Zion Church pastor detained in China, daughter says

The pastor of a prominent underground church in China, a church pastor and a group that monitors the religion in the country have been detained, according to his daughter.

Zion Church Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri was detained at his home in Beihai in China’s southeastern Guangxi province on Friday evening, along with dozens of other church leaders in Beijing and at least five provinces across China.

These individuals may face charges of “illegal dissemination of religious content via the Internet,” according to Chinese Zion Church pastor Sean Long, who is currently studying in the United States.

“This is a very disturbing and sad moment,” Long told The Associated Press by phone.

“This is a brutal violation of religious freedom written in China’s constitution. We demand the immediate release of our pastors.”

Long said he learned of the arrests after dozens of church leaders in China shared photos and videos of police entering the church in an online group chat.

Zion Church is among the largest underground or house churches unregistered by Chinese authorities.

They oppose Chinese government restrictions that require believers to worship only in registered congregations.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Security, Department of Religious Affairs and Beihai police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Authorities under Chinese leader Xi Jinping have cracked down on independent Christian communities over the past decade, destroying crosses, burning Bibles, closing churches and ordering followers to sign documents renouncing their faith.

Chinese authorities have pushed to “Sinify” religion by demanding loyalty to the officially atheist Communist Party and eliminating any threat to the party’s power over people’s lives.

Jin’s daughter, Grace Jin, who lives in the United States, is not sure what led to this latest crackdown, but believes it may be due to the growing influence of the Zion Church and its challenge to Communist Party rule.

“Zion exploded after Covid-19, which disturbed the government,” he said.

During the nationwide crackdown in 2018, many underground churches were targeted and the main sanctuary of the Zion Church was closed.

But during the coronavirus pandemic, Zion Church membership increased after it held online prayer sessions, attracting believers who were unable to attend worship at government-sanctioned churches that often closed their doors due to pandemic restrictions.

The church’s membership has grown from about 1,500 in 2018 to perhaps 5,000 or more members today, with more than 100 worship spaces in apartments, restaurants and even karaoke bars in about 40 cities across China, Long said.

Other underground churches in China have also come under pressure in recent months.

In May, the pastor of the Light of Zion Church in Xi’an, eastern China, was detained.

In June, ten members of the Golden Lamp Church in the northern province of Shanxi were sentenced to prison after being arrested four years ago.

“We are witnessing the most comprehensive and coordinated wave of persecution of urban independent house churches in China in more than four decades,” said Bob Fu, founder of US-based religious group China Aid, which also reported the Zion Church arrests.

Grace said her father, Pastor Jin, brought his family to the United States after authorities targeted the Zion Church in 2018.

But despite the risks, he decided to return.

He said he had not seen his father for six years.

“As a pastor, he felt he had to be with the flock,” he said.

“He was always prepared for something like this.”