Christians forced to quit 'eyesore' church in China

Photo / Thinkstock

One thousand Christians have been forced from their place of worship in a city in eastern China after Communist Party officials decided their 10-storey mega-church was an eyesore that needed to be destroyed.

A wave of church demolitions in Zhejiang province has raised fears that Beijing is reining in China's rapidly growing Christian community, which some leaders believe could pose a political threat.

Members of the Xiaying Holy Love congregation in Ningbo, a port city about 225 kilometres south of Shanghai, say local officials ordered them to vacate their church last month after a visiting politician was appalled by the size of the cross on its roof. Their last service was held on May 11 and in recent days Christians have removed church property from the building including air conditioning units, tables, chairs, sound equipment and even the altar. Sunday services are being held in the canteen of a local school.

At an emotional final service, church leaders told hundreds of congregants of the government's decision to force them from the building, which opened last September and cost around 25 million yuan to build.

The Daily Telegraph was refused access to the church yesterday by a man who refused to identify himself and demanded a photographer stop taking pictures of the building.

"The demolition work has already started," said one local, who asked not to be named, as workers in hard hats made their way into the apparently deserted church. "I have seen churchgoers around here crying."

Members of the Holy Love congregation said their troubles began earlier this year when officials from the Communist Party's religious affairs bureau told them their place of worship was "disturbingly eye-catching" and needed "rectifying".

Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. Photo / Thinkstock

One church member said: "They told us the cross was too shiny, too tall and too big. At first they asked us to put it on the wall. We refused. Now they have told us they will tear the church down."

At least half a dozen religious sites have been demolished in Zhejiang province already this year, among them Protestant churches and Roman Catholic statues. The most high profile casualty was Sanjiang, a Protestant mega-church in Wenzhou, 170 miles to the south of Ningbo, that was torn down in late April.

China is now thought to have up to 100 million Christians. Asked why communist officials found large churches so disagreeable, the Ningbo church member said: "This is because they are afraid that as the number of Christians increases they will come into conflict with their policies and governance." But he added: "The reality is that we are patriots."

Government officials have denied the demolitions represent an attack on Christianity and say they are merely targeting "illegal" buildings.