Chinese Presbyterian Church
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chinese Presbyterian Church | |
|---|---|
| CPC | |
华人长老会教堂 | |
 Chinese Presbyterian Church, Surry Hills | |
 Chinese Presbyterian Church | |
| 33°53′01″S 151°12′52″E / 33.883734°S 151.214527°E | |
| Location | Corner of Crown and Albion Streets, Surry Hills, New South Wales |
| Country | Australia |
| Denomination | Presbyterian |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Former name | Fullerton Memorial Church |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | 20 July 1904 |
| Founder | Sir Harry Rawson[1] |
| Dedication | Rev. Dr James Fullerton |
| Dedicated | 6 July 1905 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architect | Joseph Alexander Kethel |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Brick |
| Administration | |
| Division | New South Wales |
| Presbytery | Sydney East |
| Parish | Surry Hills |
| Clergy | |
| Minister | Rev. Chris Chan |
The Chinese Presbyterian Church, also commonly known as CPC, is a Presbyterian church at the corner of Crown and Albion Streets, Surry Hills, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The church is reputedly the oldest surviving Chinese church in Australia.[2] As at 2017, the church had a congregation of approximately six hundred people meeting in worship services catering to languages of English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, and primarily seeks to reach out to the Chinese community of Sydney.
The first Chinese churches arose out of the gold rush of the 1860s in Victoria, during which numbers of migrants travelled to Australia to make their fortune. The Chinese Presbyterian Church can trace its foundation to the Presbyterian Chinese Mission formed by the Presbyterian Church of New South Wales as Sydney became an increasingly important centre for Chinese immigrants.
The Chinese Presbyterian Church officially began in 1893, opening its first church building on Foster Street in Surry Hills. Its first clergyman was John Young Wai.[3] The congregation moved to Campbell Street in 1910, then moved to its current location at the Fullerton Memorial Church in 1957, located at the corner of Crown and Albion Streets.[4] The Fullerton Memorial Church building, completed in the Gothic Revival style, was dedicated in 1905[5] in honour of Rev. Dr James Fullerton, a controversial Presbyterian minister in Sydney during the middle decades of the 19th century.[6]
Today the church continues to worship at the Fullerton Memorial Church building and owns and uses various adjoining properties for ministry. The current minister, since 2016, is Rev. Christopher Chan who succeeded Rev. David Tsai.
