The Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui ("Chinese Anglican") official publication The Chinese Churchmen (圣 公会报) ceased publication after the political changes in China in 1949. On 2 January 1955 Chinese Churchmen (圣工), literally meaning “sacred work”, was launched. It appeared more or less a quarterly magazine until the end of 1957, the eve of the “Great Leap Forward” in China.

This publication is not widely known nor available in public, however. Copies still survive in the China East (Huadong) Seminary in Shanghai, and in the Shanghai Municipal Library. It offers important insight on the life and work of the Chinese Anglicans in the beginnings of the post-denominational period in Chinese Christianity.

We are grateful to Miss Li Cuixiang for compiling the index. The (unofficial) English translation is provided by Michael Poon.

Sheng Gong (圣工）Index (1955-1957)

See also CSCA Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui Source Documents.

A note from Dr Michael Nai-Chiu Poon, Director, Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia

My aim in this exploration is to understand the rise and development of the idea “Global South Anglican”.  This designation only emerged following the Red Sea Third Global South Encounter in October 2005.  The terms “global South”, “Global South”, and “Global South Primates” often appear in the popular discussion on the Communion crisis, not only between the “Global South” and its supposed antagonist The Episcopal Church, but also in conversations among Anglicans in the Southern Hemisphere.  For some, it may remain unclear what “Global South” and its cluster of related terms stand for, and which churches it represents.  Is it a movement, a power-bloc, a lobby, or an ultra-conservative group that centres on certain personalities?  The Global South Anglican website poignantly focused this concern in a posting on 26 February 2008.  The posting includes a picture of Archbishop Peter Akinola, Primate of Nigeria, and Archbishop John Chew, Primate of South East Asia in Dubai, with an accompanying editorial note. 

A response by Michael Poon to Andrew Goddard

In making this public support, I ask fellow presbyters across the Communion to join in to reaffirm the responsibilities we received at our ordination and rekindle the gift the Holy Spirit has endowed us, that we may find refreshed vision to labour for the sake of the Communion at this finest hour in our Communion’s history. We can be confident in this undertaking because our Lord Jesus Christ has sanctified us with his Word and has called us to communion with the triune God. This offers us the secure basis upon which we can engage in “serious discussion” and “common discernment” together. God’s Word sanctifies human speech, and makes truth-speaking possible. We thus believe, and so we boldly speak; and in so doing share in the divine calling to effect the sanctification of the Communion and of the wider world that God has redeemed in Christ.

...Should you not exercise a charitable restraint to create space for the global churches to work out their agenda?  John Stott’s lasting legacy is to bring about the maturing of the churches in the Southern Hemisphere, even if that means the “waning” of the Evangelical Fellowship of the Anglican Communion.  He laboured for the birth of churches, and not merely for the victory of an ecclesiastical party.  This is why he is held in high esteem by all.  The “new” in the Communion is that for the first time we live as a worldwide Communion of autonomous churches, defined by geographical boundaries, and called to work together across the geopolitical and socioeconomic realities.  We are no longer a church defined by party lines.  We seek not the victory of a party.

“Do you think the “orthodox” Anglicans on their own can carry the Communion forward without the blessing of Canterbury?  I am unsure.  Anglicans – as any other religious bodies – have a social and public identity that is informed by tradition.  Such tradition stabilizes tiny Anglican communities across the globe, and offer them tangible hope in times of deep crisis.  I think here for example of Myanmar and Sri Lanka.  It would be a sad day if Anglican churches across the Communion are presented with the choice: between a particular understanding of biblical faithfulness, and allegiance to Canterbury.  It is easy to be rebels with causes.  It is a different matter, you would agree, to bring about a new world order...”

Editorial note: Both Dr Michael Poon and Archbishop Jensen have articles featured on this site regularly. It will be in the interest of our readers and Anglican faithful that we continue some open conversations on the nature and direction that our Communion is taking. This is a critical time for our Communion and churches. If we are just fighting for biblical orthodoxy and nothing else, we might as well splinter into independent churches. Even ‘mission’ is not a good enough reason to be together - for we are working quite well across denominational boundaries. If it is both biblical orthodoxy AND the catholic order of our Church with our identity/mission as an ecclesial family, then it calls for careful, deeper reflection, longterm vision and clarity in our strategy - that the 2003 crisis and our subsequent responses may not tear the fabric of our Communion even further. 

The Global South represents a broad spectrum of Anglican churches that hold onto the historic faith and ecclesiology informed by the historic formularies. It does not answer to the dictates of the radical evangelical wings within the Communion. It is regrettable that Asia, West Indies, and Middle East are glaring omissions among the “conveners” of the proposed Conference.

1. Making Promises: the Proposed Anglican Covenant in the life of Communion - Ephraim Radner evaluates the Proposed Covenant
Ed: this started the discussion and debate.

2. A Very Godly Order: A Response to Ephraim’s evaluation by Michael Poon

3. Uncovering the light: the Proposed Covenant our Anglican Heritage. A response to Dr. Poon

4. The trivial round, the common task: Sober Notes to Dr Radner

5. 3 questions to your clarification - Ephraim responds to Poon

It is the faith expressed in a common order that binds us all in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic ecclesial community. Decisions on the ecclesiastical order are best left to Primates and bishops.  Their provisions are necessary; but they are at best like the gracious provision of fig leaves that hide our shame for those who live in the East of Eden. Deeper and wider than we imagine are God’s love for the whole People of God.  To deeper wrestling with our souls and wider fellowship with all his saints he has called us, that we may together enter his rest.  The surprisingly unpolemical draft from the Global South is a concrete gesture for restoring trust.

