Studies in Asian Mission History, 1956-1998 (Studies in Christian Mission)

STUDIES IN ASIAN MISSION HISTORY 1956-1998

STUDIES IN CHRISTIAN MISSION GENERAL EDITOR Marc R. Spindler (University of Leiden) EDITORIAL BOARD Adrian Hastings (University of Leeds) Jocelyn Murray (London) Jean Pirotte (Universite de Louvain)

VOLUME 25

STUDIES IN ASIAN MISSION HISTORY 1956-1998 BY

ARNULF CAMPS

BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON • KOLN 2000

This series offers a forum for scholarship on the history of Christian missionary movements world-wide, the dynam-ics of Christian witness and service in new surrounds, the transition from movements to churches, and the areas of cultural initiative or involvement of Christian bodies and individuals, such as education, health, community development, press, literature and art. Special attention is given to local initiative and leadership and to Christian missions from the Third World. Studies in the theories and paradigms of mission in their respective contexts and contributions to missiology as a theological discipline are a second focus of the series. Occasionally volumes will contain selected papers from outstanding missiologists and proceedings of significant conferences related to the themes of the series. Enquiries and proposals for the publication of works in the series should be addressed to the Administrative Editor, Studies in Christian Mission, Koninkhjke Brill N. V., P.O. Box 9000, 2300 PA Leiden, The Netherlands. This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Camps, Arnulf, 1925Studies in Asian mission history, 1956-1998 / by Arnulf Camps. p. cm. — (Studies in Christian mission, ISSN 0924-9389 ; v.25) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 9004115722 (alk. paper) 1. Catholic Church—Missions—Asia—History. 2. Missions— Asia—History. 1. Title. II. Series BV2185.C36 2000 266'.25—dc21 99-059896

CIP Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Camps, Arnulf: Studies in Asian mission history : 1956 - 1998 / by Arnulf Camps. Leiden ; Boston ; Koln : Brill, 2000 (Studies in Christian mission ; Vol. 25) ISBN 90-04-11572-2

ISSN

0924-9389

ISBN

9004115722

© Copyright 2000 by Konmklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy itemsfor internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS

CONTENTS

Introduction

ix PART ONE GENERAL BACKGROUND STUDIES

1. The Study of the History of Local Churches. Its Importance for the Development and the Future of the Church 2. The Catholic Missionary Movement from 1492 to 1789 The Catholic Missionary Movement from 1789 to 1962

3 13

22

PART TWO MOGUL MISSION STUDIES 3. Persian Works of Jerome Xavier, a Jesuit at the Mogul Court 4. An Unpublished Letter of Father Christoval de Vega s.j. Its Importance for the History of the Second Mission to the Mughal Court and for the Knowledge of the Religion of the Emperor Akbar 5. Franciscan Missions to the Mogul Court 6. Die Wiederentdeckung der ersten abendlandischen Sanskrit-Grammatik des P. Heinrich Roth s.j 7. Die Schriften der Jesuiten-Missionare Johann Grueber, Heinrich Roth und Antonio Ceschi 8. The Sanskrit Grammar and Manuscripts of Father Heinrich Roth s.j. (1620-1668): Introduction Father Heinrich Roth, s.j. (1620-1668) and the History of his Sanskrit Manuscripts

33

47 60 75 79 84 90

VI

CONTENTS

PART THREE STUDIES IN CHINESE AND JAPANESE MISSION HISTORY 9. The People's Republic of China: from Foreignness to Contextualization 10. Das Christentum aus chinesischem und japanischem Blickwinkel wahrend der 'Jesuitischen Epoche' der Missionsgeschichte Asiens (1549-1773) 11. Policy and Practice in Roman Catholic Missions in Nineteenth Century Asia: China - India - Vietnam 12. The Reception of Christianity in China. A neglected Field of Study in Interreligious Dialogue 13. Celso Costantini. Apostolic Delegate in China (1922-1933) The Changing Role of the Foreign Missionary 14. The First Franciscans in the East 15. Castoranos 'Brevis Apparatus et modus agendi ac disputandi cum Mahumetanis' in China Eine unbekannte Handschrift aus dem Jahr 1725 16. Carolo Orazi da Castorano O.F.M. (1673-1775) on the Prophet Muhammad and on the Master Philosopher Confucius

105

122 139 155

169 175

191

199

PART FOUR MISSION AND AFGHANISTAN IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 17. Mill Hill Missionaries in Afghanistan from 1879 until 1881 and their stay in Quetta-Baluchistan until 1883

213

PART FIVE THE PIONEER OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION IN SRI LANKA 18. Father Felice Zoppi da Cannobio, O.F.M. in Sri Lanka: 1853-1857. Pioneer of Catholic Education in Kandy 19. Thirteen Unknown Documents written by Father Zoppi da Cannobio O.F.M. in Sri Lanka from 1853 till 1856

261 268

CONTENTS

Vll

PART SIX

VARIOUS STUDIES ON INDIA, TURKEY, COCHINCHINE AND TIBET 20. Indien im Blickwinkel europaischer Missionare 21. A Letter written by Fr. Petrus Franciscus a Saorgio, O.F.M., from an Indian Prison (1729) 22. Flamische Franziskaner in Konstantinopel, Smyrna und auf der Insel Chios am Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts 23. Une lettre inedite du P. Valerius Rist, O.F.M., Missionnaire en Cochinchine 24. Luciano Petech und die katholische Tibet-Mission im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert

297 312 318 332 335

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INTRODUCTION

In this book a collection of articles written over an extended period of more than four decades (1956-1999) have been selected with the intention to make them more accessible to researchers and historians. Purposely, the selection has been restricted within the limits of: Studies in Asian Mission History. From the very beginning of my academic studies at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, in 1951, my main interest was — for several reasons — focussed on the history of Christianity in that vast and religiously pluriform continent. The first reason was, that after having obtained the doctor's degree (1957) I - being a franciscan friar - was destined to teach mission history, missiology and islamology at the Regional Christ the King Major Seminary at Karachi, Pakistan. My students originated from various Asian countries, Pakistan, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Soon, I understood, that they rightly asked for a study of the local history of their religious communities and not for detailed historical studies of Western Churches with which they had little affinity. This situation led me to a search of undiscovered and unknown archival sources in order to bring to light the religious past of the Asian local Christian communities. In this search, I was greatly helped by scholars like Dr. Achilles Meersman O.F.M. an historian teaching at Bangalore, India, by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Edmund Peiris O.M.I., bishop of Chilaw, Sri Lanka, and by Prof. Dr. Bernward Willeke O.F.M., living in Wiirzburg, Germany and an expert in Chinese franciscan missions. However, there was another reason which caused me to pay special attention to the discovery of hidden, unknown or forgotten sources of Asian Mission History. As a student at the Catholic University of Fribourg I had the privilege of being guided by a number of professors, who were constantly searching for a renewal of the traditional views of Asian, African and Latin American mission histories. It was Professor Dr. Johannes Beckmann S.M.B., who convinced me, that the history of the Jesuit Mogul Mission (1580-1803) in Northern India was for many important aspects still depending on secondary sources. Under his guidance I did research in many European archives and libraries. I collected a great number of letters and manuscripts, which had never been used in historical studies. Two examples may

X

INTRODUCTION

be given: the discovery of the Fuente de Vida of Jerome Xavier s.j. and the Sanskrit Grammar and related manuscripts of Heinrich Roth s.j. From Professor Walbert Btihlmann O.F.M. CAP. I learned that linguistic and sociological approaches of African mission history is very helpful in discovering new sources, which are more valuable than the documents used in traditional studies. Professor Dr. Joseph Henninger S.V.D. introduced me in the study of the pre-islamic religious history of Arabia. Professor Dr. Georg Holtker S.V.D. opened new insights by laying stress on the Aztec sources in Latin American mission studies. Finally, Professor Dr. Constantin Regamey taught me Persian and Tibetan languages and Professor Henninger the Arabic language, so that I was prepared to enter new fields of research. Both reasons taken together may make understandable the special nature of the present publication. With the exception of two introductions of a more general nature and of indicating the special approach I developed, all the other contributions deal with my discovery of hidden, unknown or forgotten sources of Asian Mission History. The first six studies treat new insights in the history of the Mogul Mission History in Northern India. The variety of Persian and other literary works of the real founder of that mission, Jerome Xavier s.j. (1549—1617), have been listed and described according to the latest information available. Xavier's mission was preceded by another short mission to the Court of the Emperor Akbar in 1591. The real reason why this mission failed remained unknown, but a letter of December 2, 1593, written by a member of that mission, Father Christoval de Vega s.j., is very helpful in understanding the complicated situation at the Mogul Court. A third contribution tries to explain why the Franciscans attempted to start their own Mogul Mission around the year 1624. The last three writings belonging to the Mogul Mission have to do with the German Jesuit, Heinrich Roth (1620—1668), who was the first Western scholar to compose a Sanskrit Grammar and who commented upon some Sanskrit texts. In 1967 I was able to discover this precious set of documents and could prove that Roth was more interested in approaching the majority of the Hindu population than the minority of the Muslims. A second series of studies, containing eight contributions, concern the history of missions in China and Japan. The long history of Christianity in China (from 634 A.D. up till the present day) is

INTRODUCTION

XI

divided by us into five periods by asking ourselves whether in each of them Christianity really progressed from foreignness to contextualization. The next study tries to answer the question how Chinese and Japanese Christian and non-Christian authors during the Jesuit epoch (1549-1773) received or rejected the Christian faith. A third writing brings to light a contradiction between the policy and the practice of realizing local churches in China, India and Vietnam during the nineteenth century. A more specialised approach of the reception of Christianity in the twentieth century in China pleads for a theological concept of contextualization based on interreligious dialogue. The last four articles study the life and the contributions of some individual persons. Celso Costantini (1876-1958) was the first Apostolic Delegate to China (1922-1933) by Pope Pius XI in order to dewesternizing Chinese Christianity both in leadership and internal life. Another writing deals with the missionary ideas of the first Franciscans especially in China during the Middle Ages. The two last contributions of this section concern a Franciscan who was very influential in bringing the Chinese Rites Controversy in the Catholic Church to a definite end (the papal letter Ex quo Singulari of July 11, 1742), but who was also a scholar studying Islam and Confucianism in China. His name was Carolo Orazi da Castorano (1673-1755). In these two writings his extensive works on Muhammad and on Confucius are for the first time analysed and critically refuted. The third section of this book contains only one study. From 1879 until 1881 Mill Hill Missionaries, members of the St. Joseph Society of Foreign Missions founded by Herbert Vaughan just north of London in 1866, received orders to accompany the British Army in their attempt to annex Afghanistan to the Indian British possessions. A collection of original letters, preserved in the archives of the diocese of Hyderabad, Pakistan, which never had been studied, helped me to unravel this courageous and tragic event. Sri Lanka is the fourth country dealt with in this book. The two articles deal with the same person: Father Felice Zoppi da Cannobio O.F.M. (1824^1866). After having served as an outstanding missionary in China, he had to leave that country for reasons of health. He went to Kandy in Sri Lanka and became the pioneer of Catholic education there. In the archives of the diocese of Kandy some twelve documents were discovered revealing for the first time his activities in this field (1853-1857).

Xll

INTRODUCTION

The final section of this book contains several contributions dealing with new discoveries and insights regarding the missionary situation in India, Turkey, Cochinchine and Tibet. Most of the 24 contributions selected for this publication have been published in journals appearing in various countries and continents and they were not always easy to consult. It is my hope that the present edition will be helpful in offering to historians of Asian Christian Missions not only new material but also new insights and approaches. Prof. Dr. Arnulf Camps O.F.M.

PART ONE

GENERAL BACKGROUND STUDIES

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THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF LOCAL CHURCHES Its Importance for the Development and the Future of the Church*

During the past few decades, the study of Church history has been undergoing a process of change. New dimensions have been added and new methodologies have revitalized its traditional approaches. No longer is Church history the private reserve of a few historians in search of the past. It now attracts an ever-increasing number of scholars concerned with mankind's future. These scholars, who represent a variety of disciplines, have become keenly aware of the impact the Church has had, and continues to have, on the development of cultures. They are now studying Church history within the larger framework of the history of mankind. In this paper, we wish to present our readers with a general overview of this new renaissance in the field of Church history, indicating significant changes in methodology and underlining certain new dimensions that are being added to this traditional discipline which is now in a state of renewal. CHANGING METHODOLOGY It seems to me that in recent years there have been two major changes in the way Church history is being done. The first has to do with new perspectives in regard to traditional source materials, and the second with the introduction of oral history to complement these conventional resources. The traditional sources for studying Church history have always been original documents which are usually found in archives, and published materials that are readily available on the bookshelves of libraries. In the past, the historians relying on such sources brought to the material at hand a decidedly Western perspective. Being themselves Westerners, they were primarily concerned with the spread of westernized Christianity through the agency of Western missionaries. * Originally published in: J. Heyndrickx C.I.C.M., Historiography of the Chinese Catholic Church, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Louvain Chinese Studies 1) 1994, pp. 21-29.

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ASIAN MISSION HISTORY 1956-1998

They focused on such things as the number of converts, how many churches were erected, the obstacles missionaries confronted in foreign cultures, and the lives of their heroes and martyrs. There was little interest shown in how Christianity was received by the local people and integrated into the local culture. While reception-history has yet to be written, this new perspective has now come to the fore, thanks largely to the efforts of local historians working within the context of their own culture. A fine example of this new approach is The History of Christianity in India, a two-volume work published in Bangalore in the early years of the present decade. Volume I traces Christian origins in India from its earliest beginning to the year 1542 and is the work of A. Mathias Mundadan (1984). Joseph Tekkedath continues the story in Volume II up to the end of the seventeenth century (1982). Four more volumes are planned for this series. Both authors present the history of Christianity in India not as something detached from, but as an integral part of, India's socio-cultural history. They focus on the Indian Christians, who they were, and how they understood themselves, their social, religious, cultural and political encounters, and the changes resulting from these encounters as they went about the task of appropriating the Christian gospel. Both writers do this without diverting their attention from Indian culture as a whole and the history of the larger society of which the Indian Christians were a part. A similar project is also being carried on by the Commission of Studies of the History of the Church in Latin America (CEHILA). The commission has been working since 1973 on an eleven-volume Church history of Latin America, of the Hispanics in the U.S.A., and of the Philippines, Mozambique and Angola. Already seven volumes have been published. They include a general introduction, the history of the Church in Brazil, Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, along with a history of the Latin American Church in the United States (1981-1987). Yet to come are works on the Caribbean, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay. The Commission involves both Catholics and Protestants in a joint effort. What makes this series different from previous histories is its new perspectives. It is history as seen through the eyes of the poor, by the believing Christian, and has a pronounced ecumenical and pastoral orientation. It also does equal justice to the roles played by both men and women.

THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF LOCAL CHURCHES

0

At New Delhi in 1981, the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) pledged to rewrite Church history from the point of view of the oppressed. Since then, it has pursued this goal through international consultations, and national and regional workshops. This is another example of how the methodology of Church history is undergoing significant modifications in its traditional perspectives.1 The second important change in methodology has been the introduction in recent years of oral history to supplement the traditional written source materials. The study of oral history, the legends and myths of antiquity, is well-known in cultural anthropology, but its introduction into the study of general history has been of recent origin. It consists primarily of extended interviews recorded on soundtapes with those who have been participants in the actual events. First attempts to use this method for the study of Church history took place at the Catholic University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands, where a group of scholars and missionaries began a project in 1976 called Kom Missie Memories (KMM). Some one thousand interviews have already been recorded and the work continues up to the present. This growing collection has been used as source material for a number of doctoral dissertations. Some examples of these are: Jan Cornelissen's Pater en Papoea (Kampen, 1988), which describes the attitude of a group of Missionaries of the Sacred Heart towards the people of Irian Jaya in Indonesia; Jaap Breetvelt's Dualisme en Integrate (Kampen, 1989), which studies the problems arising in Africa between African directors of hospitals and Western doctors; and Albert de Jong's De Bijdrage van Nederlandse Missionarissen in Oost-Aftika, which studies the influence of Dutch missionaries in East Africa on nationbuilding and establishing a local Church. With many more doctoral dissertations now in preparation, we can begin to speak of a Nijmegen-tradition of studies using the oral history approach. Steps were taken to broaden the scope of this method when CREDIC,2 a French organization working in the field of missionary aspects of Church history, met at Nijmegen in 1988 to draw up plans for further international cooperation in this area.

1 Cf. Jeffrey Klaiber, "Toward a new History of the Church in the Third World", International Bulletin of Missionary Research 14 (1990) 105-108. - CREDIC: Centre de recherches et d'echanges sur la diffusion et 1'inculturation du christianisme hors d'Europe (31, place Bellecour,-F-69002 Lyon).

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ASIAN MISSION HISTORY 1956-1998

Contacts have also been made between Nijmegen and the International Association for Mission Studies (IAMS). There are many advantages to be gained by using the oral history method. Perhaps one of the most important is that the main actors in this historical drama, the missionaries and the people among whom they worked, will now have direct input in the recording of that history. This will allow historians to come to a more personal understanding of, and consequently, a deeper insight into the events of mission history. We note with interest here that Jean-Paul Wiest also used oral history sources while researching his recently published History of Maryknoll in China: A History, 191'8-1955 (New York-London, 1988). Wiest had at his disposal a taped-library of two hundred interviews with priests, sisters, and lay people who were directly involved in the work of the Maryknoll fathers in China up to 1952. Geurdina Verstraelen-Gilhuis also made good use of the oral history method in her study of the Church in Zambia. From Dutch Mission Church to Reformed Church in ^jimbia was done with the help of a great number of interviews with local people in that country. She also devoted a few pages to comment on the relationship between the written and oral sources in her work (Franeker, 1982). It seems to me that the oral history method has a great future in the writing of local Church histories. It also will have a significant influence on the way the modern Church looks at its own recent history. Through oral history, we can come closer to understanding the personal motivations of missionaries, and we can gain valuable insights into how the faith has been received into the local cultures. This approach will also help historians to sharpen their critical judgments by providing them with more exact information on which to base those judgments, be they positive or negative. This will allow us to walk the road that leads to the future perhaps with more caution, but also with more confidence. NEW DIMENSIONS IN CHURCH HISTORY In part two of this article, we wish to point out three current phenomena that are adding new dimensions to the study of Church history: the sudden interest being shown by missionary organizations in their own history, the rediscovery of Church history by historians of general history, and the changing nature of missionary motivation.

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The constant barrage of criticism being leveled at missionary methods of the past, the changes in political status of former missionary territories, the expulsion of missionaries from several countries (most notably China), and the dwindling of their number throughout the missionary world, all contributed to a kind of pessimism among the missionaries themselves. It had caused them to question the value of their past activities and the usefulness of writing down their histories. Fortunately, this attitude is changing. Wiest's work on Maryknoll in China is an excellent example of how this spirit of pessimism is being overcome. Another example is Alvyn J. Austin's Saving China: Canadian Missionaries in the Middle Kingdom 1888-1959 (Toronto, 1986). The Paris Foreign Mission Society has recently published two books on the history of its former missions: Lumiere sur la Coree (Korea) and Guy Marie's Le Vietnam des Martyrs et des Saints (Vietnam) (Paris, 1984, 1988). Other recent examples of the renewed interest in missionary history is Fernando Mires's La Colonization de las Almas. Mision y Conquista en Hispanoamerica (in Latin America, S. Jose, 1987) and the above mentioned work of Verstraelen-Gilhuis on Zambia. While we are all familiar with the classic source material published in the past from the archives of the Jesuits, Franciscans and Dominicans, today we are discovering new approaches to old material. Modern mission histories search the past not only with the intention of evaluating it, but also for the purpose of finding ways and means to enter into new relationships with those local Churches which were once missionary territories. This is something quite new and adds a different and exciting dimension to the study of Church history, as missionaries seek to forge new links with their past. Again we can only give a few brief examples of these current phenomena. A student in Louvain is now working on the history of Flemish Franciscans in China; the Dutch Franciscans are preparing a history of their mission activities in Indonesia, Japan, Brazil, Pakistan, India and China; a member of the Dutch province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart is writing a history of his confreres in Irian Jaya; while the Sisters of Heerlen solidify plans to begin writing their history in China, the Dutch Augustinian fathers are preparing a history of their missionary work in Bolivia and Indonesia. The Twentieth Century Franciscan Missions in China Project, prepared by the Secretariate for Evangelization in Rome, will be completed in the near future. Our examples are limited, but they do indicate a worldwide trend. Why this sudden interest by missionary organizations in recording

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ASIAN MISSION HISTORY 1956-1998

their history? Certainly one reason is the desire to record the experiences of former missionaries while they are still alive. Their views are seen as indispensable for the writing of any future mission histories. But there is also something else motivating them. There is a genuine feeling of nostalgia among missionaries for the people among whom they worked in former times. They recognize how much their lives were enriched by them and feel somewhat impoverished by the severing of former ties. They are also aware of self-examination. Today's missionaries are convinced that valuable lessons can be learned from a study of their past history. To illustrate this I would like to give an example from my own experience. One of my students is a Franciscan seminarian from the Philippines, who is writing his doctoral dissertation on the missionary charisms of that order in his country. The Franciscan history to which my student belongs dates back to the sixteenth century. In his investigations, he has discovered that the early Spanish missionaries were men of deep spirituality. They lived lives of genuine poverty and were truly humble friars. They were also knowledgeable in the languages and customs of the peoples among whom they worked. But my student also found them lacking in two important areas: they had great difficulty in accepting Filipinos into the order, and they contributed to the tension between Moslems and nonMoslems. There were reasons for both of these failings. The Spanish friars were schooled in a tradition that held the humanities in high esteem, while disregarding the value of non-literal cultures. They also brought with them the anti-Moslem prejudices which resulted from the centuries' old conflict between Christians and Moslems in Spain. When an independent Filipino Franciscan province was finally formed about twenty years ago, my student tells me, these local friars delved into the history of their past in great detail. They treated it with great respect, but not without criticism. This enabled them to find their own identity and to place themselves at the service of the local Church in new and fruitful ways. This is just one example of how new approaches to the past can lead to creative ways of dealing with the present. A second factor that gives a new dimension to Church history has been the rediscovered interest in mission history by scholars outside the discipline. This has come about largely through the study of European migration. Since 1492, the peoples of the European continent have spread themselves across the world. This phenomenon

THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF LOCAL CHURCHES

9

is presently the object of intensive scholarly research. Western peoples harbor feelings of guilt, and they desire to come to terms with them. Nor was it only a matter of secular state policy; the Churches were also involved on many levels. For this reason, secular historians are very much interested in the role missionaries played in its history. Again we can only give some small indications of what is going on in this field. Urs Bitterli, in his Die Wilden und die ^ivilisierten. Die europdische iiberseeische Begegnung (Miinchen, 1976), has studied in depth the various kinds of contacts Europeans and non-Westerners had formed from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. His is an excellent example of "mentality-study" as it seeks to clarify the preconceptions on which European expansionism was based. It must have come as quite a shock to those early European migrants when they first discovered great religions and vast cultures so different from their own. And it took a long time for them to come to terms with what they found. In Germany we find many new studies on the relationship between Christian missions and German imperialism and colonialism. They trace the rapid rise of nationalism in Germany at the turn of the century which staunchly defended Das Deutschtum (the German identity) and its historic task and mission. German missionaries, both Catholic and Protestant, wrere children of their times and often in sympathy with such a mentality. This resulted in the rather strange mix of evangelism and colonialism we find during that period of Church history. We mention here two German scholars, Horst Griinder and Klaus J. Bade, who have contributed much to this area of study.3 While Dutch colonialism was motivated by a desire for economic expansion, the Dutch also felt they had an ethical mission to civilize and educate. Dutch missionaries assumed a large share in this by taking upon themselves the building of schools, hospitals and other social welfare institutions. Whether or not these institutions were of any help in involving the local people in their own destiny and culture is another question. H.L. Wesseling in his Indie Verloren (Amsterdam, 1988,5) quotes Sir John Seeley: "We seem, as it were, to have conquered and peopled half the world in a fit of absence of mind . . ." It seems that the French also are doing some reexamination 3 Cf. Horst Griinder, Christliche Mission und deutscher Imperialismus, (Paderborn, 1982); Klaus J. Bade (ed.), Imperialismus und Kolonialismus, kaiserliches Deutschland und koloniales Imperium, (Wiesbaden, 1984).

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ASIAN MISSION HISTORY 1956^1998

of the collective conscience, as Tzvetan Todorov's Nous et les autres, la reflexion fran^aise sur la diversite humaine (Paris, 1989) would indicate. More to the point are two other recent publications: Thomas O. Beidelman's Colonial Evangelism, a Socio-historical Study of East African Mission at the Grassroots (1982) and Missionary Ideologies in the Imperialist Era: 1880-1920, which is edited by Torben Christensen and William R. Hutchison (Arhus, 1982). These studies contain a large number of case studies, all done in great detail. We need much more of this kind of work before we will be able to formulate adequate general conclusions. But, for the present, it has already become quite clear that the missionary enterprise did have many close links with colonial and imperialistic undertakings. There are many examples of this. The French semi-colonial domination in China was often (but not in every case) defended by missionaries who were convinced of the necessity for flying the French tricolor and the Vatican flag together. They needed protection, and was not France after all the "eldest daughter" of the Church? Many American missionaries defended imperialism and colonialism as a moral equivalent of the defense of "Christian civilization". Many Swedish missionaries considered evangelization as a condition for modernization. It is important to study these things and take them into consideration when writing mission history. And while there is no need to belabor the point, it must be said that most missionaries suffered from one or another of these questionable motives. It is only through becoming more conscious of the negative factors involved that we can hope to form new positive relationships with peoples, cultures and religions. These studies indicate how useful it is for us today to draw appropriate conclusions from the past. A new missionary age will be quite different from those of the past and it must begin with a conversion of mind and an acknowledgment of past mistakes. This also enables us to return to the original missionary ideal of Jesus and his early followers. A third new dimension of modern mission history can be found in its treatment of missionary motivation. Recent studies have shown that what motivates missionaries to "go forth and preach the gospel" has undergone many modifications and changes through the centuries. This provides an important counterbalance in the study of mission history, and while the historical study of missionary motivation is still in its initial stages, a beginning has been made. In our recently published work Ecumenical Introduction to Missiology (Oecumenische Inleiding in de Missiologie, Kampen, 1988), Jan Jongeneel and I were

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11

more concerned with the inner dynamics of mission - the missionary movement as movement - than a repetition of outward events, which could easily be found elsewhere. What we discovered was that missionary motivation is in a constant state of change. For example, mission as understood by the Spanish and Portuguese Padroado system shows marked differences in terms of motivation from the approach of Propaganda Fide. Again, the missionary movement of seventeenthcentury France was permeated by a new spirituality which was the root source of its dynamism. When interest in missionary activity dwindled away to almost nothing during the nineteenth century, it was revived and given new impetus by Popes Gregory XVI, Pius IX and their successors. It comes as a surprise to learn that the topic of mission was hardly mentioned at all during the first Vatican Council. And when it did come up, its relevance was limited to the missions in the Near East. What is also apparent during the era of imperialism dating from 1878 to 1914 is the divergence of opinion between the popes and missionaries themselves. The popes were more alert to the impending social changes and the dangers involved than were the missionaries. In the years after 1914, the popes took steps to prepare the Church and the missionaries for a new decolonized world by stressing the need to develop a strong native clergy, to build up the local Churches, and to loosen the unnecessary ties that bound the faith to Western cultures. It is important for us to study these dynamics in our approaches to Church history, especially local Church histories. And while there are many who would still like to limit Church history study to the retelling of events, this new dimension cannot be ignored or passed over as insignificant. Through it, we are able to discover the inner vitality of the missionary movements, which can also serve to strengthen our faith in the continual presence of the Lord, active within the local Churches. It is the Lord and His Spirit who constantly add new dimensions and new impetus to the missionary activity of the Church. One might say that it is indeed the Lord of History, who, within the context of history, is guiding his people down through the ages. This conviction can be a source of courage for the faithful and their leaders as we continue to respond to the Church's mission mandate to "go forth and preach the Gospel to every nation". Today the study of the history of local Churches is more important than ever before. Local Churches, once dependent on foreign

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ASIAN MISSION HISTORY 1956-1998

missionaries, have matured and stand ready to assert their rights and assume their responsibilities as full members of the universal Church. These local Churches are more than willing to join hands with other local Churches in the universal Church, which the second Vatican Council tells us exists in and through the local Churches. If there is a tension today between particularity and universality in the Church, this is a healthy tension. But the problems involved ought to be addressed and the tensions resolved. The study of mission history can help in this by placing the problems in historical perspective. Historia magistra vitae. Many solutions have been found to the problems created by mistakes made in the past. But we must not forget that it is the Spirit of the Lord that animates and imparts dynamism to all the local Churches, who are one in the Lord. The study of this history keeps the Church alive, vigorous and creative.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Camps, Arnulf. "Castoranos 'Brevis Apparatus et Modus Agendi ac Disputandi cum Mahumetanis' in China", in Hans Waldenfels (ed.), ". . . Denn Ich bin bei Euch" (Mi. 28:20). Perspektiven im christlichen Missionsbewusztsein heute. Festgabe fur Josef Glazik und Bernward Willeke, (Zurich, 1978), pp. 155-160. . "Christenen in continentaal China vandaag: inzicht en uitzicht", Kosmos en Oecumene 15 (1981) 154-183. . "Dertien eeuwen katholieke missionering in China 635-1949", Wereld en pending 16 (1987) 324-329. . "Celso Costantini, Apostolic Delegate in China (1922-1933), the Changing Role of the Foreign Missionary", Tripod, no. 44 (1988) 9-12; 40-46. -. "China: van vreemdheid naar kontekstualisatie", in Arnulf Camps a.o.: Oecumenische Inleiding in de Missiologie, (Kampen, 1988), pp. 67-80.

APPENDIX Additional information is to be found in: Nicolas Standaert s.j., "New Trends in the Historiography of Christianity in China", in: The Catholic Historical Review 83 (Washington 1997), pp. 573-613.'

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONARY MOVEMENT FROM 1492 TO 1789*

The Christian faith experienced worldwide expansion for the first time in the period from the late fifteenth to the late eighteenth centuries.' Before then Christianity had sent down firm roots mainly in Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa, with side shoots to southern India, Central Asia, and China. But during the period we are considering the faith went to all the world's continents, though not to all parts of all the continents.2 Here our task is to describe the missionary movement in terms of its missionary points of view and perspectives.3 The missionary movement took off in two directions: into Asia and Latin America. The Spanish conquest of most of South and Central America and part of North America began when Columbus landed on Hispaniola in 1492. In 1498 Vasco da Gama landed on the coast of Malabar in South India and with that event Portugal's influence in Asia began. Spanish expansion was therefore primarily in America and Portuguese expansion was primarily in Asia, except for the Philippines, which were colonized by Spain from its South American base, and Brazil, which was accidentally 'discovered' in 1500 by Pedro Cabral and thus fell under Portuguese control. * Published in: Missiology. An Ecumenical introduction. Text and Context of Global Christianity, edited by A. Camps, L,A. Hoedemaker, M.R. Spindler and FJ. Verstraelen (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995) pp. 213-221 and 229-236. 1 T. Ohm, Wichtige Daten der Missionsgeschichte. Ein ^eittafel (Miinster, 19612). 2 S. Neill, A History of Christian Missions (Harmondsworth, 19862). See also H. Jedin and J. Dolan, History of the Church (New York, 1965-81) V, 575-614; VI, 232-325; VII, 189-205; VIII, 175-207; IX, 527-75; X, 672-804; A. Mulders, Missiegeschiedems (Bussum, 1957). For further literature see Bibliotheca Missionum 1-30 (Miinster, 1916-75) and Bibliogrqfia Missionaria (Rome, 1933-). 3 See G. Goyau, Missions et Missionnaires (Paris, 1931); F. Rousseau, L'idee missionnaire aux XVI' et XVIP siecles (Paris, 1930); Les reveils missionnaires en France du MoyenAge a nos jours (XHf—XXe siecles] (Paris, 1984); J. Beckmann, "Utopien als missionarischer Stosskraft," in Vermittlung zwischenkirchlicher Gemeinschaft, ed. J. Baumgartner (SchoneckBeckkenried, 1971) 361-407; U. Bitterli, Die "Wilden" und die "^wilisierten." Gnmdzuge einer Geistes- und Kulturgeschichte der europdisch-iiberseeischen Begegnung (Munich, 1976); idem, Alte Welt - Neue Welt. Formen des europdische-uberseeischen Kulturkontakts (15.-18. Jahrhunderf) (Munich, 1986); C.R. Boxer, The Church Militant and Iberian Expansion 1440-1770 (Baltimore, 1978); Expansion and Reaction, ed. H.L. Wesseling (Leiden, 1978); The Expansion of the International Society, ed. H. Bull and A. Watson (Oxford, 1985); Dokumente zur Geschichte der europdischen Expansion, ed. C. Verlinden and E. Schmitt (7 vols.; Munich, 1986).

14

ASIAN MISSION HISTORY 1956 1998

These two movements of conquest were very different in character. Spain saw its conquista as the sequel to the reconquista, that is, to the expulsion of Islamic rule from Spain itself. Granada, the last Islamic city in Spain, was conquered in 1492. This background in the reconquista explains why in the Americas Spain strove to take possession of the whole continent. Portugal, after a long period of searching for a sea route around Africa, found the way to Asia around the Cape of Good Hope. Its purposes were to attack the Islamic countries of the Middle East from another direction, which failed, and to take over the business of the Islamic traders, at which it succeeded. Therefore, Portugal conquered no territories in Asia and was satisfied to establish trading posts and forts on Asian coasts. These different approaches to conquest had far-reaching consequences for the development of America and Asia. In America, the whole process of conquest, colonization, and liberation had approached the end of its course by the beginning of the nineteenth century, and new states had begun to be formed by mainly European populations. In Asia, indigenous powers remained in place and Western influence remained weak. This was to change only in the nineteenth century when the power of the new capitalism was felt.4 Because of these differences, differences in missionary perspectives were inevitable. Pope Alexander VI issued three Bulls in 1493 that divided the world according to rights of patronage between Spain and Portugal. He charged both nations with spreading the Christian faith and planting churches in their respective domains. In time the disadvantages of this division of realms became clear. In 1622 Pope Gregory XV attempted to give a different orientation to missionary activity by creating the congregation of the Propaganda Fide, the first secretary of which, Francisco Ingoli, was a wise man with considerable foresight. The two systems of patronage and Propaganda were not compatible. The Propaganda was limited to areas where neither Spain nor Portugal had strong influence on missionary activity, but its missionary guidelines — very modern for the times — extended into the Spanish and Portuguese realms. But it was not until after World War II that the patronage system completely disappeared. Along with the patronage system and the Propaganda Fide, from the seventeenth century on France began to exert influence in the non-Western H.L. Wesseling, introduction, in Expansion and Reaction, 4 f.

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONARY MOVEMENT FROM 1492 TO 1789

15

world and French missionaries began to take a noteworthy part in missionary work. This chapter will discuss in order the missionary perspectives of Spanish patronage, Portuguese patronage, the Propaganda Fide, and the French missions. THE MISSION UNDER SPANISH PATRONAGE Bitterli distinguishes four stages in the encounter between Spain and the inhabitants of America. When the two cultures first met there was astonishment on the part of the Spanish and terror on the part of the natives. The Spanish overcame their own timidity by using cannons. They did not come to any understanding of the strangeness of the native cultures and were more concerned with trade, that is, with greed. Hospitality on the part of members of the indigenous cultures was answered with hostility. So relations remained tenuous and fragile. Unsurprisingly, the second stage, that of cultural contact, did not go well. Spain was overpopulated. Emigrants to America settled in accessible and fertile regions. The highly organized native cultures lacked the capacity to adapt to this invasion. Indigenous people who did not wish to die young in goldmines and on plantations had to retreat to remote areas. But their mortality rates were very high. In 1492 there were about one million people living in Hispaniola. In 1510 the indigenous population there was only fifty thousand. The church's mission was not devoid of responsibility for the death of the native populations, but there was a strong countermovement among Franciscans and Jesuits in favor of the native people. Bartholome de las Casas, a secular priest who became a Dominican, fiercely defended the rights of the native people, but then he was the one who came up with the idea of using African slaves to replace the natives as workers.0 In the first century of the Spanish conquest the Franciscans tried to found a native not Spanish — church and were able to maintain it for a century.6 This was the origin of the 'reservations' ('aldeias' in Portuguese), protected areas where native people 5 J. Hoffner, Kolonialismus und Evangelium. Spanische Kolonialethik im goldenen ^eitalter (Trier, 19723); Bartolome de las Casas: A Selection of His Writings, tr. and ed. G Sanderlin (New York, 1971) 100-102. b E.g., J. de Mendieta, O.F.M. (1525-1604), Historia ecclesidstica Indiana I—IV (Mexico, 1945); Motolinia's History of the Indians of New Spain, tr. and annotated Fr. Borgia Steck, O.F.M. (Washington, 1951; the Spanish work was written between 1536 and 1641).

16

ASIAN MISSION HISTORY 1956-1998

could live under the leadership of Franciscans and Jesuits. Many learned missionaries studied and recorded the native cultures.7 The third stage was that of the clash of cultures, which actually began during the preceding stages. The military superiority of the Europeans was used to exterminate native Americans, to drive them into unlivable areas, or to deprive them of their cultures. Already during Columbus's second stay on Hispaniola there was a battle between the Europeans and the indigenous people. Such bloody incidents have cast a shadow over the history of Europeans in America, as has, even more, the importation of slaves from Africa.8 At the root of all this were not only the quest for gold and the desire for fertile land but also the superior self-image of the Europeans and the negative attitude of Christians toward the religious and moral convictions of the native peoples. Again, many missionaries advocated a more humane approach. But because the church had become institutionalized, its legislation and the influence of its local councils left no freedom for any approach to indigenous people that took account of the context.9 The fourth phase — also not strictly chronological was that of acculturation and cultural interpenetration. People did become aware of the need for cooperation, but that took more than one generation. One can discern this process most among the 'mestizos' and among people of African ancestry. Disputes arose in the church with regard to the degree of cultural accommodation or interpenetration. For example, some identified the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl with the apostle Thomas, who was said to have preached the gospel in Mexico and who was expected to return. Cortes, the Spanish conqueror, exploited this expectation, saying that he himself was Thomas. The Franciscans, who wanted to build up a native church, vehemently denied this. Those supporting Cortes took up this identification partly in order to identify the native people as apostate Christians, who could therefore be enslaved. But their opponents wanted nothing to do with such assumptions. Without referring to any earlier missionizing, they stressed the good qualities of the Indians, qualities that made it possible for them to become Christians — in their own way. ' H. Wismann, Sind dock die Gotter auch gestorben. Das Religionsgesprach der Franziskaner mit den A&eken von 1524 (Giitersloh, 1981); J.G. Duran, Monumenta Catechetica Hispanoamericana I (siglo XVI) (Buenos Aires, 1984) 285-353. 8 A. de Kom, Wij slaven van Suriname (The Hague, 19844). 9 W. Henkel, Die Konzilien in Lateinamerika I: Mexiko 1555-1897 (Paderborn, 1984).

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Great Franciscan authors such as Motolinia, de Mendieta, and de Sahagun and Dominicans such as de las Casas and Duran fostered and recorded the growth of the native church as a counterpart to the state church. But the state church was too powerful. It suppressed both the ideas and the writings of these men. The Third Council of Lima (1567-68) prohibited the consecration of native Americans as priests. The Spanish state party in the church prescribed that the good name of the conquest had to be propagated, that information concerning conflicts between the mission and the state had to be suppressed, and that the native peoples had to be regarded as inferior human beings with no culture. A century after the conquest the struggle between the pro-Spanish and pro-Indian parties in the church was thus settled in favor of the former. The pro-Indian party was propelled by four Utopian motives: They wanted to reform the church by returning to its primitive era; they emphasized pastoral care and imitation of Jesus in humility and poverty; they sought to establish a mission church, not a state church, and to do so without violence; and they sought to gather the Indians into larger units in the "reservations" with the aim of accomplishing what had failed in Europe, the establishment of a millennial Christian kingdom. The Franciscans understood that before the arrival of the Spanish the Incas in Peru had enjoyed a genuine community with a high degree of civilization. That was their model.10 The pro-Spanish party acted from a very different set of motives. Its members included the Dominicans in Mexico who opposed the sacramental practices of the Franciscans, who regarded the native people positively and admitted them to the Eucharist. The proSpanish party sought above all else to establish a church like the church in Spain, an orderly church with rules and structures laid down by synods and councils.11

10 J.L. Phelan, The Millenial Kingdom of the Franciscans in the New World (Berkeley, 19702), E.E. Sylvest, Motifs of Franciscan Mission Theory in Sixteenth-Century New Spain (Washington, 1975); Beckmann, op. at., 373-85; Bitterli, op. cit., 81-179; A. Camps, "Das Franziskanische Missionsverstandnis im Laufe der Jahrhunderte," in A. Camps and G.H. Hunold, Erschaffe mir ein neues Volk. Franziskanische Kirchlichkeit und missionarische Kirche (Mettingen, 1982) 30-43; H.-J. Prien, Die Geschichte des Christentums in Lateinamerika (Gottingen, 1978) 79-326; T. Lemaire, De Indiaan in ons bewustzijn. De ontmoeting van de Oude met de Nieuwe Wereld (Baarn, 1986); A. Camps, "Begegnung mit indianischen Religionen," in M. Sievernich, ed., Conquista und Evangelisation (Mainz, 1992) 348-72. 11 J. Specker, Die Missionsmethode in Spanisch-Amerika im 16. Jahrhundert mit besonderer Beriiksichtigung der Kon&lien und Synoden (Schoneck - Beckenried, 1953).

18

ASIAN MISSION HISTORY 1956-1998 THE MISSION UNDER PORTUGUESE PATRONAGE

Where Portugal took power - in Brazil, in coastal settlements on the African continent, and at trading posts and forts in Asia there was usually not the kind of extensive contact with large parts of the indigenous population that occurred in Spanish America. Portugal was not out to conquer but to increase trade and to gain control of sea routes. Moreover, under Portuguese patronage there was a strong emphasis on the concurrence of the temporal and spiritual powers (the two swords). Use of weapons was permitted only because the patron had granted the right to preach, and preaching served its purpose only when it was accompanied and protected by weapons. Spiritual conquest and worldly conquest went hand in hand. The kings of Portugal viewed themselves, independently of Rome, as the rulers over bishops, over provincials of orders, and over individual missionaries. Royal consent was required in all matters. Portugal viewed itself as the missionary nation par excellence. This self-understanding prevailed among both Portuguese missionaries and the Portuguese authorities into the twentieth century. In 1774 Pombal wrote to the newly appointed archbishop of Goa that the king of Portugal, as the highest authority in the Order of Christ, was the spiritual prelate, with jurisdiction over all dioceses from Brazil to Japan. This understanding of Portuguese power was the most conspicuous motive for Portuguese missionary activity. But it produced difficulties. The Spanish mendicant orders, which had established themselves on the Philippines from their base in South America, did not accept the Portuguese arrangement. They attempted to enter Japan and China, which had been entrusted to the Jesuits, and after considerable struggle succeeded. Furthermore, there were always missionaries who were dissatisfied with the normal practice of the Portuguese and who wanted to leave the Portuguese enclaves and go to the real India, the real China, or the real Japan. The Jesuits, for example, Jerome Xavier in the Mogul Empire in North India, Matteo Ricci in China, Francis Xavier in Japan, and Roberto de Nobili in South India, were especially prominent in this endeavor. The great thinker behind these ventures was Alessandro Valignano (1539—1606). In him we find an approach very different from the usual Portuguese pattern: He studied the uniqueness of other peoples, he adapted to their customs and convictions, and he used persuasion in place of force, patience instead of haste,

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and depth instead of superficiality. With these men an approach to mission originated that sought to operate independently of Portuguese power. Of course this approach occasioned friction with Portugal and with other orders. The Rites controversy in India and China over the legitimacy of their adaptations and the agelong persecution of Christians in Japan, Vietnam, and China was among the results. For centuries all this hindered the expansion of Christianity in Asia. It remained "a stranger in the land." That these Jesuits were not Portuguese is noteworthy: Their theological and cultural training was very different from that of the Portuguese. Of course, they did not advocate what we would call interreligious dialogue today, but the Portuguese manner for converting people was foreign to them.12 THE PROPAGANDA FIDE The full name of the Propaganda Fide is Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide. This department of the Roman Curia was established in 1622. Attempts had been made from the time of Raymond Lull (at the beginning of the fourteenth century) to centralize the church's missionary work. One must not misunderstand the word 'propaganda'. The word 'mission' did not exist yet, so a medieval term was used. Many motives played a role in the creation of the Congregation of the Propaganda Fide. Among these were the spirit of the CounterReformation, that is, the consciousness of a tragic split in the church; the realization that turning the expansion of Christianity over to the patronage of Spain and Portugal was a mistake, one that badly muddied the religious motivations of mission; changes in the political, economic, social, and cultural context with the appearance of England, the Netherlands, and France on the international scene beside Spain

12 C.R. Boxer, The Portuguese Seaborne Empire 1415-1825 (London, 1969); idem, Portuguese Conquest and Commerce in Southern Asia, 1500-1750 (London, 1985); A. Jann, Die katholische Missionen in Indien, China und Japan. Ihre Organisation und das portugiesische Patronat vom 15. bis ins 18. Jahrhundert (Paderborn, 1915); F.A. Plattner, Pfeffer und Seelen. Die Entdeckung des See- und Landweges nach Asien (Einsiedeln, 19552); J.F. Schiitte, Valignano's Mission Principles for Japan /-//(St. Louis, 1980, 1985); A. Camps, Jerome Xavier S.J. and the Muslims of the Mogul Empire (Schoneck - Beckenried, 1957); S. Rajamanickam, The First Oriental Scholar: Robert de Nobili (Tirunelveli, 1972); on M. Ricci see chapter 4 above; also G. Minamiki, The Chinese Rites Controversy from Its Beginnings to Modern Times (Chicago, 1985).

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and Portugal; and the growing conviction that mission is universal and that all non-Christians have a right to hear the gospel. The issue at stake was the unity of the church, Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox, and the conversion of all non-Christians.13 The establishment of the Congregation was a milepost in the history of the church. It arose from the personal initiative of Pope Gregory XV, who appointed an expert staff to guide the Congregation. The first secretary (from 1622 to 1649), Francesco Ingoli, shaped both the content and the form of the work. He took stock of the church's condition and built up what eventually became the comprehensive archive of the Congregation. The archive has been almost completely preserved, though during the Napoleonic era some volumes were lost when the entire archive was taken to Paris. Perhaps the instruction of 1659, sent by the Congregation to the apostolic vicars of Indochina, best reflects the program of the Congregation. It states that the church must distance itself from colonialism to give the missions a purely spiritual character, that missionaries must abstain from politics and trade, that they are to receive adequate spiritual and academic formation, that an indigenous clergy is to be trained, that Europe is not to be exported to the mission field, and that other cultures and local customs are to be respected. The criticism here of certain approaches implies a new motivation and orientation. This program could not be implemented everywhere immediately. The opposition of the patronage countries was strong and the scope of the work was enormous. But with stubborn tenacity the Congregation managed in the course of centuries to give credibility to its task.14

13 Thomas, ajesu, O.C.D., De procuranda salute omnium gentium (1613). Cf. P. Rovenius, Tractatus de missionibus ad propagandam fidem et conversionem infidelium et haereticorum instituendis (Louvain, 1626); the author has a very broad concept of missions. The word "mission" was used the first time with reference to the Jesuits and their activities in northern Germany. 14 Sacrae Congregationis de Propaganda Fide Memoria Rerum, 350 Anni a servizio delle missioni, 1622-1972 (4 vols.; Rome, 1971-1976); N. Kowalsky and J. Metzler, Inventory of the Historical Archives of the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of People or "Propaganda Fide" (Rome, 1983); J. Beckmann, La congregation de la Propagation de la Foi face a la politique Internationale (Schoneck - Beckenried, 1963); M. Muskens, Friezen - Franken Nederlanders op bedevaart, voor studie, voor overleg in Rome. Em geschiedenis - een uitnodiging (Rome, 19882) 209-27: This last volume contains much information on the establishment of the Propaganda Fide.

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THE INFLUENCE OF FRANCE IN THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES Unlike the Hapsburg monarchy, which in this period tried in vain to influence Catholic missions, French missionaries exerted increasing influence. As a result France viewed itself as a Catholic nation par excellence with a special responsibility for Catholic mission. A number of phenomena pointed in this direction already in the seventeenth century and persisted into the eighteenth century. The word 'mission' was used often and took on specific content, namely, the reunification of Protestants with the Catholic Church, the conversion of unbelievers, the reconquest of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the Turkish Empire. Missionaries were sent to the Middle East, Canada, India, Indochina, China, and other places. A variety of institutions for internal missions arose, like the Lazarists, who worked in rural Catholic areas. Remarkably, Jesuits began to focus less on China and more on the French countryside, and the new institutions began to focus more on 'distant missions'. Of influence in these developments was the establishment of the Propaganda Fide and the canonization of Francis Xavier - both in 1622. The Roman congregation wanted to lodge greater responsibility for mission with bishops and to gain more control over the missionary activities of the religious. This became clear in France. The Capuchins became especially active in mission work, and various institutions such as the Lazarists and Oratorians gave non-religious priests a chance to go to 'distant' missions. Also striking was the involvement of lay persons both at home and abroad. In searching for the motivation of this movement one may not exclude political, colonial, and commercial considerations. But along with this was a new theology of mission (Berulle: the mission of the incarnate Word), a linking of mission to martyrdom, and the conviction that Catholicism in Europe was moribund and that now the church was in the process of moving from the old lands to new lands. Some believed that the 'heathen' were lost and had to be converted, while others expressed a milder view: Sincere non-Christians could obtain salvation. This turns out to have been a prelude to later discussion.15

15

Les reveils missionaries (n. 3 above), 81-198.

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONARY MOVEMENT FROM 1789 TO 1962

Toward the end of the eighteenth century the Catholic missionary movement experienced a low point. Other than in the Philippines and among Spanish and Portuguese-speaking people of Latin America, there were at the time one and a half to two million Catholics in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Mission personnel had shrunk to a minimum. The causes of this were many and various. Philip II of Spain wanted the Latin American church to be more or less independent of Rome. Regalism in the form of two systems of patronage was extended. Deliberate abolition of the indigenous church was coupled with persistence in building up a Spanish church. The native people of America were looked down on and seen as cultureless, and the conquest was glorified. The Enlightenment had its influence among the European settlers in Latin America, from whose ranks the clergy were recruited, who in their contempt for the native peoples applied Enlightenment ideas only to themselves. The religious were forced to live in large monasteries far from mission posts among the native people. The centralizing thrust of the Council of Trent was allowed full sway, greatly increasing the power of the bishops at the expense of the religious. There was continual conflict between the Portuguese and Spanish slave traders, on the one hand, and the religious, especially Franciscans and Jesuits on the reservations, on the other. The struggle of Protestant nations against Portuguese rights of patronage in Brazil and Asia also played a role in the decline of Catholic mission. The rites controversy in the Catholic church in China, India, and Indochina and the conflict between 'the church from above' of the Portuguese and 'the church from below' of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in Rome also hindered the progress of mission. Yet further causes of the decline were the suspension of the Jesuit order, the Napoleonic wars, which made impossible any contact with other continents, and Napoleon's policy of assigning to France protection over all the missions. Pope Pius VII took exception to this

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policy, with the result that he, together with the entire Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, was taken captive and brought to France.1 But at the beginning of the nineteenth century Catholic mission was revived. This, too, was a tumultuous period with high points and low points. We will consider here some of this period's most important movements. STEPS IN RENEWAL From his base in England the exiled priest Denis Chaumont succeeded in reawakening missionary interest in France. In 1805 the Parisian mission seminary and the seminary of the Fathers of the Holy Spirit were allowed to reopen. Rene de Chateaubriand's book Le Genie du Christianisme (1802), in which mission - especially mission in America - played a large role, had great influence. This was an early attempt at overcoming the rationalistic and anti-Christian forces in France. Moreover, new orders and congregations with a missionary purpose arose: the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (1805), the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny (1807), the Oblates of the Immaculate Virgin Mary (1816), and the Marists (1824). In Lyon Marie-Pauline Jaricot founded the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (1822), which was initially directed toward France but soon became international. Beginning in 1824, the Annales de la Propagation de la Foi came out in nineteen languages. After the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide had twice been plundered during the French Revolution and under Napoleon, Jaricot's society became the main source of financial aid to mission. In Germany there was no desire to link up with this French initiative, so other institutions arose: the LeopoldinenStiftung, based in Austria, the Xaverius-Verein, and the LudwigMissions-verein. Another important factor at this time was the reestablishment of the Jesuit order by Pius VII in 1814 - after he had confirmed the continuation of the order in Russia under Catherine II in 1800. On other continents it was the church in China that despite 1

S. Delacroix, ed., Histoire Universelle des Missions Catholiques II (Paris, 1957) 321-94; H. Jedin and J. Dolan, History of the Church (New York, 1965-81) VI, 232-325.

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persecutions still gave an impression of vitality: In 1815 there were eighty-nine Chinese priests and eighty European priests and 210,000 believers. Pius VII supported them and thus prepared the church for a restoration.2 THE RESTORATION OF MISSION UNDER GREGORY XVI (1831-46) The first thing Gregory XVI did was to depict clearly to the church of the West its task in regard to the propagation of the faith, which until that time had been carried out mainly by the patronage powers of Portugal and Spain. This he did in the first papal mission encyclical, Probe Nostis (1840). He supported the existing mission societies in France, Germany, and Austria and sought to place them under the direction of the society in Lyon. He also subscribed to the goals of the Mission Work of Infancy, the papal mission work for children that Bishop Forbin-Janson of Nancy founded in 1843. All orders and religious communities were abolished in the midst of persecutions in Spain and Portugal in 1834 and 1836. Gregory sought to combat the consequences of this on recruitment of missionary personnel by attracting new workers from the revived Jesuit order. In this regard he received much cooperation from the Dutch General Superior, John Philip Roothaan. This was the origin of the system that followed until well into the twentieth century: Mission districts were marked off and turned over to the different orders and congregations, which were to furnish the bishops for the districts. Besides the Jesuits the members of the Paris mission seminary also followed this system. In 1841 the Jewish convert Francois-Marie Libermann founded the Society of Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Mary, which in 1848 joined the society of the Holy Spirit, which had been founded in 1703. This French organization devoted its energies entirely to Africa and aimed at establishing indigenous churches there. Mere Anne-Marie Javouhey, founder of the St. Joseph Sisters of Cluny and of the Work of the Propagation of the Faith in Africa, did trailblazing work in Africa and among African-Americans. Gregory gave Portugal a choice: either meet the obligations of 2 Delacroix, ed., Ill (1958) 27-51; VII, 189-205; Les reveils missionnaires en France du Mcyen-Age a nos jours (XIIe-XXe sticks) (Paris, 1984) 201-362.

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patronage or give them up. When Portugal did not respond, the pope himself took in hand the reordering of ecclesiastical relations in Asia. He appointed vicars apostolic for India, Ceylon, Further India, China, Korea, Mongolia, and Africa. Conflicts arose over this with England and especially with Portugal in regard to India. The direction of mission districts was increasingly concentrated in the mission department at Rome. Gregory established forty-four new vicariates apostolic, a process that continued under his successors. A new structure had come into being. As a result of close ties with the orders, congregations, and religious institutions, to which the districts were entrusted, the earlier tension between the hierarchy and the religious disappeared, new lay involvement was made possible, and a new missionary spirituality developed. The restructuring also brought with it certain disadvantages: Active missionizing was in the hands of the religious but centralized direction in Rome came mainly from secular priests who had no field experience. Furthermore, political reorientation to the colonial powers of France and England, in keeping with the spirit of the time, was not an unmixed blessing.3 NEW MISSIONARY INITIATIVES UNDER POPE Pius IX (1846-78) The restoration begun under Gregory XVI continued at an accelerated rate under Pius IX, under whom thirty-three vicariates, fifteen prefectures, and three delegatures came into being. Many missionary institutions were established: in Italy the mission seminary of Milan, the Salesians, and the Combonians; in France the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, the Society for African Missions, the White Fathers, and the Community of St. Francis de Sales; in Belgium the Missionaries of Scheut; and in England the missionaries of Mill Hill. In many Western nations orders and communities for women were formed under the inspiration of the ideals of St. Francis of Assisi. Soon they, too, became active in mission. The old missionary orders, such as the Franciscans, Capuchins, and Dominicans, experienced a

3 Delacroix, ed., Ill, 52 71; Jedin and Dolan, ed., VII, 195-205; J. Guennou, Missions Entrangeres de Paris (Paris, 1986); HJ. Keren, To the Ends of the Earth: A General History of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost (Pittsburgh, 1983); CJ. Ligthart, De Nederlandse jezuwtengeneraal Jan Philip Rootkaan (Nijmegen, 1972); B. Arens, Die katholische Missionsvereine (Freiburg, 1922); O. Stoffel, Die katholische Missiansgesellschaften (Immensee, 1984).

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revival, stressing education and charity alongside preaching. Some orders, congregations, and institutions specialized, particularly favoring Africa, Oceania, eastern Asia, and people of African ancestry in South America. Moreover, as appears from innumerable annals, periodicals, and books,4 a high degree of mission-mindedness was achieved among both missionaries and those who stayed at home. A clear need of the time was a new political initiative. The Portuguese, defending their rights of patronage in mission, especially in India, continued to resist the centralization of mission work at Rome in the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. In 1857 a concordat between the Vatican and Portugal was achieved. It worked well in China because only Macao remained under Portugal. But in India the concordat's effect was less favorable because important dioceses remained under Portuguese jurisdiction, though enough vicariates apostolic had been established to form a counterweight to Portugal there, and the prudent attitude of the vicars apostolic toward the Catholics from Goa who lived in their districts prevented major difficulties. The global political influence of the Western powers was increasing, and this was especially clear in China and Indochina. The unequal treaties forced on China humiliated the country. From 1844 on this semicolonialism expanded rapidly. A result was a French protectorate over Catholic missions in China. Chinese hatred of foreigners was directed against the missionaries and the Christians, who were protected by these treaties. 'Missionary incidents' evoked reprisals, especially from the French military. In the coming decades this state of affairs was to prove fatal.3 In this period a strong emphasis was placed on the training of indigenous clergy. The Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith continued to insist on this point. Especially in Indochina but also elsewhere this concern was taken solidly in hand by the founding of seminaries. Participation of the laity in the work of the church was promoted in new ways.6 4 L. Iriarte, Der Franziskusorden (Handbuch der franziskanischen Ordensgeschichte; Altering, 1984) 363-73; Jedin and Dolan, ed., VIII, 175-207. 5 See chapter 5 above on China. 6 J. Beckmann, ed., Der einheimische Klerus in Geschichte und Gegenwart (Schoneck Beckenried, 1950); J. Specker and W. Buehlmann, ed., Das laienapostolat in den Missionm (Schoneck - Beckenried, 1961); J. Beckmann, ed., Die Heilige Schrift in den katholischen Missionen (Schoneck - Beckenried, 1966).

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONARY MOVEMENT FROM 1789 TO 1962

27

Contrasting sharply with this renewal was the treatment of mission activity at the First Vatican Council (1869-70). Conflicts arose over whether the vicars apostolic who administered districts on behalf of the pope were entitled, like bishops, to participate in the Council. They were admitted, but during the Council meetings their position continued to be questioned. Even more disappointing for mission representatives was that in the preparatory commission "For the Eastern Church and for Mission" no mission representative had a seat, and the commission devoted all its attention to the Eastern Church Mission, seeming to favor the Latinization of all the eastern churches. During the Council, proposals for the support of mission work were submitted, but even the third draft of a decree was so one-sidedly focused on the eastern churches that mission representatives had no use for it. Furthermore, a strong centralist tendency emerged at the Council that favored the vicars apostolic and bishops at the expense of the superiors of orders, congregations, and institutions. In defense, the representatives of China and India formed separate groups that sought to counter the prevailing emphasis. In the end no decree was adopted because mission remained marginal. But the opinions (the 'yota') submitted were used by later popes in their mission encyclicals.7 1878 TO 1914: MISSION AND IMPERIALISM Other colonial powers besides France and England came on the scene, including united Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, the United States of America, and Belgium. Catholic mission derived some benefit from this as it gained global dimensions, but it also suffered the disadvantage of being viewed by the non-Western world as an extension of the imperialist powers and therefore as a foreign element. Missionaries, being subject to the imperialist powers, had no real freedom to preach. In Further India this sometimes led to bloody persecutions by native authorities. In China it led to conversions based on material motives, to hatred on the part of mandarins and scholars, and to explosive uprisings (the Boxer Rebellion in 1900). In Korea, where the missionaries of Paris had tried from the beginning of the nineteenth century, despite repeated persecutions, to come 7

Jedin and Dolan, ed., VIII, 199-207.

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to the aid of the lay church, there was peace from 1887 on, thanks to treaties between France and Japan. In Japan, Under pressure of treaties with European powers, freedom of religion came about in 1889. At first this led to a brief period of vitality in the church, but then it led to stagnation, partly because Christianity remained a stranger in the land. In the Philippines, which had a Catholic majority, the church came close to destruction as a result of the politicalecclesiastical attitude of Spain and later as a result of American intervention. In the Dutch East Indies the government was tolerant, and the Catholic Church, which had been refounded at the beginning of the nineteenth century, was able to surge forward. Oceania was completely divided among the Western powers. Among them France and England especially opposed one another, and the missionaries from those two countries remained rivals until very recently. Africa was almost totally divided between the Western colonial powers, who experienced little resistance except in Uganda.8 Notwithstanding all this, flourishing Catholic communities sometimes came into being in China, Vietnam, Korea, and Africa. In Africa much energy was devoted to the abolition of slavery. In Japan, India, and China the focus was on university education. Catechists played important roles as lay leaders, and new pastoral and missionary methods were tested. The increase in the number of mission districts was explosive and the church became worldwide. Large numbers of new missionary orders, congregations, and institutions came to help. But penetration into the social, religious, and cultural context was frequently missing, especially in Africa, Japan, and China, as was sufficient courage to admit the numerous native priests and religious to higher ministries. In Rome there was a shift in focus from the eastern churches to non-Christian countries during the papacies of Leo XIII (1878-1903) and Pius X (1903-14). In 1908 five Western European countries, the USA, and Canada were detached from the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide', in 1917 the eastern churches were detached. New missionary societies for material aid, including charitable work for native clergy, were organized. The Missionaries of the Divine Word (formed at Steyl, the Netherlands), the Marianhillers, the Benedictines of St. Ottillien, and the Missionaries of Parma and of de Consolata were 8

Delacroix, ed., Ill, 90—125; T. Christensen and W.R. Hutchison, ed., Missionary Ideologies in the Imperialist Era: 1880-1920 (Arhus, 1982).

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONARY MOVEMENT FROM 1789 TO 1962

29

new institutions seeking to supply the now open world with missionaries.9 Great missionary figures included Cardinal Lavigerie in Africa, the Jesuit Lievens in India, Lebbe in China, Pfanner in southern Africa, the Jesuit Van Lith in Indonesia, Deveuster in Oceania, and Zaleski in India.10

1914 TO 1962: FROM MISSION DISTRICT TO LOCAL CHURCH Our emphasis to this point has been on the revival of the church's missionary activity from the beginning of the nineteenth century from within the Western Catholic Church. This origin of missionary activity was natural in the context of the time. But World War I constitutes a clear transition. From this point on the missionary movement assumed new forms. Under Benedict XV (1914-22) and Pius XI (1922-39) the endeavor to depoliticize mission and to emancipate the mission districts to become young churches began. Pius XII (1939-58) firmly continued this development. Well-known mission encyclicals from these popes contained courageous criticism and clear solutions. The popes were supported in their efforts by the Dutch cardinal and prefect of the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide, Willem van Rossum, a Redemptorist, and by the Catholic missiology arising at the beginning of twentieth century in Rome, Miinster, and Louvain. Mission again became a function of the essence of the church. It was to be carried on in such a way that it would validate the church's supranational character. People of other faiths were valued more positively and space was made for the differences of peoples and cultures. Local churches could no longer be copies of Western churches and were to be led by their own people, even at the episcopal level. Pius XII conducted this policy with firmness, consecrating Chinese, Indian, and Vietnamese bishops. 9

Delacroix, ed., HI, 169-414; Jedin and Dolan, ed., IX, 527-75; Stoffel, op. cit. KJ. Rivinius, "Wettlauf nach Afrika. Dargestellt am Leben und Werk Lavigeries," in Warum Mission? I (Munich, 1984) 261; F. Rauscher, Die Mitarbeit der einheimischen Laien am Apostolat in den Missionen der Weissen Vdter (Miinster, 1953); F. Renault, Le Cardinal Lavigerie 1825-1892 (Paris, 1992); O. Tanghe, Gods Adem. Pioniers en profeten in India (Brussels, 1984); J. Leclercq, Vie du Pere Lebbe (Paris, 1955); PJ. Dahm, Mariannhill (Natal, 1950); L. van Rijckevorsel, Pastoor F. van Lith S.J., de stickler van de Missie in Midden-Java, 1863-1926 (Nijmegen, 1952); "Damiaan de Veuster 18401889, melaats onder de melaatsen," inj. Winkler, In Gods Noam (Amsterdam, 1960) 129-62; G. Daws, Holy Man, Father Damien of Molokai (Honolulu, 1973). 10

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Even before the Second Vatican Council opened up possibilities in large ways, the spiritual wealth of the peoples of Asia and Africa was incorporated into the liturgy. The rites controversy finally came to an end. The first steps in the direction of indigenous theologies were taken. None of this came easily, but change was inescapable. Local churches were able to develop and increased in number and depth. The histories of these churches speak for themselves. One can only understand the influence of Vatican II (1962—65) by keeping in mind its main goal, which was to move from monologue to dialogue with the world, cultures, religions, and local churches.11

11 Jedin and Dolan, ed., X, 672-804; Delacroix, ed., IV (1959); E. Marmy and I. Auf der Maur, ed., Geht hin in die Welt. Die Missionsenzykliken der Papste Benedikt XV., Pitts XL, Pitts XII. und Johannes XXIII. (Freiburg, Switzerland, 1961);J.O. Smit, W.M. Kardinaal van Rossum (Roermond, 1955).

PART TWO MOGUL MISSION STUDIES

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PERSIAN WORKS OF JEROME XAVIER, A JESUIT AT THE MOGUL COURT*

When the Spanish nobleman, Jerome Xavier entered Lahore in 1595, he was 46 years of age and the Persian language was completely unknown to him. Having been received by the Emperor Akbar, he was advised to learn Persian. Evidently Jerome Xavier took this advice to heart, for, relating this event to his Jesuit Superior in Rome, he wrote: "Now our entire occupation is to learn the Persian language and, moreover, we trust in God's mercy that within the space of one year we shall speak it; only then we shall be able to say that we are in Lahore, for up to now we are statues".1 For a man of his age one year appeared to be insufficient time. But there was another reason why Jerome Xavier spent long years in learning Persian, for - as he wrote in another letter - in matters of religion a distinguished tongue was necessary.2 It was only after five years that the nobles at the court listened to him with pleasure. In one of his main works Xavier summarizes his efforts in studying Persian: It has cost us much labour to compile so many facts and arguments taken from various laws and to put them into style and order for better understanding, and much more to write them in the Persian language, which is so strange to us and which I began to learn from the ABC's as it were in my old age in order to render Your Highness this service.3

It was after 1600 that Jerome Xavier, having mastered Persian, started publishing his most important works in that language. But not until his return to Goa did he continue to revise his works, as according to his own words, that language was only easy when no attention was paid to the style that must be employed in books. He * First published in: Islamic Culture 35 (Hyderabad - Deccan 1961), pp. 166-176. 1 Autographed letter, Lahore, August 20, 1959, Archivum Romanum Societatis Jesu (ARSI), Goa 14, fol. 288v. 2 Autographed letter, Lahore, August 1, 1598, ARSI, Goa 46 I, fol. 37. 3 Cfr. A. Camps, O.F.M., Jerome Xavier s.j. and the Muslims of the Mogul Empire, Supplementa VT of the Neue Zeitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft, Schoneck — Beckenried (Switzerland), 1957, 183. His Highness is Emperor Akbar.

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made use of the help of local scholars, but their role consisted mainly in effecting improvements; we know that Abdu's Sattar ibn Qasim Lahuri was Xavier's collaborator in writing the Life of the Lord Jesus? Our main intention in writing this article is to give a description of Xavier's literary activity, but before doing so we would like to introduce this interesting personality to the reader. 1. LIFE AND PERSONALITY OF FATHER JEROME XAVIER, s.j. The proper name of Xavier was Jeronimo de Ezpeletay Goni. He was a grand-nephew of Saint Francis Xavier, whose name he adopted after having joined the Jesuit Fathers. He was born in 1549 in the Spanish Province of Navarra and all we know about his youth is that he obtained the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy at the University of Alcala and that he entered the Society of the Jesuit Fathers in 1568. In five years he completed his philosophical and theological studies and was ordained a priest in 1575. He taught elementary subjects for some years and was then sent to the Indies. Soon after his arrival in Goa in 1581 he fell ill. In 1584 he was Rector of the College at Bassein, and from 1586 till 1592 Rector of the college at Cochin. From 1592 till 1594 he was Superior of the Jesuit Fathers at the Professed House of Goa. When the Emperor Akbar for the third time asked the Jesuit Fathers to send a mission to his court, Xavier was elected as leader of the mission. He was to spend twenty years of his life far away from the Portuguese centres with one of the great personages of India, the Emperor Akbar, and with his successor, Jahangir. Leaving Goa on December 3, 1594, Jerome Xavier and his two companions travelled via Cambay, Ahmadabad and Patan and reached Lahore on May 5, 1595. Except for a short visit to Kashmir in 1597, Xavier remained with the Emperor at Lahore till 1598. His main occupations were the study of Persian, the preparation of his main work, the Truth-showing Mirror and attendance at the disputes on religion which took place in the presence of the Emperor. From 1598 to 1601 Xavier followed the army of the Emperor during the campaign in the Deccan. After this Akbar took up his residence at Agra and Xavier remained with him till his death in October, 1605. This 4

Ibid., 181-183 and 191 192.

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period of four years was utilized by Xavier in pursuit of his chief ambition: to create a Christian religious literature written in the Persian tongue. After the death of Akbar, his son Jahangir moved the court temporarily to Lahore, from where he returned to Agra in 1608. Jerome Xavier accompanied him all this time. Till 1614 Xavier was living at Agra writing and rewriting his Persian works. His stay in the Mogul Empire ended in 1614 when he was sent to Goa to restore peace between the Moguls and the Portuguese, Back in Goa in 1615, he was appointed Rector of St. Paul's College where he died on June 27, 1617. In the same year he was elected Coadjutor-Archbishop of Cranganore, but this news never reached him.5 Such was the life of one of the most outstanding Jesuits who stayed in the Mogul Empire. He was a man with a strong character and a keen insight. That he endeavoured to become a scholar in Persian after having reached the age of 46 certainly proves his calibre, whereas the subjects he treated in his works as also the irenic attitude he showed in them indicate that he had understood the minds of the Emperors he served, Akbar and Jahangir. A survey of his Persian works may illustrate these observations well.

II. THE PERSIAN WORKS OF FATHER JEROME XAVIER, s.j. We restrict ourselves to the Persian works of Xavier and leave out those written in other languages. We may distinguish three categories of his works: those that have come down to us, the writings that seem to be lost, and the works possibly written by Xavier. A. Persian Works which have come down to us 1. Mir'atu 'l-quds ya3ni dastan-i hazjat-i cisa

(The Mirror of Holiness viz., the Life of the Lord Jesus) This book is dated Agra, 1602, and was presented to Akbar, who had it read to himself,6 and afterwards it was presented to Jahangir, 5

For the biography of Jerome Xavier, see Ibid., 2-13. Letter of Jerome Xavier, Lahore, September 25, 1606, a copy of which is kept in the British Museum (Br. Mus.), Add. MSS. 9854, fol. 40. F. Guerreiro, s.j., Relacam Anual Das Cousas Que Fezeram Os Padras da Companhia de Jesus JVas Partes da India Oriental, et no Brazil, Angola, Cabo Verde, Guine, nos anos de seiscentos et doi, et seiscentos et tres, Lisboa 1605, Livro II, 52, records the presentation to Akbar in 1602. 6

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who received it with reverence.7 It is a combination of texts taken from the Holy Gospels, but there are a few popular legends in it. It has four parts: The Nativity and Infancy of Jesus Christ, His Miracles and Teaching, His Death and Suffering, and His Resurrection and Ascension. Maclagan has given the following list of the still extant manuscripts: "There is one in the museum at Lahore dated 1602 which is incomplete and in bad condition, but bears Akbar's seal and is interleaved with eleven pictures. In the Oriental Public Library at Patna there is a good and complete copy dating from 1627, besides an incomplete copy which is probably of much later date. The Asiatic Society of Bengal at Calcutta has two copies, one of which dates from 1604 and bears the seal of Akbar. There is one in the School of Oriental Studies in London, on the first page of which is written in Xavier's own handwriting Espelho sto e puro em q se trata da vida e maravilhosa doct" de Jesu x°, n° sr. In the British Museum there are two copies, one dating from 1618 and one apparently from the eighteenth century: of which the former seems to have been brought from Aleppo before 1686 and the latter to have belonged to Claude Martin of Lucknow. The Bodleian Library at Oxford has a copy which bears an illuminated cross on the first page and is alleged to be the original copy presented to Akbar. Another copy is in the Lindsey Collection in the John Rylands Library at Manchester and another, which belonged to Richard Johnson, the banker of Warren Hastings, is in the India Office. The Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris has another, the Casanatense Library at Rome another, and there is one in the Gotha Library which is enriched with autograph notes written by Xavier himself".8 Three more copies of the work may be added to this list: the first is in the Biblioteca Vaticana, of which the introduction and some of the pages following are missing,9 the second is to be found in the Sultani Museum at Bahawalpur and has 195 folios and 28 illuminations,10 and the third belongs to the private collection of the Nizam at Hyderabad-Deccan.'' 7

Annua de 603 da Provincia de Goa en Paries do Norte, written by Father Gasparo Fernandes at Goa on December 2, 1603, ARSI, Goa 33 I, fol. 126. 8 E. Maclagan, The Jesuits and the Great Mogul, London 1932, 203-204 and 217, notes 1-10. 9 E. Rossi, Elenco dei Manoscritti Persiani della Biblioteca Vaticana, Citta del Vaticano 1948, 75-76. 10 Sultani Museum, Bahawalpur, no. 256. 11 F. zu Lewenstein, s.j., Christliche Bilder in altindischer Malerd, Munster, i.w. 1958, 11.

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These seventeen still extant manuscripts prove that the work was quite popular among the nobles of the Mogul Court. In the West it became well known through the edition of the Persian text and a Latin translation published by a Dutch Protestant, Ludovicus de Dieu, in 1639.12 2. A3ina-yi haqq-numa

(The Truth-showing Mirror) This is the chief work of Father Xavier and it took him twelve years to complete it. A Spanish text exists in the archives of the Jesuit Generalate in Rome, but here we are only concerned with the Persian text. It appears from some copies that the work was issued in 1609.13 Again Maclagan supplies us with information about the still extant copies: "There is a copy in the British Museum once owned by the poet Alexander Pope which dates from the year 1610, another copy in the Academy at Leningrad, another in the Casanatense Library at Rome, another in the Library of Queen's College, Cambridge, and another in the Edinburgh University Library".14 We may add: a copy in the Biblioteca Vaticana which dates from the year 1609.15 Altogether six copies have been preserved. The work is a voluminous one; the copy in the British Museum, for example, has 525 folios. The work is written in the form of a dialogue between three interlocutors: a Father, a sceptic Philosopher and a Mullah. The Father represents Xavier, the Philosopher Emperor Akbar and the Mullah the Muslim theologians at the court. The work may, therefore, also be called a comparative study of Christianity, Islam and Scepticism and, incidentally, also of Hinduism. As far as Islam is concerned, an exact knowledge of the Qur'an and the Hadith is noteworthy. Though it is true that there are some quite strong statements to be found in those passages where the Father treats of Islamic topics, all the same we notice a fundamentally irenic attitude. Repeatedly, Xavier observed that only zeal for the truth incites him to speak and not hatred or malevolence. We should not forget that the work was written at the end of the sixteenth century and in the beginning of the seventeenth and not in the twentieth which would have 12 13 14 15

Historia Christipersice conscripta, Lugduni Batavorum 1639. Cfr. Camps, op. cit., 16. Ibid., 16-17. Op. cit., 206 and 218, notes 24-28. Rossi, op. cit., 74.

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a different atmosphere. It should also be taken into account that the arguments brought forward both by the Mullah and the Father reflect discussions actually held at the Mogul Court and it is well known that Emperor Akbar, especially, possessed a liberty of thought and that he liked frank exchanges of views. This is the main reason why the statements both of the Mullah and the Father sound too strong for our ears. The Truth-showing Mirror is divided into five books. In the first book the author wants to prove that mankind needs a revealed religion and also that the religion revealed by God to mankind can be only one. Here Xavier takes a stand against the rationalistic and syncretistic attitude of Emperor Akbar. It is then agreed between the Father and the Philosopher that only human reason will be used as a means of discovering the true religion. Three principles are set up which have to guide human reason in its discovery of the true religion: it has to teach mankind to know God in the best possible manner; it has to instruct mankind how to serve God and to accomplish His Will in a spiritual manner; and finally, it should provide mankind with the aids necessary to weak human nature in order to fulfil God's Will. These three principles contain the outlines of the rest of the work. It may be observed that the fourth and the fifth book mainly deal with Islam and Christianity or — in other words — that these two books contain a discussion between the Father and the Mullah whereas the Philosopher now disappears into the background.16 The work became well-known through an abridgement which will be dealt with next. 3. The Abridgement of the A3ina-yi haqq-numa

In a letter written by Xavier in 1609 he informs us that he made a summary of the Truth showing Mirror, as much of the Emperor's time was taken up by the cares of government.17 Maclagan knows about two copies, one in the British Museum and the other in the State Library at Leningrad.18 We may again add two more copies: the first in the Biblioteca Vaticana19 and the

16

For a detailed study of this chief work of Xavier, cfr. Camps, op. a'/., 92"! 75. Letter written from Agra on October 20, 1609, a copy of which is kept in the Archivum Provinciae Toletanae Societatis Jesu (APTSI), Madrid, leg. 896. 18 Op. tit., 208, and 209, note 35. 19 Rossi, op. cit., 75. 17

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second in the National Library at Paris.20 The title of the work is not uniform as it is sometimes called Muntakhab, or Khulasa. The work is not written in the form of a dialogue and it has only four chapters: the knowledge and the nature of God, the true God Jesus our Lord, the Commandments of the Gospel, and the divine aids. The copy in the British Museum contains an addition consisting of the Our Father and the Apostles' Creed. The work is rather small; the copy in the British Museum has 55 folios. The subsequent history of the work is very interesting. It found its way into Persia where Ahmed ibn Zain al-cAbidin wrote a defence entitled: Misqal-i sofa dar tajliya wa tasfiya-yi a'ina-yi haqq-numa dar raddi mazjiab-i nasara or The Clean Polisher for the Brightening and Polishing of the Truth-showing Minor in Refutation of the Doctrine of the Christians. The book was written during the years 1622-1623. Some Carmelite Fathers staying in Persia sent the work of Ahmad ibn Zain to Rome where two rejoinders were written. The first, by Bonaventura Malvasia, was composed both in Arabic and Latin: Jala3 al-mir'at radd fala ^ain al cAbidin; Dilucidatio Speculi verum monstrantis, in qua instmitur in jide Christiana Hamid jilius %in Elabidin in regno Persarum Princeps, et refellitur liber a doctoribus Persis editus sub titulo speculi verum monstrantis, per Bonaventuram Malvasiam, Bononiensem, Franciscanum Conventualem, Romae, 1628. Another rejoinder was written by Father Filippo Guadagnoli; this Latin work is entitled Apologia pro Christiana religione qua a Philippo Guadagnolo, Malleanensi Clericorum Regul. Minorum respondetur ad obiectiones Ahmed jilii 2jn Alabedin, Persae Asphanensis, contentae in Libra inscripto Politor Speculi, Romae, 1631. An Arabic edition of the work was produced by the Father himself in Rome (1637 and 1649). Two more rejoinders were composed outside Rome. Chefaud, a French missionary, wrote a Persian defence in the first half of the seventeenth century, but the work has not come down to us. Then there is the Alayisha'i hi ba3d an aluda shud a'ina-yi haqq-numa az musaiqilash-i anonimus or The Stain-bespattered Truth-showing Mirror by an anonymous Jesuit. The work was written in India during the years 1655—1656 and copies can still be found in the State Library at Leningrad and in the National Library of Paris.21 20 E. Blochet, Catalogue des Manuscrits Persons de la Bibliotheque Rationale, IV, Paris 1934, 111. 21 For the subsequent history of the abridgement of the Truth-Showing Mirror, see Camps, op. cit., 175-177.

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4. Dastan-i ahwal-i hawariyan-i hazrat-i cisa wa zikr-i manaqib-i Ishan (History of the Vicissitudes of the Apostles of the Lord Jesus and Commemoration of their virtues.) It seems that Akbar was presented with an incomplete copy of the work before his death in 1605, as the one in the Goethals Library of St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, contains only four lives and bears the seal of Akbar. In December, 1607, the work was ready and was presented to Jahangir, who enjoyed reading it.22 Maclagan informs us about the whereabouts of still extant copies: "There are two copies of this work in the Library of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Calcutta; . . . one in the Serampur College Library. The Bodleian Library has a copy, and so have the Leyden Library and the School of Oriental Studies in London, and there are two copies in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris".23 Two copies must be added to this list: one in the Biblioteca Vaticana,24 and the other, though incomplete, in the Goethals Library of St. Xavier's College in Calcutta.25 The work is rather voluminous; the copy belonging to the School of Oriental and African Studies in London has 196 folios. The Parisian copies have a different title: Waqa3i-i hawariyan-i duwazdagana or Acts of the twelve Apostles. The complete work is mainly based on the acts of the Apostles, a work belonging to the New Testament, but Xavier incorporated a few legends in it. The intention of the author is to show how peacefully Christianity was spread by the Apostles and their followers. One of the lives, the life of St. Peter, was edited in Persian and translated into Latin by Ludovious de Dieu, a Dutch Protestant, in 1639,26 and the complete work was translated into Urdu at Sardhana under the auspices of the Capuchin Fathers and printed there in 1894 with the title of Nuska-i kitab bara Apostel.27 22

Authenticated letter of Xavier, Agra, September 14, 1608, Br. Mus., Add. MSS 9854, fol. 64. 23 Op. cit., 209, and 219, notes 48-54. 24 Rossi, op. cit., 99-100. 25 The Clergy Monthly Supplement, 21 (Ranchi 1957) 344. This copy was brought to Louvain (Mission Library of the Jesuit Theologate) before the last war, but was sent back to India when peace returned; Maclagan, op. cit., 209, and Camps, op. cit., 22 state that it is still in Belgium. 26 Historia S. Petri persice conscripta, Lugduni Batavorum 1639. 27 Maclagan, op. cit., 210.

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41

5. Adabu's-saltanat

(The Duties of Kingship) This work was presented to Emperor Jahangir at his court at Agra in 1609. In one of his letters Xavier calls it Directorio de Reyes or Guide of the Kings.™ There are two copies of this work which have come down to us: one is in the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and the other is in the Casanatense Library at Rome; both copies were known to Maclagan.29 The copy in the School of Oriental and African Studies is very beautifully written in red and black characters and it has 286 folios. Both copies bear an inscription and dedication in Xavier's own handwriting, stating that the work was composed at Agra in 1609. The book could be called a moral code for kings; it treats, in four chapters, of the reverence and obedience due to the king, the practice of all the virtues a king should possess, the doctrine and direction to be given by the king to his grandees, and the love, protection and providence of his people. 6. (The Psalms of David) In the School of Oriental and African Studies in London a Persian text of the Psalter is preserved which bears the following inscription: "Psalter of David according to the Vulgate, translated by Father Jerome Xavier of the Society of Jesus, in the city of Agra, court of the Great Mogul Jahangir."30 This inscription is an autograph and proves that Xavier himself made a translation of the Psalter based upon the Latin text of the Vulgate. This work was presented by Xavier to the Florentine traveller Giambattista Vecchietti, who stayed at Agra from 1603 to 1604 together with Xavier. As the work was composed during the reign of Jahangir, it must have been presented to the Florentine after his departure from India.31 It is a beautifully written manuscript in black and red characters. 28 Letter written from Agra on October 20, 1609, a copy of which is kept in APTIS, leg. 896. 29 Op. at., 215, and 221, note 89. 30 Psalterio de David conforme a edicao Vulgata, traducido pelo padre Jeronimo Xavier da companhia de Jesum na cidade de Agra corte do grao Mogol Ray Jahanguir. This inscription is found on the first folio of MS, 12144. 31 Cjr. WJ. Fischel, The Bible in Persian Translation, The Harvard Theological Review 45 (Cambridge, Mass., 1952) 17-21.

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The Bodleian Library at Oxford has another Persian text of the Psalter bearing the following inscription: "Psalms of David translated from the Latin by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus who are much experienced in the Persian language." As this translation is also based upon the Latin Vulgate, it is most probably from Xavier and his colleagues.32 7. Bayan-i Iman-i 'Isawiyan (Explanation of the Faith of the Christians) In the Roman Archives of the Society of Jesus a Persian manuscript of 59 folios, of which the beginning is missing, is to be found. At the end of the work we find the colophon: ruz-i du-shanbih rajabu 'I murajjab . . . sanat alfu sabc or "Monday of the month Rajab, the venerated, 18, of the year 1007". This corresponds to the beginning of 1599 A.D. From the contents it appears to be a commentary on the twelve articles of the Christian Faith. As the first pages of the work are missing, we cannot ascertain its title from the work itself. But the Persian text is only a part of a manuscript in the Roman Archives; the other part is a Portuguese autograph of Xavier and also contains a detailed explanation of the twelve articles under the title: Comprehensive Explanation of the Creed?* That this must also have been the title of the Persian work appears from a note of Father Morandi who mentions a Bayan-i iman-i 'isawiyan as a work of Xavier.34 8. The Gospels Jerome Xavier sent several Persian copies of she Gospels to Europe: two of them are still extant, one in the Casanatense Library and the other in the Gregorian University Library at Rome. These, however, were not translations made by Xavier but copies of already existing ancient translations. There is no historical evidence for a fresh translation made by Xavier and we are only sure of an emendation of an already existing Persian version. As a matter of fact, Jerome Xavier presented Jahangir with an emended version in 1607.35

32 33 34 35

Maclagan, op. cit., 212 and 220, note 71; Camps, op. tit., 24. ARSI, Opp. NN. 347; cjr. Camps, op. cit., 25-26. Cjr. note 39 of the present article. Camps, op. cit., 26-32.

PERSIAN WORKS OF JEROME XAVIER

43

B. Writings that seem to be lost Our information concerning the works belonging to this category is derived from several sources. First of all, Xavier mentions in some of his letters some of his works which up till today have not yet come to light. He grave them the following titles: Books on the histories of some Saints; Some Histories Translated into Persian', and a Book in Persian Containing Sayings of Some of Our Philosophers and Curious Things, The second work was presented to Emperor Akbar in 1596 and it did not contain religious subjects, as Xavier had not yet mastered Persian. The third work was written for Akbar in 1604 at his own request, and it seems that he and his courtiers read it with pleasure.36 Information is also gathered from a letter of the Father General of the Society of Jesus, Claudius Aquaviva. It appears that the Father General was of the opinion that Xavier should not devote so much time to Persian translations and that it was certainly not Xavier's task to translate Cicero's De officiis. The letter was written in 1608 and we do not know whether Jerome Xavier ever completed the work or had already completed it.37 In the beginning of the eighteenth century Father Ippolito Desideri, s.j., spent sometime in the Mogul Empire and he made a list of the Persian works of Xavier; this list is all the more useful because Desideri only describes those works which he himself had personally seen. Apart from works mentioned above, Desideri records the titles of the following writings not mentioned by other authorities: TJie Life of the Blessed Virgin; Some Books of Prayer and Pious Exercises] and The Big and Small Catechism.38 It may be that the Small Catechism is identical with the Bayan-i iman-i 'isawiyan referred to above. Another list of the Persian works of Xavier was drawn up by Father Francesco Morandi, s.j., and is to be found at the back of a copy of the Adabu's-saltanat kept in the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Fr. Morandi copied and collected the 36 Cfr. Xavier's letter of October 20, 1609, written from Agra, a copy of which is kept in APTSI, leg. 896; of September 8, 1596, written from Lahore, a copy of which is kept in ARSI, Goa 46 I, fol. 32; and the autographed letter of September 6, 1604, written from Agra and kept in Br. Mus., Add. MSS 9854, fol. 12. 37 J. Wicki, s.j., "Auszuge aus den Briefen der Jesuitengenerale an die Obern in Indien (1549-1613)", Archivum Historicum Societatis Jesu 22 (Rome 1953) 166. 38 L. Petech / Missionari Italiani nel Tibet e nel Nepal, Ippolito Desideri S.J., Parte V, Rome 1954, 153.

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works of Xavier at Agra about 1649.39 There is one work in this list which is not mentioned by any other author: Intikhab-i 'aqa'id-i din-i fisawiyan or Extract of the Fundamental Articles of the Faith of the Christians. This work too has not come down to us and, therefore, we are not in a position to find out whether it is identical with one of the Catechisms mentioned by Desideri. G. Persian works possibly written by Jerome Xavier

In the list drawn up by Fr. Morandi there is a series of tides regarding which Morandi states that he does not know which Father living in the Mogul Empire was the author. They are the following: Maqulat-i Plutarku (Sayings from Plutarch); Sharh-i bina-yi ruma wa zikri padshaha-i u (The History of the Foundation of Rome and an account of Her Kings); Sia3if-i muqaddamat-i falasifa (Books on the Premises of the Philosophers); Intikhab-i din-i cisawiyan (Summary of the Faith of the Christians); Tarjuma-yi Plutarku (Translations from Plutarch); Kitabat-i Plutarku dar bab-i taskin-i marg-i pisar (The Book of Plutarch on Consolation on the Occasion of the Death of a Son;... ki az dushman tawan ba-dast award (Plutarch on the Advantage to be obtained from Enemies); Ba'zi muqaddamati-i Marku Tuliu (Some Works of Marcus Tullius).40 One has to be cautious in this matter and should not ascribe these works without good reasons to Jerome Xavier, for in a letter written from Agra in 1686 Fr. Ignatio Gomez stated that, besides Xavier, other Fathers also, who were residing in the Mogul Empire, had written books in Persian.41 All the same, reading these titles, one gets the impression of being very close to a literary inheritance of Xavier: "Some Works of Marcus Tullius reminds one of the admonition of the General that it was not the Father's task to translate Cicero's De Officiis, and the Books of the Premises of the Philosophers recalls A Book in Persian Containing Sayings of Some of our Philosophers and Curious Things, whilst The History of the Foundation of Rome and an Account of Her Kings may have some relation to Some Histories Translated into Persian. It is striking, moreover, that the Vatican and other libraries have copies of 39

MS 7030 of the School of Oriental and African Studies; cjr. Camps, op. cit., 13 note 4. 40 Cjr. the preceding note. 41 Letter written on September 7, 1686, and kept in Br. Mus., Add. MSS 9854, fol. 151.

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a book entitled Intikhab-i caqajid wa amaliyat-i din 'isawiyan (Summary of the Fundamental Articles of the Faith and Practice of the Religion of the Christians). This work is a Persian translation of a Catechism of Cardinal Bellarminus and was made by the Fathers at Lahore before the year 1619. Nearly the same tide appears in the list of Morandi, but it also suggests the big or the small Catechism mentioned by Desideri or the Extract of the Fundamental Articles of the Christians".^ These reminiscences are striking, but lack of further information prevents us from identifying the author of these works. The same is the case with some other books. A Persian grammar, called Rudimenta Linguae Persicae, is kept in the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and it is interesting to note that the Jesuit Bibliographer Alcazar included a similar work among the writings of Jerome Xavier.43 The same School possesses a Portuguese-HindustaniPersian Dictionary^ and it is known that the collection which was in the possession of Marsden contained a Siraju 'l-munir or The Brilliant Lamp, a treatise on morals in twenty sections, and two more dictionaries, a Persian and a Portuguese-Hundastani.45 It is quite probable that these works were written by one of the Fathers of Agra and Lahore as these writings met their needs, but the present information available does not permit us to come to a definite conclusion. This survey of the literary activity of Fr. Jerome Xavier may prove that he was endowed with a strong character; it is quite exceptional that a man starts studying a foreign language at the age of 46 and that he, moreover, produces a respectable number of books. It also proves his keen insight into the mentality of the Emperors Akbar and Jahangir, who were very interested in the doctrines of various religions. By writing his religious and philosophical works Jerome Xavier tried to supply them with reliable information about Christianity and Western Philosophy.

