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'{{Infobox church | name = Gospel Church, Mianyang | other name = Fucheng Christian Church | native_name = 福音堂 | native_name_lang = zh-hant | image = | imagesize = | landscape = | caption = | location = 46 Jiefang Street, [[Fucheng District]], [[Mianyang]], [[Sichuan]] | country = [[China]] | coordinates = | denomination = [[Protestantism in China|Protestant]] | previous denomination = [[Church of England]] {{small|(1895–1912)}}<br>[[Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui|Anglican Church in China]] {{small|(1912–1950s)}} | membership = | attendance = | website = | former name = | bull date = | founded date = 1895 | founder = | dedication = | dedicated date = | consecrated date = | cult = | relics = | events = | past bishop = [[William Cassels]] | people = | status = [[Church (building)|Church]] | functional status = Active | heritage designation = | designated date = | architect = | architectural type = | style = [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]]<br>{{small|prev. [[siheyuan]]}} | groundbreaking = | completed date = }} The '''Gospel Church''' ({{lang-zh|t=福音堂|s=福音堂|w=Fu2-yin1 tʽang2|p=Fúyīn táng}}), commonly referred to as the '''Fucheng Christian Church''' ({{lang-zh|t=涪城區基督教堂|s=涪城区基督教堂|first=t|w=Fu2-chʽêng2-chʽü1 Chi1-tu1 chiao4-tʽang2|p=Fúchéngqū Jīdū jiàotáng|l=Fucheng District Christian Church}}), is a [[Protestantism in China|Protestant]] church situated on Jiefang Street in [[Fucheng District]], [[Mianyang]]. It was first built in 1895 and was originally an [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] church belonging to the [[Church of England]] (after 1912 forming part of the [[Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui|Anglican-Episcopal Province of China]]). After the communist takeover of China in 1949, [[Christianity in China|Christian Churches in China]] were forced to sever their ties with respective overseas Churches, which has thus led to the merging of Gospel Church into the communist-established [[Three-Self Patriotic Movement|Three-Self Patriotic Church]].<ref name="GT">{{cite web |url=https://gospeltimes.cn/portal/article/index/id/37592 |title=做光做盐 服务社会——记绵阳涪城区基督教堂 |trans-title=Be Light and Salt to Serve in the Society: An Introduction to the Fucheng District Christian Church in Mianyang |last=Ma |first=Jin |date=28 October 2016 |website=gospeltimes.cn |language=zh |access-date=24 April 2021}}</ref> == History == [[Protestantism]] was first introduced to Mianyang (then known as Mienchow [Mianzhou]) by the [[Church of England]] missionaries around 1894.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ampltd.co.uk/digital_guides/church_missionary_society_archive_general/editorial%20introduction%20by%20rosemary%20keen.aspx |title=Church Missionary Society—General Introduction and Guide to the Archive: Western China |last=Keen |first=Rosemary |date=<!--Not stated--> |website=[[Adam Matthew Digital|ampltd.co.uk]] |access-date=13 May 2021 |quote=The Western China mission began in 1891 when J H Horsburgh led a pioneer party to Chungking in the province of Szechwan. By 1894 work had started in Mienchow, Chungpa, Anhsien, Mienchu and Sintu.}}</ref> In 1895, a church was built on Tongsheng Street (today's Jiefang Street), whilst establishing the [[Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui#Dioceses|Hua Hsi Diocese]].<ref name="GT" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://methodistchineseministry.blogspot.com/2009/11/20096.html |title=2009陝西四川訪宣(9)綿陽市 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=11 November 2009 |website=methodistchineseministry.blogspot.com |publisher=[[Sabah Methodist Church]] |language=zh |access-date=17 May 2021}}</ref> During the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republican Era]] (1912–1949), Tongsheng Street ({{lang|zh-hant|通聖街}}, literally 'Street of All Saints'), as its name suggests, that brought together three religious buildings: the [[Confucianism|Confucian]] Temple dedicated to [[Confucius]], the Wenchang Palace for the [[Taoism|Taoist]] deity [[Wenchang Wang]], and the Anglican Church of [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://xw.qq.com/HMY/20160830006616/HMY2016083000661600 |title=小小街道名 沉淀绵阳历史印迹 |trans-title=The Names of the Small Streets: A Historical Imprint of Mianyang |last=An |first=Dafu |date=30 August 2016 |website=xw.qq.com |language=zh |access-date=24 April 2021}}</ref> The original church is built in the historical [[Siheyuan|Chinese courtyard house]] style, covering an area of 2800 square metres. The missionaries also established the Yoh Teh School in nearby Huangjiaxiang (Huangjia Alley), Hua Ying Middle School in Nanshan subdistrict, as well as Yung Shêng Sweet Factory, a dairy factory, a nursery, et cetera. In 1954, the communist government established the 'self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation' [[Three-Self Patriotic Movement|Three-Self Patriotic Church]], various Christian denominations in China would eventually sever their ties with overseas Churches. Under this policy, the then pastor Tiexia Zheng led his congregation to establish the 'Mianyang Christian Three-Self Reform Movement Committee', and since then the church embarked on the 'three-self road'.<ref name="GT" /> After the 1990s, as the number of believers has increased, the church was rebuilt on original site, on the occasion of its centenary. The new church is a two-storey building covering an area of 1200 square metres, which is built in the fusion of [[Gothic Revival architecture|neo-Gothic]] and [[Minimalism|Minimalist]] architectural styles, with a slightly [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] flavour. As of 2016, the congregation consists of three pastors, twenty-six volunteer preachers, and about eight thousand baptised Christians, as well as thirty meeting points.<ref name="GT" /> == See also == * [[Christianity in Sichuan]] * [[Church Missionary Society in China]] * [[Gospel Church, Kangding]] * [[Gospel Church, Mianzhu]] * [[St John's Church, Chengdu]] * [[St John's Cathedral, Langzhong]] == References == {{Reflist}} {{coord missing|Sichuan}} [[Category:19th-century Anglican church buildings]] [[Category:19th-century churches in China]] [[Category:Churches completed in the 1890s]] [[Category:Churches completed in the 1990s]] [[Category:Anglican church buildings in China]] [[Category:Protestant churches in China]] [[Category:Former Anglican churches]] [[Category:Former Church of England church buildings]] [[Category:Rebuilt churches]] [[Category:Gothic Revival architecture in China]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Sichuan]] [[Category:Mianyang]]'