Joseph Gu (simplified Chinese:顾约瑟;traditional Chinese:顧約瑟;pinyin:Gù Yuēsè) was former senior pastor of theChongyi Church inHangzhou, one of the largest churches in China today, and former head of theZhejiangChristian Council.
Gu, originally fromShangyu City, Zhejiang, was born and raised in a Christian home. In the late-1980s and early-1990s, he received his theological training in Zhejiang Theological Seminary and Nanjing Union Theological Seminary,[1] and was a former student ofWang Weifan.[2]
From the 1990s until January 2016, Gu was the senior pastor of theChongyi Church inHangzhou, one of the largest churches in China today. He was also formerly head of theZhejiangChristian Council.[1]
As head of theZhejiangChristian Council, Gu in July 2015 published an open letter denouncing the government-supported "Three Rectifications and One Demolition" campaign to remove crosses from churches and destroy church buildings throughoutZhejiang province.[3][4]
In January 2016, Gu was removed from his posts as part of a probe into the embezzlement of funds. Although he was released in March 2016, he was placed under house arrest after then, and re-arrested in January 2017.[5]
According to theThree-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and theChina Christian Council (CCC), removing Gu was necessary to "move one step closer towards the proper self-construction and management of church locations... and sort out the interpersonal relationship between the province and the two municipal [Christian] organizations."[5]
Gu was reportedly released from arrest on Christmas Eve 2017.[6]
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