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　　上海早在四百多年前就引入了基督教，并于1609年建成了第一所教堂——圣母瑪利亞祈禱所，又于1640年建成了現(xiàn)存最早的教堂——敬一堂。至1664年，上海已有66所教堂，后因雍正禁教而終止建設(shè)。
　　1843年開埠后，上海因其優(yōu)越的地理位置和重要的社會經(jīng)濟地位，迅速成為基督教在華傳播的中心，也最終成為中國建成教堂最多的城市，曾經(jīng)達(dá)到771所。現(xiàn)今上海教堂仍在不斷的修復(fù)、維護和建設(shè)中，新舊教堂總計超過300所。
　　1843－1899
　　在上海開埠至19世紀(jì)末的五十余年里，不同國家、不同宗派均紛紛在上海建堂，從各個區(qū)的主教堂，到之下的分堂，再到散布在小街小巷的布道所，以及遍布郊區(qū)的鄉(xiāng)村教堂。這一時期，上海教堂經(jīng)歷了從最初的家庭聚會點式的場所租賃，到購地建造簡易的教堂，再到不斷在原址或遷址重建、擴建、改建、增建的艱辛過程，共建成教堂百余所。圣三一堂、董家渡天主堂、圣若瑟堂、新天安堂、佘山天主堂、虹口天主堂（1876；現(xiàn)已不存）、閘北堂和唐鎮(zhèn)天主堂等成為其中的典型代表。
　　這些教堂的設(shè)計師大多是傳教士，他們盡力模仿西方教堂的風(fēng)格和樣式，甚至直接以某一歐洲教堂為藍(lán)本。由于傳教士們?nèi)�身心地投入時間和精力，教堂建筑質(zhì)量較好，藝術(shù)價值也較高，體現(xiàn)了西方古典建筑的特點。這些較為純正的西式教堂，相對于當(dāng)時的外廊式洋行、領(lǐng)事館等建筑更具永久性，代表了20世紀(jì)前西方建筑在上海的最高成就，直到20世紀(jì)外灘建筑群等一批重要的公共建筑出現(xiàn)后才被取代。
　　1900－1927
　　20世紀(jì)初期，短短二十多年間，上海建造教堂的數(shù)量超過了整個19世紀(jì)，而且質(zhì)量明顯提升，體現(xiàn)了迄今尚難超越的設(shè)計和施工水平。上海現(xiàn)存的教堂，基本上都是這一時期新建，或在這一時期進行了最為關(guān)鍵的、決定性的改建和擴建。
　　這一時期教堂的建造活動大致可分為三類：一是對19世紀(jì)建造的教堂進行翻新改建，或在舊教堂鄰近擴建新教堂，如圣三一堂、傅家天主堂、清心堂、新天安堂和佘山天主堂等；二是為一批早期成立卻沒有獨立教堂的差會（教會的一種宣教組織）建造新教堂，如滬東堂（1912；現(xiàn)已不存）、景靈堂、國際禮拜堂、諸圣堂和鴻德堂等；三是為新成立的教會建造教堂。
　　很多有影響的著名建筑師在此前后參與到教堂的設(shè)計中，如徐家匯天主堂的新堂由道達(dá)洋行設(shè)計、新清心堂由李錦沛擴建、息焉堂由鄔達(dá)克新建。職業(yè)建筑師們不再刻意模仿西式風(fēng)格，而是轉(zhuǎn)向了對本土特征的關(guān)注。
　　1928－1949
　　連年的戰(zhàn)爭對教堂損毀極大。一大批教堂被夷為平地，包括虹口救主堂（1853；這一時期被炸毀的是建于1926年的新堂；后又重建，即今五原路天主堂）、圣保羅堂（1926；現(xiàn)已不存）等；一些教堂經(jīng)歷過數(shù)次炸毀和重建，如閘北堂、懷恩堂等；改建了一批老教堂，如1931年改建的沐恩新堂；也新建了不少優(yōu)秀的教堂，如大田路天主堂、德國新福音教堂（1930－1932；鄔達(dá)克代表作之一，現(xiàn)已不存）、圣伯多祿堂、新恩堂等。
　　這一階段，教堂建筑走向了多元化風(fēng)格，中西建筑體系達(dá)到了前所未有的大融合。雖然哥特風(fēng)格的教堂在數(shù)量上仍然占據(jù)主位，但教會已不再主動倡導(dǎo)任何一種建筑樣式或強調(diào)某種建筑風(fēng)格，一個差會往往會同時建造幾種不同風(fēng)格的教堂，多數(shù)情況下是根據(jù)建筑所處的特殊的自然和文化環(huán)境，以及建筑師和傳教士的個人喜好來選擇。
　　同時，教堂建筑的世俗化傾向越來越明顯，尤其是經(jīng)濟的發(fā)展，使得教堂建筑不得不逐漸融入商業(yè)化的城市氛圍中，越來越接近其他公共建筑，自身特色逐漸消退。
　　1949至今
　　1949年以后，西方傳教士紛紛回國，上海近一個世紀(jì)集中的教堂修建落下了帷幕，余留的百余所教堂也是滿目瘡痍。改革開放后，許多教堂恢復(fù)了使用，保留下來的近代歷史建筑，尚有不足五十所。新堂開始修建，教堂數(shù)量有所回升。但整體來看，教堂建筑已逐漸從城市中淡出，并最終湮沒在20世紀(jì)晚期的城市化進程中。
　　今天，我們談起上海的城市風(fēng)貌，似乎很難想象除了摩天大樓和石庫門、法式花園別墅，還能用其他什么建筑來描述這座城市的個性。歷史已一去不復(fù)返，但至少應(yīng)該知道，我們的城市曾經(jīng)有過那樣一個可以看到身著圣袍的牧師布道，能聽得見管風(fēng)琴奏出的圣樂，也能遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)看到教堂的高塔的時代。我們應(yīng)該關(guān)注上海的教堂，關(guān)注上海那段獨特的歷史。這樣的獨特性，令上海與中國的其他城市相比，有了自己特別的文化積淀，這也正是我們最為寶貴的“海派”城市文化內(nèi)涵。Preamble
　　Christianity was introduced into Shanghai over 400 years ago. The first church in Shanghai, called “Virgin Mary Prayer Hall”, was built in 1609. Jingyi Church, the oldest surviving church in Shanghai, was completed in 1640. By 1644, Shanghai had 66 churches, yet the construction of churches came to an abrupt stop due a ban on Christianity by Emperor Yongzheng.
