Chinese officials expressed interest in the role of religion in "building a harmonious society," said Williams, referring to the Communist Party phrase for efforts to spread prosperity and ease tensions over the gap between China's rich and poor.

One senior official talked about "the potential significance of Christian Sunday schools in backing up the growth of a mature and stable public morality," Williams said at a news conference.

The Church of England and China's Protestant church agreed to work toward having Anglican theologians visit China to teach and to have Chinese seminarians study abroad, said Williams. He said they discussed possible foreign help to expand Chinese seminary libraries and to train religious scholars.

"We looked at this in detail, and we have a group which will be taking this forward," he said. Millions of Chinese have turned to Christianity for spiritual support in a society that has discarded leftist ideals and where economic reform has thrown millions out of work. Chinese Christians are officially permitted to worship only in churches run by state-monitored Protestant or Christian groups, which say they have 11 million followers.

But many more attend underground churches, whose total membership is estimated at up to 60 million. Clergy and members of such unofficial, or "house," churches are often jailed and harassed.

Similar state-sanctioned groups run temples and mosques for Buddhists, Taoists and Muslims. China's Protestant seminaries have links with counterparts abroad, and earlier archbishops of Canterbury visited in 1983 and 1994. Anglican leaders from Nigeria and elsewhere also have visited. China's Catholic group has no ties to Rome.

It regards Pope Benedict XVI as a spiritual leader but rejects formal relations due to disputes over the appointment of bishops and the Vatican's diplomatic links with rival Taiwan. Williams visited Shanghai and the cities of Xi'an in the west, Wuhan in central China and Nanjing in the east, where he visited the country's main Protestant seminary.

In Xi'an, he met the imam of China's most prominent mosque. Williams said he asked Chinese officials about six Protestant and Catholic church members who he said were jailed or harassed for religious activity. He said the officials asked him to submit more details and didn't immediately reply. Williams avoided open criticism of Beijing's controls on religious activity.

But he said the government could explain its rules more clearly so the faithful know what is permitted. "I think there is a remarkable amount of freedom of initiative for a number of religious groups," he said. "We're content to work with a church which we see to be lively and active and capable of taking initiative."

Archbishop Rowan Williams was wrapping up a two-week visit that came at time of explosive growth in Christianity in China. The trip, the first by a leader of the Church of England in 12 years, highlighted Anglicans' limited but longtime ties to China, in contrast to the Vatican's lack of relations with Beijing.

Chinese officials expressed interest in the role of religion in "building a harmonious society," said Williams, referring to the Communist Party phrase for efforts to spread prosperity and ease tensions over the gap between China's rich and poor. One senior official talked about "the potential significance of Christian Sunday schools in backing up the growth of a mature and stable public morality," Williams said at a news conference.

The Church of England and China's Protestant church agreed to work toward having Anglican theologians visit China to teach and to have Chinese seminarians study abroad, said Williams. He said they discussed possible foreign help to expand Chinese seminary libraries and to train religious scholars. "We looked at this in detail, and we have a group which will be taking this forward," he said.

Millions of Chinese have turned to Christianity for spiritual support in a society that has discarded leftist ideals and where economic reform has thrown millions out of work. Chinese Christians are officially permitted to worship only in churches run by state-monitored Protestant or Christian groups, which say they have 11 million followers.

But many more attend underground churches, whose total membership is estimated at up to 60 million. Clergy and members of such unofficial, or "house," churches are often jailed and harassed. Similar state-sanctioned groups run temples and mosques for Buddhists, Taoists and Muslims.

China's Protestant seminaries have links with counterparts abroad, and earlier archbishops of Canterbury visited in 1983 and 1994. Anglican leaders from Nigeria and elsewhere also have visited.

China's Catholic group has no ties to Rome. It regards Pope Benedict XVI as a spiritual leader but rejects formal relations due to disputes over the appointment of bishops and the Vatican's diplomatic links with rival Taiwan.

Williams visited Shanghai and the cities of Xi'an in the west, Wuhan in central China and Nanjing in the east, where he visited the country's main Protestant seminary. In Xi'an, he met the imam of China's most prominent mosque. Williams said he asked Chinese officials about six Protestant and Catholic church members who he said were jailed or harassed for religious activity. He said the officials asked him to submit more details and didn't immediately reply.

Williams avoided open criticism of Beijing's controls on religious activity. But he said the government could explain its rules more clearly so the faithful know what is permitted.

"I think there is a remarkable amount of freedom of initiative for a number of religious groups," he said. "We're content to work with a church which we see to be lively and active and capable of taking initiative."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/23/asia/AS_REL_China_Anglicans.php

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