• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • ABOUT CHINA
    • NEWS
    • TESTIMONIES
    • OP-EDS
    • FEATURED
    • GLOSSARY
    • CHINA PERSECUTION MAP
  • FROM THE WORLD
    • NEWS
    • OP-EDS
    • FEATURED
    • TESTIMONIES
  • INTERVIEWS
  • DOCUMENTS AND TRANSLATIONS
    • DOCUMENTS
    • THE TAI JI MEN CASE
    • TRANSLATIONS
  • EVENTS
  • ABOUT
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • TOPICS

Bitter Winter

A magazine on religious liberty and human rights

three friends of winter
Home / China / News China

Sola Fide Golden Lampstand Church Leaders Arrested Again in Shanxi

08/09/2021Dong Quiyue |

They were jailed in 2009 and their church was dynamited in 2018. Their persecution continues.

by Dong Quiyue

The destruction of Golden Lampstand Church, from a video by church members.
The destruction of Golden Lampstand Church, from a video by church members.

Faithful readers of Bitter Winter may remember that we reported in 2018 on the persecution of the Golden Lampstand Church, a house church in Shanxi’s Linfen city. The congregation is part of a network with more than 50,000 members, and the church had costed nearly 2.6 million USD to build.

The Golden Lampstand Church is part of the so-called Sola Fide house churches. These churches do not constitute a denomination, but a loosely connected network without uniform management, which refuses to join the Three-Self Church claiming the latter has rejected and betrayed Martin Luther’s key doctrine of justification “by faith only” (sola fide in Latin).

The Golden Lampstand Church and its members have faced constant persecution by the authorities for decades. In 2009, pastors and co-workers received prison sentences.

Golden Lampstand Church before destruction, from a video by church members.
Golden Lampstand Church before destruction, from a video by church members.

After 2018, even without its beautiful place of worship, the congregation has continued to meet outdoor or in private homes. And the CCP has continued to persecute its members.

On August 7, 2021, nine Golden Lamp Church leaders and members were arrested in a well-prepared and coordinated Public Security operation, including Pastor Wang Xiaoguang and Evangelist Yang Rongli. Both of them had already been arrested in 2009.

Christians associated with other churches in the Golden Lampstand network were also taken to police offices for interrogation. Reportedly, this is part of a larger crackdown on house churches in Shanxi province.

Tagged With: House Churches, Sola Fide

bw-profile
Dong Quiyue

Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.

Related articles

  • House Churches Are Pushed to the Brink of Extinction

    House Churches Are Pushed to the Brink of Extinction

  • Landlords Punished for Renting to House Churches

    Landlords Punished for Renting to House Churches

  • USCIRF, China Aid Release Yearly Reports on Religious Liberty

    USCIRF, China Aid Release Yearly Reports on Religious Liberty

  • Taiyuan Reformed Church Under Police Attack

    Taiyuan Reformed Church Under Police Attack

Keep Reading

  • House Churches Suppressed Across China
    House Churches Suppressed Across China

    Numerous venues were shut down, believers arrested and dispersed in August across Henan, Guizhou, and Fujian provinces.

  • Zhao Weikai: Russian-Style Jail Sentence for “Extremism”
    Zhao Weikai: Russian-Style Jail Sentence for “Extremism”

    Inspired by Putin’s crackdown on “illegal” religion, Chinese authorities now claim that pastors they do not like are guilty of “extremism.”

  • Numerous Protestant Venues Shut Down Across China
    Numerous Protestant Venues Shut Down Across China

    Local authorities raid and close places of worship using various pretexts, from poverty alleviation to epidemic prevention.

  • House Churches Closed as ‘Illegal Venues,’ Believers Punished
    House Churches Closed as ‘Illegal Venues,’ Believers Punished

    The CCP eradicates unregistered Protestant venues, harassing and arresting believers, imposing hefty fines on them.

Primary Sidebar

Support Bitter Winter

Learn More

Follow us

Newsletter

Most Read

  • Pro-Chinese Propaganda by The World Muslim Communities Council: Uyghurs Strike Back by Gulfiye Y
  • Zhanargul Zhumatai: “Help Me, I Just Want to Leave China” by Ruth Ingram
  • L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the Visual Arts. 1. The Aesthetic Mind by Massimo Introvigne
  • Stricter Rules on Private Tutoring Protect Ideology Rather than Parents by Wang Zhipeng
  • Japan Religious Donations Law. 4. The Return of Brainwashing by Massimo Introvigne
  • Hong Kong: Christian Scholar Peng Manyuan Released but Not Rehabilitated by Gladys Kwok
  • The Weaponization of the CCP’s “Zero COVID” Against Tibet by Marco Respinti
  • L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the Visual Arts. 3. Art as Communication by Massimo Introvigne
  • L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the Visual Arts. 4. Art and Illustration by Massimo Introvigne
  • L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the Visual Arts. 5. Professionals vs. Amateurs by Massimo Introvigne

CHINA PERSECUTION MAP -SEARCH NEWS BY REGION

clickable geographical map of china, with regions

Footer

Instant Exclusive News
Instant Exclusive News

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief

MASSIMO INTROVIGNE

Director-in-Charge

MARCO RESPINTI

ADDRESS

CESNUR

Via Confienza 19,

10121 Turin, Italy,

Phone: 39-011-541950

E-MAIL

We welcome submission of unpublished contributions, news, and photographs. Each submission implies the authorization for us to edit and publish texts and photographs. We reserve the right to decide which submissions are suitable for publication. Please, write to INFO@BITTERWINTER.ORG Thank you.

Newsletter

Follow us

LINKS

orlir-logo hrwf-logo cesnur-logo

Copyright © 2023 · Bitter Winter · PRIVACY POLICY· COOKIE POLICY