A seminar was carried out by CCC&TSPM to explore the relationship between Tsu Chen Chao’s theological thought and the sinicization of Christianity in Huzhou, Zhejiang.
More than 100 Christian leaders, scholars, seminary teachers, and officials attended the conference on May 7-9 in Xinshi ancient town, Deqing County, which was Tsu Chen Chao (a Protestant theologian, more known as T.C. Chao)'s hometown, said CCC&TSPM.
At the opening ceremony, Rev. Wu Wei, president of the China Christian Council (CCC), stated that Mr. Chao, recognized as a Christian theologian from China, was a pioneer in promoting the indigenization and contextualization of Christianity in China and also a Christian patriot. He highlighted that to develop Christianity in the Chinese context in a deep and detailed way, this seminar was an initiative to implement the task of "Outline of the Five-Year Work Plan for Further Advancing the Sinicization of Christianity (2023-2027)," which is collecting, collating, and studying the thoughts and practices of predecessors of the Chinese churches on the sinicization of Christianity.
As one of the leading Protestant theologians, Chao (1888–1979) served as the dean of the Faculty of Arts at Soochow University and dean of the School of Religion at Yanjing University.
After the opening ceremony, participants visited T.C. Chao Memorial Hall, featuring the sinicization of Christianity, for inspection and discussions.
The seminar consisted of three sessions, with 13 papers presented (14 written papers). They covered both macroscopic explanations of Chao’s sinicized theological thoughts and microscopic explorations of how Chao guided Christians’ lives and practices with his sinicized thoughts.
Rev. Xu Xiaohong, chairman of the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China (National TSPM), said in his concluding remarks that Chao’s theological thought provided profound inspiration for people as he was forward-looking with original and contemporary ideas. He emphasized that this seminar was the "first step in the theoretical exploration to promote Christianity in the Chinese context in a deep and detailed way in 2024" because the foundation of the sinicization of Christianity was to construct a theological system with Chinese church characteristics.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