42 43

Gamps op. at., 37 38. MS 12198 of the School of Oriental and African Studies; erf. Camps, op. cit.,

39. 44

MS 11952. The whereabouts of these three manuscripts remain unknown; erf. Camps, op. cit., 27, 4, and 39, note 2. 45

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APPENDIX More recent information on the manuscripts of Jerome Xavier has been given by: 1. Nusrat Ali and Khalid Anis Ahmed, "Miratul-Quds (The Mirror of Holiness) or Dastani-Masih. A manuscript in the Lahore Museum, Lahore, Pakistan," in: Khalid Anis Ahmed (ed.), Intercultural Encounter in Mughal Miniatures (MughalChristian Miniatures), (Lahore: National College of Arts 1995), pp. 79-91. This refers to Xavier's first work mentioned in our list. 2. Indict e Cataloghi. Nuova Serie V, Catalogo dei manoscritti persiani conservati nelle biblioteche D'ltalia, (Roma: Libreria dello Stato 1989). More copies of Xavier's third work in our list have been found in Venezia, Bibliotheca Marciana M.S. Or. CXI (149), p. 354 and M.S. Or. CX (124), pp. 354-355. In the same library there is a copy of Xavier's fourth work according to our list: M.S. Or. CX (124), p. 354. The same is true for copies of Xavier's seventh work according to our list: M.S. Or. CIX (197), p. 353; M.S. Or. CXII (106), p. 353; M.S. Or. CXI (149), p. 354 and M.S. Or. CX (124), p. 354. 3. Our conclusion on the translation of the Gospels into Persian (nr. 8 of our list) has been confirmed by Roberto Gulbenkian, Os quatro evangelhos em Persa da Biblioteca Nacional de Lisboa. O. Grao Mongol, os Jesuitas e os Armenios, (Lisboa: Academia Portuguesa da Historia, Anais II serie, vol. 25, 1979), pp. 469-516. Cfr. the same author in: The Translation of the four Gospels into Persian, (Immensee: NZM 1981), 91 pp.

AN UNPUBLISHED LETTER OF FATHER CHRISTOVAL DE VEGA S.J. Its Importance for the History of the Second Mission to the Mughal Court and for the Knowledge of the Religion of the Emperor Akbar*

In the sixteenth century the Emperor Akbar (1556-1605) invited the Jesuits of Goa several times to his Court. The first Mission under the guidance of Blessed Rudolf Aquaviva reached the capital Fathpur Slkrl on February 27 or 28, 1580, and returned from there to Goa in May 1583. A second Mission was sent from Goa to Lahore, the new capital, in 1591, and came back in the same year. Two Fathers and one lay Brother formed the personel of this Mission, the leadership of which was entrusted to Father Duarte Leitao. Once again, in 1594, Akbar called in the Jesuit Fathers and this time the Mission, that started in 1595 with Father Jerome Xavier as Superior, was successful. The history of these remarkable enterprises is well-known to us by the studies of Father H. Hosten s.j., published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal and in other Indian periodicals; by the standard-work of Sir Edward Maclagan: The Jesuits and the Great Mogul, London, 1932; and by an article of Father Angel Santos s.j.: Un sobrinho de Javier en la Corte del Gran Mogol, in Missionalia, Hispanica, X, Madrid 1953, pp. 417-491. But there still exists some lack of information about the second Mission to the Emperor Akbar. Maclagan in his list of Jesuit letters and reports from Mogor1 mentions only two letters from the Provincial at Goa to the General of the Jesuit Order, extracts from which were given by Spitilli in 1592.2 * The original text was published in: Studia Orientalia 1 (Cairo 1956), pp. 181-192. The text is reprinted in: The Islamic World in Foreign Travel Accounts, vol. 76, selected and reprinted by Fuat Sezgin (Frankfurt am Main: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University 1997), pp. 235~246. 1 E. Maclagan, The Jesuits and the great Mogul, London, 1932, p. 370. 2 Ragguaglio d'alcune missioni dell'Indie Orientali et Occidentali. Cavato da alcuni awisi scritti gli anni 1590 et 1591. Da i R.P. Pietro Martinez Provinciale dell'India Orientale, Giovanni d'Atienza Provinciale del Peru, Pietro Diaz Provinciale del Messico. Al Rever. P. Generale della Compagnia di Gesu et raccolta dal Padre Gasparo Spitilli della medesima Compagnia, Roma, 1592, pp. 3-31. The letters of Father Pedro Martinez can be found in the Roman Archives of the Society of Jesus (ARSI), Goa 47, 337-348v, 351-368v and 376~379v.

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Only these extracts were known by Maclagan. However in the Roman Archives of the Jesuit Order, where we were kindly allowed to do some research, we found an autograph letter of a member of this Mission, Father Christoval de Vega, dated December 2, 1593, in which he gives us the reason for the abrupt end of the undertaking.3 This point precisely was a doubtful one for the historians of the mission. But in clearing up their doubts on this point we can also throw some light upon another question by means of the same letter, viz. the problem of the religion of Akbar, about which opinion is still divided. These two points will be the subject of the present study. THE SECOND MISSION TO THE EMPEROR AKBAR Before giving the new details furnished by the letter of Father Christoval de Vega, we will briefly describe the facts as they are known by Maclagan.4 In 1590 Akbar availed himself of the presence of a Greek sub-deacon, named Leo Grimon, to take up a second time the relations with the Jesuits at Goa. He charged him with a special mission to the Portuguese headquarters in India and let him transmit two letters, one of which was addressed to the Viceroy and the other to the Fathers of the Society. The latter runs as follows: "In the Name of God. The exalted and invincible Akbar to those who are in God's grace and have tasted of his Holy Spirit and to those that are obedient to the Spirit of the Messiah and lead men to God. I say to you, learned Fathers, whose words are heeded as those of men retired from the world, who have left the pomps and honours of earth: Fathers who walk by the true way; I would have your Reverences know that I have knowledge of all the faiths of the world both of various kinds of heathen and of Mohammedans, save that of Jesus Christ which is from God and as such recognised and followed by many. Now in that I feel great inclination to the friendship of the Fathers I desire that I may be taught by them the Christian law. There has recently come to my Court and royal Palace one Dom Leo Grimon, a person of great merit and good discourse, whom I have questioned on sundry matters, and who has answered 3 Christoval de Vega, letter of December 2, 1593 from Chaul to the General Claudius Aquaviva, in ARSI, Goa 14, 127~128v. An incomplete copy can be found in ARSI, Goa 47, 416—417v. 4 Maclagan, op. tit., pp. 46—49.

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well to the satisfaction of myself and my doctors. He has assured me that there are in India several Fathers of great prudence and learning, and if this be so Your Reverences will be able immediately on receiving my letter, to send some of them to my Court with all confidence, so that in disputations with my doctors I may compare their several learning and character, and see the superiority of the Fathers over my doctors, whom we call Caziques, and who by this means may be taught to know the truth. If they will remain in my Court, I shall build them such lodging that they may live in greater honour and favour than any Father who has up to this been in this country and when they wish to leave I shall let them depart with honour. You should therefore do as I ask of you in this letter. Written at the commencement of the moon of June".5 After the failure of the first Mission it could hardly be expected that this letter would convince the Jesuits of a new and better opportunity to convert the king. But Leo Grimon brought with him other information, which indicated a favourable state of the king's mind. Muhammad was as hated at the Mughal's Court as in Christendom. All the mosques had been changed into stables and their minarets destroyed. The king had contracted the habit of monogamy and forbad circumcision before the age of 15 years to give everybody the possibility to choose the religion he wanted.6 Encouraged by this news the Provincial designated three members of the Society to attempt the conversion of Akbar and his empire. They were Fathers, Duarte Leitao and Christoval de Vega, and a lay Brother Estevan Ribeiro.7 Leitao acted as Superior. At the beginning of 1591 these three missionaries arrived in Lahore at the Court of Akbar and were well received. They started a school for the sons of dignitaries and according to a letter of the Provincial Pedro Martinez one of these boys claimed to be the son of the king and another said he was a nephew of Akbar. The pupils were taught to speak and write Portuguese.8 All seemed to be prosperous, but very soon trouble arose. Maclagan describes it in these words: "The Fathers, however, found themselves 5

Maclagan, op. cit., p. 47. Spitilli, op. cit. p. 6. 7 These names are recorded in the letter of Pedro Martinez of 1590, in ARSI, Goa 47, 337v. 8 Pedro Martinez, letter of December 7, 1591 from Goa to the General Claudius Aquaviva, in ARSI, Goa 47, 379. 6

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strongly opposed by a faction at the Court and soon perceived that the king had no intention of becoming a Christian. They accordingly decided to withdraw without delay. Vega left for Goa, but the Provincial wished to send him back, as he was understood to be a great favourite with Akbar; and in any case Leitao was instructed to remain where he was. The Mission, however, came shortly afterwards to an abrupt conclusion for reasons which have not come down to us and both missionaries returned to Portuguese India". And in a note the same author adds: "The departure from Mogor may have been due, as indicated by Jouvency, to the fear of a general revolt".9 In a general way these remarks are true; the very reason of the coming back of both Fathers has, however, not been indicated. Here the letter of Christoval de Vega can afford an answer. We will first give the translation of the Spanish text of that part of his letter, which deals with our subject.10 Father Christoval de Vega begins his letter by saying that he wrote in 1591 to the Father General about the question of the MughalMission, but that it seems that his letter did not arrive. Therefore he will again give the reasons why his Superior, Father Duarte Leitao, who died a year later, decided to withdraw the Mission. "And the principal of all the reasons was that the haughtiness of this barbarian had attained to such a degree that he considered himself as a prophet and a legislator saying that the period of the law of Muhammad had now come to an end and that the world is deprived of a true law and that therefore another prophet has to come, who will establish it, and that he is the one man to do it; and in this manner he behaves himself. So openly, that people worship him in public as a prophet with such shameless praises that I heard him called God, many times and in public. When somebody falls ill or loses something, they make vows and promises to him as to a saint in order to be restored to health or to recover what they had lost; and having obtained it they go to him to render thanks and to offer what they promised, which he accepts with extreme satisfaction. At the time that we stayed there, they began to be zealous for his law, that is the new era and calendar, that he made, for the fastings and abstinences and the new rites of marriage, and many other matters, at which the Muslims Maclagan, op. cit., p. 48 and p. 49 note 10. Christoval de Vega, letter of December 2, 1593, in ARSI, Goa 14, 127-127v.

FATHER CRISTOVAL DE VEGA S.J.

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become not a little angry. For he disfavours the law of Muhammad in order to introduce his own law and he adores the sun. And because they saw that he lodged us in his house and treated us with honour, they thought we were the authors of those innovations and said so publicly to some Christians who were with us. From this so general scandal given to the people, and from the disappointment the Father got at not being able to expect fruit of the king—for he would never speak about religion—it was in advance obvious that he had called us in order to authorize the foundation of his new law with the aid of our presence and of other priests of false sects he had at his Court, and for other purposes mainly motives of self-interest, of honour and fortune. Mainly for these reasons, as I said, the Father decided to send me in advance with the Brother we had with us and with all his luggage and the equipment of the chapel. He would thus remain as much as possible unburdened and unimpeded and bring up the rear, which he did, arriving in India three months after my arrival". This passage of the letter of Father Christoval de Vega gives the historian of the mission the solution of two problems. First of all we know, finally, the very reason for the withdrawal of the second mission to Akbar. We could say that the religious attitude of the king himself set the Fathers a question of conscience. Akbar had given up the religion of Islam and founded a new one. As we know from other sources, he assembled at his Court the representatives of the religions of which he had knowledge. There were Shf'Is, Sunnls, Parsis, Jains, Sikhs, Hindus and Jews. When he heard of the Jesuits, he wished also their presence. Instinctively the people connected this religious assembly with the new creed of the Emperor and at the same time the Muslims, who played for a long time the most important part of the State affairs and who were now seriously menaced by the tolerant attitude of the king, understood very well the danger of such a demonstration of tolerance. The new faith of Akbar was certainly marked by an universal tolerance as well as by an attempt to concentrate all the religious forces of the country around his own person. From this religious situation at the Mughal Court arose a problem in Father Duarte Leitao's conscience: "it was in advance obvious that he had called us in order to authorize the foundation of his new law with the aid of our presence and of other priests of false sects he had at his Court". He feared that he gave the people and the Muslims an impression of collaboration and considered his

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mission therefore as an impossible task, especially since in these circumstances neither the king's nor the people's conversion could be expected. It may surprise us that he came to this conclusion so soon after his arrival, but the letter of Christoval de Vega shows us clearly that this was the real mind of the Superior and the principal reason for the sudden return of the members of the second Mission to Akbar. Hence there is a second problem to solve. We know from a letter of the Provincial at Goa that he did not agree to the return of Father Christoval and Brother Estevan, and that therefore he ordered them to go back and Father Duarte to stay at Lahore.11 There were, moreover, some accusations of a lack of patience with the king and of insubordination, as the Fathers came back without permission of the Superiors.12 The mentality of Father Duarte Leitao as described in the letter of Father Christoval de Vega, makes it easy for us to explain all this. Seeing his mission compromised by the religious situation at the king's Court, a longer stay with Akbar was against his conscience. He could, of course, ask the Superior's advice, but that required much time in the sixteenth century in India. Thus he decided on his own responsibility to send back his two subjects with the equipment of the Mission and to follow them after a short time. The fact that the Father Superior arrived only three months after his subjects made it impossible that the decision of the Provincial to continue the mission had any effect. Thus the second attempt to convert the Mughal Emperor Akbar came to an unsuccessful end, for the Provincial charged both Fathers with the care of some churches in Bassein.13 Father Duarte Leitao died there in 1593 and Father Christoval de Vega became Superior of the House in Chaul. Father Jerome Xavier, the future founder of the third Mission, commemorates these events as follows: "About Mogor I wrote already that the mission was destroyed, and how of the Fathers who came back one died this year, of poison, it is supposed, which was given him in the church of the Christianity where he resided. The other, whose name is Christoval de Vega, of the Province of Castile, is Superior of the House of Chaul, which is now besieged . . ,".14 11

Pedro Martinez, letter of December 7, 1591, in ARSI, Goa 47, 379. Abrahamo di Giorgio, letter of October 13, 1593, from Cochin to the General Claudius Aquaviva, in ARSI, Goa 14, 34. 13 Christoval de Vega, letter of December 2, 1593, in ARSI, Goa 14, 127v. 14 Jerome Xavier, letter of November 12, 1593, from Goa to Father Francesco 12

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IMPORTANCE OF FATHER CHRISTOVAL DE VEGA'S LETTER FOR THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE RELIGION OF AKBAR As we have seen, the religious attitude of Akbar has been mentioned in the letter of Christoval de Vega. It would seem to us that it is necessary to go into this subject, for it has long been a matter of research for various authors, and also a certain agreement existed for some time, the question has been brought up again of late. Let us first study the facts and the different interpretations of these facts and then see if the letter mentioned above may be helpful in this question. The facts we shall describe regard the religious evolution of Akbar.15 At the age of thirteen, in 1556, he succeeded his father Humayun. He remained till 1562 under the influence of some important personages at his Court, but from that time he began to follow his own way in the conquest of the greater part of the Indian subcontinent and in the elaboration of his religious convictions and policy. In his youth he had undergone strong influences of the Shfca sect of Islam and of Sufism, yet he observed the external forms of the Sunnf faith until 1575. Nevertheless he introduced some reforms. About 1563 he abolished the tax levied on Hindu pilgrims and the poll-tax paid by the Dhimmis to whom the whole non-muslim population of his reign belonged. The real turning point, however, came in 1575, when he decided to build the 'Ibadat-Khana or the House of Worship, in his capital Fathpur Slkri. In the beginning he permitted only the Shiea and the Sunn! Muslims to discuss questions of religion there. Seeing, however, that they did not agree and that they called each other heretics, he opened the doors for the wise men of different religions to join in the disputations. Hindu philosophers, Jain teachers, Pars! priests, Jews, Sikhs and also Christian priests filled the place. For several years these discussions went on and in the meantime the Emperor's faith in Islam began to waver. Badauni, the orthodox historian at the Court, wrote treating of these years: ". . . the

de Benavides. Published by B. Alcazar, Chrono-Historia de la Compania de Jesus en la Provincia de Toledo, Madrid, 1710, Part II, p. 205. English translation by H. Hosten s.j., Eulogy of Father Jerome Xavier s.j., a missionary in Mogor, in Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. XXIII (Calcutta 1927), p. 114. 10 R.C. Majumdar, H.C. Roychoudhury and Kalikinkar Datta, An advanced History of India, London, 1949, pp. 457-460. Sir George Dunbar, A History of India from the earliest times to nineteen thirty-nine, Vol. I, London, 1949, pp. 183, 189-192, and 193™194.

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observance of the five prayers, and the fasts, and the belief in every thing connected with the Prophet, were put down as vain superstitions, and man's reason, not tradition, was acknowledged as the only basis of religion".16 Then in June, 1579, Akbar read the khutba in his own name and in September of the same year he issued the socalled Infallibility Decree, which made him the supreme arbiter in matters of religion. Finally in 1582 the culminating point was reached by the promulgation of the Din-i-Ilahl, the Divine Religion. In the Dabistan, a book written some sixty years after the death of Akbar and treating of the different religions of India, we find the following descriptions of the Din-i-IlahT:17 "In the month Rajeb of the year of the Hejira 987 (A.D. 1579), the Emperor Akbar was ordered (by Heaven) to fix the sentence: "There is but one God, and Akbar is his Khalifah", to be used. If the people really wished it, they might adopt this faith; and his Majesty declared, that this religion ought to be established by choice, and not by violence. In this manner, a number of men, who were more pious or wise than those of their times, chose this creed according to their conscience". "The Emperor further said, that one thousand years have elapsed since the beginning of Muhammed's mission, and that this was the extent of the duration of this religion, now arrived at its term". "On account of hearing so many disputes of the learned in the midst of the multitude, the custom of reading the comments on the Koran and the science of religion and law, were laid aside, and in their place astronomy, physic, arithmetic, mysticism, poetry, and chronology became current". "The Lord vicar of God said to his disciples, that it is an indispensable duty to worship God, the All-just, and that it is necessary to praise those who are near him; among mankind, said he, none is higher in rank than the planets, to the station of which no man can attain". "His Majesty, Akbar, as he was ordered by God, used to read prayers, containing the praise of the sun, in Persian, Hindi, Turkish, and Arabic languages, among which all was one prayer which is proper to the Hindus, and which they sing at midnight and at sun-rise". 16 Muntakhabu't-tawankh by 'Abdu '1-Qadir Ibn Muluk Shah, known as AlBadaoni, Vol. II, translated into English by W.H. Lowe, second edition Calcutta, 1942, p. 215. !/ The quotations are taken from: D. Shea and Anth. Troyer, The Dabistan, or the School of Manners. Translated from the original Persian with notes and illustrations, Vol. II, Paris, 1843, pp. 85-105.

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"In like manner, the fire-worshippers, who had come from the town of Nousari, situated in the district of Gujerat, asserted the truth of the religion of Zoroaster, and the great reverence and worship due to fire . . . He also called from Persia a follower of Zardust, named Ardeshir, to whom he sent money; he delivered the sacred fire with care to the wise Shaikh Abu'l Faz'il, and established that it should be preserved in the interior apartment by night and day ..." "By other ordinances, the affairs of the Hindus were to be decided by learned Brahmans, and those of Muselmans by their own kas'is. It was further ordained, that the Ilahian may not apply to any other science of the Arabs but to astronomy, arithmetic, physic, and philosophy, and not spend their life-time in the pursuit of what is not reasonable. The interdiction of slaying cows was confirmed. It was also regulated that a Hindu woman is not to be prevented from burning with her dead husband, but that the sacrifice ought to take place without violence used towards, or abhorrence shewn by, the widow. . . . also every person is permitted to profess whatever religion he chooses, and to pass, whenever he likes, from one religion to another . . . Finally, the erection of a temple of idols, of a church, of a fire-temple, of a sepulchral vault, ought not to be impeded, nor the building of a mosque for the Muselmans . . . Akbar mixed the best and purest part of every religion for the formation of his own faith". We excuse ourselves for giving so many quotations from the Dabistan, but it is necessary to do so because of the high value generally set on this work. The author shows himself very well informed about the other religions in India,18 which gives his description of the Din-i-Hahi a special value, and, moreover, he must be considered as an impartial witness, since he wrote his book some sixty years after Akbar's death, which terminated the Din-i-Ilahf. Hence it follows that Akbar abandoned Islam, declaring that the time of Muhammad's religion had passed by, and that he considered himself as the Chief of a new religion, the principal tenets of which were the adoration of the one God, and of the stars and the sun as having a close relation to Him. Further, we learn that Akbar gave freedom of religion to all his subjects, although he reformed some Hindu customs and abolished by his tolerance the predominate place of the Muslims, especially of the orthodox party among them. It is, 18

Ch. Rieu, Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum, Vol. I, London, 1879, p. 141b.

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finally, clear that the Dm-i-Ilahi was a syncretistic creed, in which the doctrine of the Parsls and some principles of Hinduism played the leading part. Let us now study the different opinions on these facts in literature. The religion of Akbar has been a point of interest for many scholars and continues to be a matter of study in our days. It is really, not an easy task to gather all these opinions and it would be impossible to reproduce them in this article. For our purpose, however, it is enough to follow the general lines of discussion on this question. Up to about 1936 it was generally accepted that Akbar by founding the Dfn-i-Ilahf abandoned Islam and that the new religion was a syncretistic or rationalistic creed. Those authors, especially V.A. Smith and the writer of the fourth volume of the Cambridge History of India,19 maintained also that Akbar did not apply his principle of toleration to the same extent to the Muslims as to the believers of other religions. They based their opinion mainly on the authority of Badauni and on some Jesuit reports published in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. A certain agreement seemed also to reign; yet, after 1936 some dissident opinions may be noted. Sri Ram Sharma published in 1937 two articles on Akbar's religious policy, which were reprinted in 1940 and also contained in summarised form in his book Mughal Government and Administration in 1951.20 This author rejects the thesis that Akbar was an apostate from Islam for he asserts that the Dfni-Ilahf was a political order, the members of which had to defend the Emperor against all sort of attacks by fanatics. Akbar remained a Muslim and did not persecute Islam, though the orthodox leaders of that religion might think so; he only quashed their predominant position in the affairs of the State. Sharma considers the whole affair as a political one: "He emancipated the State from its thraldom to Muslim theologians in order to create a common citizenship in India".21 More of less the same ideas concerning the religion 19 V.A. Smith, Akbar the Great Mogul 1542-1605, second edition Oxford, 1919, p. 356. The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV, Cambridge, 1937, p. 123. 20 Sri Ram Sharma, Akbar's religious policy, in The Indian Historical Quarterly, Vol. XIII (Calcutta 1937), pp. 302-322 and 448-481; The religious policy of the Mughal Emperors, Calcutta, 1940, pp. 15-70; Mughal Government and Administration, Bombay, 1951, pp. 159-176. 21 Sri Ram Sharma, Mughal Government and Administration, Bombay, 1951, p. 176.

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of Akbar were defended by M. Roychoudhury in his study of the Dm-i-Ilahl published in 1941.22 According to him, the Infallibility Decree mentioned above was only a political question and the Dini-Ilahl, a Sufi order "with its own formula in which all the principles enunciated are to be found in the Quran and in the practices in the contemporary Sufi orders".23 To prove their position both authors attack the arguments of V.A. Smith, which are mainly based on the authority of Badauni, the author of the Dabistan and some Jesuit writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as Peruschi and Bartoli. It is not our intention to go here into all these arguments, only those which concern the Jesuits will be considered. Roychoudhury writes that the Jesuit reports did not have an historical purpose24 and Sharma tells us that the Jesuit Fathers were influenced in their statements by the desire to convert Akbar to Catholicism: "Their statements about his readiness to be converted are all an indication of their desire to see him admitted into their Church and so are their statements about his having ceased to be a Muslim".25 A further argument a of Sharma is that the Jesuit members of the first Mission to Akbar's Court and especially Father Monserrate in his "Mongolicae Legationis Commentarius" do not say that Akbar abandoned Islam and that they on the contrary thought the king a Muslim, who outwardly conformed to all religions in order to obtain popularity.26 These are the principal arguments of Sharma and Roychoudhury; we could make up a long list of other minor arguments and easily refute them, but by proving the falseness of the main arguments of both scholars and by detecting their insufficient knowledge of the Jesuit letters and reports we hope to have proved that the Jesuit sources are all but a proof for Akbar's perseverance in the faith of his youth. Let us begin with the second argument. As we saw, the first Mission to Akbar stayed at the Mughal Court from 1580 till 1583. The promulgation of the Dfn-i-Ilahf took place in 1582, thus it is not strange 22 Makhaulal Roychoudhury, The Din-i-Ilahi, or the religion of Akbar, Calcutta, 1941. 23 Makhaulal Roychoudhury, op. cit., p. 306. 24 Id., op. at., p. XXXI. 25 Sri Ram Sharma, Akbar's religious policy, p. 470; The religious policy of the Mughal Emperors, p. 55. 26 Id., Akbar's religious policy, p. 462; Mughal Government and Administration, p. 171.

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that Father Monserrate, who returned to Goa in the beginning of that year leaving Rudolf Aquaviva alone with the king, does not inform us that Akbar abandoned Islam. Did the Fathers on the contrary think that Akbar was a Muslim, who outwardly conformed to all religions in order to obtain popularity? An objective examination of the documents shows us something different. Father Aquaviva in his letter of July, 1581, wrote to the Father General about the religious convictions of the king: some think that he is a Christian, others that he is a Muslim and others that he is a heathen. The more intelligent, however, consider him to be neither Christian, nor heathen nor Muslim. "And I believe that is the truth or, perhaps, that he is a Muhammadan, but that he conforms to all in order to obtain the good-will of all".27 It may be evident that the judgment of Father Rudolf Aquaviva was very prudent, as in 1581 Akbar was in a religious evolution, which had not yet arrived at its term. Therefore he could not give a certain sentence. The first argument of Roychoudhury and Sharma is that the desire of the Jesuits to convert Akbar to Catholicism influenced the Fathers in their statements "about his having ceased to be a Muslim". If we confront this with the letter of Father Christoval de Vega mentioned above, we have to draw the opposite conclusion. Christoval de Vega, certainly, desired to convert the king, and it is also beyond all doubt that he thought that Akbar had abandoned the religion of Islam. But the last statement was not a result of his principal desire, because he left the Court just for the reason that no conversion of Akbar could be expected! It has been noticed that the author of the Dabistan had no doubt about Akbar's abandonment of Islam, and that his testimony is of a great value. The letter of Father Christoval de Vega bears out both points, and it is remarkable that so many similar observations can be found in both documents. The Dabistan reads: "The Emperor further said, that one thousand years have elapsed since the beginning of Muhammed's mission, and that this was the extent of the duration of this religion, now arrived at its term", and de Vega's 27 Rudolf Aquaviva, letter of July 30, 1581 from Fathpur Sikn to the General Claudius Aquaviva, in ARSI, Jap Sin 37, 105 and 107. Nearly the same-information is given by Gio. Battista Peruschi, Informatione del regno et statu del Gran Re di Mogor, della sua persona, qualita et costumi et delli buoni segni et congietture della sua conversione alia nostra santa fede, Roma, 1597, p. 32. Only the text of Peruschi was known by Sharma.

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words run: "he considers himself as a prophet and a legislator saying that the period of the law of Muhammad has now come to an end". The adoration of the sun is mentioned by the Dabistan as follows: "His Majesty Akbar . . . used to read prayers, containing the praise of the sun . . .", and de Vega wrote: "he adores the sun". About the syncretistic mind of Akbar the Dabistan tells us: "Akbar mixed the best and purest part of every religion for the formation of his own faith", and Father Christoval de Vega says: "he had called us in order to authorize the foundation of his new law with the aid of our presence and of other priests of false sects he had at his Court". The new calendar and chronology introduced by the king in 1586 are also stated by both documents.28 We may conclude by stating that the letter of Father Christoval de Vega who was an eye-witness of the religious situation at Akbar's Court, has a high value for the knowledge of the religion of Akbar, as it corroborates the statements of the Dabistan, written some sixty years after the death of Akbar, and because it upholds the authority of the Jesuit documents in this question. Moreover, the letter clears up some doubtful points concerning the history of the second Mission to the Mughal Court, as has been shewn in the first part of our study.

28 For the quotation from the Dabistan and from the letter of Christoval de Vega see the present article. For the new era and chronology see the Dabistan, op. cit., p. 99.

FRANCISCAN MISSIONS TO THE MOGUL COURT*

In mission history the northern and north-western parts of India, which formed the heart of the Mogul Empire, appear to be generally known as a mission-territory reserved to the Jesuit Fathers. In 1580, 1591 and in 1595, attempts were made by them to establish a mission there. The mission started by Jerome Xavier in 1595 proved successful, for it came to an end only in 1803, when the last Jesuit missionary, Francis Wendel, died.1 Maclagan and Meersman, however, observe that the Franciscans or Friars Minor also tried to open a mission in the north of India. The former writes: In 1624 there seems to have been an attempt on the part of some discontented Europeans to introduce a Franciscan Mission at Agra in opposition to the Jesuits; some Religious of that Order reached the city and rumours were soon set about that they had performed miracles before the Great Mogul, even raising the dead. These rumour were, however, denied by the Franciscans themselves, who admitted that they had spoken three times only with the King and that the alms which they had received from him were obtained through the mediation of the Jesuits.2

Maclagan does not specify the source of his information, but Meersman rightly observes that some details concerning the Franciscan mission of 1624 can be found in the printed Jesuit Annual Letter of 1624 and he refers to an English translation of the pertinent passage published by Hosten in 1912. It is interesting to note that this Jesuit * First published in: Neue ^eitschrift fur Missionswissenschqfi 15 (Schoneck - Beckenried 1959) pp. 259-270. Reprinted in: The Islamic World in Foreign Travel Accounts, vol. 76, selected and reprinted by Fuat Sezgin (Frankfurt am Main: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University 1997) 247-258. 1 For the history of the Mogul Mission, see: E. Maclagan, The Jesuits and the Great Mogul, London 1932; J. St. Narayan, Acquaviva and the Great Mogul, Patna 1945; Arnulf Camps, O.F.M., An Unpublished Letter of Father Christoval de Vega, S.J. Its importance for the history of the second mission to the Mughal Court and for the knowledge of the religion of the Emperor Akbar, Cairo 1956 (reprinted in Studia Orientalia 1 [Cairo 1956] 181-192); and Id., Jerome Xavier S.J. and the Muslims of the Mogul Empire, SchoneckBeckenried 1957. 2 Op. cit., 90-91.

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Annual Letter of 1624 states that the Franciscan mission of 1624 was preceded by a mission in 1623.3 The Franciscan missions of 1623 and 1624 seem to have been followed up by a mission in 1626, for Meersman writes: "In 1626 Fr. Manuel Tobias and Fr. Joao de Nazareth went to the Court of the Great Mogul but were recalled by their Superior at Goa".4 All that we can gather from the above mentioned authors is that there seem to have been three Franciscan missions to the Mogul Court. Only Meersman gives some details taken from the Annual Letter of 1624. The Vatican Library, however, and the Archives of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, as also the Roman Archives of the Society of Jesus contain documents which throw a new light upon this matter. I. THE MISSION OF 1623 A lengthy description of the first mission of the Franciscans to the Mogul Empire is to be found in the Conquista Spiritual do Oriente, a manuscript written by Fr. Paulo da Trinidade O.F.M. in 1638.5 The medieval missionary spirit of the Franciscans still lives in its pages. In 1623, Fr. Caspar da Conceigao,6 the Provincial of the Indian Province of Saint Thomas, granted permission to Fr. Manuel Tobias to undertake an apostolic journey to the Court of the Mogul Emperor. Fr. Manuel was a native of Chaul, a preacher and a man of a devout and exemplary life. He was prompted by a desire of martyrdom and the salvation of souls. A lay brother of great virtue and perfection, Joao de Nazareth, was appointed by the Provincial to accompany Fr. Manuel. Both arrived by ship at Cambay, but in sight of the coast they were shipwrecked and could save only their

3 Achilles Meersman, O.F.M., The Friars Minor or Franciscans in India 1291-1942, Karachi 1943, 125-127; and H. Hosten, s.j., 'Jesuit Annual Letters from Goa and Cochin", The Examiner, April 6, Bombay 1912, 137. 4 Op. at., 127; Meersman takes his information from Miguel da Purificacao, O.F.M., Relacao defensiva dos filhos da India. Oriental e da Provincia do Apostolo Sao Thome, Barcelona 1640. 3 Biblioteca Vaticana, Vat. lat. 7746, Livro II, Cap. 10: Como os Frades Menores pregarao a fe ao Gran Mogor, fols. 371-379. Cf. also A. Chiappini, O.F.M., Annales Minorum, vol. XXVI, Quaracchi 1933, 222-223. b According to Achilles Meersman, O.F.M., The Franciscans in Bombay, Bangalore 1957. 15. he was Provincial from 1622 to 1624.

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habits, the Bible and a few books along with themselves. In Cambay they met Agha Nur, a Mogul Captain, sent there by the Emperor Jahangfr to suppress a rebellion stirred up by one of the royal princes.7 The Captain offered his services to the Father and the Brother and accompanied them to the Court of the emperor and provided them with everything necessary for the long journey. They proceeded by way of Ahmadabad, where Fr. Manuel baptised two children, one being the daughter of an Armenian and the other the daughter of a Christian young man. The Father also heard the confessions of some Christians and, one of these, an Armenian, who had not received the Sacrament of Confession for many years, died the same night. On 15th August they left Ahmadabad and on 8th September they reached Sambhar, where the Emperor Jahangfr had temporarily established his court.8 Two days later the Captain and the missionaries were admitted into the city and there they met two Jesuit Fathers, Joseph de Castro and Goncalves de Sousa, who were staying at the court.9 They were extremely well received by the Jesuits and stayed in their house till 4th October, when they moved into another house. As, however, their most ardent desire was to speak to Jahangfr and to preach the Catholic faith to him - with the intention of either converting him or suffering martyrdom — they asked the Captain, Agha Nur, to arrange a meeting with the emperor. On 22nd October, a Friday, Fr. Manuel, Brother Joao and Fr. Joseph de Castro were introduced by the Captain to Jahangfr and his courtiers and Fr. Manuel presented a precious crystal medal of Our Lady to the emperor. Jahangfr, presuming that the Father had come ' This refers to Prince Khurram, the future Emperor Shah Jahan's rebellion in 1623; cf. R.C. Majumdar, An Advanced History of India, second edition reprinted, London 1958, 468. 8 In the manuscript the city is called Asmor; for the identification of this strange name, see Sebastiao Barreto, Carta do anno de 1624 da Provincia de Goa, Goa, December 15, 1624, Archivum Romanum Societatis Jesu (ARSI), Goa 33 II, fol. 770: "Chegarao dous Religiosos filhos do glorioso Patriarcha Xerafico S. Francisco o anno passado a Sambar". Fr. Joseph de Castro, whom the Franciscans met, was staying at Sambhar in 1623; cf. Maclagan, op. cit., 76. 9 For the life of Fr. Joseph de Castro, see ibid., 76-77; he was a missionary in the Mogul Empire from 1610-1646. Little appears to be known about Fr. G. de Sousa; Maclagan, ibid., 345, mentions that he accompanied Fr. de Andrade to Tibet in 1625; however, the document: Relacdo do que aconteceo no Reino do Mogor depois do Padre G. de Sousa la passar feita par elle na ver de como quern estava, British Museum, Add. MSS 9855, fols. 46-5 Iv, informs us that he left Goa in February 1620 and that he was still staying in the Mogul Mission in 1626. A contemporary annotation ascribes this report to Fr. de Sousa.

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to ask to take up residence in the empire, then told him that he was allowed to stay wherever he liked and that he would receive all what was necessary. Whereupon the Father answered that this was not his intention and that the real reason for his visit was to be found in the letter he had brought along. It fell to the lot of Fr. de Castro to translate the letter, but before he did so he glanced through it and became confused and embarrassed. Thereupon Fr. Manuel raised his voice so that all could hear and said: "Father, I ask you to read this letter exactly as it runs, for it was for this reason that I wanted you to come along with me, and you have not to fear, as it is I myself and not you who have written all that is said in it!" Fr. de Castro then took courage, translated what was written in Portuguese into Persian - a language he knew very well - and read it aloud so that all could hear it: 0 most mighty King, Thou mayest know that what induced me to come amidst so many vicissitudes and dangers to Thy court and to present myself before Thee was neither the desire of seeing the wealth of Thy treasures, nor the majesty of Thy place, nor the strength of Thine army, nor the nobility of Thy royal person, nor, finally, the covetousness of Thy riches, but solely the salvation of Thy soul. Lord, 1 come to teach Thee the way of truth, for Thou - being so indifferent to it since Thou art walking in the shameful Law of Mohammed wilt not only lose Thy soul by condemning it to the eternal torments of hell, where that false prophet, as an architect of so great an evil, is staying, but Thou wilt also be an occasion of bringing ruin upon Thy vassals themselves, who, as they during life follow Thee in guilt, will in death accompany Thee in punishment. Now, Thou hast in my person someone who will show Thee what Thou in truth shouldst do, namely to give up this shameful religion wherein Thou art living — this religion of the perfidious Mohammed who, under the false title of a prophet, deceives so many souls leading them to eternal damnation -, and to observe the Law of Jesus Christ and to embrace His most pure and most holy faith, for He, being the true Son of God, came out of love for men into the world in order to become man, to redeem them by means of His precious blood and to instruct them with His true doctrine. This is He whose name alone has been given to men so that they may save themselves through Him. This is the true Son of God. This is He who was foretold by the Prophets and who was expected by the Patriarchs. This is, finally, the Good Shepherd who came in search of the lost sheep and who, in order to find it, shed His blood on a cross. He, though offended by Thee, yet - as He is the Father of mercy — is still waiting for Thee to receive Thee with open arms and freely to forgive Thine sins through holy Baptism without which it will be impossible to obtain salvation. Therefore, Thou

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shouldst be very grateful to Him, for, closing His eyes to Thy guilt, He still wants to admit Thee to His grace, wherefore He commands Thee to call me in order to quit the disgraceful religion Thou hast followed till now and to follow His Law which alone is able to save Thee. Therefore, mayest Thou immediately quit these errors in which Thou livest and mayest Thou embrace the truth of His Law, which I have come to teach Thee and Thy vassals in Thy presence.10

When the letter was read through, all the Muslims of the court were astonished and uttered curses and threatened Father Manuel that he would pay with his life for his boldness. It was only the presence of Jahangfr that kept them in check. Without showing any confusion, the emperor asked the Father whether he wanted to make him a Christian, but he advised the Father first to try to convert the nobles of the court. Fr. Manuel answered that it was up to the emperor to be the first, for the members follow the head. Fr. de Castro then tried to stop the discussion, but Fr. Manuel gave him no chance, saying: "If I were scared to die for Christ, I should not have come here to profess my faith in public. I should be very happy to die 10

"Sabereis Rey potentissimo, que o que me moveo a tornar tua corte e vir a tua presenca por meio de tantos trabalhos e perigos, nao foi o desejo de ver a grandeza dos teus thezouros, nem a Majestade de tua caza, nem o poder de tua exercito, nem a nobreza de tua real pessos, nem finalmente a cobiga de tuas riquezas, mas somente a salvacao de tua alma. Venho Senhor a te ensinar o caminho da verdade, porque andando tu tarn descuido della, como andas, seguindo a infame lei de Mahomede, nao so perderas tua alma, condenando-a aos eternos tormentos de Inferno, aonde esse teu falso propheta esta, como fabricador de tamanha maldade, mas tambem seras occasiao de se perderem as dos teus vasallos, que poes na vida te sequem na culpa, na morte deforcado te hao de acompanhar na pena. Aqui tes em my quern mostrara a verdade do que deveis fazer, que he repudiar esse torpe seita, em que vives, desse perfido Mahomede, que com falso titulo de propheta tern enganado tanas almas, levando-as pelo caminho da codenacao eterna, e seguir a lei de Christo Jezus e abracar a sua limpissima e sanctissima fee, poes sendo verdadeiro filho de Deos, veo ao mundo a se fazer homem por amor dos homes, para como seu precioso sangue os remir e com a sua verdadeira doutrina ensinar. Este he aquelle, cujo nome somente foi dado aos homens, para debaixo delle se poderem salvar, este verdadeiro filho de Deos, este o prometido pelos prophetas, e esperado pelos Patriarchos, este finalmente o bom Pastor que veo buscar a ovelha perdida, e pela achar derramou seu proprio sangue em huma cruz: o qual posto que ofendido de ti, com tudo por ser Pai de misericordia, ainda te esta esperando com os bragos abertos para te receber e dar liberalmente o perdao de teus pecados por meio do sancto Baptismo, sem o qual impossivel sera ter alguma salvacao. E assi Ihe deves muito agradecer, poes fechando os olhos a tuas culpas, ainda te quer admittir a sua graca, para a qual te manda por my chamar, para que deixes a torpe seita, que atee qui seguiste, siguas a sua lei, que so te pode salvar. Pelo que deixa ja esses enganos em que andas e abracate com a verdade da sua lei, que para te ensinar a ti e a teus sou vindo a tua presenga". (fols. 374-375).

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for a Lord who for the sake of all of us suffered death on the cross". He again condemned the false Law of Mohammed so that some Muslims closed their ears, others threatened him and others hurled curses at him. The emperor remained calm and was of the opinion that quarrels should be solved by means of reasoning alone. Some Muslim theologians were called in to argue with the Father and they affirmed that Mohammed had been sent by God as His prophet to the good of mankind and that he had brought the true law for the salvation of man. The Father refuted their arguments by proving how false was everything taught by Mohammed and by producing from the Koran things which were repugnant to natural reason. Father de Castro supported Father Manuel as he knew the Persian language perfectly and the emperor listened attentively as one keen on knowing the truth. The dispute lasted a long time and was only brought to an end when a heavy shower came pouring down in the garden. On account of the opposition of the Muslims, Fr. Manuel Tobias was afraid Jahanglr would not grant him another audience, wherefore he asked Captain Agha Nur to arrange a farewell visit. On 25th November of the same year they were received by the emperor and his courtiers among whom were the two Jesuit Fathers. Fr. Manuel again explained that he had come to save the soul of the emperor and that, as he had failed to achieve his aim, he could no longer stay at the court. Again he admonished him to leave the religion of Mohammed and to embrace Christianity. He reminded Jahangfr of the fact that some Muslims, who came back from the pilgrimage to Mecca some fourteen or fifteen years ago, narrated that Mohammed appeared to a great number of Muslims standing on the Koran and, enveloped in flames, shouting: "I am Mohammed and am in hell, a place to which all the Muslims who follow me will go". The same Muslims also narrated that the religious leaders told the bewildered bystanders not to tell this to anyone as it discredited their religion. This story aroused the feelings of Jahanglr's courtiers, but the emperor again observed that arguments should be used in discussion and not force. Fr. Manuel together with the two Jesuit Fathers answered the Muslims and this excited them to such an extent that the emperor had to silence them by asking the Father to work a miracle. Fr. Manuel replied that the miracles worked by Christ, the Apostles and the Saints were sufficient reasons for those who wanted to be converted. The emperor then promised to become a Christian

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if he would have a vision of Christ in his sleep that night, and having said this he dismissed them all. Father Manuel and Brother Joao understood that the greatest obstacle to the conversion of the emperor was his own people, and therefore left for Goa after an while. Thus far we have followed the report given by Fr. Paulo da Trinidade. In the Jesuit documents we do not find details about the first Franciscan Mission to the Mogul Empire. Some observations, however, of the Jesuit Fathers are to be mentioned. On the first of January, 1624, Fr. Andreas Palmeiro s.j. reported from Goa to the General of the Society about the arrival of two Franciscans in the Mogul Empire. From his letter it is not clear whether the Franciscans had already left Sambhar, but he states that two Friars came there and that their way of acting caused some disturbance to the Jesuit Fathers. He had, however, not yet received instructions from the Superior of the Mogul Mission, Fr. Antonio de Andrade, but as soon as he did he would do his utmost to tackle the problem with the Superiors of the Franciscans. The letter also mentions that the goodnatured Fr. Joseph de Castro accompanied the Friars to the court and served as interpreter.11 The Annual Letter from Goa of 1624, written on 15th December, also mentions the arrival of the two Franciscans at Sambhar. The author of this document states that the Franciscans appreciated the work done by the Jesuits and he then goes on to quote fully a letter written by Fr. Francisco de Madre de Deos, the Franciscan Commissary who was sent to Sambhar and Agra in 1624. Fr. Francisco dispelled in his letter the rumour spread by some malicious Europeans that the Franciscans had worked miracles before the king and that they had restored the dead to life. He also said that the Franciscans owed everything to the kind services of the Jesuit Fathers through whom they had received some alms for their support.12 When we try to reconstruct the history of the events which took place in 1623, we get the following picture: two Franciscans, Father Manuel Tobias and Brother Joao de Nazareth, were sent to Sambhar and having fiercely attacked Islam they were asked by Jahanglr to 11 Letter of Fr. Andreas Palmeiro, January 1, 1624, ARSI, Goa 9 I, fols. 72-72v, an autographed letter in Portuguese, written from Goa to the General, Fr. M. Vitelleschi, in Rome. 12 Cf. the document referred to in notes 8 and 14.

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work some miracles, but they protested. Malicious Europeans then reported the Franciscan mission to the Jesuit authorities in Goa and distorted the truth saying that the Friars had worked miracles and had even raised the dead. The Jesuit Fathers informed the Franciscan authorities in Goa about this affair, whereupon a Franciscan Commissary, Fr. Francisco de Madre de Deos, was sent in 1624 to Sambhar to investigate the matter; the Commissary discovered that nothing of the kind had happened and he wrote thus to the Jesuit authorities in Goa. II. THE MISSION OF 1624 Information regarding the second Franciscan Mogul Mission is to be found only in the Jesuit Annual Letter from Goa of 1624, and in the Conquista Spiritual do Oriente of Fr. Paulo da Trinidade. The latter does not give much information as he only states that one of the Religious sent to the Mogul Emperor was Fr. Francisco de Madre de Deos. Some details, however, about the life of Fr. Francisco are worth mentioning. He took the habit in a house of Recollection of the St. Thomas Custody, but after 12 years he joined the Observants of the St. Thomas Custody and was appointed master of novices several times. For three years he was Gustos of the Custody of Malacca and later acted as chaplain of the Portuguese fleet. He was then sent to the Mogul Court and later died at Goa.13 From the Jesuit Annual Letter from Goa we learn that Fr. Francisco de Madre de Deos was sent to the Mogul Emperor as a commissary together with two other Friars. They went first to Sambhar and then to Agra, from where Fr. Francisco wrote a letter to the Provincial of the Jesuits at Goa. The letter runs as follows: By the will of God I was sent to these parts, and the faith and virtue sown by the Sons of the Society, of which I found the traces, would form a plentiful theme for high praise. Before penetrating further into the interior, I met at Sambhar Fr. Francesco Corsi, whose community

13

Bibliotheca Vaticana, Vat. lat. 7746, Livro I, Cap. 25, fols. 122-123. The history of the Custodies and Provinces of the Franciscans is rather intricate. As the Gustos of the Custody of Malacca was appointed from among the members of the St. Thomas Custody in India, we may conclude that Fr. Francisco de Madre de Deos remained a member of the St. Thomas Custody, which in 1612 became the St. Thomas Province; cf. Meersman, op. cit., 10-33.

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is so well instructed that one could desire nothing better. The rare virtues displayed by that Father in that ministry drew from my eyes tears of joy, and the charity with which he received us was equal to all his other virtues. From there I went to Agra, where I found two other Fathers, or rather two Angels. The charity with which they welcomed me was greater than I can say. This church did not differ from the others, and I was greatly edified on seeing how, in the midst of so wicked a nation, they instructed souls. I dispelled the rumor spread by some malevolent Europeans that our Religious had worked miracles before the King of Mogul. This I did after discovering the truth and being assured that none of our Fathers had wrought such miracles nor restored the dead to life. The three times that our Religious had spoken to the King, they had owed everything to the kind services of the Fathers of the Society through whom they had received some alms for their support. By this Your Paternity may feel sure that the subjects of Your Paternity have not been somewhat negligent in this matter. Juli 14, 1624. Father Francisco de Madre de Deos, Commissary.

The Annual Letter then continues to state that the Father Commissary had reason to say that he was well treated by the Jesuits, because sick or well, all his wants were supplied, and that the Jesuits gave him even things of their sacristy, which, if he had to order them from Portuguese India, would have cost him much trouble.14 This is all the information we are able to gather from the documents. Nothing is known about the duration of the second Franciscan mission to the Mogul Court or about the methods used.

14 Cf. Sebastiao Barreto, Carta do anno de 1624 da Provincia de Goa, Goa, December 15, 1624, ARSI, Goa 33 II, fols. 770-770v. An Italian translation of the Annual Letter from Goa was published in: Letters Annue d'Etiopia, Malabar, Brasil, e Goa Dall'Anno 1620fin'al 1624. Al Molto Rever. in Christo P. Mutio Vitelleschi, Preposito Generate della Compagnia di Giesu, in Roma 1627, 336-337. Hosten, op. cit., 137, used the Italian text for his English translation, and this English translation was reprinted by Meersman, The Friars Minor or Franciscans in India 1291-1942, 125-126. Our translation follows that of Hosten, except in two points where the Italian translator misunderstood the Portuguese original, viz the signature which is given in the Italian text as Francesco di Madrid and in the original Portuguese as Francisco de Madre de Deos, and the last sentence which runs in Italian: "Per lo che sappi V. Paternita, che i suoi sudditi usano ogni diligenza per promover il servitio d'Iddio in queste parti", and in Portuguese: "Pelloque V.P. tenha por serto nao aver algum descuido nos subditos do V.P. nesta materia". Father Francesco Corsi s.j., mentioned in the letter, was a missionary in the Mogul Empire from 1610-1635, and is buried in the Padres Santos Chapel at Agra; cf. Maclagan, op. cit., 75—76.

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III. A MISSION IN 1626? Two documents are to be found in the Archives of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in Rome which inform us about a third mission of the Franciscans to the Mogul Court. Both are written in the form of a complaint and are at times contradictory. The first document bears the following title: Proponitur vera relatio missionis quam religiosi Sancti Francisci de Observantia, et Sancti Thomae Provintia Indiae Orientalis, ad Magni Mogoris regna obierunt, et quo pacto ibidem praedicationis initium successit.13 According to this document Fr. Manuel Tobias together with three other members of the St. Thomas Province of India were sent in 1626 by the Provincial, Fr. Caspar da Conceicao, to the Mogul Court. Father Manuel and one of his companions were well received by the Emperor Jahangfr and they preached the faith with great confidence telling him that the religion of Christ was the only true one and the only one which brings salvation. The emperor listened attentively and offered gold and silver, gifts refused by the Father. Jahangfr was quite astonished at this and gave them permission to preach and to build churches in his empire. Due to the intrigues of the devil, however, this work of propagation of the faith was arrested and by order of the Superior they left the same year. The document then concludes by stating that till then no Friars had been sent there and by asking the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith to act according to what is better for the service of God and the propagation of the faith. The second document is entitled as follows: Suppositio pro indubitato, quod Patres Societatis Jesu sint causa, atque procuraverunt apud Proregem Indiae Orientalis residentem Goae pro Rege Portugalliae, ut omnes Fratres Minores Ordinis Sancti Francisci eijerentur de Agard in Moghor. Narratur modus atque motivum, quibus idfactum sit.lK According to this document, four Friars, lo Archivio della S.C. de Propaganda Fide, Scritt. rif. Congr. gen., 192, IV India China et Japonia ad An. 1648, fol. 19; A. Chiappini, O.F.M., op. at., vol. XXVII, Quaracchi 1934, 132, note 1, refers to this document, but states that it is to be found on fol. 15. "' Ibid., Scritt. rif. Congr. gen., 192, IV India China et Japonia ad An. 1648, fols. 262~262v. This document is not the original one since on fol. 267v is written: "Dupplicato della Relatione di 4. Francescani mandati al Mogor e rivocati ad istanzia de'Gesuiti".

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Fathers Manuel Tobias, Manuel de S. Andre, Simao de Natividade and Brother Joao de Nazareth, arrived at Agra in 1626 having been directed there by their lawful Superiors with the assent of the Viceroy of India, Francisco da Gama Conde de Vidigueira.17 We are informed that the Jesuit Fathers in Agra did not wear a religious or Christian habit but a secular garb. The Friars, with the cross in their hands, proclaimed that the wounds of the King of heaven and earth were the way to eternal salvation. They also went to the court and, with Fr. Manuel Tobias as the leader, presented a letter containing the principal articles of the faith to one of the Jesuits who was assisting the emperor as an interpreter and who was wearing secular clothes especially a white cord across the chest which is as much a sign of heathenism as the cross is of Christianity. The Jesuit Father, however, did not read the actual contents of the letter but other things. The Friars went on preaching and the emperor was moved to tears whereas the nobles of the court boiled with indignation and unsheathed their swords. Jahangfr forbade them to do any harm to the Friars and then retired to another room where he talked with Fr. Manuel Tobias about his salvation. One of the officials, a former Christian, was called in and he was commanded under pain of death to translate the letter exactly. This having been done, the renegade returned to the faith and the emperor declared to be willing to become a Christian and to be baptized. He also donated the Friars with a plot of land in front of the place for their residence. The Friars intended to celebrate Christmas in their new house, but the Jesuits did not lend them sacred vestments. When the emperor sent them a silver casket filled with gold coins, the Friars as followers of the poor St. Francis refused to accept this gift saying that they had come to win souls and not wealth. Jahangfr loved them all the more for this reason and used to walk with them on his palace premises. He also gave them a rescript granting them liberty to preach the faith in their religious habit, which the Fathers of the Society did not wear. This happy situation lasted nearly two years. But the Jesuits, envious of the Friars, sent a letter to the Viceroy of India at Goa informing him that the emperor was preparing a war against the city of Goa and that the Friars were the cause of it as they constantly excited the emperor by their preaching. The Viceroy then called the Friars back and therefore the emperor and his followers never became He acted twice as Viceroy of India: 1596-1600 and 1622-1628.

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Christians. This document winds up by saying that the Friars still remain at Agra and by asking the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith to maintain them and to augment their number. Some observations concerning both these documents would be in place. First of all it is striking that they have been inserted into the Archives of the Congregation of the Propaganda under the year 1648, that is 22 years after the events. This, of course, could be a mistake but we do not think so, for the first document states that up to now no Friars have been sent to the Mogul Empire and the second says that even now the Friars are at Agra. These statements are contradictory, but it proves that they were made some time after the year 1626. It may, therefore, well be that they have been submitted to the Propaganda in 1648. Comparing the description of this mission with that of 1623, we notice a striking similarity. First of all the names of Father Manuel Tobias and Brother Joao de Nazareth occur in both. Moreover, in both cases it is Father Manuel Tobias who takes the lead and who presents a letter to the king. The reactions of the emperor and the courtiers are the same. This similarity is suspicious. Some internal arguments, too, corroborate our suspicion. The second document of the Propaganda says that the Friars remained two years at Agra after which they were recalled by the Viceroy so that the emperor never became a Christian; a few lines below, however, it states that the Friars still remain at Agra. This is obviously a contradiction and cannot be true even if we suppose that they remained two years at the court of Jahangrr. During the years 1626-1627 Jahangfr stayed only the first few months of 1626 at Agra, after which he left for Kabul, spent a short time at Lahore, went to Kashmir and died on his way back from Kashmir. Hence it follows that Jahanglr did not spend the last two years of his life at Agra as the document supposes. We know this from the correspondence of Fr. Joseph de Castro s.j. who accompanied Jahanglr all this time.18 An anti-Jesuit tendency is unmistakable in the second document. The cause of the failure of the mission is there ascribed to the Jesuit 18 H. Hosten, s.j, "Three Letters of Fr. Joseph de Castro s.j and the last year of Jahangir", Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. New Series 23 (Calcutta 1927) 141-166.

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Fathers who wrote a letter to the Viceroy at Goa wherein it was said that the emperor prepared a war against the city of Goa and that the Friars were exciting him by their preaching. This seems to be impossible, since during the last two years of his life Jahangrr was travelling in Afghanistan and Kashmir. Moreover, the preaching of the Friars could not have excited him as it is well known that he liked to hear the discussions of the Fathers and the Muslims.19 The same anti-Jesuit tendency also finds expression in the recurring observation that the Jesuit Fathers at the Mogul Court wore pagan vestments. We do not know much about the mode of dress of the Jesuits in the Mogul Mission. It is only from 1648 onward that we have some information about this in the Jesuit documents. In 1648 we hear that Father Antonio Ceschi and two companions were on the way from Surat to Agra: "vestiti habitu Sarracenorum".20 Having arrived at Agra, Fr. Ceschi wrote: "Hie violatu habitu induti incedimus barba protensa".21 A document written about 1650 makes the following statement: Quod attinet ad rationem vestiendi, ordinario Societatis habitu incedimus, sed nigro in violaceo colore permutato, nam Mahumetani a nigro ita abhorrent ut subinde homines eo vestitos nee ad aspectum admittant ferantque. Eadem de causa barbam nutrimus. Quod imbarbes his in locis nullam fere apud Mahumetanos auctoritatem obtineant - quam apud illos fueri ob salutem animarum nobis necesse est — longa experientia est comprobatum.22

Some years later Father Botelho wrote that on the occasion of the ceremonial departure of Shah Jahan from Agra the Fathers adopted Persian headgear and threw coloured silks over their shoulders.23 In 1735 we hear that the priests in the Mogul Empire wore the usual Muslim dress, but white instead of red.24 We may conclude that the 19

A. Camps, O.F.M., Jerome Xavier S.J. and the Muslims of the Mogul Empire, Schoneck — Beckenried 1957, 71-72. 20 Autographed letter written by Fr. A. Ceschi from Surat, January 12, 1648, to Fr. Athanasius Kircher s.j. in Rome, Archivum Pontificiae Universitatis Gregorianae, Rome, Collection Kircher, Miscellanea epistolarum, Vol. XIV, fol. 156. 21 Autographed letter from Agra, September 24, 1648, to Fr. Athanasius Kircher s.j. in Rome, ibid., Vol. XIII, fol. 154. 22 Missio Mogolensis ab anno 1621, ARSI, Goa 46 I, fol. 187. As the names of the Fathers Botelho, Morandi, Buseo and Ceschi occur in this manuscript, we may suppose that it was composed about 1650. 23 Maclagan, op. cit., 310, note 232. 24 Ibid., 301.

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Jesuit missionaries were open to adaptation concerning this point of dress and that the author of the second document of the Propaganda did not understand the real meaning of this important principle of every missionary activity. A final argument, which corroborates our suspicion concerning the historicity of the facts mentioned in the two documents of the Propaganda, can be taken from the statement that Fr. Caspar da Conceicao was the Provincial who sent the four Friars in 1626 to the Mogul Court. We know, however, that this Father was Provincial of the St. Thomas Province only from 1622-1624.25 It was, moreover, this same Father who had sent the Franciscans in 1623 to Sambhar. Summarizing, we may say that the two documents of the Propaganda are not very reliable and that they do not convince us that a new Franciscan Mission was sent in 1626 to Agra. There appears to have been a confusion in these documents about the events of the years 1623 and 1624. Some reasons can be preferred for this supposition. It is said that the so called mission of 1626 consisted of four Friars, of whom two surely belonged to the first mission sent in 1623, Fr. Manuel Tobias and Brother Joao de Nazareth. The two other Friars may have been the two Franciscans who accompanied the Father Commissary in 1624 to the Mogul Empire. From the documents it is not clear how long the members of the first and the second mission stayed in the north of India, but it might well have been that the Commissary went back to Goa soon after having finished his enquiry and that the two companions remained there together with the two Friars sent in 1623. Thus we arrive at four Friars in the Mogul Mission and it is quite possible that they stayed on till the beginning of 1626. This seems to be a reasonable supposition while the fact that the two documents of the Propaganda were composed some time after 1626 may have aggravated the confusion. At the commencement of this article we saw that Miguel da Purificacao wrote in his book of 1640 that Fr. Manuel Tobias and Brother Joao de Nazareth were sent in 1626 to the Mogul Court.26 Hence it follows that such a confusion had already taken place in 20

Cf. supra, note 6. Cf. supra, note 4. Fr. Miguel da Purificacao and six companions were appointed for the Mogul Mission in 1639 by the S. Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith; cf. A. Chiappini, O.F.M., op. cit., vol. XXVIII, 540; it is not known whether they actually left for that mission. 26

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1640. Finally, if a Franciscan Mission would really have been sent in 1626, there would have been some mention of it in the letters of the Jesuit missionaries as was the case with the missions of 1623 and 1624. The origin of the two documents of the Propaganda is with difficulty explained as also the anti-Jesuit tone wherein they have been written.27 To sum up then, we may say that without doubt two Franciscan Missions were sent to the Mogul Court, one in 1623 and the other in 1624. It is quite possible that the members of the first mission were still there when the second arrived and that at least four Friars remained up to the beginning of 1626. That a fresh mission was sent in 1626 seems to us unlikely.

27

It is interesting to note that Fr. Francisco Negrao O.F.M. in his letter written from Goa, December 17, 1630, to the S. Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, wrote: "De Patre Emanuelle Tobia Ord. Min. de Observantia qui charus magno Chan Tartarorum [sic!] ad Instantiam Jesuitarurn fuit ab ea missione revocatus"; cf. Archiv. della S.C. de Prop. Fide, Acta, a. 1632, vol. 8, fol. 7. In a letter, dated January 31, 1632, to Fr. Francisco Negrao at Goa, the Sacred Congregation asked Fr. Manuel Tobias for a detailed report on the Mogul Empire and his missionary work there; cf. ibid., Lettere Volgari, a. 1632, vol. 12, fols. lv—2, and A. Chiappini, O.F.M., op. cit., vol. XXVII, 448.

DIE WIEDERENTDECKUNG DER ERSTEN ABENDLANDISCHEN SANSKRIT-GRAMMATIK DES P. HEINRICH ROTH S.J.*

P. Heinrich Roth traf in 1654 in Agra ein. Er blieb dort im Mogulreich (Indien) bis 1662, in welchem Jahre er zusammen mit P. Johann Grueber s.j. zu Wasser und zu Land nach Rom reiste, wo er am 20. Februar 1664 ankam.1 In seinem Gepack befanden sich eine von ihm verfaBte Grammatik der Sanskrit-Sprache und ein Sanskrit-Werk eines Brahmanen. Die Grammatik wurde nach einem sechsjahrigen Studium unter Leitung eines Brahmanen geschrieben, so daB wir annehmen diirfen, daB sie zwischen 1660 und 1662 geschrieben wurde.2 Es ist eine alte und immer noch nicht in Frage gestellte Uberzeugung, daB P. Heinrich Roth der erste war, der die Kenntnisse der Sanskrit-Sprache den Europaern vermittelte.3 Die Schicksale beider Werke sind merkwiirdig. P. Roth zeigte sie dem gelehrten P. Athanasius Kircher s.j. zu Rom, der dort im Collegio Romano wohnte. Es kam nicht zu einer Publikation, weil P. Roth im April 1664 Rom wieder verlassen muBte, um auf dem Landweg nach seiner Mogul-Mission zuriickzureisen. Kircher konnte nur auf vier Tafeln eine vollstandige Darstellung des DevanagariAlphabets und auf einer fiinften Tafel das Pater Noster und Ave Maria in Devanagari-Schrift in seinem Werke: China monumentis qua sacris qua profanis nee non variis naturae et artis spectaculis aliarumque rerum memorabilium arguments illustrata (Amsterdam 1667) veroffentlichen, * First published in: Neue ^eitschrift fur Missionsuiissenschaft 23 (Schoneck - Beckenried 1967), pp. 241-243. 1 Eine Biographic des P. Heinrich Roth wurde verfaBt von S. Euringer, Pater Heinrich Roth s.j. von Dillingen, in: Jahrbuch des Historischen Vereins Dillingen a. D. 31 (1918) 1-40. Erganzungen findet man bei E. Maclagan, The Jesuits and the Great Mogul, London 1932, passim. 2 Diese Angaben stiitzen sich auf: A. Kircher s.j., China monumentis qua sacris qua profanis nee non variis naturae et artis spectaculis aliarumque rerum memorabilium argumentis illustrata, Amsterdam 1667, 162. Eine in alle Einzelheiten gehende Studie wurde von Dr. Bruno Zimmel veroffentlicht: Die erste abendldndische Sanskrit-Grammatik des P. Heinrich Roth s.j., Die merkwiirdigen Schicksale eines verschollenen Manuskripts, Wien 1957. Vgl. auch: A. Camps O.F.M., Die Schriften der Jesuiten-Missionare Johann Grueber, Heinrich Roth und Antonio Ceschi, in: JV£M 13 (1957) 231-233. :i Vgl. die in Anmerkung 6 erwahnte Arbeit von Georgius de Sepibus.

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nachdem P. Roth die Schriftvorlagen fur den Stecher geschrieben hatte. Als P. Roth Rom verlieB, nahm er die beiden Werke mit. Roth reiste wieder mit P. Grueber und sie iiberquerten am 7. Oktober 1664 den Bosporus, um sich in Skutari einer Karawane anzuschlieBen.4 Dort erkrankte P. Grueber schwer und er muBte P. Roth allein weiterreisen lassen. Was dann geschah, wird von Dr. Zimmel wie folgt beschrieben: "In groBter Eile trennten die Patres ihr Reisegepack; dabei kam in der allgemeinen Verwirrung die von P. Roth verfaBte Sanskrit-Grammatik irrtumlich zu Gruebers Gepack, der sie wieder zuriick nach Galata und in der Folge nach Europa brachte".3 Wir wissen, daB die Sanskrit-Grammatik und das Sanskrit-Werk in Rom im Kircher-Museum des Collegio Romano ihren Platz fanden, denn in 1678 beschrieb Georgius de Sepibus in seinem Verzeichnis der Bestande des Kircher-Museums die Werke wie folgt: "1. exactissimum Opus totius Grammaticae Brachmanicae, cujus et Rudimenta is primus Europae communicavit. 2. Opus eximium et subtile Apophthegmatum cujusdam Brachmani Philosophi, Basext nomine".6 In 1800 bestatigte P. Lorenzo Hervas s.j., daB die Sanskrit-Grammatik noch in der Bibliothek des Collegio Romano war.7 Seitdem gibt es keinen Nachweis, daB jemand die beiden Werke tatsachlich gesehen hat; in 1908 fand die erste Nachforschung statt, die aber zu keinem Ergebnis fiihrte. Auch die Nachforschungen, die 1920 von PJ. Linder s.j., 1955-1956 von R. Hauschild und 1957 von Dr. B. Zimmel angestellt wurden, blieben ergebnislos.8 Diese Forschungen wurden in der Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Vittorio Emanuele II zu Rom durchgefiihrt, weil diese Bibliothek im Jahre 1870 im Gebaude des ehemaligen Collegio Romano gegriindet wurde und weil die Bestande der Bibliothek des Collegio Romano in die neu gegriindete Bibliothek iibergingen. Dr. Zimmel uberpriifte auch andere romische Museen, Archive und Bibliotheken, aber all diese Nachforschungen verliefen negativ. Ich selbst beschaftigte mich seit 1953 mit der Erforschung der Geschichte der Mogul-Mission in romischen und anderen Archiven 4 Bruno Zimmel, Johann Gruebers letzte Missionsreise, Ein Beitrag zur oberosterreichischen Biographic, in: Oberosterreichische Heimatbldtter 11 (1957) 176-177. 5 Ibid., 177. (l Georgius de Sepibus, Romani Collegii Societatis Jesu Musaeum cekbemmum, Amstelodami 1678, 65, zitiert von Bruno Zimmel, Die erste abendldndische Sanskrit-Grammatik des P. Heinrich Roth S.J., Wien 1957, 16. ' Lorenzo Hervas s.j., Catalogo de las lenguas de las naciones conoddas, Vol. II, Madrid 1801, 133, zitiert von Zimmel, Op. cit., 16-17. 8 Zimmel, Op. cit., 17-19.

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und Bibliotheken, konnte aber die beiden Manuskripte nicht ausfindig machen. Bis ich anfangs 1967 in der Biblioteca Nazionale zu Rom einen mit der Schreibmaschine geschriebenen Katalog in die Hande bekam: ein Inventario Orientali. Darin las ich zu meiner Uberraschung: Mss Orientali 171: Grammatica linguae sanscretanae Bramanum Indiae Orientalis, cart. sec. XVIII prov. Collegio Romano, und: Mss 172: Testo Indiano (sanscrito?) cart. sec. XVIII prov. Collegio Romano. Es stellte sich heraus, daB der mit der Schreibmaschine geschriebene Katalog erst vor kiirzerer Zeit hergestellt worden war. Die Handschrift Mss 171 wurde von P. Heinrich Roth selbst geschrieben, wie sich ergibt aus einer Vergleichung mit seinen Originalbriefen; sie stammt aus dem 17. Jahrhundert und nicht aus dem 18. Jahrhundert wie der Katalog meint. Sie ist schon geschrieben und unbeschadigt. Die Grammatik zahlt 50 Folio. Auf Fol. I 1 finden wir zwei wichtige Eintragungen; die erste wurde auf Italienisch geschrieben und die zweite auf Lateinisch. Beide sind von verschiedenen Handen verfaBt worden. Die erste Eintragung teilt uns mit: "Questo Libro sta in deposito nella Libreria segreta del Collegio Romano alia quale non e stato applicato per poterlo estrarre quando piaccia a i Superior! della Compagnia". Die zweite Eintragung ermittelt uns den Namen des Autors: Auctor hujus libri est P. Roa soc. Jesu, de quo loquitur Franciscus Bernier, voyages etc Amsterdam 1709. tome seconde p. 147. Verus auctor est P. Henricus Roth, non Roa, ut dicit Bernier. Legatur China illustrata P. Kircheri, qui fatetur alphabetum Scanscret suscepisse, sicut alia plurima de religione brahmanum, a P. Roth. V. China illustrata: Pars 3. cap. ultim.9

Es gibt noch eine dritte Eintragung: "Grammaticca linguae Sanscretanae Brachmanum Indiae Orientalis". Die Grammatik ist in ftinf Kapitel eingeteilt worden: Caput Caput Caput Caput Caput

Primum De Orthographia (fol. 3 r -ll v ) Secundum De Declinationibus nominum (fol. 12r-21v) Tertium De Coniugacionibus Verborum (fol. 22 r 36r) Quartum De Verbalibus (fol. 36V-4P) Quintum De Syntaxibus hujus linguae (fol. 42 r ~47 r ).

9 Das Werk von Francois Bernier: Voyages de Franfois Bernier etc., contenant la description des Etats du Grand Mogol, etc. 2 Vols., Amsterdam 1709. Das Werk von A. Kircher s.j. wurde in Anmerkung 2 erwahnt.

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Am SchluB steht ein Appendix ad universam Grammaticam (fol. 47V-48V). Fol. 49r-50v sind nicht beschrieben worden. Die Handschrift Mss 172 wurde meines Erachtens auch von P. Heinrich Roth geschrieben. Auf. Fol. l r liest man: "In Deposito nella Libreria segreta del C.(ollegio) R.(omano)". Die Fol. 2 r ~17 v enthalten einen Sanskrit-Text mit wenigen Randbemerkungen, wahrend die Fol. 18r-34r einen Sanskrit Text mit sehr vielen Randbemerkungen - ofters bekommt man den Eindruck, mit einer Ubersetzung zu tun zu haben — enthalten. Die Randbemerkungen wurden von P. Heinrich Roth vorgenommen und daraus darf man schlieBen, daB diese Handschrift im 17. Jahrhundert geschrieben wurde und nicht im 18. Jahrhundert, wie der Katalog meint. Es ware wiinschenswert, daB Sachverstandige in der SanskritSprache und Literatur die beiden Handschriften der Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Rom genauer studieren. Die Wiederentdeckung der Arbeiten des P. Heinrich Roths ermoglicht es!

DIE SCHRIFTEN DER JESUITEN-MISSIONARE JOHANN GRUEBER, HEINRICH ROTH UND ANTONIO CESCHI*

Der Wiener Staatsbibliothekar, Dr. Bruno Zimmel, veroffentlichte schon mehrere Studien liber P. Johann Grueber (1623—1680) und seine Reise von Peking nach Rom.1 Die systematische Auffiihrung jener Stellen aus Gruebers Briefen, in denen von seinen eigenen Aufzeichnungen oder von einem Itinerar die Rede ist (sie sind leider noch nicht aufgefunden), wie auch die aus verschiedenen Quellen zusammengestellten Angaben beziiglich des Aufenthaltes Gruebers in Tibet, sind von hochster Bedeutung und zeigen den Weg, dem die zukiinftige Forschung zu folgen hat. Bekanntlich hat P. Johann Grueber die Reise von Peking nach Rom nicht allein angetreten; sein Reisegefahrte P. Albert d'Orville, erlag den ausgestandenen Strapazen und wurde in der Jesuitenkirche zu Agra im Mogulreiche zur letzten Ruhe bestattet. An Stelle des Verstorbenen trat dann P. Heinrich Roth, der Grueber nach Rom begleitete. P. Roth hatte in sechsjahrigem Studium von einem Brahmanen die vollkommene Kenntnis der Sanskrit-Sprache und der heiligen Biicher der Brahmanen erlernt und eine Grammatik der Sanskrit-Sprache und ein Werk iiber die Philosophic und Religion der Brahmanen verfaBt. Er nahm die beiden Manuskripte mit nach Rom. Aber wie die Aufzeichnungen oder das Itinerar Gruebers sind auch die wertvollen Handschriften Roths immer noch nicht aufgefunden worden. Staatsbibliothekar Dr. Bruno Zimmel hat sich — vielleicht wegen des ahnlichen Schicksales dieser Manuskripte - auch mit der SanskritGrammatik des P. Roth befaBt. Es liegen jetzt zwei Publikationen vor.2 * First published in: Neue ^eitschrift jur Missionswissenschqft 13 (Schoneck - Bekenried 1957), pp. 231-233. ' "Der erste Bericht iiber Tibets Hauptstadt Lhasa aus dem Jahre 1661", in Biblos 2 (Wien, 1953) 127-145; ein erweiterter Sonderabdruck dieser Studie: Johann Grueber in Lhasa - Ein Osterreicher als erster Europaer in der Stadt des DalaiLama, Wien 1953; "Die geheime Mission des Johann Grueber", in Wiener Zeitung Nr. 42 vom 20.2.1954; und 'Johann Grueber - Die erste Durchquerung Tibets", in Osterreichische Naturforscher, Arzte und Techniker, herausgegeben im Auftrag der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften von Fr. Knoll, Wien 1957, 11-14. 2 "Die erste Sanskrit-Grammatik", in Biblos 5 (Wien, 1956) 48-63; und die

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Welches waren nun die Schicksale der Sanskrit-Grammatik Roths? Als P. Roth in Rom ankam, zeigte er das Werke dem beruhmten P. Athanasius Kircher s.j., der in seinem Buche: China monumentis qua sacris qua profanis nee non variis naturae et artis spectaculis aliarumque rerurn memorabilium argumentis illustrata (Amsterdam 1667), auf vier Tafeln eine vollstandige Darstellung des DevanagariAlphabets und auf einer funften Tafel das Pater Noster und Ave Maria in Devanagari-Schrift veroffentlichte. Die Schriftvorlagen fur den Stecher schrieb P. Roth. Die Patres Roth und Grueber reisten aber nach ungefahr zwei Monaten wider ab (Mitte April 1664), um auf dem Landweg wieder in ihre Missionen zuriickzukehren. Als P. Roth die ewige Stadt verlieB, nahm er die Sanskrit-Grammatik wieder mit. Aus den Briefen ergibt sich, daB die Grammatik noch in Skutari (Tiirkei) im Besitz des P. Roth war und dafi P. Grueber daselbst so schwer erkrankte, daB er P. Roth allein weiterreisen lassen muBte. Weil aber das Reisegepack eilig getrennt wurde, kam die Sanskrit-Grammatik irrtumlich zu P. Gruebers Gepack. P. Grueber bekam darauf die Anweisung, wider nach Osterreich zuriickzukehren und von dort scheint er die Grammatik dem P. Athanasius zugeschickt zu haben, denn Georgius de Sepibus schrieb zwolf Jahre spater, daB die Grammatik sich im Kircher-Museum befindet. Erst im Jahre 1800 gibt es wieder eine Nachricht iiber die Sanskrit-Grammatik P. Roths: P. Lorenzo Hervas s.j. schrieb in diesem Jahre, daB sie sich in der Bibliothek des Collegio Romano befindet. Dr. Bruno Zimmel hat nicht nur diese Angaben aus Handschriften und Literatur mit hochster Genauigkeit zusammengetragen, er hat sich auch bei den verschiedenen romischen Archiven und Bibliotheken brieflich erkundigt, ob sich die Sanskrit-Grammatik in ihren Sammlungen befindet. Die Nachforschungen verliefen jedoch negativ. Dr. Zimmel schlieBt dann mit der Feststellung: Weitere Nachforschungen anzustellen, ohne neue Ansatzpunkte zu haben, erscheint wenig aussichtsreich. Es bleibt jedoch zu hoflfen, daB eine genaue Pruning der Geschichte der ehemaligen Jesuitensammlungen des Collegio Romano (die jedoch nur an Ort und Stelle durchgefiihrt werden kann) zur Wiederauffindung des verschollenen Manuskriptes fiihren wird, das in der Geschichte der abendlandischen SanskritForschung einen Ehrenplatz einnehmen sollte.3 erganzte und erweiterte Neubearbeitung dieses Aufsatzes: Die erste abendlandische Sanskrit-Grammatik des P. Heinrich Roth s.j. - Die merkwiirdigen Schicksale eines verschollenen Manuskripts, Wien 1957. 3 S. 19 der Neubearbeitung.

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Wir mochten den Vorschlag die Geschichte der ehemaligen Jesuitensammlungen des Collegio Romano zu studieren unterstiitzen. Einige Teile dieser Sammlungen befinden sich jetzt im Archiv der Gregorianischen Universitat, wie die groBe Briefsammlung von Kircher und ein Exemplar des persischen Evangeliums, das von P. Jeronimo Xavier s.j. dem Collegio Romano geschenkt wurde.4 Auch muB man in Rechnung stellen, daB das Archiv der Gregorianischen Universitat bestimmte Teile seiner Bestande der Vatikanischen Bibliothek oder dem Vatikanischen Archiv abgetreten hat. Die romische NationalBibliothek, die im Jahre 1870 im Gebaude des ehemaligen Collegio Romano gegriindet wurde, besitzt auch Handschriften, die aus dem Collegio Romano stammen.0 SchlieBlich muB noch erwahnt werden, daB die Objekte des Museo Kircheriano auf verschiedene staatliche Museen Roms aufgeteilt wurden.6 Ein genaueres Studium der Geschichte der Jesuitensammlungen des ehemaligen Collegio Romano ware nicht nur niitzlich, um die Sanskrit-Grammatik des P. Roth ausfindig zu machen, sondern auch um eine interessante Periode der Mogulmission zu beleuchten. Es handelt sich um die Jahre 1649 bis 1659, als der Prinz Dara Shukuh eine starke Zuneigung zu den Jesuiten-Missionaren zeigte. In der Mogulmission waren damals die Patres Henricus Busaeus, Antonio Ceschi, Henricus Roth und anfangs auch Francesco Morandi und Antonio Botelho. Alle, Botelho ausgenommen, beherrschten die persische Sprache in hervorragender Weise. Roth war besonders an der Kultur und Sprache der Hindus interessiert, Morandi kopierte die persischen Handschriften des Jeronimo Xavier/ und Busaeus und Ceschi beschaftigten sich eingehend mit mathematischen Wissenschaften und Problemen. Eine so rege Aktivitat hatte die Mogulmission seit Jahrzehnten nich mehr gekannt. P. Roth stand wahrend seines Aufenthaltes in Europa von 1664 bis 1665 in mundlichem und schriftlichem Verkehr mit P. Athanasius Kircher.8 Aber auch P. Antonio Ceschi unterhielt brieflichen Verkehr mit Kircher. Im Jahre 1642 schrieb er schon: "Coeterum beatum et 4

Vgl. Arnulf Camps O.F.M., Jerome Xavier s.j. and the Muslims of the Mongul Empire - Controversial Works and Missionary Activity, Schoneck - Beckenried 1957, 28. 5 Wir konnten feststellen, daB der gedruckte Katalog der persischen Handschriften dieser Bibliothek nich vollstandig ist. b Vgl. Zimmel, S. 18-19 der Neubearbeitung. 7 Vgl. Camps, a.a.O. 13. 8 Vgl. das Verzeichnis der Schriften und Briefe P. Heinrich Roths, Zimmel, a.a.O. 20-22.

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ter beatum Antonium si potuerit P. Athanasii socius et laborum et studiorum discipulus fieri".9 Im Jahre 1643 schrieb Ceschi an Kircher: "Coeterum ut exemplar illius diarij, quod Ulysipone, deinde Goa (Deo favente) R.V.ae sum missurus, praecederet, diariolum de his, quae hucusque nobis acciderunt hie fideliter subscribam".10 Im Jahre 1646 schickte P. Ceschi dem P. Athanasius Kircher einige Angaben liber eine "scriptura brachmanu verteru"." Im Jahre 1648 bat er den P. Athanasius, ihm eine "artem magneticam" und ein "vocabularium arabicum" zu schicken.12 Im gleichen Jahre wiederholte er seine Bitte und bat noch um "vitrum aliquod triangulare, multiplicativum obiectorum et huiusmodi plura"; er fiigte hinzu, daB die geographischen Angaben iiber das Mogulreich diirftig sind, weshalb: "in animo est plura emendare sed paulatim, in itineribus, quae suscepturus sum, id perficiam sicut etiam de principio huis imperii, quod a magno Tamerlano incoepit, de Imperatoris divitiis, faestu, et regni consuetudinibus, et de aliis sexcentis diffuse alias ad R.V. scribam, plura sunt mira et quae fidem videantur excedere".13 Weitere Briefe des P. Ceschi an P. Kircher haben wir nicht finden konnen.14 Er starb am 28. Juni 1656 in der Mogulmission. Hat er wahrend der letzten acht Jahre seines irdischen Lebens noch MuBe gehabt, die versprochenen Angaben iiber das Mogulreich niederzuschreiben und dem P. Athanasius Kircher zu schicken? Wir haben keinen Grund, die Frage negativ zu beantworten.

9 Brief aus Sorae v. 20.8.1642, Archiv der Gregorianischen Universitat, Rom, Sammlung Kircher, Miscellanea epistolarum, Vol. XIII, fol. 57. 10 Brief aus Liburni v. 14.11.1643, Ibid. fol. 59. 11 Brief aus Chaul v. 17.1.1646, Ibid. fols. 184-186. 12 Brief aus Surrate v. 12.1.1648, Ibid. Vol. XIV, fol. 156. 13 Brief aus Agra v. 24.9.1648, Ibid. Vol. XIII, fol. 154. 14 Andere Briefe Ceschis befinden sich im Britischen Museum, London, im romischen Archiv der Gesellschaft Jesu und im Bayerischen Hauptstaatsarchiv, Miinchen. Ausziige aus Ceschis Briefen befinden sich in: Estratto e Registro di lettere spirituali con breve narratione della Vita del Molto Reverendo Padre Antonio Ceschi di Santa Croce del Borgo di Valsugana della Compagnia di Giesu Missionario Apostolico dell'Indie. Descritione fatta da Francesco Antonio Paternolo Notaro di Strigno pure di Valsugana con la sua dechiaratione, e protesto. Dedicate all'immortal gloria del Celsiss. e Reverendiss. Monsig. Francesco Alberti Vescovo, e Prencipe di Trento. In Trento, per Carlo Zanetti (aus dem Buche ergibt sich, daB es im Jahre 1683 gedruckt wurde); die Original-Briefe Ceschis, die von Paternolo exzerpiert wurden, befanden sich noch im Jahre 1856 in den Handen der Familie Ceschi zu Borgo di Valsugana, vgl. Calendario Ecclesiastico per 1'anno 1857 pubblicato ad uso del populo della citta e diocesi di Trento dal Sacerdote Nicolo Toneatti, Anno Secondo, Trento (G. Marietti), 114.

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P. Johann Grueber sandte das erste Kapitel seines Itinerars — die anderen Kapitel wahrscheinlich nitch — an P. Kircher, aber keine Spur des Manuskriptes konnte gefunden werden.15 Die SanskritGrammatik Roths befand sich irn NachlaB Kirchers, konnte aber ebenfalls noch nicht ausfindig gemacht werden. P. Ceschi versprach dem P. Kircher ein reiches Material iiber das Mogulreich zu senden, es ist aber noch nicht ans Tageslicht gekommen. Der NachlaB Kirchers wurde anfanglich im Collegio Romano aufbewahrt. Ein genaues Studium der Geschichte dieses Nachlasses konnte die Fragen losen. Den Studien des Dr. Zimmel verdanken wir es, daB dieser Weg aufgezeigt wurde!

1 ' Vgl. Zimmel, Johann Grueber in Lhasa - Ein Osterreicher als erster Europaer in der Stadt des Dalai-Lama, Wien 1953, 5-7.

THE SANSKRIT GRAMMAR AND MANUSCRIPTS OF FATHER HEINRICH ROTH S.J. (1620-1668)*

INTRODUCTION In the third century A.D., the poet Terentianus Maurus wrote in his De Litteris, de syllabis, de metris, Libri Tres (Grammatici Latini, edidit H. Keil, VI, p. 363, verse 1286, Leipzig, 1923): "Habent sua fata libelli!" Without any doubt this statement is true in the case of the Sanskrit manuscripts of Father Heinrich Roth, s.j. (1620—1668). The manuscripts, a grammar of Sanskrit in Latin and two Sanskrit texts, were written between 1660 and 1662 in Agra, India, where Roth was staying. Roth was the first European to compose a Sanskrit grammar and he deserves a place of honour for this remarkable contribution to linguistics. Moreover, his scholarly interest was not limited to the composition of a Sanskrit grammar; he also commented on two important Sanskrit texts which he had an Indian scribe copy. This publication contains the three mentioned manuscripts. They can be found in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Rome: Mss Orientali 171 and 172. It took three centuries to arrive at this point! "Habent sua fata libelli!" In 1800 Father Lorenzo Hervas y Panduro, s.j. was the last person who had seen these manuscripts at the Collegio Romano in Rome. Yet the history of Roth's Sanskrit manuscripts before 1800 remains unclear. In the present facsimile edition of the texts I have included the vicissitudes of the manuscripts before 1800 and the history of the search for them since. Thus far there have been several attempts to get the manuscripts printed. Roth during his stay in Europe between 1664 and 1665, the Emperor Leopold I in Vienna in 1664, Roth's learned confrere, Athanasius Kircher in 1667 and Lorenzo Hervas y Panduro in 1801 all made efforts or gave recommendations to get at least the Sanskrit * This and the following contribution are taken from: The Sanskrit Grammar and Manuscripts of Father Heinrich Roth S.J. (1620-1668), facsimile edition of the Biblioteca Nazionale, Rome, MSS. OR. 171 and 172, with an introduction by Arnulf Camps and Jean-Claude Muller (Leiden - New York - K0benhavn - Koln: EJ. Brill 1988), pp. 1-3 and 5-12.

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grammar printed. Either the difficulty of printing such complicated material or other circumstances rendered the realization of these attempts impossible. Due to the unknown whereabouts of Roth's manuscripts after 1800, the publication of the precious works had to wait until the late twentieth century. Although the search for Roth's works continued throughout the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century, it was only after 1950 that a vigorous search to discover the lost manuscripts was set forth by two scholars, Dr. Bruno Zimmel, Oberstaatsbibliothekar in Vienna, Austria, and myself. The story is worth mentioning. At the time I was preparing a doctoral dissertation at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, dealing with Jerome Xavier, s.j. (1549 1617), the true founder of the Mogul Mission on the Indian subcontinent. In late 1953 or early 1954, Dr. Bruno Zimmel and I first met while doing research in the Roman Archives of the Society of Jesus (ARSI). Dr. Zimmel was at that time engaged in studying the life of Johann Grueber, s.j. (1623-1680) and I was collecting material concerning the history of the Mogul Mission (1580-1803). I was aware of the friendship that had existed between Roth and Grueber. Both Zimmel and I were keen on tracing the history of Roth's manuscripts and on trying to bring them to light. At the beginning of 1967 I had the chance to discover the Sanskrit manuscripts of Father Heinrich Roth, s.j. among the Oriental manuscripts in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Vittorio Emanuele II at Rome. I immediately wrote a letter, dated March 9, 1967, to Dr. Zimmel proposing that together we should write a book on Roth. In his reply (of March 21, 1967) Dr. Zimmel reacted with enthusiasm to this proposal. From that time onward I often visited him in Vienna and throughout we exchanged many letters. After some time we changed our plans and decided to publish a facsimile-edition of the manuscripts preceded by an introduction on the life of Father Roth and the history of his manuscripts, and by another introduction on the linguistic value of the manuscripts. Dr. Zimmel would add a list of the letters, reports and manuscripts by Father Roth. While we were able to interest the great scholar Prof. Dr. Richard Hauschild of the University of Jena in the German Democratic Republic to write the linguistic part of the introduction (cf. his letter to me dated April 6, 1967), Dr. Paul Strutzl, the owner of the Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt in Graz, Austria, graciously agreed to print the facsimile-edition of the manuscripts.

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The next step was to obtain permission from the Biblioteca Nazionale to reproduce the manuscripts. I wrote to the director who informed me in a letter dated May 6, 1967 that due to the particular value of the manuscripts he needed more information on my intentions. At this point Dr. Strutzl took over the task of gaining the rights to reproduce the manuscripts. Unfortunately the many letters written to the Biblioteca Nazionale were not answered. Moreover, on June 18, 1968, Dr. Bruno Zimmel passed away (cf. Walter G. Wieser, 'Bruno Zimmel zum Gedenken', Biblos, Wien, 17 (1968), 255-260; and Walter Ritzer, 'Bibliographia Zimmeliana', Biblos, Wien, 18 (1969), 1-24). Both circumstances led the Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt at Graz to discontinue the Roth project (letter written to me on November 29, 1968). An additional reason for this decision was that the chapter on the landroute from China to Europe during the seventeenth century could now no longer be written by Dr. Zimmel. The publishing company considered it essential that Dr. Zimmel write this as he was the expert on this matter. Although Prof. Hauschild and I disagreed with the publisher on this last point, we had to accept the decision. For Prof. Hauschild and myself the essential part of the publication, the manuscripts, would have to wait for better days to be edited. Therefore, we offered the three introductions written by Camps, Hauschild and Zimmel to Prof. Dr. Jozef Glazik, M.S.G., the editor of the ^dtschrift fur Missionswissenschqft und Religionswissenschqft in Miinster, Westphalia (cf. my letter to him written on December 7, 1968). Prof. Glazik accepted the texts on December 12, 1968 (cf. a letter written to me by Dr. W. Promper) and in July 1969 the three texts appeared in print (%MR 53 (1969), 185-205). For the first time the life of Father Roth, the history and contents of his manuscripts, the list of his letters and reports were made available to scholars all over the world. Although I had previously written an article on my discovery of the manuscripts in the Neue ^eitschrift fur Missionswissenschqft in 1967 (Schoneck — Beckenried, 23 (1967), 141 143), the three introductory texts published in 1969 aroused the interest of many scholars both in mission history and in linguistics. These scholars expressed their conviction that it was essential to make the manuscripts available to the public. Later, in 1972, Prof. Hauschild mentioned in a publication that Italian scholars should take the initiative (cf. his publication of 1972 mentioned in the bibliography of Heinrich Roth, s.j., composed by Jean-Claude

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Muller). That same year Prof. Dr. Richard Hauschild passed away (cf. Manfred Mayrhofer, 'Richard Hauschild 2.12.1901-15.2.1972', Jahrbuch der Sachsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig 1971^1972. Berlin, 1974, 307-316). Although I felt desperate after losing two friends and scholars who sacrificed their time and energy to help me honour Father Roth by publishing his Sanskrit manuscripts, I never gave up the hope that one day the situation would change. My main objective during all those years was to find a way to obtain permission from the Biblioteca Nazionale in Rome to publish the manuscripts of Roth. I inquired about several possibilities and there was an exchange of letters in 1977 with Prof. Dr. Winfried Gruber (Graz, Austria) who, notwithstanding the past experiences, advised me to contact the Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt at Graz and also informed me about the death of Dr. Paul Strutzl in 1973. In early 1978 I started to correspond with Prof. Dr. Riidiger Schmitt of the University of Saarbriicken in the Federal Republic of Germany. We continued this correspondence until early 1979 and I remain grateful for Prof. Schmitt's many suggestions. In 1983 things started to move. The Brill Publishing Company in Leiden, The Netherlands, celebrated the tricentennial of its foundation and Director Dr. W. Backhuys invited scholars in all disciplines to suggest publishing possibilities. I immediately wrote a letter to him on August 14, 1983, and explained the situation of the Roth manuscripts. Dr. Backhuys understood the importance of the project and on December 12, 1983, he replied that in principle he was interested in publishing the three introductions written by Camps, Hauschild and Zimmel together with the manuscripts. However, he required that I obtain the necessary permission for the reproduction and publication of the Roth manuscripts. I approached the late colleague Prof. Dr. J J. Poelhekke, an eminent historian especially experienced in historical research in Rome, at my own University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. He urged me to write to Dr. PJ. van Kessel of the Istituto Historico Olandese in Rome and to ask for his help in obtaining the necessary permission. I did so on January 2, 1984, and Dr. van Kessel immediately took action. Together Dr. van Kessel and Dr. Backhuys approached the Director of the Biblioteca Nazionale. The result was that on November 20, 1984, the General Director of the Ufficio Centrale per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali of the Italian Government at Rome wrote to the Director of the Biblioteca

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Nazionale Gentrale at Rome (Prot. No. 12970 DIV. VI), informing him that the Publishing Company EJ. Brill in Leiden, The Netherlands, was to be given permission to obtain a microfilm of the manuscripts in order to publish a facsimile-edition together with commentaries. However, it was only on April 22, 1985 that the Director of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale informed Dr. W. Backhuys about this authorisation (Prot. 461-Pes. 13). Thus the long struggle (1967-1985) had come to an end! For me the news came as a relief for I considered the publication of the Sanskrit manuscripts of Father Heinrich Roth, s.j., to be the most important task since I had started my Mogul Mission studies in 1953. The first step I took after this extraordinary news was to inform Prof. Dr. Riidiger Schmitt in Saarbriicken. Since the letters of the Italian authorities reached Dr. W. Backhuys in Leiden on May 21, 1985 only, it was not until June 20, 1985, that I was able to write a letter to my colleague in Saarbriicken. He was enthusiastic and offered his help. He brought me into contact with Jean-Claude Muller, a scholar from Luxembourg (Redange-sur-Attert) preparing a doctoral dissertation at the University of Bonn in the Federal Republic of Germany about Sanskrit grammars written by Jesuits in India. On July 12, 1985, Jean-Claude Muller accepted the task of translating into English and revising the introduction of the late Prof. Dr. Richard Hauschild. With great competence he drew up the bibliography of Heinrich Roth, s.j.; he also checked the references to Roth's letters in Munich. I am grateful to him for the painstaking care he showed in fulfilling these tasks. I myself brought up to date my English article published in 1969 in the %MR and remodeled and translated into English the article on the letters, reports and manuscripts of Heinrich Roth, written for the %MR in 1969 by the late Dr. Bruno Zimmel. Due to the new material which has been gathered since 1969, the three introductions by Camps, Hauschild and Zimmel published in the %MR in 1969 have been improved and lengthened with important additions. On July 12, 1985, I obtained through Dr. Thomas Kramm, the editor-in-chief of the ^MR, the permission of the Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung in Miinster, Westphalia (Federal Republic of Germany) to use the material published in 1969. Finally, on July 18, 1985, I signed a detailed questionnaire sent to me by the Publishing Company EJ. Brill in Leiden, The Netherlands. Some delay in

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finalizing our texts was caused by unexpected circumstances, but by the middle of May 1987 our work was on the way to the publisher. This introduction has become rather long. Purposely, I wanted to write down all the details of the long struggle from 1967 until 1985; from the year the Sanskrit manuscripts of Heinrich Roth, s.j., were rediscovered until the year when permission to publish a facsimileedition with commentaries was granted. I mentioned all the names of the individuals who took part in this struggle. In this way I want to honour them and to thank them for their companionship, scholarship and unrelenting support.

