List of church buildings in Indonesia

History

In Indonesia, church buildings in the first stage of their creation were simple, shed-like structures, built from bamboo or wood. Once sizable congregations had been established, more permanent buildings were erected, which seated hundreds or even over a thousand.

Precolonial era

There is evidence of the presence of Christian communities (Chaldean Church) in north Sumatra as early as the 7th century.

Portuguese arrival in Indonesia

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in Indonesia. They sought to dominate the sources of valuable spices and to extend their Roman Catholic missionary efforts. Francis Xavier was the most well-known Portuguese missionary in the archipelago, the mission began in 1534 when some chiefs from Morotai came to Ternate asking to be baptised. He later returned to Moluccas and spent his time at Halmahera, Ternate and Amboina in 1546-1547, baptizing several thousand locals.

Dutch documents state that nearly all inhabitants of Ambon were Catholics, introduced by the Portuguese Jesuits, mostly arrived from Goa. Ambon had four fine church buildings and a small hospital, La Misericordia. The Jesuit Church of St. James was from mid-1605 used for Protestant services. In 1630 it was replaced by a stone building called St. Paul's Church.

Dutch East India company in Indonesia

Catholicism in Indonesia came into a dark age when the Protestant-Dutch VOC defeated the Portuguese and took over their possession at Mollucas in 1605 and Solor in 1613. Dutch East India Company or Vereniging Oost Indie Compagnie (VOC) suppressed the Catholic religion within their conquered territories and banned any Catholic missionary activities. Many Catholics were forcibly converted to Protestantism and Catholic churches were changed for Protestant purposes. As a result of their successful campaign in the East Indies and strong sentiment against the Catholics, many of the earliest surviving well-documented church buildings in the Indonesian archipelago are Protestant churches; most of them are concentrated along the north coast of Java and the islands of Moluccas.

Enslaved Catholics are also encouraged to adapt Protestanism and Dutch sounding names. This happened to the Mardijker people (who were a Portuguese speaking creole group) in Batavia and Depok. Catholicism didn't have any particular rights in Indonesia until 1808 under governor general Daendels, during the French occupation of the Netherlands.

In Batavia, few of the earliest Protestant church structures in Indonesia are well documented. The first church building in the city was a provisional church, erected in 1625 together with the earlier city hall. In 1632 the foundation for a proper church was laid. This was followed by the first stone to be laid in 1640 and the building, known as Oude Hollandse Kerk ("Old Holland Church"), was finished in 1643. The Old Holland Church was later expanded and renamed "Nieuw Hollandse kerk" ("New Holland Church") in 1736. The new church was shaped octagonally according to Calvinism's focus on the sermon and had a domed roof. The church was toppled by an earthquake in 1808, and the remains were completely demolished by Governor General Daendels to obtain building materials for a new government center in Weltevreden. The base of the church can be seen in the Wayang Museum.

In 1644, Governor General Antonio van Diemen built a chapel in Batavia Castle at his own expense. Already in 1633, a simple wooden church with straw roof had been built for services in Malay. The Portuguese Binnenkerk (Portuguese church inside the city walls) was built between 1669 and 1672, initially for Malay services, but also to meet the needs of the Portuguese-speaking Christians. Another Portuguese-language church was built outside the city walls in 1695, the Portuguese Buitenkerk, now Gereja Sion, the oldest surviving church building in Indonesia.

On 18 May 1696, a former VOC officer Cornelis Chastelein bought the land with an area of 12.44 km2, 6.2% the area of today's Depok. There he established the first of its kind in Java, a Protestant congregation consisting of native Indonesians which was named De Eerste Protestante Organisatie van Christenen (DEPOC). A Protestant church, dating back to 1714, can still be seen standing. Its church bell was made in 1675.

Dutch East Indies and post-independent Indonesia

In 1799 VOC officially went bankrupt and was dissolved in 1800 with its possessions taken over by the Dutch crown as the Dutch East Indies. Later in 1817, the Dutch government founded the Protestantsche Kerk in Nederlandsch-Indie ("Indische Kerk") as a union of Reformed, Lutheran, Baptists, Arminian and Mennonite denominations. During the 18th to 19th century the new architectural trends were Neoclassical architecture. Examples of these were Batavia's Immanuel Church, Semarang's Blenduk Church and GKJ Mojowarno.

