The Church of Immaculate Conception of Bangkok (, ), also known as Wat Khamen (, ), is the oldest Catholic church in Thailand. Its name

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

comes from the Catholic belief that by the will of God the Virgin Mary was conceived free from

original sin Original sin () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all humans share, which is inherited from Adam and Eve due to the Fall of man, Fall, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image ...

. The Church's history and construction is an example of the

religious tolerance Religious tolerance or religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, ...

of the Thai people.

History

The first Portuguese missionaries arrived in Thailand in 1567. Bangkok, at that time, was still a transit port along the Chao Phraya river on the way to Ayutthaya. In 1674, during the

Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locall ...

era,

King Narai King Narai the Great (, , ) or Ramathibodi III ( ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the Prasat Thong dynasty. He was the king of Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous king of the ...

the Great granted land in Bangkok to the Portuguese community to build the Church of Immaculate Conception. The French had attempted under several expeditions to Thailand to try to convert King Narai to Catholicism, despite his refusal, he allowed both French and Portuguese

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

to continue their work in spreading their faith. During the building of the church the city of Ayutthaya was captured by the Burmese and this halted progression for a while however construction soon continued. During the Bangkok era King Rama I invited the Portuguese traders to return in order to stimulate the economy and the church was rebuilt in 1785. The Church was rebuilt on two other occasions in 1832 and 1847 by an influential French missionary Monsignor Pallegoix. The building from 1847 remains today.

The Church and refugees

The Church has a long history associated with refugees. In 1785 the Portuguese came with Cambodian refugees who had fled the civil war of their country. They were the main contributors in rebuilding the church. During this period 500 Cambodians took refuge in the church and it was later renamed Bot Ban Khamen or Cambodian Village Church. Vietnamese immigration increased in Thailand due to religious persecution in Vietnam. In 1832 Thailand waged a war with Vietnam and many prisoners of war taken to Thailand refused to return to Vietnam and preferred to stay in Bangkok. They rebuilt the Church in 1832 and it was called Bot Ban Yuan or Vietnamese Village Church.

Location

Soi Mitrakham, Samsen, Bangkok, Thailand.

Sources

*http://www.tour-bangkok-legacies.com/immaculate-conception-church.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20030227151139/http://www.mfa.go.th/web/112.php *https://web.archive.org/web/20090621210217/http://www.mfa.go.th/web/117.php {{coord, 13.7770, N, 100.5037, E, source:wikidata, display=title Roman Catholic churches in Bangkok Portuguese diaspora in Thailand Joachim Grassi buildings Unregistered ancient monuments in Bangkok