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HISTORY

 

Foreign Christians have been free to worship in Thailand for nearly five hundred years. The first to do so were Portuguese traders who settled outside Ayutthaya early in the 16th century. The remains of three Roman Catholic churches and a graveyard can still be seen.

Ayutthaya was destroyed in 1767, and it was ninety years before Westerners began to settle in Thailand again, welcomed by King Mongkut (1851-1868). Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries came and worked without hindrance amongst the Thai and Chinese communities.  They built hospitals and schools, many of which are still flourishing.  There were also many fine Roman Catholic churches. There was a Protestant Cemetery (1853), which is still in use, but no Protestant church. Instead, Protestants used to meet for informal services in the homes of American missionaries.

The Chapel by the River

On 3rd June 1861, a group of non-Roman Catholic Christians asked King Mongkut for land to build a church.

 

Clergy at the Chapel by the River

 

1864-1892 American missionaries

 

1894-1900 W.G.Greenstock (Chaplain)

 

1900-1901 American Presbyterian missionaries

 

1901-1902 W.H.Robins (Chaplain)

 

1902-1903 American Presbyterian missionaries

 

1903-1905 H.de Courcy Blakeney (Chaplain)

 

On 26th July 1861 King Mongkut granted land by the river to the “Community of foreigners who are of Protestant Christian faith”. The British Government agreed to pay part of the cost providing it could take control of the care and management of the church.

The Protestant Union Chapel (also called “The English Church”) opened on 1st May 1864. The preacher at the opening service was the Revd. S.Mattoon of the American Presbyterian Mission.

Canon William Greenstock came as Chaplain in January 1894, supported by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG).

The first confirmation was held in the chapel on 16th February 1896. It was conducted by the Rt. Revd. George Frederick Hose, Bishop of Singapore Labuan & Sarawak.

On 7th April 1904 King Chulalongkorn granted permission to sell the river site and gave land off North Sathorn Road for the erection of a new church. A procedure for constructing the new church was approved by the church committee.

Christ Church

The church building was dedicated on 30th April 1905: the service was conducted by the Chaplain, the Revd. H.de Courcy Blakeney assisted by Canon William Greenstock of the SPG and the Revd. J.Carrington, Secretary of the American Bible Society

 

Chaplains at  Christ Church

 

1905-1907 H.de Courcy Blakeney

 

1908-1920 Dr H.J.Hillyard

 

1920-1921 C.R.Simmons

 

1921           F.Dowland Ryan

 

1922-1932 C.R.Simmons

 

1932-1935 E.Edwards

 

1935-1940 C.W.Norwood

 

1940-1941 C.G.Eagling

 

1941-1945 Chaplain interned during the Second World War

 

1945-1946 British Army Chaplains

 

1946-1951 C.G.Eagling

 

1951-1955 W.H.Fowke

 

1955-1958 J.L.Gilmour

 

1958-1962 E.J.Pulman

 

1962-1963 Interregnum-Diocesan Clergy

On 23th July 1937 the British Government relinquished control of the church.

During World War II the Chaplain was interned: the church’s affairs were looked after by the Scandinavian community.

Jubilee celebrations were held on 1st May1955. King Bhumipol graciously sent a message of congratulations and a jubilee booklet was published.

In 1956 services began to be taken in Saigon, Phnom Penh and Vientiane as circumstances demanded.

An Anglican Church

The Revd. J.E.Ironside was appointed Vicar of Christ Church in 1963.

 

Vicars at Christ Church

 

1963-1966 J.E.Ironside

 

1966-1971 D. N.Bowers

 

1971-1973 P.D.Kingston

 

1973-1981 Canon John Taylor, O.B.E.

 

1982-1984 Ian Bull

 

1984-1986 Interregnum-John Morrett (Acting Vicar)

 

1986-1995 Canon Dr Monty Morris

 

1995-1997 Bruce McNab

 

1998-2004 Stephen Gabbott

 

2004-2005 Andrew Dircks

 

2005-2006 Stephen Gabbott (Interim Vicar)

 

2006-          Peter Cook

Outreach to Karen displaced persons began in 1982 at the request of the Anglican Consultative Council.

In October 1991 the Revd. Gerry Khoo and his wife Dorothy arrived to further the initiative of the Revd. Monty Morris in organizing a Thai-language congregation.

A constitution was approved at an Annual General Meeting on 9th March 1997.

The Revd. Stephen Gabbott became Vicar in 1998. The church’s stance changed from broad church to conservative Evangelical.

The centenary of the church building on Convent/North Sathorn Road was celebrated on 30th April 2005, and the book "A Century of Fellowship" was published.

The Anglican Church in Thailand

The Anglican Church in Thailand was registered with the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand on 9th May 1994.

 

 

 

Anglican Church in Thailand / Thai congregation

 

1991-2003 Gerald (Gerry) Khoo

 

2004-          Yee Ching Wah

 

Christ Church Banchang was established in 1996.

The Rainbowland Child Development Centre opened on the ground floor of the old vicarage in 1998.

Christ Church Sawang Daendin was established in 1999.

A Church was planted in Korat Province in 2002.

Bibliography

W.H.Fowke, “A Century of Worship, 1864-1964”, Christ Church Bangkok, 1964

Christ Church, “A Prayer Book for Thailand”, Christ Church Bangkok, 1989

Peter Norman, "Spiritual Oasis", Christ Church Bangkok, 1994

Members of the congregations of Christ Church Bangkok, past and present, "A Century of Fellowship", Christ Church Bangkok, 2005

For current activities, see the websites of the English-language congregations, www.christchurchbangkok.org, and the Thai-language congregation, www.thaianglican.org.