A 73-year-old Chinese pastor is still missing months after Chinese authorities arrested him at his home in March. 

Pastor Wang Sanyuan is the pastor of Chanchunli Church in Ji’nan, the capital of Shandong Province in eastern China. As the influential leader of a government-registered church with 500 to 600 regular attendees, his arrest shocked his community. 

No one knows where Wang was taken — not even his wife and children. A church statement said, “The family has nowhere to turn with their complaints and is pushed to the point of desperation.” 

Though no one knows what he has been charged with, one local pastor familiar with the case, “Jin,” said, “I believe the authorities are now settling old scores.” 

Though the church is registered as a Three-Self Patriotic Church, a state-sanctioned Protestant church system, ChinaAid says it came into conflict with the government in 2009.

Officials from the Three-Self Patriotic Church and Religious Affairs Bureau entered the church during a service, announcing that their gatherings would be further suspended and the property would be seized. They also tried to remove Wang from his positions as pastor and director of the church’s management committee. 

Despite protests from the congregants, the building was demolished to make room for a shopping mall. Believers still protested, pitching their tents on the property. They were met with a force of more than 200 people in police uniforms, who stormed through their tents and injured nearly 30 people. 

Through it all, Wang had encouraged his congregation to stand strong in their faith.  

“He fought very strongly and successfully,” Jin said. 

Now, he is being detained without cause. Wang’s family is concerned about the treatment he is receiving, as he suffers from serious cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions and has been hospitalized several times.  

*Name changed for security 

Story by Bella Agnello 

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