FATHER HEINRICH ROTH, SJ. (1620-1668) AND THE HISTORY OF HIS SANSKRIT MANUSCRIPTS*

The Mogul mission of the Jesuits in northern India counted several scholars among its members. There were, for example Antonius Monserrate, the historian of the first Mogul mission (1580—1583) and also a geographer; Hieronymus Xavier, the founder of the third Mogul mission (1595-1803) and an eminent expert in the Persian language, the Koran and the Hadith; the astronomer Andreas Strobl (at the court of the Raja of Jaipur (1740-1746); and the geographer, astronomer and historian Joseph TiefTenthaler (the second half of the eighteenth century).1 Heinrich Roth was not the least among these scholars. He was the first to transmit accurate knowledge of the Sanskrit language to Europeans. The description given here of his Sanskrit manuscripts2 will be preceded by detailed information about the life of Roth and the history of his work on Sanskrit.

* This chapter is a revised version of the article 'Father Heinrich Roth, s.j. (1620-1668) and the history of his Sanskrit manuscripts', published in ^eitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschaft, 53 (1969), 185-195. 1 E. Maclagan, The Jesuits and the Great Mogul, London, 1932; A. Santos Hernandez, Jeronimo Javier, S.J., Apostel del Gran Mogol y Ar^obispo electo de Cranganor, en la India 1549-1617, s.l., s.a.; A. Camps, Jerome Xavier, SJ., and the Muslims of the Mogul Empire, Schoneck - Beckenried, 1957; A. Camps, 'Persian Works of Jerome Xavier, a Jesuit at the Mogul Court', Islamic Culture, 35 (1961), 166-176; Letters from the Mughal Court, the Jirst Jesuit Mission to Akbar (1580-1583), edited with an introduction by John Correia-Afonso, Bombay, 1980; E.R. Hambye, 'The first Jesuit Mission to Emperor Akbar', Islam in India, Studies and Commentaries, Vol. 1, edited by Chr. W. Troll, Delhi, 1982, 3-13; St. Neill, A History of Christianity in India, the beginnings to A.D. 1707, Cambridge, 1984, 166-190, 343-349, 403-405, 417-419; St. Neill, A History of Christianity in India, 1797-1858, Cambridge, 1985, 89-90, 129-131. 2 The discovery of the Sanskrit grammar was first made public in A. Camps, 'Die Wiederentcleckung der ersten abendlandischen Sanskrit-Grammatik des P. Heinrich Roth, s.j.', Neue ^eitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft, Schoneck - Beckenried, 23 (1967), 141-143. Further details were given by A. Camps, R. Hauschild and B. Zimmel in ^eitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschaft, Munster in Westfalen, 53 (1969), 185-205 (cf. 'Bibliography of Heinrich Roth, s.j.', by Jean-Claude Muller in this book). Publications dealing with Heinrich Roth dating from before 1967 did not know about the whereabouts of the Roth manuscripts and publications written since 1967 and 1969 respectively rely upon information released in those years. Cf. the above mentioned 'Bibliography of Heinrich Roth, s.j.', by Jean-Claude Muller.

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I. BIOGRAPHY OF HEINRIGH ROTHS Heinrich Roth was born on December 18, 1620, at Dillingen on the Danube, in Swabia. He studied at the Jesuit colleges in his home town and at Innsbruck before entering the Society of Jesus at Landsberg on the Lech on October 25, 1639. He was ordained a priest on May 29, 1649, and was, at his own request, sent to the missions in 1650 by the General of the Society, Francisco Piccolomini. Roth's destination was the Ethiopian mission. In November of 1650, he sailed from Livorno to Smyrna in the company of Franz Storer, s.j. They reached Ispahan in Persia by the overland route.4 However, because the way to Abyssinia was closed for Catholic missionaries, Roth and Storer traveled to India in accord with a previous arrangement, following the land route from Ispahan to Ormuz and sailing from there to Surat. They arrived at Goa in 1652.1 Roth started his pastoral work at Salcette, Goa. Afterwards he was transferred to the Empire of the Great Mogul, first to the town of Srinagar in Garhwal and then, in 1654, to the Jesuit college at Agra. He learned the language of the people, Hindustani, and the language of the court, Persian, in a remarkably short time.6 For a

3 Biographies of Roth: S. Euringer, 'P. Heinrich Roth, s.j., von Dillingen', Jahrbuch des Historischen Vereins Dillingen, Dillingen A.D. Donau, 31 (1918), 1-40; L. Koch, Jesuiten-Lexicon, Die Gesellschaft Jesu einst undjetzt, Paderborn, 1934, 1569; E. Maclagan, op. cit. (note 1), 109-111; A. Vogel, 'Heinrich Roth', Lebensbilder am dem Bayerischen Schwaben, Band 7, (1959), 239-259; R. Hauschild, Der Missionar P. Heinrich Roth aus Dillingen und die erste europdische Sanskrit-Grammatik, Berlin, 1972. 4 A letter of Roth (Ingolstadt on July 9, 1650) to Fr. Francisco Piccolomini, s.j., Praepositus Generalis in Rome, published by C. Beccari, Rerum Aethiopicarum Scriptores Occidentales inediti, vol. XIII, Romae, 1913, 350-351; a letter of Roth (Trent on August 8, 1650) to Fr. Francisco Piccolomini in Rome, ibid., 354-355; 'Ex litteris P. Henrici Rott ex itinere in Aethyopia instituto, Smyrna', Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv Munchen, Jesuitica 607; 'Synopsis Franciscus Storer et Henricus Rott, Smyrnae in Graecia 22 et 23 Januarii 1651, Brusiae in Bithynia 27 Februarii 1651', quoted from a letter of Fr. Mathias Ram (Ingolstadt on April 25, 1651) to M. Thomas Wilhelm, s.j., in Landsberg, Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv Munchen, Jesuitica 607; a letter of Roth (Ispahan on September 21, 1651), Archives generates du Royaume de Belgique a Bruxelles, Jes. Varia, Cart. 4, (quoted from B. Zimmel, Die erste abendldndische Sanskrit-Grammatik des P. Heinrich Roth, S.J., Wien, 1957, 21). 5 A letter of Hieronymus Froes, s.j., (Goa on October 27, 1652) to Fr. Goswin Nickel, s.j., in Rome, Archivum Romanum Societatis Jesu (ARSI), Goa 46 I, 169. The letter reports that Fathers Roth and Storer arrived at Goa and that Roth was appointed to Salcette. () A letter of Antonius Ceschi, s.j., written from Delhi in 1654, Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv Munchen, Jesuitica 607.

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period of six years, he studied the sacred language of the Brahmins, Sanskrit.7 Referring to his activity in the Mogul Empire, he wrote: In dem Reiche Mogol seynd nicht gar zu viel Mahometaner sondern unendlich viel Heyden welche ab dem Alcoran ein nicht geringeres Abscheuen haben als wir Christen. Dern Brachmdnnern gibt es eine grosse Menge. Nachdem ich derselben Schul- und Kirchen-Sprache (so sie die heilige oder sanscretanische heissen) erlernet, fienge ich nach meiner Wenigke.it an mil ihnen nicht ohne Frucht zu disputieren.8

The former Mogul missionaries had stressed the importance and the difficulties of the work among the Muslims. Roth, however, was convinced that the Islamic faith was followed almost exclusively by the upper echelons of the Mogul society and that the majority of the people were Hindu. He had discovered also the eminent position of the Brahmins; and, therefore, he did his utmost to study the sacred language and the holy books of Hinduism. The result was the composition of a Sanskrit grammar in Latin and the transcription and annotation of two Sanskrit texts.9 Unfortunately, no letters of Roth dealing with his activities in India from 1652 to 1662 have come down to us. We know only that he was appointed rector of the college of Agra about 165910 and that he practised medicine among the people and among the nobles of the court.11 The year 1662 was one of great importance in the life of Roth, for on March 30 or 31, 1662, two Jesuits, Johann Grueber, an Austrian, and Albert d'Orville, a Fleming from Belgium, arrived at the college in Agra. They had been ordered by the General of the Society of Jesus, Goswin Nickel, to discover an overland route from 7

"Primo Mis viribus incubuit ad linguam sacram gentilibus, quam sansmtanam appellant, hactenus nulli Europaeo notam, et solum Gentilium sacrificulis, quos Brachmanes vacant, familiarem, nee ab illis facile extorquendam et addiscendam. Quad ingenti labore, ac patiencia sex annorum spatio assecutus est, non solum linguam illam et pronuntiationem, [. . .] sed etfabulosos errores, superstitionesque". Quoted from the necrology of Roth, written by Joannes Grueber, s.j., in Tyrnavia on January 30, 1670, Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv Miinchen, Jesuitica 514. 8 Quoted from a letter (Rome in March 1664), published by J. Stocklein, s.j., Der Neue Welt-Bott, Augsburg-Graz, 1726, 114. 9 A. Kircher, China monumentis qua sacris qua profanis necnon variis naturae et artis spectaculis aliarumque rerum memorabilium argumentis illustrata, Amstelodami, 1667, 80, 156; cf. also H. Roth, Pro via terrestri in Regnum Sinarum, written in Rome on March 2, 1664, to the Vicar General of the Society of Jesus, ARSI, Fondo Gesuitico, vol. 722, fasc. 3, no. 5, 7. 10 S. Euringer, op. at. (note 3), 22, n. 91. 11 Necrology of Roth written by Fr. Joannes Grueber, s.j., in Tyrnavia on January 30, 1670, Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv in Miinchen, Jesuitica 514.

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China to Europe. Maclagan gives us the following information concerning this great venture: The scheme originated in the fact that owing to the Dutch command of the Eastern seas the Jesuits of Pekin were no longer able to communicate with Rome as easily by sea as in former times. Fathers Grueber and d'Orville of the Society of Jesus were accordingly dispatched in April 1661 from Pekin by land, and they travelled by the Koko Nor route to Lhasa, which they succeeded in reaching in October of the same year. With the possible exception of Friar Odoric of Pordenone in 1328, they were the first Europeans to reach that city, and the fact is one of which the Society may justly be proud. Their stay at Lhasa was, however, short and they proceeded by way of Katmandu to Patna and thence to Agra, where they met Fathers Roth and Busi. Here on April 8, 1662, on the afternoon of Saturday in Holy Week, Fr. d'Orville died - 'media Europam inter et Chinam via' and he was buried in the Padres Santos Chapel, where we can still read on his grave: 'Aqui iazo Pe. Alberto Dewille; feleceo aos 8 d'Abril, 1662\ His place was taken by Father Roth, and Grueber with his new companion reached Rome in 1664.12

However, it took quite a while before the decision that Roth should take the place of d'Orville was reached. Sixteen days after the death of d'Orville, Henricus Busaeus wrote a letter from Delhi to Grueber in which he agreed that someone had to travel with Grueber to Rome, but he also informed Grueber that he did not know who should be sent, because the mission had only two Jesuit priests, Roth in Agra and Busaeus himself in Delhi.13 The question was decided in September of the same year, when Busaeus wrote another letter (this time to Roth) in which he took note of the death of d'Orville and then appointed Roth to take d'Orville's place.14 On September 12 E. Maclagan, op. cit. (note 1), 357 f. There are three errors here: 1. According to A. van den Wyngaert, O.F.M., Sinica Franciscana, Firenze, 1 (1929), LXXXI, n. 6 and 383, n. 1, it is improbable that Friar Odoric of Pordenone visited Lhasa; 2. Fr. Busaeus was staying in Delhi at the time of the arrival of Grueber and d'Orville (cf. the letter quoted in note 13); 3. d'Orville was first buried in the old Jesuit church at Agra and was transferred to the Padri Santos Chapel in 1710 (cf. H. Heras, 'The Tomb of Fr. Albert d'Orville, s.j.', Archivum Historicum Societatis Jesu, Rome, 2 (1933), 17-24). For the stay of Grueber and Roth at Lhasa, cf. also B. Zimmel, Johann Grueber, die erste Durchquerung Tibets', Osterreichische Naturforscher, Ar^te und Techniker, (edited by Fr. Knoll). Wien, 1957, 11-14 and B. Zimmel, Johann Grueber in Lhasa, Wien, 1953. 13 Letter of H. Busaeus (Delhi on April 24, 1662) to Grueber in Agra, ARSI, Jap. Sin. 124, fol. 233. The date of 1622 is a mistake. Cf. C. Wessels, Early Jesuit Travelers in Central Asia: 1603-1721, The Hague, 1924, 203. 14 Letter of H. Busaeus (Agra on September 2, 1662) to Roth, ARSI, Jap. Sin. 124, fols. 246, 250.

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4, 1662, Grueber and Roth left Agra and traveled via Lahore to Tattah and from there by ship to Bender Congo, a Persian harbor. They then took the overland route to Ispahan and continued through Armenia and Asia Minor to Smyrna, sailed to Messina and reached Rome on February 20, 1664.10 Their first task was to report to the Jesuit authorities at Rome on the overland route from China to Europe. They made this report in the form of three memoranda: the first on the overland route, the second on Nepal and the favorable prospects of opening a mission there, and the third on the Chinese town Sining.16 These three documents were written by Roth and were signed by both Roth and Grueber. A fourth document on the overland route was signed by Roth alone.17 The reaction to their reports was not positive. Roth wrote that his superiors were ungrateful and that some made a stand against the overland route from China to Europe.18 The fear of Portugal prevailed, and it was decided that the overland route should not be made use of, except in the case that the sea route be closed. Roth and Grueber, however, were allowed to return to their missions by way of the overland route.19 There was one person in Rome, however, who did listen to Roth and Grueber. This was Athanasius Kircher, s.j., who was engaged in writing a book on China. During the two months that Roth and Grueber stayed in Rome, Kircher obtained a great deal of information from them about China and the Mogul Empire which he 15 Letter of Roth (Messina on January 18, 1664) to Joannes Paulus Oliva, s.j., Vicar General, ARSI, Goa 9 I, fol. 262; another letter of Roth (Rome on February 23, 1664) to Fr. Chr. Schorer in Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Miinchen, Clm. 26472, fol. 72. Cf. also B. Zimmel, Die erste abendlandische Sanskrit-Grammatik des P. Heinrich Roth S.J., Wien, 1937, 6-7. 16 H. Roth and J. Grueber, Primum Memoriale ad Adm. R.P.N. Vicarium Generalem circa iter tenestre in Regnum Sinarum (Rome on March 18, 1664), ARSI, Jap. Sin. 124, fol. 242, published by C. Wessels, 'New Documents Relating to the Journey of Fr. John Grueber'. Anhivum Historicum Societatis Jesu, Roma, 9 (1940), 298 f.; Secundum Memoriale ad Adm. R.P.N. Vicarium Generalem circa Regnum Nepal, in quo missio utilis institui potest (Rome on March 18, 1664), ARSI, Jap. Sin. 124, fol. 243, published by Wessels, ibid., 300 f.; Tertium Memoriale ad Adm. R.P.N. Vicarium Generalem circa Sining urbem Sinarum (Rome on March 18, 1664), ARSI, Jap. Sin. 124, fol. 244, published by Wessels, ibid., 301 f. 17 H. Roth, Pro via terrestri in Regnum Sinarum (Rome on March 2, 1664), ARSI, Fondo Gesuitico, Vol. 722, fasc. 3, no. 5. 18 Letter of Roth (Rome on February 23, 1664) to Fr. Chr. Schorer in Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munchen, Clm. 26472, fol. 72. 19 B. Zimmel, op. cit. (note 15), 7.

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incorporated in his book.20 The part of the book entitled 'Decem fabulosae Incarnationes Dei, quas credunt gentiles Indiani extra et intra Gangem ex interpretatione P. Henrici Roth' is actually a literal quotation from a manuscript of Roth.21 Kircher, however, was still more interested in the Sanskrit grammar which Roth had brought along with him. Kircher understood fully the scientific and missionary importance of this manuscript. He needed the assistance of Roth, however, in order to get the manuscript printed. Because the brief two-month stay of Roth and Grueber in Rome was not sufficient for this purpose, Kircher could incorporate into his book only the Sanskrit alphabet and a short description of its characteristics.22 The models used by the printer were prepared by Roth himself.23 Soon after Easter in 1664, Roth and Grueber left Rome for the East by the overland route. A letter written to Kircher by Roth from Venice on May 7, 1664, proves that they had decided to keep in touch with one another.24 While in Venice, Roth and Grueber made plans to travel through Poland and Russia, but first they were to separate for a few months and then meet again at the end of the summer. Roth and Joseph Nasira, an Indian Christian who had accompanied him from Agra to Rome, went to Trent, where Roth, on May 24, composed a eulogy on Fr. Antonio Ceschi, s.j., for the relatives of Ceschi. Ceschi had been with Roth in the Mogul mission for two years and died at Agra in 1656.2° After this, Roth visited his homeland, Swabia. In June, he was in Neuburg and lectured at the court of Count Philipp Wilhelm on his observations in the Mogul Empire.26 The next two letters of Roth were sent from Vienna. The Emperor, Leopold I, wanted to meet him and Grueber, 20

A. Kircher, China . . . illustrata, op. cit. (note 9). Ibid., 157-162, 156; cf. Arch. Univ. Gregorianae, 563, P. Kircher, Miscellanea Epistolarum IX, 325-328; cf. also S. Kratzsch, 'Die Darstellung der zehn Avataras Visnus in Athanasius Kirchers "China Illustrata"', Altorientalische Forschungen, Berlin, 9 (1982), 133- 144 (111. 1-8). 22 Ibid.. Chapter VII, Tab. Yy, Yy2, Zz, Aaa and Bbb. 21

23 24

Ibid., 162.

Arch. Univ. Gregorianae, 562, P. Kircher, Miscellanea Epistolarum VIII, 113. H. Roth, A Eulogy ofFr. Ceschi, S.J. (Trent on May 24, 1664). Cf. F.A. Paternolo, Estratto e Registro di lettere spintuali con breve narrations della vita del M.R. Padre Antonio Ceschi (Trento, circa 1683), 231-233 (Latin text), and 233-235 (Italian text). 26 Relatio rerum notabilium regni Mogor in Asia ex variis nanationibus Reverendi patris Henrici Rott Societatis Jesu collecta, dum Sermo Principi Neoburgico, Dud Julio adesset Neoburgi, Neoburgo submissa a Patre Raij Juniorum principum confessario, Bruxelles, Bibliotheque Royale Albert ler, MS. 6828-6869, fols. 415-417; B. Zimmel, op. cit. (note 15), 12, n. 28, refers to the Aschaffenburg edition of 1665. 25

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who had already arrived in the city.27 It seems that both Roth and Grueber intended to travel via Moscow to Persia. The company was composed of Grueber and his Chinese servant, Matthew, of Roth and his Indian servant, Joseph Nasira, and of Fr. Philipp Zefferin, s.j., an Austrian who had been appointed for the China mission. Passing through Prague and Danzig, the party travelled as far as Mitau, where they learned that the road through Russia was closed.28 They returned to Vienna, and from there Roth wrote another letter to Kircher in Rome, dated May 16, 1665.29 The next attempt to travel to the East was by way of Turkey. They joined the embassy sent by the Austrian Emperor to Constantinople under the leadership of Count Walter Leslie. Leaving Vienna on May 25, 1665, the ambassadorial party reached Constantinople on September 7, 1665. The group of Jesuits was lodged in the Jesuit residence in Galata, where Zefferin remained behind due to illness. The other members of the company crossed the Bosporus and arrived in Skutari in the beginning of October. Their plan was to join a Turkish caravan, but before they could do so Grueber also got sick. As the caravan was on the point of leaving, it was decided that Roth should continue the journey alone. The decision was made at the last moment and the luggage had to be divided in a hurry. Due to the rush, the Sanskrit grammar and texts of Roth were accidentally put with the luggage of Grueber. Roth traveled through Asia Minor, Armenia and Persia and reached the Indian harbor of Surat in May 1666.30 We have no clear information as to Roth's movements after his arrival in Surat. In a letter sent from Surat on October 9, 1666, he informed Fr. Veihelin, the Jesuit provincial in Munich, that he was being sent to Nepal in order to discover a road leading to China.31 27 Extract of a letter of Roth (Vienna on September 9, 1664), Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Miinchen, Clm. 26472, fol. 60r; another letter of Roth (Vienna on September 7, 1664) to Fr. Kircher in Rome, Arch. Univ. Gregorianae, 563, P. Kircher, Miscellanea Epistolarum IX, 281. 28 Letter of Roth (Prague on September 29, 1664) to Fr. Seb. Deiniger, Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv in Munchen, Jesuitica 637, fol. 60r; another letter of Roth (Memel on January 10, 1665) to Fr. Lyprand, ibid., Jesuitica 1240, fol. 156; cf. also B. Zimmel, op. cit. (note 15), 14. 29 Arch. Univ. Gregorianae, 563, P. Kircher, Miscellanea Epistolarum IX, 78. 30 B. Zimmel, Johann Gruebers letzte Missionsreise: Ein Beitrag zur oberosterreichischen Biographic', Oberosterreichische Heimatblatter 2 (1957), 161-180. 31 Letter of Roth (Surat on October 9, 1666) to Fr. Veihelin, Provincial in Munich, Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv in Munchen, Jesuitica 607, fol. 94.

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He reached Agra before Christmas. It would seem most probable that he went to Nepal, fell ill on the way and had to brought back to Agra.32 In 1667, he wrote a report on the Mogul mission.33 On June 20, 1668, Roth died in Agra.34 Maclagan describes the circumstances surrounding his death as follows: His death, unfortunately, gave occasion to a scandalous example of official intolerance. On the night on which he expired and while his body was still at the door of the Father's residence, the Kotwal with thirty attendants made a forcible entry into the house on the pretext of ascertaining the effects left by the deceased, and it was with the greatest difficulty that the Fathers, who had secreted their church plate and pictures in the house, were able to prevent the pillage of the premises. Father Roth appears in the circumstances to have been given but maimed rites at his funeral, but his loss was greatly felt by the mission. He was a kindly man and one whose ideals of work were high. In spite of the fact that, owing to his infirmities, his life had been one of continual suffering, he had covered more ground both in travel and in linguistic study than any of his colleagues and they looked with admiration on his unceasing industry. In describing the strenousness of his sixteen years of hard service in the climate of Agra, the chronicler employs an appropriate Latinity: 'Sexdecim totos annos impiger ibidem desudavit'.35

II. THE HISTORY OF THE SANSKRIT GRAMMAR AND TEXTS Roth wanted to introduce a new approach to the Mogul mission, because he understood that the majority of the people followed Hinduism and only a minority of court officials followed Islam. Therefore, in contrast to the former Mogul missionaries, he decided to pay much more attention to the Hindus than to the Muslims. For six years he studied Sanskrit taking lessons from a Brahmin, and as a result he wrote a Sanskrit grammar and transcribed two Sanskrit texts. When he left India for Europe in 1662, he took the manuscripts with him, which we know because he showed them to Kircher in Rome. We know also that Roth arrived in Agra in 1654 and that 32 Cf. S. Euringer, op. cit. (note 3), 34 f.; E. Maclagan op. cit. (note 1), 358; B. Zimmel, 'P. Heinrich Roths, s.j. Expedition nach Nepal', Jahrbuch des Historischen Vereins Dillingen (1968), 64-78. 33 Brevis relatio de statu missions Alogorensis Societatis Jesu ad annum 1667, ARSI, Goa 35, 59 f. 34 Carta annua 1668, London, British Library, MS Add 9855, fol. 82. 35 E. Maclagan, op. cit. (note 1), 110 f.

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he stayed there until his journey to Europe in 1662. Since his study of the Sanskrit language lasted six years, we may suppose that he was busy with it from 1654 to 1660. Thus, the composition of the grammar and the transcription of the Sanskrit texts must have taken place between 1660 and 1662. The first time the Sanskrit grammar is explicitly mentioned is in a report Roth wrote in Rome for the Vicar General of the Society of Jesus, Johannes Paulus Oliva in 1664. In this report, Roth mentioned the language of the Brahmins and observed that the study of Sanskrit was absolutely necessary for the conversion of the people. He added that he had brought along a grammar of the language which he himself had composed with great difficulty.36 Kircher also made mention of this Sanskrit grammar in his work on China. Referring to his contact with Roth in 1664, he wrote in 1667 that the knowledge of the sacred language of the Brahmins, Sanskrit, is kept secret by them. He continued: Etsi P. Henricus Roth earn a Brachmane Legi Christianae valde addicto Magistro usus, infra sexennium perfecte didicerit, ejusque grammaticam conscripserit, quae utinam suo tempore lucem videret?1 Elsewhere Kircher says again that Roth possessed a perfect knowledge of the language, the literature and the philosophical thought of the Brahmins.38 The next mention of the Sanskrit grammar is found in a letter of Roth (dated September 7, 1664) to Kircher in Rome. This letter was sent from Vienna where Roth had shown his grammar to the Emperor, Leopold I. Roth wrote: Grammaticam Brahmanicam Augus Imperator omnino volebat ut suis sumptibus curarem typis mandari, sed in mea absentia non video quomodo fieri possit.39 From this letter, then, it is clear that Roth had the Sanskrit grammar with him on his way back from Europe to the Mogul Empire. He was still in possession of it at the beginning of October 1665, when he was staying at Skutari, where he had to leave Grueber and where the Sanskrit grammar and texts were unintentionally packed with the luggage of Grueber, who wrote from Galata to Kircher in Rome on October 20, 1665: 36 H. Roth, Pro via terrestri in Regnum Sinarum (Rome on March 2, 1664), ARSI, Fondo Gesuitico, Vol. 722, fasc. 3, no. 5, 7. 3/ A. Kircher, China. . . illustrala, op. tit. (note 9), 80.

38 39

Ibid., 162. Arch. Univ. Gregorianae, 653, P. Kircher, Miscellanea Epistolarum IX, 281.

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Vemo itaque vel per tenam vel per mare, utrum autem Romam (quod tamen op tarem) adhuc ignoro. Few omnem thesaurum linguae Indie ae a P. Henrico mihi in ista perturbatione per oblivionem relictum. Si convenire possem Vestram Reverentiam sperarem nos non pauca inde pro gloria Dei et honore Societatis animarumque salute contribuere. Vestra Reverentia videat quid faciat, sum paratus ad omnem nutum Sacrae Obedientiae.40 Grueber received orders from Rome to return to Europe. He sailed by ship to Livorno, where he got instructions to proceed directly to Austria. Thus, he could not meet Kircher in Rome, but he wrote to him from Gorz on February 26, 1666: I promise that at the first opportunity I will send to your Reverence, together with some Chinese books which will no longer be of any use to me, all the writings of Fr. Henricus which were left in my hands. [. . .] The German assistant, to whom I wrote from the hospital in Livorno about those books, informed me there that, when the opportunity conies, I should send them to Rome so that they may be either at the disposal of your Reverence or might be used by the many Fathers who one day will go to India. So that these books will not be detained in the Professed house, your Reverence may address himself to the Fr. Assistant to prevent them, after their arrival, from passing through too many hands and to have them given directly to your Reverence. I shall send them to Fr. Koller.41 Apparently, in 1671 Kircher planned an edition of a Sanskrit philosophical text along with, a Latin translation.42 We may conclude from this that the Sanskrit manuscripts arrived safely in the hands of Kircher. This appears even more clearly from a list of objects preserved in the Museum of Kircher (in the Roman College of the Jesuits). The list was drawn up in 1678 by Georgius de Sepibus, and he mentioned: 1. Exactissimum opus totius Grammaticae Brahmanicae, cujus et rudimenta is primus Europae communicavit. 2. Opus eximium et subtile Apophthegmatum cujusdam Brachmani Philosophi, Basext nomine.**

40

Arch. Univ. Gregorianae, 562, P. Kircher, Miscellanea Epistolarum VIII, 137. Ibid., 79. As the Latin original was not available, we translated the German rendering of B. Zimmel (op. cit. (note 3), 15-16) into English. 42 "Accessit hisce Mogoris cujusdam Philosophi Apophthegmatum Syntagma Brachmanico-latinum, quod subtilitate sententiarum nee Senecae nee Epicteto cedit". From a letter of Fr. A. Kircher (Rome on July 11, 1671) to Lucas Schrokius, Jr., published by H.A. Langenmantel, Fasciculus epistolarum Adm. R.P. Athanasii Kircheri S.J., Augsburg, 1684, 18 f. 4i Georgius de Sepibus, Romani Collegii Socielatis Jesu Musaeum Celeberrimum, Amstelodami, 1678, 65. 41

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The next time mention is made of the Sanskrit grammar is in 1800, when the famous linguist, Lorenzo Hervas y Panduro, s.j., discovered the grammar in the library of the Collegio Romano, where Kircher had been living, and recommended its publication.44 The next scholar to search for the Sanskrit manuscripts was Theodor Zachariae. He asked Mathias Reichmann, s.j., from Luxembourg ('' Schriftstellerheim''} to look for the grammar in the Biblioteca Vittorio Emanuele (Biblioteca Nazionale) in Rome. In 1870, the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Vittorio Emanuele was started in the building of the ancient Collegio Romano and the library of the Collegio Romano was incorporated in the Biblioteca Nazionale. The inquiries made in 1908 at the instigation of Zachariae received a negative answer, and Zachariae concluded that the manuscript had probably been lost.43 Sebastian Euringer, who wrote a biography of Roth in 1918, relied upon the statements of de Sepibus and Hervas and thus supposed that the grammar was still to be found in the Collegio Romano or Biblioteca Nazionale, but he did not investigate the matter further. He expressed the hope that the grammar could be printed on the occasion of the third centenary of the birth of Roth in 1920.46 In 1920, inquiry was again made into the whereabouts of the Sanskrit grammar. After having read the biography of Roth by Euringer, Fr. Joseph Linder, s.j., asked a confrere in Rome to search for the grammar in the Biblioteca Nazionale. The result was once again negative.47 In 1956, Richard Hauschild, who made a study of the Sanskrit alphabet of Roth, as it was published by Kircher, had to say that the grammar had disappeared without leaving any trace.48 The most searching investigation, however, was done by Bruno Zimmel, the results of which were published by him in 1956. We have repeatedly made use of many of the details he collected. Zimmel was able to conclude that the manuscript was not to be found in the following places in Rome: the Biblioteca Nazionale, the Museo Nazionale 44 Lorenzo Hervas y Panduro, Catalogo de las Lenguas de las naciones conocidas, Madrid, 1801, Vol. II, 133. 45 Th. Zachariae, 'Hanscrit', Wiener %eitschrift fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes, Wien, 22 (1908), 86-103, esp. 97, n. 2. 46 S. Euringer, op. cit. (note 3), 21 f. 47 J. Linder, 'P. Heinrich Roth s.j. von Dillingen - der erste deutsche Sanskretist', Zeitschrift fur katholische Theologie, Innsbruck, 44 (1920), 172, n. 1 & 2. 48 R. Hauschild, 'Die erste Publikation der indischen Nagari-Schriftzeichen in Europa durch Athanasius Kircher und Heinrich Roth', Wissenschaftliche ^eitschrift der Friedrich-Schiller Universitdt Jena 5 (1955-56), 505.

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Preistorico-etnografico "Luigi Pigorini", the Roman Archives of the Society of Jesus, the Archives of the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Vatican Archives and the Vatican Library. Zimmel's final suggestion was that a more thorough research into the history of the Jesuit collections of the Collegio Romano might be helpful in tracing the lost grammar.49 I myself have been occupied with doing research into the history of the Mogul mission of the Jesuits since 1953. Up until the very beginning of the year 1967, I was not able to trace the Sanskrit grammar, even though I had visited all the likely libraries and archives where it might be found. In the beginning of 1967, I was again at the Biblioteca Nazionale in Rome where I was informed of the existence of a typewritten catalogue of Oriental manuscripts. The Inventario Orientali had been recently drawn up. Reading through the catalogue, I arrived at Mss Orientali 171: Grammatica linguae sanscretanae Brachmanum Indiae Orientalis, cart. sec. XVIII prov. Collegio Romano and Mss Orientali 172: Testo Indiana (sanscrito?) cart. sec. XVIIIprov. Collegio Romano. Though the author was not indicated, my first investigation of the precious manuscripts revealed that the Sanskrit works of Roth had finally been brought to light again. III. A DESCRIPTION OF THE SANSKRIT GRAMMAR AND TEXTS The Sanskrit grammar of Roth, Mss Orientali 171, measures 28.5 by 21 cm. By comparison with some of the letters written by Roth himself it appears that the grammar is an autograph. As we have already concluded, the grammar was written between 1660 and 1662. The notation on the typewritten catalogue of the Biblioteca Nazionale in Rome (that the manuscript was written in the eighteenth century) must be incorrect. The manuscript is beautifully written and undamaged. The Sanskrit grammar consists of 50 folios. Folios 49 and 50 have been left blank. Two important notes are written on the first folio. The first is in Italian and the second in Latin. The handwriting in both cases is different from that in the manuscript. We are informed by the first note that the book has been put in the deposit of the 49 B. Zimmel, 'Die erste Sanskrit-Grammatik', Biblos, Wien, 5 (1956), 48-63. Cf. the enlarged edition of this article Die erste abendlandische Sanskrit-Grammatik des P. Heinnch Roth S.J., Wien, 1957, 18 f. See also A. Camps, 'Die Schriften der Jesuiten-Missionare Johann Grueber, Heinrich Roth und Antonio Ceschi', Neue ^eitschriftfiir Missionswissenschaft, Schoneck - Beckenried, 13 (1957), 231-233.

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secret library of the Roman College (Collegio Romano) and that it has not been incorporated into the library of the College so that it could be withdrawn when it might please the superiors of the Society.30 The second note gives us the name of the author and may have been written by the Spanish linguist Lorenzo Hervas, s.j. The note says that the real name of the author is not Roa but Roth. We may observe, however, that Roa is a common latinization of Father Roth's name.51 Mss Orientali 172 measures 25.5 by 17 cm. It was written by an Indian scribe for Roth who added numerous annotations and glosses, as a comparison of the handwriting with that of Mss Orientali 171 shows. There is a note on folio 1 recto informing us that this manuscript has also been put in the deposit of the secret library of the Collegio Romano.02 The folios 2 recto 17 verso contain a Sanskrit text. Here and there in the margin as well as between the lines of the Sanskrit text are short notations, mostly in Latin, in Father Roth's handwriting. Folios 18 recto - 34 recto, however, contain another Sanskrit text that is surrounded by numerous marginal notes in Latin. The folios 34 verso - 35 verso have been left blank. Since the handwriting of the marginalia is Roth's, it must be concluded, in opposition to the typewritten catalogue of the Biblioteca Nazionale, that this manuscript dates also from the middle of the seventeenth century.

APPENDIX Roth's Sanskrit Grammar has been studied in a broader context by Jean-Claude Muller, in: Die Sanskrit-Grammatiken europaischer Missionare. Aufbau und Wirkung (17. und 18. Jahrhundert), in: Klaus D. Dutz (Hrsg.), Sprachwissenschaft im 18. Jahrhundert. Fallstudien und Uberblicke, Miinster 1993, pp. 143-168.

•)() "Questo Libra sta in deposito nella Libreria segreta del Collegio Romano alia quale non e stato applicato per poterlo estrarre quando piaccia a i Superiori della Compagnia". :>1 "Auctor hujus libri est P. Roa soc. Jesu, de quo loquitur Franciscus Bernier, voyages etc. Amsterdam, 1709, tome seconde, p. 147. Verus auctor est P. Henricus Roth, non Roa, ut dicit Bernier. Legatur China illustrata P. Kircheri, qui fatetur alphabetum Sanscret suscepisse, sicut alia plurima de religione brahmanum, a p. Roth. V. China illustrata: Pars 3, cap. ultim". The mentioned work of Bernier is, Voyages de Francois Bernier etc. contenant la description des Etats du Grand Mogol, etc., 2 vols., Amsterdam, 1699. For Kircher's work, cf. note 9. 52 "/« Deposito nella Libreria segreta del Cfollegio] R[omanoJ".

PART THREE

STUDIES IN CHINESE AND JAPANESE MISSION HISTORY

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THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA: FROM FOREIGNNESS TO CONTEXTUALIZATION*

In 1988 the population of the People's Republic of China was 1.0722 billion, almost a fifth of the world's population.1 A study of the situation of Christianity in this immense country is essential in a book that speaks of our diverse world. Christianity in China dates from the year 635 and with a few interruptions has been present there ever since. When the Christian faith first entered the country, it encountered a situation of great diversity, including the ancient Chinese religions, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and folk religions. Following a brief survey of the history of Christianity in China we will give special attention to the situation of Christianity after 1949, when the People's Republic was founded. As has been well said, China is a laboratory for the world church.2 THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA Nestorian Christianity: 635—845

The Nestorian faith moved straight across Central Asia via the silk route and established itself in China in 635. In that year a bishop named Alopen came from the area east of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers into Xian. Nestorian Christianity spread to ten provinces and churches were built in more than a hundred cities. In the same year the reigning emperor, Tang Tai Zung, issued an edict of toleration. Monasteries were built and thirty Christian books were translated. From a monument built in Xian in 781, from eighth-century manuscripts discovered in a grotto in Dunhuang at the beginning of the twentieth century, and from Syriac documents that came to light later * Published in: Missiology. An Ecumenical Introduction. Texts and Contexts of Global Christianity, edited by A. Camps, L.A. Hoedemaker, M.R. Spindler and FJ. Verstraelen (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), pp. 49-64. 1 Pro Mundi Vita Dossiers 2~3 (Brussels, 1984); E. Tang, Facts and Figures of the Catholic Church in Asia, 11, 13. - A New Beginning: An International Dialogue with the Chinese Church, Montreal, October 2-9, 1981 (Toronto, 1983) 118, 144, 146. The statement was made by Bishop K.H. Ting.

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we have come to know a great deal about this Christianity. Stone crosses bearing inscriptions have also been found at many places. The Nestorians used Taoist, Confucian, and most often Buddhist terms and concepts in communicating the gospel. Persecution began in 845 under Emperor Wu Zung. Different reasons are given for this persecution, including overly close ties between the Nestorians; and the ruling authorities, the lack of respect for parents implied by monastic celibacy, the Christians' lack of permanent ties with their country of origin, too close a coalescence of their faith with Buddhism, and lack of adequate Chinese leadership in the churches. On all these points, however, counter-arguments can be advanced. It is certain, however, that after 845 Nestorianism, the initial contextualization of Christianity in China, nearly disappeared, though there continued to be some Christians in China during the following four hundred years.3 The Franciscans: 1294—1347

In the period of the Mongol-dominated Yuan dynasty (1276—1368) Christianity again asserted itself in China as a result of attempts by the church in the West and of Western kings in the preceding period to build contacts with Mongol rulers in central Asia. When the Mongols conquered China there was reason, therefore, for the Western Christians to seek contact with China. On the part of the church this was done by the Franciscans. The first Franciscan arrived in Khanbaliq (Beijing) in 1294. This was John of Montecorvino, who presented his credentials there to the great Khan and found Nestorians there. He also found the Alans, descendants of people deported by the Mongols from the Caucasus a half century earlier to do military service. The 15,000 or so Alans were Christians of the Greek rite who had no clergy of their own and who were regarded with hostility by the Nestorians. They welcomed John as their spiritual leader. John also encountered Armenians, whom he addressed in their own language. John also spoke Persian 3 A.C. Moule, Christians in China before the Year 1550 (London, 1930); idem, Christianity in China: Some Corrections and Additions (London, 1940); P.Y. Saeki, The Nestorian Documents and Relics in China (Tokyo, 1951); A. Biirke, "Das Nestorianer-Denkmal von Si-an-fu. Versuch einer Neuiibersetzung", in Vermittlung zwischenkirchlicher Gemeinschqft, ed. J. Baumgartner (Schoneck - Beckenried, 1971) 125-41; D. Hickly, The First Christians of China (London, 1980).

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and one of the two languages of the ruling class, that is, either Mongol or Turkish. He translated the Gospels and the Psalms into whichever language that was, which he called 'Tatar'. John built two churches in Khanbaliq, one close to the imperial palace. He ransomed forty slave boys (probably Chinese), baptized them, and trained them to sing the liturgy in Latin. The emperor loved to listen to them. In the first twelve years John baptized about 6,000 people. He experienced much antagonism from the Nestorians, however, on one occasion barely escaping imprisonment. His converts came from non-Catholic groups who originated in Europe and western and central Asia and were members of the class favored by the Mongol rulers. John lived somewhat apart from the Chinese and, like Marco Polo, saw no benefit in learning their language. His method was first to convert the elite under the assumption that the people would then follow (cuius regio, illius et religio). Apart from a visit in 1304 from another Franciscan, he was cut off from his order. Not until 1306-07 did two letters from John arrive in Europe. Thereupon he was appointed archbishop of Khanbaliq and patriarch of the entire East (from southern Russia and Asia Minor to China). The pope appointed six other Franciscans as auxiliary bishops, three of whom reached Khanbaliq in 1313 and consecrated John as archbishop. Gerard of Albuini was appointed bishop of the harbor city Quanzhou (Zaiton) and was succeeded by Peregrine of Castello in 1318, who was succeeded by Andreas of Perugia in 1322-23. John also established churches in Hangzhou and Yangzhou. It is noteworthy that the emperor generously supported these missions, that there was freedom of religion, and that "Latin" merchants found support in the mission. Odoric of Pordenone, a Franciscan, arrived in Guanzhou (Canton) in 1313 and traveled to Quanzhou, where there was already a monastery and cathedral to draw his admiration. He also visited the Catholic communities in Hangzhou and Yangzhou and arrived in Khanbaliq in 1325, where he stayed for three years. In his journal he wrote much about the Mongols and reported that John of Montecorvino always blessed the emperor as the emperor was departing on any journey. From 1328 to 1330 Odoric traveled toward Europe straight across Asia and died in Udine in 1331. John died in 1328—29 at the age of 81. Bishop Andreas of Perugia died in Quanzhou in 1332 and, like John in Khanbaliq, had no successor. In 1338 emissaries of the Alans in China came to the pope in

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Avignon to request the appointment of a successor to John. The pope sent a group of clergymen, among them a French theologian from Paris who was intended to be the archbishop of Khanbaliq but who turned back when he reached Constantinople. One of his companions, John of Marignolli, a Franciscan but not a bishop, arrived in China in 1342 and was received by the emperor, and left China via Quanzhou in 1347. The reason for John of Marignolli's early return was probably his sense that the time of Mongolian domination was running out. Rebel movements were growing stronger and were to bring about the fall of the Yuan dynasty in 1368. The Ming dynasty (1368-1644) sought to exclude all foreign influences and identified Christianity with Mongol domination. The Christianity introduced by the Franciscans totally disappeared from China, and the same fate struck the Italian merchant ventures in China. This second attempt at missionizing in China lacked a feeling for contextuality in terms of actual Chinese culture.4 The Jesuits and Other Missionary Orders: 1582—1800

In 1554 the Portuguese gained a foothold in China by building the city of Macao on a peninsula. From that vantage point missionaries attempted to enter China, the same thing that had been ventured by Spaniards from a base in Manila, where a diocese had also been started. The first to be allowed to establish themselves in China (in 1583) were two Jesuits, Michael Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci in Zhaoqing, near Guanzhou (Canton). They dressed like Buddhists, diligently learned Chinese, and studied Confucian books and other ancient books (and they printed a map of the world). But they were expelled because of opposition from the mandarins. Ruggieri went back to Macao, and Ricci made his home somewhat to the north in Shaozhou in 1589. He realized that Buddhists were not held in great esteem and so adopted the garb of a Confucian scholar. He exploited the secular sciences for the propagation of the faith and began to translate the four classic works of Confucianism. He attempted by slow degrees to gain a base in the imperial city of Beijing and succeeded in 1601 when the emperor gave him a house. When in 1610 Ricci died at the age of 58 he left "my brothers standing before * A. van den Wyngaert, Sinica Franciscana I (Florence, 1929); L. de Hartog, Europese reizigers naar de Grote Khan (Baarn, 1985); I. de Rachewiltz. Papal Envoys to the Great Khans (London, 1971).

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a gate which can be opened to everyone's profit, though not without difficulty and danger". Ricci moved in the circles of the learned, and by 1608 some 2500 of them had joined him as Christians. He translated Chinese classics and wrrote philosophical works (On Friendship and On the Art of Remembering) in Chinese. He prepared an edition of the Chinese catechism that Ruggieri had written, On the True Doctrine of God. And he wrote many mathematical, geographic, and astronomic works and made European scientific instruments for the Chinese. But above all he effected a generous accommodation to Chinese customs and religious concepts: After baptism Chinese Christians were allowed to continue the practice of venerating their ancestors and Confucius and were permitted to keep Chinese names for God. Other Jesuits started a congregation in Nanjing. The work continued: In 1636 there were 38,200 believers. Ricci's real successor was Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1630-66) from Cologne, who managed to steer the mission through all sorts of internal and external political disturbances. The biggest problems arose after 1631 when Spanish missionaries - Dominicans and Franciscans - entered China from the Philippines. They did not understand the work of their Jesuit predecessors, dressed in the habits of their orders, preached the gospel in the streets holding up a cross, and opposed the adaptations begun by Ricci. The conflict led to years of confusion and dispute. Among the Jesuits themselves differences of opinion arose about what was later called 'the rites controversy'. Initially all this did not adversely affect the mission itself; all the orders gained about the same number of converts. In 1664, however, persecution broke out. In Beijing Schall von Bell was condemned to death but received a reprieve and was imprisoned. Twenty-five missionaries from all the orders were banished to Guanzhou (Canton). Only the Belgian Jesuit Ferdinand Verbiest and two brothers remained behind. They managed to regain respect by their knowledge of astronomy and other sciences. Schall von Bell was released from prison, as were the other missionaries in 1671. Verbiest became an interpreter for foreign envoys — a task that Catholic missionaries continued to fulfill into the nineteenth century. Verbiest died in 1688, and ten days later the first five French Jesuits arrived: Joachim Bouvet, Joseph Henri de Premare, Jean Francois Foucquet, Jean-Alexis de Gollet, and Jean-Francois Lafitau. They built large churches and a library, which later came to be

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quite famous, and they sent laudatory reports about Chinese culture to Europe. Their reports were later, during the Enlightenment, used in arguments against Christianity. These French Jesuits became known as 'Figurists' because they sought to show that Christian doctrines could be found already in the ancient classic Chinese texts, once they were properly interpreted. Conflicts developed over issues of jurisdiction (among the rights of patronage of Portugal and of the Propaganda Fide in Rome, Spain, Portugal, and France, each with its own claims where the different orders worked), over the correctness of Figurism, and above all over the rites controversy, which spread as far as Europe, where many theologians addressed it. Finally, after several papal delegations had gone to China, Pope Benedict XIV (in the Bull Ex quo singulari of 1742) condemned the Chinese rites and required missionaries to swear that they would not follow them. Because of this settlement of the rites controversy, which continued in force until 1939, when Pius XII allowed the rites to be used under certain provisions in view of the changed meanings and circumstances, the reputation of the church in China suffered and continues to suffer. Still today, accusations of Western imperialism are made. Meanwhile, local persecutions of Christians broke out, sometimes with the emperor taking part (particularly in 1717). The persecution of 1784-85 was especially intense. Behind these persecutions lay fear of foreign influences, the sharp attacks of the Jesuits on Buddhism, Taoism, and indirectly on Confucianism, internal disputes among the missionaries, and, of course, the rites controversy. Nevertheless, a new orientation arose in the mission. The missionaries diligently studied Chinese and adapted their work in many respects — except in the rites. Prayer life was adapted (no private prayer). Chinese women who took vows continued to live in their extended families and in this manner preserved the faith. In churches without priests catechists and other laypeople were given responsibilities (though without the right to polemicize against Chinese ideas), and the need for Chinese priests was admitted. (Though Rome allowed use of the Chinese language in liturgy in 1615, a controversy arose in China over study of Latin.) Rome saw the necessity of having Chinese bishops in China, but the missionaries had little sympathy for the idea. The greatest difficulty arose in 1762 when the Portuguese minister Pombal gave orders to imprison the Jesuits. In 1773 the pope abolished the order altogether.

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Finally, Portuguese and French Lazarists took over the Jesuits' tasks and functioned as mandarins or as mathematicians at the emperor's Mathematical Institute in Beijing. The Paris Society for Foreign Missions was most useful in training Chinese priests abroad (in Macao, Indochina, and Malacca). But by 1800 persecution had made the situation of the Catholic Church in China desperate, though in 1815 there were still 89 Chinese priests and 80 European missionaries caring for 210,000 Catholic Christians. Despite the important gains in this period, great opportunities were missed - because of the rites controversy and other internal disputes. And the faith had not really been contextualized to Chinese culture. In China the dominant conviction was that Christianity was something of and for foreigners.1 The Churches of the Unequal Treaties: 1800—1949

In the previous period the courage of the Chinese priests was considerable. But it was not possible to find a Chinese successor for the first Chinese bishop, Luo Wenzao. Had one been found history would probably have taken a different turn. It was not until 1926 that Chinese bishops were again appointed — because of pressure exerted by Pius XI. In this same period Protestant missionaries came onto the field for the first time. The context for mission activity changed fundamentally: External political factors began to play a specific role, the political situation inside China changed, and the strategy of the churches received new accents. The 'period of the unequal treaties' began with Britain's defeat of ' J. Gernet, China and the Christian Impact (Cambridge, 1985); H. Bernard, Matteo Ricci's Scientific Contribution to China (Peiping, 1935; reprint Westport, 1973); J.D. Spence, The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci (London, 1985); G. Minamiki, The Chinese Rites Controversy from Its Beginnings to Modern Times (Chicago, 1985); A. Vath, Johann Adam Schall von Bell SJ. (Cologne, 1933); M. Ricci and N. Trigault, Histoire de ['expedition chretienne au royaume de la Chine 1582-1610 (Paris, 1798); R.A. Blondeau, Mandarijn en astronoom. Ferdinand Verbiest SJ. (1623-1688) aan het hofvan de Chinese keizer (Bruges, 1970); idem, Ferdinand Verbiest: missionaris of spion? (Bruges, 1984); C. von Collani, P. Joachim Bouvet S.J., sein Leben und sein VVerk (Nettetal, 1985); idem, Die Figuristen in der China Mission (Frankfurt, 1981); D.E. Mungello, Curious Land: Jesuit Accomodation and the Origins of Sinolog): (Stuttgart, 1985); idem, Leibnitz and Confucianism (Honolulu, 1977); J. Metzler, Die Synoden in China, Japan und Korea, 1570-1931 (Paderborn, 1980); M. Ricci, The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven, tr. with introduction and notes by D. Lancashire and P. Hu Kuo-chaen, Chinese-English edition by EJ. Malatesta (St. Louis, 1985).

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China in the Opium War (1841-42). From 1833 on the United Kingdom had sought free trade with China. Opium, being much in demand in China, was very profitable, though trade in it was illegal in China, whose leaders sought to put a stop to it before the war. After the war, the treaty of Nanjing stipulated that four ports in addition to Guanzhou (Canton) be opened, that relations be established between Britain and China, that a British consul be posted in every port and concession area, that tariffs for imports and exports be fixed, and that Hong Kong be ceded to Britain in perpetuity. This was only the beginning. By 1912 fifty Chinese treaty ports were in the hands of Britain, Germany, France, Portugal (with Macao), Japan, the United States and Russia, not only on the coast but also on the larger rivers. China had become semicolonial country. The Europeans and Americans lived in separate quarters in the treaty ports, had their own courts of law, and maintained armies. When conflicts arose - such as the Boxer rebellion in 1900 - these foreign troops were deployed to occupy lines of communication and other strategic locations. Sections of Beijing were set aside for foreign legations. China became powerless and suffered from internal uprisings. Imperial authority was weak. The movement to turn China into a republic finally succeeded in 1912, ending 2000 years of imperial tradition. Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925) was the great revolutionary leader. He pursued a policy of unity, national dignity, and Westernization, formed the national party, the Guomindang (Kuomintang), and founded a military academy, which gave birth to the nationalist army. Soon after his death general Jiang Jie-shi (Chiang Kai-shek) gained the upper hand. The Communist Party and the Red Army came into being in the 1920s, and in 1935 Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung) became their leader. Periods of cooperation between the two parties alternated with periods of intense fighting. There was also a running war with the warlords. The Japanese invasion began in the north in 1931, and after 1945 civil war broke out between the Nationalists and the Communists. On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic was proclaimed at Beijing and the Nationalist government fled to Taiwan. One must view the revival of Chinese Christianity in this period in the context of these external and internal political developments. The beginning of the nineteenth century found Chinese Catholics in an underground church - and Protestant missionaries were just beginning their work. Both had to find their way in a situation complicated by the influence of foreign powers and by Chinese anti-

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imperialism, national revival, and interparty fighting. Warlords controlled some regions of the country. Chinese intellectuals were divided between those educated in the West and those who wanted to return to the wisdom of ancient China. In the following paragraphs we can only briefly sketch the positions that Christians assumed in this complex situation. TJie Catholic Church. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Franciscans, Dominicans, and the Paris mission were able to resume their work. In 1841 the Jesuits returned and other missionary groups followed. They entered through the treaty ports and were protected by the foreign powers. Persecution regularly broke out, but the Western powers would then intervene. The Boxer rebellion came to a head in 1900 and cost the lives of thousands of Christians, including numerous priests and the Dutch bishop, Monsignor Hamer of Nijmegen. The foreign powers intervened as far as Beijing, and China was defeated. Heavy economic penalties were imposed, China's sovereignty was humiliatingly restricted, the fate of the ruling dynasty was sealed, and the impetus toward revolution was strengthened. This cooperation of church and foreign powers was described by the apostolic vicar of Beijing, Monsignor A. Favier: "Once again we have seen the necessity of French protection of the Catholic missions as it has always been exercised and which the church has never wanted to end. Accordingly, one will always see a consulate next to a church. The building where the French tricolor flies will always protect the Catholic cross".6 The Vatican did want to send a nuncio who would function independently of the Western powers, but France put a stop to that idea. China has never forgotten that church and imperialism thus worked together. Most of the missionaries and bishops thought they had to keep control in their own hands and not share it with the Chinese clergy. The national Council of Shanghai in 1924 assembled sixty ecclesiastical authorities with the right to vote. Of these, two were Chinese, neither of whom was a bishop. Of the twenty-seven mission heads none was Chinese. There were only nine Chinese priests.7 Chinese courtesy kept these priests from making known their displeasure. But to this day one can note feelings of frustration among the members of the Catholic Patriotic Society, which consecrates bishops without permission from Rome. 6 1

Peking, histoire et description (Lille, 1900) 269. Metzler, op. cit., 200-203.

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Tensions also existed between the Western bishops in China and the ecclesiastical administration in Rome. In 1922 Monsignor C. Constantini became the apostolic delegate in China. The task of this wise man was to implement the guidelines for the promotion of an indigenous clergy laid down in various encyclicals. After the Council of Shanghai he chose six Chinese priests to be bishops, whom Pope Pius XI himself consecrated at Rome in 1926. When Constantini returned to Rome in 1934, twenty-one mission regions wrere entrusted to the Chinese clergy. He had founded many regional and central seminaries and started a Chinese religious congregation of priests, a project for which he had received the support of a former Lazarist from Belgium, Vincent Lebbe, who understood the sensitivities of the Chinese. In 1946 a church hierarchy was established and the first Chinese cardinal was appointed. In 1949 Chinese Catholics numbered 3.25 million, most of them living in the North. Shanghai was also a center of Catholic life. There were by then 139 ecclesiastical provinces, most of them headed by Western bishops. Much good work was being done in schools, hospitals, agricultural cooperatives, and other settings. But the stigma of foreignness remained. Anti-foreign sentiment coincided with anti-church sentiment. The church was viewed as antiintellectual and anti-progressive and as inadequately pro-Chinese. TTie Protestant Missions. Protestant missions in China began in 1807 with Robert Morrison, but he had no success and died in 1834. James Legge worked from a base in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1873, translating the Chinese classics into English and leading an Englishspeaking community. In this early period many missionaries and physicians worked in Guanzhou (Canton) and other treaty ports. Great missionaries like Walter Medhurst and Karl Giitzlaff worked alone. Only after the treaties of 1858-60, which forced toleration of Christianity on the Chinese, did possibilities for other kinds of work arise. Hudson Taylor started the China Inland Mission in 1865 and its fiftyfour members adopted a Chinese lifestyle. But it was not a great success, and the Boxer rebellion put a stop to the experiment in 1900. The Taiping uprising (1850-64) showed the marks of Protestant influence. Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the rebellion, had read Morrison's tracts and had been baptized. He controlled Central China and in Nanjing was proclaimed the 'heavenly king'. In 1864 Chinese, British, and American armies defeated him. He had launched a social program a form of communism that is being studied today

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by Chinese scholars. After the uprising had been put down, mission congregations had to endure much suffering. Contemporary Chinese historians regard the Fourth of May movement, which began in Beijing in 1919, as the birth of Chinese Communism and of the Nationalist Party. Intellectuals believed that China's weakness was caused by the antiforeign and antiprogressive attitude of the Confucianists. They wanted science and democracy and looked with admiration toward Russia, where revolt had succeeded. Among them were both advocates and opponents of Christian faith. Protestant Christians had more contact with intellectual and socially conscious Chinese than did Catholics. They also tended to view Jesus as a merely human social reformer and emphasized ethical models and values. In 1949 there were 1.4 million Chinese Protestants with thirteen universities and many schools. Their attempts to adapt Christian theology to Chinese culture have been noteworthy. Despite the differences between them, for both Catholic and Protestant churches the past has remained a burden. To this day cooperation with foreign powers is viewed as foreign imperialism. This burden accounts for much of the thinking and practice of Chinese Christians today.8 THE CHURCHES AND CONTEXTUALIZATION TJie Catholic Church From 1950 to 1957 the Catholic Church found itself at an impasse with regard to the relationship between the Communist state and 'foreign religion'. The state opted for atheism and for independence 8

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of China (Cambridge, 1982); J. Beckmann, Die katholische Missionsmethode in China in neuester %eit 1842-1912 (Immensee, 1931); R.R. Covell, Confucius, the Buddha and Christ: A History of the Gospel in Chinese (Maryknoll, 1986); D.W. Treadgold, The West in Russia and China II: China 1582-1949 (Cambridge^ 1973); J. Leclercq, Vie du Pere Lehbe (Tournai, 1961); C. Soetens, Recueils des archives Vincent Lebbe (5 vols.; Louvain, 1982^86); J.M. van Minnen, Accommodatie in de chinese zendingsgeschiedenis (Kampen, 1951); K.S. Latourette, A History of Christian Missions in China (reprint, Taipei, 1975); L. Gutheinz, China im Wandel. Das chinesische Denkm im Umbruch seit dem 19. Jahrhundert (Munich, 1985); R. Laurentin, Chine et christianisme, apres les occasions manquees (Paris, 1977); B. Wolferstan, The Catholic Church in China 1860-1907 (London, 1909); Missionary Ideologies in the Imperialist Era: 1880-1920, ed. T. Christensen and W.R. Hutchison (Aarhus, 1982); The Expansion of International Society, ed. H. Bull and A. Watson (Oxford, 1985); A. Chili, L'occidente "cristiano" visto dai cinesi verso la fine del XIX secolo, 1870-1910 (Milan, 1979).

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from foreign involvement over modernization. But eighty percent of the bishops were non-Chinese, foreign mission organizations were dominant in the Church, and Catholics owed obedience to a foreign power, the pope in Rome. And the Church spoke an aggressive anti-Communist language. The result of these differences was that all foreigners were expelled and all Church property confiscated. The Church instructed its followers not to cooperate with the state and was regarded as unpatriotic. No way of being both patriotically Chinese and faithfully Catholic was being worked out. The state sponsored a Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (as it did with other religious groups) as part of its presentation of a political united front free of foreign influences. The principles of the association, which was founded in 1957, were self-government, financial self-support, and self-propagation. There was fierce resistance to the Patriotic Association in the Catholic community, especially on the part of the Legion of Mary, a lay movement with a strong organization and great influence, especially in Shanghai. Many Chinese bishops, priests, religious, and laypersons were imprisoned for life or placed in reform camps. In Shanghai, where the bishop was condemned to life imprisonment, resistance was intense. In Guanzhou (Canton) the bishop was imprisoned after being tried twice. But both bishops were freed, in 1985 and 1980 respectively. But some church leaders cooperated with the Patriotic Society in order to save the Church. Thus the Catholic community became divided from 1957 to 1966. Those who remained faithful to the pope were considered unpatriotic and those who joined the Patriotic Association or cooperated with it were regarded as unfaithful to the pope. An impossible dilemma arose, though in itself to be Chinese and Catholic is not a contradiction. The majority in the Church chose to practice their faith in an underground manner. The Bureau for Religious Affairs in Beijing started to form provincial and local patriotic societies and promoted the democratic election and consecration of bishops. This was, of course, an appeal to feelings of frustration on the part of Chinese priests with nationalistic sympathies who had suffered under foreign bishops. The candidates proposed by the Bureau were rejected by Rome, which declared that every consecration that it did not approve would automatically lead to excommunication. Some priests and laypersons accused Rome of failing to understand their difficult circumstances, and in these years thirty-five bishops were consecrated without Rome's permission. Pope John XXIII said that these con-

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secrations were paving the way for a regrettable schism, which these bishops deny to this day. There is no real schism — but communication with Rome is broken and tensions grew between members and nonmembers of the Catholic Patriotic Association. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), all religious groups suffered from the frequently violent action against the whole of China's cultural heritage. All Catholics — patriotic or not — were persecuted and many were jailed. The entire Church went underground, and much church property was destroyed. Education came to a halt. The Church's suffering alongside other Chinese people presented an opportunity to be saved from the stigma of foreignness. And out of that suffering arose local churches, an expression of the faith that is credible in the eyes of all Chinese people. Even without churches and without the right to practice the faith or to pass it on to their children, a large number of believers remained faithful. That after 1976 the popes openly praised Christians for this has done much good in China. After the Cultural Revolution, freedom of religion was restored and China sought out contact with the outside world. Liberalization and a shift in emphasis from atheism to modernization took place. The help of Catholics was needed, and Catholics received a place in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The Bureau for Religious Affairs in Beijing and the Catholic Patriotic Association were reorganized. Church buildings were quickly returned to the Church. A bishops' conference for doctrinal matters and a committee for Church matters were organized in 1980. The new state constitution of 1982 recognized the right of religious freedom, provided people did not disadvantage the state and were not dependent on foreign connections. The official teaching of the state was still that religion must go, but it had come to be recognized that this would be a long process. The period since 1982 has been marked by the reorganization of the Catholic Church. In 1985 an important Chinese personality, Professor Zhao Fusan, vice president of the Chinese Academy for the Social Sciences, stated that religion is neither an 'opiate' nor backward, but an important part of the culture and the most direct way to address world problems and to find the meaning of life. So, compared with 1950, matters have changed fundamentally. By 1986 some three million Catholics remained in China, 30,000 baptisms were occurring every year, and more than six hundred churches and more than a thousand places of prayer were open. About fifty bishops

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(four still appointed by Pope Pius XII) and two to three thousand priests, most of them elderly, were serving and were training laypeople and nuns for new ministries. After 1985 nine seminaries were soon opened with a total of 600 students, and after 1984 there were six novitiates for sisters with 140 novices. China's social and political situation is in a continual state of flux. As a result, the situation of the Chinese Catholic Church is also continually changing. In 1989 a new policy toward the Catholic Church was introduced by the Communist Party and by the State Council: purely religious relationships with the Holy See were permitted; the Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference was given the highest authority over the Patriotic Association; church property will be returned so that the church can be self-supporting and not dependent on the state; as far as the underground church is concerned, most are to be won over and united and the rest to be isolated and suppressed. Since the June 4, 1989, crackdown the government has adopted stricter measures in its dealings with the underground church. The situation became critical when in the same year a Bishops Conference of the underground church was inaugurated. Many bishops, clergy, and laity were arrested, especially in the provinces of Hebei and Fujian. In 1992 the Fifth National Catholic Conference was held. It was decided to place the Patriotic Association on the same footing as the Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference. The use of the vernacular in liturgy was approved. In 1994 the party and the government fixed rules for foreigners to observe in their activities. This has often not been understood well by the West. Actually, it was intended to make lawful the seminary teaching that was already being done. Those among the clergy and laity who had suffered greatly in the past on account of their loyalty to the pope were not willing to cooperate with the official church. Rome addressed Chinese Catholics as one body and avoided distinguishing between the Patriotic Association and the underground Catholics. In reality, however, there is a lack of the spirit of forgiveness on both sides of the division. At the end of 1992 there were some ten million faithful in the recognized Church; 3900 churches and chapels had opened since 1979; 113 dioceses and 69 bishops were recognized by the government; and there were 1200 priests, with 435 ordained since 1979; 21 seminaries with 1000 students; 1200 sisters, and 1000 sisters in formation. A dynamic Church that is at home in China has come into being. Its members want to be Chinese, Catholic, and autonomous. The problem of past centuries - the problem of foreignness - no longer

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exists. Rome has moved from condemnation to openness and dialogue. Chinese bishops and laypeople now travel to other countries, and numerous Western bishops, cardinals, and laypersons have traveled to China. A new model of interaction based on equality and mutual respect is emerging. This has created the possibility of solving the problems in relationship to Rome and to the Catholics not affiliated with the Patriotic Association. The Protestant Churches

In 1949 Protestant churches, both independent Chinese churches and foreign-based churches, were dependent on foreign support, especially from North America. But already in the nineteenth century Protestant missiology was familiar with the three-self principles, selfgovernment, self-support, and self-propagation. Foreign missionaries began to leave with the establishment of the People's Republic, and by 1952 none were left. In 1954 the Chinese Protestant Patriotic Society was born with more than 400,000 members. Almost all Protestant denominations were united into the Church of Christ in China with the aim of serving the country and the cause of world peace. As it was for the Catholics, the Cultural Revolution was a time of destruction and persecution. But the resurgence after 1979 proceeded more rapidly for the Protestants than for the Catholics. The Protestants have had important and competent leaders like Y.T. Wu (1893-1979), Dr. Wu-yi-fang (born in 1893), and Bishop K.H. Ting. Their number of trained theologians is higher, as one can tell by the level of study in the many theological schools that have reopened. The Bible and other Christian literature is again printed. A large number of church buildings have been restored to their congregations. A dynamic church with numerous foreign contacts but not dependence — presents itself to the world. A Christian Council of China, with Bishop Ting as president, was organized in 1980. There are also Protestant house churches — groups of Christians meeting in homes for worship. These groups came into existence especially during the Cultural Revolution and then continued to exist either because there were still too few churches open or because in the villages churches had never been established. Many people attend services both in homes and in churches. But there are also groups ~ some speak of large movements — that have fundamental objections to the three-self principles of the Patriotic Association. The old contrast between modernists and fundamentalists plays a role.

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Especially in southern China the number of house churches is rapidly increasing, though a lack of trained leaders is a factor in the rise of Buddhist influences, strange practices, and divisions in some of these groups. At the end of 1991 the number of Protestants was estimated to be between five and six million. However, in reality they may surpass ten million. There were seven thousand open churches and twenty thousand meeting points. The period from 1989 to 1992 was one of increasingly strict regulation of religious activity. Whereas Catholics were often arrested, Protestants were just more closely supervised. The national Christian Conference met in 1992 after the promulgation of a new Church Order at the end of 1991. The status of the China Christian Council was not fully clarified. Are the True Jesus Church or Seventh-Day Adventists members of the Chinese Church? What is the relationship between the council and other Christian communities? Is the CCC a national church or one Church among others? Does obedience to Chinese law, regulations, and government policies exclude the faithful from the voice of conscience? Enough is sure that under the circumstances the maintenance of the status quo is to be considered a reasonable achievement. For the time being the discussions on the Three Self Patriotic Movement have calmed down. The Chinese church presents itself as a mainstream conciliar Protestant church with orthodox doctrines and ecclesiology. In 1991 it was accepted into the World Council of Churches. There are, however, conservative evangelical organizations that give preference to house churches above the official church. House churches and autonomous communities flourish and increase their membership rapidly. Some suspect that very rapid growth will lead to superficial affiliation. The open churches do not involve themselves in politics. There is an aversion to liberation theology, but also an emphasis on revolution as participation in the people's struggle for a better future. Stress is also placed on the incarnation as Jesus' identification with human suffering, on community as an antidote to Western individualism, on unity as the end of Western denominationalism, and on the cosmic Christ as the fulfiller of the whole creation process. A contextual theology is coming into being, despite all the tensions. Further steps toward unity are needed.9 R.C. Bush, Religion in Communist China (Nashville, 1970); idem, Religious Policy and

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APPENDIX For additional information I refer to: 1. A. Camps O.F.M. and Pat McCloskey O.F.M., The Friars Minor in China 12941955, especially the years 1925-55 (St. Bonaventure, University: St. Bonaventure 1995). 2. Carine Dujardin, Missionering en Moderniteit, De Belgische Minderbroeders in China 1872-1940 (Leuven: Kadoc Studies 19, 1996). 3. Claude Soetens, L'Eglise Catholique en Chine au XXe siecle (Paris: Beauchesne, 1997).

Practice in Communist China: A Documentary History (New York, 1972); G.T. Brown, Christianity in the People's Republic of China (Atlanta, 1983, 19862); A.S. Lazzarotto, The Catholic Church in Post-Mao China (Hong Kong, 1982); E.O. Hanson, Catholic Politics in China and Korea (Maryknoll, 1980); P.E. Kaufman, China, the Emerging Challenge: A Christian Perspective (Grand Rapids, 1982); J-K. Fairbank, ed., The Missionary Enterprise in China and America (Cambridge, MA, 1974); J. Schiitte, Die katholische Chinamission im Spiegel der rotchinesischen Presse (Mimster, 1957), W. Schilling, Das Heil in Rot-China? (Bad Liebenzell, 1975); Households of God on China's Soil, compiled and tr. R. Fung (Geneva, 1982); F. Kiirschner, Kleine Kirche im grossen Land. Christen in der Volksrepublik China (Breklum, 1985); J. Heyndrickx, "The Chinese Catholic Church and the Churches: The Search for a New Model of Relationship, Equality and Mutual Respect", in China and Europe: Ferdinand Verbiest Foundation Yearbook 1986 (Leuven, 1986) 46-86; E. Wurth, Papal Documents Related to the New China (Maryknoll, 1985); Covell, op. cit.-, R. Simonato, Celso Costantini tra rinnovamento cattolico in Italia e le nuove missioni in Cina (Pordenone, 1985). D.B. Barrett, "Annual Statistical Table on Global Mission: 1987", International Bulletin of Missionary Research 11 (1987) 24, offered the opinion that the Christian community in China numbered 52,152,000 in that year, but no evidence for this implausibly high figure. E. Tang and J.-P. Wiest, ed., The Catholic Church in Modern China: Perspectives (Maryknoll, 1993); J. Charbonnier, Guide to the Catholic Church in China 1993 (Singapore, 1993); J. Chao, ed., The China Mission Handbook, a Portrait of China and Its Church (Hong Kong, 1989); A Hunter and Kim-Kwong Chan, Protestantism in Contemporary China (Cambridge, 1993); B. Whyte, Unfinished Encounter: China and Christianity (London, 1988).

DAS CHRISTENTUM AUS CHINESISCHEM UND JAPANISCHEM BLICKWINKEL WAHREND DER 'JESUITISCHEN EPOCHE' DER MISSIONSGESCHIGHTE ASIENS (1549-1773)*

Meinens Erachtens gibt es zwei Griinde fiir eine Neuorientierung im Fachgebiet der Missionsgeschichte Ost-Asiens. Erstens, es geht sich nicht nur darum zu verstehen wer den christlichen Glauben gepredigt hat und wie das geschah, es geht sich nicht nur um eine an Europa orientierte Geschichtsforschung, sondern auch um zu untersuchen wie das Christentum lokale Kulturen und Gesellschaften transformierte, welche die lokalen Antworten und Initiativen waren und welche die Rolle lokaler Christen und Agenzien war. Zweitens, sind die Geschichtsforscher heutzutage nicht nur auf Quellen, die von europaischen Missionaren stammen, angewiesen, weil chinesische und japanische Quellen — auch in Ubersetzung — vorhanden sind. Diese zwei Tatsachen ermoglichen es ein einseitiges Bild der Begegnung zwischen das Ghristentum und die chinesischen und japanischen Kulturen zu vermeiden. In diesem Beitrag mochte ich die Rezeptionsgeschichte des Ghristentums in Ostasien wahrend der 'Jesuitischen Epoche' (1549-1773) mit einigen Fallstudien erlautern. Ich mochte mit einer Vorbemerkung anfangen. 1. UNTERSGHIEDLIGHE REAKTIONEN Nicolas Standaert s.j., der in Leiden Sinologie studierte und sich in Hong Kong und Taiwan weiterbildete bis er in Leuven Professor fiir Sinologie ernannt wurde, hat die unterschiedlichen Reaktionen der nichtchristlichen und christlichen Chinesen auf den von den Jesuiten verkiindigten Glauben analysiert.1 Er unterscheidet vier Reaktionen, die auch auf die Situation in Japan anwendbar sind. * This chapter was first given as a lecture at Mulheim an der Ruhr, Germany, June 1998. It will be published in: Johannes Meier (ed.), ". . . usque ad ultimum terrae", Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Gottingen 2000. 1 Nicolas Standaert, 'Chinezen als creatieve gesprekspartners van het westers Christendom', in: Wereld en pending 26 (Kampen 1997) Nr. 4, 64-69.

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Eine erste Art ist die antichristliche Reaktion, die man z.B. in den buddhistischen Kritiken des Christentums in China und in Japan ofters finden kann. Es zeigt sich, das zwischen den christlichen einerseits und den buddhistischen oder konfuzianistischen Traditionen anderseits wesentliche Differenzen iiber z.B. die Inkarnation, die Seele des Menschen, die Wiedergeburt, das Toten von Lebewesen und die Ansichten iiber Himmel und Holle vorhanden waren. Es kam nicht zu einem konstruktiven Dialog. Die hier gemeinten chinesischen polemischen Schriften stammen nicht aus der Zeit der Verfolgung des Christentums, wahrend die japanischen Schriften meistens im Kontext der Verfolgung verfasst wurden. Die Literatur iiber diese Schriften ist umfangreich, und einige Autoren, wie Jacques Gernet, Iso Kern und George Elison haben einzelne Schriften in Ubersetzung zuganglich gemacht.2 Die Sympathisanten stellten eine zweite Art der Reaktion dar. Sie zeigten Sympathie fiir das Christentum ohne sich zum christlichen Glauben zu bekehren. Man begegnet ihnen nur in China und nicht in Japan. Einige Intellektuellen waren fiir die mathematischen, astronomischen oder ethischen Aspekten der 'himmlischen Studien' - eine chinesische Bezeichnung fiir das Christentum — aufgeschlossen. Sie waren den Jesuiten bei der Veroffentlichung ihrer wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten behilflich und sie schrieben Vorworte. Sie verfassten auch lobende Gedichte. Ihr Interesse war entweder oberflachlich oder selektiv auf einige Aspekte begrenzt. Eine dritte Art der Reaktion war das Leben der christlichen Gemeinschaften, die von den Missionaren gegriindet wurden. Bis vor kurzem konnte man aus den westlichen Quellen den Eindruck bekommen, das die Christen in China eine intellektuelle Elite bildeten. Aber in der damaligen christlichen Gesellschaft gehorten nur zehn Prozent zu den Gebildeten, und von diesen gehorte nur ein Prozent zu den Spitzengelehrten. Neunzig Prozent der Christen war ungebildet und arm. Es versteht sich, dass die Jesuiten mit ihnen anders vorgingen in der Verkiindigung der Frohbotschaft. Da niitzten die mathematischen und anderen Studien nichts. Diese Gemeinden wurden nur ab und zu von den Missionaren besucht und bei der 2 Jacques Gernet, Chine et Christianisme. La premiere confrontation, Paris 19912. Deutsch: Christus kam bis nach China, Zurich - Miinchen 1984. Iso Kern, Buddhistische Kritik am Christentum in China des 17. Jahrhunderts, Bern - Frankfurt am Main - New York Paris - Wien 1992. George Elison. Deus destroyed. The image of Christianity in early modern Japan, Cambridge (Massachusetts) - London 1991.

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Griindung waren die unteren Rangstufen der Gelehrten behilflich. So entstand ein volkstiimliches Christentum, das grundsatzlich nicht von den daoistischen und buddhistischen Brauchen abwich. Von der konfuzianischen Orthodoxie wurde es als heterodox betrachtet. In Japan war die Lage der christlichen Gemeinschaften komplizierter. Wahrend der Anfang der Mission von etwa 1549 bis 1590 wurde meistens versucht erst die Daimyos - die lokalen Herrscher - zu bekehren und durch ihre Vermittlung ihre Untertanen. Diese Massenbekehrungen waren nicht immer tiefgehend. Aber seit etwa 1590 anderte sich die Situation. Toyotomi Hideyoshi vereinigte das politisch zerteilte Japan und untersagte den Daimyos den Ubertritt zum Katholizismus. Bis 1617 gab es eine daurende Zunahme der Zahl der Christen. 1614 als die Verfolgung wirklich schwer wurde - gab es etwa 300.000 Christen. Diese Christen bekehrten sich nicht weil sie den Herrschern folgten, sonders weil sie sich dafiir entschieden. Sie gehorten zu verschiedenen Klassen der japanischen Gesellschaft. Die Jesuiten arbeiteten nicht unter den Ausgestossenen und den Aussatzigern, weil sie befiirchteten, dass dadurch ihre Beziehungen rnit den anderen Klassen der japanischen Gesellschaft Nachteil erleiden wurden. Andrew C. Ross hat diese Entwicklung kurz und biindig karakteriziert: The Jesuit mission reached out to the majority of Japanese, not, as is often implied, only to the political and social elite. The Society's initial policy could be characterised as 'from the top down' but it did go down, and it was effectively cut off from the 'top', the daimyo, after 1598.3

Es war wahrend dieser Periode des Wachstums, dass die Christen sich in kumikos oder confrarias organisierten. Diese Gemeinschaften waren fest gefugte lokale Gruppen, die regelmassig zusammenkamen um zu beten, um in der christlichen Lehre unterrichtet zu werden und um einander zu helfen. So wurde eine japanische Identitat erreicht. Die vierte Art der Reaktion auf den von den Jesuiten verkiindigten Glauben war die Konversion der Intellektuellen. Sie stellten christliche Schriften zusammen und entwickelten ihre Sicht des Christentums in Dialog mit ihrer eigenen Tradition. In China wurden das Chris3 Andrew C. Ross, A Vision Betrayed. The Jesuits in Japan and China 1542-1742, Maryknoll - New York 1994, 88, and 48-49, 87-91.

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tentum und die exakte Wissenschaften als ein Ganzes betrachtet. Anfangs des 17. Jahrhunderts gab es in der chinesischen Gesellschaft eine interne Krise und politische, wirtschaftliche, philosophische und kulturelle Sachen wurden diskutiert. Es gab Aufgeschlossenheit fur neue Ideen und Alternatieven. Praktische Losungen und eine objektive Moral wurden bevorzugt. Die Jesuiten in China haben die Bedeutung dieser Lage gut verstanden. In Japan war der Kontext der Begegnung verschieden. Die exakten Wissenschaften spielten keine Rolle. Wichtig war das Bestreben das Land politisch zu vereinigen. Die Jesuiten wurden in diesen Streit verwickelt, aber der Kampf gegen den Buddhismus war fur sie eben so wichtig. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, brauchten sie die Hilfe von Informanten, wie ehemaligen buddhistischen Priestern und Gelehrtern. Mit Ausnahme von Fabian Fucan, sind von diesen Informanten keine Schriften erhalten.4 Diese vier Arten der chinesischen oder japanischen Reaktion auf den von den Jesuiten verkiindigten Glauben sind nicht alle aus erster Quelle zu belegen. In diesem Beitrag beschranke ich mich auf die erste und die vierte Art, das heisst auf die Schriften der nichtchrisdichen oder nicht mehr christlichen Japaner oder Ghinesen und auf die Arbeiten der christlichen Autoren beider Nationen. 2. DAS CHRISTENTUM AUS DEM BLICKWINKEL DER CHINESISCHEN AUTOREN, DIE SIGH ZUM KATHOLISCHEN GLAUBEN BEKEHRTEN Im Brennpunkt der heutigen missionswissenschaftlichen Diskussion steht zweifelsohne die Inkulturation. Missiologen betonen, dass Inkulturation keine moderne Erfindung sei, sondern z.B. bereits von Matteo Ricci s.j. (1552-1610) angewandt wurde. Andere Wissenschaftler behaupten, dass man so einen Schritt zu weit geht. Sie erinnern uns daran, dass die Missionsmethode Riccis, der Jesuiten in China und des Griinders der Missionsmethode der Jesuiten in Ostasien, Alessandro Valignano, die Akkommodationsmethode genannt wird, und dass es einen Unterschied gibt zwischen Akkommodation und Inkulturation: This method of accommodation was characteristic for Matteo Ricci. In obedience to the orders of Alessandro Valignano (1539-1606), the 4

George Elision, op. cit., 36-38.

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'Father of the China Mission' M. Ricci had accommodated himself to a large extent to the Chinese culture: he had learned the Chinese language and studied classical Chinese, he dressed like a Chinese scholar, adopted a Chinese name, treated the scholars according to norms of Chinese courtesy, and preached the evangelical message in philosophical discussion groups. On the whole, he paid more attention to the quality of the conversions than to their quantity. But, generally speaking, he had not yet arrived at the stage of inculturation. The theology which he proclaimed in Chinese still remained Western. However, it is precisely this accommodation that eased the process of inculturation, which can be observed in Yang Tingyun's thought. The conversion of the intellectuals in China has often been considered a mechanical process. After their baptism, they allegedly threw off all 'superstition' and accepted Western Christianity in its pure form. If this were true, this development would have been an exception in the whole history of Christianity.0

Dies ziemlich langes Zitat ist der Dissertation Standaert's entnommen und hilft uns zu untersuchen wie die bekehrten chinesischen Intellektuelen das Christentum rezipiert haben. Nicolas Standaert ist ein Schiiler Erik Ziirchers, der Professor fiir Sinologie in Leiden war und der Studien dieser Art gefordert hat. Wir werden uns erst mit den Ansichten Ztirchers beschaftigen und dann einige Beispiele geben. Ziircher hat den Begriff 'marginal religion' eingefuhrt. Man kann diese marginale Religion oder Minderheitsreligion in China in vielen Formen antreffen: die jtidische Religion, den Islam, den Buddhismus und die christliche Religion der Literati. Der Konfuzianismus war in religioser, ritualer, sozialer und politischer Hinsicht die Orthodoxie und die Minderheitsreligionen sollten — um nicht als heterodox betrachtet zu werden - beweisen, dass sie auf der Seite der Orthodoxie standen. Die von aussen kommenden Religionen waren diesem kulturellen Imperativ untergeordnet. Diese Unterordnung enthielt vier Charakteristiken: die vollstandige Kompatibilitat zwischen der marginalen Religion und dem Konfuzianismus; das Komplementieren der konfuzianistische Lehre durch die auslandische Religion; die Neigung die auslandische Religion in historischer Hinsicht in die Anfange der chinesischen Zivilisation zuriick zu fiihren; und die Reduzierung der Brauchen und Ritualen der marginalen Religion durch die Ubernahme der chinesischen Brauchen und Ritualen. Ziircher hat die Schriften der bekehrten Literati, wie Yang Tingyun 5

N. Standaert, Tang Tingyun, Confucian and Christian in late Ming China, Leiden New York - K0benhavn - Koln 1988, 220.

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(1562-1627), Li Zhizao (1565-1630), Xu Guangqi (1562-1633), Zhu Zongyuan, Wang Zheng and Han Lin studiert. Bei alien ist ein konfuzianischer Monotheismus vorhanden. Ziircher nennt das auch wohl Tianzhuismus. Das heisst, dass im vorchristlichen China - zwischen 1500 und 221 v. Chr. G. — in den klassischen Schriften der Glauben an einen einzigen, allmachtigen Schopfer-Gott vorhanden war. Dieser Glauben an den Herr des Himmels - Tianzhu - wurde spater besonders von den Neu-Konfuzianisten entpersonlicht in eine hochste Macht der Ordnung und in alien Dingen inwohnend. Genau so ging es mit dem urspriinglichen chinesischen Glauben an die Unsterblichkeit der Seele, die von der Idee, dass die Seele kurz nach dem Tode aufgelost wurde, ersetzt wurde. Das Christentum der westlichen Missionaren — und das war auch die Uberzeugung Riccis — hatte nur die Absicht diesen urspriinglichen Konfuzianismus wieder herzustellen. Ausserdem ist die christliche Lehre expliziter in Sachen als Tatigkeit des Himmels, Natur des Menschen und Glauben an das Jenseits. Es wird klar sein, dass in den Schriften der bekehrten Literati auf diesen konfuzianischen Monotheismus grossen Wert gelegt wird. Die Erlosung wird nicht betont. Es geht um den allmachtigen Herr des Himmels, der Schopfer und Richter ist. Bei Yang Tingyun und Zhu Zongyuan wie auch bei einigen anderen wird iiber z.B. die Inkarnation und die Auferstehung diskutiert, aber diese Diskussionen bleiben marginal. Bei Wang Zheng und Han Lin wird den Glauben auf den Herrn des Himmels reduziert und ist von Erlosung keine Rede. Die Frage ist nicht ob die Jesuiten den ganzen Glauben gepredigt haben. Wie Ziircher konkludiert: Converted literati could not but interpret the message in their own way, and from their writings they appear occasionally to have gone farther than their teachers would ever go: hexagrams proclaiming the glory of the Trinity; a Tianzhuism without Jesus; the primordial Chinese revelation that suffices to redeem our souls. They were doing so in varying ways. Chinese converts were working out their own variations. How could it be otherwise? A handful of missionaries cannot be expected to have been able to effectively supervise more than a hundred thousand converts spread over hundred of localities, nor to ensure the orthodoxy of their views. Rome thought they could — that was the real problem.6

b Erik Ziircher, 'Jesuit Accommodation and the Chinese Cultural Imperative', in: D.E. Mungello (Hg.), The Chinese Rites Controversy. Its history and its meaning, Nettetal 1994, 64 und 31-64 passim.

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Auch Willard J. Peterson hat sich die Frage gestellt: Warum sind sie Christen geworden? Peterson hat drei bekehrten Literaten untersucht und seine Antwort ist: diese Literaten haben im Christentum eine externe und universelle Quelle, die die Disziplin wahrte, gefunden. Die traditionelle Werte waren gefahrdet und konnten nur von einer neuen Grundlage gerettet werden. Diese Literaten haben im Christentum ein Starkungsmittel fur ihre traditionelle Werte gefunden.7 Ich mochte diese Betrachtungen mit einigen Beispielen erlautern. Es ist auffallend, dass viele christiche Literaten in der Stadt oder der Umgebung von Hangzhou zu Hause waren. Diese Gegend, die zur Kiistenprovinz Zhejiang gehorte, war wahrend der spaten Ming Dynastic ein Zentrum des kulturellen und intellektuellen Lebens. Ich mochte zwei christlichen Literaten hervorheben: Yang Tingyun (1562-1627) und Zhang Xingyao (1633-etwa 1715). Der erste iibte seine Tatigkeit wahrend der chinesischen Ming Dynastic aus und der zweite wahrend der mandschu Dynastic der Qing. Die Zahl der Katholiken in China bewegte sich zwischen 125.000 und 300.000. Die katholische Gemeinde in Hangzhou wuchs zwischen 1678 und 1718 von etwa 500 auf etwa 1000. Hangzhou war bis etwa 1696 ein wichtiges Missionszentrum der Jesuiten. Wie andere christliche Literaten schreiben Yang Tingyun und Zhang Xingyao ausfuhrlich iiber die Ahnlichkeiten und die Differenzen zwischen Konfuzianismus und Christentum. Ganz klar werden die Ahnlichkeiten von Yang festgestellt: The great message of the Jesuits consists in not more than two points: 'To venerate the Only Master of Heaven above the myriad creatures' and 'To love people as oneself. Well, to venerate the Master of Heaven is the 'Brightly serving of the Lord-on-High' of us Confucians. To love people as oneself is the 'All people are brothers and sisters' of us Confucians.8 Auch Zhang schrieb eine Arbeit iiber: die Ahnlichkeiten und er zitierte mehr als zwei hundert Mai die Klassischen Chinesischen Schriften um zu beweisen, dass der Herr des Himmels als ein personlicher Gott den Jahrhunderte vor Christus lebenden Chinesen eben so gut bekannt war als den Christen.9 ' Willard J. Peterson, 'Why did they become Christians? Yang T'ing-yiin, Li Chih-tsao and Hsu Kuang-ch'i', in: Charles E. Ronan s.j., and Bonnie B.C. Oh (Hg.), East meets West. The Jesuits in China 1582-1773, Chicago 1988, 129-152. 8 N. Standaert, op. cit., 120. 9 D.E. Mungello, The Forgotten Christians of Hangzhou, Honolulu 1994, 97.

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Das heisst aber nicht, dass diese Anlichkeiten nicht gefahrdet waren: Confucians consider Heaven as their basis. Therefore they know Heaven, they serve Heaven, they stand in awe of Heaven, and they revere Heaven. This is the teaching of the Chinese ancient saints. . . . After the Qin dynasty, the reverence of Heaven began to decrease, and from the Han dynasty onwards, the reverence of Heaven bowed down. During one thousand six hundred years the teaching of Heaven was dark and unclear, and there was nobody to clarify the faults. M. Ricci came from overseas and was the only one to understand thoroughly the basis of the Way. He really could cultivate it and prove it. His words definitely spoke about: 'Brightly serving the Heaven'.10

Nach Yangs Meinung war das Christentum eine wichtige Hilfe fur den Konfuzianismus und er schrieb, dass sie sich gegenseitig unterstiitzten. Wie die Jesuiten betrachte er die Geschichte als einen Prozess der progressiven Offenbarung. Nach dem Sundenfall erleuchtet Gott jede individuelle Natur und dass wird auf Chinesisch naturliche Unterrichtung genannt. Der nachste Schritt in der Geschichte war die Offenbarung Gottes Unterrichtungen durch Moses und diese wird die geschriebene Unterrichtung genannt. Der lezte Schritt war Gottes personliche Offenbarung durch die Inkarnation in Jesus Christus und diese wird Unterrichtung durch Gnade genannt. Diese Geschichtsauffassung ermoglichte es Yang auch die Differenzen, wie die Inkarnation, das Leben Jesu von Geburt bis zum Tode, die Lehre von Himmel und Holle, die Trinitat, die Lehre vom Guten und Bosen usw. als die vollstandige Offenbarung von allem was im ursprimglichen Konfuzianismus verborgen geblieben war zu betrachten. Zhang dagegen meinte das die christliche Lehre den Konfuzianismus transzendierte, weil Jesus Christus erst nach Konfuzius und Menzius geboren wurde. Sie waren nicht in der Lage die vollkommene Lehre zu kennen. Zhang glaubte, dass Konfuzius vom Herrn des Himmels ubertroffen wurde: das Leiden und Opfer dieses Herrn beabsichtigte den Menschen ihre Siinden zu vergeben, ihnen ein Entkommen der Holle zu gewahren und ihnen ein ewiges Leben im Himmel zu zusagen. Zhang fragte sich: wie konnte die Anstrengung des Konfuzius die klassischen Schriften herauszugeben mit diesen Tatsachen verglichen werden?" Nicolas Standaert hat auch die Schriften des christlichen Literaten, Yan Mo (etwa 1640 bis 1720) studiert. Yan Mo hat sehr ausfuhrlich die Ahnlichkeiten studiert. Standaert konkludiert: N. Standaert, op. at., 130-131. N. Standaert, op. at., 110-161. D.E. Mungello, op. at., 143-164.

