Anglican Church of Korea

The Anglican Church of Korea (or Episcopal Church of

Anglican Church of Korea
Korea) is the province of the Anglican Communion in North
and South Korea. Founded in 1889, it has over 120 parish and
mission churches[1] with a total membership of roughly 65,000
people.[1]

History

Birth of the Anglican Church of Korea

The birth of the Anglican Church of Korea can be traced back to

November 1, 1889, when Bishop Charles John Corfe was
ordained at Westminster Abbey and inaugurated as the first
diocesan bishop of Joseon (Korea). With his colleagues who had
been invited to join the mission, he arrived in Incheon Port on
29 September 1890. Nae-dong Anglican Church ( 성공회 내동 The Official Emblem of the Anglican
성당 ) which is the first Anglican Church in Korea was Church of Korea
established by him and Eli Barr Landis (1865-1898) on Sep. 30, Classification Protestant with
1891 at Nae-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon. He initiated his work in historically Anglo-
the Seoul area, including Gyeonggi and Chungcheong
Catholic origin
provinces. He first opened a number of educational institutions,
medical facilities and social work centers across the country, Orientation Anglican
such as the Sinmyeong (Faith and Enlightenment) schools and Scripture Holy Bible
the hospitals in the vicinities of Incheon, Yeoju and Jincheon as
Theology Anglican doctrine
well as the orphanages in Suwon and Anjung. The Anglican
missionaries also sought possible ways for the church to be Polity Episcopal
integrated into Korean culture. As a result of that effort, there are Primate Peter Lee Kyeong-
several Anglican Church buildings which were constructed in ho, Bishop of Seoul,
the traditional Korean architecture and which survive today such
Presiding Bishop of
as those on Ganghwa Island. In addition, the early missionaries
Korea
made pioneering contributions to Korean studies.
Headquarters Seoul
Territory Korea (North Korea
Early missionary work
and South Korea)
Beginning in 1923 mission work was actively carried out in the Members 65,000[1]
northern part of the peninsula such as Pyongan and Hwanghae Official website http://www.skh.or.kr/
Provinces. To train the local clergy St. Michael's Theological (http://www.skh.or.k
Institute, the former institution of the present Sungkonghoe
r/)
University, was established in 1923, followed by the Society of
the Holy Cross (convent) in 1925. Also, the cathedral Church of
St. Mary the Virgin and St. Nicholas in downtown Seoul was Anglican Church of Korea
Hangul 대한성공회
Hanja 大韓聖公會
initially constructed in 1924 and is now well known for its unique Revised Daehan
Romanesque architecture as it is the only one in this fashion in the Romanization Seonggonghoe
orient, together with its mosaic murals.
McCune– Taehan
Reischauer Sŏnggonghoe
Japanese colonial rule

Due to considerable difficulties with the language barrier, personal health problems, and other incidents, the
mission work had little success throughout the later years, especially during the 36-year period of the
Japanese colonial rule. This colonial rule caused significant obstacles to Church development in Korea,
primarily because those missionaries appeared to have an indifferent attitude to the Korean independence
movement at that time.

First native bishop

Despite such an unfavorable situation as illustrated, the first native

Korean bishop, Cheon-hwan Lee, was ordained in 1965 after 20
years had lapsed since liberation from Japanese rule. Thus the
original Korean mission diocese was formed into the two dioceses
of Seoul and Daejeon, followed by the separate additional forming
of the Diocese of Busan in 1974. In 1974, he received an honorary
CBE from Queen Elizabeth II. He died on 26 March 2010.
Anglican Cathedral in Seoul
Recent expansion

Since the 1970s the Anglican Church has increasingly expanded through opening a number of new
churches across country. St Peter's School was founded in 1975 to provide special needs children with
effective special education as needed. St. Michael's Theological Seminary was also upgraded to be
accredited by the government in 1982 and 10 years later it was again formally upgraded and expanded as a
university to satisfies the peoples' great needs in the coming new era.

The three dioceses continued steady growth in numbers of churches and social evangelization under the
auspices of the second and third generations of Korean bishops. The Church has thus been active in
constructing new church buildings, along with its continued efforts in opening the new additional churches
since the mid-1980s. In this context the Board of Mission and Education has played a timely role in
offering education and training programs.

