1887년 새문안교회 창립일의 재검토

Abstract

This paper re-examines primary sources related to the founding date of the Jeongdong Presbyterian Church (Saemunan Church), which was established in September 1887. It critiques the September 20 hypothesis that has been proposed since 2018, and confirms September 27 as the founding date. The thesis of this paper is twofold. First, the Saemunan Church was organized on September 27, 1887 with 14 baptized members and two elected elders. This was the organization of the first local Presbyterian church in Korea,. The two elders were from Uiju and were Seo Sangnyun’s cousins. On Sunday, October 2, they were ordained by Underwood and Ross, and an additional Korean was baptized. The September 20 hypothesis cannot be established because, in addition to errors in reading the text, no other cross-checkable sources are presented. Secondly, there were 15 baptized members in the Saemunan Church organized on September 27-October 2, 1887, all of whom lived in Seoul. The majority of them were merchants from Uiju and Sorae. When colporteur Seo Sangnyun secretly came to Seoul in 1882, as there was no freedom of relgion and no missionary yet, the first believers naturally came from among his hometown people. Many historians have misunderstood the phrase “from Uiju” or “from Sorae” and thought they meant believers living in Uiju or Sorae. Actually they had lived in Seoul at least for six years. Therefore, the Saemunan Church in 1887 was not a national church covering Gyeonggi-do, Hwanghae-do, and Pyeongan-do, nor was its session. It did not govern the emerging Presbyterian churches nationwide, but ministered a local Presbyterian church in Seoul, as its original name, Jeongdong Presbyterian Church, indicated.