Chinese Christians Defend Rooftop Crosses, Prepare for Confrontation [+video]
Chinese officials in Wenzhou, a city of the Zhejiang province with a high concentration of Christians, have given Christian communities a deadline to remove rooftop crosses from their churches, but some of the local pastors have responded with defiance, placing guards at their churches to defend the crosses.
It is “likely that there will be clashes,” said a church representative in Tengqiao town.
The government ultimatum is the latest in a long-running campaign against the crosses. Authorities have already demolished hundreds of rooftop crosses from Protestant and Catholic churches, and in May, they enacted new regulations against any placement of the Christian symbol on top of buildings.
The new regulations for religious structures stipulated that any crosses must be affixed to the façade of buildings rather than above the roof, and could not measure more than one-tenth of the height of the façade. Crosses also must fit in with the façade and the surroundings.
Following the government crackdown on crosses, a number of church pastors defied the ruling, going so far as to replace demolished crosses, and in some cases, to put up bigger ones. (Read more from “Chinese Christians Defend Rooftop Crosses, Prepare for Confrontation” HERE)
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