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Without doubt, by stressing these similarities, the text gives the impression of going in the direction of Tianzhu-ism. The term Tianzhu-ism was recently coined by E. Ziircher to underline that writings of Chinese Christians focus on Tianzhu, while the person of Jesus Christ and the whole question of incarnation is given relatively little attention. It would be wrong to say, as Ziircher makes clear, that incarnation is given no attention in their writings. However, this problem of Christian doctrine is marginalised, since the emphasis is not upon redemption, but upon the Lord of Heaven as an omnipotent creator and a stern judge. This is certainly true for Yan Mo's text which we analysed. There are a few minor references to the Trinity, incarnation and the Son who was given birth by the Father. Full attention, however, is given to the powerful Tianzhu. One should add that this Tianzhu-ism was not only due to the fact that Chinese (converts) could more easily accept the notion of God than the notion of Christ. Furthermore, because the term-controversy focused on the notion of God, it largely contributed to Tianzhu-ism as well.12

3. DAS CHRISTENTUM AUS DEM BLIGKWINKEL DER JAPANISCHEN CHRISTLICHEN AlJTOREN Das christliche Jahrhundert Japans (1549-1639) war zum grossten Teil eine jesuitische Epoche.13 Das Auftreten der Jesuiten in Japan unterschied sich vom Benehmen ihrer Mitbriider in China. Besonders wahrend der Amtsperiode des Superiors Francisco Cabral (1570-1581) wurde den Charakter der japanischen Bevolkerung nicht hoch geschatzt.14 Luis Frois s.j., der ein Traktat iiber die Kulturgegensatze Europa - Japan (1585) verfasste, beschrankte sich auf eine exakte Beschreibung vieler japanischen und europaischen Geplogenheiten und betonte die Unterschiede.'3 Es war Alessandro Valignano, der von 1574 bis zu 1606 Visitor der Mission in China und Japan war, vorbehalten diese Situation um zu andern. Er fuhr neue Missionsgrand12 Nicolas Standaert s.j., The Fascinating God. A challenge to modern Christian theology presented by a text on the name of God written by a 17th century Chinese student of theology, Rome 1995, 140-141. 13 C.R. Boxer, The Christian Century in Japan 1549-1650. Berkeley - Los Angeles 19672. 14 Horst Griinder, Welteroberung und Christentum. Ein Handbuch zur Geschichte der Neuzeit, Giitersloh 1992, 328-330. 10 Luis Lrois s.j., Kulturgegensatze Europa-Japan (1585), Hrsg. von Josef Franz Schiitte, Tokyo 1955. Engelbert Jorissen, Das Japanbild im 'Traktat' (1585) des Luis Frois, Miinster i. Wf. 1988. Traite de Luis Frois S.J. (1585) sur les contradictions des moeurs entre Europeens et Japonais. Traduit du Portugais par Xavier De Castro, Paris 1993.

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satze ein und verlangte von seinen Mitbriidern dass sie sich den japanischen Brauchen akkommodieren sollten. Diese neue Haltung war hochst wichtig, soil aber nicht iiberschatzt werden. Es ging um eine aussere Akkommodation: man sollte sich bemiihen die japanische Sprache zu lernen und sich benehmen wie die Japaner. Es ging bestimmt nicht um eine tiefgehende Akkommodation oder Inkulturation. Die westliche Theologie und die gegenreformatorischen Ansichten blieben massgebend.1'1 Valignano verfasste einen Katechismus: Catechismus christianae fidei, in quo veritas nostrae religionis ostenditur, et sectae japonenses confutantur, editus a Patre Alexandra Valignano Societatis jesu, Olyssipone 1586.1' Er argumentierte gegen Buddhismus und Shintoismus mit scholastischen Argumenten und betrachtete sie als Idolatrien. Unverfroren attackierte er die Moral der Japaner.18 Die Jesuiten in Japan waren nie zahlreich. Sie wurden von zwei verschiedenen Arten Laienhelfer assistiert. Es gab die dojuku und die kambo. Die dojuku waren keine Jesuiten, aber sie hatten die Geliibde abgelegt, waren aufs engste mit der Arbeit der Jesuiten verbunden und waren Mitarbeiter in den Hausern und Kirchen oder zustandig fur Katechese, Predigt und Instruktion der Christen. Die kambo waren die lokalen Fiihrer der christlichen Gemeinschaften. Es waren besonders die mehr gebildeten dojuku, die die japanischen Religionen studierten und mit ihren Vertretern diskutierten. Leider sind sehr wenige schriftliche Niederschlage dieser Auseinandersetzungen zu uns gekommen. Eine ausnahme ist Fabian Fucan. Fukansai Habian wird in den westlichen Quellen Fabian Fucan oder Fukan genannt. Er wurde 1565 geboren aus einer christlichen Mutter. 1586 wurde er als Bruder in der Gesellschaft Jesu aufgenommen und — weil er gebildet war ~ konnte er den Jesuiten sehr behilflich sein. Er verfasste mehere Biicher: Myotei mondo oder Myotei Dialogen in 1605 und Ha Daiusu oder Der zerstorte Gott in 1620 waren die wichtigsten. Das lezte Buch verfasste er nach seinem Austreten aus dem Jesuitenorden und aus dem Christentum in 1608. lb Josef Franz Schiitte s.j., Valignanos Missionsgrundsatze fur Japan, Band I, Teil 1 (1573-1580), Roma 1951, Band I, Teil 2 (1580-1582), Roma 1958. J.F. Moran, The Japanese and the Jesuits. Alessandro Valignano in sixteenth-century Japan, London New York 1993. Dauril Alden, The Making of an Enterprise. The Society of Jesus in Portugal, its empire and beyond 1540-1750, Stanford 1996, 130-140. Alexandre Valignano, Les Jesuites au Japan. Relation missionaire (1583), traduction et presentation et notes de J. Besinau s.j., Paris 1990. 17 Facsimile Edition, Tokyo 1972. 18 George Elison, op. cit., 37-42.

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Die Ursache dieses tragischen Ereignisses war die kulturelle Barriere, die die Jesuiten aufgerichtet batten und die es ihm unmoglich machte Priester zu werden. Mit Ha Daiusu werden wir uns spater beschaftigen. Myotei mondo ist ein Gesprach zwischen zwei Damen, die mit grosser Befriedigung die Wahrheiten des Christentums verherrlichen und die Unwahrheit des Konfuzianismus, des Buddhismus und des Shintoismus abweisen. Die Grundziige dieses Gespraches werden von Fucan fogenderweise festgestellt: The intent of this Myotei Dialogue stems from the fact that ladies of quality and widows have no proper way of giving easy interview to men, though they be monks, and of inquiring about doctrine, though they have the desire it must remain fruitless. I have therefore compiled this dialogue, so that they may read it by themselves and come to the light, appreciating in full measure the salutary value of the Kirishitan evangel. I have divided the number of volumes into three. In the first volume I have damned and dismissed Buddhism for a totally pernicious doctrine, since its base is of the void non-ens. In the second volume, I have discussed the purport of Confucianism and of Shinto, demonstrating the fact that they differ vastly from the true Kirishitan teachings. In the third volume, I have further elevated the teachings of our Kirishitan religion for manifestation of their truth. Despite my general lack of skill with word, and regardless of my short measure of talent, I have only cherished the one desire that the True Lord Deus be hallowed in the world. Thus I am entirely oblivious of any derision that may be directed at me. And that is because I look forward to the Divine Bond of future life in Heaven.19

Fucans Intention war drei wichtige Lehren heraus zustellen: 1. die logische Notwendigkeit des einen Schopfers als personlichen Ursprungs vom allem was sich im Universum befmdet. Dies im Gegensatz zu dem leeren non-ens im Buddhismus, Konfucianismus und Taoismus. 2. Die Demythologisierung des Buddhismus und des Shintoismus. 3. Die Superioritat der christlichen Moral der Verantwortlichkeit, die von einem ausserirdischen Standort abgeleitet ist. Wie bei den christlichen chinesischen Autoren kann man auch bei Fabian Fucan feststellen, dass fur ihn einen personlichen Gott, der einzig ist, der Schopfer aller Wesen und Dingen ist, und der einen

Ibid., 438.

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festen ausserirdischen Grund der Moral 1st, das wichtigste 1st. Es ist gestattet auch in diesem Fall von Tianzhu-ism zu sprechen.20 Im Grunde genommen geht es wie in China so auch in Japan um zwei verschiedene Weltanschauungen: die westliche, die von Aristoteles und von der Bibel geformt wurde, und die ostliche, die von den heiligen Schriften Ostasiens gepragt wurde. Das Gottesverstandnis in beiden Hemisferen hat sich anders entwickelt. Man kann Fabian Fucan in seinem Werke Myotei mondo als einen rationalen und kritischen westlichen Geist betrachten und - wie spater gezeigt wird in Ha Daiusu als einen iiberzeugten Anhanger der ostlichen Spiritualitat, die meditiert iiber das Grosse Ultirne. Die Tragik des Lebens Fabian Fucans war es nicht fertig gebracht zu haben diese beiden Weltanschauungen wirklich mit einander irn Dialog zu bringen. 4. DAS CHRISTENTUM AUS DEM BLICKWINKEL DER NICHTCHRISTLIGHEN GHINESISCHEN AuTOREN Iso Kern hat acht chinesische Kritiker des Christentums studiert und ihre Texte iibersetzt. Es geht um die Periode: 1608-1643. Mit Ausnahme von einem waren alle Kritiker buddhistische Monche. Die Ausnahme war einen Laienbuddhist. Wahrend den ersten zwolf Jahren ihrer Tatigkeit in China (1583-1595) traten die Jesuiten im buddhistischen Monchsgewand auf, bezeichneten sie sich mit dem Wort fur buddhistische Monche (seng) und lebten sie in buddhistischen Klostern oder unmittelbar daneben. Als sie dann 1595 die buddhistische Monchskutte mit dem Gelehrtengewand der Konfuzianer vertauschten, versuchten sie sich in ihren Lehren vom Buddhismus klar abzuheben, ja lehnten ihn offentlich zur grossen Verwunderung ihrer chinesischen Zuhorer entschieden ab und unterwarfen ihn in Disputationen einer sehr scharfen Kritik. Die Buddhisten horten nicht auf dem von den Missionaren propagierten Christentum konziliant der eigenen Weltanschauung ein — oder unterzuordnen. Die buddhistische Kritik des Christentums fing erst 1608/1609 an.21 Iso Kern hat die Gegensatze zwischen den beiden Lehren studiert: Der am meisten betonte Gegensatz ist der folgende: Die christlichen Missionare lehrten als den hochsten religiosen Wert den weisen Schopfer Ibid., 142-184. Iso Kern, op. cit., 1-49.

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aller Dinge, den Herrn im Himmel, der befielt und Gehorsam verlangt, der belohnt und straft, der aber auch die Menschen liebt, barmherzig ist und ihnen ihre Schuld vergibt. Von seinem Willen vor allem hangt die Erlosung und das Heil der Menschen ab. Sich selbst diesen hochsten Herrn gleichzustellen, sich mit ihm zu identifizieren, ware Vermessenheit,' ja grosste," diabolische Siinde. Genau diese Siinde J o wirft Ricci den Buddhisten vor. Die chineischen Buddhisten, vor allem Yuanwu, Tongrong und Xingyuan, sehen in einem solchen vom Menschen himmelweit unterschieden Herrn eine leere Vorstellung von etwas bloss Aeusserem, die die Menschen im Wiinschen und Bangen des Samsara festhalt, bzw. sie von der Erleuchtung, d.h. dem Innewerden ihrer eigenen Buddha-Natur, ihrer eigenen 'ursprunglichen Erleuchtung,' (ihrer 'Tathagata-Weisheit') abhalt. Diese im eigenen Inneren, im tiefsten Geist oder Herzen immer schon vorhandene und nicht als etwas Aeusseres zu suchende ewige Erleuchtung und Wahrheit ist der hochste religiose Wert, sie ist die Hauptursache der Erlosung.22

Zu diesem Gegensatz tritt noch ein zweiter, ebenfalls von beiden Seiten hervorgehobener Gegensatz hinzu: Die christliche Missionare lehren eine individuelle unsterbliche Geistoder Vernunftseele. Nach ihren buddhistischen Kritikern ist auch eine solche unsterbliche Seelensubstanz eine irrige Vorstellung des im Samsara verstrickten unterscheidenden Bewusstseins (Yuanwu, S. 125/6; Tongrong, S. 185/6). Die in der Tiefe des eigenen Geistes oder Herzens immer schon vorhandene ewige Erleuchtung (Buddhaschaft) ist nach diesen chinesischen Buddhisten nicht Bestandteil einer individuellen Seele, keine psychologische fahigkeit oder Leistung, sondern ist alien Wesen gemeinsam, macht sie alle im Grunde gleich und eint sie zu einer 'Substanz' (z.b. Tongrong, oben, S. 190). Wenn also das menschliche Selbst als eine einzelne von alien anderen Substanzen unterschiedene endliche Seelensubstanz definiert wird, wie es in der Lehre der christlichen Missionare geschah, dann kann die 'Tathagata-Weisheit' nicht etwas diesem so gedachten Ich Inneres und Eigenes sein, nichts, was einer solchen Seelensubstanz gehort. Die 'Tathagata-Weisheit' ist in Hinsicht auf eine mdividuelle Seelensubstanz durchaus ein 'Transzendentes'. Anderseits ist auch den Missionaren, die scholastische Philosophic studiert hatten, der Gedanke nicht fremd, dass ihr Schopfergott seinen Geschopfen, und damit auch dem menschlichen Geist, nicht einfach als etwas Aeusseres gegeniibersteht, sondern als ihre bestandige Seinsursache (Ursache ihrer Entstehung und Erhaltung im Sein) in ihnen, ja ihr Innerstes ist. Doch stellten die Missionare im allgemeinen ihren Schopfergott als ein besonderes Einzelwesen dar, das, wie ein Topfer seinen Gefassen, den anderen Einzelwesen ausserlich gegeniibersteht. Zhixus Kritik weist auf den Wiederspruch zwischen der Vorstellung 22

Ibid., 292.

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Gottes als eines Einzelwesens ('Himmelsherrn') und dem Gedanken Gottes als eines universalen ewigen Seinsprinzips, das in alien Einzelwesen anwesend ist (II, Par. 4, 5, 18; schon Zhuhong, oben S. 85.23

Es wird klar sein, dass es sich hier um verschiedene Grunddimensionen des Menschseins geht. Die jesuitische Missionare predigten einen Schopfergott, der ein personales Gegeniiber ist und dem man dient im Gehorsam und in Liebe. Die Buddhisten suchten das Heil in die Tiefen des eigenen Geistes durch Versenkung und Erleuchtung in dessen wahren, ewigen Grund, den Buddhageist. Diese zwei Grunddimensionen wurden immer wieder diskutiert. Man diirfte auch hier von einem Tianzhu-ismus sprechen. Die Trinitat, das Leben und Sterben Jesu usw. werden nur ab und zu erwahnt und abgelehnt. Die Auferstehung Jesu wurde nicht diskutiert.24 5. DAS CHRISTENTUM IM BLICKWINKEL DER NIGHTCHRISTLICHEN JAPANISGHEN AuTOREN George Elison hat vier antichristliche Schriften auf Englisch iibersetzt. Diese sind: Ha Daiusu von Fabian Fucan, Kengiroku oder Betrug demaskiert, von Sawano Chuan, oder Christovao Ferreira, Superior der Jesuiten in Japan und 1633 Apostat geworden, Kirishitan Monogatari, ein anonymes Volksbuch, und Ha Kirishitan oder Gegen die Christen, von Suzuki Shosan.20 Es versteht sich, dass in den Schriften Fabian Fucans und Sawano Chuans auf die Tatsachen des Lebens, Sterbens und Auferstehens Jesu ausfiihrlich eingegangen wird, wie auch auf die Zehn Gebote. Beide sind ja Christen gewesen und fiihlten sich verpflichtet zu beweisen warum sie die Nachfolge Jesu und das christliche Leben aufgaben. Es ist erstaunlich wie sie die Ereignisse des Lebens Jesu in Detail besprechen oder wie sie die Zehn Gebote ausfiihrlich behandeln. Und doch sind die Schriften keine katechetische Arbeiten! Chuan z.B. erzahlt die Leidensgeschichte Jesu und mit folgendem Abschnitt beschliesst er seine Darlegung:

23 24

Ibid., 293-294.

Gianni Crivelli, Preaching Christ in Late Ming China, the Jesuits' presentation of Christ from Matteo Ricci to Giulio Aleni, Taipei 1997, 375 418. 25 George Elison, op. ciL, 255-389.

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The reason why he was suspended upon the cruz is as I have described above. And therefore, from that time on until the present, country upon country has hated this religion: those executed for it number in the countless thousands and tens of thousands. The Kirishitans' customary claim is that on the third day he came back to life and on the fortieth day after that ascended into Heaven. But these are matters of sixteen hundred years antiquity, without trustworthy evidence. These are but tales composed by the disciples of Jesus Christ, that is all.26

In diesen beiden Schriften wird wenig liber den Gottesbegriff gesagt. Man kann dariiber erstaunen, denn beide haben sich zum ZenBuddhismus bekehrt. Die zwei andere Schriften - das anonymes Volksbuch und die Arbeit von Shosan — sind von niemals Christen gewesen Japaner verfast worden. Auch in diesen Schriften sind keine philosophische oder theologische Debatte vorhanden. Die Verfasser zeigen sich vom Auftreten der Jesuiten gekrankt. Als richtige Japaner konnten sie kein Verstandnis fur die Aktivitaten der Jesuiten haben. Sie sind gut informiert, und kennen sich in der Geschichte des Christentums in dem christlichenjahrhundert Japans gut aus. Aber sie waren Japaner dessen Ehre angetastet wurde: wie Suzuki Shosan: The Bateren (Briider) who have come in recent years have had no fear at all of Heaven's Way. They have wilfully made up a Creator of Heaven and Earth, and have destroyed shrines of the gods and temples of the Buddhas. They nuture the plot to annex our land to South Barbary, and to that end they have deluded the people with all sorts of empty lies. Some thieving bonzes of our own country have thrown their lot in with these foreigners and, taking the name of Bateren or Iruman, have dragged a great many people down into perdition. The Buddhas of our country are not Buddhas, the sun and the moon are to be despised, the gods are nonexistent; so they claim. Their offence is grave in the extreme. The punishment of Heaven, the punishment of the Buddhas, the punishment of the gods, the punishment of man — not one of these shall they escape! All, all shall be suspended by the rope and killed! Their followers' hearts also brim with this offence. And accordingly a countless number have perished — how many thousands upon ten thousands! This all is the fruit of deviltry; it is not only official determination that has stamped them out. . . . No matter how often they come here, as long as the Way of Heaven prevails they will all, all come to their own destruction. No doubt of it! Keep this fact in mind, keep it in mind.2/ Ibid., 313. Ibid., 387-388.

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Man kann einen beachtlichen Unterschied zwischen den Ausfiihrungen der nichtchristlichen chinesischen und den nicht - oder nicht mehr christlichen japanischen Autoren feststellen. In China war die Diskussion philosophisch-theologisch und diese beschrankte sich auf die Gotteslehre und die Schopfungslehre. In Japan dagegen vielmehr auf die konkreten Einzelheiten des Christentum -auf historische Fakten und Traditionen. Das hangt mit der Missionsmethode der Jesuiten zusammen. In China wurde das Christentum nicht als eine politische Religion, die das Land fremden Machten ausliefern wollte, erfahren. In Japan war die Lage verschieden. Die Mission der Jesuiten war fast von Anfang an von der Zusammenarbeit mit den portugiesischen Handelsleute in Macao abhangig und Nagasaki wurde als Hafen und Handelsstadt den Jesuiten iibertragen. Es fehle den Jesuiten eine Gesamtschau im Fernen Osten.28 Obgleich Alessandro Valignano sich von diese Situation bewusst war, konnte er keine Losung finden. 6. NACHTRAGLIGHE BETRACHTUNGEN Die jesuitische Epoche der Missionsgeschichte Asiens (1549—1773) ist zweifellos faszinierend. Personlichkeiten wie Franz Xaver, Matteo Ricci, Alessandro Valignano. Giulio Aleni, Nicolo Longobardo, Francisco Cabral und viele anderen und auch Fabian Fucan und Sawanu Chuan sind im stande gewesen bis heute Beachtung zu finden. Aber erst heute sind wir in der Lage diese Geschichte von beiden Seiten zu beurteilen. Es ist nicht langer gestattet nur die westlichen Quellen zu benutzen. Es ist selbstverstandlich dass diese nicht immer objektiv sind. Sie vermitteln uns mit einer Sicht, die von der westlichtheologischen und humanistischen Anschauungen bestimmt war. Ofters beabsichtigten diese Quellen auch materielle und geistige Unterstiitzung von Seiten westlicher Mitchristen zu bekommen. Seit etwa dreizig Jahren stehen auch chinesische und japanische Quellen zur Verfiigung. Die haben das Bild nicht wenig geandert. Die Rezeption des Christentums in China und Japan wird allmahlich mehr oder weniger klar. In dieser Hinsicht gibt er noch viel zu tun. Es ist zu hoffen, dass das Studium der zwei Grunddimensionen oder der zwei Weltanschauungen — historisch und aktuell — mehr ausfuhrlich weitergefiihrt werde. Dabei soil man nicht bei der Auto-Interpretation

Dauril Alden, op. cit, passim.

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oder der Hetero-Interpretation (sich selbst interpretieren oder einander interpretieren) stehen bleiben. Die Zeit ist gekommen eine KoinoInterpretation zu versuchen. Man konnte diese wie folgt umschreiben: In der Begegnung der Religionen sind die Teilnehmer Partner. Gemeinsam miissen die Partner erst ihre Ahnlichkeiten herausarbeiten bevor sie ihre Differenzen untersuchen. Und wenn es iiber die Differenzen geht, soil man diese nicht ausschliesslich als Gegensatze, sondern als wechselseitige Bereicherungen oder Korrekturen betrachten.29 Wahrend der jesuitischen Epoche wurde ofters iiber die Ahnlichkeiten und die Differenzen diskutiert. Es versteht sich, dass eine KoinoInterpretation nicht im Frage kam, denn der Zeitgeist der Gegenreformation und des neuen humanistischen Bewusstseins — vielleicht von Nikolaus von Cusa abgesehen — war dafiir nicht geeignet.

APPENDIX Additional information is given by: 1. Claudia von Collani, Warum kam Christus nicht bis nach China? Das Problem der Inkarnation in der kontextuellen Theologie der alten Chinamission, in: Giinter Risse, Heino Sonnemans, Burkhard Thess (Hg.), Wege der Theologie: an der Schwelle zum dritten Jahrtausend, Paderborn 1996, 889-899. 2. Michael Sievernich, Interreligioser Dialog in Yamaguchi (1551), in: Giinter Risse, Heino Sonnemans, Burkhard Thess (Hg.), Wege der Theologie: an der Schwelle zum dritten Jahrtausend, Paderborn 1996, 877-888. 3. Nicolas Standaert s.j., New Trends in the Historiography of Christianity in China, in: The Catholic Historical Review 83 (Washington 1997) 573-613. 4. Jean-Paul Wiest, Bringing Christ to the Nations: shifting models of mission among Jesuits in China, in: The Catholic Historical Review 83 (Washington 1997) 654-681. 5. Erik Ziircher, Confucian and Christian Religiosity in late Ming China, in The Catholic Historical Review 83 (Washington 1997) 614-653.

29 A. Camps O.F.M., 'Theologie der Religionen als Pilger-Theologie', in: Giinter Risse et alii (Hg.), Wege der TJieologie an der Schwelle zum dritten Jahrtausend, Paderborn 1996, 372.

POLICY AND PRACTICE IN ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONS IN NINETEENTH CENTURY ASIA: CHINA - INDIA - VIETNAM*

Stephen Neill, who passed away in 1984, may have been the last author to write in a rather optimistic way on the history of Roman Catholic Missions in the nineteenth century: The opening of the nineteenth century saw the Roman Catholic Church in a sad state of disarray. But, in point of fact, the phoenix was just about to arise again from its ashes. The sufferings of the Pope at the hands of Napoleon won both sympathy and respect for the institution which he represented. A series of outstanding popes succeeded in effecting that centralization of the life of the Church in Rome after which earlier pontiffs had striven in vain. Currents of new life and thought flowed in many countries, and, as always happens, new life in the Church found its outlet in renewed missionary activity. It was in this century that the missionary work of the Roman Catholic Church became fully international. Already in the eighteenth century France had begun to replace Spain and Portugal as the main source of missionary personnel. Throughout the nineteenth century France continued to contribute more than her share, but Belgium came in at her side with steadily increasing representation, to be followed by Holland and Ireland, and later by America and Britain.1

Stephen Neil is certainly right in mentioning the religious awakening, the leading role of the popes, the Roman centralization and the internationalization of the Church through a renewed missionary activity. Today, we are aware of the fact that a deeper and more analytical study of these facts reveal a consistent and romanized concept of planting the Church.2 Recently, Isaac Padinjarekuttu wrote about this situation: The theological presuppositions which lay behind the missionary enthusiasm were also varied. They justified the conviction that the goal of mission was the planting of the hierarchical Church in the missions

* This chapter was first given as a lecture at Edinburgh 1997 and in Leuven 1998. 1 Stephen Neill, A History of Christian Missions, revised for the second edition by Owen Chadwick, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1986, 213. 2 Claude Soetens, L'Eglise Catholique en Chine au XX1 siecle, Paris: Beauchesne, 1997, 26.

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and further, they encouraged a predominantly clerical mission. The universal Church was put in the forefront rather than local churches, and the attitude towards non-Christian religions and cultures was negative because the attempt of the missionary should be to make an indigenous Church after the model of his own Church. Missions and the spread of European civilization were supposed to be complementary tasks, thus encouraging ethnocentrism and paternalism. . . . Colonialism was regarded as an act of providence in order to facilitate the easy spread of the Christian faith. One can hardly speak here of a theology of mission which takes into account the concrete situation that existed in the missions in the closing decades of the nineteenth century. Only in the twentieth century would a more determined effort be visible in order to give solid theological justification for missionary activity.3 For a critique of the missions started during the Vasco Da Gama epoch of Asian history (1498-1945) the work of K.M. Panikkar is still of great value, but today, fortunately, Catholic authors too are casting doubt on important aspects of the Roman Catholic missions during the nineteenth century.4 Giuseppe Alberigo may have the last word: In this way a concept and an organization of the Church exclusively inspired by the universal dimension are being defended: the local Churches and the regional Churches are only subbranches of the unique and true Church: indeed, the universal Church. This universalist and unidimensional concept increases the centralization of the ecclesial organization, and, in the same time, the horizontal dynamism of communion gives way to an authority descending from the top of the ecclesial pyramid towards the obedience of the rank and file.1 It is interesting to observe how the history of Roman Catholic Missions in the nineteenth century evolved from descriptions like: a situation of disarray, of persecution and glorious awakening, to a critical examination of the policy and practice of both those placed in authority in the central administration of the Church and those working in the foreign missions. In this contribution it is my intention to study

3 Isaac Padinjarekuttu, The Missionary Movement of the 19th and 20th Centuries and its Encounter with India, a Historico-Theological Investigation with three Case Studies, Frankfurt am Main - Berlin - Bern - New York - Paris - Wien: Peter Lang, 1995, 27. 4 K.M. Panikkar, Asia and the Western Dominance, A Survey of the Vasco Da Gama Epoch of Asian History 1498-1945, London: George Allen and Unwin, 1953. 3 Giuseppe Alberigo, 'Chretiente et Cultures dans 1'Histoire de 1'Eglise', in: Eglise et Histoire de I'Eglise en Afrique, Actes du Colloque de Bologne 22—25 Octobre 1988, edites par Giuseppe Ruggieri, Paris: Beauchesne, 1988, XIX-XX.

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in a more analytical way this kind of criticism, I restrict my research to Asia. This research will have an important side-effect: the discovery of indigenous agents and local Catholic communities well on the way to become local Churches. Our sources are in the first place the archives of the Roman Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide, which have been made accessible to the general public on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of that papal institution, as also some monographs.6 However, as has been observed by Claude Prudhomme, the study of the Roman documents needs specialized skills: However, the most difficult phenomenon to discover in the Roman archives unless one studies allusions whose decoding demands a precise knowledge of each context - is the reaction of those who receive the catholic message. To the permanent action of the clergy to model the faithful corresponds the permanent and spontaneous effort of these faithful to act deviously and to reappropriate Catholicism.7

Francoise Aubin comes to the same conclusion in her study of the local Chinese Church during the nineteenth century: There is nothing, or almost nothing, in Chinese emanating from them, except books of spiritual teaching and of liturgy: and nothing in Chinese about them. And, generally speaking, there is no informant at hand to tell us a story eighty years or a century old. It is a frustratirg situation for sinologists interested in mission history and in Chinese ethnology.8

I hope to overcome these difficulties by trying to discover the voices and the acts of members of the Catholic communities in Asia which give us an impression of their real situation. A detailed study of the policy and the practice of Roman Catholic Missions in nineteenth century Asia will bring to light the existence of local Catholic communities which were well on the way to become local Churches.

6

Sacrae Congregationis De Propaganda Fide Memoria Rerum, Vol. III/l and HI/2 (1815-1972), Rom - Freiburg - Wien: Herder, 1975-1976, XXI and 808 pp. and X and 885 pp. 7 Claude Prudhomme, Strategic Missionnaire du Saint-Siege sous Leon XIII (1878-1903), Centralisation Romaine et Defis culturels, Rome: Ecole Francaise de Rome, 1994, 527. 8 Franchise Aubin, 'About Chinese Catholics (late Qing - early Republican Era)', in: Jeroom Heyndrickx C.I.C.M. (ed.), Historiography of the Chinese Catholic Church: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Leuven: Ferdinand Verbiest Foundation, 1994, 63.

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1. THE VERTICAL COHESION BETWEEN ROME AND THE MISSIONS! FROM THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE COMMUNICATION TO THE INCREASE OF THE CONTROL

The Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith had a special interest in maintaining strong ties with its vast territories in all continents. The means of communication and transport did not facilitate communication. Moreover, missionaries have strong links with their provincial and general superiors and tend to rely upon their province or their mother house which normally were to be found in France and sometimes in Belgium. The Netherlands, Germany or Italy. When during the second half of the nineteenth century the number of missionaries began to increase, the danger of centrifugal forces and of nationalisms became apparent. During the reign of Pius IX (1846-1878) and of Leo XIII (1878 1903) the Propaganda started with improving on the rules, which should reinforce her authority over the missions. In 1907 the Propaganda published in two large volumes, each page containing two columns, all the decrees, instructions and rescripts concerning the apostolic missions and ranging over the years 1622—1906.9 It is striking that three fourths of the material concerns the period between 1801 1906. The study of this voluminous documentation reveals an ever increasing dependence of bishops, vicars apostolic and missionaries of the central authority in Rome. They have to ask for faculties and for guidelines regulating the life of the community in all details. To give one example in 1842 the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office replied to a question posed by the Vicar Apostolic of Shanxi in China whether images of Jesus Christ, representing him with a Chinese beard and with Chinese shoes, were allowed in churches and homes?; the answer was: one should take care that these images should be conform to the images used by the Catholic Church all over the world.10 The universalist tendency is clear, but in the same time one is informed about the fact that these Chinese images were present in churches and in homes! Vicars Apostolic especially in Asia made a practice of asking the Roman Congregations advise in all sorts of things. Matrimonial law 9

Collectanea S. Congregationis De Propaganda Fide seu Decreta Instructiones Rescripta pro Apostolicis Missionibus, Vol. I Ann. 1622-1866, NN 1-1299; Vol. II Ann. 1867 1906, NN 1300-2317, Romae: Typographia Polyglotta, 1907, 732 and 573 pp. 10 Ibid., Vol. I, 528-529.

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was very often an occasion for asking questions, but also devotional practices and indulgences. The Propaganda made it a point to pay much attention to the intellectual and spiritual education of the local clergy as well as to the mutual relations between them and the foreign missionaries. The Propaganda stood firm in stressing the need for an indigenous clergy. An instruction of November 23, 1845 was sent to all the bishops, vicars apostolic and superiors of missions in order to remind them of this constant practice. They have to help and assist the Propaganda by means of a subdivision of their territories and the appointment of more vicars apostolic, so that some day these communities will be governed by an ordinary hierarchy. That goal can only be reached when they forster priestly vocations among the local population and open seminaries, wherein the students should receive a good and lengthy education. Some day, some of them should be worthy of becoming bishops and leaders of their own community and they must be prepared for that task by entrusting to them greater responsabilities. The practice of considering indigenous priests to be an auxiliary clergy must be abolished. Slowly and prudently a new practice should be introduced: the order of precedence between foreign missionaries and indigenous priests should be determined by the duration of missionary service. For the time being, catechists may be indispensable, but young persons should be encouraged to become priests and to take their place." In this instruction of 1845 the policy of the Propaganda is clearly in favour of an indigenous clergy and of establishing a local ordinary hierarchy, though expressions like 'some day', 'slowly', 'prudently' and 'for the time being' indicate some restraint. In 1869 on September 8, the Propaganda sent an instruction to the vicars apostolic of India, in which this restraint is explained in concrete terms: in many apostolic vicariates there are indigenous priests, who are without the necessary qualities or who give way to abuses. The vicars apostolic should be well aware of the fact that people in India have an inclination to be too ambitious and following the crowd. Therefore, the vicars should not stimulate these tendencies.12 In 1883 on October 18, the vicars apostolic of China received an instruction urging them to enforce in the seminaries of China the prescriptions 11

Ibid., Vol. I, 541-545. Celso Costantini, 'Ricerche d'Archivio sulP Istruzione 'De Clero Indigena' emanata dalla S.C. 'De Propaganda Fide' il 23 Novembre 1845', in: Miscellanea Pietro Fumasoni-Biondi, Vol. I. Roma: Storia e Letteratura, 1947, 1-78. 12 Collectanea, Vol. II, 21-28.

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given by the Council of Trent (1545-1563): young vocations should start as altar boys during one or two years, between the age of ten and fourteen they can enter a probation time in the minor seminary during two years, after which they can be admitted as real minor seminarians. Central or regional major seminaries should be erected, in which lay people may play no role. The instruction reveals some doubts concerning the question whether Chinese seminarians should read Latin authors of the golden period or classical Chinese authors. The philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas is being praised as excellent and both during the philosophical and theological studies the Chinese sominarians should be instructed about the method of refuting the errors and prejudices of their own nation. Clerics and lay catholics are forbidden to take part in contests organized in order to enter the Chinese class of the 'literati'. The maior seminarians should be kept in the seminary for a long period of probation and after ordination to the priesthood they should be placed under the care of a foreign missionary. The very best of the local priests can be appointed as heads of a district in which younger local clergy is present. The instruction is convinced that in each region of the Church in China a 'penitential house' should be erected in which local priests for a time or for life should be placed in order to atone for offenses against ecclesiastical discipline of for a too accommodating behaviour.13 These case studies prove that no freedom was given to the vicars apostolics to act according to the circumstances of time and place. An uniform discipline was enforced and the local priests were intentionally estranged from their own family, culture and history. The moral and spiritual demands of the Chinese clergy were so great that hardly any one of them could get a chance to reach a higher office. However, instructions and decrees were not the only means used by the Propaganda. Vicars apostolic and Prefects apostolic were constantly reminded of their status of being delegates of the Pope and not bishops in their own right. At regular intervals they had to ask for faculties, which were given to them in small numbers and for a limited period. Every ten years they were obliged to go to Rome (ad limina apostolorum) to report personally on their mission, every five years they had to write an extensive report and every year

Ibid., Vol. II, 187-196.

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another one, containing the most important events. When special problems arose, one of the vicars apostolic was charged with making an investigation based on a questionnaire and extending to the entire region or country. It was in India that the institution of an apostolic delegate was first introduced. During the nineteenth century the vicars apostolic could not solve problems concerning the Portuguese Padroado, the British colonial legislation on marriage, the formation of the Indian clergy and the socio-religious structures of the Hindu society. Pope Leo XIII and the Propaganda sent an extraordinary delegate and thus an apostolic delegation with a permanent status came into being. The apostolic delegate is a representative of the Pope and the Holy See in countries without diplomatic relations. As he is dependent on the Propaganda, he is also competent to solve pastoral and disciplinary questions. The first apostolic delegate was Mgr. Antonio Agliardi, who played an essential role in settling some Padroado problems with Portugal and in introducing the hierarchy in India in 1886. In 1892 he was succeeded by Mgr. Ladislaus Zaleski, who resided in Sri Lanka and who considered it his task to be "the eyes and the ears of the Holy See".14 These case studies may prove that the impressive restoration of the missionary activity in the nineteenth century was accompanied by an ever increasing centralization of power over the missions in the hands of the Roman Congregations and especially of the Propaganda. There is a certain logic in this evolution. The Roman Catholic Church had reached a very low point in many respects in the beginning of that century. Only strong-willed Popes and strongminded persons at their service were able to organize a come-back on the international level. The First Vatican Council (1869—1870) is symbol of that particular nineteenth century. It is, however, a pity that even after the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) a new relationship between the central offices of the Catholic Church in Rome and the local Churches is still prevented by the great and courageous spirit of a passed century.

14 Prudhomme, op. cit., 183. For a study of the entire subject, see Prudhomme, 177-192. Josef Metzler, 'Die Missionen der Kongregation in Indien mit besonderer Beriicksichtigung der Patronatsfrage', in: Sacrae Congregationis De Propaganda Fide Memoria Rerum, Vol. III/l, 388-460 (see note 6 above).

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ASIAN MISSION HISTORY 1956-1998 2. LOCAL CATHOLIC COMMUNITIES IN ASIA ON THE WAY TO BECOME LOCAL CHURCHES

As had been said in the introduction, we have to read between the lines in approaching this subject. I have tried to do so by studying three cases: China, India and what we call today Vietnam. Bob Whyte is one of the few modern authors who has understood the situation of the Chinese Church in the nineteenth century: The return of the missionaries bringing a degree of protection to the vulnarable and persecuted Catholic communities was not an unmixed blessing. Quite apart from the reinforcement of the image of Christianity as a foreign faith, Chinese Catholics had developed their own patterns of life. Unfortunately for them, these patterns did not necessarily conform to the rigid notions of authority that marked the nineteenth-century Catholic missionaries. There is no doubt that isolation had produced confusion over doctrinal matters in some areas, and the fears of the missionaries were not without foundation. Yet, the imposition of European forms on what was now an indigenous church was to inhibit the growth to maturity of the Chinese Catholic Church. One might even say that the present-day divisions and agonies of Chinese Catholics can be tracked back to the policies of the missionaries in the middle of the last century.15

There were several indications that the Catholic community in China was growing to maturity. The number of catholics increased — notwithstanding the heavy persecutions - from 200.000 in 1810 to 300.000 in 1848, to 336.127 in 1865 and to a little more than 900.000 in 1900. The proportion between the Chinese and the foreign clergy was as follows: 1815: 1848: 1865: 1900:

89-80 135-84 167-199 470-88616

It were the unequal treaties of 1858 and 1860 between China and Great Britain/France that made it possible for foreign missionaries 15 Bob Whyte, Unfinished Encounter. China and Christianity, London: Collins, 1988, 107. "' Pascal M. D'Elia s.j., Catholic Native Episcopacy in China being an Outline of the Formation and Growth of the Chinese Catholic Clergy 1300-1926, Shanghai: T'usewei Printing Press, 1927, 50-51; for the numbers of 1815 cf. J. Beckmann, in: Handbuch der Kirchengeschichte, hrsg. v.H. Jedin, Bd. VI, erster Halbband, Herder, Freiburg etc. 1971, 235.

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to enter China in greater numbers and under protection of the foreign powers. That the Church in China did not perish during the time of persecutions, which were heavy during the first half of the century, was due to the spirit and the zeal of the Chinese clergy, upon which the heaviest burden had been imposed. In the province of Sichuan a synod was held in 1803 and was attended by 13 Chinese priests and two foreign missionaries. All the same, they voted for very detailed prescriptions, that reflected the spirit of French ecclesiastical style and mentality. The feelings of the Chinese people had to give way to conformity with the European or Roman form even in matters of little importance. In China and the neighbouring countries this synod remained a point of reference during a century.17 We do not knowr whether the Chinese priests at the synod voted wholeheartedly in favour of all these prescriptions. Elsewhere some problems arose and they reveal a strong-willed Catholic community. This happened in 1842 when the Jesuits returned to China and settled in Jiangnan area (Anhui andjiangsu south of the Yangzi). They were French nationals and arrived in a region that was both an ancient stronghold of Catholicism and under the influence of French military power. Catholics had built up a distinctive form or organization: Chinese priests and Chinese Lazarists, lay leaders (hui-zhang) and virgins were successful in tying together the local Chinese communities. The arrival of foreign Jesuits was deeply felt by them as a painful event. Some sent petitions to Rome and to the court at Lisbon and even refused the ministry of the Jesuits during several years. The clash was very strong between the Jesuits and the lay leaders, who presided at public prayers, weddings and funerals, administered baptisms in absence of a priest, and made converts. The Jesuits resented that the lay leaders had the control over the finances and even risked a revolt. The Jesuits bypassed the clan councils in their endeavour to gain control over church properties. The virgins held an important position in the communities and played a role in liturgical and religious matters. For the Jesuits this was a source of scandal and some were worried about their power vis-a-vis the priests. The Jesuits solved the problem by 'regularizing' the virgins' life in 17

Josef Metzler, Die Synoden in China, Japan und Korea 1570-1931, Paderborn - Miinchen - Wien - Zurich: Ferdinand Schoningh, 1980, 42~67. Fortunate Margiotti O.F.M., 'La Cina Cattolica al Traguardo della Maturita, in: Sacrae Congregationis De Propaganda Fide Memoria Rerum, Vol. III/l, 514-516 (see note 6 above).

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imitation of Western nuns. In 1869 French nuns founded a Chinese Congregation, the Association of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin (Presentadines), which should 'replace' the virgins. While the virgins strengthened local autonomy, the Presentadines extended French ecclesiastical control.18 Another clash took place in the city of Songjiang (south of Shanghai), when the bishop forbade the virgins to chant during Holy Mass and ordered the prayers to be recited by men and women alternately, not being aware of the fact that public conversation between the two sexes was against Chinese custom. A storm of protests arose and a pamphlet was published against the bishop and his Jesuit supporters. The same community together with the parish priest, Matthew Sen, accepted the appointment of a bishop by the king of Portugal (without Roman approbation) and hoped to be freed from the Jesuits. All this happened in 1845 and led to the suspension of the parish priest.19 Similar problems arose in Sichuan, where some 40.000 catholics lived and were entrusted to the Foreign Missions of Paris (MEP). The missionaries were very few and leadership had evolved to lay leaders, elected by the community and invested with authority by a priest, in most cases a Chinese priest. Christian virgins, who lived in the home of their family and who had taken private vows, were teaching girls, training catechumens for baptism, baptizing dying infants, doing conversion work and engaging themselves in famine relief and medical care. When after 1844 and especially after 1858 many more French missionaries arrived, all this went into oblivion.20 I may conclude that during the first half of the nineteenth century in China there was no lack of indigenous agents! There is no comparison possible between the situation in China and India. In the nineteenth century there were twro larger communities of Christians in India: on the one side, the Christians of St. Thomas, founded by the Church of Mesopotamia/Persia in the early period of Christianity and, on the other side, the so called Goa 18

Eric O. Hanson, Catholic Poletics in China and Korea, Maryknoll - New York: Orbis Books, 1980, 17-20. Joseph de la Serviere s.j., Histoire de la Mission du Kiangnan: Jesuites de la Province de France (Paris) (1840-1899), Shanghai: Catholic Mission Press, 1914. Louis Hermand s.j., Les Etappes de la Mission du Kiangnan, 1842-1922 et de la Mission de Nanking 1922~1932, Zicawei: Jesuites Province de France, 1933. 19 Hanson, op. cit., 18-19. 20 Robert E. Entemann, 'Christian Virgins in Eighteenth-Century Sichuan', in: H. Bays (ed.), Christianity in China. From the Eighteenth Century to the Present, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996, 181.

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Catholics, converted by Portugese missionaries in the sixteenth century and living under the Portugese Padroado-system. The Padroado Catholics had spread to other places, like Bombay, Madras, Mangalore etc. The Thomas Christians lived in the southern part of India, in Kerala. Both communities had their own characteristics, but they were not Indian Churches as they cherished strong bonds with either Portuguese or Middle Eastern Churches and powers. The number of Catholics was more or less three quarters of a million. In the beginning of the nineteenth century there were four Padroado dioceses, Goa, Cranganor, Cochin and Mylapore and three Vicariates Apostolic under the Propaganda: Malabar, Great Moghul and TibetHindustan. The fundamental problem of the Church during this period was the settlement of the Padroado-Propaganda conflict. The Syrian Catholic community was involved in that situation, as it was both under Propaganda and Padroado rule from time to time. The period between 1838 and 1857 is known as the so-called 'Goan Schism'. In 1886 a new concordat was signed between the Holy See and Portugal and the hierarchy was erected in India. All bishops belonged to the Latin rite and were Europeans. About 1.197.000 Catholics of the Latin rite were placed under the Propaganda and 476.000 Latin-rite Catholics remained under the Portuguese Padroado. Catholics of the Syro-Malabar rite numbered more or less 220.000 and were given their own separate administration, though they had to wait till 1923 for receiving their own hierarchy.21 There was Christianity in India, but it was not an Indian Christianity. As Stephen Neill observed, the situation up to 1858 was as follows: If the missionaries had been asked in what way they understood the meaning of the phrase 'an Indian church', there might have been considerably less agreement. All came, naturally, with the idea that what they represented was the best and purest form of Christian faith and organisation, and that the best possible fate for the Indian Christians was to be as closely adapted as possible to what the missionaries had brought with them. The church of the Thomas Christians had been so long in India that it might have laid claim to being the Indian church; yet Roman Catholics and Anglicans alike had no hesitation about trying to mould that ancient church a little nearer to their heart's desire.22 21 Metzler: see note 14 above. Thomas Pothacamury, The Church in India, Bombay: Examiner Press, 1961, 40-41. Padinjarekuttu, op. cit., 51-56. 22 Stephen Neill, A History of Christianity in India 1707-1858, Cambridge - London New York - New Rochelle - Melbourne - Sydney: Cambridge University Press, 1985, 386.

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Neill describes the situation of the Indian priests too: The Indian priests, such as there were, would wear exactly what their European colleagues wore; they would say mass in Latin (except for those who said it in Syriac), without the smallest variation from what had been established as the Roman pattern, Few, Indian or foreign, had made any deep study of the religions by which they were surrounded. They enjoyed all the advantages of uniformity, but paid the penalty in a lack of originality. There was to be a church in India, but little attention was paid to what it might mean be to an Indian church.23

However, a reverse process took place: Hindu leaders and intellectuals, who never became Christians, undertook a reform of Hinduism and Indian society by themselves, influenced by Christianity and under the impact of the British rule. Raja Rammohan Roy (1772-1833), founder of the Brahmo Samaj, Debendranath Tagore (1817-1905) and Keshab Chandra Sen (1838-1884) must be mentioned.24 The centre of this movement was Bengal and it was from there that at least one person arose, who tried to bring about an Indian church, Brahmabandav Upadhyaya (1861—1907). As an adult he joined the Anglican Church and soon after that the Roman Catholic Church. He adopted the life-style of a sannyasi, he proposed the Vedanta philosophy as a basis for Christian theology in India, strived after a de-westernized Christianity and christology and advocated a double loyalty as a Hindu-Christian. However, the Apostolic Delegate, Mgr. Ladislaus Zaleski, did not like this approach. He suppressed the publication of the journal Sophia, started by Brahmabandev, and he forbad Catholics to read the writings of this guru, as they were dangerous doctrines. In the opinion of Zaleski inculturation or contextualization should stop short at learning the languages and the domestic customs. Brahmabandev was greatly disappointed and tried without success to meet the Pope. His influence in Indian Catholic theology and in the efforts to change the Church in India to a Church of India is being felt up to this day.23 23

Stephen Neill, op. at., 394. Arvind Sharma (ed.), Neo-Hindu Views of Christianity, Leiden - New York Kobenhavn - Koln: EJ. Brill, 1988. 25 J. Lipner and G. Gispert-Sauch (eds), The Writings of Brahmabandab Upadhyaya, Vol. I, Bangalore: United Theological College, 1991. Felix Wilfred, 'Entwicklung der katholischen Theologie in Indien', in: Felix Wilfred und M.M. Thomas, Theologiegeschichte der Dritten Welt: Indien, Munchen: Kaiser Verlag, 1992, 163-178. A. Vaths.j., Im Kampfe mit der ^auberwelt des Hinduismus, Upadhyaya Brahmabandev und das Problem der Uberwindung des hoheren Hinduismus durch das Christentum, Berlin Bonn: Ferd. Diimmlers Verlag, 1928. 24

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Stephen Neill may conclude this part: At the first Brahmabandav attracted considerable sympathy among Roman Catholics of all races in India. But gradually sympathy changed to suspicion and suspicion to condemnation. . . . But it is hard not to think that with wiser handling his gifts might have been saved for the Church. To the end of his life, which came on 27 October 1907, he declared himself to be faithful Christian, but he died outside the communion of his Church. He was a forerunner who has had many followers, more prudent and more prepared to wait. Yet it may be doubted whether even eighty years after his death the Roman Catholic Church in India has fully appreciated the significance of the problems he raised.26

In the beginning of the nineteenth century Cochin-China and Tonking were politically united under the same dynasty. There were some Dominican Fathers from Spain working in the north of the country, but all the other missionaries belonged to the Society of the Foreign Missionaries of Paris (MEP). From the very beginning of the missionary work in Vietnam in the sixteenth century periods of heavy persecution and of religious liberty happened in rapid succession. All the same there were 400.000 Catholics, 15 European missionaries, about 50 Vietnamese priests and three apostolic vicariates in 1820. At regular intervals the persecutions continued up to 1885 when the French occupied the entire country, as well as Cambodia and Laos. It is estimated that some 100.000 Vietnamese Catholics died for their faith, that more than one hundred Vietnamese priests and twenty missionaries were martyred and that 2000 churches were destroyed. The main cause for these persecutions was the fear that the social-political-religious system of the Vietnamese society was endangered by people coming from the ocean and possessing a different culture and civilization. Confucianism was influential and the monarchy as well as the patriarchal family-system defended the cult of the ancestors and the ancient beliefs.27 The situation in Vietnam and in China during the nineteenth century was rather identical: persecutions, rather large communities of faithful, more local priests than missionaries and interesting initiatives to become a really local church. In Vietnam existed what in French is called: "La Maison de Dieu", or: The House of God. Jean y> Stephen Neill, A History of Christian Missions, revised for the second edition by Owen Chadwick, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1986, 343-344. ' ll Joseph Nguyen Huy Lai, La Tradition Religieuse Spirituelle et sociale au Vietnam. Sa Confrontation avec le Christianisme, Paris: Beauchesne, 1981, 365-504.

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Guennou gives a clear description of this important institution: The House of God constituted a large unit, a kind of congregation or a community without vows. The European missionaries and the local priests put their resources together, but they had no community life. Each priest was accompanied by 4, 5 or 6 catechists and 12 or 15 disciples, of which the catechist took care. In these priestly communities most of the time was devoted to study, but paid for employees were avoided: if enough reason existed, houses were built, support was organized and, anyway, the garden was cultivated and table-service and all the domes-household work were cared for.28

The institution called 'The House of God' was a continuation and a development of an institution introduced by a Jesuit missionary in Vietnam in the beginning of the seventeenth century, Alexander de Rhodes. As Stephen Neill writes: It was the genius of Rhodes which brought into being what was in effect a celibate lay brotherhood, living in community and under rule. The catechists were carefully trained and were given elementary instruction in medice, a qualification which secured them ready access to all classes of people. After passing successfully through two lower grades, they were permitted publicly to take three vows: that they would remain unmarried, that they would pay into the common fund whatever they received by way of gifts or alms, and that they would obey the member of their group who was appointed by the missionary as their superior.29

Especially in the north of Vietnam, Tongking, The House of God flourished. In 1800 11 French missionaries and 43 local priests and some 1000 catechists and disciples belonged to The House of God and it was due to them that Tongking became catholic. But The House of God existed also elsewhere in Vietnam. It is interesting to observe that there were no isolated catholics. They lived in entirely catholic villages, organized in the traditional way by their seniors assisted by a catechist. In times of persecution they protected the priests and the catechists by hiding them by turns in a chain of 28 Jean Guennou, 'Les Missions d'Indochine au XVIIP siecle', in: Sacrae Congregationis de Propaganda Fide Memoria Rerum, Vol. II (1700-1815), Rom - Freiburg — Wien: Herder, 1973, 985. 29 Stephen Neill, op. cit., 166-167. Jozef Metzler, Die Synoden in Indochina 1625~1934, Paderborn-Miinchen - Wien - Zurich: Ferdinand Schoningh, 1984, passim. Nikolaus Kowaski O.M.I., 'Die Anfange der 'Domus Dei' in Tongking und Cochinchina', in: J. Specker und W. Buhlmann (eds), Das Laienapostolat in den A-Iissionen, SchoneckBeckenried: Neue Zeitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft, 1961, 155-160. Peter C. Phan, Mission and Catechesis. Alexandre de Rhodes and Inculturation in SeventeenthCentury Vietnam, Maryknoll - New York: Orbis Books, 1998, 101-106.

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catholic villages. It should not be forgotten that there was a kind of congregation of religious women, founded in 1670 by Lambert de la Motte without any European assistance, called: The Lovers of the Gross. Young girls could join them, but they took vows only after having reached the age of fifty. They lived in communities of 15 to 40 members, earned their own living, worked with the women in the rice fields and did all kinds of works of charity.30 Our conclusion may be that in nineteenth century's Asia both in China and Vietnam the local catholic communities were well on the way of becoming a local church. In contrast with what happened in China, the arrival of new missionary forces towards the end of the century in Vietnam did not halt this evolution. 3. POLICY AND PRACTICE Our research may have made clear that we should not caricature the policy and practice of centralization and romanization of the Roman Catholic authority in Rome and its representatives in the missions, but also that we should not underestimate the capability of local catholic communities and of some missionaries for introducing diversities in the real life of catholics in Asia. The come-back of the Roman Catholic Church on the international scene in the course of the nineteenth century was not an easy one. The Napoleontic wars, the Padroado rights of Portugal and Spain and the rise of colonial powers, like Britain and France, were strong forces to be reckoned with. Strong-willed Popes and strong-minded Roman Congregations, especially the Propaganda, chose centralization of power as the most effective remedy to tackle the problems. There is no indication that they dealt with that situation by applying a new ecclesiology or mission theology. One could say: the policy was a practice. 30 Jean Guennou, op. cit., 985-986. Jean Guennou, 'Floraison Missionaire dans les Persecutions: les Missions d'Indochine au XIXeme siecles in: Sacrae Congregationis De Propaganda Fide Memoria Rerum, Vol. III/l, 461-471 (see note 6 above). Jean Verinand, 'Un Secolo di Chiesa in Indocina', in: Storia della Chiesa, Vol. XXIV: Dalle Missioni alle Chiese Locali (1846-1965), a cura di Josef Metzler, Milano: Edizioni Paoline, 1990, 276-299. See also: E. Vo Due Hanh, La Place du Catholicisme dans les Relations entre La France et Le Vietnam de 1851 a 1870, Leiden: EJ. Brill, 3 Vols. 1969. Id., La Place du Catholicisme dans les Relations entre La France et Le Vietnam de 1870 a 1886, Berne - Berlin - Francfort Main - New York - Paris - Vienne: Peter Lang, 4 Vols. 1991. Patrick J.N. Tuck, French Catholic Missionaries and the Politics of Imperialism in Vietnam, 1857~1914, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1987.

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Seen from the side of the local communities in Asia one could state: the practice was their policy. They had to live their faith in the context of persecutions, of ancient cultures, of dominating religions and of constantly changing political situations. In China and Vietnam catholic communities reached a greater maturity than in India. However, they too had no ecclessiology or mission theology of their own. It is true that in India a beginning of a local and Indian theology was made by Brahmabandev Upadhyaya, but this happened towards the end of the nineteenth century.

THE RECEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA A Neglected Field of Study in Interreligious Dialogue*

Traditional ecclesial historiography has had its days. Beginning in 1914 and continuing up to the beginning of the Second Vatican Council in 1963, the Roman pontifs of the Catholic Church tried to depoliticize the mission territories and supported indigenous churches. Vatican II (1963 1965) finalized this process by declaring the right of these churches to reflect their native context in all aspects of ecclesiastical life (Camps, 1988, 241-242). This change resulted not only in contextual theologies, liturgies and ecclesiastical structures but also in a new kind of historiography (cf. Degrijse; Van Leeuwen, 1984). It is no longer acceptable to write a history of missions with respect to, for example, China, Indonesia, or India: this would imply paying too much attention to the role of foreign missionaries and the buildings, institutions, and ways of Christian life they erected or introduced. This kind of historiography places too much emphasis on the influence of western culture, western religiosity and western politics and too little on the interplay between or osmosis of Christianity and other cultures and religions, the way in which local Christians received and expressed the faith, and the criticisms voiced by non-christians. The time has come to write a church history of these countries and this requires applying the new methods of reception-history, oral history and mentality-history (cf. Burke; Tosh). In this contribution we will attempt to show that this new approach opens up a new field for the study of interreligious dialogue since the reception of the faith by local Christians is the result of such an encounter. These new insights and approaches are not only pious wishes. The Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) appointed a working committee on church history in 1983. This committee is active in Asia, Africa and Latin America as well as in Oceania and stimulates the study of the creative reception of the Gospel and the form this reception takes in different regions and * First published in: Studies in Interreligious 3 (Kampen 1993), pp. 150-162.

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cultures. The object of study has moved from the activity of the foreign missionary to the creative response of the local Christians. Further, the author of such an ecclesiastical history should not be a western historian but someone who is a member of the local community. In Latin America this new approach was carried out very effectively. The Committee for the Study of the History of the Church in Latin America (CEHILA) was established in 1973 on an ecumenical basis. Eight volumes have been published so far and many more are forthcoming. The central foci are the church of the poor, the church of the people, and the reception of the faith by the people. In this way a completely new kind of history was and continues to be - produced. In India the Church History Association of India (CHAI) accepted a resolution in 1974 to publish a six-volume ecumenical and contextual history of Christianity in India, of which four have already been published. The general editor, D.V. Singh, described the perspective of this venture in the following words: The History of Christianity in India is viewed as an integral part of the socio-cultural history of the Indian people rather than as separate from it. The history will, therefore, focus attention on the Christian people in India; upon who they were and how they understood themselves; upon their social, religious, cultural and political encounters; upon the changes which these encounters produced in them and in the appropriation of the Christian gospel, as well as in the Indian culture and society of which they themselves were a part (Mundadan, vii).

In Africa and in Oceania - thanks to the initiative of EATWOT's Committee on Church History many scholarly studies on African and Oceanian initiatives within the local churches have been published. In these parts of the world the method of oral history is being used to its fullest capacity and this has proved to be a very effective tool for discovering the real response to the Christian faith and the originality of that response (cf. Vansina). This short survey may help to show that the evolution from history of missions to church history is increasingly becoming actualized (cf. Verstraelen-Gilhuis; Camps, 1989). In this contribution I intend to do two things. First of all, I shall try to explain what is meant by reception-history and why such an approach to history is indispensable. Secondly, I shall try to suggest some topics related to the life of the local church in China that should be researched in order to gain an understanding of Chinese

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religious life. In the end I hope to propose some conclusions for further discussion.

RECEPTION-HISTORY AND CONTEXTUALITY It will not prove very helpful to attempt to define reception-history. I prefer to present the results of a fine piece of research done by R.L. Stirratt and published in 1992. Stirrat studied the history of Christianity in Sri Lanka and discovered three kinds of Catholicism: a religiosity introduced by Oratorian missionaries from India emphasizing saints and miracles, a religiosity introduced by French missionaries linked to the Counter-Reformation and one that can be called post-Vatican II religiosity, which tried to introduce models of religion developed in Europe and the Americas. These three religiosities have been present in the church of Sri Lanka until now and they are at the root of some serious problems. I quote: Prior to the early nineteenth century, the dominant external influence on the Sinhala Catholic community came from the Goan Oratorian missionaries. Coming from a specific Indian context with its particular ideas of religiosity, the result was a form of Catholicism which later missionaries found repellent. In the nineteenth century, most missionaries working in Sri Lanka came from France and were strongly influenced by Counter-Reformation thinking. They in turn expounded a very different form of Catholicism, and although there was some resistance, for instance in the form of the "Goan schism", through the authority and control they were able to exercise over their congregations the missionaries' vision of "true" Catholicism became dominant. By the late twentieth century new versions of Catholicism were becoming increasingly important, and even if missionary priests were now of marginal importance, models of religion developed in Europe and the Americas had their effect on the Sri Lankan clergy. At the same time, the increasing dominance of Sinhala Buddhists led to new accommodations being worked out in the local domain. However, just as there had been resistance to the efforts of the nineteenth-century missionaries, so too there was resistance to reforms within the Sri Lanka Church, and once more recourse was made to the outside world: to Fatima, Garabandal and Lourdes, the points of reference for conservative Catholics (1992, 196-97). In this case study there is a constant interplay between text (Catholicism in its various forms) and context (the Sri Lanka cultural, social, and religious realities) and this situation did not change during the

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post-colonial period. Popular religiosity, strongly linked to the Buddhist environment, an authoritarian form of Catholicism representing the post-tridentine conservative reform, and a liberal form of Catholicism, taking its inspiration from Europe and the Americas (liberation theology) still divide the Catholic Church of Sri Lanka. It is striking that within this struggle for power laity and clergy go different ways. It is also remarkable that a real contextualization of the Catholic faith has never taken place, i.e., there has never been a theological analysis and interpretation of the Sri Lankan context in its entirety. Returning to a more general idea of reception-history, the study of the reception of the Catholic faith is strongly linked to the study of the problem of contextualization. As observed in the case of Sri Lanka, the faith was often presented in a form that originated in a foreign context. Historians need to analyse this. It became also evident that in a limited way the Sri Lankan context was taken into account by the Oratorian missionaries, emphasizing as they did the veneration of saints and miracles in conjunction with the popular religiosity of that time in the south of India and in Sri Lanka. We meet here a kind of Hindu and Buddhist context, but the core of Hinduism and Buddhism was not taken into consideration. I conclude that reception-history needs to study all the aspects of the encounter between text and context. Such a study is the best tool for discovering how people receive the Christian faith. The final point with respect to this section has to do with the meaning of the term contextualization. Contextualization must be distinguished, in my opinion, from inculturation. This is not simply playing with words. Both terms are of recent origin. Inculturation came into use in 1953 when it was used by Father Pierre Charles s.j., a missiologist in Louvain, Belgium. After 1975 it was more generally accepted and it is currently part of the common vocabulary of missiology. Already in 1976, however, an Indian theologian, Samuel Rayan s.j., wrote that the term inculturation added nothing new to terms such as adaptation and accommodation already in use. This critique is rather widespread in Asia and in Africa at present. These terms — and indigenization as well — come down to a superficial adaptation, an external accommodation and a paternalistic concession of the Western pattern of the Christian way of life to other ways of life. The idea behind inculturation is that other cultures have to be transformed. As Ari Roest Crollius writes, "The integration of the Christian experience of a local church into the culture of a given

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people, and in such a way that this experience is expressed not only in the elements of that culture but that it also becomes a force giving this culture life, direction and renewal." It is clear that in this view of inculturation there is a one-sided movement by a foreign form of Christianity towards another culture and religion. This kind of relationship between culture and Christianity is becoming more and more unacceptable and rightly so, since it is rather paternalistic and colonial (1984, 15-16; cf. also Neckebrouck, 1987; Standaert, 1988, 1990, 1991). The term contextualization refers to a different approach. Shoki Coe, the director of the Theological Education Fund, was first to use this term in 1972. In both Catholic and Protestant missiological circles contextualization was quickly accepted and its meaning and content thoroughly studied. Both groups agree that the text of the Christian memoria cannot be understood without a previous analysis of the context in which the tradition is found. This context is understood as all-embracing: history, culture, religion, the struggle for justice and liberation and the changes resulting from modernization. It is a process of interaction, communication and dynamism. This new challenge to the manner of communicating the gospel is not an imitation of the method of Latin American liberation theologians. The analysis of the context by Asian and African theologians is not restricted to sociological or politico-economic realities. The analysis of contextual theologians stresses the need for antropological, cultural, historical and theological analyses as well, of which the last is the most important. This is new and is a turning point in missiological research. To study the context from a theological point of view implies that: One accept the view that salvation-history is not restricted to the Judeo-Christian history. God is the creator of all human beings and because they have been created in his image, he is also a father to all. - God continues to love all human beings even when they do not respond to his love. God is painfully hurt by this lack of love and he - being the God of life or the all-embracing reality - continues to try to restore the relationship of mutual love. — As God invites all human beings to join in a covenant with him, all human beings are in a position to respond. They do so as members of a community living in a given culture and religion. Culture and religion are the human beings' social responses to God's

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invitation to go the way of life with him in history. There is a universal history of salvation. — All religions and cultures cherish the memoria, the memory, of this history and they express this through doctrine, life and celebration. All try to live within a tradition that is dynamic since there are always new developments in history. ~ The holy scriptures, the founders, seers and sages of these religions take their rightful place within the universal history of salvation. There is a great need for their rehabilitation. One may no longer to speak about them in terms of idolatry, natural religion or the attempt at self-justification. - This does not mean that religions are accepted as self-enclosed entities. There have always been encounters which have at various times been enriching, polemical, or destructive. But there has never been a time in which people have been as occupied with dialogue as at present. In its Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions Vatican II invites us all to reconsider our attitude: The Catholic Church rejects nothing which is true and holy in these religions. She looks with sincere respect upon those ways of conduct and of life, those rules and teaching, which, though differing in many particulars from what she holds and sets forth, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.

Contextualization thus begins from the presence of God and from the salvation offered by him within other religions and cultures. Those who live in this context are free to meet God in Jesus Christ and Christians are free to be enriched by all that God has effected elsewhere. There are always two partners in dialogue and both have received values of the Kingdom. The goal is mutual enrichment and correction. Contextualization looks forward to a period at the end of history when God will be all in all. Contextualization prepares for this final situation when all human beings together with their cultures and religions will live in harmony and will have found their fulfilment in God. The local churches are servants of this final situation and harmony and they have to prepare themselves within the course of history. Conversion is still necessary, but it is conversion from monologue to dialogue, from rivalry to harmony, from misunderstanding to understanding and from condemnation to mutual correction (cf. Abbot and Gallagher, 19872; Frei, 1990; Camps, 1991).

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Reception-history can never be studied or written without this theological analysis of the context in which the Christian faith is lived. It is an indispensable tool. Only through fresh research, the study of oral and written sources, can a real church history of local churches be written. This new approach will give us new and unexpected insights. It has already brought to light the fact that the encounter between Christianity and the religions and cultures of the Indians in Latin America, which started 500 years ago, was not merely destructive but the same time creative since it brought about an osmosis between the two in Mexico. This approach has also revealed, through the studies of Father Placied Tempels O.F.M. in Zaire, that Bantu cultures and religions contain a deep philosophy of life, since for them God is the totality and fulness of life that he communicates to human beings through the ancestors and chiefs. Did Jesus not tell us that he had come to bring us life in fulness? Would the controversies concerning the rites in India, China and Vietnam — with all their negative consequences not have been avoided if theology during that long period had been able to analyse the context in a really theological way, i.e., in terms in which God (Theos) deals and speaks with and to all human beings? Contextualization as a guideline for reception-history is able to analyse situations of the past and to discover deficiencies and causes of the failure to implant the faith. However, this is not the only task of this approach, for there is more important work to be done. Using this new tool, we can expect to discover events, teachings and religious practices which have never been brought to light. Here too, there is need for the rehabilitation of many faithful who have tried to be good Catholics and good Chinese, Indians, Vietnamese, etc. TOPICS OF THE CONTEXTUAL RECEPTION-HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IN CHINA It is not my intention to present a complete list of all possible topics. As we stand at the beginning of this new approach, I will offer some suggestions, which are open to correction and supplementation. The first topic results from answers to the questions: who wrote and writes history in the local church? Who is the subject of historical and current events? According to the method of receptionhistory the foreign missionary has to take second place to the local

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believers. It was and is in and through them that the Christian faith met and meets the Chinese way of life in all its aspects. They had and have the obligation to interiorize and contextualize the faith. For a long time western missionaries came to China (and to many other parts of the world) carrying some very peculiar theological baggage that was current at the time: for them other religions were idolatry and the work of the devil who often tried to mask his intentions (the theory that the devil is mimic). However, I would raise the following questions: did the believers in China accept this? Did they repudiate their former beliefs? Is it at all possible that they abandoned their deepest religious and cultural roots? One could, for example, study whether the highly learned Chinese converts of Matteo Ricci s.j. were able to live a double loyalty to their own identity and to the Christian faith. One could study whether the disciples of Father Lebbe managed to solve this problem. And, similarly, one could study how Chinese catechists conceived their task and how Chinese Catholics, especially those living in remote villages, prayed and celebrated their festivals. An analysis of the long and many prayers they said before and after the celebration of the Holy Eucharist could reveal their creative way of harmoniously combining their Chinese and Catholic identities. These prayers, along with the celebrations and life-stories of the Chinese participants, should be recorded and used as a source of oral history. This would open a wide field of research. Missiology distinguishes between planned and unplanned processes of spreading the Gospel. In most cases the former are the work of foreign missionaries. The latter, on the other hand, have been and are being carried out by the people themselves and these spontaneous initiatives in religion happen all over the world. In Africa there are numerous independent churches begun by Africans who, without the guidance of missionaries, started reading the Bible and creating Christian communities on their own. In Japan there is a non-church movement of Japanese who have never been baptized but who have made a deep study of the Bible and tried to interiorize the faith. Christology in India began at the beginning of the nineteenth century with Hindus who, though they never became Christians, were able to accept Jesus Christ within their own culture. There is a black Christianity among the former slaves of the Americas: this was and is a creative reception of the Christian faith

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into its own spiritual context (Gf. Sievernich et al, 1992; Nkurunziza, 1989; Barrett, 1971; Turner, 1979; Daneel, 1987; Caldarola, 1979; Kimura-Andres, 1984; Thomas, 1970; Samartha, 1974). Again, one can pose questions here: What happened in China? How does one assess the spiritual background of those who led and took part in the Taiping Rebellion or of the Christians who took part in the May Fourth movement? Quite a large number of Chinese intellectuals and writers suffered from the unfavourable view of their Christian faith among the Chinese population. How did they solve the problem (cf. Robinson, 1986; Charbonnier, 1992; Kern, 1992)? There were quite a few Christians among the youthful demonstrators in China in 1989 and again I ask: what gave them their courage and inspiration? These aspects should be studied. I now come to a rather difficult area for research. We are aware of the situation of Catholicism on the mainland of China. We know about the divisions and the difficulties these Catholics experience in reaching an understanding. An in-depth study of the causes of this situation is needed: I have the impression that the acceptance or refusal of the papal spiritual authority is not the most significant issue. It is important to know what theology they have studied. Some rely on pre-Vatican II theology and are in favour of a rigid uniformity and of strong hierarchical lines. Others have come in contact with post-Vatican II theologies - coming from the West - and they are inclined to stress democratic principles, independence and selfhood. Still others do not rely on either pre- or post-Vatican II theologies - all of western origin - but try to bring the Chinese culture, both ancient and modern, into contact with the Christian gospel: they are contextualizers. Is not a shift of the approach to the complicated situation of Catholicism necessary? The real focus of research should be the study of the theologies behind the appearances. Such research could aid in reconciliation. Another field of research is the liturgy: have there been or are there attempts at contextualization? Is it enough to translate the postVatican II liturgical texts into the Chinese language or should one go a step further by bridging the gap between the religiosity proper to the Chinese people and our present liturgy? The Indian Mass in India and the Zairian order of the Holy Eucharist show us new ways. They are authentically Indian or Zairian and fully Catholic at the same time (cf. Van Leeuwen, 1991, 310-19; Probst, 1991).

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The most urgent task facing Catholics in the mainland of China as well as those living in the Republic of China and in the diaspora is to develop a theology that does justice to the Chinese context and to the Christian tradition. This is not an easy task but it is never easy to be a member both of a universal Church and a local Church. We need many experiments and these experiments should be encouraged, not judged or condemned too quickly or too superficially. What we need today is patience and courage. Allow me to quote some passages from an article published by Kan Baoping: Contextual theology cannot simply repeat tradition nor can it completely abandon it. Context is the situation of the interrelationship between the past and the future. If completely cut off from tradition, then it becomes situation and it is no longer context. If theology enters into context without tradition and seeks to listen to God's word in that context, it will become bound by the surrounding environment. In this way, when we try to understand God's revelation in the environment in which we find ourselves, we will be readily controlled by social trends. Society's ideological trends and prevalent customs continually change, and we could only drift with the tide and lose our purpose and our prophetic character. When that happens, theology will become 'trendy'. Strictly speaking such a theology is not a theology at all. It is only a religiously colored point of view regarding the ideological trends and problems in society. The movement to establish a 'normative theology' is a reaction to this kind of 'theological trendiness'. Context is not a norm for examining God's revelation. That is to say, contextual theology does not use context to explain God's word. Rather, within the context it observes how God speaks to that context. This is a crucial distinction. If we make context the norm, then we are guilty of the error mentioned above, namely that theology becomes secularized. However, if we make tradition the norm, theology would not be interrelated with the concrete social existence of Christians, nor would it be interrelated with their concrete faith needs. Observing how God speaks to a context from within that context prevents us from making the two errors mentioned above. Contextualizing theology is not the same as localizing it. Here we touch upon the question of indigenezation. Indigenization or signification as it refers to the church, means that the church in China should not be the product of a foreign culture, but rather have a Chinese existence. The Chinese church ought to identify with Chinese culture. This will lead to mutual enrichment of both Chinese and Christian cultures. The purpose of the indigenization of the Church is to make the Christian gospel more meaningful. Contextualization, on the other hand, refers only to theology, indicating that Chinese Christians ought to develop a theology which is based on their own specific context,

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and not just appropriate western theology. Chinese Christians ought to identify with the Chinese people, and Chinese Christian theology ought to be closely interrelated with the Chinese context. A contextualized theology can provide a theoretical base for the indigenization of the church (1991, 109-10).

Again, in his doctoral dissertation Kim-Kwong Chan directs our attention to new fields of research: Very little is know about the Chinese Catholics living in rural areas. They constitute majority of the Chinese catholic population, yet they receive very little attention from the media. The few scattered reports reveal that these Catholics demonstrate a vibrant and fervent Catholic spirituality despite their isolation, lack of priests, and the absence of religious activities. It would be interesting to uncover the spirituality these rural Catholics have developed in their ecclesial experience. Many rural Catholic communities in China preserve their Catholic faith in spite of the absence of clergy. This phenomenon indicates the possible emergence of a lay ministry which has taken over some of the ministry of the priest. Furthermore, the involvement of the laity in active ministry may be an important factor contributing to the survival of the Chinese Church even under adverse conditions. A study of the role of the laity in the Chinese Church might offer insights to the theology of the laity. It would be interesting to look at the ecclesial phenomenon of the Chinese Church from the perspective of Chinese society to see how the Chinese people look at the Chinese Church. This vantage point of looking at the Chinese Church could provide valuable data on the social acceptance of an ecclesial community in its process of contextualization as a social minority. There is a danger of self-deception if the evaluation of contextualization is done solely from an ecclesial perspective. After all, an authentic contextualization should have some impact on society as well (1987, 410-12).

In light of these quotations one may conclude that reception-history and oral history in relation to the historiography of Chinese Catholics include a good number of possible areas of research. Two topics in particular become quite evident from these quotations. On the one hand, they make it very clear that theology is not produced only by professional theologians but also by the Catholic people. This latter form of theology needs investigation. On the other hand, they warn us not to judge these experiments only on the basis of an ecclesial perspective. An evaluation of this kind of contextualization should also be done by investigating the acceptance of such a Chinese

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Church by those who did not belong to the Christian community in the past. At the same time studies concerning the acceptance of the faith by the Chinese of today and especially the youth are urgently needed (cf. Gernet, 1985; Lutz, 1988; Whitehead, 1979; Chih, 1979; Chongyi and Benton, 1992).

CONCLUSIONS 1. Greater attention should be paid to church history and missions history should be a part of this, though not the most important part. 2. In church history the main focus should be on the receptionhistory of the faith by the Chinese Catholics. The method of oral history will prove to be a necessary tool here. 3. Reception-history must be guided by the new theological method of contextualization and by the theological insights that have resulted from contextual studies and theologies. 4. There is a need for a theological study of the Chinese context in its entirety. God was not absent from Chinese history during the very many centuries it shaped the Chinese spirituality and society. 5. Topics for research: the people as subject of its own history; the unplanned responses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ; Chinese initiatives in religion; the theological opinions and schools behind the problems within the Catholic Church on the Chinese mainland; the Chinese liturgy; the development of a Chinese theology that is authentically Chinese and fully Catholic; the theology by the rural Chinese Catholic population; and the acceptance today of the Chinese Church by other religious or non-religious communities within China.

LITERATURE Abbott, W.M. s.j. and J. Gallagher, (eds.). (1987 a ). The Doctrines of Vatican II. London/Dublin 1987. Baoping, Kan. (1991). "On Contextualization." In: Chinese Theological Review: 103-11. Barrett, D.B. (ed.). (1971). African Initiatives in Religion, Nairobi. Burke, P. (ed.) (1991). New Perspectives on Historical Writing. Cambridge. Caldarola, C. (1979). Christianity: The Japanese Way. Leiden. Camps, A. O.F.M. et al. (eds.) (1988). Oecumenische Inleiding in de Alissiologie: Teksten en Konteksten van het Wereld-Christendom. Kampen.

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(1989). "The Study of History of Local Churches: Its Importance for the Development and the Future of the Church." In: Tnpod 54: 4-9, 30-38. (1991). "Das Dritte Auge, von einer Theologie in Asien zu einer asiatischen Theologie." In: ^eitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschaft 75: 1-20. Chan, Kim-Kwong. (1987). Towards a Contextual Ecclesiology: The Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China (1979-1983); Its life and Theological Implications. Charbonnier, J. (1992). Histoire des Chretiens de China, Memoire Chretienne. Paris. Chih, A. (1979). L'Occidente Cristiano visto dai Cinese. Milan. Chongyi, Feng and G. Benton. (1992). "Chinese Youth Today: The Crisis of Belief." In: A. Hunter and D. Rimmington. (eds.). All Under Heaven: Chinese Tradition and Christian Life in the People's Republic of China. Kampen. Pp. 80-90. Crollius, A. Roest s.j. (1984). "What is So New about Inculturation?" In: A. Roest Crollius and T. Nkeramihigo. IVhat is So New about Inculturation? Rome. Daneel, M.L. (1987). Quest for Belonging: Introduction to a Study of African Independent Churches. Gweru. Degrijse, O. CICM. (1984). Going Forth: Missionary Consciousness in Third World Catholic Churches. Maryknoll: Orbis Books. Frei, F. SMB. (1990). Kontextuelle Theologie. In: G. Collet (ed.). Theologien der Dritten Welt. Immensee. Pp. 142-61. Gernet, J. (1985). China and the Christian Impact: A Conflict of Cultures. Cambridge. Kern, Iso. (1992). Buddhistische Kritik am Christentum im China des 17. Jahrhunderts. Bern. Kimura-Andres, H. (1984). Mukyokai: Fortsetzung der Evangeliumsgeschichte. Erlangen. Lutz, J.G. (1988). Chinese Politics and Christian Missions: The Anti-Christian Movements of 1920-28. Notre Dame. Mundadan, A.M. (1984). History of Christianity in India, Vol. I. Ed. D.V. Singh. Bangalore. Neckebrouck, V. (1987). La Tierce Eglise devant le Probleme de la Culture. Immensee. Nkurunziza, D.R.K. (1989). The, Bantu Philosophy of Life in the Light of the Christian Message: A Basis for an African Vitalistic Theology, Frankfurt am Main/Bern/New York/Paris. Probst, M. (1991). "Inkulturation der katholischen Liturgie in Schwarz-Afrika." In: W. Hering (ed.). Christus in Afrika. ^jir Inkulturation des Glaubens im Schwar^en Kontinent. Limburg. Pp. 107-123. Robinson, L.S. (1986). The Double-Edged Sword: Christianity and 20th Century Chinese Fiction. Hong Kong. Samartha, s.j. (1974). The Hindu Response to the Unbound Christ. Madras. Sievernich, M. s.j. et al. (eds.). (1992). Kirche in Latein-Amerika. Conquista und Evangelisation 500 Jahre Orden in Latein-Amerika. Mainz. Standaert, N. s.j. (1988). "L'histoire d'un neologisme, le terme 'Inculturation' dans les documents Remains." In: Nouvelle Revue de Theologie 110: 555-70. (1990). Inculturatie, Evangeli^atie en Cultuur. Mechelen. (1991). "Inculturation and Chinese-Christian Contacts in the Late Ming and Early Qing." In: Ching Feng 34: 1-16. Stirratt, R.L. (1992). Power and Religiosity in a Post-Colonial Setting: Sinhala Catholics in Contemporary Sri Lanka. Cambridge. Thomas, M.M. (1970). The Acknowledged Christ of the Indian Renaissance. London/Madras. Tosh, J. (1991~). The Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods and New Directions in the Study of Modem History. London/New York. Turner, H.W. (1979). Religious Innovation in Africa. Boston. Van Leeuwen, Gerwin O.F.M. (ed.) (1984). Searching for an Indian Ecclesiology. Bangalore. (1991). "Liturgie in India en de aanhoudende strijd om haar uitstraling." In: Communia 16: 310-19. Vansina, J. (1985). Oral Tradition as History. London/Nairobi. Verstraelen-Gilhuis, G.M. "Geschiedenis van de missionaire beweging van uit het

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perspectief van de Derde-Wereld." In: A. Camps O.F.M. et al. (eds.). Oecumenische Inleiding in de Missiologie. Pp. 258-66. Whitehead, J.D. et al. (eds.) (1979). China and Christianity: Historical and Future Encounters. Notre Dame. This lecture was read as the keynote address at the International Conference in Commemoration of the 400th Birthday of Adam Schall von Bell S.J. and on the historiography of the Catholic Church in China, held at the Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan R. 0. C. from 22-24 October, 1992.

CELSO COSTANTINI, APOSTOLIC DELEGATE IN CHINA (1922-1933) The Changing Role of the Foreign Missionary*

The history of the Church teaches us that it is not easy to be at one and the same time a missionary and a foreigner. Form a missiological point of view a missionary is a person whose purpose is to work to build a local church, governed by its own people and fully incarnated in its own culture. During the greater part of the first millennium of the Church this principle was put into practice without much fanfare or public controversy. But a missionary does not exist outside the context of his own culture, and this became painfully clear when, at the end of the fifteenth century, the western branch of the Christian church got involved with the expansionist, imperial policies of the western powers. Many times the foreign missionary was tempted to ignore or gloss over the distinction that exists between the spreading of the kingdom of God and furthering the interests of the dominating western nations. Often he was more or less unconscious of his own involvement and often he accepted this situation not knowing how to act otherwise. But there also have been missionaries whose actions left no doubt about their willingness to espouse a dual loyalty - on the one hand to the local church they came to build and on the other to the country they had left behind; and all too often they gave undue preference to the interests of their own home-country over and above the needs of a really local church. Fortunately, there have always been missionaries who opposed this situation. In India Roberto de Nobili, s.j. turned his back on the Portuguese enclaves to go to work in 'the real India'. In Latin America during the first century of the conquista, many Franciscans worked to build an Indian Church free from entanglement with the ruling Spanish power. In China, Matteo Ricci, s.j. was able to begin an excellent Chinese Christian community through his studying of and profound respect for the Chinese culture and

* First published in: Tripod (Hong Kong 1988, nr. 44), pp. 40-46.

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history. Mission history then shows us a variety of approaches to resolving the inner tension which arises from being a missionary and being a foreigner at one and the same time. In this article, we have chosen to pay special attention to the missionary efforts of Celso Costantini. Born in northern Italy in 1876 and ordained a priest in 1899, he was destined to have a great influence on the Catholic Church's attitude toward mission. He was appointed by Pope Pius XI to be the Apostolic Delegate to China in 1922, and remained in this post until the end of 1933. From 1935 to 1953 he served as Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith in Rome. In 1935, he was elevated to a membership in the College of Cardinals and he died on October 17, 1958 on the eve of the election of his friend, Angelo Roncalli, to the See of Rome. He was a prolific writer and has left us five volumes of his personal reflections covering all the events of his long and evenful life.1 He also was a key figure in modern mission-history, though he was always quick to note that his role was merely that of a humble servant of the Roman See. It was during his years of service in China that he was able to confront directly the difficult problem of the changing role of the foreign missionary. The more pressing issues that Costantini had to deal with in his China sojourn were: the tension existing between the Chinese and the foreign priests, the promotion of a local Chinese clergy leading to the consecration of Chinese bishops, the renewal of the apostolate among Chinese intellectuals, and the liberation of the Church from the political influence of the French protectorate. Costantini arrived in China after having made himself familiar with China's more recent political and religious history. He possessed a natural talent for selecting gifted and well-informed advisors. As an Apostolic Delegate, he stressed the pastoral character of his mission and underlined this from the start by refusing to be formally introduced to the Chinese government by French or Italian foreign ministers when he arrived in Beijing. He first settled in Hankou, and later in Beijing, 1

We refer to the following books of Celso Costantini: Con i missionari in Cina, 2 volumes, Roma 1946; Foglie Secche, Roma 1948; Ultimo Foglie, Roma 1954; Cum Petro in Christo, Roma 1957. Cfr. a great number of extracts published in: "Reforme des Missions au XXe siecle, Cardinal Celso Costantini, traduit et adapte de 1'italien' Jean Bruls", Tournai 1960. An excellent study was written by Ruggero Simonato, Celso Costantini tra rinnovamento cattolico in Italia e le nuove missioni in Cina, Pordenone 1985.

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where Chinese Catholics had offered him a house on land outside the foreign legations. He considered the 'protection' of the Church by foreign powers to be one of the chief obstacles to growth of the Church in China. In his dealings with foreign missionaries he often pointed out to them that, in general, they were living in the past and had little understanding of the new China which was engaged in a vital struggle for radical renewal. He made it very clear that those missionaries who made use of foreign powers brought upon themselves the enmity and hatred of the Chinese people. Costantini preferred to bring his influence to foreign missionaries through personal diplomacy rather than direct confrontation. And he supported those he felt represented his progressive views. We read in his papers where he had long conversations with Father Kovac, a Franciscan, who belonged to the Apostolic Vicariate of Changsha, and who was considered by him to a man of enligthened ideas. On one of his visits to Hankou in July of 1923, Kovac outlined for Costantini six reasons why he felt Christianity was making such little headway among the Chinese. Among them he cited the negative effects stemming from the Chinese rites controversy, the continuing humiliation of the Chinese by the interventionist policies and military presence of the foreign powers, the scandal caused by the dissension among Christians in adapting to Chinese customs, psychology and religiosity.2 Costantini listened in silence, just as he listened to the views of all the foreign missionaries, Chinese priests and lay people with whom he met. It is only in 1927 that we find in his personal papers written reflections about his own view of things. "All these reasons", he writes, "do not explain the failure of Christianity. What is lacking is an apostolic methodology. They have founded missions, but they have not founded the Church. They confuse the two. It is not that we lack Chinese clergy. What is missing is a Chinese hierarchy, and this is something very different".3 It was Costantini's conviction that the method of the Apostles was to found local churches and hand them over as quickly as possible to local leadership. Many times he travelled throughout China meeting with Apostolic Vicars and foreign priests (there were no Chinese bishops when Costantini arrived in China) and without hesitation, hammered home the necessity to establish a Chinese hierarchy, backing his arguments with quotations - Refbrme des Missions au XXC siecle, Tournai 1960 35-36. Ibid., 43.

3

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from the papal encyclicals (Maximum Illud by Benedict XV and Rerum Ecclesiae by Pius XI (1919 and 1926). In 1925 he made the following observation: "The missions understood as religious colonies belonging to a particular institute have created a special attitude among missionaries, and this I would like to call 'territorial feudalism'".4 Apostolic Vicars and the missionary orders or institutes to which they belong were unwilling to surrender even a part of their territorial jurisdictions to make the creation of new ecclesiastical territories possible. Moreover, they maintained the Chinese clergy in subordinate roles. The Chinese priests belonged mostly to the secular clergy, and they were treated as auxiliaries of the foreign religious priest. Moreover, the foreign religious would not even allow other foreign religious groups in to their territories. Costantini labeled this as 'provincialism and jurisdictional feudalism'.3 It was Costantini's task to remedy this unhappy situation. In 1923, he proposed to Rome the establishment of one or two ecclesiastical territories which would be governed by bishops selected from among the Chinese clergy. He hoped to realize this plan before the opening of the First National Council of the Chinese Church which was to take place in 1924. At the time, Costantini was staying in Hankou, the seat of an apostolic vicariate entrusted to the Franciscans. While he enjoyed their cordial hospitality, he tried to persuade the then Vicar Apostolic, Gratianus Gennaro, to help him to establish the first Chinese vicariate by ceding a part of his territory. Gennaro was an excellent bishop, wrote Costantini, but he was rather timid in implementing his ideas. The Vicar Apostolic observed that Chinese priests had no legal status in China and were not respected by the local authorities. However, if Rome decided to act he would certainly obey. Costantini urged action ex facto oritur ius, which meant in this case that the actual presence of a Chinese ecclesiastical superior would put pressure on the Chinese government to change its attitude. Thus, at the end of 1923, the Apostolic Prefecture of Puchi was erected and Odoric Tcheng, O.F.M. was placed in charge. In April of 1924, a second prefecture apostolic was entrusted to the Chinese clergy (Lihsien), and both Chinese prelates took part in the First National Council of 1924 in Shanghai. In 1926, Costantini took a further step forward by erecting the Vicariate Apostolic of Suanhwafu, which was previously part of the Vicariate of Beijing. Now things 4 3

Ibid., 45. Ibid., 51.

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began to move quickly. Cardinal van Rossum in Rome proposed that the newly appointed Chinese Vicar Apostolic of Suanhwafu come to Rome to be ordained bishop by the Pope himself. Costantini gladly accepted this and suggested further that the two previously appointed prefects and, in addition, three newly proposed Chinese vicar apostolics should also go to Rome. Pope Pius XI invited all six and ordained them bishops on October 28, 1926.6 Costantini accompanied them and was elated that a breakthrough had finally been achieved. Costantini's next order of business was to build stronger ties between the Chinese government and the Holy See. Through the Catholic Action movement Chinese lay people were urged to take a more active part in the national revival which was then sweeping the country. In 1926 pope Pius XI registered his approval of this and gave it his full support. In 1927 a Catholic University was founded, which was approved by the Chinese government and based in the capital City of Beijing. There were some vicar apostolics who feared that this would bring about an end to the French protectorate and, in such times of rampant Chinese nationalism would only lead to the expulsion of all foreign missionaries who were relying upon foreign powers/ Costantini was willing to take the risk. His overriding conviction was that the Church in China must become Chinese in every aspect. During his term of office, Costantini had to fight many battles. He did so with the utmost courtesy, but also with firmness. An example of this was in handling of Joseph Fabreque, the Auxiliary Bishop of Beijing, in the controversy over a second Catholic University. Fabreque had invited the French Dominicans to start a second Catholic university in Tao-Ming in 1928. He had accepted for this purpose a sum of money from the French government, along with some honorary decorations. This was a clear sign to Costantini that Chinese suspicions of missionaries being used in the interest of foreign governments were not completely unfounded. Costantini saw this symbolic expression of the French protectorate as unacceptable. He termed it an action of'missionaries of the old style'.8 It was not long 6

Ibid., 126-138. Josef Metzler, Die Synoden in China, Japan und Korea 1570-1931, Paderborn, 1980, 199-222. Primum Concilium Sinense anno 1924 Acta-Decreta et normae Vota, Zi-ka-wei 1929. ' Reforme des Missions, 142-153. 8 Ibid., 153-162. For the Franciscans mentioned in this article: Joannes Ricci, O.F.M., Hierarchia Franciscana in Sinis, Wuchang 1929; and Johannes Beckmann, Die

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before accusations were made that the new university represented an attempt at cultural aggression by foreigners who were instruments of foreign imperialism. Students of Fu Jen University made a public outcry against the new foundation, asserting that being a Roman Catholic was a spiritual affair - a personal commitment free of any dependency on foreign powers. In the end Fu Jen University remained as the only Catholic university and Tao-Ming ceased to exist. Costantini had remained firm in his opposition to Fabreque and his followers, but always sought to resolve the problem through courteous dialogue with those involved. He gave full approval to the rising national spirit of the new China and saw it as a good thing; and he urged that faith and support should be given to those who sought to construct it. The changing role of the foreign missionary in the first quarter of the present century is well illustrated in the life and work of Costantini in China. What is striking in his approach was that it was based on the methodology of the Apostles of the infant Church. He constantly makes reference to them in his writings and is rightly regarded today as a reformer in the mission history of the twentieth century. He saw his mission to the people of China as being fundamentally pastoral and in his dealings with the government of China during his days there, he actively supported its efforts to regain China's independence and national dignity. Moreover, Costantini eschewed exclusivism and narrow sectarian approaches and he was acutely aware that there were many other movements within China fighting for the same common goal. When reading the works of Costantini one thinks of the expression; forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabitl While there remain many reasons for present anger and complaint about the reprehensible role played by many foreign missionaries in China's past, if we begin with the apostolic principles clearly outlined and advocated by Costantini and by the Popes of his time, we may well be able to overcome some of the bitterness of that heritage and make a new and positive start in our approaches to a new era in Chinese history. As Costantini well knew: reform from within always means a return to the original sources and with it always come new freedoms and the possibilities for new relationships. Katholische Missionsmethode in China in Neuester %eit 1942^1912, Immensee 1931, and Die China-Mission, Versuch einer kritischen Rechenschaft: Wort und Wahrheit 14 (Freiburg Wien 1959) 3-40.

