The Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (''HKBP''), which translates in English as ''Batak Christian Protestant Church'', is a Lutheran church that is oriented towards Protestant among the

Batak Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, ...

people, generally the Toba Batak in Indonesia. With a baptized membership of 4,500,000, it is one of the largest Protestant churches in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Its present leader is Ephorus (

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

) Robinson Butarbutar.

History

The first Protestant missionaries who tried to reach the

highlands of inner Northern Sumatra were English and American Baptist preachers in the 1820s and 1830s, but without any success. After

Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn Friedrich Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn was a German botanist and geologist. His father, Friedrich Junghuhn was a barber and a surgeon. His mother was Christine Marie Schiele. Junghuhn studied medicine in Halle and in Berlin from 1827 to 1831, meanwhile ...

and Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk did intensive research on Batak language and culture in the 1840s, a new attempt was made in 1861 by several missionaries sent out by the German

Rhenish Missionary Society The Rhenish Missionary Society (''Rhenish'' of the river Rhine) was one of the largest Protestant missionary societies in Germany. Formed from smaller missions founded as far back as 1799, the Society was amalgamated on 23 September 1828, and i ...

(RMG). The first Bataks were baptized during this year. In 1864,

Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen (6 February 1834 – 23 May 1918) was a German Lutheran Protestantism missionary to Sumatra who also translated the New Testament into the native Batak language and Batak script writing. Stephen Neill, a historian of ...

of the RMG reached the Batak region and founded a village called "Huta Dame" (village of peace) in the district of

North Tapanuli Regency North Tapanuli Regency (''Tapanuli Utara'' - in Indonesian, "utara" means "north") is a landlocked regency in North Sumatra province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Its capital is Tarutung. The regency covers an area of 3,793.71 square kilometres and it had ...

Tarutung Tarutung (Dutch: ) is a town and the administrative capital (seat) of North Tapanuli Regency (''Kabupaten Tapanuli Utara''), North Sumatra, Sumatra, Indonesia. in the Batak language means "durian The durian (, ) is the edible fruit of se ...

North Sumatra North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after W ...

. The RMG was associated with the ''Unierte Kirche'' also called union of

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

and Lutheran churches. However, Nommensen and local leaders developed an approach that applied local custom to Christian belief. In 1868, a local seminary for the education of teachers was opened in

Sipirok Sipirok is a town in North Sumatra province of Indonesia and the seat (capital) of South Tapanuli Regency. It is known for the Batu Jomba Sipirok, a badly maintained highway which becomes difficult and dangerous during wet weather. Notable residen ...

, and in 1877 a seminary for the education of preachers was built in Pansurnapitu. 1881, Nommensen was officially nominated "ephorus" of the Batak congregations by the RMG. In 1885, the first Batak ministers were ordained in Pearaja Tarutung, where the HKBP headquarters is still located. In 1889, the RMG sent out Hester Needham who started the work with girls and women and later established the first Batak deaconess. In the last quarter of the 19th century, further missionaries of the RMG were sent out to the other Batak tribes ( Angkola, Dairi, Simalungun, Karo, and Pakpak). Balige church

In 1917, the "Hatopan Christen Batak" (HCB) which later became one of the nuclei for the independent Batak church, was founded in Tapanuli as a social movement. In 1922, the first General Synod ("Sinode Godang") for all Batak congregations was held. In 1931 the HKBP became the first independent self-governing Christian body in what was then the Dutch East Indies. In 1940, all Germans working for the RMG, including pastors and ministers, were detained by the Dutch government. The Rev. Sirait was chosen by the synod as the first indigenous ephorus of HKBP. In 1952, while maintaining its indigenous character, the HKBP became a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). In 1954, HKBP founded Nommensen University. In 1977, ''Sekolah Tinggi Theologia'' (STT or "Theological Seminary") HKBP split from Nommensen University. Over the years, a number of church bodies have split from HKBP for various cultural and doctrinal reasons. However, HKBP remains the largest Indonesian LWF member by a factor of ten and also remains in communion with daughter church bodies through the LWF. Tarutung and the

region remain the stronghold for the HKBP in the predominantly Muslim nation of Indonesia, although worshippers are found throughout Indonesia and the United States. Well known HKBP congregants include

Amir Sjarifuddin Amir Sjarifuddin Harahap (EVO: Amir Sjarifoeddin Harahap; 27 April 1907 – 19 December 1948) was an Indonesian politician and journalist who served as the second prime minister of Indonesia from 1947 until 1948. A major leader of the lef ...

(the only Christian prime minister of Indonesia), Todung Sutan Gunung (TSG) Mulia (the second Indonesian education minister), and General Tahi Bonar (TB) Simatupang. In January 2010 two churches were burnt down in Sibuhuan.

Ecumenical relations

HKBP is a member of and active participant in the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most jur ...

Christian Conference of Asia The Christian Conference of Asia is a regional ecumenical organisation representing 15 National Councils and over 100 denominations (churches) in New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, ...

, Lutheran World Federation, Asia Lutheran Communion, and

Communion of Churches in Indonesia The Communion of Churches in Indonesia ( id, Persekutuan Gereja-gereja di Indonesia) is a national ecumenical body in Indonesia. It was founded in 1950. It is a member of the World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a w ...

Agenda

The book of liturgical procedure used by the HKBP is referred to as the "Agenda" or formerly as the "Agende". This term comes from the European Protestant use of ''agenda''.

Leaders

Ephoruses

General secretaries

Head of Koinonia Department

Head of Marturia Department

Head of Diakonia Department

References

External links

* *
''Sekolah Tinggi Theologia'' (Theological Seminary) HKBP
{{Authority control 1861 establishments in the Dutch East Indies Batak Lutheran denominations established in the 19th century Lutheran World Federation members Lutheranism in Indonesia Religious organizations established in 1861