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Clerics take part in service for first time since Beijing banned church in 1964
Wang Quansheng  and Lu Yafu   have not donned golden cassocks since December 1964, when the central government banned the Orthodox Church in Shanghai and forbade them from presiding over services.
The  Orthodox priests yesterday returned to the  altar to take part in a special Sunday service inside the Russian consulate in the port city. The location was not  entirely perfect - it took place at the visa  office.
Participants,  about 20  mainlanders and 20  Russians,  would have to go to the hotel across the road  if they needed to use the toilet.
But the mood was decidedly buoyant. Alexey Kiselevich, an Orthodox priest from Moscow who was also leading the service, called it a very special moment.
'We're very grateful. Although Chinese followers are only allowed to attend the service on special occasions, it's nonetheless a breakthrough,' he said.
There are around 100  Orthodox  followers in the city,  and they can only meet irregularly at their residences. Only foreigners can regularly attend  Sunday services, but according to Father Kiselevich, he had to perform them inside the Russian consulate for the past four years.
Mainlanders  are only allowed to join them on special occasions, such as Christmas and Easter.
Father Wang, 84, and Father Lu, 81, are the only surviving Chinese Orthodox priests on the mainland. After the central government banned the  church, they worked for Shanghai city government's housing bureau.
But the two have never given up - they last applied to the State Administration for Religious Affairs  in March to assume their church  duties.
'I am grateful that it happened eventually. I thank the Lord that I can make it,'  Father Lu said, as he was preparing for the service.
The four-hour service would have exhausted even younger men, but the two elderly priests said they were exhilarated.  'I'm so glad that we are here today,' Father Wang said.
The ceremony comprised the regular Sunday service and a celebration of   Pentecost.  The service was conducted in a  Slavic  dialect,  leaving most of the  locals  at a loss.
The Chinese followers were a mixed bunch - some of them were senior citizens who converted to the Orthodox Church in their childhood under family influences; others  were in their 20s. The younger followers said they used to be Protestants but converted to the Orthodox faith after gaining more knowledge about the history of Christianity.
But most of them were unfamiliar with the rituals and  needed church staff to instruct them on proceedings.
Sun Yue,  who flew  from Moscow to attend the service, said: 'I hope one day the service will be conducted in Chinese. But there  is a long way to go. It may take two to three generations to accomplish.'
The most daunting challenge facing the church  is the lack of qualified priests, their training having been suspended since the ban.  'We don't have enough people good at both Chinese and Slavic to do the translations. The Chinese version of the Holy Book was translated many years ago; it's written in old-style Chinese language,'  Mr Sun said.
Father Kiselevich said the mere fact the service had taken place showed the government had a more relaxed attitude towards the  church.
The mainland has in recent years seen a religious revival - with the number of followers of various sects  mushrooming. The resurgence  has been linked to a stronger yearning for spiritual fulfilment in an era marked by the  embrace of materialism and consumerism, and the virtual bankruptcy of old communist doctrines.
The new leadership in Beijing has also acknowledged religion's power to unite society, although it is pretty wary of the foreign influence some religions are perceived to exercise.
Only five religions are recognised by the state - Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism.
The Russian priest said: 'Whether our Chinese devotees can worship freely depends on Beijing's attitude. The Orthodox Church in China needs Beijing's recognition. We know it is a complex issue that needs time to resolve; we will continue our work to make it happen.'



Orthodox priests don robes in Shanghai