In 1741, in commemoration of the centenary of the capture of Malacca from the Portuguese, the Dutch burgher community decided to build a new church, replacing the aging Bovenkerk.

[4] 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.

Some Armenian inscriptions provide an interesting panorama of life in the Dutch period:[5] Greetings, you who are reading this tablet of my tomb in which I now sleep.

Vainly I expected the world to see a good shepherd came to look after the scattered sheep.I, Jacob, grandson of Shamier, an Armenian of a respectable family whose name I keep, was born in Persia near Inefa, where my parents now forever sleep.

[4] Silver altar vessels dating back to the early Dutch period are also in the possession of the church but are kept in storage and rarely taken out for display.