II SEMINARJESEDU-Jogja2024
June 24th – 28th, 2024Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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In preparation for JESEDU-Jogja2024 a Virtual Pre-Seminar is taking place between April 1st - 30th, 2024.
Pilgrimage
The Pilgrimage Shrines
Day 3 (June 26, 2024) of the Seminar is designated as the day of a spiritual journey for the seminar participants. For this program, 3 shrines have been selected for the participants to visit: the Prambanan Temple (a Hindu shrine), the Great Mosque of Kotagede (a Muslim shrine), and the Temple of The Sacred Heart of Jesus (a Catholic shrine). The architecture of each shrine is an important representation of religious harmony.
The Great Mosque of Mataram in Kotagede
Masjid Gedhe Mataram or the Great Mosque of Mataram is the oldest mosque in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. The mosque is located in Kotagede, which used to be the capital of the now-defunct Islamic Mataram Kingdom. It is referred to as the Great Mosque because of its status as the Kingdom’s Mosque. The mosque is approximately 5.15 miles away from De Britto College.
The mosque was built by Sultan Agung Hanyakrakusuma (the third Sultan of Islamic Mataram) in 1640 AD, long before the kingdom was split in 1755 into two kingdoms: the Sultanate of Yogyakarta or Mataram-Yogyakarta and the Sunanate of Surakarta or Mataram-Surakarta (the king is addressed as Sunan). The building of the mosque involved the local people, who were mostly Hindus and Buddhists. In 1926 it was restored by Sunan Pakubuwono X, the tenth King of Mataram-Surakarta.
The mosque stands out among other mosques because of its Javanese-style building architecture and Hindu-Buddhist influence. The main building of the mosque is characterized by the so-called Limasan, the Javanese pyramid-shaped roof, and the room which is divided into two, namely the core and the porch. The entrance gate of the mosque is different from other mosques as it resembles a Hindu place of worship.
The Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ganjuran.
On April 16, 1924, the Schmutzers, a Dutch family, built the first Catholic church on their land, with H. van Driessche, SJ as the first pastor. In 1927 the community began to build near the church a 10-meter-high temple, which resembles the Prambanan Hindu temple. They devoted the temple to the sacred heart of Jesus.
Jesus in this temple was portrayed as a Javanese ruler and teacher. The statue of Jesus is uniquely carved with a batik motif. There are also 15 Javanese-style reliefs depicting the Stations of the Cross originally designed by the Schmutzer family.
Unfortunately, 6.2 earthquake hit the southern area of Yogyakarta in 2006 and destroyed the original church building. The people of the parish have built a new church building on the original site. The church and the temple are located in Ganjuran, 14.1 miles away from De Britto College.
The Prambanan Temple
Pointed and tall, typical of Hindu architecture, Prambanan is a 9th-century temple-compound located on the border between the province of Central Java and the Special Territory of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The temple is a UNESCO world heritage site, and is one of the biggest in South Asia. It is approximately 8 miles away from De Britto College.
Built by Rakai Pikatan of the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty circa 850 AD, the temple was in the first place dedicated to the Trimūrti (the Hindu Trinity), the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu) and the Transformer (Shiva). The Sanjaya Dynasty ruled ancient Java from 752 AD to 1016 AD.
Based on the Siwagrha inscriptions, the original name of this temple compound was Siwagrha (a Sanskrit word meaning the ‘Shiva House’), and indeed in the garbagriha (main room) of this temple resides at a three-meter tall Shiva Mahadewa statue which shows that Lord Shiva is preferred. The presence of Buddhist-style Sewu temples alongside the Hindu-style Prambanan temple, however, is an indication of religious tolerance, and shows that since ancient times in Java, Hindus and Buddhists have lived harmoniously.
