Kratkaja Istorija Duxonvyx Missij v Kitae, (c. 1915-16)
English trans. by Jeremias Norman. Original postings: 51,74

There are the following mission stations in Henan.

At the time of the popular uprisings in 1900 [the Boxer Rebellion] in the city of Weihuifu an official of the fifth class, having been robbed by the rebels, found refuge in Beijing with the Russian detachment where, living for the next several months, he established good relations with the Russians. When he returned to his native place, he constructed at his own expense a church and school for the preaching of Christianity and offered them as a gift to the Russian Spiritual Mission in 1906; he himself was baptized with the name of Peter. The estate donated by Peter is right in the city of Weihuifu and consists of 33 rooms of new construction; it is surrounded by a high wall. In addition an additional 84 mu [.067 hectares] of farm land outside the city was donated to the Mission. In January 1905 the estate was accepted and the building was consecrated and a boys'school was opened there. In autumn of the same year, an oratory [molitvennyj zal] was build in the form of a church with an iconostasis; 37 people were baptized from among the local people. At the school 20 people were instructed. In subsequent years, catechist Simon often visited from Beijing; those who were prepard were baptized. The hierodeacons Innokenty Fan and Smaragdus (an artist) lived there for an extended time. In 1909 a new school with 20 students was opened by the North Gate where the teacher was Onesimus Wang. At the same time in the village of Jiangzhuang, a school with 15 students was opened by a local resident, Lucian Zang in his own residence where the teacher was the former seminarian Arefa Zang.

Dakou

Daokou is located at a distance of 15 versts east of Weihuifu to which it is connected by railway. In March of 1909 Savva Han from Weihuifu traveled there and found a suitable place for a school; 17 students signed up and within half a year a school with 40 students was opened here. The teachers were Savva Han and Philip Zhou. Religious instruction was begun in a special hall attached to the school. In 1911 9 adults and 30 children were baptized. Now the teacher is former seminarian Theodore Jin; there are more than 50 students. The station in Zhangdefu was opened in 1909; this district town is on the Beijing-Hankou railroad, about 80 versts from Wuihuifu. At the end of the first year a school with 7 students was opened; in the following year there were already 27 students but most of them were from neighboring villages; as a result studies at the school could not be correct and successful. Nonetheless, in the same year all of the students along with 29 others were baptized by Archimandrite Simon. In 1912 the number of students fell to 10 and the station was temporarily closed."

Comment: It is very interesting to see how Orthodoxy was frequently spread by the Chinese themselves and the role of education in the missionary effort.