The present does not merely call for a refreshed study of the methods of interpreting scripture...To obey Christ today, Global South churches need to submit themselves to the Scripture in a more radical manner. ... The crisis is not out there in the West, but at the home front. The challenge before the churches is in translating their formal confession of the authority of the Scripture into practice: What does it mean in concrete terms for Christian communities to live under the authority of God’s Word? 

By inventing a new history rather than speaking out the truth, the Sub-group would make reconciliation more difficult. - Michael Poon

The long road to full possession lies in rediscovering the roots of our beliefs.  The makeshift artifices that the Communion devised especially in the past sixty years have to be re-examined and sometimes dismantled to allow true reciprocity to flourish in the Communion.  The discipleship that is required of us anno domini 2007 is nothing less than that in the times of the Reformation.

The following is a series of articles and comments on the Global South Anglican site linked together. The series shows interesting interaction and interlearning earlier in the year between Michael Poon and Ephraim Radner concerning the Global South Response to the General Convention of The Episcopal Church and other Communion issues…

by Michael Poon, in dialogue with Ephraim Radner on his latest article, ‘Communion’s Martyred Depth.’

...This is why I believe the Primates’ Meeting should take up a central role in the Anglican Communion.  This does not mean we give up the Roman understanding of episcopate from the fifth century. It only means the jurisdictional and administrative understandings we inherit from the Latin churches are not the only models the Scripture and historic Christianity authorize. 

Recently Bishop MacDonald kindly sent me his essay “The Gospel comes to North America”.  I am grateful for this opportunity of conversation, and for his kind permission to include his paper with this response. 

The Primates’ Meeting emerges to be the only forum at this stage where the thinking and listening processes can take place. After all, the Provinces are autonomous; therefore only the Primates have the jurisdictional authority over their respective churches. There are three urgent issues that Global South Primates can work with Canterbury to promote unity in the Communion…

To break into the real life of the people – this is the mission task of the twenty-first century. Churches in Asia, Africa and Latin America need to wake up to their calling to shoulder this responsibility. Only then could the Christian faith become a truly universal faith, and indeed a world-affirming faith. The truth of the Gospel is more evangelical than what Evangelicals have understood it; more liberating that what the Liberals have insisted on; more catholic and historic than what the Anglo-Catholics have espoused. Churches in the Global South need to work towards extending our horizons of the Christian faith.

Is the Church in China finished with the Anglican Communion? I think not. For in an ironic way, Bishop Ting would see that the Anglican Church offers insight into an important area that many Anglicans have discarded.  I refer of course to the historic form of Christianity – its creeds, traditions, ministerial orders, and sober forms of worship.  Despite the rapid numerical growth, Protestant churches in China are still not organized as one Church in China.  Indeed, as Bishop K H Ting puts it: “The Bible unites us”; and sadly there may be little other than that.  Yet churches throughout the vast nation are not

A Response to Ephraim Radner and ACI on the Anglican Communion

“The Communion needs to come to a more sober estimate of itself and submit again to the authority of the written Word of God. It is incumbent upon the Primates to set servant models for the rest of their bishops, and reform the Communion Office and Instruments accordingly.”

How can we enable one another to discern? I think America and Britain need to be more critical of the empire building attitude that is endemic to the present structures. They need to rediscover their places within a catholic Communion. The future of the Communion cannot be but multipolar: a Church with Provinces in different places in the world. This is why the Primates’ Meeting – rather than Canterbury – is more appropriate in assuming the role to be the focus of unity of the Communion. 

A response to ECUSA’s decisions at the General Convention 2006 - by Michael Poon

“What the resolutions conveyed is clear. What remains unclear and needs clarification is ECUSA’s plans in light of their decisions to walk apart –...To rephrase Williams’ words, there needs to be some careful disentangling of what ECUSA do in the Convention (which is alarming) and what they don’t say in the resolutions (which is already clear).”

Ruth Gledhill’s 10 June 2006 article on Archbishop John Chew is unfortunate.  It reveals how ordinary British, even with the best intent, misunderstand the present crisis that faces the Anglican Communion. 

Has not the Primates agreed to Lambeth 2008 as the target date?...Canterbury needs to discern the Communion agenda with the Primates. This is his duty and task in this changed time.

Noll noted that we both plead ‘the central authority of the Holy Scripture’ in ecclesial life.  I would hasten to add that the Communion world-wide, including the younger churches...are equally in danger of ‘replacing key teachings’ of the historic faith by various forms of ideology.  I shall attempt the following response in the spirit of friendly conversation across the continents…

Rowan Cantuar as servant of unity for the one, holy, catholic & apostolic Communion

Canterbury’s role is indeed pivotal to the Communion. As servant for unity, he has the grave responsibility to lead all under-shepherds of the Communion to ...

A Conversation with Ephraim Radner and Graham Kings on the State of our Communion - by Michael Poon

by Revd Dr Michael Poon