The
Anglican Church of Korea is the province of the
Anglican CommunionThe Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy...
in
NorthNorth Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer area between North Korea and South Korea...
and
SouthSouth Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
KoreaKorea is a civilization and formerly unified nation currently divided into two states. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it borders China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait....
. Founded in 1889, it has over 100 parish and mission churches with a total of roughly 50,000 members.
The birth of the Anglican Church of Korea can be traced back to November 1 1889, when Bishop Charles John Corfe was ordained at
Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster...
and inaugurated as the first diocesan bishop of Chosun (
KoreaKorea is a civilization and formerly unified nation currently divided into two states. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it borders China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait....
).
The
Anglican Church of Korea is the province of the
Anglican CommunionThe Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy...
in
NorthNorth Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer area between North Korea and South Korea...
and
SouthSouth Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
KoreaKorea is a civilization and formerly unified nation currently divided into two states. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it borders China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait....
. Founded in 1889, it has over 100 parish and mission churches with a total of roughly 50,000 members.
Birth of the Anglican Church of Korea
The birth of the Anglican Church of Korea can be traced back to November 1 1889, when Bishop Charles John Corfe was ordained at
Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster...
and inaugurated as the first diocesan bishop of Chosun (
KoreaKorea is a civilization and formerly unified nation currently divided into two states. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it borders China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait....
). With his colleagues who had been invited to join the mission, he arrived in
IncheonIncheon, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City, is South Korea's third largest metropolis, after Seoul and Busan. As the largest seaport on the west coast and home to the country's largest airport, Incheon International Airport, Incheon is South Korea's most important transport hub...
Port on 29 September 1890. He initiated his work in the
SeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest city of South Korea. With a population of over 10 million, it is one of the world's largest cities. The Seoul National Capital Area, which includes the major port city of Incheon and most of Gyeonggi-do, has 24.5 million...
area, including Gyeonggi and
ChungcheongChungcheong was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Chungcheong was located in the southwest of Korea...
provinces. He first opened a number of educational institutions, medical facilities and social work centers across the country, such as the Sinmyeong (Faith and Enlightenment) schools and the hospitals in the vicinities of Incheon, Yeoju and
JincheonJincheon County is a county in Chungcheongbuk-do Province, South Korea.-Location:Jincheon belongs to the middle of Chungcheongbuk-do. It borders several cities of its province but also meets Gyeonggi-do...
as well as the orphanages in
SuwonSuwon is the provincial capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. A major city of over a million inhabitants, Suwon lies approximately 30 kilometres south of Seoul...
and Anjung. The Anglican missionaries also sought possible ways for the church to be integrated into Korean culture. As a result of that effort, there are several Anglican Church buildings which were constructed in the traditional Korean architecture and which survive today such as those on
Ganghwa IslandGanghwa Island is an island in the estuary of the Han River, on the west coast of South Korea. About 65,500 people live on the island. With an area of 302.4 km², it constitutes most of Ganghwa-gun, a division of Incheon Municipality. About half of the island's population reside in Ganghwa-eup, or...
. In addition, the early missionaries made pioneering contributions to
Korean studiesKorean studies is an academic discipline, focusing on the study of Korea. Areas commonly included under this rubric include Korean history, Korean literature, Korean art, Korean music, Korean language, Korean sociology, Korean political science, Korean economics, Korean folklore, and Korean...
.
Early missionary work
Beginning in 1923 mission work was actively carried out in the northern part of the peninsula such as
PyonganP'yŏngan was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. P'yŏngan was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was P'yŏngyang.-History:P'yŏngan Province was formed in 1413...
and
HwanghaeHwanghae was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty, and one of the thirteen provinces of Korea during the Japanese Colonial Period. Hwanghae was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Haeju....
Provinces. To train the local clergy St. Michael's Theological Institute, the former institution of the present Sungkonghoe (Anglican) University, was established in 1923, followed by the Society of the Holy Cross (convent) in 1925. Also, the cathedral Church of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Nicholas in downtown
SeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest city of South Korea. With a population of over 10 million, it is one of the world's largest cities. The Seoul National Capital Area, which includes the major port city of Incheon and most of Gyeonggi-do, has 24.5 million...
was initially constructed in 1924 and is now well known for its unique
Romanesque architectureRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe, characterised by semi-circular arches, and evolving into the Gothic style, characterised by pointed arches, beginning in the 12th century...
as it is the only one in this fashion in the orient, together with its mosaic murals.
Japanese colonial rule
Due to considerable difficulties with the language barrier, personal health problems, and other incidents, the mission work had little success throughout the later years, especially during the 36-year period of the
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese colonial rule. This colonial rule caused significant obstacles to Church development in Korea, primarily because those missionaries appeared to have an indifferent attitude to the Korean independence movement at that time.
First native bishop
Despite such an unfavorable situation as illustrated, the first native Korean bishop was ordained in 1965 after 20 years had lapsed since liberation from Japanese rule. Thus the original Korean mission diocese was formed into the two dioceses of Seoul and Taejon, followed by the separate additional forming of the Diocese of Pusan in 1974.
Recent expansion
Since the 1970s the Anglican Church has increasingly expanded through opening a number of new churches across country. St Peter's School was founded in 1975 to provide retarded children with effective special education as needed. St. Michael's Theological Seminary was also upgraded to be accredited by the government in 1982 and 10 years later it was again formally upgraded and expanded as a university to satisfies the peoples' great needs in the coming new era.
The three dioceses continued steady growth in numbers of churches and social evangelization under the auspices of the second and third generations of Korean bishops. The Church has thus been active in constructing new church buildings, along with its continued efforts in opening the new additional churches since the mid-1980s. In this context the Board of Mission and Education has played a timely role in offering education and training programs.
On occasion of its centennial anniversary on September 29 1990, the Anglican Church of Korea reaffirmed its intent under the theme. "Jesus Christ, Life of the Nation", to continue proclaiming the message of life to the people and expediting the peaceful reunification of Korea as desired.
The Provincial Constitution of the Anglican Church of Korea was declared on September 29 1992 and the first Korean primate was inaugurated on April 16 1993. Thus, the Church finally has become an independent national church with its commitment to sharing renewed life with the people and rededication to the Lord throughout the remaining years of the century, striving for the goal in the decade of Evangelization and fulfilling the new heaven and the new earth.
See also
- List of religious groups in Korea
- Calendar of saints (Anglican Church of Korea)
-January:*2 Basil and Gregory. 379 and 389.*6 Epiphany.*13 George Fox. 1691.*20 Richard Rolle. 1349.*21 Agnes. 304.*24 Francis de Sales. 1622.*26 Timothy and Titus.*28 Thomas Aquinas. 1274.-February:*3 Ansgar. 865.*6 Martyrs of Japan. 1597....
- Seoul Anglican Cathedral
Seoul Anglican Cathedral, or simply called Seoul Cathedral, is an Anglican-Episcopal church in Seoul, Korea, and is the mother church of both Anglican Church of Korea and Diocese of Seoul.Its history in brief:...
External links