A brief history of the Protestant church in Indonesia

Abstract

The oldest Protestant church in Southeast Asia is probably the Protestant Church in Indonesia, the Geredja Protestant Indonesia (GPI) which observed its 374th anniversary last February 27, 1979. It is almost 300 years older than the Protestant Church in the Philippines.

The late Dr. Hendrik Kramer was of the opinion that the Church starts to exist at the very moment there are believers in Jesus’ words: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20).

Based on this principle, the Protestant Church in Indonesia was born on February 27, 1605, for on that day for the first time on Indonesian soil a divine service was held according to the rites of the Protestant Church in a former Portuguese fortress in the town of Ambon which had just been conquered by the Dutch.