Diocese of Western China
Diocese of Szechwan
(Diocese of East Szechwan;
Diocese of West Szechwan)

聖公會華西教區
聖公會四川教區
(聖公會東川教區;
聖公會西川教區)
The diocesan cathedral, circa 1914
Coat of arms of the Diocese of Western ChinaDiocese of Szechwan(Diocese of East Szechwan;Diocese of West Szechwan)
Diocesan seal
Location
CountryQing and Republican China
TerritorySzechwan
Ecclesiastical provinceChurch in China
HeadquartersPaoning
Information
DenominationAnglican
RiteAnglican Rite
Established1895
Dissolvedc. 1958
CathedralSt John's Cathedral, Paoning (Western China & East Szechwan)
St John's Cathedral, Chengtu (West Szechwan)
LanguageEnglish, Szechwanese
Parent churchChurch of England

The Diocese of Western China (Chinese: 聖公會華西教區; Wade–Giles: Shêng Kung Hui Hua Hsi Chiao Chʽü; lit. 'Anglican Diocese of Western China'), also known as Diocese of Szechwan (Chinese: 聖公會四川教區; Wade–Giles: Shêng Kung Hui Ssu Chʽuan Chiao Chʽü; lit. 'Anglican Diocese of Szechwan') or Hua Hsi Diocese (華西教區), was an Anglican diocese in late-Qing-dynasty and Republican China, established in 1895,[1] under the supervision of the Church of England. It had belonged to the Church in China since its outset, and had been part of the Chinese Anglican Church since 1912. In 1936, it was divided into the Diocese of East Szechwan (聖公會東川教區) and Diocese of West Szechwan (聖公會西川教區).[2]

History

Location of Szechwan within China, map in W. W. Cassels: First Bishop in Western China, by Marshall Broomhall.

The Cambridge Seven, who were missionaries to China through the China Inland Mission (CIM), arrived in Shanghai in 1885. Four of them —William Cassels, Arthur T. Polhill-Turner, Cecil H. Polhill-Turner, and Montagu Proctor-Beauchamp— were sent up by the CIM into the Western Province of Szechwan, where they established a proper Church of England diocese.[3] Arthur's elder brother, Cecil, felt drawn towards the people of Tibet, went to Tatsienlu, a Khams Tibetan city located in western Szechwan, and he had laboured on the Sino and Indo-Tibetan borders since then.[4][5]

At the close of 1891, Rev. James Heywood Horsburgh of the Church Missionary Society (CMS), along with his wife Mrs Horsburgh, Rev. O. M. Jackson, three laymen, and six single women missionaries, entered Szechwan as the first band of CMS missionaries to take up work in that province.[6] By 1894, CMS work had started in Mienchow, Chungpa, Anhsien, Mienchu and Sintu, all of which are in the west of the region.[1] Meanwhile the CIM workers, based in Paoning, were also breaking ground in East Szechwan.

The Bulletin of the Diocese of Western China (No. 121) published in July 1934.

In 1895, steps were taken for the formation of a new diocese, due to the fact that the Church was represented by two Societies on the field. Cassels was eventually consecrated Bishop of Western China on 18 October 1895, in Westminster Abbey. As aforementioned, the CMS worked the western portion, the CIM the eastern portion. But after Cassels's consecration, the work was being more and more co-ordinated under his guidance.[6]

The diocesan newsletter, The Bulletin of the Diocese of Western China, was founded in 1904. It was renamed several times during its 54-year run, with the last print published in 1958.[7]

A Chinese translation of the Book of Common Prayer was published in 1932, revised and authorized for use in the Diocese of Szechwan.[8]

The Diocese was split into Dioceses of East Szechwan and West Szechwan in 1936.[2]

Bishops and assistant bishops

William Cassels, the first Bishop of Western China.
Seal of the Diocese of Western China, as seen on the memorial of John Holden at Truro Cathedral.

Western China

Assistant bishops

  • 1922–1926: Howard Mowll
  • 1929–1936: Ku Ho-lin
  • 1929–1936: Song Cheng-tsi

East Szechwan

Assistant bishops

  • 1936–1947: Ku Ho-lin

West Szechwan

  • 1936–1937: John Holden
  • 1937–1950: Song Cheng-tsi

Assistant bishops

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Keen, Rosemary. "Church Missionary Society Archive—Section I: East Asia Missions: Western China". ampltd.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 Wickeri, Philip L., ed. (2015). Christian Encounters with Chinese Culture: Essays on Anglican and Episcopal History in China (PDF). Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. p. 211. ISBN 9789888208388. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-09-18. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  3. ↑ Austin, Alvyn (1996). "Missions Dream Team". Christian History. Worcester, PA: Christian History Institute. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  4. ↑ Usher, John M. (ed.). "About Cecil Polhill". pconline.org.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "Papers of Cecil and Arthur Polhill". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  6. 1 2 Norris, Frank L. (1908). "Chapter X. The Church in Western China". Handbooks of English Church Expansion: China. Oxford: A. R. Mowbray.
  7. ↑ Tiedemann, R. G. (1 July 2016). Reference Guide to Christian Missionary Societies in China: From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Century. Milton Park: Routledge. ISBN 9781315497310.
  8. ↑ Cranmer, Thomas, ed. (1932). 公禱書 [Book of Common Prayer] (PDF) (in Traditional Chinese). Paoning: Diocese of Szechwan.
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