On occasion of its centennial anniversary on September 29, 1990, the Anglican Church of Korea
reaffirmed its intent under the theme. "Jesus Christ, Life of the Nation", to continue proclaiming the
message of life to the people and expediting the peaceful reunification of Korea as desired.

The Provincial Constitution of the Anglican Church of Korea was declared on September 29, 1992, and the
first Korean primate was inaugurated on April 16, 1993. Thus, the Church finally has become an
independent national church.

Theology
The Anglican Church of Korea has clergy and members reflecting diverse views. The church ordains
women as priests and has been doing so since 2001.[2] Regarding issues of human sexuality, some clergy,
congregations, and members of the denomination have been affirming and supportive of LGBT rights
including by participating in Pride events.[3][4] The Anglican Church in Korea is considered to be more
open toward homosexuality and is openly discussing the matter.[5] One cleric, representing the Anglican
Church in a Korean Christian dialogue, presented a "let's see" approach regarding homosexuality.[6]

Structure and leadership

The church was previously under the authority of the archbishop of Canterbury. To mark independence in
1993, the archbishop of Canterbury handed his authority as metropolitan and primate to the first archbishop
of Korea. The church now forms a single metropolitical province, consisting of three dioceses: Seoul,
Busan, and Daejeon. The primacy rotates between the three; thus the current bishop of Seoul is also the
Archbishop of Korea and Primate of the Church.

Archbishops of Korea
1993 – 1995: Simon Kim Seong-su, Bishop of Seoul
1995: Paul Yun Hwan, Bishop of Daejeon(acting archbishop)
1995 – 1997: Benedict Kim Jae-heon, Bishop of Busan
1997 – 2000: Matthew Chung Chul-beom, Bishop of Seoul

Primate of Korea
2000 – 2003: Paul Yun Hwan, Bishop of Daejeon
2003 – 2005: Matthew Chung Chul-beom, Bishop of Seoul
2005: Joseph Lee Dae-yong, Bishop of Busan
2005 – 2006: Andrew Shin Hyeon-sam, Bishop of Daejeon
2006 – 2009: Francis Park Kyeong-jo, Bishop of Seoul
2009: Solomon Yun Jong-mo, Bishop of Busan(acting Primate)
2009 – 2010: Solomon Yun Jong-mo, Bishop of Busan
2010 – 2017: Paul Kim Keun-sang, Bishop of Seoul
2017 – 2018: Onesimus Park Dong-shin, Bishop of Busan
2018 – 2020: Moses Yoo Nak-jun, Bishop of Daejeon[7]
2020 – present: Peter Lee Kyeong-ho, Bishop of Seoul[8]

Diocese of Seoul

The current Diocese of Seoul was founded as the Joseon (Korea) diocese, covering all the Korean
peninsula, in 1889. It was split in 1965, to create Taejon diocese, at which point it became Seoul diocese.
The current bishop is Peter Kyongho Lee, who has also been Primate since 2020.

Bishops in Korea

The Bishop in Korea was an Anglican missionary appointment[9] from 1889[10] to 1965 when the diocese
was divided.[11]
 Tenure Incumbent Notes

1889 to 1905 Charles Corfe (1843–1921)

1905 to 1910 Arthur Turner (1862–1910)

1911 to 1930 Mark Trollope (1862–1930)

1931 to 1954 Cecil Cooper (1882–1964)

1955 to 1965 John Daly (1901–1985) Became first bishop of

Daejeon

Bishops of Seoul
1965-1985: Paul Lee Cheon-hwan (Paul Lee, first native bishop; consecrated shortly before
13 August 1965)[12]
1985-1995: Simon Kim Seong-su
1995-2005: Matthew Chung Chul-beom
2005-2009: Francis Park Kyeong-jo
2009-2017: Paul Kim Keun-sang
2017–present: Peter Lee Kyeong-ho

Assistant bishops

1926–1930:[13] Hugh Embling, Assistant Bishop in Corea.[14] Deaconed Advent

(19 December) 1909[15] and priested Advent (18 December) 1910, by Arthur Winnington-
Ingram (London) at St Paul's;[16] consecrated Michaelmas (29 September) 1926, by Randall
Davidson (Canterbury) at Westminster Abbey.[17]
1951–1963:[18] Arthur Chadwell, Assistant Bishop (Acting diocesan bishop, 1951–1953;
deaconed 11 June 1922[19] and priested 27 May 1923 by Cyril Garbett (Southwark) at
Southwark Cathedral;[20] consecrated 30 November 1951 by Geoffrey Fisher (Canterbury) at
Westminster Abbey)[21]

External links
Official website (https://web.archive.org/web/20111021052350/http://www.skhseoul.or.kr/)

Diocese of Daejeon

The Diocese of Daejeon is the Anglican Church in that part of South Korea that includes North and South
Chungcheong Provinces; North and South Cholla Provinces and South Kangwon.[22] It was erected from
the Joseon diocese in 1965 and split in 1974 to erect Busan diocese.

