopen or a new church to be built.

The Chinese community of Orthodox Christians conducted their first public Easter prayer service since 1957 in a Beijing Catholic Cathedral on May 2, report RIA Novosti and ITAR TASS. Beijing religious authorities granted permission for the prayer service (Easter matins, not the divine liturgy), which was conducted by laymen, since no Chinese Orthodox priests remain in Beijing and Chinese law forbids foreign priests from conducting religious services for Chinese citizens. The Catholic cathedral was the venue because the Chinese government has not permitted Orthodox churches in Beijing to reopen or a new church to be built.

Most observers think that the prospects for Orthodoxy in China are improving. Although the central Chinese government refuses to recognize Orthodox Christianity as one of China’s five "official" religions, local governments have registered four Orthodox parishes in recent years (one each in Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia and two in Xinjiang). About 15 Chinese Orthodox students are studying in Russian seminaries. They are said to have received some official assurances that they will be permitted to minister to Chinese Orthodox upon return to China. Estimates of the number of Chinese Orthodox run as high as 15,000 nationwide, and most are of Russian or mixed Russian descent.