THE FIRST FRANCISCANS IN THE EAST*

In this contribution we limit our study to the mission of the Franciscans in the Far East during the Middle Ages. By Far East we mean the empire of the Mongols and China. China in this period belonged to the empire of the Mongols. But we do not treat all the missionary activities of the Franciscans in the Mongol Empire, for this would include also Persia, Turkestan and India. These details will be treated by other authors. We only deal with the Franciscan missions to the court of the Great Khans, whether this court was established at Karakorum (Mongolia) or Khanbaliq - Cambuluc (Peking, today Beijing). This is a very important mission-period, as it represents a transition from the medieval Near-East missions to missions of later centuries during the colonial period. This does not mean that there is continuity between these former and later missions. In a way the mission of the Franciscans to Mongolia and China stands on its own, as will become clear from this study. But it is remarkable that already during the Middle Ages a mission in such a faraway country was undertaken. We shall treat this history according to the leading Franciscans who undertook the missions. In chronological order they were: John of Pian di Carpine, William of Rubruck, John of Montecorvino, Odoric of Pordenone, and John of Marignolli. JOHN OF PIAN DI CARPINE, O.F.M. He was born towards the end of the twelfth century. His family lived in Pian di Carpine, a small town near Perugia in Italy. As an early disciple of Saint Francis, he was sent by him to help establish the order in Saxony, Germany, in 1221. Afterwards he served in Spain and returned to Germany in 1232 to become provincial of Saxony. In 1239 he left Saxony, and it is only in 1245 that he reappears on the scene of history. * First published in: Franciscans and Sri Lanka, edited by W.L.A. Don Peter (Colombo: Evangel Press, 1983), pp. 90-105.

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He was then about sixty years old. Pope Innocent IV entrusted to him a most delicate mission. It took the papal delegation ten months to travel across Europe. During that time it tried to accomplish the wish of the Pope that West Russia should join the Catholic anti-Mongol bloc. A reunion with the Roman See was considered to be the way leading to that goal. This did not come about, but the mission went on. The friars reached Kiev, which was in the hands of the Mongols. From there they proceeded to the headquarters of the Mongols at the Volga river and to the heart of Mongolia. On July 22, 1246, they reached the capital of the Mongols, Karakorum, which is situated south of the Baikal Sea in Mongolia. They had crossed deserts and fertile lands riding on small Mongolian horses. They were Western observers in an unknown land. However, they wrote down their personal observations.1 The friars came just in time for the election of Giiyiig as the Great Khan. After the enthronement they left the court for Europe on November 13, 1246. John of Pian di Garpine and Benedict the Pole brought to the Pope in Rome a letter of the Great Khan, which was an answer to the Pope's letter. The Great Khan was not willing to be converted to the Christian religion, but asked the Pope and all the kings of the West to submit to him. John and Benedict wrote down their long reports to the Pope, of which we possess critical editions.2 1

For a history of the Mongols, see: B. Spuler, History of the Mongols, based on Eastern and Western Accounts of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries, London, 1972. For a history of the Christians in China during this period, see: A.C. Moule, Christians in China before the year 1550, London - New York - Toronto, 1930, 166-215; and also: L. Lemmens, O.F.M., Die Heidenmissionen des .Spdtmittelalters, Miinster in Westfalen, 1919, 21-79. Lemmens returned to this subject in: Geschichte der Franziskanermissionen, Miinster in Westfalen, 1929, 78-93. Two recent studies are: F. Margiotti, O.F.M., "Sinae, I. Aevo Medio" (saec. XIII-XIV), in: Historia Missionum Ordinis Fratrum Minorum, I-Asia Centra-Orientalis et Oceania, Romae, 1967, 105-122; and I. de Rachewiltz, Papal Envoys to the Great Khans, London, 1971. The letters and reports of the Franciscans sent to the Mongol Courts were edited in a text-critical edition by Anastasius van den Wyngaert, O.F.M., in: Sinica Franciscana, volumen 1: itinera et relationes fratrum minorum saeculi XIII et XIV, Quaracchi, Firenze, 1929, 578 pp. For a report by Benedict, the Pole, a companion of John of Pian di Carpine, which was discovered after the edition of van den Wyngaert, see: R.A. Skelton, a.o., The Vinland Map and the Tartar Relation, New Haven and London, 1965. For the history of the journey of John of Pian di Carpine, cf. De Rachewiltz, op. cit. 89-111. 2 For the report of Benedict the Pole, cf. note 1. See also: van den Wyngaert, op. cit., 135-143. For the report of John of Pian di Carpine, ibid., 1-130: Ystoria Mongalorum; newly discovered manuscripts were used by: Dom Jean Becquet et Louis Hambis, Histoire des Mongols, traduite et annotee, Paris, 1965.

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Both members of the papal delegation were sure that the time for a dialogue between East and West had not yet arrived. They were convinced that the West had to prepare for war. The empire of the Mongols extended from Western Russia to the sea of China. The two Franciscans had experienced the threat of this well-organized and strong people. John's report is very precious, as it contains a full history of the Mongols, a description of their lands, their customs, their religion, their warfare and the countries conquered by them. The survey of Mongol society is realistic and impartial. The description of the military code, of the organization of the army, of the weapons, and of the fighting techniques of the Mongols is very detailed, and had great importance for the West. It is interesting to notice that in John's report information about the Kitai or the Chinese is given for the first time. According to John, the Chinese were humane, industrious and civilized, and all they needed to be perfect Christians was baptism. It was a consolation for the Franciscans that China at least promised to be an ideal land for missionary work. These reports were written during the journey from Karakorum to Western Europe. The friars arrived in Kiev on 9 June 1247, and had shortly before collected Father Stephen and the servants left behind with him in Western Russia due to illness. They passed through Poland and Hungary, went to Cologne and Lyons, and on 18 November 1247 they met with Pope Innocent at Lyons. John's report was put into final form. According to Salimbene, the Pope was very pleased with the report, even though the outcome of the mission was not really what he had hoped for. Soon after, he entrusted the energetic friar with another delicate mission, this time to King Louis of France. . . . Upon completion of this mission Innocent made him Archbishop of Antivari in Dalmatia. Friar John died in Italy, probably at Perugia, in 1252.3

WILLIAM OF RUBRUCK, O.F.M. This Franciscan Friar was born at Rubruck, near Cassel in French Flanders, between 1215 and 1220. He studied for some time in Paris and was personally acquainted with King Louis. He accompanied

Rachewiltz, op. cit., 111.

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the king to Egypt on a Crusade and stayed with him in Palestine from 1248 till 1252. There he met Father Andrew of Longjumeau, a Dominican, who had been with the Mongols before. Friar William was filled with the desire of converting the Mongols to Christianity and of bringing consolation and help to the Christians living under their yoke. But king Louis still remembered the failure of Friar John of Pian di Carpine. He let William go, but asked him to make clear to the Mongol rulers that his mission was unofficial. Thus the mission of William got the character of a fact-finding mission. With another friar and two assistants William left Acre for Constantinople at the beginning of 1253. From there they travelled to the Crimea after crossing the Black Sea. Soon they arrived in Mongol territory. They crossed the Volga and were sent by local Mongol rulers to Mongolia in order to obtain permission for their ministry from the emperor himself. The name of the Great Khan was Mongke, who ruled from 1251 to 1259. He lived at Karakorum. William and his party continued the journey through Central Asia. It took them three and a half months to cover the distance between the Volga and Karakorum, the capital of Mongolia. Friar William took great pains to collect geographical and ethnographical information. He discovered the true character of the Caspian Sea, the correct course of the Don and the Volga, and he identified Grand Cathay as being China. For the first time Europe received some information about Tibet, a country under control of the Mongols from 1240 onward. He paid much more attention to the spiritual culture of the Mongols than his predecessors had done. We hear about Christian communities spread over Central Asia and Mongolia and about the presence of the Nestorians. He searched for German Christian slaves, captured by the Mongols, but did not actually meet them. He visited Buddhist temples and informed Europe for the first time of Buddhist ritual. On the way, Mongol chiefs asked the two friars to pray for them. William learned that this was a custom of the Mongols: to employ clerics of all faiths to pray for their prosperity. On 27 December 1253 they reached Karakorum. On 4 January 1254 they were admitted into the presence of the Great Khan. The friars spent six months in the emperor's entourage. They were considered as belonging to the numerous Nestorian clergy. They met William Boucher, a Parisian artist and engineer, who as a captive worked in the emperor's palace at Karakorum. From him they got

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much information, and he was a very able interpreter. There was an international society at the court: Frenchmen, Germans, Hungarians, Slavs, at least one Englishman, Alans, Georgians, Armenians, Persians, Turks and Chinese. The latter drew the attention of William of Rubruck as he was impressed by their writing system and paper money, both unknown in the West. As far as the religions were concerned, the friars met Buddhists, Muslims, Nestorians and other Christians, and Shamanists. The Mongol Emperor professed a monotheistic faith, but added that just as God had given different fingers to the hand so he has given different religions to men. The attitude of William was uncompromising and he criticized the other faiths in a sincere but tactless way. He was confirmed in this attitude by the knowledge that he had come not as an envoy of King Louis, but as a missionary cleric. Towards the end of May 1254 William asked to return to his country. He was disillusioned, and the emperor made no attempt to retain him. However, before sending him off he asked William to join the Nestorians in a public debate with the Muslims and the Buddhists. Three judges, one for each faith, were appointed and the emperor issued a proclamation forbidding abusive language and threatening with death anyone who hindered the proceedings. This historic debate took place on 30 May. Boucher was William's interpreter. William started the discussion by taking issue with the Buddhists on the existence of God and His attributes. Then the Nestorians wanted a discussion with the Muslims, who prudently withdrew. They continued with a Buddhist by expounding the coming of Christ, the judgement and the Trinity. All the people present listened without a word of contradiction, "yet" writes William "not one of them said: I believe, I wish to become a Christian." When the debate was over "the Nestorians and the Saracens alike sang loudly while the yuins (i.e. the Buddhist priests) kept silence, and afterwards they all drank their fill." This, perhaps, better than any other description, gives an idea of the cultural context in which the Western missionary had to carry out his apostolate. The debate in which Friar William participated was the first of several religious disputes that took place at the Mongol court in the following decade. The representatives of Tibetan Buddhism eventually emerged as the real victors, a fact that accounts largely for the favour accorded to Lamaism by Mongke's successors.4 4

Ibid., 138.

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Friar William's companion, Friar Bartholomew, did not return to Europe. On account of ill-health he obtained permission to stay at Karakorum and he died there, having been cared for by Boucher. He is the first missionary and the first Italian to die in the Far East, as far as we know. William left Karakorum about 10 July 1254. He crossed Central Asia, the southern Caucasus, eastern Turkey, and sailed for Cyprus. There he received an order to return to Palestine. This must have happened somewhere in 1255. In Acre he wrote his Itinerary and sent it to King Louis.3 During the next decades the scene altered. The Mongols started a crusade against the Muslims in the Near East. In a brilliant campaign Hiilegii, a younger brother of the Great Khan, conquered the whole of Persia between 1256 and 1257 and in 1258 destroyed Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphs. In 1260 Aleppo fell into his hands and a month later Damascus. The road to Jerusalem was open. However, in Egypt the Mameluk Turks had come to power and they defended the holy city. Moreover, the Great Khan, Mongke, had died in 1259 during a campaign in western China. Hiilegii returned with quite some soldiers to Persia. The Mongol and the Mameluk armies met in Galilee on 23 September 1260, where the Mongols suffered a crushing defeat. This was also the beginning of the end of the Frankish possessions and of the influence of the Eastern Christians in the holy land and in the Near East, Hiilegii ruled over Persia as the Ilkhan or Viceroy until his death in 1265. The new Great Khan was Kublai Khan, who decided to reside in China, in Khanbaliq (Peking or Beijing). In the West the rulers came to understand that the greatest danger came from the Mameluks in Egypt and Asia Minor. Thus a new willingness to join hands with the Mongols came about. Relations between the Ilkhans and the Pope became more frequent through embassies. The Ilkhans had a similar interest in these relations, as they too were constantly threatened by war on the part of the Mameluks. Several times a Mongol-Western Crusade was attempted. But in the West the crusading spirit had died with the death of King Louis of France in Tunis. There was a great disunion among 5

Achatius Batton, O.F.M., Wilhelm von Rubruk, Munster in Westfalen, 1921. De Rachewiltz, op. cit., 125-143. The report of William of Rubruck, the Itinerarium, was published by van den Wyngaert, op. cit., 145-332.

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the European powers in the latter part of the century. Therefore, the Popes of this period reverted in their relations with the Mongols to a policy of religious propaganda. Through the journeys of the Polo brothers (Niccolo and Marco) and through the report of their stay in Central Asia and China (1275-1291) news from the court of the Great Khan at Peking reached Europe. The Franciscans took a new interest in the missions among the Mongols: they founded two custodies in Southern Russia and attempted a mission to the court of the Great Khan, Kublai, in 1278, but they only reached Persia and never went as far as China. The next mission to China was that of the Italian Franciscan, John of Montecorvino.6 JOHN OF MONTEGORVINO, O.F.M.

He was born in Montecorvino, now in Salerno province, Italy, in 1247. He spent several years as a missionary in Armenia and Persia and arrived in Italy in 1289 as a legate of the King of Armenia. John reported to Pope Nicholas IV (1288-1292), who happened to be a Franciscan too. The Pope had been informed by several sources that the Great Khan protected the Christians. Moreover, it was said that he was interested in their faith. The Pope decided to send a new Franciscan mission to Cathay, China. Five friars were chosen and John became their leader. He carried papal letters of goodwill to monarchs and religious leaders of the Orient. The party sailed from Venice to the port of Lajazzo in South Eastern Turkey and proceeded by land to Antioch and to Tabriz in Persia. Sometime in 1291 John, without his five companions, continued his journey. He was now accompanied by a Dominican, Nicholas of Pistoia, and by an Italian merchant, Peter of Lucalongo, who had business in China. The route across Central Asia was unsafe and therefore they took the sea route. From the Persian Gulf they went to Quilon on the west coast of India. By sea they reached Mylapore near Madras, where they visited the Christian community. Nicholas died there and was buried in the famous church of St. Thomas. John spent thirteen months in India as a missionary. He was the first to give a lengthy report on India.

6

De Rachewiltz, op. at., 144-159.

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At the end of 1292 or at the beginning of 1293 John and the merchant left India by sea. We only know that they arrived at Zaitun, China, Fukien province. By land they proceeded to Khanbaliq (Peking), the Mongol capital, where they arrived in 1294. By that time Kublai Khan had died. He had united China under his foreign rule after four centuries of disunion. He had adapted himself to Chinese customs. In May 1294 the new Great Khan was elected and John presented as an official envoy the letters of the Pope to him. The name of the new ruler was Temiir Oljeitii, a thirty-yearold grandson of Kublai. John obtained permission to settle in the capital and to start his religious work. He enjoyed considerable status as an ambassador of the country of the Franks and as a Christian cleric. In China John of Montecorvino discovered the presence of many Christians: Towards the end of the thirteenth century there were in China many thousands of Christians of the Greek rite, found mainly among the Alan, Georgian and Russian troops serving in the imperial army. There were also numerous Christian Armenians, engaged in trade and various crafts. However, the Nestorians represented by far the largest and most powerful group. Nestorianism had not come to China with the Mongols but had been introduced as early as the middle of the seventh century by Syrian missionaries. The "Brilliant Teaching", as this faith was then called in China, had flourished as a minor foreign religion until A.D. 845, when a fierce persecution directed against Buddhism and all foreign cults swept away the Church and its followers. During the Liao and Chin dynasties Nestorianism had reappeared in North China, brought by immigrants from Central Asia and Mongolia. The Mongol invasion gave a powerful boost to the Nestorian Church and we know from William of Rubruck that at that time (1254) Nestorian Christians were established in fifteen cities. Twenty years later Marco Polo found Nestorian communities in the Yang-tze region and even in Yunnan.7

The Great Khan Kublai — though himself a Buddhist — protected all the religions in his multi-national empire. Also the Nestorians enjoyed privileges like tax exemption and grain donations as did the Buddhists, the Taoists and the Muslims. In 1289 Kublai established a special government department for the Christian cult. Many important offices were held in the government by Nestorian Turks. When Ibid., 164-165.

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John of Montecorvino arrived in Khanbaliq there was a Nestorian Archbishop. The ruler of Tenduc, a Mongol province to the West of Khanbaliq in China, was the Nestorian Prince George, the son-inlaw of the Great Khan. John of Montecorvino enjoyed a generous stipend and the privilege of travelling freely on the state post-relay system. Soon he travelled to the capital of Tenduc hoping to convert the Prince and afterwards other Mongol leaders. Prince George welcomed the papal legate and was converted from Nestorianism to Catholicism together with many of his subjects. A church was erected and Prince George received the minor orders of the Roman Catholic Church. Like the Jesuits in China in the seventeenth century, George did not consider Confucianism to be incompatible with his Christian faith: he was a keen Confucian. Unfortunately, the Prince died in 1298, and the Nestorian clergy, who had resented his conversion, led the people back to their original faith. John's attempt to convert the Great Khan at Khanbaliq failed. Temur remained a Buddhist. John therefore directed his efforts towards the schismatic Christians at the capital. He approached the Alans, who had been deported from the Caucasus fifty years earlier. They professed the Orthodox Greek faith. They had no clergy and they welcomed John as their pastor. John also approached many Armenian Christians, to whom he could preach in their own language. They were attracted by his preaching. John possessed a talent for languages. He knew Armenian and Persian before he came to China, and in China he learnt either Mongolian or Turkish. It is very likely that he translated the Gospels into Turkish as also the Psalms. He built two churches in Khanbaliq. He bought forty slave boys, presumably Chinese, whom he baptized and instructed, and whom he trained to sing the liturgy in Latin. From his palace Temiir enjoyed listening to the boys singing in the church nearby. John claims to have baptized during the first twelve years about six thousand people. In one of his letters he writes that had it not been for the Nestorians he would have baptized more than thirty thousand. The Nestorians accused John of having killed the true envoy of the Franks and John almost landed in jail. He was, however, able to clear himself. The opposition of the Nestorians did not come to an end. By the time of John's death in 1328 he may have converted some ten thousand people. It is quite certain that they belonged to what was then called: the group of schismatic Christians. They were a privileged class used by the Mongols, who distrusted

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the Chinese, in matters of administration. Thus there was a social and a language barrier between John of Montecorvino and the Chinese population. In this matter John was a medieval missionary who hoped to convert the Chinese through the conversion of the elite. This may explain why neither he nor the friars who came after him tried to learn Chinese. They relied on interpreters. In one of his churches at Khanbaliq John had scenes of the Bible painted with inscriptions in Latin, Turkish or Mongolian, and Persian, not, however, in Chinese, the language of the majority. John complains that he was without confession during eleven years and from this we may conclude that he had not converted a single priest. In 1304 John was joined by another Franciscan, Arnold of Cologne. But he was still cut off from his Order and in Europe they thought he was dead. Only in 1306-1307 two of John's letters reached the Curia in Rome. John asked for more helpers. Pope Clement V took action. He appointed John as Archbishop of Khanbaliq and Patriarch of the Orient, with jurisdiction over the whole Mongol Empire from Kipchak and Asia Minor to China or Cathay. The Pope also appointed seven other Franciscans as suffragan bishops and sent them to China in 1307 to consecrate John. Only three of them eventually reached the Mongol capital, Peking, in 1313. They consecrated John as the first archbishop of Peking. John now decided to extend the missionary work to the south of China and he chose Zaitun as the first episcopal see. There was a rather large Muslim community in Zaitun and they worshipped in the oldest mosque of China. Moreover, there lived Buddhists, Manicheans, Hindus and Nestorian Christians. Around 1313 Friar Gerard Albuini was appointed the first bishop of Zaitun. He was succeeded by Peregrine of Castello in 1318. In Zaitun too the Friars laboured mainly among the Christians. The church and monastery were donated by an Armenian lady, who also donated the necessaries of life. Friar Andrew of Perugia succeeded Bishop Peregrine in Zaitun in 1322. From the letters sent by the friars to Europe we come to know that there were quite some Latin and Genoese merchants in China. They used the Catholic mission as a base. The preaching was done through interpreters and that is most probably the reason why the Chinese converts did not strictly adhere to the Christian ways, as recorded by the friars. In Peking John of Montecorvino spent most of his time in ministering to the Armenians, for

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whom he built another church leaving the care of the other two churches to his coadjutors. In 1318 Pope John XXII reorganized the mission in the Orient. He gave to the Franciscans three vicariates — the countries of the Near East, the Golden Horde, Mongolia and China - and he made them dependent on the archbishop of Khanbaliq. To the Dominicans he gave the dominion of the Ilkhans, Central Asia and India and he placed these countries under the see of Sultanieh (southeast of Tabriz), the new capital of the Ilkhans. Changes did take place in China too. The Great Khan, Temiir, died in 1307. Between 1307 and 1328, the year in which John of Montecorvino died, four emperors occupied the throne at Peking. A strong tension developed between the foreign rulers and their Chinese subjects. The Mongols came under the influence of Tibetan Lamaists and Buddhism was very much favoured. Huge grants of money and lands were given to Buddhist temples. Buddhism became a state within a state. In the few letters which have come down to us, written by the Franciscans in China, this situation is touched upon, but in a delicate way, as they did not want to offend their masters. At the age of eighty-one John of Montecorvino, the first Archbishop of Peking, died at the capital in 1328. He was mourned by a very great multitude of Christian people and of pagans. He had no real successor. The only other Franciscan bishop still alive in China was Andrew of Perugia, who was Bishop of Zaitun from 1322 till his death in 1332. He too had no real successor. Some sources speak about three other bishops appointed by Pope Clement in 1310—1311, but nothing is known about them except their names. But we know from the report of the friar and traveller, Odoric of Pordenone, who spent several years in China in the 1320's, that there were several Franciscans in China. But the official reports are silent. "They were sent by John of Montecorvino to establish churches and convents in other important centres of China, notably Hangchow in Chekiang and Yangchow in Kiangsu."8

8 Ibid., 178. For the life of John of Montecorvino, see: Anastase van den Wyngaert, O.F.M., Jean de Mont Corvin, O.F.M., premier eveque de Khanbaliq (Peking) 1247-1328, Lille, 1924; and: De Rachewiltz, op. cit. 160-178, The letters of John of Montecorvino and his companions have been edited by van den Wyngaert, Sinica Franciscana, volumen I, Quaracchi, Firenze, 1929, 333-377.

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It is not known in which year this friar was born. Some authors place the year of his birth between 1265 and 1285 or 1286. He was born in a family of soldiers in Italy to which his native city of Portum Naonis belonged. He joined in his youth the Franciscans of the Province of Venice. He lived an austere life and was for some time a hermit. In 1314 he left for the missions in the East and worked for 16 years baptizing many people. Back home he drew up a report and wanted to present it to the Pope at Avignon and to receive his blessing for himself and for fifty companions, who intended to return to the missions with him. But on his journey to Avignon he died at Udine in the Franciscan monastery on 14 January 1331. During the sixteen years of his missionary life he went from Europe to Sultanieh (southeast of Tabriz in Persia) and laboured there for five or six years. After that he travelled through Persia and Iraq and left the harbour of Ormuz for Thana on the northern coast of India. It took 28 days for him to arrive in that city, and it was in the year 1321 or 1322. He visited the South of India and Sri Lanka, then Sumatra, Java and Kalimantan in South-East Asia, and arrived in Canton. Travelling via Nanking he reached Peking and remained there three years. He returned to Europe most probably by the land route.9 Odoric has been called: the roving friar. This, indeed, he was. But this makes his report all the more interesting. Here we are interested in his reports on the Franciscans in China. We hear that in Yangchow there was a Franciscan monastery and three churches of the Nestorians. It seems that there was a small colony of Venetian merchants, to whom the Franciscans administered the sacraments. In 1951 a tombstone, with Old Gothic letters, of a Venetian woman, Catherine Vilioni, was discovered. In Khanbaliq he lived with his confreres and shared in their privileges. He went to the court of the Great Khan together with Archbishop John of Montecorvino. He writes that the Archbishop blessed the Great Khan. He does not speak about his missionary work; nor does he even mention the names of the Franciscan missionaries. In Zaitun Odoric stayed in the friary, but he gives no 9 For the life of Odoric of Pordenone, see: van den Wyngaert, op. cit., 381-383; and De Rachewiltz, op. at., 179-181.

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details. He left China before the death of Archbishop John of Montecorvino.10 JOHN OF MARIGNOLLI, O.F.M. Eight years after the death of John of Montecorvino in 1336 several chiefs of the Christian Alans of Khanbaliq wrote a petition to Pope Benedict XII asking for the appointment of a pontifical legate to China to succeed the late Archbishop. The letter was brought to Avignon by an embassy of the Great Khan, led by the Genoese Andalo of Savignone, also known as Andrew the Frank. In this letter the Christians of Peking inform the Pope that Friar Nicholas, whom they had heard the Pope had sent, had never yet appeared. The embassy arrived in Avignon at the end of May 1338. The mission was a success, and in March 1339 both the embassy and the recently appointed papal delegation left Naples. The papal embassy consisted of a large group of Franciscans under the leadership of Nicholas Bonet, former Professor of Theology at the University of Paris, and of John of Marignolli, a Florentine friar of aristocratic origin. When they arrived at Constantinople at the beginning of April 1339 Nicholas Bonet returned to Europe for unknown reasons and John took charge of the mission. We know little about the early life of John of Marignolli. He came from a noble family in Florence, Italy. Before he was appointed as papal legate, Friar John had been a lecturer in Bologna. The journey took him through the Black Sea, through Southern Russia, to the country of the Golden Horde, where the mission was received by the Mongol ruler. In the spring of 1340 John and his party continued the journey from the Volga region to Central Asia or Eastern Sinkiang. There they stayed in the city of Almaliq till late 1341. In 1339 the Franciscan Bishop and six friars had been murdered by a fanatical Muslim usurper, who had himself been murdered shortly after. John and his companions rebuilt the church and the monastery. When they left Almaliq they travelled eastwards through Mongolia and arrived at Khanbaliq in 1342. They were received by the emperor, and John blessed him solemnly. 10

Ibid., 181-186. The report of his journey, Relation, was edited by van den Wyngaert, op. cit., 379-495.

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The whole mission, comprising thirty-two persons, was entertained at the Mongol Court for about three years. In the report he later wrote John mentions little about his life in Khanbaliq. We hear about the churches built by the Franciscans and about the good name left behind by John of Montecorvino "whom the Alans venerate as a saint." He mentions also many glorious disputations with the Jews and members of other religions. We hear nothing about Friar Nicholas, who had been appointed by the Pope as Archbishop of Khanbaliq. The Pope had nominated Friar John of Marignolli as his personal legate as he believed that Nicholas had in the meantime taken possession of his see. But Marignolli did not see him. He was not willing to remain longer than three years in China, for he considered himself to be merely an ambassador and did not want to take the place of another. But there may have been other reasons too for his departure. The Mongol dominance over China was coming to an end. The administration deteriorated and the Great Khan had to rely on the Alan army too much. The relations between the Chinese population and the foreign Mongol rulers became worse. In 1348, less than three years after Marignolli's departure, the final rebellion which overthrew the Mongol regime erupted. In the provinces of China fighting had already begun in 1337. Marignolli saw that the last Mongol ruler was lax and incompetent, and he could predict that the good time for foreign rulers had passed. When John took leave of the emperor, the Great Khan asked him to request the Pope to send John or someone else back with the rank of a Cardinal and with full powers to be a Bishop. John of Marignolli could not return by the land route, as the overland route had been cut off by a war. The group travelled to the port of Zaitun. There he visited the three Franciscan churches and had two bells cast. We do not hear anything about the Franciscans living there. The embassy left by boat on 26 December 1345. We do not know how many of his former companions left with him. The party arrived at Quilon in April 1346. Due to illness John had to stay fourteen months at Quilon with the Dominican Fathers, who had a bishop there. He visited Mylapore and even explored the Sunda islands and the kingdom of Majapahit in East Java. On the way back to India he stayed in Sri Lanka which he describes as "the loftiest spot on the face of the earth." But there he was detained for four months by a local Muslim ruler, who

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stripped him of all his money and presents from the Great Khan. Then he sailed to the Persian port of Ormuz and from there went by land via Baghdad, Damascus and Jerusalem to the Mediterranean. Continuing the journey via Cyprus he finally arrived in Avignon in 1353 with the Great Khan's letter, written eight years before. He reported to the new Pope Innocent VI. John of Marignolli ended his life as a domestic chaplain and historiographer of the Emperor Charles IV at the court in Prague. There he completed a Chronicle of Bohemia which he interspersed with the recollections of his travels in Asia. He died, probably in Prague, in 1358 or 1359.11 Pope Innocent asked the Franciscan General to appoint friars for China. This was not done for two reasons. The Black Death in 1348 had almost emptied the Franciscan monasteries in Europe (twothirds of the friars had died within a year). This was the first reason. The second was the general decline of missionary activity all over Asia as a result of persecutions and political disorder. The Mongol dynasty in China came to an end in 1368 after much war and many rebellions. The last time we hear about an attempt to send Franciscans to China is in March 1370 when Pope Urban V sent Friar William Despres, O.F.M., a Frenchman, to Khanbaliq. This embassy never reached its destination and its fate is unknown. The new dynasty in China was Chinese. A restoration period followed and alien groups and interests were no longer welcome. Christianity had been the religion of the foreigners, mainly Alans and Armenians and some Italians. By forced assimilation it disappeared. At the end of the century, a vague rumour about the existence of Christians in China could still be heard. After 1401 there was no mention of them anymore. We are conscious of the fact that we have not told the whole history of the Franciscans in the Far East. Other contributions to this volume will do that. We have concentrated on Mongolia and China. This was a very important mission of the Franciscans and certainly not a mission easy to reach. During one century it was possible to keep the lines of communication with China open. It is hoped that in our time it may be possible again.

" The life of John of Marignolli is described by: De Rachewiltz, op. cit., 187-204. The report of his journey is edited by van den Wyngaert, op. cit., 513-560.

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APPENDIX Additional information on the Franciscans mentioned is to be found in: Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions. Edited by Gerald H. Anderson (New York: Macmillan, 1998) under their respective names.

CASTORANOS 'BREVIS APPARATUS ET MODUS AGENDI AC DISPUTANDI CUM MAHUMETANIS' IN CHINA Fine unbekannte Handschrift aus dem Jahr 1725*

Carolus Orazio di Castorano O.F.M. ist kein Unbekannter in der chinesischen Missionsgeschichte. Unbekannt geblieben ist aber die in der Uberschrift des Beitrages genannte Handschrift, die eine Disputation mit den Moslems darstellt. Wir mochten diese Handschrift hier vorstellen, miissen aber zunachst einige Tatsachen vorausschicken. 1. KURZE BlOGRAPHIE DES CAROLUS ORAZIO DI CASTORANO O.F.M.

Castorano wurde in Castorano (Ascoli Piceno in Italien) am 20. Mai 1673 geboren und trat am 11. Januar 1690 im Kloster von Teramo in den Franziskanerorden ein. Am 30. April 1698 begann er seine China-Reise, doch erreichte er das Land erst am 23. August 1700. Er blieb zwei Jahre im Siiden des Kaiserreiches in den christlichen Gemeinden der Alcantariner (Spanier) und siedelte 1702 nach Linch'ing (Shantung) iiber. Am 10. Mai 1714 wurde er von Msgr. Bernardino della Chiesa O.F.M., Bischof von Pei-ching (Peking), zu seinem Begleiter, Sekretar, Okonom und Generalvikar ernannt. Nach dem Tode des Bischofs am 20. Dezember 1721 wurde ihm die Verwaltung des Bistums anvertraut; am 8. September 1723 wurde er in diesem Amte bestatigt. Vor allem in Shantung griindete er viele christliche Gemeinden, obwohl er haufig verfolgt wurde. Die Verfolgung von 1724 zwang ihn, sich nach Hai-tien, in die Nahe von Peking, zuriickzuziehen, bis er im Oktober 1733 China endgiiltig verlassen muBte. Am 12. November 1734 war er wieder in Rom, wo er bis zum Ende des Jahres 1742 blieb. Unermiidlich arbeitete er fur die Losung der Schwierigkeiten in China. Er verfaBte Werke von groBem sinologischem Wert, unter denen sein chinesisch-lateinisch-italienisches

* First published in: "Denn Ich bin bei Euch" (Mt. 28, 20). Perspectiven im christlichen Missionsbewusstsein heute, herausgegeben von Hans Waldenfels (Zurich - Einsiedeln Koln: Benziger, 1978) pp. 155-160.

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Worterbuch herausragte. Am Silvestertag 1742 zog er sich in sein Elternhaus nach Castorano zuriick, wo er am 1. Februar 1755 starb.1 2. DIE SCHRIFTEN CASTORANOS Es ist nahezu unmoglich, eine vollstandige Liste der Briefe und wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten Castoranos herzustellen. Die Sinica Frandscana sind leider noch nicht soweit vorangeschritten, daB die Briefe in kritischer Ausgabe vorhanden waren. Die Bande der Bibliotheca Missionum, die sich auf China beziehen, wie auch die schon erschienenen Bande der Sinica Frandscana geben wohl gelegentliche Auskiinfte iiber Zahl und Aufenthaltsort der Briefe, doch ist auch klar, daB viele von Antiquariaten feilgeboten wurden. Wie das moglich war und ist, wird spater erklart. Die beste Einsicht in die Fiille von wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten Castoranos diirfte die Bibliotheca Missionum bieten.2 Zu nennen sind eine Priifung der chinesischen Biicher unter dem Gesichtspunkt der Ritenfrage, eine Biographic des chinesischen Philosophen und Staatsmannes Konfuzius, eine Sammlung von 74 chinesischen Originalbriefen und Dokumenten, eine weitere Sammlung von 19 wichtigen Dokumenten, ein kleines Gebetbuch mit kurzem Katechismus auf Chinesisch, eine chinesische Grammatik, ein lateinisch-italienischchinesisches Worterbuch und eine Handschrift iiber die Regel des 3. Ordens des heiligen Franziskus. Eine genaue Untersuchung vieler Bibliotheken und Archive, besonders der Vatikanischen Bibliothek und des Archivs der Kongregation fur die Evangelisation der Volker, steht noch aus, ist aber auf die Dauer hochst wiinschenswert. Dabei ware es niitzlich, auch nach dem Verbleib der Handschriften, die antiquarisch angeboten werden, zu forschen. Schon soviel darf hier gesagt werden, daB die Handschrift des Brevis Apparatus et modus agendi ac disputandi cum Mahumetanis nicht von

1 Vgl. F. Margiotti O.F.M., II Cattolicismo nello Shansi dalle origin! al 1738. Roma 1958, 486, Anm. 155; J. Ricci O.F.M., Hierarchia Franciscana in Sinis. Wuchang 1929, 49-51; Relationes et epistolas Illmi D. Fr. Bernardini della Chiesa O.F.M., collegerunt et ad fidem codicum redigerunt et adnotaverunt PP. Anastasius Van Den Wyngaert et Georgius Mesaert O.F.M.: SinFr V (1954) 438, Anm. 3; Brevissima notizia o relazione di vari viaggi, fatiche, patimenti, opere, ecc. nell'Impero della Cina, del R.P. Horatii da Castorano, minore observante di S. Francesco, ex Vicario Generale, ex Delegate Apostolico, Missionario di Propaganda Fide. Livorno 1759. 2 Vgl. R. Streit o.M.i./J. Dlindinger O.M.I., Bibliotheca Missionum VII: Chinesische Missionsliteratur 1700-1799. Rom - Freiburg - Wien 21965, 206-210.

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der Bibliotheca Missionum genannt wird, obgleich Cordier sie schon 1905 gekannt hat.3 3. DIE GESCHIGHTE DES GENERALARGHIVS DER FRANZISKANER IN ROM UNO CASTORANOS "BREVIS APPARATUS" Leonard Lemmens O.F.M. hat das Schicksal des Archivs und der Bibliothek des friiheren Generalats der Franziskaner Ara Coeli auf dem romischen Kapitol beschrieben. Dabei handelte es sich um die Zeit vom 10. Februar 1798 bis zum 29. September 1799. Rom war von den Franzosen besetzt, die tiberinische Republik wurde ausgerufen. Am 14. Juli 1798 wurde durch Dekret bekannt gemacht, dafi das Kloster aufgehoben sei. Archiv und Bibliothek wurden nach Joseph Maria Fonseca de Ebova O.F.M., der fur beides 1733 einen neuen Trakt hatte bauen lassen, 'Eborensis' genannt. Bei der Pliinderung des Klosters durch den Pobel konnten nur wenige Biicher gerettet werden, eben jener Teil der Bibliothek, quae ad S. Petrum custoditur, wie Lemmens schreibt. Zeitgenossen bezeugen, daB alles andere verkauft wurde: Briefsammlungen wurden nach Papiergewicht den venditores alimentomm verkauft; Pergamenthandschriften wurden fur wenige Kupfermunzen an Juden und Althandler, die von alien Seiten herkamen, verauBert. Lemmens vermutet, daB die "libri sinenses, quos P. Carolus Horatius a Castorano 1742 in ea posuit" das Schicksal der Pergamenthandschriften erlitten. Er widerspricht damit der AufTassung des Marcellinus a Civezza, daB Bibliothek und Archiv erst 1810 wahrend der napoleonischen Besetzung verlorengegangen seien.4 Wir sind der Ansicht, daB auch die Handschrift Brevis Apparatus et modus agendi ac disputandi cum Mahumetanis unter diese "libri sinenses" gerechnet werden muB. Die Handschrift ist nicht verlorengegangen, denn Henri Cordier schreibt in seinem Werke Bibliotheca Sinica, Band II: "fait partie de ma collection particuliere. H.C."1 Er gibt eine vollstandige und wissenschaftliche Beschreibung der Handschrift, die genau mit derjenigen ubereinstimmt, die uns jetzt vorliegt. 3

Vgl. H. Cordier, Bibliotheca Sinica, deuxieme edition revue et corrigee et considerablement augmentee, II. Paris 1905/6,1189. 4 Vgl. L. Lemmens O.F.M., De sorte Archivi Generalis Ordinis Fratrum Minorum et Bibliothecae Aracoelitana tempore Reipublicae Tiberinae (an. 1798, 1799): AFH 17 (1924) 30-54, besonders 50 f.; B. Pandzic O.F.M., Les archives generales de 1'Ordre des Freres Mineurs: Archivum 4 (1954) 154-164. ' Vgl. Cordier, a.a.O.

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Die weitere Geschichte des Manuskriptes ist folgende: In der ersten Halfte der fimfziger Jahre unseres Jahrhunderts wurde es in einem Pariser Katalog zum Verkauf angeboten. Gliicklicherweise wurde das von dern damaligen Bibliothekar der franziskanischen Universitat Antonianum in Rom entdeckt. Er kaufte die Handschrift, die sich nun als Manuscr. 150 in der Bibliothek des Antonianum befindet. 4. BESCHREIBUNG DER HANDSCHRIFT Der vollstandige Titel der Handschrift lautet: *

Brevis Apparatus. Et modus agendi ac disputandi cum Mahumetanis, in duas partes divisus. In quarum prima potissium Divinitas Dili nostri Jesu Christi contra Mahumetum, auctoritatibus sacrae Scripturae comprobatur. In secunda vero, brevis notitia de vita ipsius Mahumeti datur: Alcorani contradictiones variae adnotantur: Multi errores, necnon absurda illius referuntur, et suo loco debite impugnantur ac refelluntur: Atque Impostura Mahumeti, ac falsitas Mahumeticae Legis, palam ostenditur. ***

Factus et collectus hie Apparatus a R.P. Caroli Horatij a Castorano Regul: observ: S.P. Franci: in Imperio Sinensi Miss.0 Aplico. Die Handschrift ist in Quartformat auf Foliobogen geschrieben und sehr gut erhalten. Sie ist folgendermaBen eingeteilt: Jedes Blatt ist numeriert bis auf die ersten vier; die Numerierung beginnt folglich auf Seite 4, der 5. der Handschrift, und lauft weiter bis Blatt 228. DaB dieses Blatt das letzte ist, ergibt sich eindeutig aus dem Text: Omnia supradicta et scripta sub pedibus et correctione Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae, omniii ecclesiarum Dei Mater ac Magistra humillime submitto. Fr. Carolus Horatij a Castorano Regul15: Observae: P. Francisci in Sina Mission"": Aplicus manu prop3:

Es folgt ein Zeichen, das Castoranos personlicher Stempel ist und auch auf Seite 4 der Handschrift zu finden ist. Darin konnen wir zugleich eine Bestatigung dafiir erblicken, daB es sich bei der Handschrift

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um ein Original Castoranos handelt. Die weiteren Seiten 229 254 sind nicht mehr numeriert und haben meiner Meinung nach mit dem Text nichts zu tun.6 Die Datierung des Manuskriptes ist insofern einfach, als auf Seite 4 geschrieben steht: Pekini Hai-tien 1725. 5. DIE MOSLEMS IN CHINA Nach China gelangte der Islam einmal auf dem Seeweg, vor allem durch Kaufleute, die sich in den Hafenstadten niederlieBen, sodann aber auch auf dem Landweg, iiber Zentralasien, im Zusammenhang mit militarischen und diplomatischen Unternehmungen. Bekannt ist, daB im Jahre 650 eine chinesische Botschaft den Kalifen Uthman besuchte und daB die Araber diesen Besuch 651 in der Hauptstadt Sianfu erwiderten. Inzwischen verbreitete sich der Islam bis an die Grenzen Chinas, wo um 712 der erste militarische ZusammenstoB zwischen Arabern und Chinesen stattfand: Die chinesische Armee von 200 000 Soldaten wurde an der indischen Grenze zerschlagen. Wo sich in Zentralasien islamische Einwanderer ansiedelten, wurden die einheimischen Stamme und Volker teilweise bekehrt. Eine neue Situation trat ein, als die Araber 757 dem chinesischen Kaiser halfen, seine von einem Auslander eroberte Hauptstadt zuriickzuerobern. Die etwa 4000 Araber blieben in China und verheirateten sich mit chinesischen Frauen. Vielleicht besteht auch ein Zusammenhang mit der Pliinderung Kantons 758 durch Araber und Perser und der dortigen islamischen Ansiedlung. Am Ende des 8. Jahrhunderts arbeiteten Chinesen und Araber zusammen, um das machtige Konigreich der Tibeter zu bekampfen. In diesem Zusammenhang wird die Anwesenheit von Moslems in Yunnan erwahnt. Da auch der Seeweg immer noch benutzt wurde, wissen wir, daB eine arabische Ansiedlung in Kanton zustande kam. Eine neue Einwanderung von Moslems fand wahrend der YiianDynastie statt, als die Mongolen den Weg zwischen Ost und West beherrschten (1260-1368): A flood of Mohammedans of all kinds, Arabs, Persians, Bokhariots, converted Turks - and doubtless Uigurs - passed freely to and from, and scattered themselves gradually over China itself in a way they had *' Die Beschreibung Cordiers entspricht nicht in allem unserer Darstellung. Irrtiimlicherweise spricht er von 118 statt 218 Seiten der Handschrift, obwohl es sich zweifellos um dasselbe Manuskript handelt.

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never done before. These strangers mixed with the Arab colonists of the eighth century and formed that body which are designated today by the name of Hui Hui' Spater horen wir bis zum 16. Jahrhundert, daB arabische Botschaften nach China kamen. In der Neuzeit findet man Moslems in fast alien chinesischen Provinzen. Fur 1910 gibt Broomfield ihre Zahl mit minimal 4 727 000, maximal mit 9 821 000 an.8 Uber die Moslems in China schreibt Castorano: Siquidem haec animorum lues iam occupavit ferme tertiam partem orbis terrarum, et proh dolor! in dies alias partes occupare non cessat, dum usque ad ultimum orientem, nempe in Regnum Sinarum, sensim se introducit, et per generationem filiorum ac nepotum, cum pluritate mulierum, necnon mancipiorum ac ancillarum emptionem, mirum in modum crescit et multiplicatur: ita ut in pluribus civitatibus iam Mahumetani Sinenses publice cum bireto albo in plateis et locis publicis incedant: suasque Mesquitas pariformiter palam edificant, ac frequentant: nee Prefectis sive mandarinis contradicentibus, neque Sinarum Imperatore prohibente. In Provincia Xan tung (Shantung) Mahumetani plurimi sunt, et in civitatibus principalioribus se quotidie multiplicant, uti in metropoli zinanfu (Chi-nan), civitatibus zingceufu (Ch'ing-shui?), tai gan ceu (?), zi ningceu (?), tungciangfu (?), lin zingceu (Lin-ch'in?), et ubique publicas habent meschitas, quas vocant Ly Pai su, id est Adorationis Phanum. In dicto civitate Lin zingceu (Lin-ch'in?) ubi erat mea ordinaria residentia pluries habui colloquium de Religione cum Mahumetanis, etiam ipsis ultro se ingerentibus, sed semper incasso labore. Quidem eorum Religionis Superior Mufti in civitate tungciangfu meis domesticis dixit, velle mecum disputare de Religione, quando de more irem ad illam civitatem . . .9 Aus diesem Text wird klar, daB Castorano aus Erfahrung iiber den Islam schreibt, auch wenn sich diese Erfahrung auf Shantung beschrankt.

7

Vgl. M. Broomfield, Islam in China. London 1912, 32. Ebd. 215; vgl. J. Henninger S.V.D., Uber den Beitrag der Laien bei der Verbreitung des Islams: J. Specker s.M.B./W. Biihlmann O.F.M. CAP (Hrsg.), Das Laienapostolat in den Missionen. Schoneck-Beckenried 1961, 362f.; weitere Literatur ebd. in den Anm. 96f. Henninger kennt Broomfield nicht. Auch die neue Ausgabe der "Encyclopedia of Islam" 1st noch nicht soweit vorangeschritten, daB China unter "al-Sin" bearbeitet wurde. 9 Vgl. die 4. nicht numerierte Seite der Handschrift und S. 4. Es war - auch nicht mit Hilfe des englischen Chinaatlas: The Times Atlas of China. London 1974 nicht moglich, alle genannten Orte und Stadte zu identifizieren. 8

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6. DER INHALT DER HANDSCHRIFT Als Quellen seiner Studie werden von Castorano zwei bekannte Werke erwahnt: Thyrso Gonzalez de Santalla s.j., Manuductio ad conversionem Mahumetanorum, in duas partes divisa. Dilingae 1689, sodann ein Buch des "R.P. Thomas a Jesu, de Mahumeto et Mahumetana lege varia tractan(s)".10 Bei dem zweitgenannten Buch handelt es sich vermutlich um das Werk De procuranda salute omnium gentium schismaticorum, Judaeorum, Sarracenorum, caeterorumque injidelium libri 12. Antuerpiae 1613, da ein von Thomas a Jesu iiber den Islam allein geschriebenes Werk nicht bekannt ist. Das Werk wurde 1940 in Rom auszugsweise neugedruckt. Vergleicht man die beiden Werke, so stellt man fest, daB das Buch von Thyrso Gonzalez mit seinen beiden Teilen von 353 und 314 Seiten die Hauptquelle Castoranos gewesen ist. Das Werk ist eine Fundgrube, da in ihm alle von friiheren Autoren benutzen Argumente systematisch zusammengestellt sind. Dennoch ist Castoranos Werk ein selbstandiges Werk, das in Aufbau, Auswahl der Diskussionspunkte und Verwendung der Heiligen Schrift eigene Ziige aufweist. Castoranes Text hat zwei Teile. Der erste Teil hat eine Einfiihrung iiber die Art, mit Moslems umzugehen. Es folgen dann mehrere Kapitel iiber die Gottheit Jesu mit Argumenten aus dem Alten Testament und dem Evangelium des Johannes. Es schlieBt sich dann die Auseinandersetzung mit den islamischen Argumenten an. Beilaufig werden behandelt: die Dauer der christlichen Religion bis zum Ende der Welt, der rechte Glaube und die eine Kirche Gottes, das Bekenntnis des Mohammed, daB die Christen in der christlichen Religion gerettet werden konnen, Leiden und Tod Christi. Der zweite Teil handelt fast nur vom Leben Mohammeds, den Widerspriichen im Koran und den bosen Praktiken der Moslems. Am Ende steht dann ein Kapitel: "Ex dictis et ex comparatione Sanctissimae Legis Jesu Christi cum Lege Mahumetana evidenter evincitur Mahumetum fuisse Impostorem, et eius Legem esse falsam."11 Die Inhaltsbeschreibung zeigt, daB wir es hier noch nicht mit einem ofFenen Dialog zu tun haben. Haufig finden sich Ausdriicke wie folgende:

Vgl. die Handschrift 4. Vgl. ebd. 208.

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"ratione arguitur ad hominem contra Mahumetanos", "Mahumed iniuste prohibet de sua Lege inquiri et examinari", "ergo Mahumetani debent christianam Legem sequi, ei Mahumeti Legem ae Alcoranum relinquere", "Alcorani doctrina, contradictiones atque absurditates", "alii errores Alcorani contra rationem et mathematicam", "de pretense gladio a Deo dato Mahumeto et de ipsius Legis nimia ac facili extensione", "Alii errores Mahumeti contra Dei Providentiam et Sanctitatem", "Mahumeti errores de nostra Beata Maria Virgine; et alii contra sacram Scripturam", "de oratione, lotionibus et ieiunio Mahumetanorum: ex quibus apparet ipsos non habere media apta ad acquirendam veram sanctitatem", "Impura ac mala vita Mahumeti distinctius adnotatur: ex qua evidentissime patet ipsum nullo modo fuisse Dei Servum, neque Prophetam", "Sectae Mahumetanae falsitas convincitur etiam ex eo, quod Mahumed ultimum hominis finem ac beatitudinem in deliciis et corporalibus delectationibus posuit", "Mahumetum fuisse Impostorem, et eius Legem esse falsam."12

Die Beispiele zeigen, daB Castorano der damals iiblichen Diskussionsart folgt. Er war kein Erneuerer der Verhaltnisse zwischen Islam und Christentum. Das war auch nicht zu erwarten, wenn er Thyrso Gonzalez folgte. Neu ist, daB wir heute wissen, daB ein Missionar in China sich mit dem Islam befaBt hat und es in der Provinz Shantung zu einem wirklichen Kontakt mit Moslems gekommen ist. Wichtig ist auch zu wissen, daB diese Kontakte Castorano dazu gefuhrt haben, sich in die Kontroverse mit dem Islam zu vertiefen, und daB er dies in Peking tun konnte, weil ganz offensichtlich die Werke von Thyrso Gonzalez und Thomas a Jesu dort vorhanden waren.13 Castorano hat das umfangreiche Material gut bearbeitet, neu geordnet und fur die Mission unter den Moslems in China zur Anwendung gebracht. Die Wiederentdeckung des Brevis Apparatus ist fur unsere Kenntnis der Missionsgeschichte Chinas ein bedeutender Stein.

Ebd. 32, 34, 37, 55, 73, 105, 113, 133, 157, 186, 197, 208. Vgl. ebd. 4.

CAROLO ORAZI DA CASTORANO O.F.M. (1673-1755) ON THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD AND ON THE MASTER PHILOSOPHER CONFUCIUS*

The contribution of Carolo Orazi da Castorano to the communication between China and the West has often been underestimated. He stayed in China from 1700 till 1733. In this research I intend to deal with the life and works of this scholar and especially with two rather unknown works of his hand: one on the Prophet Muhammad and another on the Master Philosopher Confucius. At the end I shall try to explain why he was so negative in his judgment on the life of the Prophet and why he praised the Philosopher to a certain point. I. THE LIFE AND WORK OF CAROLO ORAZI DA CASTORANO O.F.M. Castorano (Chinese name: Kang Hezhi) was born on May 20, 1673 in the village called Castorano situated close to the city of Ascoli Piceno in Central Italy. He joined the Franciscan Order on January 11, 1690 in the monastery of Teramo. On April 30, 1698 he left for China and arrived on August 23, 1700. During the first two years of his stay in China he was a missionary in the south of the empire and in 1701 he moved to the city of Linqing in western part of the province of Shandong. He was very active in founding Christian communities both in Shandong and in Hebei. On May 10, 1714 the bishop of Beijing, Mgr. Bernardino della Chiesa O.F.M. (Chinese name: Yi Daren) appointed him as companion, secretary, economist and vicar-general. After the death of the bishop on December 20, 1721 he was appointed as the administrator of the diocese of Beijing. Already before that year Castorano was involved in the tragic Rites Controversy in the Catholic Church in China and he had to suffer for excecuting the orders of the Pope in Rome. At the end of 1723

* This text was read during the International Symposium on Chinese - Western Communications (1500-1640), held at the Hangzhou University, China, on 25—111998. Cfr.: Neue Zeitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft 56 (Immensee 2000) Nr. 1.

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a persecution of Christianity started and Castorano took refuge in Hai Dian, today a suburb of Bejing. As there were still differences of opinion among missionaries of various nationalities and religious orders concerning certain Chinese Rites, Castorano was sent to Rome in order to obtain from the Holy See a definite decision. He left China during the month of October 1733 and he arrived in Italy on November 12, 1734. There he stayed till the end of 1742 and served the Congregation of the Propaganda Fide. He was very much involved in the preparation of the papal letter Ex quo singular^ signed by Benedict XIV on July 11, 1742. This letter of authority brought the Chinese Rites Controversy in the Catholic Church in China to an end. The last day of 1742 Castorano retired to his native town, Castorano and on February 1, 1755 he died in his parental home at the age of eighty-one.1 The impression that Castorano was only occupied with the administration of the diocese of Beijing or with settling the Chinese Rites Controversy, would be wrong. Unfortunately, the well-known series, called Sinica Franciscana, containing a critical edition of letters and documents written by Franciscan missionaries in China since the thirteenth century, has not yet arrived at the time of Castorano. But the late Dr. Bernward Willeke O.F.M. has left us a manuscript which is a kind of preliminary survey for such an edition.2 Moreover, Robert Streit O.M.I, and Johannes Dindinger O.M.I, as also Henri Cordier have collected quite some detailed information on the literary activity of Castorano.3 From these we learn, that Castorano studied the Chinese classics, the Life of the Philosopher Confucius, the text of 1 F. Margiotti O.F.M., // Cattolicismo nello Shansi dalle origini al 1738, Roma 1958, 485-486, note 155. J. Ricci O.F.M., Hierarchia Franciscana in Sinis, Wuchang 1929, 49-51. Anastasius Van Den Wyngaert and Georgius Alensaert O.F.M., Sinica Franciscana V, Roma 1954, 438, note 3. Historia Missionum Ordinis Fratrum Minorum Vol. I Sinae, tempore hodierno, by G. Mensaert O.F.M., Romae 1967, 141-146. Brevissima Notitia o rela^ione di vari viaggi, fatiche, patimenti, opere, ecc. nell'Impero della Cina, del R.P. Horatii da Castorano, minore observante di S. Francesco, ex Vicario Generate, ex Delegato Apostolico, Missionario di Propaganda Fide, Livorno 1759. 2 Bernward Willeke O.F.M., Studia preliminaria pro 'Sinica Franciscana', Carolo Orazi, O.F.M. (1673-1755), insignis Missionarius in Sinis, pro manuscripto Osnabriick 1992. Francesco D'Arelli, "Manuscript notes of Carlo Horatii da Castorano O.F.M. and Francesco da Ottaviano O.F.M. on some of Aleni's Chinese writings", in: Tiziana Lippiello and Roman Malek (eds.), "Scholarfrom the West". Giulio Aleni s.j. (1582-1649) and the dialogue between Christianity and China, Brescia - St. Augustin 1997, 432-452. 3 Arnulf Camps O.F.M., "Castoranos Brevis apparatus et modus agendi ac disputandi cum Mahumetanis in China", in: 'Denn Ich bin bei Euch' (Mt. 28, 20), Perspektiven im christlichen Missionsbewusstsein heute, Zurich etc., 1978. 156, notes 2 and 3.

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the famous Nestorian Stele (781 A.D.) in Xi'an, and wrote a Grammar of the Chinese language, a Latin-Italian-Chinese Dictionary and a catalogue of the Chinese works preserved in the Apostolic Vatican Library. Moreover, in the same library a great number of books, which belonged to Castorano and which contain many annotations by his hand, have been collected. He was a prolific writer and much research has still to be done in that Vatican Library, in the archives and library of the Congregation of the Propaganda Fide in Rome and also in many other places. In this contribution I limit myself to Castorano's works on the Prophet Muhammad and on the Master Philosopher Confucius. II. CASTORANO AND THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD The manuscript Brevis Apparatus et modus agendi ac disputandi cum Mahumetanis, in duas partes divisus (A short equipment and method to deal and to discuss with Muslims, divided into two parts) is preserved in the library of the Anthonianum University in Rome (MS. 150). In the beginning of the fifties of this century the manuscript was for sale in Paris and was bought by the librarian of the Antonianum University. We know that Henri Cordier mentioned in 1905/1906 in his Bibliotheca Sinica and that he wrote, that it belonged to his private collection.4 We also know, that after his return from China Castorano lived in the General House of the Franciscans in Rome, called the Ara Coeli. The French army occupied Rome in 1798 and confiscated the monastery. The library was plundered, but part of it was saved by transferring it into the Vatican Library. The letters, preserved in the archives, were sold to foodmerchants, and the larger manuscripts were bought by Jews and antiquarians. Castorano had given his Chinese books to the Ara Coeli Library in 1742.° The manuscript has 228 folios and is well preserved. It is an autograph and contains on two places the personal seal of Castorano. On folio 4 we read: written at "Pekini Hai-tien 1725". On folio 4 Castorano informs us that he found in Beijing two works, which he used to write his own book. They are: Thyrso 4

H. Cordier, Bibliotheca Sinica, II, Paris 1905/62, 1189. L. Lemmens O.F.M., "De sorte Archivi Generalis O.F.M. et Bibliothecae Aracoelitana tempore Reipublicae Tiberinae (an. 1798, 1799)", in: Archivum Franciscanum Historicum 17 (Quarracchi 19.2.4.) 30-54. B. Pandzic O.F.M., "Les archives generales de 1'Ordre des Freres Mineurs", in: Archivum 4 (Paris 1954) 154-164. 3

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Gonzalez de Santalla s.j., Manuductio ad conversionem Mahumetorum, in duas partes divisa (A Guide for the conversion of Muslims), Dilingae 1689, and: a work written by Thomas a Jesu: De Mahumeto et Mahumetana lege tractans (On Muhammad and the Muslim Religion). The libary where he did find these works was the so called Beitang Library in Beijing. The catalogue of this library has been published in 1949 and contains 4101 works. The books were collected from the sixteenth up to the eighteenth century by various Jesuits and other missionaries. After 1949 they were transferred to the Peking Municipal Library into the Rare Books Section. In the catalogue we see that the work of Thyrso Gonzalez de Santalla was among the Beitang Library books in two copies — one dated 1687 and another dated 1689 — and that both belonged to the Jesuit Fathers in Beijing. The work of Thomas a Jesu, an Augustinian Father, who suffered captivity in Muslim hands in the north of Africa, is present in several editions, but in only one case it could be used by Castorano as it was printed during his lifetime in Paris 1721. 6 A careful comparison between the manuscript of Castorano and these two works reveals that Castorano borrowed much from Thyrso Gonzalez, whose work consists of two volumes of 353 and 314 pages. Gonzalez himself collected in his work all the arguments against Islam which former authors had brought forward. However, Castorano's work is an independent work, as the composition, choice of discussion points and use of Sacred Scripture are his own. The manuscript of Castorano has two parts. The first part gives an introduction about the way to deal with Muslims. This is followed by several chapters dealing with the divinity of Jesus and here he makes use of the Old Testament and of the Gospel of St. John. He also discusses the arguments brought forward by the Muslims against this doctrine. Moreover Castorano treats of the duration of the Christian religion up to the end of the world; of the true faith and the one Church of God; of the conviction of the Prophet Muhammad that Christians can be saved in the Christian religion; and of the passion and death of Jesus. The second part is devoted to the life of the Prophet Muhammad, the contradictions in the Koran and the bad

6

H. Verhaeren C.M., Catalogue de la Bibliotheque du Pe-T'ang, Pekin 1949 (19692) col. 501 and col. 186. J.S. Cummins, "Present location of the Pei-t'ang library", in: Monumenta Nipponnica 22 (Tokyo 1967) 482-487 (Reprint in J.S. Cummins, Jesuit and Friar in the Spanish expansion to the East, London 1986, under VII.).

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customs of the Muslims. At the end he added a chapter stating that the comparison between the two religions proves that Muhammad was an impostor and that his religion was false. It will be clear, that Castorano did not intend to start an open dialogue. He uses the then common way of discussing religious differences. Castorano was not someone who tried to innovate or to correct the relations between Christianity and Islam. On the contrary, he attacks both the life and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and the laws, customs and way of life of the Muslims. He never tries to formulate a benign interpretation. There is another point I want to mention. Castorano gives us an idea of the spread of Islam in China. I quote: However, this pest of the souls has already occupied nearly one third of the world, and how painful! - it does not stop to occupy daily other parts, untill it slowly introduces itself in the Far East, that is to say in the Kingdom of the Chinese people. They have children and grandchildren, they take many wives, they buy slaves and maids, and thus they grow and multiply in a miraculous way, so that already in many cities Chinese Muslims walk in public wearing a white cap. They build their mosques visible to everybody; they visit them and neither the Prefects nor the Mandarins contradict them and also the Emperor of China does not forbid it. In the province of Shandong there are many Muslims and in the main cities they multiply themselves daily, as in the metropolis Jinan, in the cities of Jingtuosi, Tai'anshi, Jining, Tongjing, Linqing, and everywhere they have public mosques, which they call Li Bai Su, that is to say House of Worship. In the city of Linqing, where I normally resided, I had often a conversation on religion with the Muslims, and it happened that they themselves asked for it, but it was always in vain. A certain religious superior of them, a Mufti, in the city of Tongjing told my servants, that he wanted to discuss with me about religion, every time I went to that city. When I heard about this, I accepted it with pleasure, in order to sow the seed of God in earth, which offered itself so spontaneously.7

This quotation makes it very clear now Castorano despised Islam, but and this is for us today more important, it also reveals that he knew about the spread of Islam in Shandong and that he had a good number of contacts with Muslims. According to his own words, these contacts led him to a more profound study of the Sacred Scriptures of the Christians and later on — when he resided in Beijing — to consult the works of Thyrso Gonzalez and of Thomas a Jesu. However, 7

MS Castorano, 3-4.

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most interesting is Castorano's description of the way Islam spread in China. This was also observed by a Jesuit Father, Jean-Baptist Du Halde, who wrote: In ancient times the Mohammedans increased their numbers solely by the alliances and marriages they contracted; but for some years past they have made considerable progress by the help of their money. They everywhere buy up children, whose parents, unable to educate them, make no scruple to sell them. During a famine which wasted the province of Shantung they purchased above ten thousand. They marry them, and either buy or build a considerable part of a city, and even whole country towns to settle them in. Hence, by little and little, they are grown to such a head in many places as not to suffer any to live among them who goes not to the Mosque; by which means they have multiplied exceedingly within these hundred years.8 Du Halde refers in this quotation to the explicit ban on marriages between the Han-Chinese and the Hui during the Qing period. This may have caused the strange custom to buy children especially during a time of famine. Castorano refers to this by using the words: "a miraculous way". As far as I can see other missionaries during that period were not well informed about the situation of the Muslims in China; they only mention that they are numerous and that they increase their communities through normal marriages.9 We may conclude, that Castorano is one of the few missionaries who went deeply into the study of the controversy between Islam and Christianity. However, he did not rise above the polemic and negative approach which was common in his lifetime. Especially, the person and the morality of the Prophet Muhammad were attacked by him in a very unjust way. III. CASTORANO AND THE MASTER PHILOSOPHER CONFUCIUS Castorano wrote his work on Islam during his stay in China. After his return to Italy he composed a work on the Master Philosopher Confucius, dated 1739: Vita Confusii Philosophi apud Sinenses Sapientissimi Magistri, or: The Life of Confucius the Philosopher and among the Chinese the Most Wise Master.10 There are several manuscript-copies

8

Imke Mees, Die Hui - eine moslemische Minderheit in China, Munchen 1984, 34. Sinica Franciscana, Vols. V and VI under: Mahumetani. 10 Le missioni francescane in Palestina ed in altre Regioni della terra, VI (Assisi 1895) 30-33, 92-95, 138-141, 210-212, 356-360, 526-531, 659-661. Bibliotheca Missionum 9

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of this work in libraries in Rome, London and elsewhere. The printed text of 1895, which we have at hand, seems to be shorter than some of the manuscripts, but it gives a reliable insight into the views of Castorano on this matter. This work of Castorano is rather different from the work on the Prophet Muhammad and on Islam. We have here a very detailled study of the life and the doctrine of the Philosopher Confucius. According to Castorano, Confucius showed during the various stages of his life up to his old age a remarkable consistency. Confucius was guided by very high moral principles and he was rigorous in applying them in his own conduct as well as in the conduct of his countrymen in the many principalities, wherein he lived and took up certain duties and tasks. He had many disciples and during the later days of his life he collected, selected and wrote down the Chinese Classics and some other works of his own. Castorano proves to be well read in all these and he quotes freely from them. Confucius played musical instruments and he loved to sing. Castorano gives full credit to the restauration of the ancient rites, doctrines and institutions by Confucius, so that he could put an end to corruption prevalent in many principalities. I may quote one passage: The Chinese generally say, that Confucius undertook the previously mentioned peregrinations with the intention to search for and to obtain offices of a magistrate, of a prefect or other dignities and that he tried in this way through a just government or administration to reform the morals of the people, which during that period were very deprived due to the continous wars and seditions, or that he wanted to be a councillor to the kings of those principalities so that they too were in a position to obtain better fruits. They say that this reform of morals was sometimes succesful, and this was especially true when he was a magistrate in his own kingdom, Lu. Thus as far as this is regarded Confucius merits praise, as he possessed zeal and love in matters of reformation and progress of several peoples, though in fact he obtained little fruit through his peregrinations. Sometimes he incurred too a threat to his life either on account of his zealotry, or on account of feelings of envy, or for fear of damage, or, finally, on account of his minor aptitude, or, certainly, on account of his too great zeal or rigorousness in matters of justice"."

As far as the doctrine of Confucius is regarded, Castorano mentions the five human relationships: VII: Chinesische Missionsliteratur 1700-1799, Rom etc. 1965, 206-210, (ed. by R. Streit and J. Dindinger O.M.I.). " Cfr. note 2, 36. The quotation is taken from B. Willeke, op. cit.

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namely, between the ruler and the ministers, between the father and sons, between husband and wife, between elder and younger brothers and between friend and friend. The ruler must be just in relation with his subjects; the subjects must be loyal to his ruler; the father must care for his children and the children must be obedient to their parents; between husband and wife a difference exists, for the wife must accommodate herself to the husband; between elder and younger brothers the right observance of majority and minority must be cultivated; between friends there must be trust and fidelity. These five relationships or virtues regard all human beings or all peoples of the entire globe or empire. To summarise in a few words the doctrine and the institutions of the Chinese or of Confucius, I say that they can be reduced to mainly these three. Firstly, the formation and renewal of oneself; secondly, the right set-up of one's house and family; and thirdly, the renovation and government of the kingdom and the pacification of the world or the empire.12

At the end of his work Castorano asks two questions. The first is: did Confucius during his life teach or practise idolatry and superstitions? The answer is affirmative. This can be proved by the following quotation: Confucius himself inspired the people through his example and induced others to practise — though being a wrong one — piety. When Confucius made offerings and sacrifices, either in the temple of the ancestors, the deceased, or in other temples of the spirits to the spirits and the higher ones (being an officer or magistrate), he did so with all attention, majesty and reverence. And he ordered his disciples to do the same.13

But, not only sacrifices were by Castorano considered to be wrong piety. Divination too could not get his approval: One day Confucius had to conduct the autumn-sacrifice to his ancestors and he drew lots (as the Chinese commonly do in their activities). Having seen the result, he was very sad. A disciple noticed this, went to Confucius and said: Master, I have heard that you drawing lots, obtained as a result Fuen, and that is a good one; why, therefore, Master is the colour of your face disturbed and sad? Confucius answered him: that outcome according to the teaching of the book King of the family Ceu is explained in such and such a way, and it is not a good omen for me.14

Ibid., 45. Ibid., 27-28. Ibid., 33.

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The second question was: did the Chinese venerate Confucius only as a wise man and a master or as a saint exalted above all human beings? Castorano tries to prove by means of many authorities that in China Confucius is considered to be both a wise man — a master and the greatest saint. And again Castorano does not approve of this: I think it to be necessary to explain two very substantial points. I do so to defend the truth and the honour of the sacred sanctions applied by this Holy See. For a certain missionary father from Europe, belonging to those who permit their Chinese christians to venerate Confucius and to offer him oblations and sacrifices, writes and narrates according to his own pleasure the life of Confucius leaving out much which could harm his cause. And he audaciously states: the life of Confucius was immune to any kind of idolatry. This Father blames other missionaries, who for that reason assert that Confucius (as many other heathen like him) perhaps suffer eternal punishments. l3

It will be evident, that this work of Castorano on the life of the Master Philosopher Confucius was composed as an instrument to be used in his fight against the Chinese Rites during his stay in Rome. But there is a certain ambiguity in this work. On the one side, Confucius is studied in a very positive way and even admired for his wisdom, morality and statemanship. On the other hand, he is considered to be on the wrong side as he offers sacrifices, uses divination and is himself venerated as the greatest saint. This contradiction is all the more striking, when we compare Castorano's treatment of Muhammad with that of Confucius. Muhammad has no moral values, is a warrior, a bad stateman etc. I think Castorano does not justice to both of them. We must try to understand why he being a child of his age and time was so narrowminded. IV. A THEOLOGICAL EVALUATION The theological dimension of the Chinese Rites Controversy is today acknowledged by many scholars. Paul Rule wrote: I do not want to suggest that the issues at stake were entirely political, even ecclesiastical-political. There were clearly also very important

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ideological, religious and theological issues at the heart of the controversy. I also think that these issues are far from being historical relics.16

Lawrence G. Thompson wrote: As early as the seventeenth century, this question arose among the Catholic missionaries, who had to decide whether or not their converts could be allowed to continue the practices concerned. The question took this form: Are these rites truly religious or are they less than that, something like respectful memorials? It was far from being an academic question. Indeed it took on the proportions of a major doctrinal dispute, known in history as the "Rites Controversy," involving popes and Chinese emperors and leading eventually to the downfall of the Jesuit position in China and expulsion of all missionaries from Chinese soil.17

Julia Ching may merit a long quotation: Under the leadership of Matteo Ricci, the Jesuit missionaries, with the support of a few others, approved for their converts the veneration of ancestors and of Confucius. But opposition to this move caused the spread of the so-called Rites Controversy as well as the Terms Controversy from China to Europe. The acculturation moves were reported to the Pope in Rome, Clement XI, who sent as envoy to China the Patriarch of Antioch, Maillard de Tournon, to sort out the question. Incidentally, Tournon was a conservative who was also to condemn the Malabar Rites of India, which the Jesuit Robert de Nobili had accepted. The Jesuits in China promptly sought help from the Chinese Emperor K'ang-hsi, who gave his official confirmation - that Confucius was not worshipped as God, but venerated as a model teacher; that ancestral veneration was regarded as a memorial service, rather than as a worship of the spirit; that the ancestral tablet offered a focus for filial attention and devotion, and no more; that Heaven and Lord-on-High were identifiable, not with the physical heaven, but the Lord of Heaven and Earth and all things. But this was regarded by the other side as political intervention in religious questions. As Tournon preferred to rely on a member of the Mission Etrangere de Paris, Charles Maigrot, Vicar Apostolic of Fukien, who had meagre knowledge of the Chinese language, the emperor was less than impressed and indeed, quite insulted that Rome should deign to regard itself as an authority on things Chinese. The controversy lasted a long time; it was considered by eight popes, and involved leading universities in Europe. Rome vacillated in the beginning, depending on who had its ear. In the end, Rome was to support those who opposed the rites, 16 D.E. Mungello (ed.), The Chinese Rites Controversy, Nettetal 1994: Paul Rule, "Towards a history of the Chinese Rites Controversy", 263. 17 L.G. Thompson, Chinese Religion, Belmont 1993, 45.

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whose judgement was: that the ancient Chinese were idolaters and the modern Chinese, atheists; that the Confucian classics themselves, and even the Jesuit works published in Chinese, taught doctrines contrary to the Christian faith; that ancestral rites were illicit because they were offered to spirits of ancestors and so involved idolatry and superstition; that Confucius himself was a public idolater and a private atheist, and should not be honoured by Christians as a saint. In a decree of 1704, reinforced by a bull of 1715, Pope Clement XI banned the rites. And in 1742, Pope Benedict XIV decided "definitively" in favour of those who opposed acculturation. His decree, Ex quo singular!, condemned the Chinese rites and imposed an oath on all Catholic missionaries in China to oppose the rites.18

Julia Ching presents us with a very accurate and clear view of the main points of the Rites Controversy. It was a theological battle: the ancient and modern Chinese were idolaters and atheists; the Confucian classics and the works of the Jesuits were full of false doctrines; the ancestral rites had to do with the spirits and were for that reason idolatry and superstition; and finally, Confucius himself was an idolater, an atheist and not a saint! It is as if we read the work of Castorano! We understand that Castorano was one of the main persons bringing this theological dispute to the West and to Rome. From his arrival from China in 1734 up to the end of 1742 (the year of the final condemnation of the rites) he was at the service of the papal administration in Rome. However, it was not just a theological battle having nothing to do with China. I may bring forward two considerations. Firstly, the Jesuit missionaries were dealing with the class of literati in China, with an educated elite; they studied the Chinese classics and were more tolerant and accepting in things Chinese. The Franciscan and Dominican missionaries worked usually with peasants and most of them considered the rites to be pagan superstitions. And secondly, these non-Jesuit missionaries read the Chinese works of converted literati. It was in these works that they discovered the reception of Christianity by the literati. These Christian Chinese literati were convinced that through the mediation of the Jesuit scholars they had rediscovered the true and original doctrine of Confucius and of the Chinese classics, namely that these taught a unique and personal God, the Lord - on - High, the Lord of Heaven and Earth. Moreover, the foreign religion, Christianity, fulfilled and enriched the Confucian Julia Ching, Chinese Religions, Basingstoke 1993, 193-194.

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doctrine and did not contradict it. In a way, the foreign doctrine was not foreign to China, as it was in a hidden way already present in the ancient Chinese classics. Finally, these Chinese Christian literati reduced Christian beliefs and practices and took over many Chinese mores, rituals and beliefs. To give an example: the passion, death on the cross and the resurrection of Jesus were hardly mentioned by them. In one word: in a very creative way they produced a minority religion, a Confucian monotheism.19 I may conclude that the Chinese Rites Controversy was a battle on two fronts: Europe and China. When studying the works of Castorano, we should keep this in mind. This double battle was not yet present in his work on Islam; that was an apology of Christianity and it showed all the characteristics of a centuries old intellectual fight against the Muslims in the West. It may be evident, that the Chinese Rites Controversy as also the Controversy with Islam — especially as conducted by Castorano — show all the aspects of the contextual theology of his days. The time for a theological rehabilitation of the religions of the world has only recently appeared on the theological agenda. It is a pity that Castorano and so many other missionaries of the past had to live and work inspired by quite another theology!

19 E. Ziircher, "Jesuit Accommodation and the Chinese cultural imperative", in: D.E. Mungello (ed.), op. cit., 36; and: "Confucian and Christian religiosity in late Ming China", in: The Catholic Historical Review 83 (Washington B.C. 1997) 614-653.

PART FOUR

MISSION AND AFGHANISTAN IN THE NINETEEN CENTURY

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MILL HILL MISSIONARIES IN AFGHANISTAN FROM 1879 UNTIL 1881 AND THEIR STAY IN QUETTA-BALUCHISTAN UNTIL 1883*

Historians, dealing with Catholic missions during the nineteenth century, never do mention an 'Afghan Mission' or a 'Vicariate Apostolic for Afghanistan' or a 'Vicariate of Upper India'. Yet, thirty-eight documents, discovered in the archives of the Diocesan Curia at Hyderabad (Sind), West Pakistan, inform us about this mission or vicariate, which was entrusted to the Mill Hill Fathers.1 More information was obtained from the archives of the Mill Hill Fathers at Mill Hill (London)2 as also from the archives of the Curia of the Archdiocese of Karachi (West Pakistan).3 It is our purpose to make the Hyderabad documents known through a full publication of them. Since much concerning this venture is still unknown, we shall not be able to solve all the mysteries. It is our intention to stimulate further study, and we hope that others shall unearth more documents. I. SOME OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE HYDERABAD DOCUMENTS The fact that these documents are preserved in the diocesan archives of the Episcopal Curia of Hyderabad needs some explanation. We know that they originally were kept in the archives of the parish of Quetta, a town in Baluchistan now belonging to the West Pakistan Diocese of Hyderabad. They were brought to Hyderabad on the

* First published in: ^eitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschqfi 51 (Munster 1967) pp. 13-25, 132™145 and 232~245. 1 The author is grateful to Fr. Dr. Elzearius Bonke O.F.M. the then archivist of the Hyderabad Diocese, who handed the documents over to him for publication. 2 Fr. Dr. J. Thoonen M.H.M. supplied us with this information for which the author expresses his gratitude. The archives of the Mill Hill Fathers contain many more documents concerning the Afghan Mission of which only those were used in this publication which can help us to understand the documents contained in the Hyderabad Collection. 3 Fr. Dr. Louis Mascarenhas O.F.M. was helpful in providing us with some information preserved in these archives.

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Arablscbet Mttr

occasion of a centralization of the archives belonging to the various Catholic parishes of the diocese. However, this collection of thirty-eight documents must have been made by someone who was interested in the history of the Afghan Mission. The collection contains letters written in various and sometimes distant places such as Jhelum, Kohat, Quetta, Perwar Kotal, Kabul, Kandahar, Bombay, Rawalpindi, Bibioni, Murree, Madras, Salford (England), Mill Hill (London) and Rome. Moreover, a part of the letters is correspondence written between persons living outside the mission and these letters normally should not belong to the collection. Some examples may be given: the exchange of correspondence between the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay and the military authorities of that place, between the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay

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and the Superior of the Mill Hill Missionaries in England, between the Prefect of the Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith in Rome and the Vicar Apostolic in Bombay. For the time being it is not possible to explain this fact, but we may reasonably suppose that in the past someone had been trying to gather documents concerning this mission. II. THE BRITISH POLICY TOWARDS AFGHANISTAN DURING THE AFGHAN MISSION The Afghan Mission is closely connected with the British policy towards Afghanistan during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The British concluded a treaty with the Khan of Kalat which permitted them to occupy Quetta in 1877. Quetta holds a strategic position on the southern frontier of Afghanistan, as it controls the route to Kandahar in Afghanistan. During this period both Russia and England were trying to influence the Amir of Afghanistan to accept their respective advice in all external relations as also their help with money, arms and troops against an unprovoked invasion. It was the policy of the leader of the British government, Disraeli, to keep a firm hold on the Afghan affairs; and the occupation of Quetta was a first result of this. The second move was to try to establish a British agent at Herat, a town deep in the Afghan territory, so that the government might be supplied with information regarding the Russian movements on the frontier. The Amir refused to comply and in the mean time his relations with Russia grew more intimate, which led to the reception of a Russian envoy at Kabul. When the British also wanted to send an envoy to that city, the Amir refused and appealed to Russia for help. This happened in 1878. A short invasion of Afghanistan by British troops followed, but the Afghans were deserted by the Russians. On May 26, 1879, the treaty of Gandamak was concluded and granted that a permanent British envoy should reside at Kabul, that the foreign policy of the country would be conducted on the advice of the British Viceroy in India and that the districts of Kurram, Pishin and Sibi would be ceded to the British. However, when the British envoy reached Kabul, he was murdered on September 3, 1879, and this led to a revival of the hostilities. General Roberts occupied Kabul on October 7, 1879, and General Stewart held Kandahar. Suddenly, Disraeli was replaced by

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Gladstone as leader of the British government, and the new government decided to reverse the Afghan Policy. A new Viceroy, Lord Rippon, was sent in 1880 to carry out the new policy. Before this could be done, the Afghans severely defeated the British troops of Kandahar at Maiwand in July 1880. General Roberts made his famous march from Kabul to Kandahar and defeated the Afghan army. Finally, a treaty was concluded by which the new Amir, in return for an annual subsidy, agreed to have his foreign policy controlled by the Government of India and to give up claims to the districts of Kurram, Pishin and Sibi, ceded to the British by the treaty of Gandamak. The British left the country, but kept a garrison close by at Quetta. This confrontation between Afghanistan and England is known as the Second Afghan War.4 III. THE ARRIVAL OF THE MILL HILL MISSIONARIES AND THE STATUS OF THE AFGHAN MISSION Before going into this subject a preliminary question has to be solved. The founder of the St. Joseph's Society for Foreign Missions, Mill Hill, the later Cardinal Vaughan, preferred that his foreign subjects with un-English or unpronounceable names modify their names if this could conveniently be done. Some members of the Afghan Mission complied with this wish, and therefore we find them signing their letters with adapted names. Father Browne is Father Braun\ Father Endhoven is Father van Eyndthoven] Father Rodger (or Roger or Rodgers) is Father Raatger; Father Allen is Father Aelen. The question arises which names should be made use of in this publication? We think it better to use the adapted names, even if they were not always used consistently by the Fathers themselves. A second preliminary note treats the quotation of the documents contained in the Hyderabad Collection. To limit the number of references we shall indicate in the text the writer and the date of writing so that the document referred to can be easily traced among the documents edited at the end of this publication. Documents not belonging to the Hyderabad Collection will be indicated in the notes. The first time we hear about the Afghan Mission is in 1878, when

4 Cfr. R.C. Majumdar a.o., An Advanced History of India. Second edition revised (London 1958) 833-836.

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in a document hailing from the Sacred Congregation of the Propaganda Fide at Rome and dated April 13, 1878, Fr. George Browne is mentioned as the pro tempore Superior of the Afghan Mission.3 On February 4, 1879, Giovanni Cardinal Simeoni, the Prefect of the same Congregation, wrote to Mgr. Vaughan, the Superior of the Mill Hill Fathers, that he was grateful for his willingness to send four missionaries to Afghanistan to provide for the spiritual needs of that country and that he would inform the Vicar Apostolic of Agra and the Vicar Apostolic of Patna in India of the arrival of the new missionaries so that the Capuchin Fathers could withdraw from this activity.6 The first intention of sending the Mill Hill Fathers was to look after the soldiers of the British army, but this was not the only intention, as will be shown afterwards. The first Mill Hill missionaries arrived around Pentecost Sunday, 1879. From several documents belonging to the Hyderabad Collection it appears that they were Frs. G.A.M.R. Browne and Endhoven, who went to the north (Kurram and Lundi Kotal), and Frs. J. Allen and Burke, who were appointed to the south (Quetta-Kandahar). As early as on July 9, 1879, Father Browne signed a letter and used the title: Superior of the Afghan Mission. Their main task was to be military chaplains, but on March 30, 1880, Fr. Allen wrote: "My 5 Archives of Mill Hill (London), Mill Hill File, 19-A-3: "Ex Audientia S. Smi diei 13 Aprilis 1878: S. Smus Dominus Noster Leo Divina Providentia PP. XIII, referente me infrascripto S. Congregationis de Propaganda Fide Secretario R.D. Georgio Brown, Presbytero Societatis S. Josephi S. Smi Cordis apud Mill Hill, Superior pro tempore Missionis Afghanae facultatem benigne concessit dispensandi pro Deo casibus in matrimoniis sive contractis sive contrahendis super impedimento secundi consanguinitatis et affinitatis gradu. Contrariis etc. Dummodo ad S. Sedem tempus recurrendi non suppetat. Datum Romae ex Aedibus S.C. die et anno ut supra. Gratis quocumque titulo. J.B. Agnozzi, Secretarius." 6 Archives of Mill Hill (London): "Illustrissimo e Reverendissimo Signore, - Le sono gratissirno deH'offerta che Ella ha fatto alia Propaganda di quattro missionarii da mandarsi nell'Afghanistan per provedere ai bisogni spiritual! di quel paese. Acceto percio di buon grado la sua proposta, e L'awerto che Ella puo fare la spedizione quando crede, e penso che quanto piu presto so potra effectuare, sara meglio. Se poi Ella crede opportuno che i missionarii primo di recarsi nelle Indie passino per Roma, verranno qui proweduti di tutte le facolta necessarie. Intanto io non manchero di rendere awertiti i Vicarii Apostolici di Agra e di Patna, che all'arrivo dei missionarii nuovi dowranno ritirarsi i missionarii cappucini che cola furono spediti per prowedere ai bisogni pressanti del momento. Intanto prego il Signore che La conservi lungamente, e La prosperi. - Roma, dalla Propaganda, li 4 Febbraio 1879. D.V.S. Affinissimo come fratello, Giovanni Card. Simeoni, Pref. o." Illustrissimo e Reverendissimo Mgr. Erberto Vaughan, Vescovo di Salford. - J.B. Agnozzi, Segretario.

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work comes directly from the Sovereign Pontiff." On April 1, 1880, we read in a letter of Mgr. L. Meurin s.j., Vicar Apostolic of Bombay:' "Afghanistan has been assigned as a new Apostolic Vicariate to the Very Reverend Mr. George Browne as Provicar Apostolic, residing at present at Kabul." In his letter of December 13, 1882, Mgr. Meurin spoke again of the Vicariate Apostolic of Afghanistan. Mgr. Meurin looked after the financial interests of the Mill Hill missionaries and his attitude towards them was that of a real father; most of the letters contained in the Hyderabad Collection were written to him. His statement concerning the Afghan Mission as being an Apostolic Vicariate is, therefore, not without importance. The boundaries of the Vicariate do not seem to have been fixed in detail. Whether Quetta belonged to the jurisdiction of the Provicar Apostolic of Afghanistan does not seem to have been clear. In a letter of April 4, 1880, Father Browne defends the viewpoint that Quetta never did form a part of the Province of Sind (which he considered to be the extreme limit of the Vicariate Apostolic of Bombay), but that it was on the extreme north of Baluchistan and on the very border of Afghanistan so that he rightly could consider it to belong to his jurisdiction. About the status of the mission as a part of the Indian missions there seems to have been some doubt too. In a letter to Mgr. Meurin of Bombay, dated July 15, 1880, Father Browne writes that one bishop of India objected to this. In the same letter he informs us that, "Propaganda, as I learn, has already christened our mission 'the vicariate of Upper India', and is now considering its southern boundaries, viz. as to how much, if any, of the Punjab is to be included in it", from which Father Browne feels himself allowed to think that "we are clearly within the pale of the Indian Missions". It is not clear how the statement of Mgr. Meurin, that Afghanistan is an Apostolic Vicariate, can be brought into accord with Father Browne's knowledge that this country had become the Vicariate of Upper India. The status of the mission changed with the fall of the Disraeli government in England. Father Browne writes on October 15, 1880, "From Rome I have as yet no definite information as to our future, 7

For the life of Mgr. L. Meurin s.j., see: J.H. Gense s.j., The Church at the Gateway of India 1720-1960 (Bombay 1960) 276-322. He was Vicar Apostolic of Bombay from 1867 until 1886.

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except that we are to abandon Afghanistan." In 1881 Father Browne was trying to close the mission completely. In his letter of March 4, 1881, he pointed out, that only Quetta (which did not belong to the Afghan country) would be kept as a garrison-town by the British and that a military chaplain should remain at Quetta. But as it would not be good to station a lonely Mill Hill missionary at that place, Father Browne proposed that the Vicars Apostolic of the Punjab and Bombay discuss the matter. He was however, of the opinion that Quetta was more easily accessible from the Bombay Vicariate. The same question arose as to the town of Sibi, situated between Quetta and Sukkur. On March 13, 1881, Father Browne wrote to Mgr. Meurin of Bombay, that the chaplain of Sukkur (which belonged to Bombay) could visit Sibi also, and he expressed his view that the Vicar Apostolic of the Punjab, Mgr. Tosi, would not object to this. It is interesting to note that the Vicar Apostolic of the Punjab is mentioned here. Fr. Browne was of the opinion that Sibi was in Afghanistan but close to the boarders of Baluchistan and he also thought that Afghanistan, Kashmir and Baluchistan had been added to the Vicariate of the Punjab (erected in 1880). He concluded this from his information that the General of the Capuchin Fathers had asked the Superior of the Mill Hill Fathers to take over Baluchistan. Whatever truth there may be in this information (it is true that in 1887 the Prefecture Apostolic of Kashmir and Kafiristan was entrusted to the Mill Hill missionaries), it is certain that at that time Sibi no longer belonged to Afghanistan (as it was ceded in 1879 to the British) and it is also certain that it was a part of Baluchistan, which country was not entrusted to the Vicar Apostolic of the Punjab.8 The question concerning Quetta returned in 1881. It appears from a letter of August 23, 1881, that the General of the Mill Hill missionaries, Hubert, bishop of Salford,9 was convinced that Quetta was still to be looked after by his Society, but it is also clear that he would have liked to hand the town over to the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, who explained on September 15, 1881, that he waited for a decision from Rome in this matter. Slowly some more light is thrown on this question, for on October 9, 1881, the rector of 8 For the statement in the last sentence, see: Fr. Dr. Emmerich O.F.M. CAP., The Ecclesiastical Province of West Pakistan: New ^eitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft 9 (Schoneck - Beckenried 1953) 55-56. 9 Hubert Vaughan, the later Cardinal Vaughan, founded the Society of St. Joseph for Foreign Missions (Mill Hill) in 1866.

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St. Joseph's College at Mill Hill, Father P. Benoit, wrote to the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. Meurin, that a doubt had come up whether Quetta — being in Baluchistan — could be considered to come under the Afghan Mission at all "which it was in contemplation to erect as a permanent mission". According to this statement we observe that the erection of a Vicariate Apostolic of Afghanistan does not seem to have been such a certain fact as was suggested by Mgr. Meurin. Again, whatever the truth might be, Father Benoit was right, for Quetta was never a part of Afghanistan (it was ceded by the Khan of Kalat to the British in 1877), and according to Pope Pius IX's Brief of March 8, 1854, it belonged to the Bombay Vicariate which there is described as: "limited on the north by the regions of Cabul and the Punjab." Cabul stands for Afghanistan.10 The question concerning Quetta was finally solved by Rome in 1882, as becomes clear from the documents 35~38 in the Hyderabad Collection. In 1883 Fr. F. Hillenkamp s.j. of the Bombay Vicariate took over the charge of Quetta from Father J. Temme, who was the last Mill Hill missionary at Quetta.11 The real status of the Afghan Mission remains a problem for us. We do not possess a definite proof for the thesis that it was a Vicariate Apostolic. But all the same, it is interesting to learn that from many sides there was a plan in that direction. It may also be supposed that the Mill Hill Fathers by accepting in 1887 the Prefecture Apostolic of Kashmir and Kafiristan wanted to continue the work done in the Afghan Mission. Besides Fathers Browne, Endhoven, Allen and Burke, also Fathers Rodger (Roger or Rodgers), Jackson, Temme and Prenger served as military chaplains. Their adventures will be described later on when we deal with them individually. However, it should be observed that all of them strived after greater ideals than being only military chaplains. Three times the Superior, Fr. Browne, revealed his real mind. In his letter of April 4, 1880, he forsees the closing of the mission on account of the political changes in England, but he gives us the impression he was willing to start the work again by penetrating secretly into Afghanistan and ensuring for himself the much coveted crown of martyrdom. On July 15, 1880, he informs 10

E. Hull, Bombay Mission History, Vol. I (Bombay 1927) 477; Gense, op. at. 299. ' In the Land of the Sindhi and the Baluchi. A Report on Catholic Activities in Sind and Baluchistan 1935-1947, compiled by order of Rt. Rev. Mgr. Alcuin van Miltenburg, O.F.M., Ecclesiastical Superior of Karachi (Karachi 1947) 102-103. 1

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Mgr. Meurin that, "Whereas had the troops remained, I could have put another priest with each chaplain, whose duty it would have been to study the language and customs of the people thoroughly with a view to missionary labour among them." On October 15, 1880, he wrote: "I have had many prayers said for the conversion of this stiff-necked people in Europe and America, but God seems to delay the day." IV. THE MEMBERS OF THE AFGHAN MISSION Personal data can be gathered from the archives of the Mill Hill Fathers at London, while details concerning the activities and movements of the missionaries can be taken from the Hyderabad Collection. We shall deal with each missionary individually, and so one will receive at the same time a survey of the short history of the Afghan Mission. Father G.A.M.R. Browne

His real name was Braun; he was born of German parents in New York on August 26, 1836. He came to Mill Hill, London, on March 8, 1873 and was sent to Afghanistan on April 15, 1879. On October 13, 1881, he was recalled to Mill Hill and withdrew from the St. Joseph's Society on March 3, 1883.12 Eighteen letters of the Hyderabad Collection were written by him. As Superior of the Afghan Mission he arrived in Jhelum on Friday before Pentecost Sunday 1879, and from there he sent his first letter to the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j. Soon afterwards he must have gone to Peshawar, where he was detained due to the lack of necessary instructions from the Army Headquarters. All along the frontier cholera was raging; and while awaiting his appointment as military chaplain, he volunteered to go to Lundi Kotal to administer to the sick soldiers. He reached there on June 18, 1879. In the beginning of July he got his appointment as military chaplain to the troops stationed in Kurram, Ali Kheyl, and Perwar Kotal. On September 19 he left with the troops for Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. On August 8, 1880, the British troops started withdrawing from Kabul towards Kandahar which, as he 12

Archives of Mill Hill (London): Log Book I.

