Reasons Why POUK Tesalonika Congregation Held Easter Service in the Sub-District Office

Dozens of members of the Ecumenical Fellowship of Christian Believers or POUK Tesalonika in Teluknaga Sub-District, Tangerang, Banten, held their Easter worship service in the hall of the former sub-district office. This was because the Tangerang Regency Government sealed the congregation’s prayer house on the grounds that it lacked a building permit.

The Tangerang Regency Government based its action on Regional Regulation Number 13 of 2022 concerning the Implementation of Public Order and Tranquillity as well as Community Protection. That regional regulation governs various efforts to maintain order, including building compliance.

The Easter celebration, themed on the resurrection of Christ bringing new hope, peace, and eternal joy, took place from morning until afternoon. Tangerang Regent Maesyal Rasyid visited the congregation during the Easter service on Sunday, 5 April 2026. Regent Maesyal stated that the regency government does not prohibit residents from worshipping.

Spokesperson for the POUK Tesalonika congregation, Pastor Michael Siahaan, said the regency government provided the former sub-district office hall for the congregation’s worship. “A temporary worship place for Easter celebrations, Christmas, and routine services,” said Pastor Michael when contacted by Tempo on Sunday, 5 April 2026.

Previously, the solemn atmosphere of the Good Friday procession for seventy members of the Ecumenical Fellowship of Christian Believers or POUK Tesalonika turned tense on Friday, 3 April 2026. From the morning, the congregation, which included some children and women, recited prayers and praises as part of the three holy days of Easter at their prayer house.

Friday was the second day of the Three Holy Days or Triduum of the Easter celebration, consisting of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday/Easter Sunday. Easter is a service commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

At least 200 people suddenly forced their way into the prayer house, whose yard was planted with banana trees. They issued threats to demolish the prayer house signboard. The Tangerang Regency Government affixed a sealing notice paper.

The mob pressed the local government not to issue a building erection permit. “They arrived shortly after we finished worshipping. The congregation is traumatised,” said Pastor Michael.

He said they tried to halt the congregation’s activities and threatened to demolish the prayer house signboard. The sealing of the prayer house is not the first time.

The congregation has experienced persecution and intimidation for three consecutive years, every time approaching Easter. The impact has left the congregation traumatised. In addition, they have been forced to move from place to place to worship, including renting a shop house for Easter services.

Last year, the Easter celebration series was halted due to the sealing. The rejections continue because a group of people accuse the building will be used as a church. However, Michael said the building is used as a prayer house. According to him, a prayer house differs from a church. He gave examples that the function of a prayer house is like a musala and chapel.

According to Michael, since the persecution and sealing, the management has continuously strived to worship at the prayer house under the auspices of the POUK Tesalonika Foundation. They have pursued a building permit or building approval as a requirement for establishing a prayer house. But to date, the permit has not been issued.

The local regency government then provided the sub-district hall as a temporary worship place. That hall faces the Grand Mosque. The POUK Tesalonika management had sent a notification letter regarding the Easter worship series at the foundation’s prayer house to the Teluknaga Sub-District Head, Kurnia, since 31 March 2026.

Their consideration for holding worship at the prayer house was due to a scheduling conflict with the congregation’s worship and Friday prayers for the Muslim community at the mosque. “To maintain the devotion of each community’s worship,” he said.

In addition, the congregation, which includes some disabled individuals, children, and elderly people, feels more comfortable worshipping at the prayer house. It has facilities for the disabled toilet, benches, podium, and various supporting worship facilities. That letter also emphasised the importance of guarantees for freedom of religion and worship as regulated in Article 29 paragraph 2 of the 1945 Constitution.

Teluknaga Sub-District Head, Kurnia, denied that the Teluknaga Sub-District Government in Tangerang Regency prohibited the Easter worship series. The sub-district government, he said, provided a temporary worship place because the POUK Tesalonika Foundation is undergoing the process of obtaining a building permit.

The local government offered two options for temporary worship places, namely Saung Ibu for the Good Friday service and the old sub-district office hall for the Easter service. “It is hoped that the Easter week will run well, orderly, and in accordance with applicable provisions,” stated the letter signed by Kurnia dated 1 April 2026.

The Communion of Churches in Indonesia or PGI condemned the sealing of the congregation’s prayer house of the Ecumenical Fellowship of Christian Believers or POUK Tesalonika. Executive Secretary for Justice and Peace of PGI, Pastor Etika Saragih, stated that the incident wounded the Christian community entering the Easter celebration, especially Good Friday.

The sealing damages the nation’s commitment to freedom of religion and worship guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution, Articles 28E and 29. “We urge the government to realise guarantees of safety in worship and ensure no similar actions that hinder citizens’ fundamental rights,” said Etika.

PGI asked state apparatus not to bow to pressure from certain groups and to be protectors of all citizens without discrimination. In addition, they encouraged inclusive and just dialogue to find long-term and permanent solutions that respect the rights of all parties. PGI invited all elements of society to restrain themselves, prioritise the spirit of tolerance, and nurture diversity as the strength of the Indonesian nation.

Civil society assesses that violence against freedom of religion and belief often occurs due to the Joint Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs and the Minister of Home Affairs Number 9 of 2006 and Number 8 of 2006, which regulate the establishment of houses of worship. Those regulations become triggers for discrimination against minority groups.