Sanban Puren Pai

Sanban puren pai (三班仆人派 Three Grades of Servant Church) is a Christian doomsday sect in China. The group was founded in Henan by Xu Wenku (徐文库 also known as Xu Shuangfu 徐双富, 1946-2006) who claimed to be the "Great Servant" 大仆人 in the 1990s.[1][2][3]

Chinese official sources credited the movement in 2000 with at least half a million members. The name “Three Grades or Servants” came from Xu’s teaching that God operates in history through triumvirates: rulers of fifties, of hundreds and of thousands in the Old Testament, teachers, prophets and apostles in the New Testament, and evangelists, handmaids, and servants today.

In 2005-2006, Chinese authorities cracked down on the Three Grades of Servants, accused inter alia of having assassinated members of rival religious movements, particularly of Eastern Lightning. Xu was arrested, convicted, and executed in 2006.[4] Also in 2006, the China Anti-Cult Association (中国反邪教协会) denounced the Three Grades of Servants through a movie called 警惕冒用宗教名义的非法组织 ("Beware of illegal organizations using the name of religion").[5]

In 2018, Christians in Yunnan were arrested and sentenced as members of the Three Grades of Servants.[6] The decisions were confirmed on appeal, although the defendants maintained that they were simply house churches Christians and had never even heard of the Three Grades of Servants.[7]

See also: Chinese lists of cults § In-state

References
  1. Lian, Xi - Redeemed by Fire: The Rise of Popular Christianity in Modern China 0300123396 2010 Page 287 Deng Fei and Liu Zhiming, “Sanban Puren jiaohui'an zhuanti" (A Special Report on the Case of Three Grades of Servant Church)"
  2. Daniel H. Bays A New History of Christianity in China 1444342843 2011 "Not nearly as large as the Fangcheng Church or the China Gospel Fellowship are a number of more radical sectarian groups which were products of the great impact ... The Three Grades of Servants (Sanban Puren).
  3. Fenggang Yang - Religion in China: Survival and Revival Under Communist Rule 0199735646 - 2011 "Table 5.2 Wen Qiuhui Cult/sect Chinese name Founder/key leader Origin Yearfounded/ spread Year banned 9 Disciples Sect (Narrow Gate) Mentu hui (kuangye zhaimen) Ji Sanbao Shaanxi 1989 1990 10 Three Ranks of Servants Sanban puren Xu Shengguang; Huo ... 1991/1999 12 Commune Sect Fanwugongyong pai Liang Jiaye Shandong 1991 1994 13 New Testament Church/Apostles Faith Sect ..."
  4. Massimo Introvigne, Do They Still Exist? Investigating the Three Grades of Servants, Bitter Winter, November 29, 2018.
  5. "警惕冒用宗教名义的非法组织", 2006.
  6. House Church Christians Sentenced Under the False Accuse of Being Members of the Three Grades of Servants, Bitter Winter, May 4, 2018.
  7. Appeal of Christians Falsely Accused of Being Members of the “Three Grades of Servants” is Rejected, Bitter Winter, July 26, 2018.
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