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How beatiful is this!

[img]http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg...p;y=345&sig=Lb441If3qseNYHbGDlceaA--[/img]

From Yahoo News [news.yahoo.com]

It could be a "Chinese Ice Byzantine Catholic Church"... :p

It's hard to refute you both because of the 3-bar cross atop the Ice Church! :p

Yes, it's beautiful but at same time the figure is like the growth of the Orthodox Church in China, the largest remnants of which are in this city of Harbin and slowly dwindlihg further to a hundred or so families, frozen in time!

I think they lost their last priest recently.

Amado

Yes, Amando they lost their last priest last year. I can not remember if the government allowed an Orthodox priest from Russia to come and do the funeral.

I know for a fact that several had to be buried by the community only as in Shanghai and Beijing.

Despite that, the community keeps holding reader services. Maybe God willing they will be allowed to have a priest again one day.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

Dear Fr. Anthony:

I do remember that some native Chinese seminarians are now somewhere in Russia to complete their priestly vocation.

And I think the funeral services were conducted at the local Catholic Church or Orthodox Church but by a Catholic priest of the Chinese Patriotic Association, i.e., a priest "loyal" to the Chinese government.

Amado

P.S. If I am not mistaken, the Ice Church is a replica of the facade, at least, of the actual Orthodox Church in Harbin!

Amado,

If it is true, this would be a breakthrough. The Chinese have not allowed any new Orthodox priests since the expulsion of the Russians around 1960. I know that North Korea had two seminarians of whom had been ordained to the diaconate, but was unaware of any Chinese.

I saw an article on the Orthodox Church in China not long ago. I know that the Orthodox Metropolitan of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, Nikitas has been in negotiations for the past two years to minister to these communties in the mainland, but with little results to date.

Like all churches in North Korea and China, we need to keep them in prayer. They are truly martyrs by their perseverance and faith in real life, something we all take for granted.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

I was supprised to read about the number of Marian Shrines in China
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=871

This is an awsome icon of the Chinese Martyrs
http://orthodoxchina.info/index_en.html

Orthodoxy in China
http://www.cs.ust.hk/faculty/dimitris/metro/orth_china.html

Towards rebirth in China
http://www.pravmir.com/article_65.html

Catholics in China
http://www.everyonesaquinas.org/TheCatholicsinChina2004.htm

Thank you "Grand" Pani Rose . I had seen a few of these articles but the others I had not.

Amado,
I believe you are correct about the sculpture resembling the fascade of the Orthodox Church in Harbin.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

It seems it was jsut as well the Byzantine Catholics were not allowed to evangelise among the Chinese and other peoples of China, given the difficulties the Orthodox have had.

Australia used to accept Russians and anyone affiliated with the Russian Church as migrants. The last lot I saw were from the far west of China and were a people who were mainly mixed Russian and other ethnic groups from that region. They all went into the ROCOR after preparation by a very patient priest who used a translator to do instruction.

Indeed it is an awsome icon I have it at the entrance to the dinning room, light a votive candle and pray for the conversion of China and for the well being of the Church of God there every day.(And all of Asia)
Stephanos I

As an avid Sinophile, I love this thread. Can anyone speculate the difficulty in the conversion of the Far East? Especially the fact that Russia is right next door to China, why isn't there a larger presence of Russian Orthodoxy and its lineage in China and Japan and the rest of the Far East?

Another link that might be of interest:

www.cardinalkungfoundation.org [cardinalkungfoundation.org]

http://angrytwins.blogspot.com/

The above is a blog by chinese Catholics, not totally chinese, but they have updates on the Church in China.

Here's another link with pictures of the Underground Church:

http://www.asiasociety.org/arts/chinaphotos/li.html

If they have pictures of the members, how underground can it be???

Here's another link with pictures of the Underground Church:

http://www.asiasociety.org/arts/chinaphotos/li.html

If they have pictures of the members, how underground can it be???

The caption said that nun was preparing "rice cakes" for use as the Hosts at Mass.

I thought that the Host has to be made of bread and water for it to be valid?

Logos Teen

Eric China deported it's Russians years ago via the United Nations. Japan never was welcoming to aliens lving in their midst and some would say still are not. The Un resettled the Russians (including other minorities such as ukrainians) all over the world. Argentina, Australia, USA, Canada and several other places that would take them. So they have been and gone. They did leave in the Orthodox camp a Chinese Church behind them. The Byzantine Catholics just left their dead.