Heilongjiang Theological Seminary
Heilongjiang Theological Seminary (simplified Chinese: 黑龙江神学院; traditional Chinese: 黑龍江神學院; pinyin: Hēilóngjiāng Shénxuéyuàn) is a provincial-level Christian theological institution in Harbin City of Heilongjiang, the northernmost province of China. Its predecessor is the "Christian Bible School of Heilongjiang Province". The seminary offers three undergraduate programs, among which the sacred music program is the first of its kind in China, and the special education program is the only one in China that trains pastoral personnel for deaf-mute Christian believers. [1] [2] [3]
Brief history
[edit]In 1996, the "Christian Bible School of Heilongjiang Province" was founded by the Heilongjiang Provincial Christian Council in Harbin, the provincial capital. The aim was to train more pastors for the growing churches across the province. [1][2][3]
In 2009, with the approval of the State Administration of Religious Affairs, a junior college three-year program was started. And the school was renamed "Heilongjiang Bible School". [4] [2]
In 2011, the school merged with the Harbin Christian Bible School, and the merged Bible school was concentrated in the Mount of Olives Education Base in Harbin. The base covers an area of 1.3 million square meters and includes teaching buildings, a church, a reception center and a farm. [2][5]
In 2013, with the approval of the State Administration of Religious Affairs, the Bible School was upgraded to an undergraduate institution offering four-year study programs, and was renamed "Heilongjiang Theological Seminary." [4][1]
Present situation
[edit]The main mission of Heilongjiang Theological Seminary is to cultivate patriotic and religious clergy for the province. It currently offers three undergraduate programs in Bible Studies, Sacred Music and Special Education, in a four-year academic system.[1] The Bible program focuses on cultivating pastoral staff with good character and theological attainments; the Sacred Music program is the first of its kind in China and has successfully cultivated many sacred music worship leaders with musical skills and theological knowledge, who are able to compose Christian songs using local theology; the Special education program is the only one in the country specifically built for the deaf. The purpose is to admit and train deaf students so that they can provide more appropriate pastoral care to the deaf community. The school also publishes Christian sign language books to help with sign language translation. [2][4] [5] [3] [6]
The seminary currently has 34 full-time teachers and 10 part-time teachers. The current present is Pastor Lv Dezhi. There are nearly 90 full-time undergraduate students on campus. Since its establishment, the college has trained more than 1,000 theological graduates.[1] [7] [8] [9]
On the campus, there are teaching buildings, student dormitories, cafeteria, the Mount of Olives Chapel (also known as the Ark Chapel), the Five Loaves and Two Fishes Reception Center, the Mount of Olives Library and a farm, etc. The library has a building area of more than 5,300 square meters and has more than 60,000 paper books and more than 600,000 electronic books.[4][1] [10] [5]
There are more than fifty dedicated prayer rooms on campus, each equipped with a cross and a prayer mat, where students can pray to God alone. [11]
See also
[edit]- Christianity in Heilongjiang
- List of Protestant theological seminaries in China
- Northeast Theological Seminary
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Heilongjiang Theological Seminary". China Christian Council. 2022-11-07.
- ^ a b c d e 中国基督教协会 (China Christian Council) (2022-05-26). "黑龙江神学院 (Heilongjiang Theological Seminary)" (in Chinese). 中国基督教网 (the Protestant Church in China.
- ^ a b c Peter Lim (2017-03-05). "20 Years of Innovative Education in China". Fuller's Global Reflections.
- ^ a b c d 张建新 (Zhang Jianxin) (2013-10-30). "黑龙江神学院举行晋升本科高等院校揭牌典礼仪式 (Heilongjiang Theological Seminary held the unveiling ceremony for promotion to undergraduate college)" (in Chinese). 福音时报 (Gospel Times).
- ^ a b c 文林、植柏燊 (Wen Lin, Zhi Baishen) (2016-12-11). "香港華人基督教聯會執行董事會代表團赴上海、浙江省、黑龍江省基督教兩會訪問座談 (The delegation of the Executive Board of the Hong Kong Chinese Christian Council visited and held discussions with the CC&TSPMs of Shanghai City, Zhejiang Province and Heilongjiang Province )" (in Chinese). 基督教週報 (Christian Weekly).
- ^ Karen Luo (2018-11-02). "Special Thanksgiving Service Held in Sign Language". The China Christian Daily.
- ^ 邵珊 (Shaoshan) (2023-08-23). "黑龙江神学院举行2023-2024学年第一学期开学崇拜暨典礼 (Heilongjiang Theological Seminary held worship and ceremony for the opening of the first semester of the 2023-2024 academic year)" (in Chinese). 福音时报 (Gospel Times).
- ^ 邵珊 (Shaoshan) (2024-07-01). "黑龙江神学院举行2024届毕业崇拜暨毕业典礼 (Heilongjiang Theological Seminary held the 2024 Graduation Worship and Ceremony)" (in Chinese). 中国基督教网 (the Protestant Church in China).
- ^ John Zhang (2024-04-05). "Two Theological Seminaries Release Admissions 2024". The China Christian Daily.
- ^ "哈尔滨阿城区-橄榄山/神学院 (Harbin Acheng District-Olive Mountain/Theological Seminary)". 糖水 (Tangshui). 2017-04-11.
- ^ ChinaSource Team (2018-12-04). "The Church in China Prays". China source.