St. John's Church, Suzhou

St. John's Church traces its origins to the former East Soochow Methodist Church, founded in 1881 by American missionary Alvin Pierson Parker, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.[1]

At the beginning of the 20th century, the number of Christians in Suzhou increased.[1] In 1915, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South demolished the church and built a new western style church with a construction area of 1,855-square-metre (19,970 sq ft) and 800 seats, designing by John M. Moore.[1] And it was renamed the St. John's Church in memory of the St. John's Church in St. Louis, Missouri, United States for its financial support.[1] Chong-tan Lee, grandfather of Tsung-Dao Lee, served as its first chief pastor.[1]

In 1959, the church was rented by the Suzhou First People's Hospital and returned to the Church in 1995.[1] It was refurbished and redecorated from October 1996 to March 1998.[1] The church was officially reopened to the public in November 2005 with the approval of the Chinese government.[1]

• Weihong, Luo (1 May 2014). 中国基督教（新教）史 [History of Protestantism in China] (in Chinese). Shanghai: Shanghai People's Publishing House. ISBN 9787208121324.