The Chinese Rhenish Church in Sai Ying Pun
The Story of the Chinese Rhenish Church in Hong Kong
The Chinese Rhenish Church Hong Kong Synod is a protestant church of the Lutheran denomination. Originally from the Nordrhein-Westfalen region in Germany during the early 19th century, the Rhenish church’s mission arm began in Wuppertal – Barmen, an area west of River Rhine, as a bible study group. In 1828, the Barmen Mission began its mission, and later changed its name into the Rhenish Mission. By 1829, it began sending missionaries to worldwide locations, including West Africa, South Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia and China.
Its first missionary work in China began in 1847. Rev. Dr. Karl Friedrich A. Guslaff was the first German missionary that set foot in China for long term mission. Rev. Ferdinand Genähr and Rev. Heinrich Konrad Dieter Köster joined him in Hong Kong in 1847 and began learning Chinese.
The Rhenish missionaries were particularly successful in their work in southern China as they spread the gospel in Bao’an, Tong Tau Ha, Tai Ping, Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Shunde, Namxiong, Huadu, Qingyuan and Hong Kong. They established the early churches in this period and led them until they raised up the Chinese church leaders. The Rhenish Church Hong Kong was founded in 1899.
Due to World War I, the German reverends had to leave Hong Kong. Since then, the Rhenish Mission Church Hong Kong (later became the Chinese Rhenish Church Hong Kong Synod) were administered by Chinese. The era of Chinese-led ministry took place between 1925 to 1950.
In 1929 the Chinese Rhenish Church Kowloon was founded. It became a self-governing congregation in 1933.
In 1951, the Chinese Rhenish Church Hong Kong Synod became a legal entity under Hong Kong law. Meanwhile, the Rhenish churches in the mainland came under the Three-Self Church (China’s state-sanctioned church) in 1954.
The Rhenish Church in Hong Kong had a long history of blessed developments. As of 2017, there were 19 churches and a Gospel Center in Hong Kong. Besides a continuous commitment to the spiritual lives of its congregation, the church has also established many charitable causes in education and social welfare services. There are two Rhenish secondary schools and many more Rhenish kindergartens in Hong Kong.
Architectural Features of the Chinese Rhenish Church Hong Kong
The Rhenish Mission bought two buildings on Bonham Road in 1898. The current church building on Bonham Road was completed in 1914. There was a renovation in 2008.
The Chinese Rhenish Church Hong Kong comes in a mixed Gothic and Romanesque Eclectic architecture style. Its pointed arch vaulted entrance, with its grand pointed arch door, shows a distinctive feature of Gothic architecture as it leads followers into the sanctuary. Round columns stand above in the upper part of the façade. The church bell is housed in the very steeple, which shows a minimalist pointed top. The church is minimalist in its design, and perhaps quite a bit less elaborate than the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Caine Road. Yet it is not less sacred. Against the hovering high rises in its vicinity, it stands blessed in a historic neighborhood as a living witness to Hong Kong’s Christian heritage.
The Chinese Rhenish Church Hong Kong acquired the status of a Grade 3 Historic Building in 2019.
Sources
Chinese Rhenish Church Hong Kong, cache.org.hk.
A Brief History of the Rhenish Church (Chin), rhenish.org.hk.
The Wikipedia on the Rhenish Church (Chin).
Historical Archives of the Rhenish missionary works in China during the Last Centuries 1847-2017 (2017).
About Us: History of the Chinese Rhenish Church Hong Kong Synod.