Chinese authorities on Friday detained a prominent leader of one of China’s largest underground churches, Zion Church, along with at least 30 other leaders of the congregation. Two days later, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement regarding the detention of the church leaders.  

“The United States condemns the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s recent detention of dozens of leaders of the unregistered house Zion Church in China, including prominent pastor Mingri ‘Ezra‘ Jin,” the statement said. “This crackdown further demonstrates how the CCP exercises hostility towards Christians who reject Party interference in their faith and choose to worship at unregistered house churches. We call on the CCP to immediately release the detained church leaders and to allow all people of faith, including members of house churches, to engage in religious activities without fear of retribution.” 

The crackdown comes after the State Administration for Religious Affairs recently published the “Code of Conduct for Religious Clergy on the Internet,” an 18-article list of regulations that prohibit the online publication of religious content not approved by the government. 

Pastor Jin, 56, was reportedly detained at his home in Beihai, in China’s southeastern Guangxi Province. Jin founded the nondenominational Zion Church in 2007. Jin converted to Christianity soon after he participated in pro-democracy protests during the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989. He earned a doctorate in ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary in California.  

After authorities raided Zion Church’s Beijing location in 2018, the church moved its services online. This helped it expand its house church networks throughout China.

Zion’s numerous congregations meet in apartments, karaoke bars, and restaurants in more than 40 cities. The Wall Street Journal reported that roughly 10,000 people stream Zion Church’s online worship services. 

Sean Long, a Zion Church pastor based in the United States, said the arrests of dozens of Zion pastors and church members started on Thursday and occurred in six provinces. One female pastor was separated from her newborn during the crackdown. Authorities have reportedly charged some of these believers with illegally sharing religious content on the Internet.  

“This is a very disturbing and distressing moment,” Long said. “This is a brutal violation of freedom of religion, which is written into the Chinese constitution. We want our pastors to be released immediately.” 

The crackdown hasn’t deterred the Zion Church from gathering in person or online.  

“We will still have online service,” Long said. “We will not stop what we are doing. We will share the good news of Jesus Christ no matter what.” 

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