| Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui | |
| Abbreviation: | HKSKH |
| Main Classification: | Protestant (with various theological and doctrinal identities, including Anglo-Catholic, Liberal and Evangelical) |
| Orientation: | Anglican |
| Scripture: | Holy Bible |
| Theology: | Anglican doctrine |
| Polity: | Episcopal |
| Leader Title1: | Primate |
| Leader Name1: | Archbishop Andrew Chan |
| Associations: | Anglican Communion Hong Kong Christian Council |
| Headquarters: | 1 Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong |
| Territory: | |
| Founded Date: | (Appointment of first Colonial Chaplain) (Establishment of the Province) |
| Other Names: | Hong Kong Anglican Church (Episcopal) |
The Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (abbreviated SKH), also known as the Hong Kong Anglican Church (Episcopal), is the Anglican church in Hong Kong and Macao. It is the 38th Province of the Anglican Communion. It is also one of the major denominations in Hong Kong and the first in the Anglican Communion to ordain a female priest.[1]
The Province of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui is divided into three dioceses in Hong Kong and one missionary area in Macau. Each diocese is led by a bishop and the missionary area is directly led by the Archbishop.
The primate of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui holds the title of Archbishop of Hong Kong, and is elected from the diocesan bishops of the province. Andrew Chan is the current Archbishop and Primate and Bishop of Western Kowloon. Timothy Kwok is Bishop of Eastern Kowloon and Matthias Der is Bishop of Hong Kong Island.[2] The church has approximately 29,000 members.[3]
The Anglican Communion is a global family and a fellowship of churches which trace their roots to the Church of England, with a province being a basic autonomous unit. There are presently 41 independent and self-governing provinces spanning over 160 countries. With well over 100 million members, the Anglican Communion is the third largest church in the world, after the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches.
In the Anglican Communion, there is no central governing authority. Churches uphold and proclaim the Catholic and Apostolic faith. The front-line unit of Church is the "parish". Parishes of similar vicinity are then grouped together to form a "diocese". Dioceses sharing similar cultural and national background would unite and form a "province", participating in the Anglican Communion under the leadership and jurisdiction of an archbishop.
The Four Instruments of Unity for the Anglican Communion:[4]
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See main article: Anglicanism and Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral.
The Anglican faith is based on the belief that the Bible, the Holy Scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments, "contain[s] all things necessary to salvation". Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui further maintains the ministry of the Church which it has received through the Episcopacy in the three orders of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons.
Sheng Kung Hui was founded in British Hong Kong in 1843, following the Treaty of Nanking.[5] The first colonial chaplain was Vincent John Stanton.[6] The first Chinese church, St. Stephen's Church, was founded in 1865. From then onwards, in the course of development of the Anglican Church in Hong Kong and Macao, churches continued to grow and witnessed the establishment of the Diocese of Victoria in 1849 under the See of Canterbury; the establishment of the Kong Yuet Diocese under the Province of the Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui in 1913, which ran in parallel with the Diocese of Victoria, until it resolved in 1951; and the birth of the Diocese of Hong Kong and Macao in 1951, which was subsequently completely separated from the national Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui.[7]
In the 40th Synod of the Diocese held in December 1991, it was resolved that steps were to be taken to expand the Diocese into a province and eventually in 1998, the Province of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui was established.
Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui consists of three dioceses and one missionary area. There is a bishop in each diocese. The dioceses are:
(The Diocese of Eastern Kowloon and the Diocese of Western Kowloon are divided and along the Kowloon-Canton Railway in Kowloon and New Kowloon.)
The missionary area is:
See main article: List of Anglican churches in Hong Kong.
See also: Parish.
The Provincial General Synod is composed[8] of the House of Bishop, the House of Clegy and the House of Laity. Members come from the Diocese of Hong Kong Island, the Diocese of Eastern Kowloon, the Diocese of Western Kowloon and the Missionary Area of Macao. Under the General Synod, there are different Commissions responsible for different areas of ministry.
The Church is a community with no boundaries in age, social or ethnic status. Members include Chinese, other Asians and Westerners from all over the world. The worship in Churches features English, Filipino, Cantonese Chinese and Mandarin Chinese.
Social service of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui started in mid 18th Century. At present, many social service organizations and social service models in Hong Kong were those initiated and promoted by the Church. Services provided by the Church are multi-faceted, including services for family and child-care, children and youth, the elderly, rehabilitation service, community development service and other supportive services. There are more than 230 units providing social service run by Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui at present.
In January 2010, the Inland Revenue Department began to pursue the SKH for unpaid taxes in the amount of HK$180 million, relating to a parcel of land in Tai Po which originally housed an orphanage. In 1993, after the closure of the orphanage, the SKH let Cheung Kong Holdings develop luxury apartments on the site, and were estimated to have made profits of HK$450 million in cash, in addition to receiving 120 apartments for free.
On women's ordination, the church was the first in the Anglican Communion to ordain women to the priesthood: Florence Li Tim-Oi in 1944 and another in 1971.[9] Churches in Hong Kong and "Christian clerics are often divided on topics such as... gay rights".[10] In 2007, the former primate, Archbishop Peter Kwong, stated that "Anglicanism is inclusive...so why shouldn't we find a common ground on homosexuality?".[11] Beginning in 2013, some leaders in the Hong Kong Anglican Church endorsed social and civil rights legislation under the auspice of providing protection for LGBT citizens from employment and other varieties of discrimination.[12] [13] The Equal Opportunity Commission chair, York Chow Yat-ngok, who is Anglican, said that gay "people should not be discriminated against" regardless of religious views.[14] Later, in 2015, Peter Douglas Koon, the Anglican province's secretary general, denounced conservative schools' policies against LGBT relationships as discrimination and reassured the public that Anglican educational institutions would welcome LGBT faculty and students.[15]
There are altogether 33 secondary schools sponsored by Sheng Kung Hui in the territory,[16] amongst which namely:
See main article: School-Based Management Policy.
Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, with its sponsored primary and secondary schools, were embroiled in the School-Based Management Policy controversy with the government in 2002, five years after the handover.
Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui runs its own theological college: Ming Hua Theological College, named after Bishop Ronald Owen Hall.Ming Hua College was established in 1947 by Bishop R.O. Hall in what was then the Church of England’s Diocese of Victoria. It was at first dedicated to the education of Chinese lay Christians, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds.In 1996, now part of the Diocese of Hong Kong and Macao, the College was renamed Sheng Kung Hui ("Holy Catholic Church") Ming Hua Theological College and given the responsibility of training priests for full-time ministry in the Church. This work continues today as part of the Anglican Province of Hong Kong and Macao, with Ming Hua being the Provincial training centre for clergy and laity.