Editing Chengdu (section)

===Religion===
{{See also|Christianity in Sichuan|Catholic Church in Sichuan|Protestantism in Sichuan}}
[[File:平安桥主教座堂-2022.jpg|thumb|right|[[Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Chengdu|Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception]], seat of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Chengdu]]]]
Chengdu contains official,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ccctspm.org/ |title=中国基督教网 |access-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930044246/http://www.ccctspm.org/ |archive-date=30 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Roman Catholic<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/chen2.htm |title=Diocese of Chengdu 成都, China |access-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202232526/http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/chen2.htm |archive-date=2 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> and Protestant congregations, some of which are [[underground church]]es.

The Apostolic Vicariate of Szechwan (now known as [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Chengdu]]) was established on 15 October 1696. [[Artus de Lionne]], a French missionary of [[Paris Foreign Missions Society]], was appointed as the first Apostolic Vicar.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

In 1890, the [[Canadian Methodist Mission]] was searching for more stations in Asia. In February 1891, Dr. {{ill|Virgil Chittenden Hart|zh|赫斐秋}}, who had been Superintendent of the New York Methodist Mission Society of Central China recommended that Chengtu be its first Mission sight. During the meeting, it was proposed he lead this contingency; having built western hospitals, Boy's and Girl's schools at Missions he established on the Yangtze and Gan Rivers from 1866 – 1888. On 9 May 1891 Dr. Virgil Hart arrived in Chengtu and two weeks later bought a home and had it subdivided into living quarters and a dispensary, for the later arriving Missionary staff to move into.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Virgil C. Hart; missionary statesman, founder of the American and Canadian missions in central and west China |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/17013400/ |access-date=2024-09-07 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA |archive-date=7 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907210505/https://www.loc.gov/item/17013400/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 24 June 1892, the doors of Chengtu's first Protestant Mission Headquarters were opened with over one thousand people of the community attending. The first Methodist religious service was held the following Sunday with only several attendants. The first western dispensary in Sichuan was opened 3 November 1892 with sixteen patients seeking care. The mission site became so popular that a larger space was secured near Chengtu's East Gate in the spring of 1893. This site is where the city's first Methodist church ([[Sï-Shen-Tsï Methodist Church]]) and hospital were built. These were later razed by rioting Chinese in 1895 and the Mission staff retreated to Chongqing and later Shanghai to escape the marauders. Dr. Virgil Hart traveled to Peking to demand redress and full payment of retribution was collected from Sichuan Viceroy Liu Ping Chang. The mission compound was quickly rebuilt only to be destroyed once more in the riots of 1901. These were rebuilt a third time and later missionaries would relocate and expand the Boys' and Girls' Schools just south of the city, dedicating the Divinity College as Hart College in 1914; a part of the [[West China Union University]], that is now Sichuan University and the [[West China Medical Center|West China School of Medicine]] (Huaxiyida).<ref>"Man on a Mission" by Stanley Crawford</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sichuan University Archives Guide to Collections of West China Union University [and medical school] |url=https://library.indianapolis.iu.edu/wmicproject/sites/default/files/Guide%20to%20Huaxi%20Archives%20at%20Sichuan%20University.pdf |access-date=2024-09-07 |website=[[Indiana University Indianapolis]] |archive-date=7 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907210503/https://library.indianapolis.iu.edu/wmicproject/sites/default/files/Guide%20to%20Huaxi%20Archives%20at%20Sichuan%20University.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=华西协合大学档案（1910—1951）-四川大学档案馆 |url=https://archives.scu.edu.cn/info/1001/2230.htm |access-date=2024-09-07 |website=The University Archives of [[Sichuan University]] |archive-date=7 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907210511/https://archives.scu.edu.cn/info/1001/2230.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> During the Cultural Revolution, the Sï-Shen-Tsï Methodist Church building was no longer in use and the building was entrusted to the nearby Chengdu City Second People's Hospital for management. The hospital used the chapel as a kindergarten and the office of the hospital equipment department. In 1984, the hospital returned the chapel building to the church.<ref>{{Cite web |title=成都基督教恩光堂 老教堂的前世今生-福音时报--基督教资讯门户网站 |url=https://gospeltimes.breadoflife.cn/article/index/id/28655 |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=gospeltimes.breadoflife.cn |archive-date=24 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924180025/https://gospeltimes.breadoflife.cn/article/index/id/28655 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2018 the authorities attempted to close a 500-member underground church, the [[Early Rain Covenant Church]], led by [[Wang Yi (pastor)|Pastor Wang Yi]]. Over 100 members of the church were arrested including the pastor and his wife. The church's kindergarten and theological college were raided and the church's media outlets were closed down. Before his arrest, church member Li Yingqiang declared: "Even if we are down to our last five, worship and gatherings will still go on because our faith is real. […] Persecution is a price worth paying for the Lord." Police are said to have told one member that the church had been declared an illegal organisation. Chinese media were banned from reporting the events. Video footage which found its way onto western social media showed arrests and photographs alleged to be of injuries inflicted by the police.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/2177897/chinese-pastor-wang-yis-wife-accused-inciting-subversion-and |title=Chinese pastor's wife accused of subversion, held in unknown location |access-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215213043/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/2177897/chinese-pastor-wang-yis-wife-accused-inciting-subversion-and |archive-date=15 December 2018 |url-status=live|date=13 December 2018 }}</ref><ref name="scmp.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/2177520/underground-chinese-church-members-vow-defy-crackdown-and-keep |title=Members of unofficial Chinese church vow to keep meeting |access-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181213082423/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/2177520/underground-chinese-church-members-vow-defy-crackdown-and-keep |archive-date=13 December 2018 |url-status=live|date=11 December 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2018/12/minitrue-no-reports-on-chengdu-house-church-crackdown/ |title=Minitrue: No Reports on Chengdu Church Crackdown – China Digital Times (CDT) |date=11 December 2018 |access-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214164908/https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2018/12/minitrue-no-reports-on-chengdu-house-church-crackdown/ |archive-date=14 December 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> From a photo of {{M|s|link=y}}. Jiang's detention warrant it appears that the authorities have charged the church's leaders with "inciting subversion of state power," which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/world/asia/china-religion-crackdown.html |title=Pastor Charged with 'Inciting Subversion' as China Cracks Down on Churches |access-date=15 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215174643/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/world/asia/china-religion-crackdown.html |archive-date=15 December 2018 |url-status=live|newspaper=The New York Times |date=13 December 2018 |last1=Johnson |first1=Ian }}</ref>

In 2012, a [[Chabad house|Chabad Jewish Center]] was established in Chengdu, after moving five times, a permanent location was secured at [[Wuhou District]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishchengdu.com/ |title=About Our Community: Building Dedication |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website=jewishchengdu.com |access-date=1 October 2023 |archive-date=7 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907210509/https://www.jewishchengdu.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chabadchengdu.com/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/2042598/jewish/Address-and-Directions.htm |title=Chabad Jewish Center of Chengdu: Address and Directions |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website=chabadchengdu.com |access-date=1 October 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002104238/https://www.chabadchengdu.com/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/2042598/jewish/Address-and-Directions.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>