GeorgeNobbs1 at 20:40, 17 January 2026

2026-01-17T20:40:59Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox church
|name = C.S.I Zion Church, Tranquebar, Tamil Nadu, India
|fullname =
|image = Zion Church in tranquebar.JPG
|caption = Front view of the church
|pushpin map = India Tamil Nadu
|pushpin label position =
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|coordinates = {{coord|11|01|33|N|79|51|17|E|display=inline,title}}
|location = [[Tharangambadi]], [[Mayiladuthurai district]]
|country = [[India]]
|denomination = [[Church of South India]]
|website =
|bull date =
|founded date =
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|dedication = {{start date|df=yes|1701}}
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|status =
|functional status = Active
|architect =
|architectural type = [[Chapel]]
|style = [[Gothic architecture]]
|groundbreaking =
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|capacity =
|parish =
|archdiocese = [[Trichy-Tanjore Diocese of the Church of South India]]
|archbishop =
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}}
'''Zion Church''' is one of the oldest churches in [[Tharangambadi]] (Tranquebar), a Danish settlement in [[Mayiladuthurai district]] in the [[South India]]n state of [[Tamil Nadu]]. It is in the premises of [[Fort Dansborg]], built with the help of Danish king Christian IV in an agreement with Danish Admiral [[Ove Gjedde]] 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<ref name="Rangan">{{cite news |last1=Datta |first1=Rangan |title=Tranquebar — A piece of Denmark on the coast of the Bay of Bengal |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/places/exploring-the-danish-history-and-coastal-charms-of-tharangambadi-or-tranquebar-near-puducherry-in-tamil-nadu/cid/1870111 |access-date=26 September 2023 |agency=My Kolkata |publisher=The Telegraph |date=15 June 2022}}</ref> 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]] sect of [[Christianity]]. 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==
[[File:Zion Church, Tranquebar.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Historic image of the church]]
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 [[Frederick IV of Denmark|Fredric IV]], who was also the head of [[Church of Denmark|Lutheran Church of Denmark]]. Two of them, namely, [[Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg]] and Heinrich Plütschua came to Tranquebar on 9 July 1706 and established the [[Tranquebar Mission]]. They learnt [[Tamil language|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 Foundations|Francke]] at the end of the 17th century.<ref name="Hoiberg">{{cite book|title=Students' Britannica India: Select essays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-xzljvnQ1vAC&q=fort+Dansborg&pg=PA407|last=Hoiberg|first=Dale|page=407|publisher=Popular Prakashan|year=2004|isbn=9780852297629}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Christians and Missionaries in India: Cross-cultural Communication Since 1500|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3CfIl2v8PYC&q=tranquebar+fort&pg=PA72|page=96|last1=Frykenberg|first1=Robert Eric|last2=Low|first2=Alaine M.|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2003|isbn=9780700716005}}</ref> The Danes built the Zion Church in 1701, believed to be the first Protestant Church in India and the [[New Jerusalem Church]] in 1717.<ref name=sea>{{cite web|title=Sea Side Story; Follow the East Coast and the Planes to Unravel Some of the Dravidian Soil's Most Ancient Places of Prayer and History|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-37940963.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220213422/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-37940963.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2016|date=18 May 2015|publisher=India Today|access-date=15 November 2015|first=Saranya|last=Chakrapani}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal|title=We Began at Tranquebar. Vol. 1: SPCK, the Danish-Halle Mission, and Anglican Episcopacy in India (1706-1843); vol. 2: The Origin and Development of Anglican-CSI Episcopacy in India (1813-1947.(Book review)|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-274953957.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220151250/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-274953957.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2016|journal=International Bulletin of Missionary Research|first=Robert Eric|last=Frykenberg|date=1 October 2011|publisher=Overseas Ministries Study Center|doi=10.1177/239693931103500412|s2cid=147870618 |access-date=15 November 2015|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==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, Tranquebar|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.<ref name="Vol">{{cite book|title=Early Interactions Between South and Southeast Asia: Reflections on Cross-cultural Exchange Volume 2 of Nalanda-Sriwijaya series|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ni9AlOLTFZYC&q=tranquebar+fort&pg=PA226|page=226|last1=Manguin|first1=Pierre-Yves|last2=A.|first2=Mani|last3=Wade|first3=Geoff|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian|year=2011|isbn=9789814345101}}</ref><ref name="arch28">{{cite book|title=Annual Report of the Archaeological Department, Southern Circle, Madras|last=Archaeological Survey of India|url=https://archive.org/details/annualreportarc00indigoog|quote=tranquebar fort.|ref=arch|year=1903|location=Madras|page=[https://archive.org/details/annualreportarc00indigoog/page/n96 28]}}</ref><ref name="nic">{{cite web|title=Tharangambadi|url=http://www.nagapattinam.tn.nic.in/tara.html|publisher=Nagapattinam District Administration|access-date=24 November 2015}}</ref><ref name="Mint">{{cite web|title=Town of the singing waves|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2429835321.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610085925/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2429835321.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 June 2014|location=New Delhi|date=20 August 2011|publisher=Mint|access-date=30 November 2013}}</ref>

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 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.<ref name=sea/>

==Culture==
[[File:Fort Dansborg.JPG|200px|thumb|left|[[Fort Dansborg]], where the Zion Church is enclosed]]
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]] (CSI).<ref name=naz>{{cite book|title=1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PlPeBAAAQBAJ&q=zion+church+tharangambadi&pg=PT212|page=212|last=Nazareth|first=Samir|publisher=Leadstart Publishing PvtLtd|year=2014|isbn=9789381115800}}</ref> 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 language|Tamil]].<ref name=naz/> 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Artistic and Cultural Exchanges Between Europe and Asia, 1400-1900: Rethinking Markets, Workshops and Collections|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7JScE4Q0TU8C&q=zion+church+tharangambadi&pg=PA61|page=161|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2010|last=North|first=Michael |isbn=9780754669371}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Capturing the lost magic|url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/04/10/stories/2009041050840100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414150717/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/04/10/stories/2009041050840100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 April 2009|last=Chari|first=Pushpa|date=10 April 2009|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=2013-07-07}}</ref><ref name="project">{{cite news|title=Dansborg Fort set to get a facelift|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-editorialfeatures/dansborg-fort-set-to-get-a-facelift/article2231696.ece|date=16 July 2011|access-date=24 November 2015|work=[[The Hindu]]|last=P.V.|first=Srividya|location=Nagapattinam}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Church of South India church buildings in India]]
[[Category:Churches completed in 1701]]
[[Category:1701 establishments in the Danish colonial empire]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Danish India]]
[[Category:Tranquebar]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Mayiladuthurai district]]
[[Category:Churches in Mayiladuthurai district]]

Zion Church, Tharangambadi - Revision history

GeorgeNobbs1 at 20:40, 17 January 2026