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writes, has become a famous march. On October 15, 1880^ he was in Bibioni in the Bolan Pass on his way from Kandahar to Sibi. In February 1881 Fr. Browne was in Rawalpindi, and he seems to have been completely broken down due to the fatigue of the campaign. He felt uncertain as he did not know what is going to happen and there is little work for him as a military chaplain. In Rawalpindi he fell sick and was ordered by the doctors to go to Murree for a change of climate. The decision about the future of the Afghan missionaries was delayed by the uncertain conditions in Madras, where bishop Fenelly had died, and problems had arisen in connection with a capable successor. Among others Fr. Browne was also mentioned, at least by the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay. He thought himself, however, unworthy of the dignity, and unable to cope with the difficult situation prevailing in Madras. In any case, the question was, whether he will have to go to Madras or to Mill Hill. On April 23, 1881, he was still in Murree; he was now recovering but not yet allowed by his doctors to accept an invitation from the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay to be present at the blessing of a new church at Karachi. For some time nothing is known about Fr. Browne, till on August 23, 1881, the bishop of Salford, the Superior of the Mill Hill Fathers, wrote a letter to the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay and informed him of a report saying that Fr. Browne had become a Protestant and that he did not answer letters or discharge his duties. Mgr. Meurin of Bombay wrote at once that he could not believe such a thing, as Fr. Browne used to say Mass while he was staying with him from August 10-16; moreover, he had left a big amount of money in the hands of Mgr. Meurin to be sent to England. The facts are, probably, that Father Browne could not stand any longer the strain of the situation, and that, after having recovered, he went to Quetta to hand over his charge (and the documents?) to Fr. J. Temme, who was stationed there, and left for Bombay in the end of July. He reached there on August 10 and left for England on August 16. Fr. Browne described his return journey in a letter to the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, dated October 1881. He traveled via Rome, where he had an audience with the Pope, and reached Mill Hill on October 14, 1881. From his letters he appears a man of great faith and confidence in God. He worked hard for his soldiers and did whatever possible for the sick. In all the garrisons he started Abstinence Societies to fight drunkenness among the soldiers. He suffered much from the

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difficult conditions of life during the campaign and from the climate, but most he suffered under the lack of priestly company. Father Burke (about whom more later on) had accused him of being harsh, unsociable and a drunkard. The Vicar Apostolic of Bombay wrote about Father Browne in laudable terms, but he admitted that he had a liking for spirits, a habit that was visibly unnerving him. The Vicar Apostolic also revealed that the Capuchin missionaries of Lahore spoke rather unfavourably of him. All this may be true, but quite understandable in the circumstances under which Fr. Browne had to live. The strain of the fatigues and the dangers of the campaign, the state of uncertainty about his future under which he had been labouring for about a full year, the inertia to which he was condemned after the campaign was over, as also the repeated collapses of his health, explain to a great extent that he lost his balance. He was fully aware of this, and this must have been one of the main reasons that he longed so much to meet a priest. Father J. Allen

His real name was John Cornelius Christian Aelen and he was born at Tilburg, Holland, on December 25, 1853. He came to Mill Hill on September 15, 1875 and was sent to Afghanistan on April 15, 1879. After the campaign he was sent to the Madras Mission in India, where he worked in the parish of Vepery from December 1880 up to 1889. In 1889 he was called back to Mill Hill, and in 1890 he founded the Mission-House at Roosendaal, Holland. In 1902 he was appointed Co-adjutor cum iure successionis to Mgr. Colgan, archbishop of Madras. On February 2, 1902, he was consecrated bishop of Temisonium. In 1911 he succeeded to Mgr. Colgan as archbishop of Madras. As such he was succeeded by Mgr. E. Mederlet S.D.B. in 1928.13 He died in Madras on February 10, 1929.14 In the Afghan Mission he acted as a vice-superior. He arrived at Bombay in 1879 together with Fathers Browne, Endhoven and Burke. He and Fr. Burke went to Quetta, where they got orders to join the troops in Kandahar. On March 31, 1880, he moved with the soldiers to Ghazni. On September 19, 1880, he was in Rawalpindi. On September 27, 1880, he was in Karachi, from where he left for 13 Cfr. Z.D.H. Mgr. J. Aelen: Met Missiewerk 6 ('s-Hertogenbosch 1924) 65-f The Catholic Directory of India for the Year of Our Lord 1964 (Bombay 1964) 203. 14 For these details see also: Archives of Mill Hill (London): Log Book I.

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Bombay.15 The collection contains four letters in his script. From Rawalpindi he writes to Mgr. Meurin in Bombay, that his military career had come to an end, and that he was on his way to Madras, from where he would leave for Borneo, which, however, he never did reach. He was much lauded by Father Browne, who considered him to be steady, hardworking, holy and on good terms with General Stewart and the soldiers. Father Endhoven

His real name was John Christian van Eyndthoven. He was born on February 19, 1850, at Vianen, Holland, and came to Mill Hill on August 8, 1872. He was sent to India on April 15, 1879 and destined for the Telegu Mission (Madras), but on the suggestion of the Vicar Apostolic of Madras he was taken by Fr. Browne to Afghanistan. He began his mission among the soldiers at Lundi Kotal on June 30, 1879. At that place in the Khyber Pass he relieved Father Browne, who had gone there on account of the cholera.16 He died on July 18, 1879, less than three weeks after his arrival, probably also due to cholera. One of the letters of Father Browne is also signed by Father Endhoven. Father Burke

Richard Burke was born on January 1, 1854, at Canandaigua, Nr. Rochester, U.S.A. He came to Mill Hill on March 31, 1874 and was sent to Afghanistan on April 15, 1879. After the campaign he returned to Europe and the U.S.A., where he served on the Mill Hill Negro Mission till 1892. He withdrew from St. Joseph's Society of Mill Hill and either joined the Josephites, which became an independent society for work among the American Negroes in 1893, or the Diocese of Washington.17 As far as his stay in the Afghan Mission is concerned, we learn from the Hyderabad Collection that he arrived there together with Father Allen in Quetta in 1879 and that he went with the troops to Kandahar. 13

Archives of the Archdiocese of Karachi, West Pakistan, Diary of Military chaplain: "27-9 -1880: Rev. Fr. Allen who has been military chaplain in Afghanistan arrived on his way to Bombay, remained some days with us and left on a troopship (31/X)." 16 Archives of Mill Hill (London): Log Book I. 1 ' Ibidem.

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After the death of Fr. Endhoven, he was transferred to Lundi Kotal, but on his way to this new appointment he got a serious sunstroke somewhere between Sibi and Jacobabad. For about two weeks he was bed-ridden in that place. On September 18, 1879, he sent a wire saying that he had arrived at Lahore and that he was on his way to Lundi Kotal. He fell sick again and, after recovery, decided to leave this mission and to offer himself to the Vicar Apostolic of Hindustan for the Agra Mission. While going there he was stranded in Allahabad. On October 15, 1880, Fr. Browne informed the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay that Fr. Burke had arrived in Madras, "but I am afraid that his mental malady has not yet forsaken him". This refers most probably to the letters Fr. Burke had written to Fr. Browne and others accusing Fr. Browne of being a drunkard, unsocial and harsh. Father Rodger (or Roger or Rodgers) His real name was Gerard Raatger and he was born on January 1, 1849, at Rossum (O.), Holland. He came to Mill Hill on September 29, 1875, and was sent to Afghanistan on October 1, 1879. After the campaign was over, he served on the Telegu Mission (Madras) until 1922, when he retired to his native land. There he died at Delden (O.) on November 1, 1932.18 Together with Fathers Jackson and Temme he was sent to the Afghan Mission in 1879. He was appointed chaplain to the troops in Kurram. Nothing is known about him from the Hyderabadcollection. In September 1880, he left together with Fr. Allen for Madras. Father Jackson

Thomas Jackson was born on February 17, 1846, at Preston, Lanes., England. He came to Mill Hill on July 17, 1875 and was sent to Afghanistan on October 1, 1879. After the campaign he led the first band of Mill Hill missionaries to Sarawak and North Borneo as the first Prefect Apostolic of Mill Hill. He retired from the office in 1897 and spent the rest of his life as chaplain to the Mother House of the Franciscan Missionaries of St. Joseph at Patricroft, Manchester, England, and as a lecturer on mission work. He died there in April 1916.19 Ibidem. Ibidem.

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The Hyderabad Collection contains one letter written by Fr. Jackson. It appears that he was sent to Quetta but not as a military chaplain, because the garrison was too small. When Fr. Allen had left Kandahar for Ghazni, together with the troops, the military authorities allowed Fr. Jackson to proceed to Kandahar in March 1880. When the British troops were withdrawing from Kabul and Ghazni via Kandahar to Baluchistan, Fr. Browne met Fr. Jackson and he then wrote to the Vicar Apostolic in Bombay on October 15, 1880, "When I arrived at Kandahar I found good Fr. Jackson in the best of health and laus eius in ore omnium from General Primrose down to the provost private. The Kandahar officers told me, one and all, that if somebody deserved the Victoria Cross he deserved six! . . . he is called by officers and men 'the hero of the Bombay troops'." Though the British troops had got orders to withdraw from Afghanistan, Kandahar was kept for some time, and, as Fr. Allen had already left, Fr. Jackson stayed on with the troops. In April 1881, he was back in Quetta, and on May 22 he wrote to the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay that he had got orders from his Superiors to proceed to Borneo, as soon as he would be relieved in Quetta. In June Fr. Temme came to take over and Fr. Jackson left immediately. Father Temme

John Bernard Martin Temme was born on May 9, 1851, at Scharmede, near Paderborn, Germany. He came to Mill Hill on October 23, 1874, and was sent to the Afghan Mission on October 1, 1879. After his stay in that mission he went to the Telegu Mission in the South of India. He retired to his native Scharmede on account of illness and died there on October 5, 1929.20 After his arrival in the Afghan Mission in November, 1879, he was appointed as military chaplain at Lundi Kotal. When the campaign was over, he was transferred to Quetta to take over from Fr. Jackson in June 1881. This is the information we find in the Hyderabad Collection. Elsewhere we read about his stay in Quetta, "Father Temme came to Quetta end 1880 or beginning 1881. His last funeral in Lundi Kotal (entered in the Quetta registers) was December 2, 1880; his first act of ministry recorded in Quetta, the funeral of Robert 20

Ibidem.

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Keefe of the 61st regiment who died January 24, 1881. Fr. Hillenkamp s.j. took over officially on New Year's Day 1883. He arrived the 5th of January, Fr. Temrne officiating for him till then".21 For some time Fr. Temme enjoyed company of Fr. Prenger.22

Alexander Prenger too was a Dutchman, born at Millingen, Gelderland, on January 10, 1856. He came to Mill Hill on August 31, 1877 and was sent to Quetta, Baluchistan, on October 10, 1881, where he served as chaplain for the soldiers. After some time he was sent to Borneo and then recalled to Mill Hill to teach. He was sent to Borneo on May 13, 1892, where he died on March 15, 1902.23 He was the last priest of the Society of Mill Hill to be sent to this mission. After quite an adventurous journey he reached Quetta on November 29, 1881. It is not known how long he stayed with Fr. Temme at Quetta, but surely he had left that town before Fr. Temme. One letter of the Hyderabad Collection is from his hand. With the departure of Fathers Prenger and Temme the Afghan Mission had come to an end. After the failure of the Afghan Mission, the Society of St. Joseph for Foreign Missions (Mill Hill) decided to concentrate their efforts on their mission in Madras and on the newly acquired mission in Borneo. V. The Hyderabad Collection

The thirty-eight documents of this collection are published here for the first time. 1. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j.

L.J.C.

Jhelum, Pentecost Sunday, 1879.

Dearest My Lord, Here we are at Jhelum, where we arrived safe and sound, thank God, on Friday afternoon. But here our trials have begun. On our arrival we found 21

Cfr. the work referred to in note 11, p. 102. Archives of the Archdiocese of Karachi, West Pakistan, Diary of military chaplain: "A father from Mill Hill arrived, Rev. B. to be a companion to Fr. Jemme at Quetta." The military chaplain of Karachi, who noted this down, made some mistakes: Rev. B. should be Rev. P(renger) and Jemme should be Temme. 23 Archives of Mill Hill (London): Log Book I. 22

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that our luggage had not come, though it ought to have been here already on Thursday. I wanted the Station-Master to telegraph at once, but he thought that yesterday's mail would bring them, so we resigned ourselves to the inevitable and made the best of it. However neither yesterday's mail, nor today's mixed train has brought it. Unfortunately it contains all my faculties as well as all our church furniture etc. To make matters worse there is no chance of even hearing Mass today. Here we are then, on Pentecost Sunday, and no chance of performing our Christian duties. If there were only a church here, we could put up with the inconvenience of waiting a few days longer, though it involves considerable expense. Pray for us that we may be spared similar situations. Today I realize for the first time, what it is to be in an infidel country. Pentecost! and no Mass to be heard, much less to be said. If we only had our altar things etc. Well, God's holy will be done. No doubt, He will know to bring good out of this evil. Please remember us kindly to all the good fathers, whose great kindness to us, we shall never forget. Permit me, my Lord, to express to you once more our sincere thanks for the great charity you displayed in our regard, and for the very valuable suggestions you kindly imparted. We can never repay the debt of gratitude we owe you, but what little there is in our power, we shall always strive to do. Your Lordship's humble servant in the Sacred Hearts, Fathers BROWNE and ENDHOVEN. 2. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j. Kohat, July 9th, 1879. Dearest My Lord, Many thanks for your kind letter, which followed me to Lundi Kotal in the Khyber, where I was looking after the sick. In my last, I told you that we were detained at Peshawar, owing to the want of necessary instructions from headquarters. In the meantime the Capuchin Fathers returned from the front to Peshawar, though the cholera was raging all along the line. As no answer had yet arrived from the Adjutant General, and having learned that some 12 catholic soldiers had died at Lundi Kotal, crying for a priest, but unable to have one, I went to the Military Authorities and volunteered my services for the time being. Thank God, they were accepted and I reached Lundi Kotal on June 18th. I at once visited all the hospitals, and administered the sacraments to several. I remained there about ten days during which time, though the cholera was raging fiercely, thank God, we had but one catholic death, and that a most edifying one, a poor young soldier, 23 years of age, who had never been to confession in his life. His first confession, a most sincere and contrite one, became also his last, as he died the same night invoking the Holy Names and asking as his dying request that the rosary I had given him, should be buried with

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him. R.I.P. When I left there was but one dangerous case of a catholic, to whom also I had administered the sacraments after a long abstention from them. The rest were all in a fair way of recovery. I learned however from Fr. Endhoven, who had meanwhile been officially recognized R.C. Chaplain of Lundi Kotal, and who had come to relieve me, that after my departure the cholera had burst out a fresh and that he had several deaths. By the same order that appointed him to Lundi Kotal, I was appointed to Korum, and am now on my way there. But it is dreadfully slow work; owing to the unsettled state of things and the miserable state of the roads the journey from here to Ali Kheyl, though 152 miles, will take about a fortnight. This condition of things is far more fatiguing than hard work in hospitals. However, "what can't be cured, must be endured" therefore with God's help patience. I have received one letter from the other two fathers, and they are even in a worse plight, being detained at Jacobabad by the floods, with a prospect of having to wait for weeks. I am glad to learn that Father Browne made his retreat and gave such edification - also that he left without becoming a Jesuit, as we couldn't afford to lose him. Many sincere thanks for the great interest Your Lordship takes in our Mission and for your kind offer of your valuable assistance in case of need. Encouraged by your kindness I shall not fail to avail myself of your promise, whenever occasion may require. In the meantime please pray for us, as we, too, shall always remember you in our prayers. Please remember me kindly to all your good fathers, who were so kind and gracious to us during our stay at Bombay. Yours sincerely in the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE, MA. Sup. Afghan Mission. N.B. My address will most probably be Ali Kheyl, as the largest number of European soldiers is stationed there. Will you again kindly favour me with a few lines. Yours GAMRB 3. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j.

Quetta, 22 July 79 My Lord, When we were with Father Peter,24 the Rev. Father insisted upon, that we should hear confessions all along the route, at Succur etc. In 24

Father Konrad Peters s.j. was born 10.3.1834, arrived in the Bombay Mission in 1865, and died 16.2.1903. During twenty years he was doing apostolic work in

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compliance with his wish we did so; had we My Lord the supposed jurisdiction? Another reason induced me also to write this letter. Being here in Quetta, we found out that everything was as yet unsettled. Moreover, we got orders, that both of us should proceed to Kandahar or withdraw with the troops to Pishin; out of all this we gathered, that it will be impossible to do anything in the way of building a chapel during the course of this year; we have some money for this purpose, and should like now to have it put in one of the banks of Bombay. Having experienced your kindness, we freely ask His Lordship to come to our aid in this business. We leave altogether to His Lordship, in which bank he is going to put it, and at what percents, for we cannot judge about these matters, not knowing which is the safest. Please My Lord, have it deposited for one year, without withdrawing it during the space of that time. Receive this sole bill of exchange the value of thousand Rupees. An answer to this letter will very much oblige. My Lord, Your most humble servant,

J. ALLEN, MA. Please send the letter to the following address: ]. Allen, R.C. Chaplain, Quetta. 4. Right Rev. Dr. Meurin S.J., Vicar Apostolic of Bombay.

Perwar Kotal, August 27th, 1879. Dearest My Lord, When I had the pleasure of enjoying your hospitality at Bombay, Your Lordship was so kind as to tell me, that whenever I had any difficulty, I might always confidentially apply to you. Your Lordship's goodness of heart has prompted you to repeat the same in the letters, which you deigned to address to me. I am now to avail myself of your charity in two matters. 1st. With regard to our departed Father van Eyndhoven (I may as well now use his true name). He was engaged at Lundi Kotal about three weeks; what steps must I take to get his pay? It amounted to about 260 Rupees. By the rule of our Society, whatever is acquired in the Mission belongs to the Society. Now as Superior of the Mission of course, it is my duty to look after it. As you have no doubt had similar cases, I appeal to you for your information. different places of Sind. - Cfr. A. Vath s.j., Die deutschem Jesuiten in Indien, Geschichte der Mission von Bombay-Poona (1854-1920). (Regensburg 1920) 242 and 113. We know that he was a parish priest at Sukkur from April 1881 until October 1887: cfr. Innocent Laurensse O.F.M., a.o., St. Mary's Church Sukkur 1885-1960, s.a., s 1., 14.

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2nd. I am about to establish Temperance Societies in the various Regiments composing this Division, taking as a model and guide in everything the society you have established in Bombay. Could these be affiliated to your General Society? But whether they can or not, would you send me about 150 of the initiatory medals and silk cords, as well as a copy of the card of admission? If they can be affiliated, I should like to have the same number of cards, as of medals. If Your Lordship can have these necessaries sent to me, will you please at the same time have the bill sent, so that I may provide for its payment. I should like to have them before the 12th of next month as on the following Sunday, I shall have to inaugurate two such societies. Hence if you can send, please send by regular mail, as the banghy dak25 is very uncertain here. Srdly. I have received the backnumbers of the Pastoral Gazette, as well as 4 numbers of the Examiner, the best being that of August 9th. Since I have received none, as I had expressed to Your Lordship a desire to subscribe for it, I supposed these four numbers had been sent as a beginning of the subscription. But as the paper has ceased coming, I must conclude that Your Lordship only wishes to gratify my selfconceit by showing me my name in print. I hope it will now be sent regularly and I will remit the subscription at the same time that I remit for the medals. 4thly. As to the Masses for the Pastoral Gazette, I shall, God willing, finish them about the middle of next month as I have but seventeen more to say.26 And now business being attended to, as to myself. I had a very severe attack of fever and argue about three weeks ago, but now thank God, I am again hearty. I have visited my extensive chaplaincy. You know it reaches from Kuram Point to Ali Kheyl, about 36 miles, with seven European Military Stations. As all these Stations have to be visited in turn, I am often on the move. Ali Kheyl, Perwar Kotal and Kuram being the chief I am at each of these stations every Sunday. The other stations I have to visit on weekdays, except one three miles from here, which I always visit on the same Sunday that I have services at home. Thus every third Sunday I have two Masses to say and twice to preach. It is really deplorable to see how careless these soldiers are. It seems as though the greater the dangers they have to encounter, the more careless they become about their immortal souls. Very few have made their Easter duty this year and many are of old standing. It is so hard to get them to realize the necessity of approaching the Sacraments. You will be astonished when I tell you that though I have been here at Parwar Kotal over five weeks, I have heard but four confessions, one a sick man, but all of old standing. They promise to come but their promises are never fulfilled.

20

One should read: bahngi dak (parcel-post). The Catholic Examiner is a weekly edited from 1850 onward; the Bombay Pastoral Gazette first appeared in 1872; Dr. J.H. Gense s.j., The Church at the Gateway of India 1720-1960 (Bombay 1960) 476 and 300. 26

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Still Ali Kheyl affords me great consolation. Though I can go there only every third Saturday and can spend only two days there, yet the results are very cheering. But I have a very good coadjutor there in the person of Surgeon Major Bourke, who zealously aids me and works among the men during my absence. I was there last Sunday and I had about 30 communicants, twelve of whom I also confirmed. The most of them were old cases. Of the twelve, whom I confirmed, the youngest was 21, the oldest 37 years old. There are some more under preparation for my next visit. Now and then I even find one who has never been to confession in his life. The religious spirit seems by God's grace awakened at Ali Kheyl, and at my next visit I expect to have at least 30 or 40 communicants, twelve of whom want to be enrolled in the Scapular of Mount Carmel. So you see, while on the one hand I have my griefs, on the other hand I have again great consolations. Please pray for my soldiers, especially for those here at Parwar Kotal, that their hearts may be softened, and they too may return to duty. Pray also for me that while I am trying to show others the way to heaven, I may not myself become a reprobate. I am more than 180 miles from the nearest priest, and hence thrown back entirely upon myself. God is good and will listen to your holy prayers and will give me many graces in consequence. Ask all your good fathers to pray for us all in this infidel land, surrounded by countless dangers of body and soul. Please give my kindest regards to all your good fathers and believe me, Sincerely and gratefully yours in the Sacred Hearts, GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE, Miss. Apost. 5. Notes of reply to above letter by Bishop Meurin: dated September 28th, 1879. 1. Apology: not the slightest offence! Letter remained with Examiner. 2. I had such a case and had to get from Europe certificate from the brother of the deceased and pay to me. But try - I believe you will succeed claiming it as the Superior to whom he was indebted. If they make difficulties ask whether he wanted a legitimate certificate of the nearest relation. You would get it, but it takes some time and trouble, that you hope they will spare you that trouble. 3. In the next number of the Pastoral Gazette you will find the Revised Rules of the Temperance Society. Your soldiers can be aggregated. Note that we admit only total abstainers, and that you are moving to the front, and that I do not know how many and what medals you would require. I must wait for further orders: the price of the medals are: (v. Temperance Society); one is oval with the Blessed Virgin on one side and St. Joseph on the other. The round medal has St. Patrick and the Blessed Virgin, both are very nice. The admission cards are printed I cl. in red, and II cl. in green. The diploma is chromo-lithograph, sent from London.

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4. As for payment, I have opened an account with your mission. We got from Father Allen 12 August 1000 Rs. a 4% payj 951.10.2: the balance is still in his favour: do you want us to keep separate accounts for each of you. 5. I am very sorry I cannot at once satisfy your temperance wishes; but on hearing from you once more, I shall try to satisfy you. 6. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j. L.J.C.

Perwar Kotal, September 18th, 1879.

Dearest My Lord, One the eve of starting for the front and for Kabul, I take the liberty of once more addressing you a few lines to ask Your Lordship's prayers as well as those of your good fathers. Everybody thought peace was secured at last for a few years, and behold in a moment the illusion is dispelled and grim war with all its dire consequences again stares us in the face. As Your Lordship can easily imagine, I am very busy; for there are so many things to look after, when one is about to start on an expedition that may for a time out him off from all communications with the civilized world. I came very near losing another priest; Fr. Burke, whom I had ordered over from Kandahar to Lundi Kotal, took sick on the road from Quetta to Jacobabad and was for more than two weeks confined to his bed at the latter place from fever and exposure. Thank God, he is now allright again, and I got a telegram from him this morning that he had arrived at Lahore. So I expect he will soon be with the Khyber force. Why has not Your Lordship answered my last letter? Have I in anything offended. If so I humbly ask pardon. I enclose certificate of my having exonerated the Masses, which I hope will prove satisfactory. Should Your Lordship deign to reply to this, please still direct to Parwar Kotal, whence the letter will be forwarded on to me. Asking Your Lordship's blessing and hoping that you are in the enjoyment of the best of health, I remain, Your Lordship's humble servant GEO A.M.R. BROWNE, MA. 7. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j. L.J.G.

Kabul, November 17th, 1879.

Right Reverend and Dearest My Lord, It is now turn to apologize for the long delay in answering your kind letter of the 28th of September, which I did not receive until October 24th owing to the irregularity of the post. In fact for a while we had none at all either coming in or going out. Besides, when it did go out, there was no certainty of its reaching its destination in safety; hence I delayed from day to day and allowed a number of letters to accumulate. 2. I cannot today write at length owing to pressure of time, and hence

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I must leave a description of our march from Ali Kheyl to here as well as my experiences here for another letter, which I hope to write you, Deo dante, next week. 3. Many sincere thanks for the kind information contained in your letter. I have been anxiously waiting for the "Pastoral Gazette" containing the revised rules of the Temperance Society; but as yet it has not come to hand. In fact I have received no copy for some months; nor does the "Examiner" come regularly. We are now settling down here, and I shall soon be able to do something for temperance cause. Please, then, have the new rules sent to me at once. 4. With regard to good father Endhoven's pay I am now unable to do anything owing to the altered circumstances in which I find myself. I will, however, as soon as I can write to the Paymaster General about it, adopting your suggestions. 5. As to the accounts Fr. Allen has opened with you, I presume they were private funds of his own which he donated for the purpose mentioned. Hence I think it advisable that a separate account should be opened called: "Afghan Mission General Account", while his might be called "Afghan Mission Church Building Account". Both should, however, for the present and until other arrangements are made stand in the name of the Superior and Vice-Superior of the Afghan Mission (Father Allen is the Vice-Superior for the time being). And no draft should be made on it, without the written consent of the Superior. 6. I shall send you a remittance place to the credit of the General Account as soon as I can make arrangements to draw some of my pay, as I have drawn none since August. I will then also Deo dante send you about 400 Rupees for the Church Building Fund. And now, asking to be kindly remembered to your good Fathers and begging a special blessing, I am, Most gratefully your's in the Sacred Hearts, GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE, MA. R.C. Chaplain Kabul Field Force. 8. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j.

Candahar, 30th January, 1880. My Lord, When I arrived this morning from my visit to Khelat-i-Ghilzar, I found a telegram from Father Browne on my table, by which I was informed to ask kindly His Lordship of Bombay to invest the money in question. I cannot draw my pay from the Field Treasury chest at Candahar; wherefore the Pay-Master at Rawalpindi writes me, that my Pay-Bill for four months has been passed for Rs. 1458.5.11 and are detained pending receipt of my reply as to the Treasury, on which I want the amount.

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Our mission does not want for the present this money, for we cannot do anything before the war is over; would you, My Lord, kindly oblige Father Browne and me, to invest this money which you can draw from the Treasury chest at Bombay; as I wrote the Pay-Master of Rawalpindi that this amount was to be transferred to the credit of the Right Reverend Dr. Leo Meurin, s.j., R.C. Bishop of Bombay. You will have heard, my Lord, that God is trying our poor little Mission, Father Endhoven died, Father Burke has gone back to Madras, his Reverence got a sunstroke on the way down to Jacobabad: so only we two of the four priests are left. Three however have come out to join us and our stations are as following: Father Browne, Cabul - Father Roger, Kurrum - Fr. Temme, Lundi Kotal - Father Jackson, Quetta till other troops come up - and your obedient servant, Kandahar. Fr. Temme will come on with the British Regiment under orders to Kandahar, and I shall move on with the troops to Ghazni. Allow me to ask for His Lordship's prayer; I confess the greatest cross I have to bear up with, that I never enjoy the company of a priest. Your most obedient servant, My Lord, J. ALLEN, M.A. R.C. Chaplain. 9. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j.

L.J.C.

Kabul, February 4th, 1880.

Dearest My Lord, Pax Domini sit semper nobiscum. It is a long time, since I did myself the honour of addressing a few lines to Your Lordship. I wrote last on November 17th, fully intending to write again the following week. But from various cases I was unable to carry out my intentions. As you know, I received an accession of three more priests in November, and I fondly hoped to be able to have one with me, the other two being intended respectively as companions and assistants to Frs. Allen and Burke. But in this I was doomed to a terrible disappointment. First, I found that I could not bring another priest here, owing to various difficulties in the way. I had just reconciled myself to this, when I got news of Fr. Burke's serious illness and complete prostration. He was a second disappointment, and I was forced to send another Priest to Lundi Kotal in his place, at least temporarily. I had scarcely done this, when I learned that I could no longer count on Fr. Burke, as he would in all human probability never sufficiently recover to bear the hardships of this Afghan climate. I now resolved to put the two who had just arrived, together at Lundi Kotal. But a requisition came from Government for a chaplain to the Kurrum Force; so I was forced to send one there. Then I got a letter from Fr. Allen that he could not get permission from the military authorities to bring his companion to Kandahar, and so he was to remain at Quetta. Finally, I learned, that Fr. Burke was much better and about to offer himself to the Vicar

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Apostolic of Hindustan for the Agra Mission. Is this not a long chapter of accidents. Yet I am, thank God, happy and contented, for I clearly see that such is His Holy Will, and that must be done. My health, so far, is excellent, God be praised; and I have my hands full of work, which is another reason for being grateful to Him. 1. Father Allen will shortly send you a cheque for something over Rupees 1000, which is to be credited in our joint names as Trustees. Will you kindly invest the greater portion of it, as you think best, leaving a certain amount to meet current expenses. The Rupees 1000 which Fr. Allen sent you before, were his own private funds and are to remain in his own name; they do not belong to the Mission fund. As for myself, I have drawn no pay since August, and the Government now owes me for five months. When I draw my pay, I too will send you a large amount to be added to the Mission Fund. 2. I have never received the Pastoral Gazette, containing the revised Rules of the B.C.T. Society: will you please send it to me, as I want to organize the society here at once. 3. Lent is about to begin and Easter is fast approaching. Might I ask the great favour of you to send us the new Holy Oils, after they are consecrated? Please let me know and I will then send you the different addresses to which they should be sent. 4. It is to long since I was honoured by a few lines from Your Lordship, that I am afraid I would hardly know the handwriting any more. 5. The air is once more filled with rumours of another gathering of the Ghazis27 for the purpose of giving of another brash. If they come, they will, with the help of God, be driven back again more fearfully cut up than the last time; for we are now far better prepared than before and we are still adding to the strength of our position. 6. Our hospital is full, mostly pneuma cases. This gives me considerable work, as I visit the hospital at least once every day, going from ward to ward and a word to say to everybody. Please write me a few words of cheer, for I have seen no priest since July 3rd and am not likely to see one for the next six months. Pray for us all. Asking your blessing, I remain, Most gratefully yours in the Sacred Heart, GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE, Superior Afghan Mission 10. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j.

Kandahar, 30th March, 1880.

Afghan Forces. Sometimes written as Ghaznys.

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My Lord, I received your kind letter, which caused me such great joy; for I got by it again more courage in this trying state. It is not so much the weather nor the fear of the enemy (though life, it is true is not safe here, for it is our daily occurrence, that one of our men or of our followers is killed by these so-called Ghaznys); but it is the isolation, that tells upon me. I did not see a priest for eight months; till finally Father Jackson arrived here on last Wednesday, so I have enjoyed company for a few days; but now again we are in camps, to start tomorrow for Ghasni. Father Jackson remains here at Kandahar and I am going to Ghasni; who is able to tell, when I shall see a priest again? There is a little chance, that Father Browne will come on with the Force of General Roberts to Ghasni, but what seemed to be certain a few days ago, is now again contradicted by everyone. However, I can still say, with all my heart fiat voluntas tua, for I know, I do the will of the Vicar of Christ and of my superiors, and this thought that my work comes directly from the Sovereign Pontiff has ever since given me strength and consolation in all my difficulties and trials. I feel quite sure, your Lordship, does not forget me in his prayers and I recommend myself in the prayers of all your priests. As I cannot draw my pay on Field Treasury Chest, I drew it again on the Treasury of Bombay, payable to you, My Lord. The pay of two months amounts only to 123-2-6, as I had deducted 600 Rs advance Treasury; I kindly ask your Lordship to invest it. As long as we are on Field service, I shall have to do this every month. I have experienced now already so very often your kindness, that I have no scruples to go on as I have been doing now already for many months and to draw it on the Treasury of Bombay, payable to the Right Rev. Dr. Meurin, s.j., R.C. Bishop. My kindest regards to all the fathers My Lord, Your most affectionate in Christ J. ALLEN, R.C. Chaplain. 11. Immediate

No. 645 Military Department Bombay Castle, 1st April, 1880 From, The Secretary to Government, To, The Right Reverend the Roman Catholic Bishop.

Right Reverend Sir, The Government of India having proposed that the Reverend Mr. Jackson, a Roman Catholic Priest at Quetta, be appointed Chaplain to the Roman

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Catholic troops of the 1st Division quartered at Kandahar, I am desired to request an expression of your opinion on the proposal. I have the honour to be, Right Reverend Sir, Your obedient Servant, MACDONALD, Colonel Secretary to Government. 12. Reply No. 568 of 1880 From, The R.C. Bishop of Bombay To, The Secretary to Government, Military Department

Bombay, 1st April, 1880.

Sir, In reply to your letter of this date I beg to state that the district assigned by H.H. the Pope to my spiritual jurisdiction does not extend beyond the limits of the Bombay Presidency. Afghanistan has been assigned as a new Apostolic Vicariate to the Very Reverend Mr. George Browne as Provicar Apostolic, residing at present at Kabul. The Reverend Mr. Jackson is one of the priests under the jurisdiction of the Very Reverend Mr. Browne, and can therefore with his consent be appointed chaplain of the Roman Catholic troops at Kandahar. I have the honour to be, Sir, Yours m.o.s. L. MEURIN R.C. Bishop. 13. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meunn s.j. LJ.C.

Kabul, April 4th, 1880.

Dearest My Lord, Pax Domini sit semper nobiscum, quia Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Many happy returns to you of the glorious feast of Easter; may God long preserve you for the Vicariate of Bombay and the good of the Church in India. Many thanks for very kind letter of March 23rd. You are right in your opinion about Quetta, as it is in the extreme north of Baluchistan, and also never formed part of Sind, unless that country was a part of Sind. Quetta is on the very frontier of Afghanistan and I have all along believed

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that it belonged to my jurisdiction. Moreover, I think that your informants are mistaken about the Bombay troops being stationed there now. From letter received from Fr. Allen, I learn that they were to proceed to Kandahar, so as to allow General Stewart's force to march on Ghasni. Besides the number of Europeans there, has never been large enough for Government to allow a chaplain for that place. I had Fr. Jackson stopping there at the expense of the mission, for several months, but when the march on Ghasni was determined upon, Fr. Allen wrote me that the troops at Quetta were to advance on to Kandahar. As he wanted to accompany the advancing force, I asked Government to appoint Fr. Jackson to Kandahar. I have not yet any information as to whether he has left Quetta. Should however my information be incorrect and should a sufficient number of European troops be left at this place, then, of course, I shall have to ask Government to establish a chaplaincy there. In that case, if the war continues, owing to Fr. Burke's defection, I shall be short of a priest. If you could in such event loan me one, you would certainly be doing me a great favour and conferring a great boon upon our poor soldiers. It would certainly be a work Ad majorem Dei gloriam. But as the elections seem to be going strongly against the Government, I suppose we shall all soon have to leave the country, at least for the time being. God's holy will be done. If we must recommence the work and penetrate into this benighted country in disguise, well it may ensure us the much coveted crown of martyrdom. Pray for us and get all your dear good fathers to do the same. Certainly it will be a great loss of prestige for England in India as well, if the liberal programme be carried out, but it will be a much severer blow to our mission. However, God is all-powerful and invariably brings good out of evil, and so I do not despair, but still cry out: "Sit nomen Domini benedictum". How should I welcome Your Lordship to Afghanistan, if ever I should have the happiness of meeting you here! But that is too good to be even hoped for. My September pay has not yet arrived, but I send you another cheque for Rs. 90 annas 8, which I have cashed. Please present it at once and place the amount to the credit of the Afghan Mission Fund. You say nothing about the Admission cards to the P. Abstinence Society. Have you despatched them? The branch is slowly growing and in my next I hope to give you some details. Your most grateful and affectionately in the Sacred Hearts, GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE, Miss. Apost.

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14. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j.

LJ.C.

Kabul, May 14th, 1880.

Dearest My Lord, Sad is the intelligence that has come to me from Madras. Good Bishop Fennelly28 has been called to his reward. It is a terrible blow for the Vicariate; but God's holy will must be done. I have ordered each of my priests to say three Masses for the repose of his soul, and have said the same number myself. May God have mercy on him and grant him eternal rest; and may he likewise give Madras a worthy successor to so worthy a Prelate. Two holy bishops within so short a time to have been taken from the poor struggling Indian Church. Well God knows best. "Sit nomen Domini benedictum, quia Deus dedit; Deus abstulit". I hope Your Lordship has by this time with the help of God completely recovered your usual strength and health. In your absence good Fr. Clarke29 replied to my letter of April 4th, enclosing cheque for 90/8. In replying to his letter I again enclosed cheque for 266.12.8 for our little fund, which I hope has been received and cashed. Today I enclose cheque for Rs. 127 (one hundred and twenty seven) on Grindlay, Groom and Co, for the same fund. I have also sent in my Pay Bills for October, November, and December amounting in the aggregate to Rs. 1026.11.7, and have ordered the cheque to be made payable to you at Bombay. When you receive that cheque, I will have sent you for Fund Rs. 1751.0.3. I have not yet received the Holy Oils. I hope they will come soon. You are no doubt aware that Borneo has been assigned to our Society. There is question of making Fr. Allen the first proprefect - a very good choice. Another priest of mine, Fr. Temme from Paderborn Diocese, will probably send you Rs. 600 or 700, if he has not already sent, for our fund. You see we are saving up. I must be brief today. Hoping that Your Lordship is again enjoying the best of health and asking a special blessing on our poor Afghanistan and ourselves, I remain, Your Lordship's most grateful servant in the Sacred Hearts, BROWNE.

-8 According to The Catholic Directory of India for the Year of Our Lord 1964 (Bombay 1964) 203, Rt. Rev. Stephen Fennely was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Madras in 1868. 29 A. Vath s.j., op. cit., 242. Father Nicholas Clarke s.j. was born 21.6.1843; he joined the Jesuit Order in India in 1863, was ordained a priest in 1868, and died 22.12.1887.

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15. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin sj. L.J.G.

Kabul, June 7th, 1880.

Dearest My Lord, Pax Domini sit semper nobiscum. Many sincere thanks for your very kind letter of the 29th ultimate. I do hope that your absence from Bombay has been the means of completely restoring your health and your strength. I am very sorry to have been obliged to give your Lordship so much trouble about the Holy Oils; and I do hope you were not offended at my telegram. In my letter of April 30th to Fr. Clarke, I had mentioned the fact that the Holy Oils had not arrived; in that letter I had also enclosed a cheque for Rs. 266.12.8. which, if it had fallen into wrong hands, could easily have been cashed as it was a negotiable cheque and had been receipted by me. It is true, I had registered the letter, but sad experience has proved that even registered letters are not always safe. As the entire month of May had passed and no Holy Oils had arrived, nor any reply from Fr. Clarke, I had naturally grown anxious. Inconclude, therefore, as I was about to telegraph for the Holy Oils, I would also mention the cheque, and as I mentioned one, I thought it best to include all. I can only repeat, that I hope your Lordship has not been offended; for certainly no offence was intended, and if I have caused you any annoyance by this course, I beg of you kindly to forgive me. A cheque of Rupees 1026.11.7 of my backpay for October, November and December made payable to your Lordship, was sent from Rawalpindi to your address, as the Paymaster informed me sometime in the latter part of May. I hope it has reached you safely. If not, please let me know by telegram. Your Lordship is right in saying that Fr. Allen is taken from me, it will be "allright for Borneo", but that "I will be the sufferer". For independent of the fact, that he is the only one now left me of those who came out with me, he is of such true, sterling worth, and has won such high commendations from General Stewart and all, who have come in contact with him that he will indeed be a serious loss to our young mission. Yet, Fiat voluntas Dei — Sit nomen Domini benedictum. Has poor Fr. Burke drifted down your way yet? Poor man seems to have lost his senses completely. He last wrote me from Allahabad two most insulting letters such as he could never have penned, had he been in his right mind. Do pray for him; I have written to our Superiors to have him recalled to England, as I am afraid, he will never again be fit for work in a hot climate, with such piercing sun, as that of India. It is such a pity; he seemed so strong and so healthy. But again Fiat voluntas Dei. Glory be to God, that the good Bishops of India have been so unanimously in favour of holding of a Council. To tell you the truth, I had often thought of the matter myself, but I felt, that it would be a presumption in one so recently arrived in the country, to even broach the subject. Now, however, that the matter has been started, I feel that a step has been taken in what seems to me, the right direction. From what I have

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been able to learn there seems to be such a variety of practices and customs in India and such discrepancy even with regard to Holidays and Fast and Abstinence days, not to speak of other matters, that even if the council succeeded only in the establishment of uniform rule for these, a great would be achieved for the general edification etc. of the faithful. I feel that with God's blessing great general good will result, and I am sure that it will he very pleasing to the Holy Father, that India has herself taken the initiative in the matter. As to the withdrawal of the troops from Afghanistan, I believe it will take some time before this can be carried out, politicians to the contrary notwithstanding. Things are not by any means settled though General Stewart seems to think he now has it all in his own hands. If we have to withdraw it will, no doubt, be a great blow to us; but on the other hand, while here we can do little or nothing for the people, as General Stewart has set his face determinedly against all missionary enterprise. Things would have been different, had General Roberts retained the command. But here again: Fiat Voluntas Dei. As far as any special advantage to Holy Mother Church to be derived from the fact of our having a Catholic Viceroy, is concerned, I am afraid, like yourself, that it will be very little. The only thing, wherein I do expect something will be done is the education of our poor. He is such an earnest man on this question and has therefore laboured so hard in the matter, that I am sure he will do all in his power to aid our schools and to increase their number and efficiency. Beyond this I have little or no hope, except what he can and will do in his private capacity and by his good example. I have for a long time thought of the propriety of asking our soldiers to contribute their share to Peter's Pence; and I have at last sent the enclosed quasi Pastoral to all my priests. I think we ought to be able to get together at least 500 Rupees and that would be something from men exposed to privations and dangers. In conclusion, I must repeat Your Lordship's word: "let us pray for one another and for our dear flocks". For especially for men in the field is much earnest prayer needed, surrounded as they are by so many temptations, and apt as they are to grow careless of their religious duties. I remain Your Lordship's most affectionate and grateful though unworthy servant, in the Sacred Hearts. GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE, MA. Sup. Afghan Mission. N.B. I forgot to mention that it is proposed to call our mission the "Vicariate of Upper India", but its southern boundary is not yet determined.

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16. George Andrew Maria R. Browne, Miss. Apost. by the Mercy of God and the favor of the Apostolic See, Superior of the Afghan Mission, to all the faithful under his jurisdiction: health and Apostolic Benediction.

Dearest Children in Jesus Christ. You know, that it is one of the precepts of the Church, based upon the words of St. Paul: "He that serveth the altar, should live by the altar", that we should contribute to the support of our Pastors. By the liberality of the Government of India you are supplied with Pastors and their humble needs are provided for by the pay granted them by that Government, comparatively small though it may be. Hence in calling your attention to the precepts of the Church, it is not our intention to ask you to contribute to the support of the good Fathers, who so zealously minister to you. But you know fully well, dear Children, that, when our Lord established his church, he chose to give her a visible Head, who should be His Vicar and Representative on earth, when He Himself had ascended to his Father, to sit at His right Hand for ever. Though the piety of the faithful in ages gone by, this Vicar of Christ was placed in an independent position by grants of lands and gifts of treasure, kings and princes, nobles and warriors, as well as the other children of the Church vying with each other in attesting their devotion to the See of Peter. Within our own time impious men forgetting the traditions of their pious forefathers have not hesitated to deprive him of the possessions and have reduced him to the condition of one depending entirely upon his spiritual children, not only for the means of carrying on the Government of the Church with becoming dignity, but also for the very necessaries of life. When in 1870 the saintly Pius IX was deprived of his temporal dominions, and hence of his necessary revenues, the piety of the faithful was at once aroused and Peter's Pence was collected all over the catholic world. This has been continued ever since because the necessity that then arouse, has lasted to the present day, and God only knows, when it will end. The saintly Pius has gone to his reward, but Peter still lives in Leo XIII, whose needs are as great, if not greater than those of his predecessor. We need not speak of him personally, for he is the worthy successor of a great saint, whom after ages will undoubtedly grace with the title of "Pius the Great". Suffice it that he is the common Father of the Faithful, as such he is entitled to our filial love and support. We ask you, therefore, dearest children in the Faith, to contribute your share towards the general Fund collected all over the world, for the support of our Supreme Pastor, and the maintenance of the dignity of the Church. What a consolation it will be to his Paternal Heart, to receive a small contribution from his dear children in Afghanistan, surrounded as they are by privations and dangers! And with what fulness of heart will he not impart to you his Apostolic Benediction. The peace of God, which surpassed! all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus Our Lord. Amen.

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Given at Kabul, this 4th day of June, Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 1880, and appointed to be read in all the stations of the Mission on the Sunday following its receipt, the collection to be taken up the Sunday after. GEORGE A.M.R. BROWNE, Miss. Apost. Sup, Afghan Mission. 17. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j.

L.J.C.

Kabul, 15th July, 1880.

Dearest My Lord, Pax Domini sit semper nobiscum. I have just received your very kind letter enclosing your report, for both of which my sincerest thanks. As you expected, I perfectly agree with everything you have said in it. I herewith return you the letter to Propaganda duly signed. I must however say that I hesitated to sign it, because I see from your report, that one good Bishop objected to our Mission being included in the list; hence I leave the matter entirely in your hands. If you think it right, that my signature should be forwarded, do so, if otherwise, retain it. Yet from the fact, that Propaganda, as I learn, has already christened our mission "the vicariate of upper India", and is now considering its southern boundaries, viz. as to how much, if any, of the Punjab is to be included in it, I think that we are clearly within the pale of the Indian Missions, and so entitled to representation in the Council, and to a voice in its deliberations. However, Propaganda will no doubt decide this point. 2. I ought long since to have replied to good Fr. Clarke's letter of June 9th and to have acknowledged the receipt of the Holy Oils. But the latter only arrived some time after the letter, and then I was very sick. Nor am I perfectly recovered yet. For more than three months I have been more or less under the weather. First I had an attack of fever, pleurisy and throat catarrh combined; and for the last four weeks I have been suffering from fever and diarrhoea to such an extent, that I was placed on the sick list and forbidden all work, nor will the doctor yet consent to my returning to work, as, though I am now much better, God be praised, yet I am so weak, that they fear the least exertion might bring on a relapse. They even talk of the necessity of a change of air. You will please, therefore, kindly excuse me to good Father Clarke for my seeming neglect. Please tell him also that I received his receipt for Rup. 143. I shall not agree to the proposal of the doctors for a change, because it seems now settled, that we shall withdraw from Afghanistan early next month. This withdrawal is a great blow to us, for it will virtually close Afghanistan to us for the time being, whereas had the troops remained,' I could have put another priest with each chaplain, whose duty it would have been to study the language and customs of the people thoroughly with a view to missionary labour among them. Well, God's holy will be done. 3. I am very sorry that poor Fr. Burke sits still at Allahabad brooding

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over his imagined wrong. He has written me two fearful letters, which he would never have penned, if he were in his right mind. Besides at Allahabad, they seem to feed his morbid taste with all manner of calumnious gossip about me. According to his letters, he has been told, that I drink a bottle of brandy every day; that I am harsh and unsocial; that everybody, that has come in contact with me here, has something hard to say of me and the like. He has also written the same to others, about me, to Fr. Allen among the rest. I would not speak of this, were it not that duty to our Society requires that I should contradict these calumnious statements. They have, it is true been already met by the fact that General Roberts in his two despatches to Government, the one after Charasiab, last October and the other after the fighting in December, gives me honourable mention in each, which he certainly would not have done, if I were a drunkard, a coward, or the like. Thanks God, I do not bear the poor man the least animosity in consequence - my sins deserve worse treatment, but I must designate the statements by their proper name for the sake of our little Society. 4. I have had the happiness of a two days visit from good Fr. Allen a few weeks ago. The good man is in excellent health and as jolly as ever. He is a steady, hardworking, holy man, and if they do take him from me, I shall feel it very much and it will be a great loss to the Mission. I suppose you have seen that he was most honourably mentioned by General Stewart in his despatches. I hope to see him again shortly, as his division will soon return to the neighbourhood of Kabul. 5. Whoever is appointed to Madras will have to be a man of great prudence and sanctity of life. For, not only will it be difficult to replace good Bishop Fennelly, but there seem to be several parties there, each of which is determined to submit only to the man who suits it, and to refuse obedience to any other. Fr. Colgan,30 I understand refuses point blank to accept of the dignity. Some declare, that unless an Irishman is appointed, there will be a schism — others want our Telegu Mission separated from the Vicariate — some want your Society — some want our Society. So, you see, everything seems in confusion. Let us unite our prayers, that God may reconcile them all and give the Vicariate a Prelate as the late good Bishop. 6. I have no idea that you would publish my little appeal for Peter's Pence; but if its publication has awakened any new interest in the matter, I can only return thanks to Almighty God. The collection so far returned amounted to Rs. 459.00 with two chaplains to hear from yet. According to this I expect, that it will aggregate between 6 and 700 Rupees, which I think is exceedingly good for soldiers in the field.

30

According to The Catholic Directory of India for the Year of Our Lord 1964 (Bombay 1964) 203: Joseph Colgan became Vicar Apostolic of Madras in 1882; in 1887 he was appointed as Archbishop of Madras.

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Hoping that your Lordship is now in the enjoyment of the best of health, and begging you to kindly remember me to all your good fathers with an earnest request for mutual mementos, I remain Your Lordship's most grateful servant in the Sacred Hearts, GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE, Miss. Apost. 18. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meunn s.j. L.J.C.

Kabul, 7th August, 1880.

Dearest My Lord, Pax Domini sit semper nobiscum. Only a few lines today, as I am very busy with my preparations for we start for Kandahar tomorrow morning. When we get there, I shall try to write you a long letter, God willing. In the meantime, I hope you and your good fathers will not cease praying for us. Should anything happen to me on the road, Fr. Allen will be the Superior of the Mission pro tempore and until other arrangements are made. I got the enclosed bill yesterday. Will you please pay it for me, and charge the Mission Accounts. Should you, in your great charity feel moved to write to me, please address GAMR Browne, Roman Catholic Chaplain, General Roberts Force, Kandahar. Hoping that your Lordship is in the enjoyment of the best of health and with kindest regards to all your dear Fathers, I am, Dearest My Lord, Most gratefully Your's in the Sacred Hearts, GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE, Miss. Apost. 19. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j. Rawal Pindi, 19th September, 1880. My Lord, On my way down to Madras, I must ask for one favour more from your Lordship; to invest the sum of Rupees three hundred seven, annas nine and pies seven only. My military career has come to a close and I am now on my way to Madras, and I shall either stop there or go to Borneo. I did not get as yet a decided answer from my superiors. As to my future destination, it is however very likely, that I shall have to go to Borneo. I leave Rawal Pindi this evening for Bareilly, to spend a few days with my predecessor Father Doogan. As I experienced your Lordship's hospitality on my way up to Afghanistan, I do not think it is anything in the way of imposing upon your Lordship on my way down. Receive my kindest regards, Yours in Christ, J. ALLEN.

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20. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr, L. Meurin s.j. LJ.C.

Bibioni in the Bolan, 15th October, 1880.

Dearest My Lord, Pax Domini sit semper nobiscum. Though I received your kind and most welcome letter by the first post after our big battle at Kandahar, viz. on September 5th, I have not answered it before for various reasons: I was waiting for definite orders as to our future; I was very busy as you can easily imagine, and when the reaction set in after the excitement of our now famous march and our big fight, I got another attack of my old complaint. Before I had recovered from this we were ordered down country. During all this time, you may readily guess, that I did not feel much like writing. During the whole time we were at Kandahar, I wrote besides the much urgent business-letters, only one other one, and that was to my Father and Mother, who, God bless them, were naturally most anxious to get news of my safety. Even to Mill Hill I only despatched my letter two days ago. I hope, therefore, that you will in your Christian charity pardon my long delay. When I arrived at Kandahar, I found good Father Jackson in the best of health and laus eius in ore omnium from General Primrose down to the provoost private. The Kandahar officers told me, one and all, that if somebody deserved the Victoria Cross he deserved six! I left him in excellent health working hard day and night. I expect, Deo dante, to see you once more in the flesh, before the end of this year and by that time I hope to have the hero of Maiwand and De Kojah with me, for he is called by officers and men "the hero of the Bombay troops". From Rome I have as yet no definite information as to our future, except that we are to abandon Afghanistan. Bishop Jacobis31 has written to Peshawar that Madras is to be our future field, but I do not know, how far he is officially informed. Perhaps you have the latest news; as for myself, I have none. I suppose, however, that I will be recalled to Mill Hill. God's will be done. I know that much will depend upon, who will be appointed good Bishop's Fennelly's successor. I hope, however, it may be a worthy successor to so holy a man. How sad it is, that Afghanistan must be considered as closed for us for the present. I have had many prayers said for the conversion of this stiffnecked people in Europe and America, but God seems to delay the day. We can only bow in humble submission to his holy will. I am afraid it is in punishment of my sins. Poor Fr. Burke is now in Madras Vicariate, but I am afraid that his mental malady has not yet forsaken him. May God in his mercy soon restore him to perfect health. 31

Bishop Michael Angelus Jacobi was appointed as Vicar Apostolic of Agra in 1869: cfr. Emmerich O.F.M., The Ecclesiastical Province of West Pakistan: New ^eitschnft fiir Missionswissenschaft 9 (Schoneck 1953) 55.

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I should like to write you a long letter today, but it is utterly impossible, for we are in the march and even this I am writing with my knees for my table. If I can, I will write you from Lahore. In the meantime believe me, as ever, Your's most affectionately in the Sacred Hearts, GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE, Miss. Apost. N.B. I forgot to mention that our collection for Peter's Pence amounts to Rs. 750; is not this glorious for the poor soldiers in the field. Should you find time to answer please direct to the care of the Postmaster at Lahore. Salve. 21. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L, Meurin s.j. L.J.C.

Rawal Pindi, 4th December, 1881.

Dearest My Lord, Humbly must I apologize for my long delay in answering your very kind and most welcome note of November 4th; but there were several causes at work; first laziness after the fatigues of the campaign; secondly occasional fits of sickness; thirdly work of some sort. I am still at Pindi, as you will perceive and shall remain now until something is definitely settled. Thank God, I have been able to do a little work here. I gave popular mission at the end of November and God be praised, some who had not been to their duties for years, were by the help of his holy Grace brought back to the feet of the priest. Nor has the spirit died out for increased attendance at the services of the Church is one of the results that has so far lasted. Many thanks for your kind attention to our Fathers Allen and Rodger, when they visited Bombay. You have thereby added some more links to the chain of gratitude, which binds our Society to your Lordship. I have not yet received a single copy of the Examiner for a long time. I suppose, it was because they did not know where to send it to. I have been exceedingly ill with fever and terrible cold for about ten days, but am now, thanks be to God, in a state of convalescence. Hoping that your Lordship is in the enjoyment of the best of health and asking your blessing, as well as with the kindest regards to all your good Fathers, I am, Your Lordship's most obedient servant GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE Miss. Apost. Sup. Afghan Mission.

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22. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j. LJ.C.

Murree, 4th March, 1881.

Dearest My Lord, Pax Domini sit semper nobiscum. My sincere thanks for your very kind and most welcome letter of 15th February, which I ought to have answered sooner. But I have been so weak and nervous, that I could scarcely hold a pen. I was advised to come up here for a change. So I came up with Bishop Tosi.32 While here I gave the retreat to the convent children, which God be praised, was attended with happy results. But the weather has been so bad and is still here (it is snowing all the time) that as yet I have experienced no beneficial results. I shall remain here about ten days more and then I shall return to Rawal Pindi. So should your Lordship have leisure to answer this, please address to that place, unless Madras should be settled by that time. Because in that event, I shall probably be on my way down country, as I have been officially informed that as soon as Madras would be settled, I should either have to go there, or back to Mill Hill. I do hope and pray, that the present state of uncertainty will soon be over. But God's holy will be done. Frs. Allen and Rodgers and another will be sent to Borneo as soon as Madras is settled. I doubt very much, whether Kandahar will be kept or not. However, Quetta, I am sure, will not again be given up, in which case a chaplain will be needed there. Of course we cannot leave one so isolated from the rest, as he would there be. Hence it will be a question to be settled between your Lordship and the Vicar Apostolic of the Punjab, who does not seem inclined to take it. As it is adjoining your Vicariate and now of easy access by rail via Jacobabad, he seems to think that you ought to undertake it. I do hope that your suspicions as to the name of the future Vicar Apostolic of Madras will prove unfounded; for I can assure you that man Browne would never receive my vote, for he is not fit for it, though, no doubt, his vanity would be so flattered that I fear he would jump at the chance. But seriously, I hope, such responsibility will never be placed upon my shoulders. For I know, I am in no way fit to compose the deranged conditions of Madras, or the discordant elements there at work. As to the "Examiner" though I did not get it myself, yet I have seen every number except those of the last two weeks, which I suppose, you have already had dispatched. I cannot tell just now whether I got the "Pastoral" for January or not. I know I have seen it, but I think it was the one belonging to the Chaplain in Rawal Pindi.

32 Bishop Paul Tossi was appointed as Vicar Apostolic of the Punjab on 18.9. 1880: ibid.

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In conclusion, My Lord, please give my kindest regards to all your good Fathers, and believe me, as ever, Yours most gratefully in the Sacred Hearts, GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE, Miss. Apost. 23. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j. L.J.C.

Murree, 13th March, 1881.

Dearest My Lord, Pax Domini sit semper nobiscum. When I received your welcome note of March 9th, I was so unwell, that it was utterly impossible for me to reply to it, though I should have liked to have done so at once. After I had somewhat recovered, I was so weak and nervous that I could not make a decent letter and could scarcely hold the pen. I could not eat, and nothing the doctors could give, would provoke an appetite. It was already getting very hot at Rawal Pindi, so they ordered me up here, where I have now been twelve days. My short stay has already done me a great deal of good, in as much as I am daily gaining strength and my appetite is slowly, but surely returning. So you see, my Lord, my delay in answering is not due either to laziness or to carelessness. I have no news yet either about Madras or about my own future. I have only been told, that when Madras will be settled I will have to go either there or back to Mill Hill. Have you any information? As regards Sibi, I take it for granted that it now belongs to Bishop Tosi, certainly not to Bishop Jacobi. Sibi is in Afghanistan, close to the boarders of Baluchistan; now Afghanistan, I understand, and Cashmere as well as Baluchistan have been taken on to the Punjab. I am led to this conclusion from the fact that General of the Capuchins has asked our Superior General to take Baluchistan off his hands. But I am sure that Bishop Tosi would be very glad, if your chaplain at Sukkur would visit Sibi also. Now I must beg of you, to kindly send the Holy Oils to Fr. Jackson, who is still with the southern Afghanistan Field Force and will remain until all is settled. His address would be as follows: "Rev. Fr. Jackson, Miss. Apost., Roman Catholic Chaplain, Southern Afghanistan Field Force Kandahar or elsewhere." In conclusion, believe me, as ever Dearest My Lord, Your humble servant in the Sacred Hearts, GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE, Miss. Ap.

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24. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j. LJ.G.

Murree, 23 April, 1881.

Right Reverend and Dearest My Lord, Pax Domini sit semper nobiscum. Your very kind invitation to come to Kurrachee33 for the dedication of the new church reached me only on Easter Sunday. Many thanks for your kindly thinking of me, but though there would have been ample time, my health would not permit me to avail myself of it. As I told you in my letter of 13th instant which I hope you have received, I was so completely prostrated, that the physicians ordered me to the hills. I have indeed improved wonderfully with God's help, but the Doctors told me that to undertake the journey, or even to return to the plains just now, would inevitably cause a relapse. So I had to submit. In my letter of the 13th I gave you all the data, as far as known to me, concerning Sibi etc. Perhaps you will have been able to talk with Bishop Tosi about it and to make a mutually satisfactory arrangement. Until ordered to do otherwise, I shall leave Fr. Jackson with the troops at Quetta and in the Pishin. But how long this may last, I cannot at present say, as everything is still unsettled. If only that blessed Madras business were once disposed of! But as yet there seems nothing done, at least to my knowledge. Asking you for a special blessing and hoping that you are in the enjoyment of the best of health, and with kindest regards to all the Fathers, I remain, Dearest My Lord, Your most affectionately and gratefully in the Sacred Hearts, GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE, Miss Apost. 25. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j. Quetta, May 22nd, 1881. My Lord, I have been ordered as soon as relieved here by Fr. Browne, or by some priest sent by him, to make the best of my way to Singapore, and on to Borneo. As I do not know the address of my friends in Bombay, I have taken the liberty of having letters intended for me, addressed to your care, as I intend doing myself the honour of calling on Your Lordship when I pass through Bombay. With profound veneration I am Your Lordship's humble servant, THOMAS JACKSON (late R.G. Chaplain at Kandahar) This is Karachi.

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26. INDIAN TELEGRAPH To BOMBAY from MADRAS To Bishop MEURIN from Reverend DESILVA GOOSSENS NOW AT SINGAPORE WANTS JACKSON'S ADDRESS IMMEDIATELY TELEGRAPH TO HIM DIRECTLY Date: Bombay 5. 6. 81. 27. (REPLY] To REVEREND JACKSON BROWNE R.C. CHAPLAIN QUETTA TELEGRAPH IMMEDIATELY JACKSON'S ADDRESS SINGAPORE GOOSSENS. 28. To the Right Reverend Archbishop Meurin. Bishop's House, Salford

August 23, 1881.

My dear Lord, I have heard a distressing report as to father Geo Browne, who was the Superior of my Afghanistan missioners. I have heard that he has become a protestant - it is a MERE REPORT, so far, WITHOUT PROOF. But he does not answer letters or discharge his duties. Can you give me any information? If you should hold any money, which he may have placed in your keeping, please do not let him have it back, but hold it for me. Next we have a Missioner at Quetta. I desire to concentrate upon Madras and Borneo, and withdraw from an isolated station like Quetta. Could your Lordship undertake Quetta at least temporarily? If so, I will communicate with the Holy See and withdraw from that station. Let me take this opportunity of thanking you for your kindness to my fathers upon several occasions. I hope your Roman affairs on jurisdiction — will not be again aroused. I naturally heard a good deal about them during the time I have been in Rome. The Bull Romanos Pontifices as the Pope has said, is to be common Law and he is already applying it in the east. Believe me to be My dear Lord Your devoted brother HUBERT, Bishop of Salford. 29. To the Bishop of Salford, Mgr. Vaughan. Bombay, 15. 9. 1881. My dear Lord, When this reaches you I suppose Fr. Geo Browne will have arrived and be teaching theology at Mill Hill.

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He arrived here from Quetta on the 10th August and embarked on the 16th for England via Rome, as he said. I cannot believe that he turned a Protestant for he said Mass here, and left a sum of £ 467 in my hands to be drawn by him from my Procurator, the Reverend Fr. Sidgreaves, 111 Mount Street, London W. If Your Lordship wishes to ground that sum, then you are at liberty to do so. The capuchin Missioners of the Lahore Vicariate spoke rather unfavorably of him, but I have nothing particular to state against him, except some liking for spirits, a habit that was visibly unnerving him. Your Lordship desires me to say whether I could take charge of Quetta. I can only answer that, if the Holy See expresses a desire to that effect, I shall do so. On my part I cannot wish to take it because it will be nothing but a burden on my mission. Believe me, My dear Lord, Your devoted brother in Christ, L MEURIN 30. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j. St. Joseph's College of the Sacred Heart for Foreign Missions Mill Hill, London N.W. October 9, 1881. Very Rev. P. Benoit Rector. My dear Lord, Father Prenger the bearer is on his way to Quetta to act as companion to Father Temme, till your Lordship and the Bishop of Salford shall have settled who will permanently take care of the Military Station. A doubt arises in our mind whether Quetta, being in Baluchistan, can in any way be held as belonging to Afghan mission. However we think Your Lordship can settle the doubt by granting Faculties to Father Prenger and as a matter of greater security also to Father John Temme, who succeeds Father Browne for the present, since Baluchistan is, I presume, in Your Lordship's Vicariate. Before this reaches Bombay I hope the Bishop of Salford shall have received a reply from Your Lordship, both as to Quetta and to Browne. I avail myself of this opportunity to thank your Lordship most cordially for the many kindnesses Your Lordship has bestowed on various occasions on our men. I have the honour to remain Your Lordship's servant in Christ fr. BENOIT.

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31. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j. Laudetur Jesus Christus. St. Joseph's College, Mill Hill, October Right Reverend and Dearest My Lord, At last I'm back sound and safe in old St, Joseph's heartily glad I am. I was longing for a retired life with plenty of work and here I have it. We had a very stormy passage as far as Aden and strong headwinds all the way to Marseilles, where we arrived September l l t h having been at sea 25 full days. From Marseille I proceeded to Rome, where I had the inexpressable happiness of a private audience of the Holy Father on Sunday, the 18th September. He received me most kindly and deigned to converse with me most affably for fully twenty minutes. I placed at his feet the 1500 francs Peter's Pence, we had collected among the soldiers in Afghanistan. He deigned to express the greatest gratification at the offering. He commissioned me specially to make know to the donors the great pleasure it had afforded him and to inform them that he had given each his special blessing. As the various regiments that contributed are now scattered, I know of no other way of informing them, than through the medium of the Bombay Catholic Examiner. Will you kindly ask Fr. Cooke34 to insert the enclosed few lines. From Rome I proceeded to Germany, where I spent a few pleasant days among my relatives, who were all rejoiced to see me once more. I finally reached Mill Hill on Friday last, the 14th instand and received a most hearty welcome. I hope that your Lordship continues to enjoy the best of health and that you will kindly my fondest regards to all your good Fathers. Thanking you once more with all my heart for your great kindness to all our Fathers and to myself in particular and hoping that you will favour me with a line occasionally, I ask your Lordship's blessing and a continued interest in your good prayers, and remain, over most gratefully yours in the Sacred Hearts GEO. A.M.R. BROWNE, Miss. Apost. 32. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j. Quetta, 14 December, 1881. Illustrissime ac Reverendissime Domine, I am leading the life of a prince now, however a little like baron von Habenichts. Since 29th November Paradise opened its gates for me. I do not know for how long. Different rumours circulate; one telling that the 34 A. Vath op. cit., 241: Father Charles Cooke s.j. was born 12. 9. 1823; arrived in India 1858 and died 23. 5. 1892; concerning his activities in India, see especially 141-142.

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European troops are going in the beginning of next month or at least in March; another telling that we stop here till October: - and then the last, that we are only going to be relieved (viz. the soldiers). We have orders to proceed immediately to Borneo in case the evacuation of the English troops takes place. I wished we had some certainly about the matter, one way or the other. Had we to stay here, I could try to study the language, but now in this unsettled affair, it would be time lost. At Kurrachee I was most kindly received and entertained by the Fathers: I saw the new church, and must admit the skill of Fr. Belz.3j He has really a claim to the title of Master of Arts: he knows his profession well, I mean begging. I left there again on Friday, the 18th and arrived on the 20th at Sibi. I could not visit Fr. Peters while I got a letter at Kurrachee from Fr. Temme telling me to start immediately for Sibi, because I would be able there to join an ammunition convoy. At Sibi I went to Colonel Fillower, who got two cards for me from the Transport, and gave me a sepoy along for the night, till I reached first, where the convoy (400 cards and 250 soldiers) was, viz. it had left already that morning. I bought food and kettle etc. and left Sibi at 5 p.m. At 1 1/2 at night I reached the station. I got there a soldier as servant and cook. With them I marched up: generally we left the station about 4 in the morning and arrived at 1 p.m. I walked always along with my cards and had in the afternoon, on account of the dust, more to look of millowner than of a clergyman. I slept either in a tent or in a bungalow, and knew generally very well in the morning on what side I had slept. One night somebody tried to rob me: whilst I was sitting during the night on my box enjoying a cigar: I did not feel well a few times, on account of having eaten too fat boiled mutton. I saw at once a leg coming through one of the holes (without glass) which served for windows. I shouted at him in Dutch — it had a good effect. He seemed to be frightened by it. He tried however a second time my sepoy saw him and ran with his gun to him. My last march was one of 24 miles - the convoy stopped at a distance of 6 miles from Quetta. I went on and found Father Temme after having sought and looked about for more than an hour. He did not send me back. He sends his kind regards and thanks (as I myself do hereby once more) His Lordship and the Fathers for their kindness. I remain His Lordship's humble servant A. PRENGER.

33

Father Belz s.j. was born 27. 8. 1838; arrived in the Bombay Mission in 1876 and died on 1.8. 1906; he erected St. Patrick's Cathedral at Karachi: Vath, op. cit., 244 and 108.

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33. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin S.J. Bishop's House, Salford

December 24, 1881.

My dear Lord, I thank you for your kind letter. I am glad to say that fr. Browne is conducting himself very well. I hope the reports which reached me were devoid of foundation - the report I mean as to his faith. I should be glad, if you would now remit the money you hold and if you would give Fr. Benoit at Mill Hill, or me notice of the time at which you remit it. With many thanks believe me to be, My dear Lord, Your devoted brother, HUBERT, Bishop of Salford. 34. To the Bishop of Salford, Mgr. Vaughan. Bombay, 18. 1. 1882. My dear Lord, Herewith the accounts of the transactions I had with your Afghan Missioners together with a draft with which they close. If I have been able to serve them by keeping their savings, I am glad to have done what I could for their best. L. MEURIN. 35. To the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Mgr. L. Meurin s.j. St. Joseph's College of the Sacred Heart for Foreign Missions Mill Hill, London, N.W. March 10, 1882. Very Reverend P. Benoit My dear Lord, The Bishop of Salford begins to doubt whether he has acknowledged the receipt of -£ 400 odd, which Your Lordship kindly remitted to him some time in January. In order to set all doubts aside and in order to present our humble apology in case we have not written to Your Lordship on receipt of your remittance, I beg to state that the sum reached us quite safe. I avail myself again of this opportunity to thank Your Lordship for extraordinary kindness which our Fathers met at your hands and your fathers; and for such kindness as your Lordship has done by taking care of the savings of Fr. Browne and Fr. Jackson. I cannot say how much comfort we derive from the fact that our inexperienced men find at all times such a guide in your Lordship.

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We are expecting at any time to hear that the troops are being withdrawn from Quetta. If they are not withdrawn soon the Bishop of Salford intends to ask Propaganda to transfer the chaplaincy to your Lordship, as you kindly said that you are willing to undertake this duty. I have the honour to remain, Your Lordship's servant in Christ, P. BENOIT. 36. R.D. Leoni Meurin, Vicario Apostolico Bombayensi. Illustrissime ac Reverendissme Domine, R.D. Benoit Rector Collegii S. Josephi vulgo Mill Hill mihi nuper scripsit se in eo esse ut duos missionarios sui Gollegii alumnos ex statione militari Quetta revocet, et unum Vicariatui Apostolico Madraspatano, alterum Missioni Borneocensi addicat. Addidit vero Amplitudinem Tuam facile posse praedictae stationis Quetta curam suscipere, et eo duos e suis missionariis religiosis mittere. Si hoc verum est, ut ipse autumnat, nihil ex parte mea est contra hoc consilium, immo gratum mihi perfeceris si necessitati istius stationis satisfacere poteris. Romae ex Aedibus S.C. de Propaganda Fide, die 5 Augusti 1882, Uti Frater addictissimus JOANNES CARD. SIMEONI, Praefectus. 37. Eminentissimo ac Reverendissimo Domino Joanni Cardinali Simeoni Bombay, 5 Septembris, 1882. Eminentissime ac Reverendissime Domine, Ad litteras Eminentiae Tuae die 5 Augusti datas respondere cogor, me nonnisi in fine huius anni stationem Quetta in Afghanistan suscipere posse, quia febris maligna in Collegio nostro S. Francisci Xaverii erupta tres e praecipuis Professoribus eousque prostravit, ut solum post aliquos menses plenam reconvalescentiam viresque ad resumendum opus suum sperare valeant, alii vero Missionarii a cura animarum et conversione paganorum ad tempus avocari, in eorumque locum suffici coacti fuerunt. Quando vero in fine anni officiis suis restituti fuerint, et expectatus numerus novorum missionariorum hue appulerit, non dubito quin tune aliquem missionarium stationi Quetta adsignare, et sic Missionariis Gollegii Mill Hill inde abeundi facultatem facere valeam. Inde hodie Reverendo Domino Benoit, Rectori eiusdem Collegii, necnon Missionariis in Quetta laborantibus communicavi. Eminentiae Tuae amplissimas Dei gratias adprecans, Eminentiae Tuae Humilis et obsequens in Domino servus

L MEURIN Episcopus Titularis Ascalonensis, Vicarius Apostolicus Bombayensis

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38. jVb. 2484 of 1882 From: the Roman Catholic Bishop To: The Secretary to Government, Military Department.

Bombay, 13th December, 1882. Sir, Referring to my letter dated 1st April 1880, in which I informed Government of the establishment of a new Vicariate Apostolic for Afghanistan, I have the honour to report that, in consequence for the altered circumstances, it has been deemed advisable to place the country for the present under my jurisdiction. I request therefore, the authorization of Government for transferring the Reverend Ferdinand now Military Chaplain at Poona, to Quetta, and for appointing the Reverend Charles Cooke to Poona.36 I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, L MEURIN R.C. Bishop.

APPENDIX In 1979 James van der Klugt M.H.M. and Michael Conroy M.H.M. published: The Opening Door. Mill Hill Mission to Afghanistan: 1879-1882, Rawalpindi 1979. The authors were not aware of the Hyderabad papers, published by us in 1967. Moreover, their references to the Society's Archives in London are vague. The result is a rather popular and general survey of that unique attempt to enter Afghanistan.

36 Father Ferdinand is Father Ferdinand Hillenkamp s.j.; he was born 28. 9. 1844, arrived in India 1868 and was ordained a priest in 1874; in 1920 he was still alive: Vath, op. cit., 242 and 108. As far as Father Charles Cooke is concerned, cfr. note 34.

PART FIVE

THE PIONEER OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION IN SRI LANKA

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FATHER FELICE ZOPPI DA CANNOBIO, O.F.M., IN SRI LANKA: 1853-1857. PIONEER OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION IN KANDY*

I consider it a great honour to be invited to contribute to the Felicitation Volume for my friend, Mgr. Dr. W.L.A. Don Peter. For quite some time I was wondering on what subject I should write to honour him in a way that would do justice to his great merits as a historian and an educator. Then I remembered that I had some important new material. In the archives of the diocese of Kandy there exist twelve letters written by a Franciscan missionary, Father Felice Zoppi da Cannobio, the pioneer of Catholic education in Kandy. This fact has remained unknown. It is time to reveal the secret. I am thus able to add something to the knowledge of the history of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka - and this will doubtless be acceptable to Mgr. Dr. Don Peter as a historian — and I am able at the same time to give some new information about Catholic education in Sri Lanka - and this I am sure will be welcomed by him as an educationist. On his 65th birthday I think I could best congratulate him in this way. I have one reservation to make. The twelve letters will not be published here. I have promised the editor of the Neue ^eitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft in Switzerland to publish them in that journal and I hope to keep this promise in 1982. I trust other scholars and historians will not publish them in the meantime. In this article I shall first give a biography of Father Zoppi and after that deal more at length with his stay in Sri Lanka. I. THE LIFE OF FATHER FELICE ZOPPI DA CANNOBIO, O.F.M. He was born on the 28th of December, 1824, at Cannobio in Lombardy, Italy. His parents were Felice and Giovanna Zaecheo. He belonged to a family of some distinction. When he was eighteen * First published in: Don Peter Felicitation Volume (Colombo: Don Peter Felicitation Committee, 1983), pp. 12-17.

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years old, he joined the Franciscan friary of Ameno, which belonged to the Franciscan province of S. Diego. He studied philosophy and theology under the guidance of Father Tommaso da Casal Zuigno, O.F.M. and was ordained priest on the 23rd of September, 1848. He wanted to go to the missions and asked permission to prepare himself at the Roman College of the Propagation of the Faith. Having obtained this permission, he arrived in Rome in 1850 and started studying Chinese. The Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith was convinced, in 1851, that Father Zoppi had made sufficient progress in the knowledge of that language, and sent him as the leader of a group of missionaries to China, to the province of Hu-Quang. They left Rome on the 20th of May, 1851, and arrived in Hong Kong in August of the same year. As there was a civil war in China, he could not proceed, and he dedicated his time and labours to the apostolate among the members of various nations living in that port, which was an English territory. He was put in charge of the spiritual care of three big hospitals and of the English Catholic soldiers. He appears to have been an excellent missionary, for it is stated in a letter that after two years the Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith made known that he was worthy to receive the episcopal dignity. In 1885 it is still stated that this letter is to be found in the archives of the Zoppi family. The letter was written by the General Procurator of the Franciscan Missions on the 3rd of October, 1853. However, this did not materialize. Our information tells us that in Hong Kong the people were attacked by a terrible disease of the liver and that Father Zoppi nearly died of it. When he recovered a little, he had to leave this part of the world, and he went to Sri Lanka or Ceylon, where he found a better climate. He settled down in the city of Kandy. His first letter to his new bishop, Mgr. Bravi, is dated 12th December 1853. The last letter we have was signed by him on the 30th of September 1856. He established a number of schools and thus became the pioneer of Catholic education in Kandy, the ancient Sinhalese capital. But again he fell ill, whereupon he decided to leave the island for Italy in 1857. On the way home he visited Egypt and the Holy Land (even Mount Sinai). In May 1857 we find him in Rome. The Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith proposed to him - in case he wanted to continue his apostolic missionary work — to travel to North America, as he would

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find there a better climate. But first he visited his home in Cannobio, Lombardy, and attended the great missionary exhibition in Turin. He donated many precious gifts to that cause. Having recovered his health, he left for America. He started his journey in January 1858 and arrived in New York. We know that he laboured in that city, and also in other places. In 1858 he belonged to the community of the Franciscans at Allegany, New York, where the St. Bonaventure's College and Seminary were established on the 4th of October 1858. The college opened most probably in February 1859. In 1859 he was transferred to the Church of Saint Basil at Dushore (today the diocese of Scranton). We find his signature in the baptismal registers there from 31st of July, 1859, to 22nd of July, 1860. Other sources mention his stay in Buffalo and Cincinnati. We know for sure that he stayed at the Saint Vincent de Paul parish in Houston, Texas, as he signed the baptismal registers there from the 2nd of October, 1860, up to the 20th of January, 1865. We may conclude that he was interested in what at a later stage was called the Saint Bonaventure University and in what later became the Franciscan Custody of Saint John the Baptist. We also know that Father Zoppi acted as a military chaplain during the civil war in the United States. He assisted at three bloody battles and received a silver medal. The next information we get about this roving friar is that he left the United States in 1865. He sailed for Italy, but his ship was attacked by enemy ships in the Gulf of Mexico. However, he escaped and arrived for the third time in Rome. He received permission to retire into the monastery at Orta. There is again talk about his illhealth. This may have been the reason why he left America. This information may be correct, as he died soon afterwards, on the 3rd of August, 1866, at the age of 42 years. On his tombstone we read that he was the guardian of the monastery. It is said that Father Zoppi left some writings and many letters concerning his missions and that these are preserved in his paternal house at Cannobio, Lombardy.1 1 A short biography of Father Zoppi is given by: Constantino Muttinelli da Valcamonica, O.F.M., Memorie del vescovi lombardi dell'ordine dei Riformati, Bescia, 1885, 170-175. See also: Joannes Ricci, O.F.M., Hierarchia Franciscana in Sinis, Wuchang, 1929, 254. Walter Hammon, O.F.M., The First Bonaventura Men: the Early History of the St. Bonaventure University and the Allegany Franciscans, St. Bonaventure, New York, 1958, 57-58, 60, 63, 115, 118, 213 and 215; Mark V. Angelo, O.F.M., The History of St.

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For the time being we have to be satisfied with this short biography of this remarkable friar from Lombardy. Much more research has to be done. Especially, it should be found out whether the family archives at Cannobio are still preserved. In 1885 it was mentioned by Muttinelli that the archives were in possession of many documents and writings concerning Father Zoppi. For our purpose it is sufficient to limit our attention to Zoppi's stay in Sri Lanka. II. FATHER FELICE ZOPPI DA CANNOBIO IN SRI LANKA Before going into details I wish to thank a few persons who directed my attention to the presence of twelve letters and another document, written by Father Zoppi, in the archives of the Bishop of Kandy, Sri Lanka. First of all, I am greatly indebted to the Right Reverend Dr. E. Peiris, O.M.I., then Bishop of Chilaw, Sri Lanka, who informed me in 1958 of the presence of these documents in Kandy. With the help of an Italian nun he copied them for me and sent them first to Dr. Achilles Meersman, O.F.M., Professor of Church History at the Franciscan Friary in Bangalore, India. Father Meersman himself had shown some interest in Father Zoppi. However, he was so kind as to forward the copies to me, who was then staying in the Franciscan friary at Karachi, Pakistan, as a professor at the Regional Seminary. Both Bishop Peiris and Father Meersman are great scholars in mission history. I thank both of them for their generous help in finding these documents. Father Meersman helped me, moreover, to get at some old literature dealing with the life of Father Zoppi. I myself was able to collect more information. Finally, I want to express my thanks to the late Mgr. D.B. Regno, O.S.B., who was the bishop of Kandy during my first stay in Sri Lanka in 1958 and who gave me permission to copy the manuscripts. Up to now the Zoppi documents in Kandy had passed unnoticed. They were not discovered by Robrecht Boudens, O.M.I., who wrote a most remarkable history of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka for the period 1796 to 1893.2 Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, N.Y., Louvain, Paderborn, 1961, 17-18; Adalbert Callahan, O.F.M., Medieval Francis in Modern America, the Story of Eighty Tears: 1855-1935, New York, 1936, 49, 77 and 78. - Robrecht Boudens, O.M.I., Catholic Missionaries in a British Colony: Successes and Failures in Ceylon, 1796-1893, Immensee, 1979.

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As we have said before, we intend to publish a critically edited text with notes in the Neue ^eitschrift fur Missionswissenschqft, Switzerland. However, one author may have known something about the existence of the Zoppi documents. We are not sure whether he heard of them via the Rt. Rev. Mgr. E. Peiris, O.M.I., or whether he actually read the documents. There is another possibility. George Denlow, in an article he had written in 1956, only quotes a part of a letter of Mgr. Bravi, wherein the foundation of schools in Kandy by Father Zoppi is mentioned. He actually does not mention the Zoppi letters or documents. Boudens knows Denlow's article but does not mention any Zoppi documents in it.3 It seems most probable that neither Denlow nor Boudens knew anything at all about these letters. They only mention a volume of letters of Mgr. Bravi in the archives of the diocese of Kandy. Denlow took his information about the schools started by Father Zoppi from the Bravi documents. Boudens knows the Bravi letters, but does not mention those of Father Zoppi.4 We found in the archives of the diocese of Kandy the following documents in Italian: 1. A long letter of Father Felice Zoppi da Cannobio, O.F.M. written from Kandy to Mgr. Giuseppe Maria Bravi, O.S.B., Vicar Apostolic of Colombo, on the 12th of December, 1853. 2. A short letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on the 16th of December, 1853. 3. Another short letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on the 8th of January, 1854. 4. A long letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on the 13th of March, 1854. 5. A short letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on the 17th of March, 1854. 6. An appendix to the last letter containing a general list of things ordered by Zoppi from China. 7. A short letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on the 1st of June, 1854. 8. A still shorter letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on the 29th of August, 1854.

3 George Denlow, "Cradle of Catholic Education in Kandy", Catholic Christmas Annual, 1956, 4th year of publication, Chilaw, 64-67. Boudens, op. tit., 18. 4 Boudens, op. tit., 11.

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9. Another short letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on the 19th of October, 1854. 10. A longer letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on the 28th of November, 1854. 11. A short letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on the 22nd of December, 1854. 12. A long letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on the 8th of January, 1855. 13. A rather long letter of Father Zoppi, written from Galle to Mgr. Bravi on the 30th of September, 1856. On the 12th of March, 1854, Mgr. Bravi wrote to Father Zoppi: I am very glad to hear of your having opened two schools. I would have been more glad if you had given me a hint about what you intended doing because I could have given you useful advice, both as regards the site of the schools as well as the teachers. I do not relish the idea of the girls' school being in the mission house itself. For, a Mission House is to be considered in some measure as a Trappist cell, and a missionary's deportment should be as austere as that of a Trappist, in everything with politeness and gentility of manner added.5

Mgr. Bravi says moreover that he objects to the appointment of one Mr. Van Twest to be in charge of the boys' school. He thought him to be too old. Actually, we do not read in the letters of Father Zoppi, written before March, 1854, that he had erected some schools. Mgr. Bravi must have obtained his information concerning the two schools from elsewhere. But in his letter of the 13th of March, 1854, Zoppi comes to speak on this point: that he had kept silent about the opening of the schools due to his multiple occupations; moreover, Father Cingolani had given him good counsel regarding this matter; thirdly, he had given Van Twest permission to open the school because he was a good Catholic and had promised obedience. Zoppi speaks about a boys' school and also a school for girls. The girls' school was only provisionally situated in the Mission House as there was no money to buy a separate house. Denlow adds that both were English schools.6 In his letter of 17th of March, 1854, Father Zoppi could inform

5 b

Denlow, art. cit., 65. Denlow, art. cit., 65.

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the bishop that the schools were doing well, and that the girls' school had been transferred from the Mission House. On the 1st of June, 1854, Zoppi writes that he was sending to the bishop a trimestrial report on the Catholic schools. There were 133 students. There was in Kandy moreover an evening school for the soldiers and for the young burghers. The schools were attended by Protestants and Buddhists as well. There existed already a Protestant school, and some people tried to persuade Catholic parents to take their children from the Catholic Schools and send them to the Protestant one. Zoppi does not have a good word for the education received by the children at the Protestant school. On the 28th of November, 1854, Father Zoppi speaks again about the schools. The school for girls is improving daily and Protestant girls too attend it. However, the school for boys is not doing well and the reason seems to be 'the man with white hair', most probably the teacher. He asks his superior for a better person to fill this post. The relations between Zoppi and Van Twest seem to have deteriorated: the latter does not attend Holy Mass any longer. Zoppi intends to give more attention to the school for girls and we get the impression that at this time both schools were really separated one from the other. According to Zoppi the future was with the school for girls. On the 22nd of December, 1854, we read that Van Twest had retired voluntarily. The school for boys continued to exist. On the 8th of January, 1855, we are informed that the schools were reopened after the holidays. Father Zoppi had found a schoolmistress, daughter of one Terkost, who had a good reputation. She speaks English fluently. But in the school Sinhalese also is used. This is my conclusion from this letter. I do not understand why Denlow writes that there was a third school at Kandy, founded by Father Zoppi, an anglo-vernacular school.7 In his last letter, dated 30th September, 1856 — a farewell letter to Mgr. Bravi - Zoppi again writes about his illness and the advice given by medical men that he should return to his native land. He gives full details concerning his apostolic labours, but does not mention his schools.

7

Denlow, art. cit, 65.

THIRTEEN UNKNOWN DOCUMENTS WRITTEN BY FATHER ZOPPI DA CANNOBIO O.F.M. IN SRI LANKA FROM 1853 TILL 1856*

The history of the Franciscans in Sri Lanka started in 1543 and came to an end with the capitulation of Colombo in 1656 and Jaffna in 1658 to the Dutch East India Company.1 In 1953 the tradition was taken up by the Poor Clares and from 1960 onward there is a modest attempt to restore the Franciscan order for men. In 1891 the Franciscan Brothers of Maggona were founded. In 1886 the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary started their activities in Sri Lanka. But for a long time it was unknown that in the middle of the last century an Italian Franciscan priest was working in Kandy and became the founder of Catholic education there. Whilst the name of this father, Felice Zoppi da Cannobio O.F.M., is known to the great expert on the mission history of Sri Lanka, Dr. Boudens, the documents related to the stay of Zoppi in Kandy did not come to his notice.2 After we discovered the existence of these manuscripts and published an article on them without publishing the documents, some experts on mission history in Sri Lanka do mention Father Zoppi.3 The time has come to publish the letters of this interesting man. In this contribution we shall give information on the following points: the life of Father Zoppi; the discovery of the documents; the importance of the documents; the full Italian text of the letters; and * First published in: Neue ^eitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft 41 (Immensee 1985) pp. 82-101. 1 V. Perniola s.j., The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka, the Dutch period, volume I 1658-1711, volume II 1712-1746, Dehiwala 1983. Franciscans and Sri Lanka, edited by W.L.A. Don Peter, Colombo 1983: O.M. da Silva Cosme, The Coming of the Franciscans to Sri Lanka, 116-127, Edmund Peiris, O.M.I., Franciscan Missionary Activity in Sri Lanka, 128-148. 2 For the presence of women and men following the Franciscan spirituality today: Franciscans and Sn Lanka, Colombo 1983, W.L.A. Don Peter, The Spirit of Francis Lives on, 170-179. R. Boudens O.M.I., Catholic Missionaries in a British Colony, Successes and Failures in Ceylon 1796-1893, Immensee 1979, 71. ;1 A. Camps O.F.M., Father Felice £oppi da Cannobio O.F.M. in Sri Lanka, 1853-1857. "Pioneer of Catholic Education in Kandy", in: Don Peter Felicitation Volume, Colombo 1983, 11-17. Cfr. Achilles Meersman O.F.M., Non-Portuguese Franciscans in the Padroado Mission of Sri Lanka, in: ibidem, 181-188, especially 186-187. Cfr. also: W.L.A. Don Peter, The Spirit of Francis Lives on, in: Franciscans ans Sri Lanka, edited by W.L.A. Don Peter, Colombo 1983, 172.

