福音堂曾作為“戰(zhàn)時救亡圖書室”開展“愛國讀書會

楊艷

“倚欄頻北望，雄鎮(zhèn)擁金沙。江隔襄樊界，星繁博望槎?！鼻宕娙烁祶摹督辨?zhèn)》給我們描繪了古代江北城的模樣。地處長江、嘉陵江交匯處的江北城與渝中半島一樣，歷來是重要的政治經(jīng)濟文化活動中心。

漫步于江北嘴桂花街，路邊一座哥特式風(fēng)格的教堂闖入視野，高聳的尖塔與鑲嵌著彩色玻璃的窗戶，讓人記憶起那段不該被遺忘的時光。

這就是福音堂，距今已有上百年的歷史，最早由美國衛(wèi)理公會傳教士、時為重慶寬仁醫(yī)院院長的馬嘉里負責修建。原址位于江北城正街164號，此前馬嘉里派人在江北衙門口書房街租下一間門鋪行醫(yī)傳教，受到當?shù)孛癖姷种贫l(fā)“江北教案”，之后衛(wèi)理公會通過籌措資金加上教案賠款修建了福音堂和寬仁醫(yī)院，由馬嘉里擔任第一任牧師。

抗日戰(zhàn)爭時期，福音堂的圖書閱覽室擴充為“戰(zhàn)時救亡圖書室”，組織讀書會。救國會、學(xué)救會、學(xué)聯(lián)、江北婦女慰勞分會、航訓(xùn)班抗日救亡團、戰(zhàn)時書報供應(yīng)社等團體在此進行抗日宣傳活動，時任重慶市長任白戈曾參加福音堂的“愛國讀書會”。鄧穎超、史良等著名愛國人士也曾在福音堂作過抗日救亡演講，喚起民眾投入抗日。作為重慶愛國志士、群眾團體開展抗日活動的主要陣地，福音堂為贏得抗日戰(zhàn)爭的勝利作出了重要的貢獻。

福音堂原占地面積628平方米，建筑面積948平方米。1998年在原址對舊教堂解危重建，后因江北城舊城改造，福音堂被保護性搬遷至江北嘴中央公園內(nèi)規(guī)劃重建。新址位于桂花街47號，現(xiàn)已成為市級重點保護文物。

新教堂設(shè)計為哥特式風(fēng)格，主堂面積700多平方米，可容納500多人聚會。附屬房屋面積700多平方米。2012年作為文化提升工程被納入市政府“百年教堂，千年寺廟”保護修繕計劃，通過精心打造，充分吸收基督教和中國文化元素。室內(nèi)以六角形屋頂?shù)脑O(shè)計最吸引人，盡顯華麗莊重。鑲嵌在墻上的彩色玻璃拼繪出一個個圣經(jīng)故事，值得一提的是，這些圖案竟是經(jīng)中國版畫藝術(shù)家創(chuàng)作而成，流光溢彩，別具一格。目前，教堂的地下一樓正在裝修，據(jù)了解，未來將作為書吧，面向大眾開放。

如今，這座傳承重慶歷史建筑文化的教堂，為江北嘴金融中心增添了一道亮麗的人文景觀。

"Gaze at the north frequently by leaning against the rail. The strong town boasts Jinsha. The city of Xangyang is separated by the river. So many dotting stars are there above the boat." In his Jiangbei Town， Fu Qiao， the poet of the Qing Dynasty described the ancient Jiangbei City to us. Jiangbei City， located at the intersection of the Yangtze River and Jialing River， is always an important center of political， economic and cultural activities just like Yuzhong Peninsula.

Roaming on the Guihua Street of Jiangbeizui， you may see a Gothic church by the roadside. The towering spire and the windows inlaid with glazed glass remind us of the time that shouldn't be forgotten.

This is the century-old Gospel Hall. It was built by Dr. Games. H. Mecaitney， a missionary of the Methodist Church and then president of North-Kuanren General Hospital. It was originally located at No. 164， Zhengjie Street， Jiangbei City. Prior to that， Dr. Mecaitney assigned his subordinates to rent a store on Shufang Street， Jiangbei Yamen to practice medicine and do missionary work， which was resisted by the local public and hence triggered "Jiangbei Church Incident". Later， the Methodist Church built Gospel Hall and Kuanren Hospital with the fund it had raised and the indemnities of the case， and Dr. Mecaitney served as the first pastor here.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression， the reading room of Gospel Hall was expanded into "the wartime salvation library" for organizing reading parties. Groups including the Association for National Salvation， the Association for Learning Salvation， Students' Federation， Jiangbei Female Consolation Branch， the Anti-Japanese Salvation Group of Flight Training Class， Wartime Books & Papers Supply Association held the anti-Japanese publicity activities here. The then Chongqing mayor Ren Baige once also attended the "patriotic reading party" of Gospel Hall. Famous patriotic personages like Deng Yingchao and Shi Liang also delivered the anti-Japanese speeches in Gospel Hall， with the purpose of mobilizing the public to be engaged in the war. As the main location for the patriots and mass groups in Chongqing to carry out the anti-Japanese activities， the Gospel Hall once made important contributions to the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

The previous coverage of the Gospel Hall was 628 square meters and the construction area was 948 square meters. In 1998， the ancient church was rebuilt on the original site. Later the Gospel Hall was protectively moved to Jiangbeizui Central Park for planned reconstruction out of the reconstruction of the ancient Jiangbei City. The new address is now located at No. 47， Guihua Street as a municipal key cultural site.

In Gothic style， the main hall of the new church occupies over 700 square meters and can hold over 500 people simultaneously. The annexes have an area of over 700 square meters. In 2012， as the project of cultural improvement， it was included into the protection and repair program of "century-old church， millennium-old temple" of the municipal government. Through full creation， it absorbed the elements of both Christianity and the Chinese culture. The indoor design of the hexagon roof is the most prominent， splendid and magnificent. The colorful glass inlaid on the wall depicts various Bible stories. It is worth mentioning that created by the artists of the Chinese printmaking， these patterns still look lustrous and distinctive. At present， the underground floor of the church is being decorated. It is said that it will be open to the public as a book bar in the future.

At present， the church， bearing the historical architectural culture of Chongqing， adds a bright cultural landscape to Jiangbeizui Financial Center.