UCA News
Contribute

Let's hear it for monasteries in the church in China

Ensuring their autonomy is as important as the appointment of bishops
Let's hear it for monasteries in the church in China

The sun sets over a Catholic cathedral in Beijing. Before the communists took control of China in 1949, there was an abundance of monasteries in the country. (Photo by AFP)

Published: December 14, 2016 04:51 AM GMT
Updated: December 14, 2016 04:51 AM GMT

Negotiations between the Vatican and Beijing are focused currently on the appointment of bishops. While obviously understandable, that focus reflects a certain approach to the Catholic Church in China that has not always been the case.

Most discussions about the church concern dioceses and bishops. Many analyses of the church in China are primarily concerned with the number of bishops, priests, seminarians and nuns, along with the mapping of dioceses and parishes and the development of Catholic healthcare and social services. Such assessments overlook one part of the church that the tradition still values with the highest importance: monasteries.

What happened to the monastic tradition in China? Why are our church experts so little concerned about monastic life?

Across all the reports and statistics on Christianity in China, we almost never talk about monastic life. Most of the reflection about the church in China views the body of Christ through a very secular lens. Consequently, the church appears as being an administrative body for governing people. Even when it comes to nuns, only those involved in the administration of parishes and social services (nursing homes, kindergartens) are considered. It’s no surprise then that the official and big administration of China — the Chinese government, is very focused on the Catholic Church: a competitive structure.

In the universal Catholic Church, it was the Councils of Trent and Vatican II that pushed the Roman Church to favor a carefully articulated structuring of the church on a territorial and administrative basis. Unlike the Gregorian Church of the Middle Ages — which gave priority to the networks of monasteries designed as spiritual centers attracting believers (this tradition is still living within some Orthodox and Eastern Churches) — the modern Catholic Church has become an entity administered in well-defined territories, keeping precise registers and disciplining entire populations through multiple social services.

However, in Europe and especially in France, this restructuring of Catholicism did not cause monasteries to disappear. Today, at a time when the diocesan clergy faces a deep crisis of numbers and confidence, monasteries attract, comfort and inspire pilgrims and visitors well beyond their boundaries.

In China, it seems as though the diocesan clergy have become the only point of ecclesiastical reference. Some might explain this by the influence of the government, an easy target to explain all the problems of the church. But in some parts of the country, the local government recognizes and respects the presence of Catholic monasteries. These are rare, but they exist. There are also some non-declared communities that Chinese and foreign clergy still tend to never mention in their reports.

And of course, before 1949, China had an abundance of monasteries of different types — enclosed Carmelite nuns and Cistertian monks, friaries for Dominicans and Franciscans, local contemplative communities in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing, convents of sisters following various rules that are now communities of diocesan nuns.

Diocesan priests sometimes claim that "we are all carriers of contemplative prayer, so we do not need the monks." This statement not only ignores the specifics of a monastic tradition. It also reflects a Protestant view of the church. Indeed, it just doesn’t make sense because if we are all carriers of contemplative prayer, we are also all priests by our baptism. Why then maintain a clergy distinct from laity?

To explain this disinterest in monasteries in China — other than through political pressure on the church or Protestant theology — one must take into account cultural factors. China, like other countries marked by Buddhism, has many Buddhist monasteries. Although the religious life within them is different, the apparent similarities between Christian and Buddhist monasteries make Chinese Catholics suspicious. Monasteries seem to them too close to a “pagan” legacy. As a result, many Chinese Catholics remain reluctant to encourage monastic life.

A number of factors may explain a lack of interest in the monastic tradition — the diocesan clergy wish to consolidate their legitimacy; this is a long-term trend within the universal church; the local culture raises various difficulties. Whatever the causes, the winds are not supporting the development of Christian monasteries in China.

However, at a time when Chinese cities are growing to be more gigantic every day, causing radical changes in lifestyle, it is important that the Catholic clergy remains flexible in the structuring and regulation of the church. One of the main challenges faced by Chinese Catholics is the transition from a life based in rural communities to life in an urban setting.

In this context, monks and nuns living in their monasteries have a unique way to speak to the artificial and saturated life of urban populations. If the tradition looks at this monastic life as an irreplaceable contribution, this legacy should not be wasted and needs some support. In a rapidly changing China, the monasteries could become a priceless agent to announce the Gospel. Indeed, we can already rejoice for the contacts and exchanges between the Taize community in France and several Protestant schools of theology in China.

For Catholics, the efforts about a fair and just way to appoint bishops are doubtless important. But ensuring the sustainability and autonomy of monasteries in China is not less capital. Vitalizing this part of the tradition, and ensuring its transmission to Chinese Christianity might help address some of the social changes in the Middle Kingdom. And maybe, presenting the church less as an administrative entity and more as a network of spiritual centers might be of benefit in discussions with the Chinese government too.

Michel Chambon is a U.S. based doctoral student who has spent the last two years in China researching for his dissertation on religion in the country.

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
Lent is the season during which catechumens make their final preparations to be welcomed into the Church.
Each year during Lent, UCA News presents the stories of people who will join the Church in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is their Lord. The stories of how women and men who will be baptized came to believe in Christ are inspirations for all of us as we prepare to celebrate the Church's chief feast.
Help us with your donations to bring such stories of faith that make a difference in the Church and society.
A small contribution of US$5 will support us continue our mission…
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
Asian Bishops
Latest News
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia