AP reports that government officials forcefully shut down an outdoor Christmas party organised by Christians in Xitan village (溪坦村) in Zhejiang province. Xitan bills itself as a "Christmas village", and it comes under the jurisdiction of Ruian city which is home to many underground churches and manufactures some 500 million yuan in Christmas products each year. more ›

China is not just building roads, railways, bridges and stadiums on the African continent. It's also building its churches. Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Pentecostal -- China's building them all at a price that the Africans can swallow. From the Ecumenical News International:

“We have worked with them before and we have had a very good experience with them,” the Rev. Anthony Mwituria, who oversees constructions in the archdiocese, said in an interview. “We issued a tender and they came with the best deal.” Church officials say the companies are reliable, quick and efficient. more ›

News of the recent crackdown on the Shouwang Church, one of the largest house churches in Beijing, has sent shockwaves across the fellowship of house churches in China, with many pastors now urging their flocks to stand alongside Shouwang in prayer and support. more ›

ChinaHopeLive points us to a couple of links that indicate an unprecedented level of reporting among Chinese media on underground churches in China: more ›

On May 9, Shanghai's Russian community gathered in the St Nicholas Church on 16 Gaolan Road, for a special Victory Day service. Built in 1934, the Orthodox church was once used as a washing machine factory and later hosted a French restaurant, Ashanti Dome, on the upper floor, and a Spanish tapas bar on the ground floor called Boca. During the Cultural Revolution which sought to destroy the ‘four olds’ (old customs, old habits, old culture and old thinking), public worship was prohibited but quick-thinking believers of various religions posted images of Mao over their places of worship to prevent overzealous Red Guards from bursting in to destroy the buildings. The St Nicholas Church was one of such buildings -- and the image of Mao kept watch over the building until it was taken down in the early 2000s. According to zinka who shared these pictures with us, the Russian community rented the church for this special event (note the worshippers standing under the disco ball), and it still remains unclear if and when the building will be converted back into a church. more ›

ChinaAid reports:

SHANDONG--In February of this year, the Huaiyin District Office for Ethnic and Religious Affairs of Jinan Municipality officially ordered the abolition of the Jinan Seventh-Day Adventist Church, forcing the church's landlord to terminate the rental agreement on the church's gathering site. This latest intrusion and government action against the 7th Day Adventist congregation on February 27 forced the 39-year-old church change locations again, a persistent struggle throughout the church's history. Some members of the congregation refuse to leave continue to gather at the site.

Last week on January 7, believers in the Eastern Orthodox faith in Yining, Xinjiang were given permission to celebrate the Nativity Feast (ie., the Christmas of the Orthodox calendar) in the St Nicholas Church of Ghulja with priests specially flown in from Kazakhstan for the occasion. Destroyed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the church was rebuilt by the local government in 2000 in a different location (no doubt a far cry from its former glory). This was the first public service conducted in the church since the building was consecrated in March 2003. While China has its own state-approved churches for Protestants and Catholics, the Orthodox faith is not officially recognised by the government here, even though Orthodox believers are now given more freedom than before to practise their faith. The Orthodox church officially recognises 222 Albazinians (one of several groups of Chinese people of Russian descent) who died during the Boxer Rebellion as "Holy Martyrs of China" (not to be confused with the 120 "Martyr Saints of China" canonised by the Catholic Church). The official website of the Orthodox Fellowship of All Saints of China has collated some interesting accounts of the Holy Martyrs here. more ›

This PBS documentary on the underground church movement produced by the Chicago Tribune's Beijing Bureau chief Evan Osnos can now be watched online here, and it is as we said it would be — groundbreaking. more ›

Right: France24 says Ningxia is China's halal food capital, exporting some US$100 million worth of halal products last year. The impoverished province is home to some 10% of Chinese Muslims and is getting its act together to tap into the world's steadily growing halal market. more ›