Church of Heavenly Peace, Fuzhou

Church of Heavenly Peace
Location	Fuzhou
Country	China
Denomination	Methodist
History
Founder(s)	Robert S. Maclay
Dedicated	October 18, 1856
Architecture
Status	Church
Functional status	Active
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)	Rev. Chen Andi (陈安俤)

Coordinates: 26°02′50.65″N 119°18′25.27″E / 26.0474028°N 119.3070194°E / 26.0474028; 119.3070194

Church of Heavenly Peace (Chinese: 天安堂; Pinyin: Tiān'āntáng; Foochow Romanized: Tiĕng-ăng-dòng), also known as Church of Heavenly Rest or Tien Ang Tong, is a Christian church in Fuzhou, China.

The church stands on Cangqian Hill (仓前山) in the Cangshan District, facing the River Min. It is named after Tian'anli (天安里) Street, where it is located. The Chinese word Tian'an () means Heavenly Peace or Heavenly Rest.

The history of Heavenly Peace Church can be traced back to the time when the American Methodist Episcopal Mission first set up their Mission in East Asia.

Having chosen Foochow (Fuzhou) as the first location of their mission field in China, the Methodist Episcopal Mission sent out two young missionaries, Judson D. Collins and Moses C. White, on April 15, 1847, who reached the port on September 6 and were soon followed by Robert S. Maclay who arrived on April 15 the next year. After the early struggling years on the Zhongzhou Island (中洲岛) on River Min, they finally moved south and settled on the Cangqian Hill in the 1850s. Gratified and encouraged by the successful completion of their first church (also the first Methodist church in East Asia) Ching Sing Tong (真神堂) dedicated on August 3, 1856, the Methodist Episcopal Mission immediately went on to purchase another site which was close to the mission compound on Cangqian Hill, just in front of the lot occupied by the superintendent Rev. Robert S. Maclay. In view of the increasing number of foreigners in Fuzhou, the Mission decided to erect there a church with two audience rooms, one for speakers of the Fuzhou dialect and the other for English worship.

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