A Cruciform Church (1934-1938)

Our readers will remember our post on the original construction of the church at Siuyen in 1922. We mentioned that there was a fire in the church in 1935 and that the church had to be reconstructed. Here is the story in detail:

After finishing the women's missionary residence in 1932, architect Elise Bahnson went on a furlough that lasted from December 1932 to January 1934. On her return, one of her first tasks was to remodel the interior of the church at Siuyen, including the altar, the pulpit, and the pews.

About the remodeling in 1934, Rev. and Mrs. Bjergaarde wrote in the missionary newspaper:

“The church in Siuyen has undergone a thorough interior renovation and is difficult to recognize. Miss Bahnson and the handy Chinese craftsman worked hard to make it as beautiful as possible and they succeeded beyond expectations."

And Dr. Peter Bertelsen (assigned to Siuyen Hospital) and his wife had this to say:

“This spring and summer the church here in Siuyen has been remodeled, and now we think it is one of the most beautiful churches here [in Manchuria]. It has been a real pleasure to see how interested the congregation has been. The chairman of the parish council, Mr. Sung, did a great job last year of embellishing the square in front. The work inside the church had to wait for the return of Miss Bahnson, and she has had a deft hand in creating a beautiful church interior, which earlier was rather desolate.

“An earlier less successful altarpiece has been replaced by a Cross overlaid with green marbled Siuyen stone* that is very simple and beautiful. The interior paint of the church is pale yellow oil as far as the windows, and above that a frieze of a somewhat darker golden color. Many gifts were received, among others a lovely carpet to lay in front of the altar that was donated by a member of the board and his adult son.”

On the night between December 16, and December 17, 1935, however, a tragedy occurred: the recently remodeled church was destroyed by fire, although the pews were saved and the granite walls remained standing.

Here is Anna Bøg's description of this event and its aftermath, written on February 25, 1936:

"All our plans for Christmas festivities collapsed after the fire in the church just before Christmas. It was for us an unspeakable sadness to see the church burning. Many of the [Chinese] Christians wept with sorrow over our beautiful house of God. The next morning, the pagans mocked us saying, 'Could God not protect his house? Now I will not go to church anymore, for Jesus is burned," etc. We thought, 'I wonder if all the women who have requested baptism this Christmas can stand firm in the face of this mockery?' During a meeting, Miss Bahnson asked them, 'How will you respond to the pagans' ridicule?' Old Mrs. Chao responded quickly and boldly, 'We still have Jesus.' Immediately the next morning some of the Christians said, 'Did the church burn because it was too small? Perhaps God meant that we should build it bigger.' One of the Christian women, who lives near the church, was so upset and worried by seeing the church burn that she went in and out watching the fire until she found rest in Hebrews 9:24: 'For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself for now to appear in the presence of God for us.'"

In spite of these difficulties, there were many baptisms that Christmas. In the annual report for the fiscal year 1935-1936, Anna Bøg wrote:

"The fire in the church was one of the saddest events I encountered in Siuyen but then my happiness returned when 37 persons were baptized at Christmas. The walls of the poorest schoolroom were witness to this great glory."

In the same annual report, Elise Bahnson related:

“In the spring [of 1936], my time has by request been occupied in planning buildings, especially churches, in Pikou, Dairen, Feng-huang, and now also restoration of the church in Antung as well as our own."

In order to rebuild the church, however, it was necessary to obtain building permits from the Japanese/Manchukuo authorities and there were many delays such that the restoration of the church was not completed until 1938.

In 1936, Anna Bøg wrote in the missionary newspaper:

"It has been a great pleasure to see the women's zeal in collecting for the restoration of the church. Three of the Christian women have visited all the homes. 'We are so warmly received,' they say. In three days they collected more than a tenth of the cost to rebuild and the second tenth is just about complete. The three of them received a great blessing."

In the annual report for the fiscal year 1936-1937, Elise Bahnson wrote:

"Up until now the authorities have not authorized the reconstruction. . . . Permission was requested to reconstruct the church in an enlarged cruciform shape. Materials were bought, and we awaited the answer, as nothing in the new 'empire' [Manchukuo] may be constructed before permission is received. This is a new rule... Now, one year later, we are still waiting for the response.

"The damaged church has impaired our work . . ."

Finally, in 1938, the church was rebuilt. In Guds Kirke Bygges, D.M.S. described the restored church:

"It was reconstructed as a cruciform church. The tower was renovated with corbie-step gables as it was impossible to restore the biblical pictures. The roof is, as before, covered with gray tiles, and the outside is still white, black and gray. One hundred seats were added. The ceiling is flat, the walls light yellow, the pews green, and the rest of the furniture has been coated with a reddish-brown Chinese lacquer. The old baptismal font burst in the fire. The new one is granite. The baptismal bowl and pitcher are of brass made in Mukden. . . . on September 25, 1938, Rev. Ch’en reconsecrated the church. Miss E. Bahnson helped with the plans for restoration and expansion, and Rev. Shun directed the restoration. The vessels and candleholders are gifts from missionaries, and the altar cloth was a gift from Danish friends, who also made large contributions to the restoration.”

From this account in Guds Kirke Bygges, one can see that -- contrary to what Tobias Faber reported in his biography of Johannes Prip-Møller -- it was not until the reconstruction in 1938 that the church acquired its corbie-step gables and that was only because the original tower could not be restored.

Sources:
Bahnson, Elise; "Frk. Bahnsons Beretning", D.M.S. Aarsberetning for 1935-1936, pp. 137-138. Translated by Preben Jørgensen.
Bahnson, Elise; "Beretning fra Frkn. Bahnson og Bøg Madsen," D.M.S. Aarsberetning for 1936-1937, pp. 131-132. Translated by Preben Jørgensen.
Bjergaarde, Rev. and Mrs. Jens; "Siuyen", Dansk Missionsblad, Vol. 101, Nr. 35, 1934 (exact date of publication unknown), p. 513. Translated by Preben Jørgensen.
Bertelsen, Dr. and Mrs. Peter; "Hospitalet i Siuyen," Dansk Missionsblad, Vol. 101, Nr. 43, 1934 (exact date of publication unknown), p. 637-638. Translated by Preben Jørgensen.
Bøg-Madsen, Anna; "Frk. Bøg Madsen Skriver", D.M.S. Aarsberetning for 1935-1936, pp. 136-137. Translated by Preben Jørgensen.
Bøg-Madsen, Anna; "Fra Missonsmarket i Manchuriet", Dansk Missionsblad, Vol. 103, Nr. 14, 1936 (exact date of publication unknown), p. 201. Translated by Preben Jørgensen.
Bøg-Madsen, Anna; "Siuyen", Dansk Missionsblad, Vol. 103, Nr. 16, April 15, 1936; pp. 230-231. Translated by Marie-Jacqueline.
D.M.S., Guds Kirke Bygges (Copenhagen, 1941), pp. 52-53. Translated by Preben Jørgensen.

Images:
Altar and interior of Siuyen Church after the reconstruction, from D.M.S., Guds Kirke Bygges (Copenhagen, 1941), p. 53.
All D.M.S. material used with permission.
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*Siuyen is renowned for its jade. One wonders if the "green marbled stone" of the Cross was jade. Dr. Bertelsen does not say so, however. Rather, he says "der er beklædt med grønt flammet Siuyensten".