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A 200-year Heritage

First as a base for the London Missionary Society's mission to China, then as a colonial chaplaincy and for the last fifty years as an international church, All Saints has both witnessed and participated in Indonesia's colourful and turbulent history.

 
 

A Short History

Raffles Era

  • 1811-1816 Thomas Raffles of the British East India Company Lt Gov of Java

  • 1811 British invasion of Java Lt Col Campbell died of wounds at the Battle of Cornelis, (reburied at All Saints in 1913)

  • 1816 British handover of Java to Dutch. Small British community remains

Batavia Mission Station Era

  • 1819-21 John Slater UK of the London Missionary Society purchased the land with a view to evangelising the Chinese. Bamboo church built and worship services in English commenced. 1822 resigned for health reasons

  • 1822-43 Rev Walter Medhurst UK of the London Missionary Society. Medhurst established a printing works, schools and an orphanage. Missionaries from USA, Britain and Germany worked in Batavia and worshipped at the church…some for months, some for years…preparing to enter China. 

  • 1831 present church building opened. Services were conducted on an openly interdenominational basis. Church constitution early milestone in the history of ecumenical unity

  • 1842 'Treaty of Nanking' ends China's isolation

  • 1843 Mission Station closed when Medhurst and the other missionaries moved to China. British Protestant Community of Batavia (B.P.C.) purchased the land and building

Batavia Chaplaincy Era

  • 1851-53 Rev. Henry du Puy UK First Church of England Clergyman. 

  • 1853-59 Rev. G. M. Drummond UK Building improvements: Venetian Sunblinds, Vestry, Entrance porch were added to the building. Drummond used the smaller house in the compound as a Schoolhouse, probably for Malay and Chinese children

  • 1859-1875 Consular Chaplains assisted by British Foreign Office subsidy

  • 1859-60 Rev John Scott Moncrieff UK. conducted a school for local children. Died of fever.

  • 1862-65 Rev F. Smith UK

  • 1866-71 Rev Dr. Arnold Ger/UK missionary in Ethiopia and India, and later in 
    South Africa. 

  • 1872-73 Rev P.H. Francis UK . Died on sick leave in Australia

  • 1876-79 Rev Charles Kingsmill UK taught at Salemba "Gymnasium" 

  • 1875-1905 British Foreign Office subsidy ceased. Difficulty recruiting chaplains

  • 1905-07 Rev J. R. Denyes US Methodist. Reopened church after being closed for 20 years. Commuted by train every Sunday from Bogor 

  • 1907-10 A.T. Keen, Meth layman. Took services every Sunday

Java Chaplaincy Era

  • 1910 Java Chaplaincy founded by Bishop of Singapore. The chaplain now had a 1,000 kilometre long parish, ministering to the English speaking people on tea and rubber plantations and cities. Over 30 different places where services were taken. "Committee of the Java Chaplaincy Fund" financed the chaplain, while the "B.P.C." continued to look after the church property.

  • 1910-16 Rev Philip Hunter Aust. Then served as military chaplain, died 1917

  • 1913 British community begins to find and preserve neglected British gravestones which are relocated to the church.

  • 1916-19 Rev W. Coleman UK

  • 1920-21 Rev Crompton Sowerbutts Can. The first married Java chaplain

  • 1921-24 Rev Hubert Sillitoe UK. First church car purchased

  • 1925-32 Rev C.T. Cribb UK. Improvements to chancel. Christchurch, Surabaya established.

  • 1932-41 Rev Reginald Moore UK

Military Occupations Era

Period of Indonesian Independence Struggle

  • 1942-45 Japanese Occupation - Batak congregation used the church building

  • 1945-46 British Military occupation - British Military Chaplains used the church until Nov '46

  • 1947-49 Dutch Re-occupation

  • 1947-48 Rev J.W. Key Neth. Minister of the "Old Catholic Church"

  • 1948-49 Rev R.B. Randolph June 1949 Dutch forces withdraw from Jakarta

All Saints Anglican Church

  •  1950-51 Rev O.B. McCarthy (Aus) Java Chaplaincy replaced by "All Saints' Anglican Church Council". Growing number of nationalities

  • 1951 Rev L.L. Nash (Aus) lecturer at the Theological College in Jakarta 

  • 1952-54 Rev. W. Lack (UK). Served in five continents.

  • 1954 Rev. Boyce Horsley (Aus) lecturer at Theological College in Jakarta

  • 1954 American Ambassador Hugh S. Cummings received a Lay Reader's licence, and conducted services when there was no chaplain. The Burmese Ambassador was also a Lay Reader

  • 1954-56 Rev. Harold Butler (Aus)

  • 1957-63 Rev. Beverley Coleman (UK), previously Vicar of Malacca.

  • 1963-68 Rev. Derick Catley (India). "Konfrontasi" era. Sept 1963 British Embassy burned. British & Australian families evacuated

  • 1970-74 Rev. John Brooke (Aus)

  • 1974 Rev. Eric Constable (locum tenens, Aus). killed at All Saints

  • 1974-80 Rev. Kenneth Yapp (Aus)

  • 1980-88 Rev. Gregory Olliffe (Aus)

  • 1988-96 Rev. Philip Sinden (Aus) and Alan Quee as Associate minister

  • 1995 South Jakarta Congregation founded at Don Bosco School

  • 1996-2004 Rev. Andrew Lake (Aus) and George Thomas as Associate minister. 

  • 1998 Indonesian economic and political crisis affected church in a number of ways (e.g. substantial decline in numbers of foreigners living in Jakarta; poverty relief efforts) 

  • 2004 - Rev. Dale Appleby (Aus) and David O'Mara as Associate minister

  • 2007 - Rev. Dale Appleby (Aus) and Ian Hadfield (Aus) as Associate minister

 
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Changes & Chances

Rev. Andrew Lake served as Vicar of All Saints from 1996 to 2004, and has written a wonderful book which serves as a personal history of All Saints Jakarta.