이필주(李弼柱) 목사의 생애와 민족운동

Abstract

Rev. Yi Pil-Ju(李弼柱, 1869~1942) was a typical Christian nationalist in Korean modern history. He was one of the thirty three signers of the March First Declaration of Independence in 1919. But there are few researches of him. This paper re-examines his life and nationalist activities. Yi Pil-Ju had entered the army voluntarily in 1890 and resigned from it in 1903. After he had lost his two young children in early 1902, he was converted to Christianity and attended the Sangdong Methodist Church in Seoul. He was baptized by Rev. W. B. Scranton in April, 1903. While he worked for the Church as a janitor, he was trained to become a Christian worker by Evangelist Jeon Deok Gi and Rev. W. B. Scranton. He was appointed as a teacher for a Boy’s School of the Sangdong Methodist Church in Spring of 1904. He entered the Methodist Theological Seminary in 1907 to prepare for ministry but could not graduate from it. At that time he took part in the Patriotic Enlightenment Movement as a key member. He was commissioned to the Wangsimni Church in March 1913, and was ordained a deacon in April 1915. He was appointed as the Pastor of the First Church(Jungdong Methodist Church) in June 1918. When the March First Independence Movement began, he was chosen to be one of the thirty three signers of the Manifesto. So he was imprisoned and lived in solitary confinement behind prison bars for two years and eight months. He was released from the prison on November 4th, 1921. At the Annual Conference of 1922, he was ordained an elder and took charge of a country circuit with three churches. Then he was appointed to other duties and retired from them in 1933. But he again took care of several churches in the Suwon District from March 1934 until his death in April 1942. In conclusion, he lived a life of a Christian nationalist since he had been converted to Christianity, and his ministry was a part of his Christian nationalist activities.