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finally a list of names occurring in the letters, which need some explication. I. THE LIFE OF FATHER FELICE ZOPPI DA CANNOBIO O.F.M. He was born on the 28th December 1824 at Cannobio, Italy. His parents were Felice and Giovanna Zaccheo. He belonged to a family of some distinction. When he was eighteen years old, he joined the Franciscan Friary of Ameno, which belonged to the Franciscan province of S. Diego. After having studied philosophy and theology under the direction of Father Tommaso da Casal Zuigno O.F.M. he was ordained a priest on 23rd September 1848. He longed to go to the missions and asked permission to prepare himself at the Roman College of the Propagation of the Faith. Having obtained this permission, he arrived in Rome in 1850 and started studying the Chinese language. The Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith was convinced in 1851 that Father Zoppi had made sufficient progress in the knowledge of that language and he sent him as the leader of a group of missionaries to the province of Hu-Quang in China. They left Rome on 20th May 1851 and arrived at Hong Kong in August of the same year. As there was a civil war in China, he could not proceed and he dedicated his time and labour to the apostolate among the members of the various nations living in the port, which was English territory. He was put in charge of the spiritual care of three big hospitals and of the Catholics among the English soldiers. It seems that he was an excellent missionary, for after two years the Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith made known that he was worthy to receive the episcopal dignity. In 1885 it is still stated that this letter is to be found in the archives of the Zoppi family. The letter was written by the General Procurator of the Franciscan Missions on October 3, 1853. However, all this did not realize. Our information tells us that in Hong Kong people were attacked by a terrible disease of the liver and that Father Zoppi nearly died of it. When he had recovered a little he had to leave this part of the world; he went to Sri Lanka where he found a better climate. He settled down in the city of Kandy. His first letter to his new bishop, Mgr. Bravi, is dated 12th December 1853. The last letter we have was signed by him on 30th September 1856. He established a number of schools and thus became the

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pioneer of Catholic education in Kandy, the ancient Sinhalese capital. But again he fell ill, whereupon he decided to leave the island for Italy in 1857. On the way home he visited Egypt and the Holy Land (even Mount Sinai). In May 1857 we find him in Rome. The Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith proposed to him — in case he wanted to continue his apostolic missionary work - to travel to North America, as he would find a better climate there. But first he visited his home in Cannobio, Lombardy, and attended the great missionary exhibition in Turin. He donated many precious gifts to that cause. Having recovered his health, he left for America. He started his journey in January 1858 and arrived in New York. We know that he laboured in that city and also in other places. In 1858 he belonged to the community of the Franciscans at Allegany, New York, where St. Bonaventure's College and Seminary were established on 4th October 1858. The college most probably opened in February 1859. The same year he was transferred to the Church of Saint Basil at Dushore (today the diocese of Scranton). We find his signature in the baptismal registers there from 31th of July, 1859, to 22nd of July, 1860. Other sources mention his stay in Buffalo and Cincinnati. We know for sure that he stayed at the Saint Vincent de Paul Parish in Houston, Texas, as he signed the baptismal registers there from 2nd October 1860 up to the 20th of January 1865. We may conclude that he was interested in what at a later stage was called Saint Bonaventura University and in what later became the Franciscan Custody of Saint John the Baptist. We also know that Father Zoppi acted as a military chaplain during the Civil War in the United States. He assisted at three fierce battles and received a silver medal. The next information we get about this roving friar is that he left the United States in 1865. He sailed for Italy, but his ship was attacked by enemy ships in the Gulf of Mexico. However, he escaped and arrived in Rome for the third time. He received permission to retire into the monastery of Orta. There is again talk about his illhealth. This may have been the reasen why he left America. This information may be correct, as he died soon afterwards, on 3rd August 1866, at the age of 42 years. On his tombstone we read that he was the guardian of the monastery.4 4

A short biography of Father Zoppi is given by Constantino Muttinelli da

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II. THE DISCOVERY OF THE KANDY DOCUMENTS It is said that Father Zoppi left some writings and many letters concerning his missions and that these are preserved in his paternal house at Cannobio, Lombardy. No research in this matter has been done, but it would be good to find out whether the family archives at Cannobio are still preserved. In 1885 it was mentioned by Muttinelli that the archives were still in possession of many documents and letters concerning Father Zoppi.3 In this contribution we limit our research to the Zoppi documents we found in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The documents consist of twelve letters and one more document. They are to be found in the archives of the diocese of the bishop of Kandy. Our attention was directed to them by the well-known historian, the Right Reverend Dr. E. Peiris O.M.I., then Bishop of Chilaw, Sri Lanka. It was during a long visit to Sri Lanka in 1958 that Mgr. Peiris spoke to me about these documents. I am very grateful to him for this precious information. Moreover, he was very helpful in having these documents copied for me by an Italian religious sister, to whom I express here my sincere gratitude. The copied documents were first sent to my confrere and expert in Asian Franciscan history, Dr. Achilles Meersman O.F.M., Professor of Church History at the Franciscan Friary at Bangalore, India. Father Meersman had shown some interest in Father Zoppi. He was so kind as to send the copies of the letters to me who was then staying in the Franciscan Friary at Karachi, Pakistan, as a professor of the Regional Seminary of Christ the King. To him I owe many details concerning the life of Father Zoppi before and after his stay in Sri Lanka. It is a pity that Father Meersman died in the period which passed between the discovery and the publication of the manuscripts. I want to express my thanks also to the late Right Reverend Mgr. D.B. Regno O.S.B., who was the bishop of Kandy during my stay there in 1958 and who gave permission to copy the manuscripts. Valcamonica O.F.M., Memorie dei vescovi lombardi dell'ordine dei Riformati, Brescia 1885, 170-175. See also: Joannes Ricci O.F.M., Hierarchia Franciscana in Sinis, Wuchang 1929, 254; Walter Hammon O.F.M., The First Bonaventura Men: the Early History of the St. Bonaventure University and the Allegany Franciscans, St. Bonaventure, New York 1958, 57, 60, 63, 115, 118, 213 and 215; Mark V. Angelo O.F.M., The History of St. Bonaventure University. St. Bonaventure, N.Y., Louvain, Paderborn 1961, 17-18; Adalbert Callahan O.F.M., Medieval Francis in Modern America, the Story of Eighty Tears: 1855-1935, New York 1936, 49, 77, and 78. 5 Cfr. the work of Muttinelli da Valcamonica, quoted in note 4.

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As has been said, the great scholar on church history of Sri Lanka, Professor Dr. R. Boudens O.M.I, of the university of Louvain, did know about the stay of Father Zoppi at Kandy, but it seems to be true that he had no knowledge of the letters or documents of Father Zoppi.6 He mentions the existence of a volume of letters of Mgr. Bravi in the archives of the diocese of Kandy, but he does not mention any document related to Father Zoppi. The same is true of George Denlow, who wrote an article in 1956. He quotes a part of a letter of Mgr. Bravi, wherein the foundation of schools at Kandy by Father Zoppi is mentioned. He does not mention the Zoppi documents. We suppose that he had heard something about them through a communication of Mgr. Dr. E. Peiris. There is no reason to prove that he actually had seen the Zoppi documents.7 In the archives of the diocese of Kandy we found the following documents in Italian: (1) A long letter of Father Felice Zoppi da Cannobio O.F.M. written from Kandy to Mgr. Giuseppe Maria Bravi O.S.B., Coadjutor of the Vicar Apostolic of Colombo, on 12th December 1853. (2) A short letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on 16th December 1853. (3) Another short letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on 8th January 1854. (4) A long letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on 13th March 1854. (5) A short letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on 17th March 1854. (6) An appendix to the last letter containing a general list of things ordered by Father Zoppi from China. (7) A short letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on 1st June 1854. (8) A still shorter letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on 29th August 1854. (9) Another short letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on 19th October 1854. (10) A long letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on 28th November 1854. b

Cfr. the work of Boudens, quoted in note 2. ' George Denlow, "Cradle of Catholic Education in Kandy", in: Catholic Christmas Annual, 1956, 4th year of publication, Chilaw, 64-67.

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(11) A short letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on 22nd December 1854. (12) A long letter of Father Zoppi, written from Kandy to Mgr. Bravi on 8th January 1855. (13) A rather long letter of Father Zoppi, written from Galle to Mgr. Bravi on 30th September 1856. III. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCUMENTS OF FATHER ZOPPI We do not consider it our task to study for example: what kind of man was Father Zoppi?, how did he judge upon other people?, or what kind of pastoral attitude did he have? To a certain extent the documents from Kandy do give some kind of answer to such questions; we prefer, however, to have many more letters from Father Zoppi's hand before we feel capable to answer such questions in a responsible way. However, there is one topic which can find a rather complete answer from the available documents: Father Zoppi was a parish priest, and he considered Catholic education to be a priority in his pastoral planning. He may be called the pioneer of Catholic education in Kandy. On 12th March 1854 Mgr. Bravi wrote to Father Zoppi: I am very glad to hear of your having opened two schools. I would have been more glad if you had given me a hint about what you intended doing because I could have given you useful advice, both as regards the site of the schools as well as the teachers. I do not relish the idea of the girls' school being in the mission house itself. For, a Mission House is to be considered in some measure as a Trappist cell, and a missionary's deportment should be as austere as that of a Trappist, in everything with politeness and gentility of manner added.8

Mgr. Bravi says moreover that he objects to the appointment of one Mr. Van Twest to be in charge of the boys' school. He thought him to be too old. Actually we do not read in the letters of Father Zoppi, written before March 1854, that he had erected any schools. Mgr. Bravi must have obtained his information concerning the two schools from elsewhere. But in his letter of 13th March 1854 Father Zoppi comes to speak on this point: that he had kept silent about the opening of

Cfr. Denlow, art. cit., 65.

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the two schools due to his multiple occupations; moreover, Father Cingolani had given him good counsel regarding this matter; thirdly, he had given Van Twest permission to open the school because he was a good Catholic and had promised obedience. Zoppi speaks about a boys' school and also a school for girls. The girls' school was only provisionally situated in the Mission House as there was no money to buy a separate house. Denlow adds that both were English schools.9 In his letter of 17th March 1854 Father Zoppi was able to inform the bishop that the schools were doing well and that the girls' school had been transferred from the Mission House. On the 1st June 1854 Zoppi writes that he was sending to the bishop a trimestrial report on the Catholic schools. There were 133 students. In Kandy there was, moreover, an evening school for the soldiers and for the young burghers. The schools were attended by Protestants and Buddhists as well. There existed a Protestant school already, and some people tried to persuade Catholic parents to take their children from the Catholic school and send them to the Protestant one. Zoppi does not have a good word for the education received by the children at the Protestant school. On 28th November 1854 Father Zoppi again writes about the schools. The school for girls is improving daily and Protestant girls, too, attend it. However, the school for boys is not doing well, and the reason seems to be 'the man with white hair', most probably the teacher. He asks his superior for a better person to fill that post. The relations between Zoppi and Van Twest seem to have deteriorated: the latter does not attend Holy Mass any longer. Father Zoppi intends to give more attention to the school for girls and we get the impression that at this time both schools were really separated one from the other. According to Father Zoppi the future was with the school for girls. On 22nd December 1854 we read that Van Twest had retired voluntarily. The school for boys continued to exist. On 8th January 1855 we are informed that the schools were reopened after the holidays. Father Zoppi had found a schoolmistress, daughter of one Terkost, who had a good reputation. She speaks English fluently.

'' Cfr. Denlow, art. cit., 65.

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But in the school Sinhalese also is used. This is my conclusion from this letter. I do not understand why Denlow writes that there was a third school at Kandy, founded by Father Zoppi, an anglo-vernacular school.10 In his letter, dated 30th September 1856 - a farewell letter to Mgr. Bravi — Father Zoppi again writes about his illness and the advice given by medical men that he should return to his native land. He gives full details concerning his apostolic labours but does not mention his schools. This, however, does not mean that the erection of the schools and the beginning of Catholic education in Kandy was not one of the projects very dear to the heart of Father Zoppi. IV. THE TEXT OF THE LETTERS OF FATHER FELICE ZOPPI DA CANNOBIO Deo gratias! Eccellenza Rev.ma II silenzio che accorse in questi giorni dipoche lasciai 1'amata sua conversazione per recarmi a Kandy non e un frutto di dimenticanza ne di altro ma piuttosto di moltiplici affari, e di mancanza di tempo. Pertanto ora che respiro un poco ed ho assestato buona parte delle mie cose, vengo a renderle ragione, e ad intrattenermi dolcemente con V.a Eccellenza. // mio viaggio: Da Colombo a Kandy non fu che una noja continua per riguardo al convoglio di viaggiatori il quale componeosi di un capo-Polizia, con una pettegola moglie di un soldato che mi parve cattolico, e di un altro gentleman Uffiziale Inglese conoscento intimo di Cassinelli. Quest'ultimo mi aveva diretta qualche parola durante il viaggio ed io lo contracambiai, ma gli altri stavano ciumd come Pasquino guardando davanti il Palazzo Broschi. Oh! che stupida compagnia! Oh che vilifiltosa gente!! Che viagglare nojoso! Ma dall' altro conto quanto io fui ricreato dalla natura mostrante ad ogni passo la varioforme sua bellezza o nella folta ed opaca selva o nella ridente e coltivato chino o nell'irrigato e vestito piano o nell'austero a nudo pino. Per ogni dove mostravasi superbo il cocco onusto dei suoi frutti, ed i fiori sparsi a dovizia qua e la ricreavami la vista moglie che guardava in viso a miei conviaggiatori. Viaggio facendo alia fine le lontane montagne coperte di un verde amabile si mostravano annunziandomi che esse chiudevano in giro il piano di Kandy, e che all'arrivo sorci libero dalla noja Inglese. Cosi fu: dopo due o tre battesimi di acque tropicali che mi avevano perfezionato la Santa noja Inglese, eccoci in fronte alia colonna monumentale, e dopo un poco di pazienza ed un altro bagno restammo i cavalli Cfr. Denlow, art. cit., 65.

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alia posta di Kandy. Qui avendo avuto il fabricate postale in forma di chiesa, e molta gente riunita in aspettazione di qualchecosa, mi'llusi credendo che fosse la mia residenza, eppercio credeva fermarmi; quando eccoti un uomo in pel bianco vestito mezzo da donna e mezzo da uomo mi apre la portiera, e mi fa quattro stupide smorfie complimentose invitandomi a discendere ed a salire una sua vicina carozza; mi figurai allora chi doveva essere, ubidii all'invito, e con esso lui s'awiammo alia chiesa lasciando dietro un altro mano di Barbassori e Cianiberloni, che per lo stesso oggetto eronsi la riuniti. Entrati nella chiesa (suonanti le campane a stormo come se Kandy tutto bruciasse) dammo grazie a Dio del buon viaggio avuto, quindi fui introdotto nell'ameno chiostrello e poi alia saletta di ricevimento, ove riunironsi nouvamente le suddette pecore e capretti. lo mi trovava con un forte dolore di capo, sicche li spicciai piu presto che potei per allora, e buona notte mi ritirai dopo preso alcune cosa alia cena che il buon vecchio m'aveva preparato. Le mie piccole fatiche: Dal mio arrive in poi tutto ando bene; la maggior parte di questi cattolici potendo parlare Inglese, o Portughese possono ricevere da me i Sacramenti, e mi da consolazione, che in questo breve tempo le confessioni ascoltate ascendono a 127. Le Communioni 74. I pledge 14, le estreme unzioni 10, batezzai un'adulto Malabar, e 4 regazzi. La mia prima predica ebbe luogo la prima Domenica d'Avento, ed alia sera di detto giorno cominica 1'apertura di un corso d'istruzioni Pascolari. L'argomento di quella sera tocce la necessita di essere instruiti nella nostra Religione: quella della mattina s'aggiro sulla spiegazione del Vangelo corrente. Questo metodo e quello che mi propongo di osservare durente 1'anno, e finche non sappio altre lingue. La disciplina Chiesiastica Ceylonese: Questo, Monsignore, e rinforzata energicamente. Uno dopo Paltro i pubblici peccatori li mando a chiamare per venire al tandem', e dopo fattogli una robusta paternale secondo 1'urgenza chiede, gli denunzio che se restii alia mia esortazione non fanno la penitenza dovuta, mi rifiutaro di portargli i conforti della Religione al letto di morte. Questa misura ebbe un felice successo, e con mio piacere, e soddisfazione edificante da Cattolici tutti accettarono il mio awiso e cominciarono la loro pubblica penitenza. Ci sta solo un cotale Cingalese con sua moglie che chiamoli a tal, oggetto offersero denaro alia Chiesa invece di far la penitenza, ma ebbero in risposta che nemanco se venisse S. Elena, o Constantino a fabbricarmi un altro S. Paolo a Kandy non cederei porche e disciplina eguale pel ricco e pel mendico. Laonde essi dissero di voler scrivere al Vescovo per essere dispensati, e credo che scriveranno. II loro folio e solo di non essersi confessati da alcuni anni in qua. Tuttavia io sono irremovibile. Fermezza! Fermezza!! fu 1'ordine di V.a Eccell.za. // buon Mac Auliffe. Egli mi e sinceramente la mia mano destra ne' miei affari e non mascorale a lodare il suo zelo il suo attaccamento per la Chiesa e Missionario. Quando sono arrivato la Chiesa stava gia in buon stato, ma ora stiamo arrangiandola come una sposa da marito 'Sicut sponsam ornatam viro suo'. Pitture, vernici, ornamenti, musica, giardino, e pulizia lo devo in parte al laudabile zelo del menzionato, il quale frequenternente mi manda

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soldati a travagliare, dando pero loro da mangiare. Veramente ora la Chiesa con sue Postoforie fa invidia a qualcuno di quelle d'Europa. Le mie visile. II giorno dopo il mio arrive chiamato all'ospedale per un infermo mi trovai nell'occorenza di visitare il Medico Flaming; al quale avendo presentati i complimenti di V.a Eccell.za furono ricevute con soddisfazione. Mi ofTerse i suoi servigi, e medicine in caso di malaria. Che Dio ci liberi! Ma pure sono gia stato in questa neccessita. Per otto giorni ebbi disenteria ed egli mi mando delle pillole; ora sto meglio. Fui a visitare il Golonello del Regimento per aprire una buona armonia tra me e lui, stando la posizione che occupo relativamente ai suoi militi: egli mi ricevette con tutta la gentilezza d'un soldato accompagnato con uno stretto shake hands. Visitai pure i Barbassori Modaglieri; uno di essi in particolare mi rende de servigi mandandomi alia sua volta dei trattatelli di lingua Singalese. Che sta componendo per via di lezioni apro di alcuni Inglesi, dal che io spero trarne grande utilita. Ma il tempo e troppo brevo per me! // colera. I primi giorni ebbi ad amministrare i Sacramenti a quattro persone indigeni ed a cinque soldati attaccati dal colera. Di tutti questi quattro o cinque morirono, di altri sono salvi. Ho osservato che questo morbo visita quasi sempre gente succida o viziosa. leri sera nella nostra Chiesa in tempo di Benedizione, mentre i soldati cantavano sul choro, vi fu tra essi un ragazzaccio della Banda attaccato da sintomi colerici: vomito e divenne freddo come una pietra. Fu trasportato nella mia camera, gli amministrai un puo di brandy, poi fu mandato all'Ospedale in buon stato. I planters di Kandy. Questa porzione di Cattolici Inglesi e Francesi, saputo il mio arrive, vennero a pagarmi il religiose omaggio come a legittimi successori di Mons. Renauld (di buona memorial) ed alcuni Inglesi hanno fatto la Confessione altri hanno promesso di farla. Faccia Dio che questa loro buona volonta diventi efficace; se no so giela faro maturare con quattro paroline da sagrestia che tengo pronto per questi cattoli Signorini o Signorine che pretendono godere il mondo quaggiu e poi alia fine, che il frate s'inscegni a dargli buon passaporto per il cielo. Si; adesso . . . li rangero io . . . C'e una famiglia numerosa a quattro miglia distante dalla Chiesa, la quale essendo ricca ha tutto le comodita di portarsi a sentire la messa della Domenica. leri nessuno venne, ed il tempo era bellissimo; laonde li aspetto al vario, e voglio la ragione al primo incontro. Ci sta una vecchia capessa di quella famiglia che mi deve rispondere di tutti i figli e figlie sotto la di lei sorveglianza, e se le scuse non saranno buone, sentiro quanto pesi 1'eloquenza di un Missionario Italiano. La prossima visita di V.ra Eccellenza. Corre una voce contenta tra i Cattolici di questa Missione che dopo Natale il Vescovo bianco vuol respirare I'aria Kandiana. Mac Auliffe gia ne parla di preparativi di riccevimento, ed i Modoglieri compreranno un lenzuolo nuovo ben amidato da porsi attorno al loro nero Dispido fianco. Che bella figura faranno, oh! Quanto alia cosa certamente non trouvera piu 1'occhio abituro Goanese, ma un modesto chiostrello semplicetto con tutte sue commodita ed un giardinello di fieri crescenti nel mezzo. Venga pertanto Monsignore, e tratteremo anche meglio gli affari di questa Missione os ad os.

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Una consacrazione. Stavo in bisogno ed una piccola pisside per amministrare il Viatico agli infermi, laonde messo mano ad alcune vecchie polacche spagnuole che mi trovava, e fatto un piccolo disegno lo mandai all'orefice per 1'esecuzione e ne riusci, come vedi una spostabile pissidetta per mio scopo. Dessa si divide con tre pezzi uniti con vite cioe la croce si stacca ed il pedestallo, e restovi solo la scatoletta di mezzo, che facilmente posso mettere in duento borsa e portarla sul petto privatamente nell'occorenza. Questa pertanto mando a V.a Eccellenza pregandola perche 1'abiliti a ricevere il Sacramento come vuole, e stabili nostra Chiesa; e quanto piu presto puo la prego ad inviarmela per la vettura di posta. Con questa stessa occasione mando al P. Cingoloni i libri che gli appartengoni, e spedisco pure due libri della biblioteca di Costi che mi aveva presi. Ho recevuto il Portafoglio Maltese che V.a Eccell.za si e degnato inviarmi. Sicome prevedo che non avro tempo da scriverle prima di Natale percio ponendo fine a questa mia tediosa legenda colgo occasione per fare i miei prosperi Augurii a V.ra Eccell.za Laonde ogni felicitazione che un cuore religiose, e patriale puo desiderare a V.a Eccell.za prego a ricever La da me che con tutta I'anima gliela desidero. La quale cosa, non potendo io scrivere individualmente ad ogni nostro Missionario Italiano, desidererei e confido che V.a Eccell.za mi fara il piacere di portare questi miei buoni augurii caldi d'affetto sincere sopra ognuno di essi. - Per coprire poi a questo mio dovere intendo scrivere direttamente al Vescovo di Usula. Non ostante V.a Eccell.za mi farebbe grato favore se awendo occasione di visitarle a Cattoncina gli offerisse oralmente questo mio omaggio anticipate, che intendo estendere a tutta la vera famiglia e nominatamente al Segretario (pulcinella storiante). II buon Padro poi (quel noraccio furbo) ha diritto pure alia mia memoria laonde e salutato nella dosse de neri, augurandogli un buon vento Natalizio. Pertanto rinnovo i miei complimenti in primis al Carissimo P. Cingoloni, a Manzoni, e Miliani, ed a V.a Eccell.za domando il permesso di baciare 1'anello e dichiararmi sempre Delia Eccell.za V.ra 111.ma Umill.mo ed Ubb.mo Servo F.F. Zoppi da Connobio Miss.o Ap.o Kandi 12. Dicembre 1853 Sia lodato Gesu Christo (nostro unico galantuomo) Eccellenza Rev.ma leri ebbi il piacere di ricevere il pelucio di lettere che V.a Ecc.za gentilmente mi spedi. Nel mattino di detto giorno avevo spedito una lettera con una pisside per via privata, perche da alcuni giorni il fistolo perseguita i cavalli della posta sinche non e piu pronta al servizio quotidiano. Dalla Cina ricevo lettere di Feliciani e di Ambrosi. Feliciani e estremamente contento, che io rimanga a dividere le fatiche Apostoliche con V.a Eccell.za e mi prega a regolarlo di notizie di questa Missione. Ambrosi gode pure 'infinitamente e sinceramente' (sono sue parole) che io resti a Ceylon. Desso mi significa che la lista specificata degli oggetti coi loro specifici prezzi sta in

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mano di V.a Eccell.za, e che la Polizza di carico e stata spedita sotto coperta ai Mess.s Fernando. lo non ho la lista degli oggetti percio se V.a Eccell.za me la favorisce saro grato; quantunque ogni cosa che ricevera sara a disposizione di V.a. Eccellenza e degli altri Miss.i Italiani. Mi riserbo per me di semi di orto che mi sono indicati nella lettera, un mio calendario francescano pel 1854, una cassa di camfora di media grandezza, il resto sta tutto a di Lei disposizione. Le fascie pe Missioni e per V.a Eccellenza sono ordinate a Cantone, e quando saranno fatto saranno spedite alia prima occasione. Oggi ho ricevuto il Portafoglio Maltese. Grazie infinite. Ho ricevuto il vino speditomi da Felicis, e lo conserve per le Messe perche e troppo caro per 1'uso di mensa, quindi ne faccio al medisimo commissione di due dozzine da 20. sull. alia dozzina. So che V.a Eccell.za si e degnato di pagarmi la prima dozzina: sono molto obligate del favore e per la via che mi'indichera le rimborsero il denaro. II Feliciani mi parla nulla del denaro in mia mano; laonde prego V.a Eccell.za a farmi sapere se ci ne fece motto nella di Lui lettera. In caso negative il dinoio per ora sta bene dove e. Quando avro la lista degli oggetti se alcuna cosa scegliero ne daro awiso a V.a Eccell.za. Intanto rinnovo i miei buoni augurii Natalizii che gia inviai un una mia lettera; e baciando Le riverentemente la mano mio creda sempre. Delia Eccell.ma V.a 111.ma Umill.mo Servidore F. Felice Zoppi da Conobbio O.M.S.F. Miss.o App.o Kandy li 16. Dicembre 1853 P.S. Ho scritto al Vecchio per le feste Natalizie. Molti saluti a Missionarii bianchi, especialmente a Cingoloni e Manzoni. Avendo chiusa la lettera eccoti arrivarmi una lettera del Miss. Orona con anchiusa per la sua Chiesa la sottoscrizione per farla girare a questi Kandiani. Desso e stato in giro a Negombo col vantaggio di Lire 16. lo non oso prendere alcune disposizione per farla girare la detta soscrizione finche V.a Eccellenza mi dia un prudente consiglio se debba o no raccomandarla a Cattolici, o pure se la debba lasciar correre tra persone in modo civile. lo non avrei difficolta di favorire la detta soscrizie pensando ad un duplice bene, 1° che essendo tutti Gattolici e cosa caritatevole aiutarsi 1'un 1'altro. 2° che la detta chiesa di Chilaw sta per cadere nel nostro Vicariato, ed allore il bene, che si sara fatto a quella Missione non sara perduto. Sto in attenzione di un di Lui consiglio, perche non mi voglio conpromettere colla nera famiglia. Mi favorisca piu presto che puo di queste Istruzioni. Eccellenza Rev.ma Alcuni giorni prima del Natale ho ricevuto la lettera di V.a Ecc.za in risposta alia mia del 20. Dicembre, colla quale mi si annunziava la spedizione degli oggetti appartenenti a me venuti dalla Cina; e mi si dava una lista degli oggetti chinesi che costi arrivarono. Con questa mia intendo

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nngraziare V.a Eccellenza della premura mostratomi nell'invio degli oggetti, ed in pan tempo gliene accuso la ricevuta in buon stato, pregandola ad incaricare il R.P. Cingoloni di pone nella mia lista di debito rammonte in proporzione, della mia cassa coi slippers, caricandomi il trasporto, la dogana e la commissione. Quantunque neU'ultima mia abbia significato a V.a Ecc.za che tutta la commissione degli oggetti chinesi e in piena di Lei disposizione; pure desidererei prendere alcuni piccoli oggetti per me: questi sono i seguenti: Un ventaglio d'osso, ed uno di sandal wood = due astucci da aghi piccoli = 2 penelli, ed un pezzo d'inchiostro. L'ammonte di questi oggetti sara messo in un colla cassa di camfora etc. Nella mia lettera ultima domandava consiglio a V.a Ecc.za come regolarmi riguardo alia soscnzione di Orona; ma non fui favorite e cio mi tenne fin qui indeciso nel rispondere e nel agire a riguardo del sudetto. Prego pertanto V.a Ecc.za a favorirmi di un si, o di un no, e con qual condizione creda io debba agire. Ho augurato le buone Feste di Natale alia nera Famiglia; ma finora non fui degnato di riscontro!! Veda V.a Ecc.za di farmi sapere il motivo di tale incivilta commessa. Le Feste di Natale qui in Kandy furono solennizato con pompa, decoro e grande divozione; ma Fra Felice ebbe un cattivo giorno, un giorno di stanchezza, di disenteria e di abbandono; sinche annojato nel corpo e nel1'anima se la passo sul letto inpransus et incenatus. Pazienza che! cosi sia: Amen. Sto continuamente purgando questa vigna del Signore dalle male erbe, e quando in pubblico e quando in private regalo di certi predicotti questi signori cattolici di che forse Padre Renauld non era cosi liberale. II gran numero di pubblicii peccatori che ho trovato al mio arrive, e ora ridotto a pochi e questi pochi fra breve sentiranno anilussi la scossa ellettrica fortiter et suaviter. Anche il Sig. Fonseca (quandom ricorrente a V.a Ecc.za per la dispensa della penitenza) si e ora sottomesso ed oggi ha cominciato la sua penitenza la di lui moglie fu da me dispensata con causa; d'essa non era colpevole essendo stato malata per circa 3 anni, ed essendosi confessata fra quel tempo, ad altre circonstanze di suo merito. Altro non ho a significar Le per ora se non che di avere il piacere di essere un intrepido compabbente nelle Benedittine file, e sotto il saggio di Lui generalate. Le bacio con reverenza la mano; mi creda Della Ecc.za V.a Rev.ma. Umill.mo Ubb.mo Servo F. Felice Zoppi da Cannobbio Kandi 8. Gennajo 1854 Viva N.S. Gesu Christo (Nostro primo galantuomo) Ecc.za Rev.ma Gratissimo ai sentimenti di affezione e di premura inviatimi nella lettera, che ricevo stassera dalla V.a Eccl.za mi affretto a manifestar Le la gratitudine che sento per tanto bene, ed in pari tempo a dichiarare 1'innocenza delle mie passate azioni per assicurarmi vieppiu Pamore e la confidenza del cuore che poco fa mi corresse. II silenzio tenuto sull'apertura della scuola,

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e Maestri impiegativi, non e il sepale di arbitrio nell'esercizio di miei sforzi pel bene della missione affidatomi; ma fu cagionato primieramente perche ebi grandi occupazioni; secondariamente, perche tutto il fatto mi venne dal consiglio di Padre Cingoloni il quale mi disse d'impiegare, ossia di permettere al Van Twest di aprire la scuola a suo carico purche prima facesse le sue faccende di Religione, e mi prometesse ubedienza; il che fu fatto con edificazione degli altri. Feci un obiezione al R.o Padre dicendogle che il Maestro essendo stato licenziato da que di Gattoncina io temevo di incorrere qualche biasimo nel riceverlo come Maestro. La risposta di Gingoloni fu questa: fate, disfate secondo prudenza vostra ed essi vi diranno niente, perche non gli tocchiate il denaro delle cassette. Di piu il R.o Padre stava presente quando accordai il Maestro di aprire la scuola, d'esso ha veduto quando si faceva il pavimento per la scuola maschile; mi sorprende molto come abbia potuto conservare un cosi stretto silenzio, ed una imancesibile dimenticanza di un fatto cosi romoroso; mi sorprende come una persona che sta sempre con V.a Eccell.za mi suggerisca un modo di agire dispiacente alia V.a E. e che non conosca ancora bene come consigliare un missionario nuovo di questi paesi. Alia partenza di P. Cingoloni da Kandy gli aveva raccomandato di informare minutamente V.ra E.a di tutto quanto si stava per fare. Frattantoche io mi davo premura di preparare i luoghi e le moglie con quelPeconomia e sacrificii a cui la poverta della borsa mi obligava. Dalla partenza di P. Cingoloni, all'apertura delle scuole ci passarono 11 giorni tondi, ed in capo, che ci fossero state objezioni, o suggerimenti, supponeva che si sarebbero fatte poiche il tempo ci era da farle. Adungque stanto il suggerimento di Cingoloni fate, disfate; stante 1'orale informazione del R.o Padre, che io supponeva migliore di una lettera; stante il lungo tempo che ci occorse per fare osservazioni servirono sull'oggetto, io procedetti all'apertura delle scuole ed il mio silenzio riposava confidento negli allegati argomenti; finche non avessi avuto un occasione di informare minutamento V.a Ecc.za come e mio uso. Quanto alia scuola delle Ragazze fu provisoria al luogo dove la posi, e credo che V.a Eccell.za mi giudichera di abbastanza criterio per sentire piu che qualche native 1'inconvenienza del loro awicinamento e la delicatezza con cui va trattata. Anzitutto faro osservare a V.a Ecc.za che quando si e poveri bisogna fare dei sacrifizii per tirare avanti qualche impresa. Se io aveva altro locale, od il denaro di pagare il nolo di una casa, anteriormente la scuola delle ragazze sarebbe stato aperta al suo luogo proprio. Per mancanza di mezzi adunque doveva o aprirla provisoriamente nella stanza e corridojo dietro la Chiesa, oppure lasciare 1'impresa. Quest'ultima consequenza, se ammesso, si puo di a pan generalizzare con altre oppure di simil carattere, e divenire assurdo, e distruttiva d'ogni bene. V.a Ecc.za mi fa osservare che se io m'avessi consigliato co Christiani m'avrebbero fatto vedere 1'improprieta del sito. Certamente non ho fatto secondo, ma otto giorni prima di installare i Maestri, significai e mostrai ai capi del paese, che hanno buon senso il luogo, provisorio che io con sacrificio disponevo per la scuola feminile; ed essi nonche disapprovare, lodarono la salubrita e ventilazione del sito specialmente del corridojo dietro la chiesa e manifestarono un grandissimo

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piacere che non fosse la scuola nelle succide scandalose, e pericolose vie di Kandy ma bensi nel largo e sacro recesso della Chiesa, fuori dei pericoli e sotto la sorveglianza di un Maestro, di una Maestra, del Missionario, e del Catechista. Ora pero che V.a Eccell.za graziosamente mi offra di pagare il nolo di una casa a beneficio delle scuole, per mostrarle non solo 1'ubidienza, che e obligo commune ma qualche cosa di piu rispettoso, e pronto nell'eseguimento dei di Lei ordini, stassera stessa ho preso le chiavi di una casa proprio attiqua al muro della Chiesa, ove passero le scuole do maschii, e le Ragazze saranno rimosse alia presente scuola maschile. (1'antica libraria dei soldati). lo voleva porre la scuola feminile sulla strada per eseguire come dice V.a Eccell.za. Ma tutti sono contrarii a quest'opinione, e mi consigliono di rimmovere i Ragazzi alia scuola sulla via, e di porre le Ragazze nella scuola maschile. Ora, Monsignore, come si fa, siamo distant! 72 miglia e non ci possiamo parlare cosi facilmente per combinare queste opinioni. II rimedi ci e, a V.a Ecc.za me lo ha suggerito nelle parole sapientibus et insipientibus debitores sumus. Stando la verita adunque di queste parole, egli e certo che i nostri consigliatori di Kandy sono o sapienti o insipienti; se io adungue avro accettato il loro consiglio sara sapiente, o insipiente (certamente). In tal caso poi se avro errato, mi lagnero con S. Paolo, che il suo consiglio non va bene ne per una via, ne per 1'altra. Quanto ad ascoltare la voce del Pazzo in casa sua purche ne sa piu che il saggio a casa d'altri; mi scusa il significar Le che, o non sono pazzi abbastanza que di mia casa, o il proverbio e falso, perche non ho che a pentirmi di alcuni consigli ricevuti che male riuscirono. Non ostante, per rispetto alia saggezza della Persona che mi fa sowenire il detto antico accetto di consigliarmi col pazzo e di soffrire anche qualche cosa quando il consiglio fallisce. II Soldato Bacchettone 'He is the most fanciful Priest we ever saw' 'How hasty he is in his way'

Sono molto obbligato all V.a Ecc.za per la secreta communicazione dei due testi di complimento al Missionario di Kandy, usciti dal sacco del1'ipocrisia, la quale se sta coperta ed ignota a gente nuova, come io fui, il tempo pero la disvela e manifesta a grande utilita e vantaggio di chi non la conosce, questa moretrice da cuori bujiardi, e che la perseguita, come io, e la vuole morta. Sono poi ancora piu lieto che V.a Ecc.za non da peso alia espressioni di un soldato che porta il collo torto, e che biasima con facilita una persona come 1'altra a seconda del luogo dove si trova. Quantunque non porti il nome dell'autore questo saggio di calunnia, che piu sopra riportai; quantunque si sia dimenticato 1'autore di osare la bella parola likewise per unire le due belle espressioni che onorano il Padre; tuttavia lo stile lo spiono ed accusa. Le suddette parole del soldato sono ambigue nel senso che possono essere prese. Vorrei sapere dell'eloquente calunniatore qual senso intende di dire al Fanciful; cioe, se quello di Imaginative; soldier guided by imagination than reason (Woodward) = oppure 'full of

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wild images' (Hayward). Se al Hasty intende di dare il senso di quick; speedy (Shakespeare). Se passionate; vehement (Prov. XIV.). Se rash precipitate. (Prov. XXIV). Ed in fine se intende significare Early; o ripe come dice Isaia al Capo. XXVIII. Vers. 4. Quasi temporaneum ante maturitatem autumni. - As a hasty fruit before the ripeness of autumn. Se 1'ipocrita per fanciful intende il senso di Mr. Woodward ci dico che gliene ho un saggio della mia fermezza nel negare un certificato bi buona religosa condotta al suo scandaloso ed immeritevole fratello Drummajor, per cui egli, il bacchettone, cui importunava tanto contro la coscienza sua e mia, a scriverlo per ingannare V.ra Eccellenza; in questo caso, adunque ho mostrato conto di essere degno di un aggettivo degno del mio carattere, e di non essere vituperate dalla bocca miserabile di un Agnus Dei falso. Non e cosi!? Se 1'ipocrita per fanciful intende il senso di Mr. Hayward in questo caso militano per me buoni argomenti di fatto. E prima domando del portavento in Ghiesa, attaccato dalla linguaccia, domando se i 45. pledge presi dai soldati dopo che udite le mie prediche sono il frutto di leggerezza, men grave sta?, domando se il battesimo di diversi soldati Europei protestanti, e di diversi nativi sono il frutto di feroccia e di presipitazione? Domando se gli Apostati riconciliati sono il frutto di leggerezza? Domando se piu di 50. antichi e pubblici peccatori che dopo la predica vengono spontanei a cercare una corona ed una croce per inginocchiarsi in chiesa e riparare i loro scandali, sono il frutto di leggerezza o di wild imagination? E via soldataccio ozioso che cerchi sottrarti ai doveri del quartiere per fingere al prete! Ormai sono stance di confutare un ignorante espressione di un grqffia sonti. Questo sentimento pero mando a cognizione di V.a Eccell.za cioe che io avendo piu niente in questo mondo se non che la richezza del buon nome, il primo che osa ingiustamente toccarmelo vedra quanto amaro gli costera la calunnia. A questo non ho mai rinunziato in vita mia nemanco quando quando entrai nudo alia religione di Francesco, e non intendo rinunciare qui, non ostante i privilegi, osi, abusi opinioni o che altro mi allegassero di quest'Isola. Melius est nomen bonum quam unguenta pretiosa. Al consiglo che Vostra Ecc.za mi porge di predicare a braccio in una lingua straniera, e ad un udianza mezza Europea rispondo, che per ora e inesiguibile, lo accetto ma e differita 1'esecuzione fino a tanto che avro in capo una dose di Teologia come V.a E.za ed avromi esercitato in questa lingua per parlarla fluentemente, onde non e accessorio ripetermale piu percionche mi fa comparire un restio; quando realmente non sono capace per ora di eseguire il detto consiglio. Giascuno sa cosa puo spendere delle sue cognizioni ed abilita. E quando Monsignore ha il suo fine della Missione mi sembra che non se debba andare piu innanzi; stantece non e poi una cosa tanto nuova al mondo di leggere la predica. Ci sono di gloriosi ed eloquenti Italiani Missionarii che hanno vent'anni di Missione fra gl'Inglesi, e tuttavia leggono la predica. Dunque non piu meraviglie. Io non sono stato a studiare 1'Inglese nell' Collegio di Propaganda, ne fui due anni ai Collegii d'Inghilterra come alcun indigene fece; percio si esiga meno da me, e V.a Eccel.za s'assicuri sinceramente che mi faro un pregio, una premura di eseguire il consiglio quando saro capace.

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Qui accluso invio la direzione, ossia le Tavole delle distribuzione degli studii se giorni della settimana, per sottoporla alle sagge osservazioni di V.a Ecc.za. Mi dispiace assai che quando fo domandare qualche cosa da Porrey perche io non posso scrivere, si passa sotto silenzio e nemanco ci e detto, se ci e o no 1'oggetto in Colombo. Io alludo alia domanda fatta a Cingoloni dei Catechismi Inglese e dei Ground of faith pure Inglesi che sono neccessarii per la scuola e per la Chiesa. So che nessuno e obbligato a compiacermi nelle mie commissioni; ma pero quando si considera il fine per cui io domando, e alPofFerta fattomi di ricevere le mie comissioni, sembrami che il non dare evasione abbia ambiguo senso. Prima di chiudere ripeto i miei ringraziamenti per quanto V.a Ecc.a mi ha informato, pregandola a degnarsi di farmi sapere al piu presto possibile se le ragioni addotte giustificono abbastanza le mie azioni, o no. Confido che V.a Ecc.za mi favorira presto di un riscontro per mia tranquillita mentre ora le bacio con reverenza 1'anello le chieggo la benedizione. Delia Eccha V.a Ill.ma Umill.mo Servo Fra Felice Zoppi Kandy 13. Marzo 1854 Ecell.za Rev.ma Ricevo oggi a mezzogiorno la gentilissima risposta che V.a Eccel.za mi invia dopo la mia dei 13. e mi soddisfa per quello che mi e detto, e consigliato in essa. Di piu mi incuora il sentire che tutto il dettomi anteriormente era un emonazione del di Lei amoroso cuore e non 1'opera mezzana di qualche linguaccia. Godo sinceramente che I'ammonizione datomi sia una medicina creduta necessaria dalla V.a Eccel.za perl mio naturale veramente vulcanico (ma schietto). Per tutto questo adunque La ringrazio; e se nella mia avessi oltrepassato i limiti della dovuta calma e quietezza intendo ora di domandargliene scusa. La lettera speditomi venuta da Cina, e del P. Feliciani, acclusavi pure una del P. Ambrosi che mi manda la lista degli oggetti commessi per mio ordine. In quella del P. Feliciani vi sono sinceri rispetti ed ossequi per V.a Eccell.za quali io a nome suo rispettosamente le offro. Riguardo al denaro domandato dal P. Ambrosi, si compiaccia pure V.a Ecc.za di farlo spedire unitamente ai scudi 10.50. delle fascie, e piu scudi 45.10 per la mia recente commissione di cui mando una lista a V.a Eccell.za afrinche conosca la parte disponibile per noi Missionarii, e la parte, che per commissione del Band-Master del 37. e di John Mac Auliffe ho fatto venire. Tolta la commissione del Band-Master e caricatole il dovuto prezzo, il resto degli oggetti restino presso di V.a Eccell.za a mio conto, lasciando libero a Monsignore, e a tutti i Missionari Italiani di prendere quello che loro aggrada col rispettivo ammonto. Ci sta una pezza di Gross Cloth di cui 6 yarde vanno al Band-Master, il resto credo che servira molto bene a V.a Eccel.za essendo una qualita molto fresca e di una durata superiore al lino.

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I 4 vasetti di porcellana, e due needle cases desidererei che mi fossero spediti. Consiglio V.a Eccell.za a prendere un paper knife che credo siano belli. Delle fascie una desidererei averla, le altre sono disponibili per gli altri Missionarii: credo che ce ne sia una Paonozzo per V.a Eccell.za. Prego V.a Eccell.za a farmi mandare I'ammonto, della cassa di canfora, e degli oggetti mandatimi dalla prima commissione, unitamente aH'ammonto degli oggetti che domando in questa seconda. Miliani verra giu la settimana ventura, ha trovato un forte dolore di ventre, ma ora sta assai bene. - lo dopo la venuta di Miliani ho miliorato d'assai la mia salute e sto perfettamente; spero che Iddio me la conservera = Mi sono determinato a lasciare in awenire 1'Istruzione serotina della Domenica stanteche ne faccio due alia settimana per i ragazzi ed una cade nella domenica onde credo sia abbastanza. Di piu mi sono indotto a fare questo per aver tempo di studiare la lingua Cingalese che mi e tanto neccessaria ed in che V.a Eccell.za ama molto che m'istruisca. Finora non ho ricevuto i Catechismi = Le scuole per ora vanno avanti con regolarita e soddisfazione — 1'ammonte della cosa non lo so ancora bene, ma certo non passa un pound. II giorno seguente alia ricevuta di Lei prima lettera le ragazze stavano gia traslocato ed io godo piu liberta, e meno fracasso dell'abitazione. La prego a fare i miei complimenti a P. Cingoloni e V.a Eccel.za mi dia la benedizione mentre ho il piacere di essere. Delia Eccell.za V.a 111.ma Umill.mo Ubb.o Servo Era Felice Zoppi Miss. Ap.lico Kandy 17. Marzo 1854 Lista generale della commissione 1 3 3 2 6 8 2 1 1 4 3

Lady work box Paper Knives Cards cases Chinese stick etc. cases Fans Dozen pictures Pairs shoes Dozen Needle cases Pezza di Gross Cloth Vasetti di porcellana Bauli di canfora Nolo ed Imballaggio

$ 5.83.$ 5.™ $ 1.50 $ 1.75 % 1.75 82.$ 1.$ 8.— $ —.60 $ 9.— 8 6.50

Totale

$ 45.10

A questo si aggiungano le spese di Dogana e di commissione, e poi si faccia una distribuzione di prezzo sugli oggetti. I libri che si trovano nelle casse appartengono tutti a me e desidero che mi siano spediti caricandovi la spesa di trasporto.

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Qui dietro ci e la lista degli oggetti commessi per ordine del Band-Master del 37th e che devono essere tolti dalla lista generate; il resto e disponibile per V.a Ecc.za 3 1 2 2

Oggetti da consegnarsi al Band-Master Bauli di Ganfora 6 Needle case Lady work box 2 pair of fancy shoes Card Gases 1 paper knife Fans 6 yards of gross cloth

Ci si otranno cedere anche delle pitture Chinesi se egli ne cerca, ed un Chinese stick etc. (cortello per mangiare) Eccellenza Rever.ma Nel occasione che ardisco indirizzarmi alia V.a Eccell.za per ver sicure notizie dell'importante di Lei salute, ho il piacere di inviarle un argomento di soddisfazione. Questo e il trimestre Riporto, e rendiconto della Scuola Cattolica in Kandy. Spero che soddisfera V.a Eccel.za I'ammonto degli inscritti, ascendendo al No. di 133 oltre all'scuola notturna pe soldati, e pei giovani borghesi. L'instruzione tanto de giovani come delle giovani puo stare a competenza con quelle amministrate nelle scuole del Governo. Fra gli attendenti ve ne sono molti Protestanti di buon rango, ed altri Buddisti, e d'essi sono i meno troublesome, puntuali nel pagare i \orofees, e molto contend dell'educazione che ricevono. Questo e un bel testimonio di preferenza alle altre scuole in cui sono ricevuti senza sborso di denaro. All'opposto trovarsi certi Cattolici di nome che non contenti di mandare i loro figli e figlie all'eretica scuola vanno di casa in casa sussurrando alle buone madri di distorle dalle nostre scuole per un pretesto; o per un altro o creando i piu bei castell' in aria che una lingua feminima puo fare. lo, ed i buoni di Kandy con me speriamo molto nell future successo della Gioventu Kandiana che attende alle Cattoliche Scuole ed e considerata come una nuova base Cattolica su cui si esigera una novella generazione bel allevata, instrutta, e religiosa che conoscendo bene le loro obbligazioni verso il Greatore, se stessi, ed i cittadini porranno termine al scandaloso fraternizare cogli Heretici, mostreranno se stessi esempii di buona morale, ed infine i piu degni e meritevoli di pubblica stima, e di amministrare la cosa pubblica. La Gioventu che ne passati anni ricevette educazione Prostestante e la piu scellerata che io abbia conosciuto, e le di loro opere sono le piu tenebrose e corrotto del mondo = Non ci e da sperare nulla da essi; ed e un abbrobrio per la nostra religione che essi ci siano entrati, e ne portino il nome!!! Non discendo ad alcuna particolarita, ne voglio per ora toccare alcuno de quotidiani miracoli di morale che ci si offrono. Non basterebbe un volume a cio. Di questo e de piu neccessarii rimedii per opporre a tanto invadente corruzione e Protestante credenza ne parleremo os ad os ad opportune occasione. Certa Mill Allen Cattolica intende maritarsi con un Protestante. Io 1'ho indirizzata a V.a Eccellenza per la opportuna dispensa. Per mia parte sono molto averso a questi matrimonii misti che quotidianamente ci offrono argo-

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menti di perversione e di apostasia dalla parte Cattolica = Desidererei avere un prospetto delle condizioni neccessariamente annesse alia dispensa in caso di Matrimonio misto. Prego V.a Eccell.za a degnarsi di informare Cingoloni che ho ricevuto la sua ultima lettera, ma che fino a questo giorno nulla ho ricevuto di quello che mi fu spedito in Aprile cioe vino, libbri, etc. Questo e il motivo per cui ritardo a riscontrargli. La prego de miei complimenti al medesimo, e V.a Eccellenza mentre sto per lasciarla colla penna mi permetto di domandarle la benedizione e di dichiararmi sempre col cuore. Delle Ecell.za V.a Rev.ma Umill.mo servo Fra Felice Zoppi Ap.o Miss.o Kandy 1. Giugno 1854 P.S. L'accluso prospetto e rendiconto dell nostro scuole credo che potrebbe essere prodotte dalla V.a Ecc.za nella riunione del School commission per mostrare il gran numero di cattolici che attendono alia scuola e se sia degno o no di ricevere qualche soccorso pecuniario dal governo. Eccellenza Rev.ma Ricevo oggi con piacere le nuove del di Lei viaggio da Ambopusse fino a Colombo initamente alia notizia della distribuzione delle Missioni, e mentre V.a Eccellenza mi nomina Palleggerimento delle due Chiese di Korugalle e Kaigalle, non mi fa menzione della Chiesa di Mattalle se ancora mi appartenga, o no; poiche nella lettera officiale che ho ricevuto da Caetano Antonio non mi e nominata affatto. lo avendo gia awisato quella Congregazione che saro la a visitarla il giorno 31. corrente; e non avendo piu tempo per domandare e ricevere risposta se ancora appartenga a me o no, e non essendo ancora stata visitata da me nel corso dell'anno perche dovetti portarmi altrove con V.a Ec.za in visita; intendo che possa visitarla ora senza infrangere nessun limite: cosi dopo domani saro a quella Chiesa; e se V.a Ecc.za avra qualche cosa da farmi sapere; anzi sara bene che mi informi sul soggetto; mi favorira dirigere la lettera a Mattalle affinche possa regolarmi ed informare i Christiani di quella Congregazione delle disposizioni prese. La sorella di Daviot colla Madre stanno in Kandy e li ho veduti Domenica in Chiesa. Vedo che sara difficile che mi trovi in Colombo pel 11. o 12. significatomi nella lettera perche il 10. che e Domenica devo essere in Kandy, e non potro lasciare Kandy che il giorno 11. ed arrivero forse il 13. in Colombo. Qui acchiudo la lettera non sigillata ed i rendiconti per Cajetano Antonio, dopo letta e pregata a sigillarla ed inviarla al Suo destine. Per ora la lascio, a riverderci presto; mi ricordi a Dio e mi complimenti agli Italiani, del resto mi credo sempre Della Eccel.za V.a Ill.ma Umill.mo Servidore F. Zoppi Miss. Ap.co

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Kandy 29. Agosto 1854 Eccel.za Rev.ma Invio a Vostra Eccell.za la risposta che ci vien data all supplica avanzata al Governo per ottenere 1'esoneranza di quella servitu che il terreno di Tavolantenno avea. La risposta mi sembra ridicola, e quasi direi non poteva essere piu insulso, percioche ci rimette allo statu quo di prima, o ci rivela che Sua Eccellenza il Governatore o non ha letto, o non ha inteso bene la supplica. Indichi V.a Eccell.za se la risposta ci da abbastanza fiducia per fabbricare o no; ed ai qualsiasi decisione si appligli la prega a farmene awisare al piu resto che le verra a comodo, perche appunto oggi ho qui in casa il benefattore di Tavolontenne che mi importuna per sapere qualche decisione circa al fare, o lasciare. Mi pervenne a notizia che V.a Eccell.za stava incomodata subito dopo la mia partenza da costi: spero che si sara bene ristabilita a quest'ora. Non ho ancora ricevuto il vino che comprai un mese fa a Colombo, cosi che fui privo alcuni giorni ma oggi ne ho comprato qui una dozzina e 1'ho dovuto pagare carissimo. Altro non mi resta che a baciarle 1'anello ed a riverirla distintamente. Delia Ecc.za V.a Rev.ma ed 111.ma F. Zoppi Miss. Ap.o in Kandy Kandy 19. Ottobre 1854 Eccell.za 111.ma e Rev.ma Prima di rispondere al contenuto nella di Lei lettera dei 24. corrente e che mi pervenne il 25. mi scarico del debito di rispondere ad una vecchia dei 23. Ottobre in risposta ad una mia circa la petizione pel terreno di Tavolantenno. In essa mi si cercava la copia della petizione la quale io non ho, piu in essa mi si dice che forse ci saremo espressi male, e che percio sara conveniente ripetere la supplica, ma io mi ricordo chiaramente che ci siamo espressi bene, e bene assai, e che percio non mi sembra ora che siamo a tanta neccessita di obbligarci nuovamente ad umiliarci a persone che apertamente o fanno finta di non intenderci, o intendendoci no ci vogliono graziare. Viene ora la conclusione di fare senza le grazie del Governo e questo era pure il mio primo pensiero, fu secondo ed ora e il terzo; ma poiche nella delta lettera nulla di decisive mi si annunziava, od affidava, percio lasciai 1'opera come stava nella carta ricevuta, e prendero parte attiva quando avro ordini che dissolvino i ceppi dei title deeds da qui ogni tardanza dipende. Dalla stessa lettera compresi che Ambrosi desiderava mie lettere: fu soddisfatto sul principio di questo mese con un letterone di 8. pagine. Vengo alle scuole. Quella delle ragazze sta tuttavia in progresso ed acrescimento quotidiano, anche di ragazze protestanti; all'opposto quella de maschii va declinando ogni giorno per la cattiva condotta dell'uomo de capelli bianchi e per la sua non attendenza e negligente portamento. — Non so quando

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il 15. Reg.to partiro da Kandy; percio non so quando sara vacante il posto per la Maestra. Tuttavia sara bene che V.a Ecc.za avendo persone di confidenza che possono occupare il posto me lo facci sapere in tempo affinche a parenti che mi domanderanno se vi sara scuola ancora per le ragazze posso dar loro evasiva risposta perchee da parte mia ne intendo piu impicciarmi con meastre ne ragazzi ne ragazze ne professori. Mr, Daviot si porta assai bene, e uno posso dirlo, dei migliori della congregazione, sincere Cattolico, e zelante pel trionfo della Religione. Ora e venuto ad abitare vicino a me, stiamo muro a muro di giardino. = Sono stato contento in sentire che ho trattato Van Twest come se lo meritava. II volpone crede che noi siamo in necessita de suoi servigi; ma io le ho fatto dire dal Catechista, che io non ho bisogno di Maestri infedeli, poiche non viene piu alia messa, ed e meglio chiudere bottega presto con onore, che tenerla aperte con disonore, e se i scolari sono mancati attribuisco tutto il danno alia sua ottima condotta. Da due mesi egli non pagava la Maestra come erosi convenuto; ed alcune volte ha osato de raggire per ritenere anche quello che io le davo da dare ad essa; annojato dunque da queste imposture ho separate la scuola delle ragazze dando i venti Scellini alia Maestra, ed il resto se lo busca da se mettendo un tennissimo ^/^ per code una delle ragazze e quando morira la linea maschile nella scuola, saremo sicuri di trovar eredi della scuola Cattolica nella linea e discendenza feminile. — II Presidente ha ricevuto con questa Molle lettera da Renauld egli e Missionario a Kent. = La figlia del Presid.e e moglie del Mahandiram si e sgravata poche ora fa di una ragazza ambidue salve: cresce il popolo di Dio = Betacchini ha mandate lettere a suoi amici qui annunziando che sul finire di questo mese sara a Kandy. Verra da Oriente, o da Occidente, da Settentrione, o da Mezzodi? . . . Io nol'so. — Mi raccomandi nella preghiera e mi creda sempre. Dell Ecc.za V.a Umil.mo servo F. Zoppi Kandy 28. Novembre 1854 Eccel.za Ill.ma e Rev.ma La lettera dei 13. corrente di V.a Eccell.za in riscontro ad una mia mi significa come debba agire riguardo alia futura Chiesa di Tavolandenne: da essa comprendo pure la continuata poca salute di V.a Eccel.za e la passata mallatia del Vescovo Vicario Apostolico, Quanto alia detta Ghiesa al mio passare di cola nella via per Nuwara Ellia, e Badulla che sara sulla fine di Gennajo prossimo, se ci sara denaro abbastanza per cominciare a fare qualche cosa, mi mettero in azione colla economia piu possibile. Quanto alia preziosa salute di V.a Eccell.za mi sorprende che in si lunga cura nulla si abiia trovato ancora per meliorarla. Del Vecchio Monsignore poi avra sentito gia prima che egli era stato visitato da qualche sintomo di Apoplesia. Chi e questo che manda tutti gli accidenti a Gattoncina? Sono gia due in quest'anno che osano disturbare la pace di quell'asilo. La scuola continua, nonostante il Van Twest si sia dismesso da se nell

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ritirarsi dalla scuola diresse la lettera di dismissione a Mr. Pore e non a me. lo lasciai morire tranquillamente I'afFare senza fame motto; ed il giorno seguente Pore prese le redini Universita. La scuola non fu interrotta un giorno; va avanti forse con maggiore opinione, e soddisfazione del popolo: da giorno in poi gli attendenti crebbero in numero. Di Van Twest non mi resto altre, che la memoria di aver tentato di ajutarlo come Cattolico e di essere stato mal corrisposto. Qualche piccola somma di denaro che gli ho prestato a questo fino e pure perduta! Egli e certo che chi riscalda la vipera in sino alia fine resta morsicato. Certo razza di vecchii peccatori devono sempre mostrare i frutti della loro pianta! Riguardo alia school mistress futura non so dove porre le mani per trovarne una buona, tanto e feconda questa terra di cotali oggetti. Tuttavia faro di tutto per concertare le cose bene. L'anno scorso avendo augurato le buone Feste di Natale al Vicario Apostolico e non avendo avuto riscontro, quest'anno mi dispense di scrivergli, si per non tediarlo col latino, e si perche e malinio. Prego pertanto V.a Eccellenza a volersi degnare se lo visita, di presentare i miei augurii di questo vicino Natale. Confido che vorra pure V.a Eccell.za degnarsi di presentare queste mie felicitazioni al Rev. P. Cingoloni, e Manzoni, e Vostra Eccellenza riceva i sinceri voti del mio animo che sono la buona salute e la pace. Delia Eccell. V. Ill.ma e Rev.ma Umill.o Servo F. Zoppi Miss. Ap.o Kandy 22. Dicembre 1854 Eccelha Ill.ma e Rev.ma In atestar Le la ricevuta della lettera 28. Dicembre di V.a Eccell.za passo a significar Le, che non ho potuto subito ne rispondere a quella dei 3. corrente, ne mandare il Title deed perche in questi ultimi giorni sono stato alquanto incomodato, la di cui causa fu la seguente. Stante il Giubileo avea determinato di fare una visita a Kornagalle per incontrarmi col Reverendo di cola. II solo tempo di liberta per me era quello dopo il 1° del corrente Gennajo fino a questi giorni in cui sta per cominciare la novena di S. Sebastiano. Scrissi adunque a quel Padre quattro, o cinque giorni prima della mia partenza da Kandy, che il giorno 2 corrente di sera sarei stato col mio Gatechista a Kornegalle significandole il motivo del mio andare, il Giubileo. Non ricevendo nessun riscontro, e sicuro, che il Rev.do stava in Kornegalle, lasciai Kandy il giorno 2. e con Pore presi la via. Quando mi sono inoltrato circa 7. miglia: ecco uno agangherato Cingalese che si vanta cocco del Padre, mi presenta una lettera, in cui con confuso e cattivo latino il Padre mi dice, che quella mattina stessa egli lasciava Kornagalle per Mirippatte, e che percio non mi dovessi movere. Mi misi le mani sul volto per vergogna del latino e dell'azione: Perciocche avrebbe potuto aspettare fino alia

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sera quando io arrivavo e fatto le nostre cose il giorno seguente avrebbe potuto partire, e per questa dilazione, credo che i furbi di Mirippatte non si sarebbero dannati! Io adunque rimasi nella strada con un sole cocentissimo: ritornare in Kandy a quelPora era peggio, andare avanti era inutile. Smontammo nella casa d'un Gattolico sulla via aspettando la sera per retrocedere vergognosamente. Avevamo provisioni da bocca. II caldo pero essendo eccessivo volli prendere un bapo in una valle. Cio fatto no ebbi piu appetite, e ritornato in Kandy per alcum giorni sul tramontare del sole ho narrate qualche syntomo di febbre, raffreddore ed inappetenza che tuttavia continua. La settimana scorsa il tempo era cattivissimo e cio contribui pure a tenermi incomodato. Cio non impedi le funzioni di Chiesa. Le scuole sono state riaperte oggi, dopo le solite vacanze di Natale, e per essere state riparate, imbiancate, e pulite, poiche il Vecchio le avea lasciate come un obituro ostrogallo. La School Mistress e una figlia di Terkost, la quale alia buona riputazione aggiungere la buone indole tanto neccessaria per ragazze. La ho fatto domandare per mezzo di Daviot colla mira, che egli ne diverebbe il protettore di essa contro la lingua d'elle altre donne, e credo che se occorrera egli e uomo da fare tal officio. Come V.a Eccel.za ha offerto per la Maestra cioe Pound 1.10 al mese, cosi fu convenuto con essa. D'essa ha un assistante ragazza che parla, legge, e scrive bene Inglese e cosi le rende gran servigio: Pore ha 1'insegnamento generale di esse tanto in Inglese che in Cingalese. Don Domingo, e sua moglie assicurarono di man dare il loro figlio maggiore; di piu quando le classe saranno ben formate Don Domingo promise di dare una lezione alia settimana; di Storia, o di Geografia, il che avrei fatto io se non avessi molteplici cose di piu importante. Pore mi dice che ha bisogno un nuovo registro per i Battesimi. Prego dunque V. a. Eccel. za che alia favorevole occasione ne faccia motto in Cattoncina a que Rev. di Curialisti. L'instituzione dei tre capi-popolo per i Malabari e una fonte di moralita per essi, di ajuto per me, e di vantaggio pecuniario per la Chiesa. Mold concubinati sono stati ridotti a Matrimonio, mold peccatori a penitenza e confessione, molte lid e dissensioni soppresse. Essi penetrono in ogni angolo della citta, e se qualche cosa trovano degno di censura tra i loro, si riuniscono tutti i cocchi, i muratori ed i codicare nella scuola e passono la sentenza sopra del reo, ed il reo a quella ci sta; e quindi viene generalmente tassato in una mezza dozzina di candele per la Chiesa, o in moneta per la riparazione dei tetti che essi si sono obbligati di mantenere; Questo punimento e solo per le piccole offese come per aver rifiutato, o prevenuto un altro di andare a mangiare una loro cena di riso, o per qualche altra piccola rampagna, o mal umore. I delitti contro la disciplina della Chiesa sono puniti da me. P. Renauld neU'ultima volta scrisse a Stratford, a Jayatileke, ed a Pore. Mando pure una cassa con religiosi oggetti per diverse persone di Kandy, e mando pure qualche ornamento per la Chiesa di Kandy e Kaigalle. La cassa non e ancora arrivata in Kandy.

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Una porzione del 15th Reg. ha disceso queste montagne, 1'altre porzione discendera domani. Dicono che vanno at home'., ma e piuttosto probabile che vadono al macello di Crimea: essi partono indiferenti come ci sono venuti. La moglie di O'Neil andra in Inghiltera con una privata famiglia (Mr. Tiller) a buone e vantaggiose condizioni. D'essa e assai fortunata in quest'occasione; pero lo merita. Nel chiudere questa mia la prego a presentare i miei complimenti ai R.R.P.P., e a ricevere i miei sentimenti del piu profondo rispetto. Delia Eccel. za V. a 111. ma Rev. ma. F. Zoppi Miss. Aplco Kandy 8. Gennajo 1855 P.S. Spedisco pure il Title deed di Tavolantenne con quest'occasione. Galle 30. Settembre 1856 Eccellenza 111. ma e Rev. ma Mi e pervenuta la pregiatissima dei 24 Giugno che V. a. Eccel. za mi scrisse da Roma alia quale ora rispondo. E giusto il rinprovero che V.E. mi fa di non averla ringraziata prima d'ora per 1'incomodo che si prese in spedirmi il calice. Io non seppi mai in quale Gitta di Romagno V.E. fose riparata: Don Lione nulla mi disse; io percio dilazionai sempre a scrivere e mandarle que dovuti ringraziamenti che per ora intendo offerire sinceramente all V. Ecc. Non lo sorprendera se le annunzio che in conseguenza della mia liete deteriorate, e dopo essermi, fatto visitare da due medici essi mi hanno consigliato fortemente a restituirmi nell'aria nativa senza dilazione per i sintomi vicini, che essi trovano di una nuova crisi di mat di fegato da cui essi dicono che non ne scamperei, per trovarsi ora molto indebolito il mio sangue stante la dimora di 6 anni sotto il clima tropicale, e 1'antecedente malatia avuta in Cina. Ne ho fatto di cio rappresentanza al Vicario Apost. in persona ed egli dietro la dichiarazione de Medici mi accordo il permesso di portami in Europa, su di che ne ho gia informato il Cardinal Prefetto di Propaganda. Spero che V. Ecc. za vorra accettare di buona Volonta quelle fatiche che io con buona intenzione ho interapreso durante questi tre anni, tanto pel miglioramente Spirituale che temporale delPaffidatomi Missione Centrale, e che vorra bandire dall'ammo quelle oppressioni che le rappresentono scismi etc. etc. Puo restare sicura che la Missione e ben cente volte migliorata sotto ogni rapporto dal tempo in che ci incominciai ad amministrarla; e ad eccezione di quattro o cinque schiume malvagi, di cui ogni Congregazione ha le sue, il resto marcia bene. La placera ora di vedere ramministrazione Spirituale e temporale di quest'anno. Ella e come segue: Battesimi di adulti Protestanti nativi No. 11 — Budisti adulti 13. — Europei adulti Protestanti 3 cioe una Signora Inglese, una Signora Scozese, ed un Piantatore Scozese = Cinesi adulti une colla

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sua moglie e tre figli = Parvoli fine all'etta di 10. anni No. 159 = Confessioni No. 1900 circa = Communioni 300 circa = Matrimonii solennizati No. 45 = Idem ratificati 1 = Morti No. 85 circa = Ghiese amministrate Nr. 10 = Populaz. totale 2790. = Una di questi chiese e di nuova data e conta gia quasi 100 membri nel distretto di Kotmales. I cristiani hanno comprato e circondato di siepe il terreno fatto il title deed, eretta una provisoria capella ove gia celebrai Messa piu volte, e poi si fece una soscrizione per 1'erezione di un bella Ghiesuola che col tempo si fara e di cui ho gia messa la prima pietra con gran festa di que cattolici. La soscrizione in pochi giorni oltrepasso Pound 120. Questo locale e distante da Kandy circa 25 miglia. In Nuwara Ellia ho ottenute dal Governo un bel terreno sul . . . oltre a cio Pound 50, per riparare la chiesa e casa di cola. Matalle ha finita la casa del Missionario tutta di mattoni ed altri utili lavori che in tutta costo quasi Pound 40 qual denaro io ricattai un po di qua e di la mediante soscrizioni e cassette. II rendiconto temporale di Kandy in quest'anno ammonta Pound 70.10.6. Io partiro quando ritorna P. Fernando da Colombo ove ando a cambiare aria, e di cui faccio le veci da lungo tempo per Ordine dell Vicario Apost. Spero che V. Ecc. goda buona salute, e con questa speranza, e col piu profondo rispetto conchiudo con baciar Le riverentamente Panello. Delia Eccel. za V. 111. ma Rev. ma Umill. mo Servo F. Felice Zoppt Mis. Apo. V. A GLOSSARY Ambopusse: a place called today Ambepussa close to Kegalla. Cfr. The Ceylon Catholic Directory 1958, Colombo 1958, 20. Ambrosi: most probably a missionary in China. Betacchini, Orazio: an Oratoran, coadjutor of the Vicar Apostolic of Ceylon 1846-1849, Vicar Apostolic of Jaffna 1849-1857. Cfr. R. Boudens, Catholic Missionaries in a British Colony, successes and failures in Ceylon 1796-1893, Immensee 1979, passim. Bravi, Giuseppe Maria: a Silvestrine, Vicar Apostolic of Colombo 1857-1860. Cfr. Boudens, op. cit., passim. He was Coadjutor: 1849-1857. Cassinelli: an Italian priest who served in Sri Lanka from 1847-1853. Cfr. Boudens, op. cit., 46. Cattoncina: may be Kotahena, a part of Colombo. Cingolani, Leone: a Silvestrine from Italy. Arrived in Sri Lanka about 1848 and left for his native land in 1880. Served also in Kandy. Cfr. Boudens, op. cit., 50, 71, 102. Daviot, Mr.: may have been a teacher. Feliciani: most probably a missionary in China. Kaigalk: today Kegalla. Cfr. The Ceylon Catholic Directory, 20. Korugalle: also called Kornagalle and Kornegalle: today Kurunegala. Cfr. The Ceylon Catholic Directory, 24. Kotmales: a district 25 miles from Kandy. Manzoni: an Italian missionary in Sri Lanka, but nothing is known about him. Mattalle: today Matale. Cfr. The Ceylon Catholic Direcotry, 16.

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Miliani, Emiliano: an Italian Silvestrine who lived from 1820-1869. He was for example a parish priest in Negombo. Cfr. Boudens, op. tit., 70. Mirippatte: may be a place called today Miriswatte, near Gampaha. Cfr. The Ceylon Catholic Directory, 19. Nuwara Ellia: a place called today Nuwara Eliya. Oruna: Freilano, a Spanisch Cistercian, who served in Sri Lanka from 1843-1869. Cfr. Boudens, op. tit., passim, especially 44. Porrey: A schoolmaster and sacristan in Kandy. He may be Paul Stephen Poorey born Grandpass, Colombo 1824. He died at Jaffna 1861. Cfr. Boudens, op. tit., 81. and: E. Paris, Sri Lanka's first Oblate Paules Stephen Poorey, Maggona 1975. Renauld Mgr.: is most probably Andre Reinaud a former Oblate Father, labouring as a priest in Sri Lanka. Cfr. Boudens, op. tit., 43. In one of the Zoppi letters he is called a predecessor at Kandy. Tavolantenno: Tawalantenne, a place close to Nuwara Eliya. Cfr. The Ceylon Catholic Directory, 16. Van Twest a teacher in Kandy. Vescovo di Usula: Mgr. Gaetano Antonio, an Oratorian. He was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Ceylon in 1843, and became Vicar Apostolic of Colombo in 1849 till his death in 1857. Cfr. Boudens, op. tit., passim under Mulsuce, especially 64. The Ceylon Catholic Directory, 2.

PART SIX

VARIOUS STUDIES ON INDIA, TURKEY, COCHINCHINE AND TIBET

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INDIEN IM BLICKWINKEL EUROPAlSCHER MISSIONARE*

Die ersten europaischen Missionare, die mit Indien in Beriihrung kamen, hatten meistens nie die Absicht, sich niederzulassen. Um 1290/1291 riickte Indien zum ersten Mai in den Blickwinkel eines europaischen Missionars. Wir werden die mittelalterliche Periode kurz behandeln. Man konnte diese Begegnung die Vorgeschichte nennen. Eine zweite Periode begann 1498, als Vasco da Gama den Seeweg nach Indien offhete. Ein Neuanfang wurde irn neunzehnten Jahrhundert gemacht, und diese Periode dauert bis heute. Nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg anderte sich der Blickwinkel europaischer Missionare in erheblicher Weise. In diesem Beitrag wird versucht, diese drei Perioden in groBen Ziigen darzustellen und mit einigen Beispielen zu erlautern. 1. DlE MITTELALTERLIGHE VORGESCHICHTE

Es gab bereits Missionare in Indien seit den ersten Jahrhunderten der Zeitenwende, aber diese waren keine Europaer. Sie kamen aus dem damaligen Persien und haben die Kirchengemeinschaften der Thomas-Christen in Siid-Indien gegriindet.1 Auch im Mittelalter gab es Missionare in Indien, und diesmal waren sie Europaer. Johannes von Monte Corvino O.F.M., Griinder der katholischen Kirche in Beijing — China, war wahrend seiner Reise nach Ost-Asien dreizehn Monate in Quilon und in Madras (zwischen 1291 und 1293). Sein Reisegefahrte, Nikolaus von Pistoia O.P., starb in Madras und wurde dort beerdigt. Wir wissen nicht, welche Arbeit Johannes von Monte Corvino in Indien geleistet hat, abgesehen von einigen Taufen, die er spendete. Von Mylapore (Madras) schrieb er einen ausfuhrlichen * First published in: ^eitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschaft 81 (St. Ottilien 1997), Heft 2, pp. 113-124. 1 John England, The hidden history of Christianity in Asia, the Churches of the East before 1500, Delhi and Hong Kong 1996, 59-68. Leslie Brown, The Indian Christians of St. Thomas, an account of the ancient Syrian Church of Malabar, Cambridge, 19822. James Aerthayil C.M.I., The spiritual heritage of the St. Thomas Christians, Bangalore 1982. Samuel Hugh Moffett, A history of Christianity in Asia, Volume I: beginnings to 1500, San Francisco 1992, 265-271.

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Brief (um 1292/93), der den ersten Bericht iiber Siid-Indien aus der Feder eines Europaers enthalt. Er beschreibt die exotische Flora des Landes, besonders die Gewiirze, und er erwahnt indische Brauche wie: Schreiben auf Palrnblattern, die Leichenverbrennung, das Essen mit den Handen wie die Schweine, die Verehrung der Kiihe und die Anbetung unzahliger Idole. Die indische Kultur stand ihm fern.2 Jordan Catalani O.P. kam zusammen mit vier Franziskanern wahrend seiner Reise nach China 1321 in Thana (in der Gegend von Bombay-Mumbay) an. Dort wurden die vier Franziskaner von den Muslimen getotet, weil sie die Religion des Islam und den Propheten Muhammad verurteilten. Jordan war auf einer Reise und blieb allein zuriick. Er arbeitete in der Umgebung von Thana und taufte 130 Personen. Einige Jahre spater siedelte er nach Quilon in Siid-Indien iiber. Jordan reise 1329 nach Avignon und wurde von Papst Johannes XXII. zum Bischof von Quilon ernannt. Noch im selben Jahr wurde er konsekriert und war 1330 noch in Europa. Dann verschwand er spurlos! Jordans Sicht Indiens war optimistisch: Er lobt die Toleranz der Inder und versichert seinen Mitbriidern, dass in Surat, Broach, Quilon und in vielen anderen Stadten fruchtbare Arbeit geleistet werden kann. Tatsachlich erreichten mehrere Dominikaner Indien, aber iiber ihre Arbeit wissen wir wenig.3 Es gab noch einige Franziskaner, die auf der Hin- oder Riickreise nach China Indien besuchten. Odoricus von Pordenone O.F.M. kam 1321 in Thana bei Bombay an. Er nahm die Gebeine der vier Ordensbriider, die den Martyrertod gestorben waren, an sich und brachte sie in eins der zwei Kloster seiner Mitbriider in Zayton (Quanzhou) in Siid-China. Er folgte dem Seeweg nach Calicut, Cranganore, Quilon und Mylapore bei Madras. In seinem Reisebericht beschreibt er religios-ekstatische Praktiken, die heute noch bei verschiedenen hinduistischen Tempelfesten zu beobachten sind. Der Ochse wird als Gott verehrt, und die Verbrennung der Witwe zusam2 Anastasius van den Wyngaert O.F.M., Sinica Franciscana, Vol. I, Quaracchi 1929, 340-345. Gaspare Han O.F.M., Giovanni da Montecorvino, fondatore della Chiesa Cattolica in Cina, Roma 1996, 33-34. 3 WJ. Lodding O.P., Die schwarz-weifle Legion. Missionsgeschichte des Dominikanerordens, Koln 1974, 49, 60-68. Stephen Neill, A history of Christianity in India, Vol. I: The Beginnings to A.D. 1707, Cambridge 1984, 72-74. A. Camps O.F.M., "Cathala(ni) Jordan O.P.", in: LJThK II, Freiburg 31994, Sp. 978. 4 Die Reise des seligen Odorich von Pordenone nach Indien und China (1314/18^1330), ubersetzt, eingeleitet und erlautert von Folkert Reichert, Heidelberg 1987, 34-58. A. van den Wyngaert, a.a.O., 378-495.

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men mit ihrem verstorbenen Manne 1st ihm bekannt. Odoricus war nur voriibergehend in Siid-Indien und hat nicht versucht, die Kultur Indiens zu verstehen.4 Johannes von Marignolli O.F.M. reiste 1339-1342 mit etwa fiinfzig Mitbriidern auf dem Landweg nach China. 1345 entschloss er sich, nach Europa zuriickzukehren, und zwar auf dem Seeweg. Im Marz 1346 war er in Quilon, wo er als Bischof von den ThomasChristen gut empfangen wurde. Er besuchte Kap Comorin, und nach dem Juli 1347 verreiste er nach Sumatera und Sri Lanka. 1348 war er in Mylapore. Um 1349/50 kehrte er nach Europa zuriick. Sechzehn Monate hatte er in Indien verbracht. Im Gegensatz zu den anderen Franziskanern, die in Indien waren, war das Verhaltnis zwischen Johannes von Marignolli und den Thomas-Christen auBerst positiv. Er nennt sie nie Haretiker oder Schismatiker. Uber Indien selbst horen wir recht wenig.0 Man darf behaupten, dass vor 1500 europaische Missionare Indien keine besondere Aufmerksamkeit gewidmet haben. Die Geschichte der Begegnung zwischen Indien und Europa - missionarisch betrachtet ~ fangt erst 1500 an, als die ersten acht Franziskaner und acht Weltpriester in Indien ankamen. 2. DIE PERIODE VON 1500 BIS ETWA 1800 Als Vasco da Gama den Seeweg von Europa nach Indien geoffnet hatte, kamen zuerst Franziskaner und Weltpriester nach Calicut. Drei Franziskaner wurden in Calicut getotet. Vier von ihnen siedelten nach Cochin liber, und von da an wuchs ihre Zahl. 1523 wurde in Cochin ein Kloster gegriindet. Bis 1835 - als alle religiosen Orden von der portugiesischen Krone aufgehoben wurden - gab es in Indien zwei Provinzen der Franziskaner.6 Welche Sicht Indiens wurde von diesen Franziskanern vertreten? Die Frage ist nicht leicht zu beantworten, weil sowohl in Rom wie auch in Lissabon und in Goa die Archive zerstort wurden. Folgendes kann aus verstreuten Archivakten und aus alteren Historiographien belegt werden. 3 A. Mathias Mundadan, A history of Christianity in India, Vol. I, Bangalore 1984, 120-144. A. van den Wyngaert, a.a.O., 513-560. 6 Achilles Meersman O.F.M., The ancient fmnciscan provinces in India 1500-1835, Bangalore 1971.

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Die Franziskaner waren meistens Vertreter des portugiesischen Padroado-Systems. Ihre Niederlassungen wurden haufig in den Kiistenorten, die von den portugiesischen Behorden verwaltet wurden, gegriindet. Sie betreuten vor allem die Portugiesen und die Mestizen. Die Thomas-Christen wurden von ihnen als katholische Christen betrachtet und mussten deshalb latinisiert werden. Ofters versuchten die Franziskaner, missionarisch tatig zu sein. Da gab es aber Schwierigkeiten mit den Weltpriestern und mit den Portugiesen, die aus wirtschaftlichen und politischen Griinden die Ruhe bewahren wollten. Die Franziskaner beabsichtigten, ihre Kloster fur die Betreuung der Konvertiten zu offnen, aber das wurde nicht immer erlaubt, weil diese missionarischen Aktivitaten in Gebieten, die unter portugiesischer Herrschaft standen, stattfanden. Nur einmal wurde versucht, eine Mission, die weit vom portugiesischen Herrschaftsbereich entfernt war, zu griinden. Das war im GroB-Mogul-Reich, wo die Franziskaner 1623 ankamen. Es waren Pater Manoel Tobias und Bruder Johannes von Nazareth. Am Hofe des Kaisers Jahangir begegneten sie den Jesuiten, die behilflich waren. Aber Johannes ging so offensiv vor in Bezug auf Muhammad und die Religion des Islams, dass er und sein Mitbruder etwa 1626 oder 1627 nach Goa zuriickkehren mussten. Auch Pater Francisco da Madre de Deus O.F.M., zusammen mit zwei Mitbriidern, war 1624 in Agra in der Mogul-Mission. Wir wissen nicht, was genau passierte, aber so viel ist sicher, dass die Propaganda Fide Kongregation in Rom sich spater mit der Frage beschaftigte, ob die Jesuiten daran Schuld waren, dass die Franziskaner die Mission aufgeben mussten.7 - Ich erwahne diese Geschichte, weil sie zeigt, dass die Franziskaner damals wie alle anderen Missionare davon iiberzeugt waren, dass andere Religionen Aberglauben seien und dass die Griinder dieser Religionen falsche Propheten seien. Diese Uberzeugung war von Anfang an vorhanden, aber wahrend etwa vierzigjahren (bis 1543) waren die Portugiesen tolerant. Die Mehrzahl der Einwohner ihrer Niederlassungen waren noch immer Muslime oder Hindus. Nur die offentliche Ausiibung der Religion war verboten. Als um 1543 zwei Weltpriester in Goa anfangen, "alle Tempel und Hauser des 7 A. Meersman, a.a.O., 409-415. A. Camps O.F.M., Franciscan missions to the Mogol Court, NZM 15 (Schoneck - Beckenried 1959), 259-270.

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Aberglaubens" zu zerstoren, war Schluss mit der Toleranz. 1545 gab es in Goa keine Hindu-Tempel mehr.8 - Wahrend der ersten Halfte des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts hatten die Franziskaner und die Weltpriester kein Interesse fur das Studium der Sprachen, Kulturen und Religionen Indiens. Wie C.R. Boxer schrieb: If we compare the situation in Portuguese Asia with that in Spanish America during the first half of the sixteenth century, we find that the Portuguese missionaries were much slower in seriously studying the beliefs and the cultures of those whom they were trying to convert than were their Spanish collegues in New Spain and Peru. Until the Jesuits arrived with new Men and new Methods at Goa in 1542, relatively few missionaries had been sent out from Portugal and they had achieved relatively little. Most of them were Franciscan friars, but they provided no counterparts to the famous 'Twelve Apostles', headed by Fr. Martin de Valencia, O.F.M., who had done so much for the spiritual conquest of Mexico from 1524 onward. As indicated above, neither the pioneer friars nor the secular clergy in Asia for a long time took the trouble to study the sacred Books and the basic religious beliefs of their potential converts, whether Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist, being inclined to dismiss them all out of hand as the works of the Devil.9

So viel ist sicher, dass es etwa nach 1550 notwendig war, gesetzlich einzugreifen und die Beherrschung der Landessprache fiir Pfarrer verpfiichtend vorzuschreiben. Gegen Ende des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts verbesserte sich die Lage, und die Franziskaner in Tamilnad, Goa, Ceylon usw. studierten und sprachen Tamil, Konkani, Singhalese usw. Es wurden Grammatiken geschrieben und Sprachschulen gegriindet. Zwei Franziskaner, Francisco do Oriente und Manoel de S. Mathias, diskutierten mit Hindus, Muslimen und Juden und verfassten Bucher liber die Religion der Hindus. Es gab sogar einige Franziskaner, die mit der Missionsmethode Robert de Nobilis s.j. einverstanden waren. Sie betrachteten bestimmte Hindu-Brauche als nicht religioses, sondern als ziviles Verhalten. Viele Arbeiten dieser Franziskaner sind verlorengegangen, wie die des Francisco Negrao O.F.M. (1570 bis etwa 1634). Er war Historiker, und seine Arbeiten wurden von Pietro della Valle, Queyroz und Paulo da Trinidade O.F.M. ausgiebig verwendet.10 Beachtung verdient Caspar de S. Miguel 8

St. Neill, a.a.O., 129-133. C.R. Boxer, The Church Militant and Iberian Expansion, 1440-1770, Baltimore and London 1978, 49-50. 10 A. Meersman, a.a.O., 78-93. Paulo da Trinidade O.F.M., Conquista espiritual da 9

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O.F.M., der wahrend der ersten Halte des siebzehnten Jahrhunderts in Goa arbeitete und vierzehn Arbeiten iiber "pastoral subjects, Christian doctrine and apologetics; works of poetry, sermons, and linguistic treaties" in der Konkani Sprache schrieb. Seine Arte da Lingoa Canarim, parte 2": Sintaxis Copiosissima na lingoa Bramana e Pollida (A Syntax of Standard Konkani) wurde erst 1967 in Bombay veroffentlicht.'' Uber die missionarische Arbeit der Jesuiten ist viel mehr bekannt geworden. Sehr viele Quellen sind erhalten geblieben, und viele Autoren haben sich damit beschaftigt. Fast fiinfzig Jahre nach Vasco da Gama, im Jahr 1542, kam der erste Jesuit, Franciscus Xavier, nach Indien. Sieben Jahre spater schrieb er seinem General in Rom, Ignatius von Loyola: "In jeder Gegend Indiens, wo Christen leben, kann man einige unserer Patres finden; auf den Molukken gibt es vier, in Malakka zwei, Kap Comorin sechs, in Quilon zwei, in Bassein zwei, in Socotra vier, in Goa eine viel gro'Bere Zahl."12 Es ist unmoglich, hier die ganze Geschichte der Jesuiten von 1542 bis 1773, dem Jahr der Aufhebung, durchzugehen, um ihre Sicht Indiens zu beschreiben. Ich beschranke mich auf einige sehr wichtige Tatsachen. Franz Xavers Beispiel in Japan folgend haben seine Mitbriider in Indien zweimal die Grenze Portugiesisch-Indiens iiberschritten, weil auch sie bevorzugten, im echten Indien missionarisch tatig zu sein. Es geht hier um die GroBmogul-Mission und um die Arbeit Roberto de Nobilis. Die erste Mogulmission wurde 1580 von Rudolf Aquaviva s.j. begonnen und endete 1583. Eine zweite Mission dauerte nur einige Monate des Jahres 1591. Die dritte Mission wurde 1595 von Hieronymus Xavier s.j. gegriindet und dauerte bis 1803, als der letzte Jesuit, Franciscus Wendel, starb. Es ist schade, dass diese MogulMission so wenig von Historikem, wie z.B. Klaus Wetzel, beachtet wird.13 Auch Dauril Alden hat die Bedeutung dieser Mission nicht verstanden.14 Doch ist sie wichtig. Nicht, weil viele Einwohner des Oriente, Lisboa 1962. F. Felix Lopes O.F.M., Os Franciscanos do Oriente Portugues de 1584 a 1590, Studia no. 9 (Lisboa 1962), 29-142. 11 Jose Pereira, Journal of the University of Bombay 36 (New Series Bombay 1967) part 2, X und 155 S. Zitat: 10. 12 Georg Schurhammer s.j., "Franz Xaver, sein Leben und seine Zeit", Bd. II Asien (1541-1549), zweiter Halbband: Indien und Indonesien 1547-1549, Freiburg 1971, 379. 13 Klaus Wetzel, Kirchengeschichte Asiens, Wuppertal und Zurich 1995. 14 Dauril Anden, The making of an enterprise, the Society of Jesus in Portugal, its empire, and beyond, 1540-1750, Stanford 1996, 52.

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GroBmogul-Reiches bekehrt wurden, und sicher nicht, well die Kaiser Akbar und Jahangir Christen wurden. Das war nicht der Fall. Aber im Norden Indiens begegneten die Missionare endlich mal dem echten Indien. Da war die portugiesische Sprache nutzlos, Persisch und Hindistani waren Hofsprache und Volkssprache. Hier wurden die Missionare gezwungen, die Religionen, besonders den Islam und den Hinduismus, zu studieren und sich mit diesen auseinanderzusetzen. Zwei Jesuiten waren hervorragend. Hieronymus Xavier ermoglichte seinen Mitbriidern, eine neue und realistischere Sicht Indiens zu entwickeln, weil er die Instrumente einer neuen Missionsmethode schuf. Auf Persisch verfasste er ein Leben Jesu, das Leben der zwolf Apostel, das Leben des heiligen Petrus, einen ausfuhrlichen Dialog mit Hindus und Muslimen, eine Ubersetzung der Psalmen, ein Buch iiber die Pflichten der Konige, Katechismen und Ubersetzungen einiger klassischer Philosophen. Von ihm stammt eine portugiesische Ubertragung des Korans. Es ist bemerkenswert, dass diese riesige Arbeit in einer relativ kurzen Zeit von einer Person geleistet wurde. Im portugiesischen Indien hatten seine Mitbriider wahrend der vergangenen sechzig Jahre dies nicht geleistet. AuBerdem entwickelte er eine neue Methode des Vergleichs der Religionen. Hieronymus Xavier entdeckte, dass Gott sich graduell oder stufenweise oflfenbart in der langen Geschichte der Menschheit mit Gott. Gott offenbart sich auf immer vollkommenere Weise, und er offenbart sich alien Menschen! Das bedeutet, dass andere Religionen nicht ganz und gar falsch sein konnen und dass es eine gegenseitige Offhung gibt. Xavier ist davon iiberzeugt, dass Gott sich am tiefsten in Jesus von Nazareth offenbart und dass es in den Religionen Sachen gibt, die kritisiert werden miissen, aber er redet nicht mehr von Aberglauben. So entstand eine damals ganz neue Sicht der indischen Religionen und Kulturen.15 Der andere Jesuit, der hervorragend war, war Heinrich Roth s.j. aus Dillingen. Er arbeitete in Nord-Indien, wo er 1668 starb. Er hatte eingesehen, dass die iibergroBe Mehrheit der Einwohner nicht Muslime, sondern Hindus waren. Um diese neue Sicht Indiens in die Tat umzusetzen, lernte er die heilige Sanskrit-Sprache, schrieb als erster Europaer eine Sanskrit-Grammatik und sammelte einige 15 Arnulf Camps O.F.M., Jerome Xavier S.J. and the Muslims of the Mogul Empire, Controversial works and missionary activity, Supplementa der Neuen Zeitschrift fiir Missionswissenschaft, Bd. 6 (Schoneck - Beckenried 1957). St. Neill, a.a.O., 166-190, 259-269. Khalid Anis Ahmed (ed.), Intercultural encounter in Mughal Miniatures (MughalChristian miniatures), Lahore 1995.

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beriihmte Sanskrit-Texte, die er glossierte. 1660 beendete er diese Arbeit, die eine Wende in der Missionsgeschichte Nord-Indiens einlautete.16 Eine zweite politisch-religiose Grenziiberschreitung wurde von Roberto de Nobili s.j. (1577-1656) gemacht. Er war in der siid-indischen Madurai Mission tatig und nicht in den portugiesischen Niederlassungen an der Kliste. Seines Erachtens waren die Brahmanen die wichtigsten Personen in der Hindu-Gesellschaft. Robert war davon iiberzeugt, dass ihr Ubertritt zum Christentum die Bekehrung der Massen zur Folge haben wiirde. Auch er studierte die heilige SanskritSprache, las die heiligen Biicher der Hindus, kleidete sich und lebte wie ein Sannyasi. Aggressive Methoden wandte er nicht an, weil er meinte, dass Argumente und Beweise Menschen bekehren und nicht Gewalt und Bedrohungen. Brahmanen sollten Christen werden, ohne aufzuhoren, Brahmanen zu sein. Diese wichtige Akkommodationsmethode blieb nicht ohne Schwierigkeiten. Mitbriider, andere Missionare sowie weltliche und kirchliche Verwalter beschaftigten sich mit der Frage, ob so nicht die niedrigen Kasten der Gesellschaft diskriminiert wiirden, ob nicht aberglaubische Elemente in das Christentum hineinkamen und ob diese Methode nicht mit dem Evangelium in Widerspruch geriet. Er verteidigte sich gegen Anklagen und war ofters im Gefangnis, aber nie gab er seine Methode auf. 1645 wurde er nach Jaffna in Sri Lanka versetzt, und gliicklicherweise konnten andere Jesuiten seine Arbeit weiterfuhren. 17 Neill wiirdigte die Arbeit de Nobilis in dieser Weise: The courage with which he faced adversity of many kinds cannot but call out our admiration. The adventurous spirit in which he pioneered new ways of living and studying and proclaiming the Gospel in Indian terms marks him out as one of the great missionaries of all times. Yet his memory is not served by pretending that he was other than he was - great at many points, but at others falling short of the stature the Master whom he so intensely desired to serve.18

Ich hoffe, am Beispiel der Aktivitaten der Franziskaner und Jesuiten gezeigt zu haben, wie die Sicht Indiens wahrend des sechzehnten und siebzehnten Jahrhunderts sich vielfaltig gestaltet hat. Das achtzehnte lh Arnulf Camps O.F.M., and Jean-Claude Muller, The Sanskrit grammar and manuscripts of father Heinrich Roth S.J. (1620-1668), Leiden 1988. '' His star in the East, by Fr. A. Sauliere s.j., revised by Fr. S. Rajamanarickam s.j., Madras 1995. 18 St. Neill, a.a.O., 300.

