Zion Church, Tharangambadi, Tranquebar
About Zion Church, Tharangambadi
History
The Dansborg Fort was the most important gateway in the trade route from Europe to Coramandel for the Danish Emire. 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 and Heinrich Plutschua came to Tranquebar on 9 July 1706, established the Tranquebar Mission, learnt Tamil 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 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 in 1717. During 1919, a Tranquebar manifesto targeting a single episcopacy for all of Anglician, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Congregational and Weslyan over South India was discussed at this Church, but failed to arrive at a conclusion.
Architecture
Zion Church is enclosed in Fort Dansborg 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 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 and has an exterior made of brick, stained glass windows and tiled brick spire. 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.