, image = Firstchurchmelaka.JPG , imagesize = 250px , landscape = , caption = Christ Church, Malacca , location = Malacca City, Malacca , country = Malaysia , coordinates = , denomination =

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, previous denomination=

Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal fami ...

, churchmanship = , membership = , attendance = , website = , former name = Bovenkerk (High Church) , bull date = , founded date = 1753 , founder = , dedication = , dedicated date = 1776 , consecrated date = 1838 , cult = , relics = , events = , past bishop = , people = , status = , functional status = Active , heritage designation = , designated date = , architect = , architectural type = Dutch Colonial , style = , groundbreaking = 1741 , completed date = 1753 , construction cost = , closed date = , demolished date = , capacity = , length = , width = , width nave = , height = , diameter = , other dimensions = , floor count = , floor area = , dome quantity = , dome height outer = , dome height inner = , dome dia outer = , dome dia inner = , spire quantity = , spire height = , materials = , parish = , deanery = , archdeaconry = Lower Central Archdeaconry , diocese = Diocese of West Malaysia , province = Province of South East Asia , presbytery = , synod = , circuit = , district =

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

, division = , subdivision = , bishop = Rt Rev D Stevan Abbarow , dean = , subdean = , provost = , provost-rector = , viceprovost = , canon = , canonpastor = , precentor = , archdeacon =

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

Charles Fraser , prebendary = , rector = , vicar = Rt Rev Dr Jason Selvaraj , priest = Rev Paul Khoo Boo Huat , asstpriest = , minister = , assistant = , honpriest = , deacon = , deaconess = Pricilla Chuah Wei Mun , seniorpastor = , pastor = , abbot = , chaplain = , reader = , organistdom = , director = , organist = , organscholar = , chapterclerk = Amos Makeswaran , laychapter = , warden = , flowerguild = , musicgroup = , parishadmin = , serversguild = , logo = , logosize = Christ Church, Malacca, is an 18th-century

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

-built

church (originally

) in the city of

Malacca City Malacca City ( or ') is the List of capitals in Malaysia, capital city of the Malaysian state of Malacca, in Melaka Tengah District. It is List of cities by time of continuous habitation, the oldest Malaysian city on the Straits of Malacca, hav ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. It is the oldest functioning

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church in Malaysia and is within the jurisdiction of the Lower Central Archdeaconry of the

Diocese of West Malaysia.

History

The Dutch conquest of Malacca from the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

in 1641 saw the proscription of

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the conversion of existing churches to

use. The old St. Paul's Church at the summit of St. Paul Hill was renamed the ''Bovenkerk'' (Upper Church) and used as the main parish church of the Dutch community. In 1741, in commemoration of the centenary of the capture of Malacca from the Portuguese, the Dutch burgher community decided to build a new church, replacing the aging ''Bovenkerk''. The foundation stone was laid by the Malacca-born captain of the Malacca burghers, Abraham de Wind, on behalf of his father, Claas de Wind, a prominent burgher who had been the ''secunde'' (deputy governor) of Malacca. The church was completed 12 years later, in 1753, and replaced the ''Bovenkerk'' as the primary Dutch Reformed Church in Dutch Malacca. With the signing of the

Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, also known as the Treaty of London (), was a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 17 March 1824. The treaty was to resolve disputes arising from the execution of the Angl ...

, possession of Malacca was transferred to the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and in 1838, the church was re-consecrated with the rites of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

by Daniel Wilson, Bishop of Calcutta, and renamed Christ Church. The maintenance of the church was taken over by the government of the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

in 1858. Originally painted white, the church and neighbouring

Stadthuys The Stadthuys (an old Dutch spelling, meaning city hall) is a historical structure situated in the heart of Malacca City, the administrative capital of the state of Malacca, Malaysia, in a place known as the Red Square. The Stadthuys is kno ...

building were painted red in 1911, and this distinctive colour scheme has remained the hallmark of Malacca's Dutch-era buildings since.

Architecture

The church is built in Dutch Colonial architecture style and is laid out in a simple rectangle of by . The ceiling rises to and is spanned by wooden beams, each carved from a single tree. The roof is covered with Dutch tiles and the walls were raised using

Dutch brick Dutch brick (Dutch: :nl:IJsselsteen, IJsselsteen) is a small type of red brick made in the Netherlands, or similar brick, and an architectural style of building with brick developed by the Dutch people, Dutch. The brick, made from clay dug fro ...

s built on local

laterite Laterite is a soil type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and prolo ...

blocks then coated with Chinese plaster. The floors of the church are paved with granite blocks originally used as ballast for merchant ships. The original Dutch windows were reduced and ornamented after the British takeover of Malacca and the porch and vestry were built only in the mid-19th century.

Artifacts

Tombstones and memorial plaques

The floors of the church also incorporate various tombstones with Portuguese and Armenian inscriptions used as paving blocks. Memorial plaques in Dutch, Armenian and English also adorn the interior of the church. Some Armenian inscriptions provide an interesting panorama of life in the Dutch period:

Greetings, you who are reading this tablet of my tomb in which I now sleep. Give me the news, the freedom of my countrymen, for them I did much weep. If there arose among them one good guardian to govern and keep. Vainly I expected the world to see a good shepherd came to look after the scattered sheep.

I, Jacob, grandson of Shamier, an Armenian of a respectable family whose name I keep, was born in Persia near Inefa, where my parents now forever sleep. Fortune brought me to distant Malacca, which my remains in bondage to keep. Separated from the world on 7th July 1774 A.D. at the age of twenty-nine, my mortal remains were deposited in this spot of the ground which I purchased.

Church bell

The church bell is inscribed with the date 1698, suggesting that it was used for another purpose prior to the completion of the church.

Church administration records

The church's collection of ''Kerk Boek'' (Church Book), ''Resolutie Boek'' (Resolution Book), ''Rapporten'' (Reports) as well as the ''Doop Boek'' (Baptism Register) going back to the earliest Dutch times in Malacca has survived through the centuries. These antique documents are now kept at the National Archives of Malaysia.

Silver altar vessels

Silver altar vessels dating back to the early Dutch period are also in the possession of the church but are kept in storage and rarely taken out for display.

Altar Bible

The altar Bible has a cover made of brass inscribed with the passage from John 1:1 in

Service

Two Sunday services are held in this church (English 8.30am, Mandarin 10.30am)

References

Notations

External links

Diocese of West Malaysia
{{Authority control

Melaka Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca. The state is bordered by Negeri Sembilan to the north and west and Johor to t ...

Buildings and structures associated with the Dutch East India Company Churches completed in 1753 Churches in Malacca Former properties of the Dutch East India Company Protestantism in Malaysia Dutch colonial architecture Anglican church buildings in Malaysia 18th-century Anglican church buildings