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Three-Self Patriotic Movement
The Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM; Chinese: 三自爱国运动; pinyin: Sānzì Àiguó Yùndòng) is the official government supervisory organ for Protestantism in the People's Republic of China. It is colloquially known as the Three-Self Church (Chinese: 三自教会; pinyin: Sānzì Jiàohuì).
The National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China (Chinese: 中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会; pinyin: Zhōngguó Jīdūjiào Sānzì Àiguó Yùndòng Wěiyuánhuì) and the China Christian Council (CCC) are known in China as the lianghui (two organizations). Together, they form the state-sanctioned Protestant church in mainland China. They are overseen by the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) following the State Administration for Religious Affairs' absorption into the UFWD in 2018.
The three principles of self-governance, self-support (i.e., financial independence from foreigners), and self-propagation (i.e., indigenous missionary work) were first articulated by Henry Venn, General Secretary of the Church Missionary Society from 1841 to 1873, and Rufus Anderson, foreign secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. The "Nevius Method", named for John Livingstone Nevius, a missionary to China and Korea, developed the three-self principle of Venn and Anderson into a plan establishing indigenous churches.
By 1877 three-self principles were much discussed among missionaries to China. The principles were drafted formally during an 1892 conference in Shanghai of Christian missions reflecting an almost universal agreement that the future of the Chinese church depended on the indigenization of the leadership, and the finding of sufficiently Chinese modes of worship.
At the time of the founding of the PRC, Chinese Protestants were a diverse group, including indigenous Protestant groups and liberal Protestants who were critical of the work of foreign missionaries. Substantial portions of China's Protestant communities favored cooperation with the PRC.
In May 1950, Y. T. Wu and other prominent Protestant leaders such as T. C. Chao, Chen Chonggui, and Cora Deng met in Beijing with Chinese premier Zhou Enlai to discuss Protestant Christianity's relationship with the young People's Republic of China. "The Christian Manifesto" was published in July 1950 and its original title was "Direction of Endeavor for Chinese Christianity in the Construction of New China". During the 1950s, 400,000 Protestant Christians publicly endorsed and signed this document.
The purpose of publishing this document was:
to heighten our vigilance against imperialism, to make known the clear political stand of Christians in New China, to hasten the building of a Chinese church whose affairs are managed by the Chinese themselves, and to indicate the responsibilities that should be taken up by Christians throughout the whole country in national reconstruction in New China.
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Three-Self Patriotic Movement
The Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM; Chinese: 三自爱国运动; pinyin: Sānzì Àiguó Yùndòng) is the official government supervisory organ for Protestantism in the People's Republic of China. It is colloquially known as the Three-Self Church (Chinese: 三自教会; pinyin: Sānzì Jiàohuì).
The National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China (Chinese: 中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会; pinyin: Zhōngguó Jīdūjiào Sānzì Àiguó Yùndòng Wěiyuánhuì) and the China Christian Council (CCC) are known in China as the lianghui (two organizations). Together, they form the state-sanctioned Protestant church in mainland China. They are overseen by the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) following the State Administration for Religious Affairs' absorption into the UFWD in 2018.
The three principles of self-governance, self-support (i.e., financial independence from foreigners), and self-propagation (i.e., indigenous missionary work) were first articulated by Henry Venn, General Secretary of the Church Missionary Society from 1841 to 1873, and Rufus Anderson, foreign secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. The "Nevius Method", named for John Livingstone Nevius, a missionary to China and Korea, developed the three-self principle of Venn and Anderson into a plan establishing indigenous churches.
By 1877 three-self principles were much discussed among missionaries to China. The principles were drafted formally during an 1892 conference in Shanghai of Christian missions reflecting an almost universal agreement that the future of the Chinese church depended on the indigenization of the leadership, and the finding of sufficiently Chinese modes of worship.
At the time of the founding of the PRC, Chinese Protestants were a diverse group, including indigenous Protestant groups and liberal Protestants who were critical of the work of foreign missionaries. Substantial portions of China's Protestant communities favored cooperation with the PRC.
In May 1950, Y. T. Wu and other prominent Protestant leaders such as T. C. Chao, Chen Chonggui, and Cora Deng met in Beijing with Chinese premier Zhou Enlai to discuss Protestant Christianity's relationship with the young People's Republic of China. "The Christian Manifesto" was published in July 1950 and its original title was "Direction of Endeavor for Chinese Christianity in the Construction of New China". During the 1950s, 400,000 Protestant Christians publicly endorsed and signed this document.
The purpose of publishing this document was:
to heighten our vigilance against imperialism, to make known the clear political stand of Christians in New China, to hasten the building of a Chinese church whose affairs are managed by the Chinese themselves, and to indicate the responsibilities that should be taken up by Christians throughout the whole country in national reconstruction in New China.