Bishops of Daejeon

1965-1968: John Daly

1968-1974: Richard Rutt (assistant bishop since 1966)
1974-1987: Mark Pae Du-hwan
 1987-2003: Paul Yun Hwan[23] (cons. 14 Oct 1987, by Robert Runcie (Cantuar.) at Hannam
University)[24]
2003-2007: Andrew Shin Hyeon-sam[25]
2007-2013: Michael Kwon Hee-yeon
2014-: Moses Yoo Nak-jun

External links
Official website (https://web.archive.org/web/20111202113626/http://www.djdio.or.kr/)

Diocese of Busan

Busan diocese was erected from the Diocese of Daejeon in 1974.

Bishops of Busan

1974–1987: William Choi Chul-hee (cons. 1 June 1974 by Paul Lee (Seoul) at Seoul
Anglican Cathedral)[26]
1987–1997: Benedict Kim Jae-heon
1994–2000: Joseph Lee Dae-yong
2000–2011: Solomon Yun Jong-mo
2012–: Onesimus Park Dong-shin

External links
Official website (http://www.skhbusan.org/)

Archives
Archive materials of the Anglican Church's Korean Mission are held at the Cadbury Research Library,
University of Birmingham. These include records from 1889 to 1987.[27]

See also
Christianity portal

List of religious groups in Korea

Calendar of saints (Anglican Church of Korea)
Seoul Anglican Cathedral

References
1. "World Council of Churches - Anglican Church of Korea" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110
521172247/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/asia/south-korea/anglic
an-church-of-korea.html). Archived from the original (http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-c
 hurches/regions/asia/south-korea/anglican-church-of-korea.html) on 2011-05-21. Retrieved
2009-12-18.
2. "Korean Catholic priests become Anglican and marry" (http://ncronline.org/news/korean-cath
olic-priests-become-anglican-and-marry). ncronline.org. National Catholic Reporter. 2
December 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
동성애 축제 미국 교단은 지지 한인 교회는 걱정 뉴스앤조이
3. " , , - " (http://www.newsnjoy.or.kr/new
s/articleView.html?idxno=197042) (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-05-04.
4. Hazzan, Dave. "Why Korea's Christian churches are leading the anti-gay charge: And how a
handful of LGBT-affirming churches are fighting back" (https://xtramagazine.com/power/why-
koreas-christian-churches-are-leading-the-anti-gay-charge-68593). xtramagazine.com. Xtra
Magazine. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
교회에 번지는 동성애 논란 동성애자가 목사 안수를 받을 수 있는가 목장드림뉴스
5. " ' ' … - " (http://ww
w.penews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=1202) (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-05-04.
동성애 문제 놓고 목사 신부 갈렸다 뉴스앤조이
6. " - " (http://www.newsnjoy.or.kr/news/articleView.
html?idxno=205684) (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-05-04.
7. "Bishop Moses Nag Jun Yoo elected Primate of the Anglican Church of Korea" (https://www.
anglicannews.org/news/2018/08/bishop-moses-nag-jun-yoo-elected-primate-of-the-anglican
-church-of-korea.aspx).
8. "New Primates for Japan and Korea" (https://livingchurch.org/2020/11/13/new-primates-for-j
apan-and-korea/). 13 November 2020.
9. Details of mission (http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Muss-Arnolt/part4d.htm)
10. The Times, Saturday, Nov 02, 1889; pg. 9; Issue 32846; col C CONSECRATION OF
THREE NEW BISHOPS:Reading, Derby and Corea (Sic)
11. Division details (http://www.mundus.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search?coll_id=1152&inst_id=45&keywor
d=Asia)
12. "Korean bishop in the Chair" (https://www.ukpressonline.co.uk/ukpressonline/view/pagview/
ChTm_1965_08_13_008). Church Times. No. 5348. 13 August 1965. p. 8. ISSN 0009-658X
(https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0009-658X). Retrieved 6 March 2021 – via UK Press Online
archives.
13. "Bishop Embling dies in Canada" (https://www.ukpressonline.co.uk/ukpressonline/view/pag
view/ChTm_1965_06_18_016). Church Times. No. 5340. 18 June 1965. p. 16. ISSN 0009-
