Protestant Church in East Timor
The Reformed Protestant Church in East Timor ( tetum Igreja Prostestante iha Timor Lorosa'e , IPTL ), formerly the Christian Church of East Timor ( Indonesian Gerja Kristen Timor Timur , GKTT ), is the largest religious community of Protestants in East Timor . According to its own information, it has 17,000 members. In 2018 the IPTL had 28 pastors who are responsible for 74 churches in five areas. The head of the church is the moderator Lourenço dos Santos (as of 2019/2020).
history
In the mid-1940s, some families in Baucau received Bibles from foreigners. Shortly thereafter, they began meeting for Bible studies and prayer together. Others joined them, creating a Protestant denomination. One of the founders was the pastor Maria de Fátima Wadhoomall Gomes , who in 1978 together with her husband José Agusto Seabra Gomes renewed Protestantism in Atauro . In 1979, during the Indonesian occupation, these Protestants founded the Christian Church of East Timor (GKTT). In 1988 the GKTT was admitted to the Indonesian Community of Churches (PGI). The first moderator, as their leader was called, was Vincente de Vasconcelos Ximenes .
During the occupation, many of the GKTT members were Indonesian administrators, civil servants and soldiers. At their wedding, the GKTT had 30,000 members, 44 ordained pastors and 52 trained evangelists . Most of the GKTT were taught in Indonesian theology schools and their system was built on the Indonesian model. In general, the East Timorese people saw the Church as pro-Indonesian and anti-independence, while the majority of Protestant leaders tried to stay out of politics. Most of them remained silent about human rights violations, but many were secretly in contact with the FALINTIL resistance movement . Instead, open criticism of the occupying power came from the Catholic Bishop Belo . At the beginning of the 1990s Arlindo Marçal became the moderator of the GKTT and the church was now more distant from Indonesia. The GKTT became a member of the World Reformed Federation and Marçal positioned himself as a supporter of East Timor’s independence, who sought support from Christians abroad. He was a guest at two general assemblies of the Presbyterian Churches in the USA .
During the crisis in East Timor in 1999 in the context of the successful independence referendum on August 30 , all 60 GKTT buildings were destroyed by militias . Some of the churches were set on fire by their own pro-Indonesian believers or even pastors. Only four pastors were still active in East Timor after the unrest. Most of the pastors and their followers had fled to the Indonesian West Timor . Some also took church property with them. The GKTT general secretary and acting moderator Francisco Maria de Vasconcelos , son of Vincente de Vasconcelos Ximenes, falsely reported that he had been shot. However, he and about a hundred other refugees had escaped the unrest in the mountains near Dili . Arlindo Marçal switched to politics and became general secretary of the Partido Democrata Cristão (PDC).
After the Indonesians left, GKTT was renamed IPTL. In 2003, at a synod of the IPTL, a scandal broke out between the prominent pastor Daniel Marçal, a cousin of Arlindo, and Francisco Maria de Vasconcelos. Vasconcelos blacked Marçal and was arrested for it. Daniel Marçal then campaigned for the release of Vasconcelos and resigned as general secretary. Instead, he became a program officer at Church World Service. Vasconcelos was reconciled with him again. In general, the great burden that was on Vasconcelos is considered to be the reason for the incident. In July 2004 Vasconcelos was elected moderator of the church. At this point it was nearly bankrupt and had only 17,000 members, 29 pastors and 57 evangelists. In addition, other Protestant churches began to expand in East Timor, such as the Igreja Evangélica Assembleia de Deus ( Assemblies of God ), which was led by Maria de Fátima Wadhoomall Gomes, the Bethel Church and the Pentecostal movement.
For its general assembly in 2016, the IPTL received US $ 10,000 from the government .
Moderators
The moderator is the head of the church.
| Surname | Term of office |
|---|---|
| Vincente de Vasconcelos Ximenes | 1979-1992 |
| Arlindo Marçal | 1992-2002 |
| Francisco Maria de Vasconcelos | 2004 (already in office in 1999) - 2008 |
| Moises Antonio da Silva | 2008-2017 |
| Lourenço dos Santos | since 2017 |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Protestant Church in Timor Lorosa'e on the website of the World Council of Churches .
- ↑ Sinode GMIT: Gereja Protestan Timor Leste Butuh Tenaga Pendeta , February 23, 2018 , accessed on July 19, 2018.
- ↑ Tatoli: Konfisaun Relijioza Konfia Xefe Estadu Hakotu Impase , January 31, 2020 , accessed on April 20, 2020.
- ↑ a b c d e f PCUSA News to Presbynews: Church on the rocks , July 16, 2004 , accessed July 19, 2018.
- ↑ a b President of East Timor: PRESIDÊNCIA DA REPÚBLICA PRESTA ÚLTIMA HOMENAGEM À FUNDADORA DA IGREJA PROTESTANTE EM TIMOR-LESTE , January 7, 2020 , accessed on January 19, 2020.
- ↑ Domini: Protestant Leader Killed in East Timor , September 13, 1999 , accessed July 19, 2018.
- ↑ Michaela Müller and Monika Schlicher: Political Parties and Groups in East Timor , Indonesia Information No. 1 2002 (East Timor)
- ↑ Eur: The Far East and Australasia 2003 (= Regional surveys of the world ). Psychology Press, 2002, ISBN 1-85743-133-2 , ISSN 0071-3791 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
- ^ US Department of State: International Religious Freedom Report for 2016 , Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor , accessed August 18, 2017.
- ^ Report of the Division of Overseas Ministries (DOM) / Global Ministries No. 0910 , October 13, 2008 , accessed April 20, 2020.
- ↑ Timor Children's Foundation: Summer News 2017 , August 2017 , accessed April 20, 2020.
- ↑ President of East Timor: https://presidenciarepublica.tl/2017/11/mensajen-prezidente-da-republika-francisco-guterres-lu-olo-ba-komemorasaun-aniversariu-ba-dala-500-reforma-nian/ , 16 November 2017 , accessed April 20, 2020.