List of church buildings in Indonesia

Ganjuran Church of Yogyakarta was built in the 1920s in vernacular Javanese joglo style. Many Indonesian early churches made use of local materials and started in vernacular form. During their expansion, these churches may be altered into another architecture language such as the typical European-style or other form.

These are lists of church buildings in Indonesia, based on:

• Completion year of the building.
• Grouped into regions

These lists only include notable church buildings.

History

Precolonialism

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

Portuguese Catholicism

Dutch documents tell us 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 and in 1630 it was replaced by a stone building called St. Paul's Church. The Old Holland Church was demolished in 1732 because of damage by an earthquake, but the base is still visible in Jakarta'sMuseum Wayang.

Dutch Protestantism

In 1605, VOC effectively prohibited Catholic missionary work and so the Spanish directed Catholic activity in some eastern islands from Manila. As a result, many of the earliest well-documented church buildings in the Indonesian archipelago were Protestant churches, these are distributed especially along the north coast of Java, e.g. Batavia (now Jakarta).

The Old Holland Church, whose base is still visible in Museum Wayang.

In Batavia, VOC officials gave first attention to the city walls, the fortification, the administrative buildings and their own houses. The first church building 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 lain in 1640 and the building, known as Oude Hollandse Kerk, "Old Holland Church" was finished in 1643. The Old Holland Church was demolished in 1732 because of damage by an earthquake, but the base is still visible in Jakarta'sMuseum Wayang.

Below are two images of the Portuguese church: the Portugese Binnenkerk (later burned) and the Portugese Buitenkerk, which still survives today.

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

20th century attempted synthesis

Early 20th century saw a period where some Dutch architects sought to achieve a synthesis of eastern and western architectural styles. This attempt was apparent in eclectic buildings such as Semarang's Pasar Johar and Bandung Institute of Technology.

Henri Maclaine Pont was one of the example of Dutch architect from this period. One of his masterpiece is the Pohsarang Church (1936) in Kediri which represents his attempt in incorporating Hindu-Buddhist elements into a Western building.

Now

In Indonesia, persecution against Christian churches in Indonesia is still rampant especially in Aceh. In other parts of the predominantly Muslim country, churches are seeing phenomenal growth. Much of it comes from the Pentecostal churches. Pastors say more and more people, including Buddhists and Muslims, are starting to attend Christian services.

Oldest churches in Indonesia

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

Name	Images	Location	Year (current building)	Affiliation	Architectural style	Remarks
Zion Church		Jakarta	1695	Protestant	Portuguese colonial	The oldest church in Jakarta.
Tugu Church		Jakarta	1748	Protestant	Portuguese colonial/Indies
Emmanuel Church		Jakarta	1839	Protestant	Neoclassical
St. Emmanuel's Old Church		Hila, Ambon Island	1854		Dutch colonial / Indies	The building was founded in the 18th century. The first building was wooden, later rebuilt using a more permanent material in 1854. On 20 January, 1999, the building was destroyed by arson during Maluku secretarian conflict, but soon was rebuilt without altering its original form.
St. Joseph's Church		Semarang	1875	Roman Catholic	Neogothic	The oldest Roman Catholic church in Semarang.
Soya Church		Negeri Soya, Ambon Island	1876			Unknown foundation time. In 1876, Raja Stephanus Jacob Rehatta expanded the original building with permanent material. During the leadership of Leonard Lodiwijk Rehatta, the church was renovated in 1927. In 1996, the church was restored and made heritage building under the Maluku Department of History and Archeology. On April 28, 2002, riot occured in Negeri Soya and the church was destroyed. The building was later rebuilt without altering the original form.
Purworejo Church		Purworejo	1879	Protestant	Neogothic
Jakarta Cathedral		Jakarta	1891-1901	Roman Catholic	Neogothic	Because of the lack of fund, the construction was halted for nearly 10 years.
Blenduk Church		Semarang	1894	Protestant	Baroque	The oldest church established in Central Java, established in 1753. The initial church building had a joglo-style
Bogor Cathedral		Bogor	1896	Catholic	Neogothic
Makassar Cathedral		Makassar	1898	Catholic	Neogothic	Oldest church in Makassar
Church of the Birth of Our Lady		Surabaya	1899-1900	Catholic	Neogothic	Oldest church in Surabaya. First built in 1822 as Maria Geboorte Kerk by Mgr Lambertus Prinsen, it was re-built to its current form in 1899 by Fr J van Zanten SJ, and was concecrated as Onze Lieve Vrouw Geboorte Kerk in 1900 by the Archbishop of Batavia, Mgr Edmundus Luypen SJ. It suffered fire damage during the Battle of Surabaya.

