Chapter 19: Religion
THE Anglican Diocese of Hong Kong, which includes Macau, covers nine recognized parish churches and eight mission chapels. In three of these worship is conducted in English, and in the remainder in Chinese. St. John's Cathedral, opened in 1849, was established as a Cathedral Church by Letters Patent from Queen Victoria in 1850.
During 1958 the Bishop of Hong Kong was absent in England, where he attended the Lambeth Conference and also made exten- sive preaching and speaking tours on behalf of the Diocese.
The main work of the year was following up the successful mission to the Diocese by the Franciscan evangelist, the-Rev. Michael Fisher, in 1957. Plans went forward for the building of four new parish churches and vicarages. Several church schools planned big extensions to their buildings and some more new schools will be built. The new building for the Holy Carpenter Hostel for Young Workers was completed and St. James' Settle- ment in Wan Chai embarked on a big building project. At the Cathedral a new stained glass window was installed, and a new addition made to the Lady Chapel.
The English-speaking Free Churches are represented by the Methodists, whose Church is on the Island; by two Union Churches, one on the Island and one in Kowloon; by the Emmanuel Church and the Alliance Church in Kowloon; and by the Baptist Church on the Island and Chapel in Kowloon. The London Missionary Society, whose chief representative arrived in Hong Kong within a year of the Colony's cession to Great Britain, plays a prominent part in education and medicine, and runs the Nethersole Hospital, one of the Colony's foremost medical institutions.
There has been a marked growth in the size and vigour of the Chinese-speaking Churches in recent years. Up-to-date statistics are not available, but preliminary results of a survey now under way indicated substantial increases over the 1956 figures. At that