　　After it was turned into a Treaty Port in 1843, Shanghai quickly became the most important center of the Christian missions in China thanks to its advantageous location and unique socio-economic status, until it came to be the city with the largest number of churches in China, boasting as many as 771 churches for a time. Today, there are over 300 churches in Shanghai, both old and new, which undergo constant repairs, maintenance and reconstruction.
　　1843-1899
　　In the half a century from 1843 to the end of the 19th century, Shanghai saw the arrival of churches from different countries and Christian schools. The churches ranged from parish cathedrals and regular churches to neighborhood preaching sites and countryside chapels. Over 100 churches were built in this period. The Christian community painstakingly held household preaching parties on rented sites, then built crude churches on bought land, and finally rebuilt, expanded, modified or relocated the original churches. Holy Trinity Church, St. Francisco Xavier Church, St. Joseph Church, Union Church, Sheshan Basilica, Hongkou Church (built in 1876, now gone), Zhabei Church and Our Lady of Lourdes Church of Tangzhen are the good examples of this period.
　　These churches were designed mostly by missionaries themselves, who tried to emulate the styles and floor plans of Western churches and sometimes simply copied certain European churches. Because of the dedication of the missionaries, the churches have been endowed with good quality and high artistic value representative of the Western classical architecture. These “pureblood” churches were permanent structures compared with the colonial-style company mansions and consulates at the time and embodied the highest level of the Western architectural influence in Shanghai, until they were surpassed by grander public buildings such as the mansions on the Bund in the 20th century.
　　1900-1927
　　More churches were built in the first quarter of the 20th century than in the entire 19th century in Shanghai, and these churches boast significantly improved qualities and a high level of expertise in design and construction that is admirable even by today’s standards. Most of the surviving historical churches in Shanghai are built or crucially modified/expanded in this period.
　　There are three situations in the construction of churches in this period. The first is the refurbishment or expansion of the old 19th-century churches, such as Holy Trinity Church, Our Lady of Rosary Church, Pure Heart Church, New Union Church and Sheshan Basilica. The second is the construction of new churches by missionary societies which were founded earlier and didn’t have independent churches, such as Eastern Shanghai Church (built in 1912, now gone), Allen Memorial Church, Community Church and Hongde Church. The third is the construction of new churches by newly-founded missionary societies.
　　In this period, a lot of prestigious architects were involved in the design of these churches. For example, St. Ignatius Cathedral was designed by William. M. Doyle, the expansion of Pure Heart Church was designed by Li Jinpei, and Sieh Yih Chapel was designed by Laszlo Hudec. These professional architects had stopped copying the Western styles, but turned their attention to the innovative portrayal of local characteristics.
　　1928-1949
　　The perennial warfare had a detrimental effect on the churches. Some churches were simply razed, such as Hongkou Savior Church (built in 1853; the expansion built in 1926 was destroyed in this period, and the original site was rebuilt into today’s Catholic Church on Wuyuan Road) and St. Paul Cathedral (built in 1926, now gone). Some churches were demolished and rebuilt several times, such as Zhabei Church and Grace Baptist Church. Nevertheless, in this period, some old churches were modified, such as Moore Memorial Church (modified in 1931), and some new churches were built as classical pieces, such as St. Teresa Church on Datian Road, German Gospel Church (built in 1930–1932, one of Hudec’s representative works, now gone), St. Peter Cathedral and New Grace Church.
　　The churches of this period tend to embrace greater diversity in architectural styles and feature an unprecedented harmony of Chinese and Western elements. Although the Gothic architecture still prevailed, no particular design or style was recommended or emphasized. A missionary society usually built its churches in widely different styles. In most cases, the architectural style of a church was picked according to the specific natural and cultural environments as well as the personal preferences of the architects and missionaries.
　　Meanwhile, the church architecture of this period is characterized by a development towards secularity. The churches had to blend into the highly commercialized neighborhoods and began to bear an affinity to other public buildings, thus allowing a fade-out of religious significance.
　　1949 till now
　　After 1949, the missionaries returned to their home countries, and the construction of churches came to an end. Over a hundred churches in Shanghai remained in various states of disrepair. The advent of the “reform and opening-up” in the 1980s saw the revival of many churches, though no more than 50 historical churches have survived into present day. New churches are being built and the number of churches in Shanghai is on the rise, yet on a whole the churches have been marginalized in the cityscape during the rapid urbanization of Shanghai towards the end of the 20th century.
　　It is hard to imagine how the city’s idiosyncrasies can be described through architectural elements other than the ubiquitous skyscrapers, Shikumen (stone-framed gate) lanes and French-style garden houses. The churches need to be lifted from obscurity as a legacy of certain episodes of history, when frocked priests preached amidst holy organ music and church steeples reached to the sky. The churches of Shanghai and the specific segment of history they represent deserve more attention from the public. It is these old churches that contribute to Shanghai’s colorful history which has been a part of the city’s cultural heritage.
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