Gospel Church’s original appearance before the cross was torn down
A Three-Self church in a village of Henan’s Shangqiu city was turned into a place for workshops after it has been sealed off and its cross has been torn down.
On August 25, 2018, authorities sealed off the Three-Self Gospel Church that belongs to the government-controlled Protestant Patriotic Movement in Chenlou village because they have decided to use the premises as a “poverty assistance workshop.” On the same day, authorities ordered that the tables, benches, and other facilities in the church be taken away.
The next day, a demolition crew of about a dozen individuals was assembled to tear down the cross on the Gospel Church and destroy the church’s exterior architecture. Some villagers admonished them for the forced demolition, to which an official responded: “If people want to believe in something, it should be Mao Zedong or Xi Jinping.” He also revealed that the authorities were planning to demolish 15 more churches in the area.
According to reports in the Ming Pao newspaper from Hong Kong, in Henan alone, 4,000 crosses have been torn down to date.
Reported by Jiang Tao
Video 1: The Gospel Church’s cross has been torn down, and the exterior architecture of the church has been destroyed
Cross dismantled
The words “faith, hope, love” on the wall of the church have been covered up
Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.
