| St. John's Church, Suzhou | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
苏州圣约翰堂 | |||||||
 St. John's Church, Suzhou in 2015 | |||||||
  St. John's Church, Suzhou Location in Jiangsu | |||||||
| 31°18′19″N 120°38′04″E / 31.30528°N 120.63444°E | |||||||
| Location | Gusu District, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China | ||||||
| Denomination | Protestantism | ||||||
| History | |||||||
| Status | Parish church | ||||||
| Founded | 1881 | ||||||
| Founder(s) | Alvin Pierson Parker | ||||||
| Architecture | |||||||
| Functional status | Active | ||||||
| Architect(s) | John M. Moore | ||||||
| Architectural type | Church building | ||||||
| Completed | 1915 (reconstruction) | ||||||
| Specifications | |||||||
| Floor area | 1,855-square-metre (19,970 sq ft) | ||||||
| Materials | Granite | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 蘇州圣约翰堂 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 蘇州聖約翰堂 | ||||||
| |||||||
St. John's Church, Suzhou (Chinese: 苏州圣约翰堂) is a Protestant church located in Gusu District, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.[1]
History
St. John's Church traces its origins to the former East Soochow Methodist Church, founded in 1881 by American missionary Alvin Pierson Parker, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.[1]
At the beginning of the 20th century, the number of Christians in Suzhou increased.[1] In 1915, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South demolished the church and built a new western style church with a construction area of 1,855-square-metre (19,970 sq ft) and 800 seats, designing by John M. Moore.[1] And it was renamed the St. John's Church in memory of the St. John's Church in St. Louis, Missouri, United States for its financial support.[1] Chong-tan Lee, grandfather of Tsung-Dao Lee, served as its first chief pastor.[1]
In 1959, the church was rented by the Suzhou First People's Hospital and returned to the Church in 1995.[1] It was refurbished and redecorated from October 1996 to March 1998.[1] The church was officially reopened to the public in November 2005 with the approval of the Chinese government.[1]
Gallery
References
Further reading
- Weihong, Luo (1 May 2014). 中国基督教（新教）史 [History of Protestantism in China] (in Chinese). Shanghai: Shanghai People's Publishing House. ISBN 9787208121324.