Toegye-won Church

Overview

Toegyewon Church is a church in Toegyewon-eup, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, belonging to the Diocese of Uijeongbu. Beginning as a gathering of the faithful after 1962, it passed through a period as a Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of Sangbong-dong Parish and was established as a parish on February 6, 1987, with the 103 Korean martyr saints as its patron saints.

History

〔Gathering of the Faithful and Mission Chapel〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in March 1962, 3 women faithful living in Toegyewon began attending Imun-dong Parish, the parish having jurisdiction over the Sinnae-dong Catholic mission chapel. From 1967, they went to Cheongnyangni Parish for Sunday Mass, but because transportation was inconvenient, they celebrated mission chapel services alternately in the homes of the faithful, including Dokjeom Village (now Sano-dong, Guri-si) and the Daedong Brewery. When Sangbong-dong Parish was established in November 1970, Toegyewon was approved as a Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of Sangbong-dong Parish, and at that time the mission chapel district comprised 26 villages in 3 townships, including Jingeon-myeon, Byeolni-myeon and Jinjeop-myeon in Namyangju-gun. In March 1973, Mun Nak-gyu of the Daedong Brewery donated a dry field of 1,999.99 square meters and a building on the land (building area 66.11 square meters), providing a mission chapel building. The parish homepage introduction likewise records in the same order the period under the Sinnae-dong mission chapel of Imun-dong Church in 1962, the approval of the Toegyewon mission chapel by Sangbong-dong Church in 1970, and the provision of a mission chapel building through the donation of parishioner Mun Nak-gyu in 1973.

〔Establishment of the Parish and Construction of the Church Building〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in January 1985, the dry field that had been the mission chapel site was exchanged for land at the present parish site (1,124 pyeong) and a church construction promotion committee was organized, and in September of the same year construction of the church began, was completed in October 1987, and the blessing ceremony was held, officiated by Cardinal Kim Su-hwan (Stephen). Meanwhile, the Toegyewon mission chapel was elevated to a parish on February 6, 1987, closing its mission chapel era of more than 20 years. The parish homepage states that it built the church building and was elevated to a parish in 1987.

〔Early Pastoral Ministry〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the first pastor, Father Kang Gwon-su (Matthias), formed a pastoral council, organized lay groups, and organized the jurisdictional district into small groups. In July 1987, catechism classes began to be held also on weekdays, and in November the middle and high school divisions of the Sunday school invited students from neighboring parishes to hold a ‘Flint Festival.’ In 1988, with ‘United in the Eucharist’ as the pastoral motto, Eucharistic catechesis and devotion to the Eucharist were strengthened. The 2 pastor, Father Im Sang-man (Andrew Daegeon), founded and ran various groups, and the 3 pastor, Father Kim Yong-bong (Peter), pursued small-community-centered pastoral ministry, so that by 1994 the number of faithful had grown to 906. In 1995 a bazaar was held to raise funds for Peace Broadcasting TV, and in 1996 a bazaar was held for a computer classroom.

〔After 1996〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 4 pastor, Father Song U-seok (Francis), made a pilgrimage to Baeron Shrine on the 9 anniversary Parish Day (1996.10.20) and held a commemorative sports festival on the celebration day of the 12 anniversary of the parish establishment (1999.10.24). The 5 pastor, Father Jeon Yeong-jun (Paul), reorganized the jurisdictional district and opened a Bible seedbed course, and in July 2000 renovated the rectory, convent, office, confessional, infant room and others, and in August held the groundbreaking ceremony for a new rectory, convent and office. The 6 pastor, Father Lee Cheol-hui (John Chrysostom), held the completion ceremony for the new rectory, convent and office on February 15, 2003 (a 3-story building, site 1,361 square meters, building 356.81 square meters). The encyclopedia states that the 7 pastor, Father Yu Byeong-man (Gabriel), carried out pastoral ministry emphasizing maxims such as ‘do your best and await Heaven’s will,’ ‘misfortune may turn into fortune,’ and ‘justice will ultimately prevail.’

〔Patron Saints〕 According to the parish homepage, the reason the Holy See in Rome approved 103 Korean martyrs as saints is that the Korean Catholic Church is a lay-centered, self-generating Church, and since the faithful of Toegyewon Church are likewise a lay-centered, self-generating Church, they came to venerate the 103 Korean martyr saints as patron saints. The same page lists 103 saints, including Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon and Saint Paul Jeong Ha-sang.

〔Church Statistics and Successive Pastors〕 The church statistics recorded by the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia were 983 faithful in 1987, 2,025 in 1992, 1,520 in 1997, 1,647 in 2000, and 1,700 in 2003, and the jurisdictional district was the entire Toegyewon-myeon area. The successive pastors were the first Kang Gwon-su (Matthias, 1987.2~1989.2), the 2 Im Sang-man (Andrew Daegeon, 1989.2~1992.2), the 3 Kim Yong-bong (Peter, 1992.2~1996.10), the 4 Song U-seok (Francis, 1996.10~1999.9), the 5 Jeon Yeong-jun (Paul, 1999.9~2002.10), the 6 Lee Cheol-hui (John Chrysostom, 2002.10~2004.9), and the 7 Yu Byeong-man (Gabriel, 2004.9~).

Related Places and People

• Sangbong-dong Church: established in November 1970, it had jurisdiction over the Toegyewon mission chapel, and in 1987 Toegyewon Parish was separated and established from it (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Imun-dong Parish: in 1962 it was the parish having jurisdiction over the Sinnae-dong mission chapel, and it is the parish the Toegyewon faithful first attended (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Baeron Shrine: the place visited on pilgrimage on the 9 anniversary Parish Day, October 20, 1996 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Toegyewon Parish” (Vol. 11). Mission chapel era, parish establishment and church blessing in 1987, successive pastors and church statistics.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/6356
2. Toegyewon Church, Diocese of Uijeongbu, Introduction. Circumstances of the mission chapel era and elevation to a parish in 1987.
   https://sd.uca.or.kr/tgw/default.aspx?mnucd=20001441
3. Toegyewon Church, Diocese of Uijeongbu, Patron Saints. Reason for venerating the 103 Korean martyr saints as patron saints.
   https://sd.uca.or.kr/tgw/default.aspx?mnucd=20001443