The Three-Self Patriotic Movement (officially 中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会, China Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee; colloquially 三自教会, the Three-Self Church) and the China Christian Council (中国基督教协会) are two pro-government (patriotic) Christian organizations in the People's Republic of China. These together form the only government_sanctioned (registered) Protestant church in mainland China. They are usually referred to as the 'two associations' (两会).
In 1950, some Chinese Christians initiated the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, which promoted the strategy of 'self-governing, self-supportive, and self-propagating' in order to remove foreign influences from the Chinese churches. This was to assure the communist government that the churches would be patriotic to the newly_established People's Republic of China.
From 1966 to 1976 the Cultural Revolution stopped the expression of religious life for Christians in China. In 1979 the church was restored, and in 1980 the China Christian Council was formed. Through the council, the registered Protestant church participates in the World Council of Churches.
The two associations claim that Christianity in China is 'post-denominational': Protestant denominations prevalent in other parts of the world have no place in China. Christians are said to congregate on Sunday each week in service, implementing the principle of mutual respect. The public representation of the two associations is usually carried out by BishopK. H. Ting, an Anglican (or, post-Anglican) bishop.
In November the CCC publicly alleged that the Southern Baptist Convention was planning to send missionaries into China clandestinely, without putting them under the "authority" of the CCC.
For the ChinaChristianCouncil to pretend to have the authority to rule over all evangelistic, missionary work in China is blasphemous usurpation of Christ’s position as Head of the churches and Lord of the Harvest.
All the while, the leaders of the CCC continue to lie to the world, claiming there is no persecution, that there is religious liberty in China.
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