On Sept 5, 2016, the 2016 fall semester opening ceremony of Zhongnan Theological Seminary (ZTS) took place at the Christian Thanksgiving Church of Hubei province. All staff and students attended. Deputy director of ethnics and religious affairs committee Xiong HuaQi, deputy director of secondary religious affairs committee Chen Zhijun and their fellow party members also participated.
The spiritual practice before ceremony was host by Rev. Xiao AnPing, the vice president of Zhongnan seminary. Provost Pastor Zhao WeiHong shared his spirit with students using a speech titled "Meet the Lord of Life."
Rev. Wang Zhenren, the president of ZTS made a welcome speech on the ceremony. He thanked God for the peaceful return of senior students, and welcomed the joining of the juniors. He also encouraged them all to make the best of their lives, enrich their knowledge, broaden their horizon, and try to become an eligible servant for God in the modern time.
Director of Christian Council of HuBei, Rev. Zhu ZhiGuo brought up that seminaries and their students should work especially hard on "3 spirits": firstly the holy spirit, which means to follow the guidance of holy spirit and bear it in heart; secondly the school spirit, which means teachers and students should work as a team for good reputation, yet students should accelerate not only on academy but also on moral integrity; at last, the academic spirit, to success inacademy. So in a short version, "3 spirits" is to create atmosphere in one's heart for the holy spirit, to prepare oneself with knowledge, and to strict oneself in moral stand.
Deputy director of ethnics and religious affairs committee Xiong HuaQi highly appreciated the brilliant work over the past 30 years of ZTS. Then he gave the 2016 class a warm welcome and hearted congratulation. Next, he made 3 requests on the construction and management of Zhongnan seminary: first of all, stay firmly on the proven-right teaching path and continue to cultivate more excellent priests-to-be; second of all, any attempted invasion under the cover of religious affairs from foreign forces should be consciously rejected, and prevent possible harm from religious extremism actively; last of all, never stop improving management and service, also the teaching level. In the end, deputy Xiong gave his sincere wishes to all staff of Zhongnan seminary for a happy Teacher's Day.
Zhongnan Theological Seminary, which is a Christian theological national seminary and has four-year undergraduate course, opened on May 7, 1985. It is a theological institution which cultivates pastoral staff. It is located in No. 221, Road Minzhu, Wuchang District, Wuhan, Hubei Province. The seminary reveals that until Dec. 1, 1568 students have graduated in total.