Largest churches in Indonesia

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

Name	Images	Building capacity	Area	Year	Location	Remarks
Bethany Graha Nginden		35,000		2000	Surabaya
Holy Stadium - Gospel of the Kingdom		12,000		2007	Semarang
GBI Mawar Saron		10,000		2003	Kelapa Gading, Jakarta
Messiah Cathedral	File:Reformedmilleniumcenter.jpg	8,000		September 20, 2008	Kemayoran, Jakarta
GBI Rock Denpasar		5,000			Denpasar
GBI Keluarga Allah Solo		5,000			Surakarta

By regions

Java

Jakarta

• All Saints Anglican Church
• Emmanuel Church (1839)
• Gereja Pniel (1915)
• Jakarta Cathedral (1901)
• Koinonia Church (1889)
• Messiah Cathedral
• St. Jacob's Church, Kelapa Gading
• St. Joseph's Church, Matraman (1909)
• St. Paul's Church (1936)
• St. Theresia's Church (1934)
• Tugu Church (1748)
• Zion Church (1695)

• 
  Gereja Pniel, popularly known as Gereja Ayam, "Cock Church" in Jakarta.
• 
  St. Joseph's Church in Matraman.

• West Java
  • Bandung Cathedral, Bandung (1922)
  • Bogor Cathedral, Bogor (1896)
  • Zebaoth Church, Bogor (1920)

• 
  Gereja Zebaoth in Bogor.
• 
  Bogor Cathedral.

Central Java

• Blenduk Church, Semarang (1894)
• GIPB Purworejo Church, Purworejo (1879)
• Holy Rosary Cathedral, Semarang
• Semarang Cathedral (1927)
• St. Anthony's Church, Muntilan
• St. Anthony's Church, Surakarta
• St. Joseph's Church, Ambarawa
• St. Joseph's Church, Semarang (1875)
• St. Peter's Church, Surakarta

• 
  St. Peter's Church of Surakarta.
• 
  St. Anthony's Church of Surakarta

East Java

• Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Malang
• Church of the Birth of Our Lady, Surabaya, (1899)
• Mount Carmel Cathedral, Malang
• Pohsarang Church, Pohsarang village (1936)

Yogyakarta

• Ganjuran Church, Bantul

Sumatra

North Sumatra

• Immanuel's Church, Medan (1921)
• Gereja Huria Kristen Batak Protestan, Medan (1912)
• Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni, Medan
• Medan Cathedral, Medan (1879, 1905 (renovated to current form))

West Sumatra

• Padang Cathedral, Padang
• Sawahlunto Catholic Church, Sawahlunto

Lampung

• Marturia Church, Bandar Lampung (1948)

• 
  A catholic church at Sawahlunto.

Borneo

• South Kalimantan
  • Banjarmasin Cathedral, Banjarmasin (1931)

• 
  Banjarmasin Cathedral.

Sulawesi

• South Sulawesi
  • Makassar Cathedral, Makassar (1898)

• West Sulawesi
  • Toraja Church of Mamasa, Mamasa (1913)

Bali

• Palasari Church

Lesser Sunda Islands

• Old Church of Sikka, Flores

The Moluccas

In Ambon Island, many of the church building, including 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.

• Ambon Cathedral, Ambon
• Gereja Maranatha, Ambon
• Joseph Kam's Church
• St. Immanuel's Old Church, Hila (1854)
• Soya Church (1876)