page_title: Gereja Sion
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Gereja Sion / History
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Litho. Kleurenlitho naar een oorspronkelijke aquarel van Rappard.. Het interieur van de Portugese buitenkerk in Batavia
context_page_description: Gereja Sion is a historic church located in Pinangsia Administrative District, Taman Sari, Jakarta, Indonesia. Dating from 1695, it is the oldest church still standing in Jakarta.
context_section_description: The church was formerly known as De Nieuwe Portugeesche Buitenkerk ("The New Portuguese Outer Church"), referring to its position on the outside of the city wall, as opposed to Portugeesche Binnenkerk, "the Portuguese Inner Church"). The church was also known as Belkita during the period.
  The church was built outside the old city walls for the so-called "black Portuguese" - the Eurasians and natives captured from Portuguese trading posts in India and Malaya and brought to Jakarta (then Batavia) as slaves. Most of these people were Catholics, but were given their freedom on the condition that they joined the Dutch Reformed Church, and the converts were known as Mardijker or the liberated ones.
  The construction of the church was started in 1693. It was officially opened on Sunday, October 23, 1695, and was jointly financed by the Portuguese and the VOC Government. The first sermon was delivered by Reverend Theodorus Zas and was attended by Governor-General Willem van Outhoorn.
  Later, the church name changed into "Portuguese Church". During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in 1942, the name "Portuguese Church" was forbidden and the church was closed for two years. The Japanese army wished to transform the place into a columbarium for the fallen soldiers.
  During the governmental transition, the Dutch government transferred the ownership of the church to the Protestant Church in Western Indonesia (Gereja Protestan di Indonesia bagian Barat) or GPIB. During the 1957 GPIB Sinode Conference, the Portuguese Church changed its name into GPIB Congregation of Zion (GPIB Jemaat Sion), and since then, the church is known as Zion Church.
  The church was restored in 1920 and 1978. The building is protected through the Law SK Gubernur DKI Jakarta CB/11/1/12/1972
  In 1984, the churchyard was reduced for road construction.
caption: Lithograph of the interior of Zion Church
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