Missionary activities increased with territorial gain. Works were mostly aimed to convert native Animist population such as the Bataks, Torajans, Minahasans, Papuans and Dayaks (who today form the Christian majority of both Catholic and Protestant). These missionaries established many mission churches, schools and institutions across the country.

In the late 19th century until the end of the Dutch rule in 1942, Indonesia followed the Neogothic architecture that was common in Europe at that time. The best example of neogothic architecture built in Indonesia is Jakarta Cathedral. Art Deco and its various Dutch architectural branches, such as the Amsterdam School or Nieuwe Zakelijkheid, became the new fashion of the Indies during this period. A few examples of this architectural influence on churches are Bandung's Bethel church, Jakarta's St Joseph's Church, Semarang's Cathedral and Zion Church of Tomohon.

Apart from Art Deco as a form of modernism, there were also attempts by many Dutch architect to modernize the indigenous architecture by creating a synthesized form of architecture which combined Western architecture with indigenous Indonesian elements. In 1936, Henri Maclaine Pont designed the Pohsarang Church in Kediri, which incorporated Hindu-Buddhist elements into a Western building. This legacy lived on even after the independence of Indonesia, and was applied to various public buildings, including churches in the country. In 1972, native Balinese I Wayan Mastra became head of the Balinese Protestant church, and began a process of Balinization. When Blimbingsari church, a basic stone and wood building, was destroyed by earthquake in 1976, it was rebuilt in more Balinese pendopo style, with a garden with running water, traditional Balinese entrance and a semi-open aspect. A similar trend occurred in other islands, such as Batak Karo architecture of St. Francis Asisi's Church in Berastagi, and the Ganjuran Church, which used Javanese Joglo architecture.

Many Indonesian Protestants tend to congregate based more on ethnicity than liturgical differences. As a result, after the independence of Indonesia the Protestant Church of Indonesia was broke down into various denominations based on ethnicity, resulting in a relatively higher number of Protestant denomination per capita in the country. This was also due to the cultural and languages preferences among each of the different ethnic groups in Indonesia.

Today

Although Protestantism and Catholicism are two of the six recognized religions in Indonesia, prosecution against Christians is common in the country. Many of the conflicts are linked to the extremist groups in the country. In 1999, the Maluku sectarian conflict occurred, a religion and ethnicity based violence which claimed many lives of both Muslims and Christians. During this event the historic Immanuel Church in Hila was destroyed; however, it was later rebuilt with the help of the Muslim community. Another church in Ambon was set on fire in 2011, forcing the people inside to flee.

In December 2011, GKI Taman Yasmin had been sealed. Local authorities refused to lift a ban on the activities of the church, despite an order from the Supreme Court of Indonesia. Local authorities persecuted the Christian church for four years. In 2013 another church in Bekasi was forced to shut down due to the lack of an official permit for building the premise. While the state has ordered religious tolerance, it has not enforced these orders to protect the religious minority in the country. Three churches were burned and damaged in Temanggung, Central Java in 2011, as Christians were accused of distributing pamphlets that were "insulting" Islam.

In Aceh where Sharia law is applied, it is against Governor Regulation No. 25/2007 about Guidelines for the Construction of Houses of Worship. In the regulations, the construction of a church in Aceh requires 150 congregations to apply for a church construction permit. Indonesia is also notorious for its church bombing by extremists on Christmas Eve of 2000.

Oldest churches in Indonesia

Below is a list of oldest church buildings in Indonesia based on year of completion. To be listed here, the completion of the church building needs to be at least before the 20th century. Churches with alterations which completely changed their appearance after the 20th century should not be placed in this table.

Largest churches in Indonesia

Below is a list of the largest church buildings in Indonesia, based on capacity. To be listed here, the building's capacity must exceed 5,000 and the building must used exclusively for church-related activities.

Java

DKI Jakarta

West Java

Central Java

East Java

Special Region of Yogyakarta

Sumatra

Aceh

Riau Islands

North Sumatra

West Sumatra

Bangka Belitung Islands

South Sumatra

Lampung

Borneo

West Kalimantan

Central Kalimantan

South Kalimantan

Sulawesi

North Sulawesi

South Sulawesi

West Sulawesi

Bali

Lesser Sunda Islands

The Moluccas

Ambon Islands

In Ambon Island, many of the church buildings, including the 18th-century St. Immanuel's Old Church of Hila, were destroyed during the Maluku sectarian conflict. Some of these churches have been restored by the community.

Nusalaut Islands

Saparua Islands

Banda Islands

Papua

West Papua

Papua