658X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0009-658X). Retrieved 6 March 2021 – via UK Press
Online archives.
14. "No. 43934" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/43934/page/3507). The London
Gazette. 25 March 1966. p. 3507.
15. "The Advent Ordinations. On Sunday Last" (https://www.ukpressonline.co.uk/ukpressonline/
view/pagview/ChTm_1909_12_23_861). Church Times. No. 2448. 23 December 1909.
p. 861. ISSN 0009-658X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0009-658X). Retrieved 6 March
2021 – via UK Press Online archives.
16. "Ordinations on Sunday last" (https://www.ukpressonline.co.uk/ukpressonline/view/pagview/
ChTm_1910_12_23_874). Church Times. No. 2500. 23 December 1910. p. 874.
ISSN 0009-658X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0009-658X). Retrieved 6 March 2021 – via
UK Press Online archives.
17. "Consecration of three bishops" (https://www.ukpressonline.co.uk/ukpressonline/view/pagvi
ew/ChTm_1926_10_01_363). Church Times. No. 3323. 1 October 1926. p. 363. ISSN 0009-
658X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0009-658X). Retrieved 6 March 2021 – via UK Press
Online archives.
18. "Chadwell, Arthur Ernest" (https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U549
22). Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership (https://www.ukwho
swho.com/page/subscribe#public) required.)
19. "Ordinations on Trinity Sunday" (https://www.ukpressonline.co.uk/ukpressonline/view/pagvie
w/ChTm_1922_06_16_638). Church Times. No. 3099. 16 June 1922. p. 638. ISSN 0009-
658X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0009-658X). Retrieved 6 November 2019 – via UK
Press Online archives.
20. "Ordinations on Trinity Sunday" (https://www.ukpressonline.co.uk/ukpressonline/view/pagvie
w/ChTm_1923_06_01_638). Church Times. No. 3149. 1 June 1923. p. 638. ISSN 0009-
658X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0009-658X). Retrieved 6 November 2019 – via UK
Press Online archives.
21. "Double consecration at Westminster Abbey" (https://www.ukpressonline.co.uk/ukpressonlin
e/view/pagview/ChTm_1951_12_07_837). Church Times. No. 4635. 7 December 1951.
p. 837. ISSN 0009-658X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0009-658X). Retrieved 6 November
2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
22. Crockford's Clerical Directory 1975-76 London: Oxford University Press, 1976 ISBN 0-19-
200008-X
23. "Episcopal News Service: Press Release # 87116" (https://www.episcopalarchives.org/cgi-b
in/ENS/ENSpress_release.pl?pr_number=87116).
24. "Primate off to Korea" (https://www.ukpressonline.co.uk/ukpressonline/view/pagview/ChTm_
1987_10_09_003). Church Times. No. 6504. 9 October 1987. p. 3. ISSN 0009-658X (https://
www.worldcat.org/issn/0009-658X). Retrieved 6 March 2021 – via UK Press Online
archives.
25. "Morning Calm" (https://web.archive.org/web/20230729223135/http://www.koreanmission.or
g/mc/2003_spring_summer.pdf) (PDF). Korean Mission Fellowship. 2003. Archived from the
original (http://www.koreanmission.org/mc/2003_spring_summer.pdf) (PDF) on July 29,
2023.
26. "Consecration of two new Korean bishops" (https://www.ukpressonline.co.uk/ukpressonline/
view/pagview/ChTm_1974_06_14_003). Church Times. No. 5809. 14 June 1974. p. 3.
ISSN 0009-658X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0009-658X). Retrieved 6 March 2021 – via
UK Press Online archives.
27. "UoB Calmview5: Search results" (https://calmview.bham.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmVie
w.Catalog&id=XDA24). calmview.bham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-08.

External links
Official church website, in English and Korean (http://www.skh.or.kr)
Official church website, for English Mission (https://web.archive.org/web/20140413000200/h
ttp://seoulanglican.com/)
Historical documents related to Korean Anglicanism (http://anglicanhistory.org/asia/kr/)

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