In China, 20,000 baptized at Easter; government alarmed by Church growth
March 29, 2016
"An estimated 20,000 people were baptized on Easter night" in China, the AsiaNews service reports.
Despite the disapproval of the Communist regime, converts continue to enter the Church at a surprising rate. AsiaNews points to the Immaculate Conception cathedral in Beijing, where 100 adults were baptized at the Easter vigil; and a little parish outside Shanghai, were 27 new converts joined a community of just about 100 Catholics.
Baptisms also take place at Christmas, Pentecost, and the feast of the Assumption, raising the overall number of adult baptisms toward 100,000 each year. Underground Protestant churches are experiencing even more dramatic growth.
The Beijing regime views the rapid growth of Christianity with mounting alarm. AsiaNews reports: "Some estimates put the number of Christians at around 100 million, more than the number of members of the Chinese Communist Party, estimated to be around 85 million."
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