- Original Title: Paroki Santo Yoseph Denpasar: Jejak Perjalanan Gereja Kristen Katolik di Pulau Dewata
- Author, Editor: FX Soenaryo, et. al.; Aron Meko Mbete
- Archive Type: Book
- Published: 2019
- Publisher: Pustaka Larasan
- Place: Denpasar, Bali.
- Pages: 400
- ISBN: 6025401462, 9786025401466
- Available File(s): Photos of excerpt
- Keywords: Bali, Catholic Church, St. Joseph Parish Denpasar, Soenaryo, Servatius Subhaga, Hindu, comparative religions.
- Link: https://books.google.com/books/about/Paroki_Santo_Yoseph_Denpasar.html?id=L_gTywEACAAJ
In the minds of both Indonesian people and global readers, Bali has been considered as the island of vacation. Historian Willard A. Hanna found that since the early colonial times, Bali has been considered “a Pacific paradise” (2011). In this book, Paroki Santo Yoseph Denpasar, however, FX. Soenaryo focuses on the religious history of the “island of the gods” from the perspective of the Catholic church. Mainly, he explores the ways in which missionaries in the twentieth century have impacted Balinese people and today’s religious landscape, particularly regarding the relationship between Christians and Hindu people. His analysis revolves around “tangible culture” and “intangible culture.”
The book consists of 8 (eight) chapters, including Introduction and Conclusion. Ch. 2 describes the history of Bali in the early twentieth century. Ch. 3 focuses on dynamics and “renewal movement” (gerakan pembaruan) in Bali. Ch. 4-5 focus on the establishment of St. Joseph Parish. My attention was caught in the short story on the discernment and decision regarding the construction of the phenomenal Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish, designed with Balinese cosmology-Christian theology by the lead of Fr. Servatius Subhaga, SVD, Bali’s first indigenous bishop. Ch. 6-7 describes the socio-economic impacts of the parish on Balinese people. Soenaryo also pays attention to the design, biblical interpretation, and “material culture” of Fr. Subhaga, including the unfinished project of Candi Kebangkitan (Resurrection Temple) whose design resembles the Borobudur temple, instead of a typical Christian church.
In general, this book is suitable for scholars in mission studies, interreligious/comparative religions, indigenous studies, and history of Christianity. In particular, it invites us to think what it means to be Christian beyond Eurocentric valorization of purity.
Photo(s)
Source(s)
- FX Soenaryo, et. al., Paroki Santo Yoseph Denpasar: Jejak Perjalanan Gereja Kristen Katolik di Pulau Dewata (Denpasar: Pustaka Larasan, 2019).
- Willard A. Hanna, A Brief History Of Bali: Piracy, Slavery, Opium and Guns: The Story of a Pacific Paradise (North Clarendon: Tuttle Publishing, 2016).
- “Brief History of Christianity in Bali,” Bali Discovery, December 31, 2024, https://www.balidiscovery.com/brief-history-of-christianity-in-bali/
Written by Abel K. Aruan (November 16, 2024); Edited by Abel K. Aruan (January 11, 2025).