A CRUCIAL conference will be held next month to pick a successor for former general secretary of the Chinese Christian Council (CCC), Bishop Shen Yifan.
Shen, 66, who died of heart failure in August, was widely regarded as a natural successor to the head of the official Protestant Church in China, Bishop Ding Guangxun.
Christian sources said the CCC and its twin organisation, Three-Self Patriotic Movement, would hold an executive meeting of the standing committee in Beijing, and the new general secretary would be announced.
Although the retirement of Bishop Ding, 79, is not expected until early 1996, sources said the meeting would provide a clear sign of the personnel makeup in Chinese Christian churches in the 'post Ding era'.
Sources said three candidates had been shortlisted to fill the vacancy left by Shen's death.
They are associate general secretary of the CCC, Cao Shengjie, the Reverend Shi Qigui of Shanghai's Moore Memorial Church, and the Reverend Su Deci of the Huadong Seminary in Shanghai.
It was pointed out that there would be some sort of a collective leadership within the CCC. While Ms Cao would likely concentrate on the hymnological matters, Mr Su was expected to take over as the chairman of the CCC's Theological Education Committee.
