Zion Church, Tharangambadi
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New Jerusalem Church is one of the oldest churches in
Tharangambadi Tharangambadi (), formerly Tranquebar (, ), is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu on the Coromandel Coast. It lies north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary named Uppanar of the Kaveri River. ...
(Tranquebar), a Danish settlement in
Nagapattinam district Nagapattinam District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. Nagapattinam district was carved out by bifurcating the erstwhile composite Thanjavur district on 19 October 1991. The town of Nagapattinam is the district ...
in the
South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
n state of
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. It is in the premises of
Fort Dansborg Fort Dansborg (), locally called Danish Fort, is a Denmark, Danish fort located in the shores of Bay of Bengal in Tranquebar (Tharangambadi) in the Mayiladuthurai district, Mayiladuthurai District, state of Tamil Nadu. Fort Dansborg was built in ...
, built with the help of Danish king Christian IV in an agreement with Danish Admiral
Ove Gjedde Ove Gjedde (alternatively spelled Giedde; 27 December 1594 – 19 December 1660) was a Danish nobleman and Admiral of the Realm (), who established the first Danish colony in Asia. Born in Tomarps (), Denmark–Norway, in 1594 to Brostrup ...
in 1717 and acted as the base for Danish settlement in the region during the early 17th century. The Church was built in 1717 Rev Bartholomew zigenbalg by A.D by Rev. Bartholomaus Ziegenbalg and has records from the 18th and 19th centuries. He is believed to be the first Protestant missionary in India and the Church is believed to be the first Protestant Church in India. New Jerusalem Church is a working church with hourly prayer and daily services and follows
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 ...
sect of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
. In modern times, it is under the dominion of Tamil evajalical Lutheran Church It is one of the most prominent landmarks of Tranquebar (Tharangambadi).


History

The Dansborg Fort was the most important gateway in the trade route from Europe to Coramandel for the Danish Empire. Protestant missionaries were sent from Denmark by King Fredric IV, who was also the head of Lutheran Church of Denmark. Two of them, namely,
Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (24 June 1683 – 23 February 1719) was a member of the Lutheran clergy and the first Pietist missionary to India. Early life Ziegenbalg was born in Pulsnitz, Saxony, on 24 July 1683 in a devout Christian family. His ...
and Heinrich Plütschua came to Tranquebar on 9 July 1706 and established the
Tranquebar Mission The Tranquebar Mission (; ) was established in 1706 by two German missionaries from Halle namely, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau. Ziegenbalg and Plütschau responded to the appeal of King Frederick IV of Denmark to establish a m ...
. They learnt
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
in a few years and were the first to translate and print ''The New Testament'' of the ''Bible'' in Tamil, in the printing press inside the fort. The Danish mission was the first Protestant mission in India and from its inception, was staffed by German missionaries trained at Pietist schools and seminary founded by
Francke Francke is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * August Hermann Francke (1663–1727), German Protestant theologian * Arne Francke (1904–1973), Swedish horse rider * Gloria Niemeyer Francke (1922–2008), American pharmaci ...
at the end of the 17th century. The Danes built the Zion Church in 1701, believed to be the first Protestant Church in India and the
New Jerusalem Church The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) can refer to any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed under the influence of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). The Swedenborgian tradition is considered to ...
in 1717. During 1919, a Tranquebar manifesto targeting a single episcopacy for all of Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Congregational and Wesleyan churches over South India was discussed at this Church, but failed to arrive at a conclusion.


Architecture

Zion Church is enclosed in
Fort Dansborg Fort Dansborg (), locally called Danish Fort, is a Denmark, Danish fort located in the shores of Bay of Bengal in Tranquebar (Tharangambadi) in the Mayiladuthurai district, Mayiladuthurai District, state of Tamil Nadu. Fort Dansborg was built in ...
along with a set of buildings, the notable ones being the fort built in 1620, the Masilamaninathar Temple built in the 13th century,
New Jerusalem Church The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) can refer to any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed under the influence of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). The Swedenborgian tradition is considered to ...
built in 1718, the Town Gateway built in 1792, the Danish Governor Bungalow built in 1784 and a series of tomb stones built during the 17th and 18th centuries. The settlement inside the citadel is modeled like a small European town with a land gate and wooden doors leading to the main street, namely, the King's Street. The church is located two blocks away from the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...
and has an exterior made of brick, stained glass windows and tiled brick spires. The architecture indicates common features in Indian structure of the time. The altar houses conventional Methodist images and a prayer hall for the devotees. The plaques of Jesus Christ and some of the apostles are housed in glass chambers in standing posture, on the walls facing the devotees. The church was partially modified in 1782, which is believed to be the structure in modern times. There is a historic bell tower in the church and numerous tombstones too.


Culture

In modern times, the Lutheran Mission administrates the New Jerusalem Church, while the Zion church is under the dominion of the
Trichy-Tanjore Diocese of the Church of South India The Church of South India's CSI Tiruchirappalli Thanjavur Diocese () is in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The diocese was one of the first 14 to be established at the Church of South India's founding in 1947. It is one of the 24 dioceses of th ...
(CSI). The Danish built the Zion Church for the Governors and the New Jerusalem Church for soldiers and the community. Ziegenbalg was the first pastor of the church and he preached in
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
. There are records from the Church during the period of 1781 to 1814, indicating the burials carried out in the church. They indicate the expenses incurred for building of tombs, funeral services and maintenance of the cemetery. The Church along with other buildings in the fort were renovated twice in modern times, once by Tranquebar Association with the help of the Danish royal family and the State Archaeology Department in 2001 and secondly by a project named Destination Development of Tranquebar by the Department of Tourism of the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2011.


References

{{reflist Church of South India church buildings in India Churches in Nagapattinam district Churches completed in 1701 1701 establishments in the Danish colonial empire Buildings and structures in Danish India