A video of the clash between government representatives and Catholics in Wangcun village has been posted online.
People can be heard shouting "Jesus save me!" and "Mother Mary, have pity on us", as they attempts to hinder the work of a bulldozer and the police.
According to AsiaNews, the priests were joined by thousands of believers who gathered in the rain around the church and the surrounding wall, praying and asking the Lord to make the official's "heart less hard and act in accordance with the law of the state that protects freedom of religion".
UCA news reported that Fathers Chen Jun, Gao Binglong, Ma Ning and Shen Xuezhong and several laypeople were assaulted by security officers and workers who came to demolish the property hat was returned to the church four years ago.
It had been demolished back in 1992 before being rebuilt as a factory by local authorities. Fr Xuezhong claimed the village committee gave the property back to the Changzhi Diocese in 2012.
The priest explained: "But in April this year, the village committee suddenly said that they have to demolish the old factory and the fencing wall that now belongs to the church."
While authorities have said that the orders are part of requirements to "demolish the old and broken" persecution groups such as Open Doors, China Aid and others have warned that there is a campaign to destroy churches and suppress the rise of Christianity in the country.
Fr Xuezhong criticised the village committee which is under the branch of the ruling Communist Party, for retracting its 2012 decision in returning the property to the church.
The priest went on to say: "We lodged a complaint in April. The local authority set up an investigative team that was meant to negotiate with the diocese but there was no right of reply about their proposal and so they straight away tried to demolish it by force.
"If it is demolished, the authority would not give any compensation to the diocese. We surely will not agree."
The village committee has ignored the parish's demands to abandon abolishing the property.
The bulldozing work has reportedly been blocked, though parishioners are worried that officials will resume their efforts at night.
