Christ Church, Melaka

Christ Church is the oldest functioning Protestant church in Malaysia and is within the jurisdiction of the Lower Central Archdeaconry of the Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia. In 1741 the Dutch burgher community decided to build a new church to replace the aging Bovenkerk. The foundation stone was laid by the Malacca born Captain of the Malacca Burghers, Abraham de Wind. The church was completed 12 years later in 1753 and replaced the Bovenkerk as the primary Dutch Reformed Church in Dutch Malacca.

With the signing of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, possession of Malacca was transferred to the British East India Company and in 1838, the church was re-consecrated with the rites of the Church of England by the Rt. Rev. Daniel Wilson, the Anglican Bishop of Calcutta and renamed Christ Church. The maintenance of the church was taken over by the Government of the Straits Settlements in 1858.

Originally painted white, the church and the neighboring Stadthuys building was painted red in 1911 and this distinctive color scheme has remained the hallmark of Malacca's Dutch-era buildings since.

The church is built in Dutch Colonial architecture style and is laid out in a simple rectangle of 82 feet by 42 feet. The ceiling rises to 40 feet and is spanned by wooden beams, each carved from a single tree. The original Dutch windows were reduced and ornamented after the British takeover of Malacca and the porch and vestry were built only in the mid-19th century.