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Jahrhundert ist ganz anders. Die Macht Portugals ging nieder, die protestantische Mission begann, die Hollander, Franzosen, Danen und Englander eroberten wichtige Handelsposten entlang der Kiiste Indiens. Das Reich der GroBmoguls wurde immer kleiner und unbedeutsamer. Der Ritenstreit in Siid-Indien (Malabar) wurde 1744 beendet mittels eines endgiiltigen Verbots dieser Riten. 1759 wurde der Jesuitenorden in Portugal verboten. Die Teilung in zwei Jurisdiktionen - die des portugiesischen Patronats und die der Propaganda Fide Kongregation - behinderte eine friedliche Missionierung. Dazu kam die Franzosische Revolution, so dass von Frankreich aus bis zum Ende der Revolutionsara keine Missionare ausgesandt werden konnten. Napoleon Bonaparte hob die Propaganda Fide Kongregation auf (1795). Die Sicht Indiens triibte sich.19 3. NEUANFANG IM 19. JAHRHUNDERT BIS HEUTE 1815 waren in Indien auBerhalb der vier portugiesischen Diozesen etwa zwanzig Missionare. Portugal war nicht in der Lage, finanziell oder personell zu helfen. Die vier Diozesen Goa, Cranganore, Mylapore und Cochin waren bis 1843 durchweg vakant. Doch beanspruchte Portugal das Patronat liber die ganze Kirche Indiens. Papst Gregor XVI. griff ein und hob drei Bistiimer auf. Die Jurisdiktion Goas wurde auf die von Portugiesen beherrschten Gebiete beschrankt (1838). Apostolische Vikariate wurden von der Propaganda Fide Kongregation iiberall gegriindet, aber diese wurden von Portugal und von England nicht anerkannt. So entstand das goanesische Schisma (1838/1858/1886), das von Papst Leo XIII. gelost wurde. Er errichtete die ordentliche Hierarchic mit sieben Kirchenprovinzen. Das Erzbistum Goa wurde zum Patriarchat erhoben, und zwei der drei portugiesischen Bistiimer wurden wieder errichtet. Fur diese wurde eine Doppeljurisdiktion geschaffen. 1887 wurde die Hierarchic fur die malabarischen Kirchen errichtet, und diese wurde der Kongregation fur Orientalische Kirchen in Rom unterstellt.20 Es versteht sich, dass die europaischen Missionare im neunzehnten Jahrhundert nach Indien schauten als nach einem Land, das — kirchlich betrachtet - problematisch war und neu organisiert werden 19

1985, 20

Stephen Neill, A history of Christianity in India. Vol. II: 1707-1858, Cambridge 1~155. Gita Dharampal, La religion des Malabars, Immensee 1982. Kl. Wetzel, a.a.O., 367-369.

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musste. Ein gutes Beispiel dieser Geisteshaltung war die Tatigkeit des Bischofs Anastasius Hartmann O.F.M. GAP. (1803-1866). Er war Apostolischer Vikar in Patna und in Bombay. Als er 1846 zum ersten Apostolischen Vikar von Patna in Nord-Indien ernannt wurde, hatte er vier Priester als Mitarbeiter und 3000 Katholiken. Er trug die Verantwortung fur rund 35 Millionen Menschen. Mit der Organisation seiner Kirche war er vollig beschaftigt: Schulen fur katholische Kinder wurden gebaut, Schwestern wurden eingesetzt, ein Katechismus auf Urdu wurde verfasst, eine christliche Terminologie auf Urdu wurde geschaffen, und das Neue Testament wurde auf Urdu iibersetzt (1864 erschienen). In Bombay hatte er vollauf zu tun mit dem Konflikt zwischen den Patronat- und Propaganda-Parteien, mit der Verteidigung der Katholiken und mit dem Heranziehen der Jesuiten, die in Bombay ein Kollegium griindeten und in Bandora ein Priesterseminar. Walbert Buhlmarnn schrieb: Im iibrigen aber muBte er erkennen, wie ungeheuer schwer es halt, echte Hindus und Mohammedaner aus dem Block ihrer religios-sozialen Gemeinschaft herauszubrechen und zu Christen zu machen. Bis heute hat die Indien-Mission den GroBteil ihrer sechs Millionen Katholiken mit Ausnahme der Goanesen und der altsyrischen Christen aus den niederen Kasten gewonnen, aber den eigentlichen Block des Hinduismus oder des Islams noch nicht erschlossen. So muBte Anastasius bis ans Ende seines Lebens den Zwiespalt mit sich tragen, im innersten Herzen Missionar zu sein und doch wegen der vielfaltigen Verpflichtungen nicht im gewlinschten MaB missionarisch wirken zu konnen, die Millionenmassen in den indischen FluBtalern und Stadten zu sehen, ohne mit seiner Botschaft an sie heranzukommen.21

Die Missionare des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts hatten eine traurige Sicht Indiens. Aber in guter Zusammenarbeit mit der Propaganda Fide Kongregation in Rom haben sie eine bessere Zukunft vorbereitet. Ein eminenter Gelehrter und hervorragender Missionar, Abbe Jean Antoine Dubois, M.E.P. (1765-1848), hat wesentliches dazu beigetragen. Er arbeitete in der Mysore-Region Siid-Indiens wahrend einunddreiBig Jahren im Geiste Roberto de Nobilis als Gelehrter und Missionar. In seiner Hauptarbeit iiber Indien schrieb er: During the long period that I remained among the natives, I made it my constant rule to live as they did, conforming exactly in all things to -' Walbert Biihlmann O.F.M. CAP., Pionier der Einheit, Bischof Anastasius Hartmann, Zurich 1966, 158-159. Augustine Kanjamala S.V.D., Integral Aiission Dynamics, an interdisciplinary study of Catholic Church in India, New Delhi 1996, 148-155.

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their manners, to their style of living and clothing, and even to most of their prejudices. In this way I became quite familiar wilth the various tribes, that compose the Indian nation, and acquired the confidence of those whose aid was most necessary for the purpose of my work. My great object was to gain authentic information.22 Though some Europeans have been in possession of regular and permanent establishment amongst the people of India for more than three hundred years, it is wonderful to observe how little authentic information they have collected respecting the various nations which inhabit that vast region.23

Die groBe Arbeit Dubois wurde irn neunzehnten und im zwanzigsten Jahrhundert ofters iibersetzt, neu aufgelegt und iiberarbeitet. Seine Sicht Indiens war wissenschaftlich verantwortet und hat Generationen von Missionaren geholfen, Indien und die Inder zu verstehen. Im zwanzigsten Jahrhundert werden die Friichte dieser Vorarbeiten geerntet. Ich beschranke mich auf drei beispielhafte Personen. 1928 vereinbarten Portugal und der Papstliche Heilige Stuhl, dass der Bischof von Bombay wechselweise die portugiesische oder die englische Staatsangehorigkeit besitzen sollte. Der Erzbischof und Englander, Thomas Robert s.j., wurde 1937 ernannt. Plattner schrieb, dass er "an altruistic English Jesuit" w7ar.24 Bombay war den Jesuiten anvertraut, aber die Zeit drangte, die Diozese dem indischen Klerus abzutreten. Roberts hatte verstanden, dass die englische Herrschaft in Indien fast am Ende war. Auf unauffallige Weise legte er die Eigentumsrechte fest, so dass ganz klar war, was den Jesuiten und was der Erzdiozese gehorte. 1945 waren fast alle einundachtzig Pfarreien in den Handen der indischen Weltpriester. Die Jesuiten arbeiteten in Schulen und in Missionsposten im Inneren. 1946 wurde ein Weltpriester, Valerian Gracias, zum Hilfsbischof geweiht (nicht Koadjutor). Eiligst wurde Roberts zum Militarbischof ernannt, so dass er de facto die Administration seiner Diozese dem Hilfsbischof iiberlassen konnte. Dies passierte vor der Proklamation der Unabhangigkeit Indiens 1947. Die indische Regierung iibte Druck auf Portugal und den Heiligen Stuhl und verlangte auch in dieser Sache Freiheit. Msgr. Roberts dankte sofort und freiwillig ab und verreiste nach England. 1950 22 Abbe J.A. Dubois, Description of the character, manners, and customs of the people of India; and of their institutions, religious and civil, London 1817, XV. Fr. Anthony Simo, History of the Archdiocese of Bangalore, Vol. I, Bangalore 1992, 26-32.

23 24

J.A. Dubois, a.a.O., XI.

Felix Alfred Plattner, The Catholic Church in India: yesterday und today, Allahabad 1964, 74-75. Deutsch: Die Kirche unter den Volkem: Indien, Mainz 1963.

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wurde Msgr. Gracias zum Erzbischof ernannt, und 1953 wurde er zum Kardinal kreiert.25 Erzbischof Roberts loste das Problem der Herrschaft Portugals und Englands iiber Bombay. Es war ein anderes Mitglied des Jesuitenordens, Msgr. Oscar Severin, der in der Region von Chota-Nagpur (westlich von Kalkutta) die Kirche unter den Stammesangehorigen einheimisch machte. Die Geschichte der Ranchi-Mission ist das Erfolgsstiick der indischen Mission. Die belgischen Jesuiten haben dort 1877 mit ihrer Arbeit angefangen. Der groBe Missionar war Constant Lievens s.j. (1856—1893). Die Stammesmitglieder wurden gegen die GroBgrundbesitzer, die Raja, und gegen die Englander verteidigt. Es wurden eine Genossenschaftsbank und eine Einkaufsgenossenschaft gegriindet wie auch viele neue Pfarreien und Schulen. Oscar Severin wurde 1934 zum Bischof von Ranchi ernannt. Die Zahl der Katholiken wuchs schnell, und neue Diozesen waren notwendig. Neue Missionare wurden eingesetzt, wie amerikanische Jesuiten, australische Jesuiten und Mitglieder der Gesellschaft des gottlichen Wortes (S.V.D.). Zwischen 1934 und 1955 entstanden aus der Ranchi-Mission zehn weitere Bistiimer, die heutzutage fast alle von 'tribal bishops' geleitet werden. Oscar Severin siedelte 1951 nach Raigarh-Ambikapur iiber und wurde 1957 emeritiert. In der gesamten Chota-Nagpur Mission gab es 1995 fast eine Million Katholiken. Die belgischen Jesuiten und ihre spateren Mithelfer und Mithelferinnen - besonders Oscar Severin — haben in Indien eine Kirche der Armen und der Unterdriickten gegriindet. Eine Kirche, die mit den Prinzipien des Friedens und der Gerechtigkeit arbeitet, eine Kirche, die im Volke und in ihren Kulturen tief verwurzelt ist, eine Kirche, die wahrend eines Jahrhunderts selbstandig wurde. Fast alle Bischofe sind Oraons, Mundas, Santals, Hos oder Kharias. Bis heute hat diese neue Sicht Indiens die Kirche des Landes manchen Kampf gekostet, denn fundamentalistische Hindus sehen mit scheelen Augen, wie die Stammesangehorigen ihre Geschichte und Zukunft in die eigenen Hande nehmen. Die Verteidigung der Rechte der Kastenlosen, 'The Dalit', steht im Vordergrund der indischen Kirche.26

2> A. Mathias Mundadan C.M.I., Indian Christians: search for identity and struggle for autonomy, Bangalore 1984, 154-157. Thomas D. Roberts s.j., From the Bridge, Bombay 1938. Bernhard Josef Wenzel, Portugal und der Heilige Stuhl, Lisboa 1958, 199. 26 Thomas Pothacamury, The Church in independent India, Bombay 1961, 18~27. O.M. Thomas, Bishop Severin S.J., great benefactor of the tribals and champion of freedom of

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Die dritte Person, die die Sicht Indiens der europaischen Missionare gepragt hat, ist Bede Griffiths O.S.B. (1906-1993). Viele Auslander haben versucht, die christliche Religion in Indien zu einer Religion Indiens zu machen: Jules Monchanin, Henri Le Saux, Francis Mahieu u.a. Aber Bede Griffiths war imstande, diese Ashrambewegung auf eine feste Grundlage zu stellen. Er lebte zuerst (ab 1958) im Kurisumala Ashram in Kerala und ab 1968 im Shantivanam in Tamilnad im Sacciddananda Ashram. Von Shantivanam aus wurden eine indische Christologie, Liturgie und eine indische Weise christlicher Gemeinschaft und Kirche-Sein entwickelt. Baukunst, Musik, Gebetsstunden und Lebensweisen sind indisch-christlich. Die heiligen Schriften Indiens werden studiert und meditiert. Mit Hindu Sannyasas wird nicht nur Dialog gehalten, sondern auch Leben geteilt. Man spurt den Einfluss dieser Ashrambewegung in der ganzen katholischen Kirche Indiens. Das Christentum ist einheimisch geworden und nicht langer ein Fremdkorper.27 4. SCHLUSSBEMERKUNGEN

Seit etwas mehr als siebenhundert Jahren haben europaische Missionare in Indien gearbeitet. Die Geschichte dieser westlich-christlichen Prasenz und Begegnung war kompliziert und kannte Schattenseiten und Hohepunkte. Die in unserem Beitrag gemachte Auswahl diirfte dazu beitragen, dass man in der Beurteilung nicht in Verallgemeinerungen verfallt. Vielleicht diirfte Tissa Balasuriya O.M.I, ein biBchen vorsichtiger und nuancierter sein, wenn er schreibt: Churches are seen as opposed to the other religions and to the integral liberation of the people. Whatever our efforts at dialogue, there are serious suspicions among persons of other religions that Christians, especially Catholics, want to convert them of their peoples to Christianity. This is due to their bitter memory of the activities of the Christian churches and the european powers from the period after Vasco da Gama

conscience, Allahabad 1963. F.A. Plattner, a.a.O., 208-224. A. Marlier s.j., Een Je^uiermissionaris Pater Constant Lievens, Brussel 21956. 2/ Ernst Pulsfort, Christliche Ashrams in Indien, zwischen dem religiosen Erbe Indiens und der christlichen Tradition des Abendlandes, Altenberge 1989. Kathryn Spink, A sense of the sacred: a biography of Bede Griffiths, Maryknoll N.Y. 1989. Jesus Rajan, Bede Griffiths and Sannyasa, Bangalore 1989. Bede Griffiths, River of Compassion. A Christian commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, New York 1995.

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up to recent times. We Christians would like Asians to forget these events without our changing our deepest orientations and motivations.28

Es ist nicht zu verneinen, dass es in Indien Hindus gibt, die den Christen gegeniiber Argwohn empfinden, oder dass es bittere Erinnerungen gibt. Die Hintergriinde dieser Tatsachen sind von K.M. Panikkar in seinem Buch iiber Asien und die westliche Dominanz wahrend der Vasco da Gama-Epoche (1498-1945) ausfuhrlich studiert worden. 29 Das alles bestreitet aber nicht, dass zum Beispiel die Aktivitaten von Jean Antoine Dubois, Thomas Roberts, Oscar Severin, Constant Lievens und Bede Griffiths der heutigen Kirche Indiens geholfen haben, Gerechtigkeit fiir alle Kasten der Gesellschaft und ein theologisch-positives Verhaltnis zu den Religionen Indiens zu erreichen. 1969 wurde in der katholischen Kirche Indiens ein pastorales Konzil - das "All India Seminar on the Church in India today" - durchgefiihrt. In beispielhafter Zusammenarbeit der indischen und wesdichen Teilnehmer wurde ein neues Glaubensbekenntnis aufgestellt: The other religions are not fortresses which we must attack and destroy. They are homes of the Spirit which we have failed to visit; they are receptacles of the Word of God which we have chosen to ignore. They, too, like us, have been tempted to live in isolation and to look with suspicion and antagonism at those who follow a different path. The pilgrim Church today, in her deeper understanding of the love which urges her towards fulfilment, recognises her fellow-pilgrims in those whose faces had so far appeared strange or hostile. And she is anxious to be recognised by them as one who no longer thinks in terms of conquest but humbly desires to share. In a deeper sense, the Church, in whose faith and sacraments the Risen Christ is already present in a unique manner, lovingly seeks to contemplate the full countenance of her Lord. He whose active presence has sustained the course of history and will guide mankind till 'all men are brought to life in him', is forever calling to the Church to be attentive to his voice wherever it has spoken.30

Es diirfte klar sein, dass die Vasco da Gama-Epoche zu Ende geht! 28 Tissa Balasuriya O.M.I., "Right Relationships", Logos 30 (Colombo 1991) nrs. 3/4, 2. 29 K.M. Panikkar, Asia and the Western Dominance, a survey of the Vasco da Gama Epoch of Asian history 1498-1945, London 1953. M All India Seminar, Church in India Today, Bangalore 1969, 107. Arnulf Camps O.F.M., "Asia", in: Storia della Chiesa, XXV/2: la Chiesa del Vaticano II (1958-1978), a cura di Maurilio Guasco, Elio Guerriero, Francesco Traniello, parte seconda, Milano 1994, 609-665.

INDIEN IM BLICKWINKEL EUROPAISGHER MISSIONARE

31 1

SUMMARY The encounter between European missionaries and India started during the middle Ages. All intended to continue their journey to China, or they actually did so. The first was John of Monte Corvino O.F.M., who stayed in India between 1291 1293 and who became the first archbishop of Beijing. Up to 1349 franciscan missionaries visited India. As they were only passing through, they did not pay much attention to India. The real meeting started soon after Vasco da Gama had discovered the sea route to India in 1498. The first European missionaries were secular priests and franciscans. Special attention is paid to the franciscans and the Jesuits, who arrived some 40 years after the arrival of the franciscans (1542). The franciscans founded two provinces and had to live within the limits of the Portuguese Patronage. It was only about 1600 that they took a greater interest in the languages and cultures of India. The Jesuits succeeded in the non-Portuguese parts of India. An important mission was started in the Mogul Empire (1580-1803) and another in the Madurai region (1606). There they met with the 'real India'. A third period in the meeting of India began in the 19th century. Anastasius Hartmann O.F.M. CAP. (1803-1866), who served as vicar apostolic in Patna and Bombay tried to reorganise the catholic community. Abbe Jean Antoine Dubois M.E.P. collected and published outstanding information on the customs of the people (1765-1848). Archbishop Thomas Roberts s.j. of Bombay (1937 1950) freed his diocese from the Portuguese Patronage and handed his powers over to an Indian successor. Oscar Severin s.j. was bishop in the Ranchi mission (19341957) and founded a church of the poor among the tribal population. Bede Griffiths O.S.B. (1906-1993) in Tamilnad promoted Indian religious life, theology and liturgy. It may be concluded that the meeting between India and European missionaries was not at all exclusively negative, as K.M. Panikkar and T. Balasuriya O.M.I, try to make us believe. The pastoral council, held in 1969, proved that the Vasco da Gama period had come to an end!

A LETTER WRITTEN BY FR. PETRUS FRANCISCUS A SAORGIO, O.F.M., FROM AN INDIAN PRISON (1729)*

Several Times Franciscan missionaries did try to penetrate into Ethiopia. In the eighteenth century, a remarkable attempt was made by Fr. Franciscus Antonius a Rivarolo, O.F.M., who, together with three other Franciscans, was sent by the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith to Ethiopia in 1727.1 At the time, Fr. Franciscus a Rivarolo was at Mocca in Arabia and two of his companions, Fr. Petrus Franciscus a Saorgio and Fr. Angelus Maria de S. Georgio, were yet on their voyage from England via Cape of Good Hope and India to Mocca.2 The two companions waited for some time in England and Belgium for a boat bound for India.3 In Belgium they lodged with the Franciscan Fathers of St. Joseph's Province and made many friends among them. This explains why Fr. Petrus Franciscus a Saorgio wrote a long letter to the ex-Commissary General of the Germanic Nation at Ghent (Belgium), wherein he describes what happened to him and Fr. Angelus Maria de S. Georgio since their departure from England. * Ex: Archivum Franciscanum Historicum 54 (Quaracchi 1961) 413-18. 1 A. Kleinhans, Historia Studii Linguae Arabicae et Collegii Missionum Ordinis Fratrum Minorum in conventu ad S. Petrum in Monte Aureo Romae erecti, Quaracchi 1930, 281.

2

Cf. the letter of Fr. Petrus Franciscus a Saorgio published here. This follows from document N° 58 of the Codex: De Missiom Smymmsi, Provincial Archives of the Dutch Franciscan Province at Utrecht (Holland): Admodum Reverende Pater, Morantur Ostendae duo Ordinis vestri religiosi Itali designati a S. Congregatione de Propaganda Fide pro missionibus Mocchae. A duobus fere annis exspectant occasionem illuc navigandi, iamque in Angliam proficiscebantur, falso rurnore ducti quod parata illuc esset occasio, cum meliora docti Ostendae consistere coacti sunt. Cum autem non nisi februario mense ex Anglia navis solvet aequumque non est, ut vel illic vel Ostendae tanto tempore extra claustrum commorentur, A. P. Paternitatem Vestram rogo, ut hosce religiosos in conventu Brugensi recipi, ac benigne tractari mandes. Quod dum ab A.R. Paternitatis Vestrae charitate exspecto, benevolentiae meae testimonio subscriber. Bruxellis, 26 novembris 1726. A.R. Paternitatis Vestrae omciosus ad omnia I. archiepiscopus Corinthiensis Patri Provinciali Fratrum Minorum Recollectorum/Gandavum/ This document seems to be a letter written by the Papal Internuncio Joseph Spinelli at Bruxelles and, as it is to be found in the same Codex as the letter of Fr. Petrus Franciscus a Saorgio, we suppose that the two Franciscans mentioned are Fr. Petrus Franciscus and Fr. Angelus Maria. 3

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This autographed letter has been kept in the Archives of the Dutch Franciscan Province at Utrecht (Holland) and is to be found in the Codex entitled: De Missione Srnyrnensi, N° 62. This letter has remained unknown and, as it contains some valuable information, we think it worthwhile to publish the full text here. By way of introduction, however, we give a short summary of the letter together with some necessary explanations. Fr. Petrus Franciscus a Saorgio and Fr. Angelus Maria de S. Georgio left England by boat on April 15th, 1727. On the boat they met Jacob Chapmen, an ex-Jesuit Priest turned Anglican minister. They brought him back to the Catholic Faith, but when Chapmen landed at Tellicherry, an English colony to the north of Calicut in India, he again apostatized. The two Franciscans continued their journey and arrived at Mocca on 17th February, 1728; thence they crossed the Red Sea and landed at Massaua, the port of Ethiopia, on 16th. March. Here they learned that their Superior, Fr. Franciscus Antonius a Rivarolo, had already left for Gondar, the capital of Ethiopia. The Superior informed them to wait for him at Massaua and when he returned after several months he took them back to Mocca. At Mocca the Superior told his two companions that they were going to start a mission on the island of Socotra and so they sailed on 1st August towards the East. As soon as they had left Mocca, however, the two companions discovered that the Superior intended to proceed to Goa as a legate of the King of Ethiopia to the Viceroy of Portugal. The two companions were very much upset as they tought this embassy was being undertaken without the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. Having traversed the Indian Ocean,' they arrived on the coast of India on August 22nd., but they were made prisoners by the Angrias at Guiriem in Shivaji's kingdom.4 The treatment they received in prison seems to have been quite bearable as may be seen from the letter of Fr. Petrus Franciscus a Saorgio written in the prison at Guiriem on 29th March, 1729. This is all the information we are able to gather from his letter. 4 Fr. Petrus Franciscus a Saorgio, wrote his letter from "Gijrien terra Angaria in regno Savagi". The Angrias were a group of pirates living in the kingdom of Shivaji (Savagi) or of the Marathas. Shivaji was the greatest of the Maratha kings and therefore the kingdom was commonly named after him. Guiriem (Gijrien) or Vijayadrug was the headquarters of the Angrias on the Konkan coast in India. We are most grateful to Fr. Achilles Meersman O.F.M. (Bangalore, India) for this information.

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Exactly how long the imprisonment lasted we do not know. Kleinhans avers that the three Franciscans were released after they cured the local King of an illness.3 This seems to have happened in 1729.6 Then they were allowed to proceed to Goa, where they were detained for two years by the Viceroy. The Superior, Fr. Franciscus Antonius a Rivarolo, finally accompanied the Viceroy to Portugal and he sent his two companions, Fr. Petrus Franciscus a Saorgio and Fr. Angelus Maria de S. Georgio, to the mission in Egypt. Even in death the two companions were not separated, for they expired on their way to Egypt.7 Reverendissime Pater, Non sine aliqua animi commiseratione exiguam hanc meam epistolam legendam fore a Paternitate Vestra Reverendissima existimo, tot enim indicia suae erga nos benevolentiae ambo experti sumus, hospites apud ipsos existentes, ut de hoc prorsus ambigendi non remaneat locus. Sed quid boni scribere potero ex hoc ergastulo captivitatis nostrae, ubi iam a 7 mensibus et ultra die noctuque custodimur? Absit autem quod aliquid triste scribam ad nostra deploranda infortunia, nil enim sub sole novum; quod nobis contingit, iam aliis ante nos accidit; immo maiora mihi supposui, Europam relinquens. Reverendissime Pater, liceat mihi dicere: Sewi dominati sunt nostri, necfuit usque modo qui nos redimeret de manu eorumf pluraque scribere exoptarem sed expectabo quando cantabo: In exitu Israel de Egypto domus lacob de populo barbaro;9 pro nunc nobis congruit cantare: Super flumina Babilonis illic sedimus etflevimus, cum recordaremur tui Sion^ Provincia a nobis valde dilecta, Provincia sanctissimi losephi. Cum autem statuerim nil triste scribere, ideo forti animo captivitatem sustinens, brevi narratione solum indicabo iter nostrum terra marique, et licet iam binas epistolas dederim Rev.mae Paternitati Vestrae, primam ex Capita Bonae Spei, et secundam ex littore Ethiopiae, nunc hanc tertiam videbit ex latibulis latronum et gentilium Angaria. Peractis decem mensibus navigationis ex Anglia usque Mockam, idest a 15 die aprilis usque 3

Kleinhans, Historia, 282. G. Manfredi, / Minori Ossenianti Riformati nella Prefettura dell'Alto Egitto-Etiopia (1697-1792), in Stadia Orimtalia Christiana, Collectanea: N° 3, Cairo 1958, 100, note 9. 7 Kleinhans, Historia, 282. 8 Thren. 5, 8. 9 Ps. 113, 1. 10 Ps. 136, 1. (>

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ad 17 februarii anni 1728, data opportunitate perreximus Messaouam Ethiopiae, quo pervenimus 16 martii eiusdem anni, ibique fuimus per duos menses cum dimidio expectantes aliquam notitiam ab A.R.P. Francisco a Riparolio, iam Gonderam profecto a tribus mensibus, cuius directiones tenendi in initio huius missionis mandatum receperamus Mockae a Sacra Congregatione; quod utinam non fuisset. Noster interim antesignanus, receptis nostris epistolis, nobis rescripsit ipsum exspectandum Messaouae usque dum ex ilia regia rediret, quod utique adimplevimus. Sed qui inde reversus Messaouam, aliquo subterfugio et colore persecutionis Maumethanorum nos Mockam reduxit, sufflatusque sua nova superioritate omma proprio marte resolvens ex abrupto nobis intonuit velle aggredi opus Missionis Socotoris. Nos utpote adhuc novitii in his partibus, sicut nobis fecerat in Ethiopia, nos sacrificavimus ad hoc opus, quod casu quo impossibile foret, ageretur de transitu in Egyptum Superiorem. Haec eo modo ducebantur ab isto generalissimo patre antesignano pluribus intento, sed nil prorsus operante, immo omnia prorsus negligente. Sicque prima augusti, praesagiente nobis futura ex littore Arabiae, vela dedimus et prospero vento transfretato mari Indico die 22 augusti incidimus in manus latronum Angaria, a quibus rebus omnibus expoliati, conclusi sumus in quoddam ergastulum, die noctuque a tribus militibus custoditi. Parum nobis tune videbatur despoliari omnibus, timentes ne vita pariter privaremur sicut etiam fecerant pluribus aliis. Deus autem, qui nos non mortuos sed mortificatos voluit, incolumes usque nunc servavit et secundum omnem apparentiam nos brevi in libertatem vindicaturum speramus. Qualis vita autem sit hie captivos teneri, iudicet ipse. Ego interim gratias agens Deo cum confratre dico suavem captivitatem invenisse, quia nullus est qui nos lacessire audeat vel verbis vel alio modo iniurioso. Reliqui concaptivi durius tractantur et exercentur variis laboribus et pro victu parum orizae. Nobis autem nil prorsus imponitur, sed quieti relinquimur in nostro ergastulo, immo aliquas eleemosinas a divina providentia recipimus nee nobis deest occasio vacandi Deo et saluti proximi nostri. Tota autem nostra afHictio fuit et est, quod statim egressi ex mari rubro advertimus patrem nostrum antesignanum viam hanc aggressum fuisse non pro Missione Socotoris, sed ut legationem fungeretur pro regi Lusithano Goae ex parte regis Ethiopiae, sicut ipsemet dicit. Nos interim, ignorantes omnia, vidimus factos fuisse aulicos unius legati, cuius indiscretum modum agendi considerantes protestati sumus contra hanc suam legationem assumptam, inconsulta Sacra Congregatione.

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Nee miramur quod Deus nos tradiderit in manus inimicorum, quia gressus nostri non erant recti apud Deum, ut mihi videtur, utpote contra obedientiam praestitam ipsimet Sacrae Congregationi: ad quam, si Deus nos liberabit, citius confugiemus, nee umquam immiscebimur in hac legatione absque participatione praedictae Sacrae Congregationis. lam in alia, scripta ex Ethiopia, indicavi Paternitati Vestrae Reverendissmae qualiter in nostra navigatione post plures altercationes cum Ministro Anglo, idest Patre lacobo Chapmen ex Societate lesu et Collegio Leodiensi, apostata, tandem gratia Dei nobiscum ipsum reduximus ad gremium Ecclesiae, a quo iterum post duos menses cum dimidio, Telesceri coloniam Anglicanam appulsi, iterum recidive aufugit, sedens nunc in cathedra pestilentiae Bombai, quo relapsu non parum afflicti remansimus. Sed Deus gratiam suam alteri dedit facienti fructum; fuitque cuidam gentili 26 annorum, professione barbitonsori, qui a nobis, aegrotans aliquantulum instructus, eadem nocte baptizatus in manibus nostris spiritum uti speramus Deo reddidit. Ex defectu papyri non valeo ultra prosequi, sed totis visceribus una cum confratre P. Angelo rogo Paternitatem Vestram Reverendam ut dignetur hanc participare, sicut et nostros humiles respectus, A.R.P. Provinciali, A.R.P. ex-Provinciali Hieronymo Cogghe" totique A.R. Difinitorio, Rev. Patribus ex-guardianis Ignatio Ghijsens,12 Stephano De Neef 13 nostris cordialissimis guardianis, Rev. Lectoribus Sacrae Theologiae Godefrido a Menin14 caeterisque collegis turn Gandavi turn Brugis, sicut et Rev. Patribus confessariis Coletanarum, Tertiariarum, Pacifico,15 Rev. Patribus vicariis Gandensi et Brugensi, Patribus Ferdinando et Martino, confratribus lunipero et Martino, et ne profusas litanias conficiam, omnibus Rev. Patribus et confratribus turn notis, turn nobis ignotis, quos omnes in Christo lesu deosculantes rogamus in visceribus lesu Christi nos suos confratres Deo recommendare, sicut et nos in vinculis existentes agimus respectu ipsorum. Confidimus pariter in sanctis precibus religiosissimae communitatis B. Coletae, cuius Admodum Reverendae abbatissae et filiabus suis

11 H. Cogghe, Min. prov. 1724-27, 1733-36; A. Heysse, Tabulae capitulares Almae Provinciae S. loseph in comitatu Flandriae, Bruges 1910, 2 f. 12 Guardian of Ghent 1724-27, Min. prov. 1727-30; ibidem 39 and 3. 13 Guardian of Bruges 1724-27, Min. prov. 1736-39; ibidem 39 and 3. 14 G. Mullie, Lector theologiae scholasticae at Ghent 1726-29; ibidem, 75. |D Pacificus van Oudenaerde; ibidem, 107.

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nostras offerrentes salutationes auxilium ipsarum hie imploramus apud Beatam eorum Matrem, quas nee nos immemores erimus ipsarum omnium in nostris precibus et laboribus. Hie sacrarum manuum osculo Paternitatis Vestrae Reverendissimae et omnibus supradictis Patribus concludo, et una cum meo confratre sum, eroque usque ad cineres, die 29 martii 1729 captivitatis nostrae mense septimo (si extat Brugis rogamus quatenus humiles nostros respectus deferre dignetur Illustrissimo Domino Episcopo Brugensi Vom Lusterem). Paternitati Vestrae Reverendissimae ex Gijrien terra Angaria in regno Savagi humilissimus et cordialissimus famulus et confrater Fr. Petrus Franciscus a Saorgio, Minorita Recolectus Provinciae Taurinensis, missionarius Apostolicus A.R.P. Vuerove,16 ex-Commissario Generali Germanicae Nationis nee non Patri Provinciae Recolectorum Provinciae S. Joseph comitatus Flandriae patrono colendissimo Gandavum ad Patres Recolectos

16

Correctly: Benedictus Verhoeven, Commiss. gen. 1717-1721, Min. prov. 1721-1724, 1730-33; ibidem, 2 f.

FLAMISCHIE FRANZISKANER IN KONSTANTINOPEL, SMYRNA UND AUF DER INSEL CHIOS AM ENDE DES 17. JAHRHUNDERTS*

Die Berichte iiber die Aktivitat der Franziskaner in der sogenannten Mission von Konstantinopel wahrend des XVII. Jahrhunderts sind sparlich. Die Hauptdaten hat Lemmens festgelegt: Ein Bericht des Jahres 1627 zahlt vier Missionen oder Kirchen auf: in der Hauptstadt die Pfarrkirche S. Maria zu Pera und vier Kapellen, von denen zwei im Gefangnis ('bagno') der Christensklaven lagen, in Smyrna die Pfarrkirche der venezianischen Kaufleute und je eine Kirche auf den Inseln Naxos und Chios. Die Mission wurde am 5. August 1643 von Urban VIII. zur Kustodie erhoben und den Reformaten iibergeben. ' Eine Handschriftensammlung, die sich im Provinz-Archiv der Franziskaner zu Utrecht (Holland) befindet, gibt dazu eine wertvolle Erganzung. Es handelt sich um den Kodex De Missione Smirnensi rnit 64 Briefen, von denen 52 iiber die Tatigkeit der flamischen Franziskaner in Smyrna, Konstantinopel und auf der Insel Chios handeln. Sie sind zwischen 1683 und 1708 geschrieben, aber ihre Existenz war bis heute unbekannt. Die Folien dieses Kodex sind nicht fortlaufend numeriert; jeder Brief hat seine eigene Zahlung. Im Folgenden wird zuerst eine Beschreibung dieser neuen Funde gegeben, und dann werden die Ergebnisse fur die Missionsgeschichte kurz zusammengefaBt. 1. DIE BESGHREIBUNG DER Nr. 5: P. Antonius van Costenoble, Rekollekt, an P. Bonifacius Maes, Generaldefinitor der Minderbriider; Smyrna, den 1. September 1683. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Der Brief wird von Bruder Petrus

* First published in: Franziskanische Studien 40 (Werl 1958) pp. 239-250. 1 L. Lemmens O.F.M., Geschichte der Franziskanermissionen, Miinster i.W. 1929, 35. 2 Dieser Aufsatz wurde fern von europaischen Bibliotheken geschrieben; darum konnten nicht alle Personen und Sachnamen identifiziert werden.

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Farde iibermittelt;3 die Tiirken sind von den Christen geschlagen worden.4 Nr. 6: P. Antonius di Fiandra alias van Costenoble, Rekollekt, an P. Bonifacius Maes, Generaldefinitor des Ordens des hi. Franziskus, genannt Rekollekten zu Gent; Smyrna, den 10. Marz 1684. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Er hat den Brief empfangen und freut sich, daB die Patres Maximilianus und Amandus nach Smyrna kommen werden, und er hofft, daB Pater Johannes van Oyghem und Bruder Petrus Farde wohlbehalten in der Provinz angekommen sind; die Besiegung der Tiirken ist von grofier Bedeutung: "Quis scit, an non aliqui (sin minus tota eorum natio) inde motivum conversionis suae sint accepturi? Ego quidem non impigre, linguae Turciae me coepi applicare, presagitque mini animus, me ex hisce partibus non recessurum, nisi in S. Sophiae templo Constantinopoli missam celebravero"; seine Anschrift ist: "Al R. Padre Antonio di fiandra nel Convento de PP. riformati di S. francesco, in Smyrna". Nr. 7: P. Antonius van Costenoble, Rekollekt, an P. Bonifacius Maes, Generaldefinitor des Ordens des hi. Franziskus; Smyrna, den 30. Oktober 1684. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Die Tiirken riisten sich von neuem; die Patres und Bruder der Provinz sollen fur die Kirche beten. Nr. 8: P. Antonius a Flandria alias van Costenoble, Rekollekt, an P. Bonifacius Maes, Generaldefinitor des Ordens des hi. Franziskus und Provinzialvikar der Rekollektenprovinz des hi. Joseph in Flandern zu Gent; Smyrna, den 5. Februar 1685. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Er hat ihm vor wenigen Tagen einen Brief geschickt: "Significavi itidem intentionem quam habeo migrandi ex hac Custodia Constantinopolitana ad illam Terrae 3

Die Reisebeschreibungen des Bruders Farde wurden wiederholt veroffentlicht; die ersten Ausgaben stammen aus denjahren 1708, 1720 und 1778; spatere Ausgaben sind: Servatius Dirks O.F.M., Voyages et aventum du Frere Pierre Farde, Recollet du Convent de Gand, d'apres les lettres originates, Grand 1878; Stephanus Schoutens O.F.M., Rei^en en Lotgevallen van Broeder Pieter Farde, Minderbroeder, Hoogstraten 1903; Cajetan Schmitz O.F.M., Quer durch Afrika, Reisen und Abenteuer des Fran&skanerbruders Peter Farde von Gent in denjahren 1686 bis 1690, Trier 1911. -J. Schmidlin, in: %eitschrMissWiss 1 (Miinster i.W. 1911) 349 f. lehnte in der Besprechung des Buches on C. Schmitz die Echtheit der Briefe ab, wahrend J. Goyens O.F.M., "Notes biographiques et documents du Frere Pierre Farde, O.F.M., voyageur en Afrique (1652-1691)" in: ArchFrancHist 7 (1914) 12 if., und: "Encore un mot sur Pierre Farde", ebd. 8 (1915) 371 f. sie anerkannte. Aus unseren Quellen ergeben sich die folgenden Daten: Bruder Petrus Farde und Pater Johannes van Oyghem verlieBen Smyrna 1683 (vgl. Nr. 5). Im Oktober 1684 befand Bruder Petrus sich in Gent und P. Johannes in Italien (vgl. Nr. 9, ein unvollstandiger Brief vom 30. Marz und vom 4. Mai). Bruder Petrus hielt sich im Mai 1686 noch in der Provinz auf (vgl. Nr. 36). 1687 war er schon zum Sklaven eines Moslems gemacht worden (vgl. Nr. 33 und 34) und im gleichen Jahre wurde er von Piraten gemartert (vgl. Nr. 40). Die oben erwahnten Autoren schreiben, daB Bruder Petrus am 16. Juni 1691 in Aachen starb, nachdem er 1690 aus der Gefangenschaft befreit worden sei. Vielleicht ist die Nachricht von seinem Tode 1687 eine Falschmeldung. 4 Am 12. September 1683 wurden die Tiirken am Kahlenberge bei Wien von den Christen geschlagen (vgl. Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der islamischen Vb'lker und Staaten2, Miinchen und Berlin 1943, 302). P. Antonius schrieb seinen Brief jedoch schon am 1. September; er folgte offenbar dem Julianischen Kalender.

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Sanctae: turn propter rationes prius allegatas, turn quia frustratus sum licentia ilia absolvendi ab haeresi etc. adeo missionarijs omnibus necessana (quam tamen Roma mini mittere promiserant). Cumque earn me a R.mo P. Guard.0 Terrae S.tae consecuturum sperem, potero ibi efficacius animarum conversioni incumbere;" er bittet um die Erlaubnis; "Cum vero linguas Orientales didicero, spero tune, Deo dante, reverti, ut apis collecta melle, non inutiliter ad Provinciae meae carissimum alvearium: nisi tamen messis copiosior hie restaret colligenda". Nr. 10: P. Amandus de Bosschere, Rekollekt, an P. Judocus Scaillet, Generalkommissar der Provinzen Germania Superior und Inferior, Belgien, Irland, England, Schottland, Danemark usw. der Minderbruder-Rekollekten des hi. Franziskus zu Briissel; Augsburg, den 3. Juli 1686. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Er ist vor vier Tagen hier im Kloster angekommen und wird morgen nach Venedig weiterreisen. Nr. 11: P. Antonius a Flandria alias van Costenoble, Rekollekt, an P. Bonifacius Maes, Generaldefinitor des ganzen Ordens des hi. Franziskus und Provinzial der Provinz Comitatus Flandriae des hi. Joseph zu Gent; Smyrna, den 14. September 1686. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Er hat den Brief empfangen und freut sich, daB drei neue Patres kommen werden; er hat vom Kustos des Heiligen Landes die Erlaubnis (nachdem er vorher die Erlaubnis vom Adressaten erhalten hatte) bekommen, nach Konstantinopel zu gehen, um seine Kenntnisse der tiirkischen Sprache zu vervollkommnen; er glaubt, von dort nach Jerusalem geschickt zu werden; die neuen Patres sollen nicht im gleichen Kloster wohnen, "ne occasione linguae vernaculae sibi invicem, ut fieri assolet, essent impedimento". Nr. 12: P. Amandus de Bosschere, Rekollekt, an P. Raymundus Gheijsen, Sekretar der Provinz Comitatus Flandriae zu Gent, "horis duabus in mari ab urbe Veneta", den 2. August 1686. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Er schreibt seinem Onkel, er habe die beiden Briefe in Venedig empfangen; heute wird das Schiff den Anker lichten. Nr. 13: P. Antonius de Flandria alias von Costenoble, Rekollekt, an P. Bonifacius Maes, Generaldefinitor des Ordens des hi. Franziskus und Provinzialvikar der Provinz des Josephs Comitatus Flandriae zu Gent; Smyrna, ohne Datum.5 Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Er mochte aus der Kustodie Konstantinopel zur Kustodie des Heiligen Landes iibertreten und bittet um die Erlaubnis, die Angelegenheit personlich zu regeln; er ist schon vier Jahre hier und versteht Griechisch und Tiirkisch; im Heiligen Lande hofft er Arabisch zu lernen. Nr. 14: P: Antonius a Flandria alias van Costenoble, Rekollekt, an P. Bonifacius Maes, Provinzial der Rekollektenprovinz des hi. Joseph zu Gent; Smyrna, den 10. August 1686. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Er erklart dem neuen Provinzial seinen Gehorsam. Nr. 15: P. Amandus de Bosschere, Rekollekt, an P. Raymundus Gheijsen, Sekretar der Rekollektenprovinz des hi. Joseph in Flandern zu Gent; Insel

J

Der Brief wurde Anfang Februar 1685 geschrieben, denn am 5. Februar 1685 (vgl. Nr. 8) teilte P. Antonius mit, vor wenigen Tagen einen Brief gleichen Inhaltes geschickt zu haben.

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Zante, den 30. August 1686. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Das Schiff wird von hier nach Morea6 fahren. Nr. 16: P. Amandus da Fiandra "minore osservante riformato" an P. Robertus Proventier, Gustos Custodum der Provinz Gomitatus Flandriae des hi. Joseph zu Gent; Briissel, den 21. Mai 1686. Lateinisch und italienisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Er spricht iiber "noi duoi poveri frati fiaminggi viaggianti"; sie haben "auctorem Arsdekin de missionibus" gekauft.7 Nr. 17: P. Alexius Allij, Rekollekt, an P. Bonifacius Maes, Generaldefinitor des Ordens des hi. Franziskus und Provinzial der Rekollekten der Provinz des hi. Joseph in Comitatu Flandriae zu Gent; Smyrna, den 1. Dezember 1686. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Am 5. November hat er dem Provinzial einen Brief geschickt, als er mit den Patres Amandus und Pacificus Smits8 auf der Insel Chios ankam; sie sind dort von den Minderbriidern gut empfangen worden und: "in festo S.P.N. francisci nos novem fratres minores reformati hilarem haustum ad sanitatem 7 respective Provincialium bibimus"; P. Pacificus blieb auf Chios zuriick, wahrend die Patres Alexius und Amandus nach Smyrna fuhren, wo sie am 14. Oktober ankamen und von P. Antonius van Costenoble und sieben Mitbriidern empfangen wurden (von denen fiinf ihr Triennium beendet haben und in ihre Provinz zuriickkehren werden); am 7. November ist P. Marcellus gestorben ("cum suspicione pestis") und am 27. November P. Antonius Costenoble ("cum certis malignae pestis indicijs"). Nr. 18: P. Amandus de Bosschere9 an P. Reymundus Gheijsen, Sekretar der Provinz Comitatus Flandriae des hi. Joseph der Minderbriider-Rekollekten zu Gent; Smyrna, den 1. Dezember 1686. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Er hat seinem Onkel vor drei Wochen einen Brief geschickt; lobt den verstorbenen P. Antonius van Costenoble, der als Guardian mit seinen italienischen Untergebenen nicht auskam; "quod R.P. Generalis dicat his partibus necessaries esse confessarios linguam flandricam callentes, idem sonat in veritate sicut ego dicerem cortraci10 necessaries esse confessarios callentes linguam italicam. duae hie sunt familiae flandriae catholicae, atque illis adhuc familiarior est lingua italica. quo ad transeuntes autem flandros catholicos, certe rarissimi sunt. quod autem attinet ad insulam xij,11 ubi reliquimus P. pacificum non est una anima quae novit quid sit lingua flandrica. quod vero dicat penuriam esse sacerdotum: credo: quia quasi omnes expleto suo triennio huic discedunt ad provincias suas. haec quo ad tenorem litteras R.P.M. generalis". Die Gefahren dieser Gegend sind der Wein, das wohlige Nichtstun, die Freiheit und die Frauen; die Kustodie sollte einer gut reformierten - vorzugsweise einer italienischen - Provinz anvertraut werden. Die materielle Lage dieser Kustodie: "hie domum habemus satis honestam sed ecclesiam dirutam, debita sunt 100 et 80 pataconum. xij conventus est amplior, sed gravissima habemus debita, ita ut 6

Die Halbinsel Peloponnes. Pater Richardus Arsdekin s.j., Irlander, starb im Jahre 1693. 8 VgL: Vier Jaren in Turkije of Rei^en en Lotgevallen van P. Pacificus Smit, O.F.M., door hem zelven beschreven en uitgegeven door St. Schoutens, O.F.M., Hoogstraten 1901. 9 Die Unterschrift dieses Briefes ist: "Fr. A. basta." 10 Die Einwohner von Kortrijk, einer Stadt in der belgischen Provinz Westflandern. 7

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ecclesiae lampades sunt oppignoratae etc. constantinopoli et conventus, et ecclesia sunt combusta"; iiber die Pfarrei in Smyrna: "semper est altercandum cum capucinis gallis qui more sui regis semper inveniunt novas et novas praetentiones, parochiani sunt pauperes graeci, quorum plures dum sacramenta suscipere debent vg. matrimonij, vel extremae unctionis, vel baptismi currunt ad nos quia gratis administramus, alias ad graecas currunt ecclesias". Er nimmt kein Blatt vor den Mund, weil er ja seinem Onkel schreibt; er mochte wenigstens nach drei Jahren heimkehren. Nr. 19: P. Amandus da Fiandra "minor osservante riformato" an P. Robertus Proventier, Gustos Custodum der Provinz Comitatus Flandriae des hi. Joseph der Minderbriider-Rekollekten zu Gent; Smyrna, den 1. Dezember 1686. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folia. Inhalt: Er berichtet vom Hinscheiden des P. Antonius van Costenoble. Die Patres, die ihr Triennium beendet haben, sagen, daB diese Gegend ein anderes Ninive, Babylon, Sodoma oder Genf sei. Er hat den Auftrag bekommen, wahrend der Fastenzeit auf italienisch zu predigen; mit den Kapuzinern gebe es noch immer Streitigkeiten; wenn es Gott und den Obern gefallt, mochte er nach einem Triennium heimkehren. Postskriptum: "Conventus noster hie Smijrnis vocatur Conventus Immaculatae Conceptionis. Dies obitus V.P. Anthonij fuit 27 novembris 1686. fuit hie guardianus formalis licet tantum 4 sint ordinarie Religiosi. etiam fuit formalissimus pastor huius civitatis, quae scribere oblitus fueram, sed nunc addo ratione eius schedulae mortuariae". Nr. 20: eine Kopie der Nummer 18 mit wenigen unbedeutenden Abanderungen. Nr. 21: P. Amandus de Bosschere12 an P. Reijmundus Gheijsen, Sekretar der Provinz Comitatus Flandriae des hi. Joseph der Minderbriider-Rekollekten zu Gent; Smyrna, den 2. Januar 1687. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Er hat ihm kurz vor Weihnachten geschrieben. Gestern hat er mit P. Alexius dem hollandischen Konsul einen Besuch gemacht. Der Konsul ist unser Schutzherr: "licet sit haereticus, vir tamen insignissimus est et preclarissimus, cui praeter fidem nihil deest ut in moribus et vita sit perfectus". Der Herr Markis, ein katholischer Kaufmann, ist uns wohlgesinnt. Nr. 22: ist eine unvollstandige Kopie der Nummer 24. Nr. 23: ist eine Kopie der Nummer 31. Nr. 24: P. Amandus de Bosschere, Rekollekt, an P. Reymundus Gleijsen, Sekretar der Provinz Comitatus Flandriae des hi. Joseph zu Gent; Smyrna, den 24. Marz 1687. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Er hat die beiden Briefe empfangen und selbst Anfang Januar einen Brief geschickt. Er will alle fiinfzehn Tage auf italienisch predigen; mit der griechischen Sprache hat er schon angefangen, wahrend P. Alexius alle Sonntage den Katechismus in griechischer Sprache unterrichtet. Die Tiirken riisten sich. P. Pacificus ist noch auf der Insel Chios; er will nicht zum Guardian ernannt werden. Nr. 25: P. Amandus di Fiandra, Rekollekt, an P. Robertus Proventier, Lektor emeritus der heiligen Theologie und Gustos Custodum der Provinz Comitatus Flandriae des hi. Joseph der Minderbriider-Rekollekten zu Gent; 11 12

Die Insel Chios. Die Unterschrift lautet: "F. Amandus basta".

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Smyrna, den 24. Marz 1687. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Er hat die Briefe empfangen. Der armenische Bischof ist von Rom zuriickgekehrt: "ego tertio ipsum adivi cum aliquo patre dominicano armeno qui triennium his in partibus fuit pro armenis catholicis missionarius, et cum illo in nostra cella hie hospitatus fui, sed iam reversus est hoc mense in patriam suam versus persiam. illo itaque agente interprete didici et ore illius Episcopi, quod Romae summam apud pontificem habuerit satisfactionem, quodque iam miserit expressum ad patriarcham suum ut eum certiorem faceat de negotijs Romae peractis, qui dum ad se reversus merit, iterum se Romam iturum dicit. incipit populo paulatim persuadere in concionibus unionem cum S. Romana Ecclesia. Episcopus is nobis addictissimus est, sicut et Episcopus Graegorum, cui abhinc 8 diebus presentavimus ego et P. Alexius 4or ex nostris Allemodebildekens, atque gratissimae illi fuerunt, spoponditque quando nos in patriam revertemus quod aliquid nobis sit daturus ad dandum uni ex nostris episcopis". Die Gegend dort sei ein zweites Sodoma, Genf oder Babylon. Nr. 26: P. Amandus de Bosschere, Rekollekt, an: "Reverendissime Pater"; Smyrna, den 25. Marz 1687. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Unser Mitbruder P. Antonius wie auch P. Marcellus von der Provinz von Trient sind an der Pest gestorben; die sittliche Lage sei doch sehr beklagenswert, die Tiirken riisten sich. Nr. 27. P. Amandus de Bosschere13 an P. Reymundus Gheijsen, Sekretar der Provinz Comitatus Flandriae des hi. Joseph der Minderbriider-Rekollekten zu Gent; Smyrna, den 1. April 1687. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Er schreibt iiber seine Aktivitat: "heri praedicationem meam quadragesimalem in lingua Italica conclusi concione flandrica ad instantiam quorundam haereticorum hollandorum, totaque natio hollandica seu flandrica (ut hie communiter) adfuit, sicut et Illustrissimus noster Consul, licet omnes haeretici, duabus familys exceptis, pro ut in prioribus nostris insinuavi, curiositatis, et novitatis causa ducuntur, et non aliter. coeterum singulis quindenis deinceps in lingua italica praedicare perseverabo, quamquam sit insolitum, ut sic me semper occupatum habeam". Das ttirkische Heer hat am 17. Marz Konstantinopel verlassen, um gegen die Christen zu kampfen. Nr. 28: P. Amandus de Bosschere an P. Robertus Provender, Lektor emeritus der heiligen Theologie und Gustos Custodum der Provinz Comitatus Flandriae des hi. Joseph der Minderbriider-Rekollekten zu Gent; Smyrna, den 1. April 1687. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Es ist wahr, daB ein bayerischer Mitbruder wahrend der Seereise und sein Mitbruder bereits nach elf Tagen in Konstantinopel verschieden sind. Nr. 29: ist eine Kopie der Nummer 27. Nr. 30: P. Raymundus Gheijsen an P. Robertus Proventier zu Gent; Brugge, den 28. Juni 1687. Original. Enthalt die unter Nr. 29 angefuhrte Kopie. Nr. 31: P. Amandus di Fiandra, Rekollekt, an P. Reymundus Gheijssen, Sekretar der Provinz Comitatus Flandriae des hi. Joseph der MinderbriiderRekollekten zu Gent; Smyrna, den 21. April 1687. Lateinisch, Original, ein

Die Unterschrift lautet: "Fra Amandus basta".

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Folium. Inhalt: Die Pest hat noch nicht vollig aufgehort. Wahrend der Orsterzeit hat er Beicht gehort: "audivi in lingua flandrica unum, et in lingua germanica, italica, et gallica simul 10 vel 12. ... magnum habui concursum ad concionem, sed nullum ad confessionem, quantum enim ad hoc punctum aethiopem lavamus propter nimiam libertatem, unde sunt 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 annis sine confessione, multum est quod alij semel in anno veniunt". Nr. 32: P. Amandus de Bosschere, Rekollekt, an P. Reymundus Gheijsen, Sekretar der Provinz Comitatus Flandriae des hi. Joseph der MinderbriiderRekollekten zu Gent; Smyrna, den 30. Mai 1687. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Ein adeliger Jiingling aus Mailand ist Moslem geworden, wie noch zwei weitere Jiinglinge. P. Pacificus ist vorlaufig von Chios nach Konstantinopel versetzt worden, um den Deutschen ("turn liberis turn mancipijs") beizustehen. Nr. 33: P. Amandus de Bosschere14 an P. Reymundus Gheijssen, "Ord. Minor. Recollectorum provinciae Com. fland. S. Joseph praedicatori et Theologo, nee non Rev. patri15"; Smyrna, den 1. September 1687. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Er hat den Brief empfangen. Er habe so ausfuhrlich liber die Gefahren eines Aufenthaltes in Smyrna geschrieben, um die Obern zu warnen und aufzuklaren; P. Kustos soil in Trient Erkundigungen einziehen bei P. Eugenius da Strigno, da dieser nach seinem Triennium am 14. Januar heimgekehrt sei; "circa quod V.P. Costenoble alios ex nostris vocarit, hanc solam putamus fuisse rationem quod forte cogitaverit hie smirnis extruere conventiculum ex proprijs patriottis, quorum vita, mores, studia, modestus agendi et conversandi modus erant ipsi notissima: unde nullo modo ipsum culpandum puto: sed nunquam id ipse obtinuisset"; "quantum ad Fr. petrum farde, illi summe compatimur sed congratulari sibi adhuc potest quod venditus sit domino terrestri, et non traditus triremibus quia post infernum non maius potest homini obvenire infortunium quam et theologica et corporalia ibidem invenis, sicque est status omnium malorum. unde cum omnimoda veritate vocari possit Infernus Marinus. ex hoc inferno marino in principio huius anni liberaverat legatus gallus constantinopolis unum ex nostris hispanum natione postquam per decennium in eo detentus fuerat hucque miserat ut cum prima navis opportunitate in provinciam suam rediret. Sed perfidus postquam per totam quadragesimam ad nostras venerat conciones audiendas post pascha se turcum fecit, ipsumque paulatim successive secuti sunt alij 5 seculares iuvenes, ita ut cum illo comite (de quo in prioribus nostris) iam viderim 6 transire ad turchismum". Nr. 34: P. Amandus di Fiandra "Minore osservante riformato" an P. Robertus Provender;16 Smyrna, den 11. September 1687. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Er hat den Brief vom 24. Mai empfangen; die MeBstipendien sollen dem Herrn Cornelius Blijenbergh zu Amsterdam zugeschickt werden; die Bucher und Bilder sind am 27. August mit der hollandischen Flotte hier angekommen; die "Theologia" des verstorbenen 14

Die Unterschrift fehlt, weil die letzten Zeilen dieses Briefes abgeschnitten sind. Auch dieses Folium ist abgeschnitten. 1(> Die Adresse fehlt, aber aus dem Inhalte ergibt sich, daB P. Provender der Adressat ist. lj

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P. Antonius wird er mit dem nachsten Schiffin die Provinz zuriickschicken; er selbst kann erst nach drei oder vier Jahren heimkommen. Wenn der Adressat nach Rom zum Generalkapitel fahre, moge er in Trient dem P. Eugenius da Stringno einen Besuch machen und Erkundigungen liber die Mission einziehen. Man sollte den P. Kustos des Heiligen Landes bitten, sich fiir die Befreiung des Bruders Petrus Farde einzusetzen, weil der Bruder "in obsequium conventus Jerusalem" aus dem Heiligen Lande abgereist sei. Nr. 35: P. Amandus de Bosschere, Guardian, an P. Bonifacius Maes, Generaldefinitor des ganzen Ordens des hi. Franziskus und Generalkommissar von England, Schottland, Danemark, Oberdeutschland und Niederdeutschland zu Gent: Chios, den 2. November 1687. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Er ist zum Guardian des Klosters auf der Insel Chios ernannt worden, was er immer verabscheut habe. Das Kloster sei sehr arm, und er bittet um Geld fiir den Lebensunterhalt und die Sakristei; er mochte nach Jerusalem reisen, um das Heilige Land zu sehen und dort zu arbeiten; von einem heiligen Kriege hat er nichts gehort; die Tiirken sind demiitig geworden.17 Vor 15 Tagert hat er seinem Onkel geschrieben. Nr. 36: Empfangsbestatigung: Cornelius Blijenburgh zu Amsterdam erklart, am 9. Mai 1686 von Bruder Petrus Farde 110 Gulden empfangen zu haben, um diese dem P. Antonius Costenobel in Smyrna zuzuschicken. P. Robertus Proventier fiigt hinzu, daB die Summe — nach einem Briefe das P. Antonius vom 16. September 1686 - gut angekommen sei. Nr. 37: Cornelius Blijenburgh an P. Robertus Proventier, Kustos der Minderbriider-Rekollekten zu Gent; Amsterdam, den 24. November 1687. Niederlandisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Er wird das Geld und die Briefe dem P. Amandus de Bosquere zugehen lassen; der Vermittler wird Herr Marquis zu Smyrna sein. Nr. 38: P. Amandus an P. Raymundus Gheyssen, Theologe der Minderbriider-Rekollekten der Provinz Comitatus Flandriae des hi. Joseph und Sekretar des P. Generalkommissars zu Gent; Chios, den 20. Oktober 1687. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Er ist zum Guardian des sehr armen Klosters auf der Insel Chios ernannt worden, hofft aber bald nach Jerusalem reisen zu konnen. Nr. 39: P. Alexius Allij, Rekollekt, an P. Bonifacius Maes, Generaldefinitor des ganzen Ordens des hi. Franziskus und Generalkommissar der beiden Germaniae, zu Gent; Smyrna, den 6. Dezember 1687. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: P. Pacificus ist schon seit einem halben Jahr in Konstantinopel und zweimal todkrank gewesen. Er tragt Sorge fiir die Pfarrei und Schule in Smyrna; die Schule dient Haretikern, Schismatikern und Katholiken. P. Pacificus schrieb am 12. November 1687 aus Konstantinopel, daB der abgesetzte Kaiser von seinem Nachfolger und Bruder nur das Leben verlangte, worauf er fiir vierzig Jahre eingekerkert wurde, weil er seinen Bruder vorher vierzig Jahre lang gefangen gehalten hatte.18 Die drei 17

Sie wurden am 12. August 1687 bei Mohacs geschlagen. C. Brockelmann, a.a.O. 302: "Als aber das osmanische Heer in Ungarn bei Mohacs im Jahre 1687 eine neue schwere Niederlage davongetragen hatte, brach eine Emporung gegen den GroBwesir Ssulaiman aus, die alsbald nach Stambul iibergriff. Obwohl der Sultan den GroBwesir opferte, erhob man gegen ihn den 18

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flamischen Patres in der Kustodie haben dieses Jahr zwolfmal pro Woche flir den Guardian von Gent die heilige Messe gelesen, und die Stipendien sollte man via Cornelius Blijenbergh in Amsterdam an Guilielmo Marchijs in Smyrna schicken. Nr. 40: P. Amandus de Bosschere, Rekollekt, an P. Raijmundus Gheijsen, Guardian in Eeclo;19 Chios, den 22. Dezember 1687. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Er ist Guardian von 15 Untergebenen. Bruder Petrus Farde ist von den Piraten gemartert worden, wie er im Briefe vom 17. September und in den Einlagen gelesen hat. Es ware besser, dieses Haus einer gut reformierten italienischen Provinz zu iibergeben. Gestern abend war ein Erdbeben. Nr. 41: P. Raymundus Gheyssen, Rekollekt, an P. Robertus Proventier, Kustos der Provinz und Comitatus Flandriae des hi. Joseph im Aracoeli-Kloster zu Rom; Eeclo, den 7. Mai 1688. Enthalt eine Kopie der Nummer 40. Nr. 42: P. Amandus di Fiandra20 an P. Raymundus Gheijssen;21 Chios, den 6. August 1688. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Dieses groBe Babylon "mater multarum fornicationum, et abominationum terrae, id est Smirna" ist von einem Erdbeben getroffen worden; in Smyrna gab es 30 000 Todesopfer, darunter ein bayerischer Pater und P. Alexius Allij. Der Kommissar und zwei Mitbrlider sind gerettet und nach Venedig abgereist. In Chios dauern Pest und Erdbeben fort. Nr. 43: P. Amandus de Bosschere22 an P. Raymundus Gheyssen, Guardian in Eeclo; Smyrna, den 13. September 1688. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Weil P. Kommissar abgereist sei, habe er dieses Amt iibernommen, bis ein neuer Kommissar ernannt werde, und sei von Chios nach Smyrna gefahren. Vom Kloster ist nichts mehr iibrig geblieben und die Leichen beider Patres sind vollig verbrannt. Heute hat er dem Konsul Van Dam einen Besuch gemacht; er wird nach Chios zuriickkehren und seine Adresse lautet: "Al molto Rdo Padre il P. Amando di fiandra M. Osserv. Riform. Theol. praedicatore Guardiano nel convento di S. Nicolo a Scio. Inferius Smijrne per Scio". P. Pacificus war vor drei Wochen schwer krank, aber es geht ihm schon viel besser. Nr. 44: P. Amandus de Bosschere an P. Robertus Provender;23 Smyrna, den 22. Oktober 1688. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Er hoffi, dafi der Adressat aus Rom heimgekehrt ist. In Smyrna leben die Hollander und Englander in ihren Schiffen, und fast alle Franzosen sind abgereist; er

Vorvvurf, daB er das Wohl des Staates iiber den Freuden der Jagd vernachlassige. Eine Versammlung der Ulema in der Aja Sophia erklarte ihn am 8. November fur abgesetzt und erhob auf den Rat des Kaimmakam, stellvertretenden GroBwesirs, Mustafa Kopriillu, Sohn des Achmed, seinen Bruder Ssulaiman II. auf den Thron". 19 In Ostflandern. 20 Er fugt hinzu: "basta". 21 Die Adresse fehlt, aber aus dem Inhalte ergibt sich, daB P. Raymundus der Adressat ist. 22 ' Die Unterschrift lautet: "Amandas basta". -3 Die Adresse fehlt, aber aus dem Inhalte ergibt sich, daB P. Robertus Provender der Adressat ist.

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selber wohnt bei einem Jiinglinge aus Chios und sammelt Geld, um im Garten des Klosters ein Hauschen zu bauen fur die Kranken; wenn die Erlaubnis kommt, wird er nach Jerusalem reisen, sonst wird er nach seinem Triennium dahin gehen; das tagliche Brot ist schwer zu bekommen. Nr. 45: P. Amandus de Bosschere, Rekollekt und Pfarrer zu Smyrna, an P. Bonifacius Maes, Generalkommissar der Minderbriider- Rekollekten der Provinzen England, Schottland, Danemark und die beiden Germaniae zu Gent; Smyrna, den 26. Dezember 1688. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Er lebt in einer Hiitte an der Kiiste zusammen mit fiinf Personen und hat sich entschlossen, innerhalb von elf Wochen ein Haus im Klostergarten zu bauen, ohne Schulden zu machen; auf der Insel Chios hat er eine Bibliothek mit 170 Biichern eingerichtet. Dem P. Pacificus geht es gut, und er wird von alien als ein Heiliger betrachtet. Nr. 46: P. Amandus de Bosschere "M. Oss. Reform. Ecclesiae Smyrnensis Pastor" an P. Raymundus Gheysen, Guardian des Klosters der MinderbriiderRekollekten zu Eeclo; Smyrna, den 6. Januar 1689. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Das Haus im Garten ist fertig. Er biniert an Sonnund Feiertagen, weil die Jesuiten und Kapuziner krank sind. — Eine Notiz von einer anderen Hand fiigt hinzu: Diese Briefe miissen auf Befehl des P. Bonifacius Maes im Provinzarchiv aufbewahrt werden; die Patres Amandus und Alexius reisten im Jahre 1686 nach Smyrna ab; der erstere starb im Jahre 1689, der andere im Jahre 1688. Nr. 47: P. Amandus de Bosschere, Minderbruder-Rekollekt und Pfarrer der Kirche in Smyrna, an "Dno Francisco D'hane V.T. Bachalauro et parocho in Bissighem Cortraci";24 Smyrna, den 25. Marz 1689. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Er hat schon seit acht Monaten keine Nachrichten von P. Bonifacius Maes und seinem Onkel bekommen. Er ist bald gesund, bald krank, bald froh, bald schwermutig, bald mochte er heimkehren, bald nach Persien oder Arabien reisen. Der Generalprokurator des Heiligen Landes hat ihn eingeladen, nach Jerusalem zu kommen; der Adressat moge jeden Monat eine heilige Messe fur ihn lesen, weil er sehr arm ist. Nr. 48: P. Amandus de Bosschere, Pfarrer zu Smyrna, an P. Raymundus Gheysen, Guardian des Klosters zu Eeclo; Smyrna, den 17. April 1689. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Er hat den Brief vom 30. August empfangen (via Guilielmus Marquis). Warum schreibt der Adressat nicht mehr?; noch immer gibt es Erdbeben; der Herr Van Dam sei ein richtiger Freund. Er hofft, im nachsten Jahr nach Jerusalem zu reisen, sonst werde er vielleicht nach Persien gehen. Die Pest wird hier jeden Tag schlimmer. Nr. 49: P. Amandus de Bosschere, Pfarrer der Kirche zu Smyrna, an P. Raymundus Gheijsen, Guardian zu Eeclo; Smyrna, den 20. Juni 1689. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: "Mense proxime elapso scripsi gdisso p Bomfacio Maes Commis. Generali, in qua periculosum meum statum praesentem ratione pestis gravissimae in qua tamquam verus parochus omnibus meis deservire debeo, exposui, atque culpam meam toti provinciae de defectibus meis agnovi, tamquam non longe a morte dissitus. et 24

In Westflandern.

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certe non ad insipientiam: quemadmodum paulo post transmissas illas, in gravem inciderem infirmitatem quamquam non pestifeream, laus Deo: nihilominus Doctor medicus, die quodam dixit amicis meis, apud quos de peste eram suspectus, quod non superessem usque in crastinum: sed Deus optimus Maximus cui optime notus est numerus dierum nieorum, quam preterire non potero, post tres quasi infirmitatis septimanias, pristinae me restituit sanitati, ita ut in Dominica SS. Trinitatis primam dixerim missam"; er besucht noch immer die Pestkranken; "pestis hie indies multum augetur, undequaque sum circumdatus aedibus infectis. orate pro me. D.O.M". Nr. 50: P. Pacificus Smit, Rekollekt, an P. Raymundus Gheijssens, Definitor der Provinz in Comitatu Flandriae zu Gent; Konstantinopel, den 27. August 1689. Lateinisch, Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Am 8. August ist P. Amandus am Fieber gestorben, nicht an der Pest; noch immer ist kein Kommissar ernannt worden; die Briefe soil man dem "Dom Judocus van Leeven utriusque iuris Doctori advocate Hagae comitis" zuschicken, und dieser Herr wird sie dem Herrn "Jacobum Colgien hollandiae legatum ad portam ottomanicam"25 iibersenden. Nr. 51: Guilielmus Marequis an P. Raymundus Gheysen, "de Min. Oss. Reform. Diffinitore Theologo. D.S. Joseph in fiandra" zu Gent; Smyrna, den 10. Oktober 1689. Niederlandisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Er schreibt iiber den Tod des P. Amandus: "Doch tot myn hertelyck leetweesen moet ick U reverentie beken maken hoe dat het den almoogende heeft geliefd op 8 augusti na een langduyrige indispositie de siele vanden welgem. Pater Amandus uyt deese bedroefde weereld tot hem te roepen, tot groot verlies van deese arme smirnse gemeente, die hy nae het schrickelyk accident van de ruine, door aerdbeving en brant deese stadt overgecomen, met soo grooten yver en christelycke liefde heeft geadsisteerd en geen gevaer van Pestilentie of moeyten ontsien om zyn evennaesten te helpen, et met alle minnelyckheyd te vertroosten, soo dat wy wel moogen hoopen en vastelyk vertrouwen dat zyne Deugd rycke siele aen Godt den Heere, tot een aengename offerande zal zyn geweest dat ons meede tot troost in dit verlies moet strecken"; P. Alexius ist auch gestorben, wie auch P. Nicolo Schopf, Exkommissar, vor kurzem auf der Insel Chios verschieden ist. P. Pacificus Smits befindet sich in Konstantinopel; er selber wird dem Kloster und den Religiosen helfen. Nr. 52: ist eine Kopie der Nummer 51. Nr. 53: Philippe Mommartz an P. Pacificus Smits zu Konstantinopel; Adrianopel, den 2. Januar 1690. Niederlandisch, Original, zwei Folien.26 Nr. 54: ein nicht unterzeichnetes Schreiben aus Konstantinopel vom 21. September 1691 an P. Pacificus Smits. Niederlandisch, zwei Folien. Nr. 55: Jan Persijn Mommartz an P. Pacificus Smits zu Wien vom 4. Oktober 1691. Niederlandisch, Original, zwei Folien. Nr. 56: P. Philippus a Locarno, Generalprokurator und Apostolischer Missionar M.O.R., an P. Provinzial. Rom, am 21. August 1703. Lateinisch,

25 Die Hohe oder Ottomanische Pforte ist der Ottomanische Hof oder die tiirkische Regierung bis 1923. 2b Die Nummern 53, 54 und 55 handeln nicht iiber die Mission.

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Original, ein Folium. Inhalt: Man braucht fur die Hollander in Smyrna und Konstantinopel ein oder zwei Priester; einen Priester als Stellvertreter des P. Didacus und einen Priester als Socius des P. Didacus. Nr. 57: P. Pacificus Smidt, Vikar und Missionar, an P. Gioseppe da Poculo "della provincia di S. Gioseppe nella Fiandra de'i Fr. Min. agente" zu Rom; Glinge,27 den 12. Februar 1708. Lateinisch, Original, zwei Folien. Inhalt: Am besten wiirde man Kirche und Kloster zu Smyrna den Patres der Germania Inferior iibergeben oder sogar die ganze Kustodie von Konstantinopel, denn die Patres wollen immer nach ihrer Ankunft wieder abreisen, wenn sie verschiedenen Nationen angehoren; er selber ist damals abgereist, weil der Generalkommissar ihn nach Rom abberufen hatte. Wegen der Pest wurde der Befehl abgeandert, und er wurde nach Wien gesandt, um die Gefangenen loszukaufen; von dort hat sein Provinzial ihn fur die Provinz zuriickgerufen; er ist aber bereit, trotz seines Alters zuriickzukehren. 2. DIE ERGEBNISSE FUR DIE MISSIONSGESGHIGHTE Die 52 Briefe, die im Kodex De Missione Smirnensi erhalten sind, zeigen uns einen regen Briefwechsel zwischen Obern und Untergebenen der Rekollektenprovinz des hi. Joseph in Flandern. Die Obern legten diesen Briefen groBen Wert bei, und wir verdanken es dem P. Bonifacius Maes, der General-definitor, Provinzialvikar, Provinzial und Generalkommissar war, daB die Briefe in das Provinzarchiv zu Gent deponiert wurden. 28 Es war ein gliicklicher Umstand, daB P. Raymundus Gheijsen — Provinzsekretar, Guardian und Definitor — der Onkel des P. Amandus de Bosschere war, weil aus diesem Grunde die Korrespondenz beider mehr personlich sein konnte. Wer waren die flamischen Missionare der Kustodie von Konstantinopel? 1683 hielten P. Johannes van Oyghem und Bruder Petrus Farde sich in der Kustodie auf, aber der Kodex enthalt keine Briefe von ihnen. 1681 kam P. Antonius van Costenoble (alias Antonius di Fiandra) nach Smyrna.29 Von ihm sind acht Briefe erhalten; der erste ist von 1683. Er starb am 27. November 1686 an der Pest. Zwar wurden die Patres Maximilianus und Amandus 1684 fur die Mission bestimmt; tatsachlich aber traten die Patres Amandus de Bosschere (alias Amandus da Fiandra oder Amandus basta), Alexius Allij und Pacificus Smit 1686 ihre Reise an. Ihr Reiseweg ging tiber Briissel, Augsburg, Venedig, die Insel Zante, den Peloponnes und In Ostflandern. Vgl. Nr. 46. Vgl. Nr. 13, wo er schrieb, daB er schon vier Jahre in Smyrna sei.

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die Insel Chios nach Smyrna. P. Pacificus blieb auf der Insel Chios zuriick, wo er von 1686 bis 1687 tatig war; von dort wurde er nach Konstantinopel versetzt; 1691 befand er sich in Wien und kehrte von dort in die Provinz zuriick. Von ihrn sind zwei Briefe erhalten. Trotz seines Alters war er 1708 noch immer bereit, wieder in die Mission zu gehen. P. Alexius Allij wirkte von 1686 bis 1688 in Smyrna, wo er durch ein Erdbeben umkam. Von ihm haben wir zwei Briefe. P. Amandus de Bosschere wirkte von 1686 bis 1687 in Smyrna, wurde dann auf der Insel Chios Guardian und kam kurz nach dem Erdbeben von 1688 nach Smyrna zuriick, wo er Pfarrer und stellvertretender Kommissar wurde, bis ihn am 8. August 1689 wahrend einer Pestseuche das Fieber hinwegraffte. Die 27 Briefe von seiner Hand bilden die wertvollsten der ganzen Sammlung. Es scheint, daB 1703 noch ein flamischer Minderbruder in der Kustodie tatig war, denn in einem Briefe aus diesem Jahre wird P. Didacus als Seelsorger fur die Hollander bezeichnet. Im gleichen Briefe werden von neuem zwei flamische Patres fur die Mission erbeten und 1708 wird sogar vorgeschlagen, die ganze Kustodie der flamischen Provinz anzuvertrauen. Die Briefe enthalten nur wenige Nachrichten iiber Mitglieder anderer Provinzen in der Kustodie von Konstantinopel. Wir horen von Italienern, Bayern und Tirolern, und 1686 gab es auf der Insel Chios Minderbruder sieben verschiedener Provinzen. Die Tatigkeit der Missionare war verschieden. Ihre Hauptaufgabe war die Seelsorge ihrer Landsleute, aber sie war nie von groBer Bedeutung, weil es nur wenige Flamen auf der Insel Chios und in Smyrna gab. Auch zu den kalvinistischen Hollandern hatten sie gute Beziehungen; sie waren den Patres behilflich bei Briefwechsel und Geldsendungen und luden P. Amandus einmal sogar ein, fur sie in ihrer Muttersprache zu predigen. P. Amandus beherrschte die italienische Sprache so gut, daB er darin regelmaBig predigte. Dazu lernte er noch die griechische Sprache und hatte sogar die Absicht, Arabisch zu studieren. P. Antonius van Costenoble lernte Tiirkisch und Griechisch. Von P. Alexius horen wir, daB er bald nach seiner Ankunft auf griechisch Katechismusunterricht erteilte. Daraus ersehen wir, daB die Patres auch mit der Seelsorge der Italiener und Griechen bekannt waren. Die Klosterkirchen dienten zugleich auch als Pfarrkirchen, und die katholischen Griechen wandten sich fur die Sakramentenspendung an die Patres, obgleich sie eigene Kirchen hatten. In Smyrna unterhielten die Missionare

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eine Schule. Sie arbeiteten auch an der Bekehrung der orthodoxen Christen: P. Antonius kam um die Vollmacht ein, Haretiker von der Exkommunikation lossprechen zu, diirfen, und P. Amandus unterhielt gute Beziehungen zu einem armenischen und einem griechischen Bischof der orthodoxen Christen in Smyrna. Besonders wahrend der haufigen Pestseuchen und Erdbeben miihten die Patres sich um die Kranken, und die Patres Amandus und Antonius opferten dabei ihr Leben. Die Ausdauer des Pater Amandus war wirklich heroisch, wie sein letzter Brief und die Lobrede des Herrn Marquis beweisen. Von eigentlicher Missionsarbeit unter den Moslems horen wir nichts; die Missionare verfolgten aber mit groBer Aufmerksamkeit den Zerfall des ottomanischen Reiches, und Pater Antonius meinte sogar, die Niederlage der Tiirken bei Wien konne ein AnlaB zu ihrer Bekehrung werden. Man gewinnt den Eindruck, daB die politische Lage damals eine richtige Mohammedanermission unmoglich machte, denn der standige Krieg zwischen Christen und Tiirken in Osteuropa hinderte die Missionare in dieser Arbeit. P. Pacificus Smit wirkte unter den gefangenen Deutschen in Konstantinopel. Es ist auffallend, daB fast alle Missionare der Kustodie von Konstantinopel nach drei Jahren heimkehren wollten. Zwar hatten sie sich nur fur ein Triennium verpflichtet, aber damit ist nicht alles erklart. Zu den kleineren Schwierigkeiten zahlten die Streitigkeiten mit den Kapuzinern und die schlimmen Sitten der Bevolkerung. Die Hauptgriinde ihrer Unzufriedenheit waren wohl der Gegensatz der verschiedenen Nationalitaten in der Kustodie und der Mangel an Arbeit. Denn die flamischen Missionare kamen mit den Italienern nicht gut aus und schlugen wiederholt vor, die Kustodie entweder einer gut reformierten italienischen Provinz oder ihrer eigenen anzuvertrauen. Den Mangel an Arbeit macht besonders P. Amandus geltend. Die Patres Antonius und Amandus litten unter diesen Schwierigkeiten so sehr, daB sie in die Kustodie des HI. Landes iibertreten wollten, und wir horen sogar, daB P. Amandus nach Persien oder Arabien abreisen mochte. Der Utrechter Kodex gibt uns also einen guten Einblick in die Verhaltnisse der Kustodie von Konstantinopel. Zwar waren die Schwierigkeiten und Gefahren groB; dennoch fehlte es den flamischen Missionaren nicht an Mut und Opfergeist. Trotz seiner standigen Klagen schrieb P. Amandus de Bosschere immer am Anfang seiner Briefe: "Pro Christo legatione fungimur"!

UNE LETTRE INEDITE DU P. VALERIUS RIST, O.F.M., MISSIONNAIRE EN COCHINCHINE*

La vie missionaire du Pere Valerius Rist, Franciscain de la Province de Baviere, ne a Neuburg a. D. le 6 Janvier 1696, a fait Tobjet de plusieurs etudes, dont deux furent publiees dans VArchivum Franciscanum Historicum} Nous voulons attirer ici 1'attention sur une lettre inconnue et inedite de ce Pere. Aux archives du Provincialat des Peres Franciscains a Utrecht (Pays-Bas) se trouve une collection de manuscrits intitulee: De Missione Smyrnensi. Elle contient 64 lettres provenant de differentes missions franciscaines,2 et une de celles-ci parait etre un autographe du Pere Rist. Les folios de cette collection ne sont pas numerates. La lettre du Pere Rist est la 64^me et se compose de deux folios. En 1724, les Peres Seraphinus a Borgia et Valerius Rist ouvrirent une mission franciscaine au Cambodge. En 1731, apres avoir passe quelque temps en Chine, le Pere Rist arriva en Cochinchine, ou il fut nomme coadjuteur du Vicaire Apostolique en 1736. II y deceda 1'annee suivante.3 Sa lettre de 1734, copiee ci-dessous, nous montre la cause de son deces: une vie missionnaire sans repos. Admodum Reverende Pater, patrone et collega colendissime, Gratissimam Vestrae Paternitatis Admodum Reverendae epistolam sub 20 novembris 1732 ad me datam una cum duobus libris, in quo (!) officia nova continentur, recepi; ea autem mense aprilis anni praesentis e Sinis hue ad me fuerunt transmissa. Ago proin gratias, quas

* First published in: Archivum Franciscanum Historicum 53 (Quaracchi 1960) pp. 206-209. 1 L. Perez, Relation del P. Francisco de la Conception, misionero de Cochinchina, AFH 10 (1917) 175-184, et A. Meersman, Fr. Seraphim a Borgia, O.F.M., and Fr. Valerius Rist, O.F.M., in Goa, AFH 31 (1938) 559-560; voir la litterature mentionnee par ces deux auteurs. - Voir A. Camps, Fldmische Franziskaner in Konstantinopel, Smyrna und auf der Insel Chios am Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts, in Fran^iskanische Studien 40 (1958) 239^250, pour la description de 52 de ces lettres. 5 L. Lemmens, Geschichte der Franziskanermissionen, Miinster i.W. 1929, 112 s.

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possum, maximas pro illo favore et fraterno affectu. Vellem respondere cum simili, at cum distantia loci et regni, in quo commoror, utpote longissime distans a navibus Europaeis, nee non status deplorabilis Missionis Sinicae mihi id denegent, rogo, ut Vestra Paternitas Admodum Reverenda fraternum cordis affectum recipiat, qui semper ad obsequia Vestrae Paternitatis Admodum Reverendae est paratissimus, Deum interim exorando, ut eadem Vestrae Paternitati Admodum Reverendae hie et in aeternum retribuere dignetur. Pariter quam plurimas depono gratias pro meis epistolis annis retroactis ad loca, ad quae dirigebantur, transmissis; illos libros, de quibus mentionem in epistola feceram, iam duobus abhinc annis per viam cuiusdam mercatoris Amstelodami commorantis recepi; hie autem include epistolam, rogans Vestram Paternitatem Admodum Reverendam, ut earn Heidelbergam transmittere dignetur. Credo, quod Vestra Paternitas Admodum Reverenda notitiam receperit de funesto statu Missionis Sinicae, cum imperator Sinensis nostram S. Legem maxime persequatur, eamque, quantum in se est, eradicare omni vi et conatu laboret, unde missionarii Cantonis morantes, opprobriose fuerunt expulsi, nee non inquiruntur missionarii occulte in provinciis regni Sinensis commorantes, fueruntque duo Reverendi Patres Dominicani capti, et catenis ligati ad aulam Pekinensem ducti; eventum illius casus adhuc nescio. Latitant adhuc plures missionarii praecipue nostrae sanctae Religionis, in diversis regni Sinensis provinciis occulti, et Deo sint laudes, nullus eorum adhuc fuit proditus vel captus: Deus tandem illi Missioni pacem elargiri dignetur, et cor tyranni Sinensis demulcere, quo a suo nefando proposito desistat. Ego tribus abhinc annis e Sinis abiens, in Cambogiam pergere praetendi, at Deo sic disponente in Cochinchinam fui delatus, unde divinae me totaliter submittens voluntati in hoc regno Cochinchinensi commoror et missionem exerceo. Regnum hoc Cochinchinae retroactis annis continuas patiebatur persecutiones, cum plurimi ob nostram S. Legem hie fuerint occisi, et Missio haec fuerit irrigata sanguine plurimorum martyrum, attamen modo aliquibus annis pace et quiete fruitur, dum rex est benignus et pacificus nee non affectum erga nostram S. Legem videtur in corde gerere. At est pax instantanea, cum daemon hanc Missionem perturbare non cesset, unde spem inter et metum Missionem hie exercemus. At hie praecipue de nocte Missionis munus exercetur, sicque de die iter facere, et postmodum noctes integras in excipiendo confessiones et administrando

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sacramenta evigilare missionarius est coactus. Fructus quidem est maximus in vinea Domini, cum pagani plurimi ad nostram Sanctam Legem convertantur; at labor quoque est maximus, cum nulla missionario detur requies, quin vix non in dies iter plurium dierum ad administrandum sacramenta fidelibus perficere cogatur. Hinc fateor, me esse exhaustum viribus, et nisi Deus novas vires subministret, credo me brevi oneri succubiturum. Fiat voluntas Dei. Solum exoro divinam clementiam, quod meas debiles vires cum sua gratia divina adiuvare et confortare dignetur, ut tandem cum Apostolo dicere queam: Cursum consummavi, fidem servavi. Et haec pauca sunt, quae Vestrae Paternitati Admodum Reverendae scribere possum. Cum vero tempus ad scribendum plura deficiat, solum rogo, ut in meo nomine salutem plurimam dicere dignetur domino loanni de Jongh. Nee non quoque me et hasce Missiones ss. sacrificiis et ferventissimis precibus Vestrae Paternitati Admodum Reverendae recommendo, meque prompte ad obsequia Vestrae Paternitatis Admodum Reverendae offerens, maneo cum humillima reverentia et submissione in Cochinchina 12 aprilis 1734 indignus confrater et humilis servus, inutilis collega Fr. Valerius Rist Ord., Min. Ref. Provinciae Bavariae Admodum Reverendo Patri, patrono observandissimo Fr. loanni Rademaker Ord. Min. Recoil. Provinciae Germaniae inferioris, Missionario Apostolico in civitate Amstelodamensi sub signo Moysis et Aronis Amstelodamum. S.A.T.G.

LUCIANO PETECH UND DIE KATHOLISCHE TIBET-MISSION IM 17. UND 18. JAHRHUNDERT*

Jeder Missionshistoriker wird L. Petech fur immer zu Dank verpflichtet sein, weil er die Briefe und Berichte der Kapuziner- und Jesuitenmissionare in Tibet und Nepal kritisch veroffentlichte: / missionari italiani nel Tibet e nel Nepal, Bd. I-VII (Rom 1952-1956). Mit besonderem Interesse liest man darum auch seinen Aufsatz: Die katholischen Tibet-Missionen im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert, in: Saeculum XII (Freiburg i. Br./Miinchen 1961), 358-365. Diese Arbeit bietet bei aller Kiirze eine gute Ubersicht. Doch scheint es uns notwendig, einige Bemerkungen anzufiigen. Auf S. 359 berichtet Petech iiber die Reise der Patres Johann Grueber s.j. und Albert D'Orville s.j. von Peking iiber Tibet nach Indien. Sie weilten im Oktober und November 1661 in Lhasa. In einer FuBnote verweist Petech auf zwei Publikationen von C. Wessels s.j. Hier hatten aber auch die Arbeiten B. Zimmels erwahnt werden miissen: Der erste Bericht iiber Tibets Hauptstadt Lhasa am dem Jahre 1661, in: Biblos II (Wien 1953), 127-145; der erweiterte Sonderdruck dieser Studie: Johann Grueber in Lhasa, Wien 1953; Die geheime Mission des Johann Grueber, in: Wiener Zeitung Nr. 42 vom 20.2.1954; Johann Grueber — die erste Durchquerung Tibets, in: Oesterreichische Naturforscher, Arzte und Techniker, herausgegeben von Fr. Knoll, Wien 1957, 11—14; Johann Grueber — die erste Durchquerung Tibets, in: Universum XII (Wien 1957), 33-36; und: Die erste Durchquerung Tibets im Jahre 1661 durch den Oesteneicher P. Johann Grueber s.j., in: Oesterreich in Geschichte und Literatur, V (Wien 1961), 221-226: Diese Arbeiten B. Zimmels sind darum so wichtig, weil sie den Weg weisen, dem die Forscher folgen miissen, um die immer noch nicht aufgefundenen ReiseAufzeichnungen Gruebers ausfindig zu machen (vgl. mein Beitrag in NZM XII, 1957, 231-233; und: N. Mylius, Katholische Missionen in Tibet, in: Die Wiener Schule der Volkerkunde - Festschrift, Horn-Wien 1956, 316-317).

* First published in: Neue ^eitschrift fur Missionstvissenschqft 20 (Schoneck - Beckenried 1964) pp. 62-64.

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Eine zweite Bemerkung bezieht sich auf die Verdienste der Kapuziner-Missionare in Tibet (1707-1711; 1716-1733 und 1741-1745) um die tibetischen Studien, die Geographic und Ethnographic. Petech vergleicht die Arbeiten der Kapuziner nur mit denen des Ippolito Desideri s.j. (1715-1721 in Tibet). Es ware objektiver gewesen, wenn er auch Antonio de Andrade s.j. (1624-1635 in Tibet) mit herangezogen hatte. AuBerdem widerspricht sich Petech selbst. Er schreibt: "Nur zwei Manner unternahmen das Studium der tibetischen Sprache und Religion ernstlich: Desideri und Francesco Orazio von La Penna" (S. 363). Der erste war Jesuit, der zweite Kapuziner. Man ist dann freilich iiberrascht, daB Petech doch noch die linguistischen und religionswissenschaftlichen Arbeiten der Kapuziner Giuseppe von Ascoli, Francois-Marie von Tours und Domenico von Fano (lateinischtibetisches Worterbuch), Cassiano von Macerata (Alphabetum Tangutanum sive Tibetanum und seinen Reisebericht mit einer Beschreibung der nepalesischen und tibetanischen Volks- und Religionsfeste), und Domenico von Fano (Reisebericht) besonders lobt. Das lateinischtibetische Worterbuch, das fur sich schon eine groBe Leistung darstellt, nennt Petech einen ersten Versuch in dieser Hinsicht (S. 363). Die Beschreibung der nepalesischen und tibetischen Volks- und Religionsfeste des Cassiano von Macerata "is vor allem vom ethnologischen Standpunkt aus wertvoll" und "bietet eine groBe Fiille von Material, das auch heute noch zu einem groBen Teil brauchbar ist" (S. 364). Der Bericht des Domenico von Fano bietet "em nicht zu unterschatzendes historisches und ethnologisches Material" (S. 364). Eine objektive und vollstandige Wiirdigung der Arbeiten der Kapuziner scheint uns noch auszustehen. Es darf auch nich auBer Acht gelassen werden, daB die Kapuziner in Tibet viel zahlreicher vertreten waren als die Jesuiten; besonders wenn Lob und Tadel ausgeteilt werden, ist es wichtig, dies nicht zu iibersehen. Eine dritte Bemerkung betrifft die Einstellung der Missionare zur tibetischen Kultur. Petech schreibt: Die Kapuziner zeigen im allgemeinen Gleichgiiltigkeit und oft Geringschatzung; nur Domenico von Fano und Francesco Orazio von La Penna heben die tiefe, aufrichtige Frommigkeit und den hohen moralischen Stand des einfachen Volkes hervor. Das gleiche gilt, im Grunde genommen, auch fur Desideri, jedoch veranlafit ihn die Weitherzigkeit eines Patriziers und des Jesuiten zu einer ruhigeren und abgeklarteren Wertschatzung. Auch er riihmt die Giite und Frommigkeit des Volkes, die mancher europaischen Nation als Muster dienen konnten; dabei fehlt es natiirlich nicht an strengem Tadel fur einzelne Aspekte der

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tibetischen Gesellschaft, wie z.B. die Polyandrie. Anderseits aber distanziert sich Desideri von den Kapuzinern durch die vornehm-kuhle und peinlich genaue Beschreibung der Grundziige des Lamaismus. Er legt scharfsinnig die Tatsachen dar und enthalt sich eines Urteils; der Kritik sind eben spezielle Kapitel vorbehalten, in dennen freilich der EinfluB des Teufels auf Entstehung und Lehrsatze des Lamaismus ernst und ausfuhrlich erortert wird (S. 365). Die Gegensatze, die hier von Petech angedeutet werden, scheinen uns nicht so eindeutig zu sein und sie werden auBerdem von Petech selbst immer wider abgeschwacht, sodaB auch in diesem Punkte eine objektive und volstandige Beurteilung noch immer aussteht. Dabei sollte dann die Arbeit von A. Jann, O.F.M. CAP., %ur Kulturarbeit der katholischen Kirche in Innerasien. Die Mission und literarische Tdtigkeit des Apostolischen Prdfekten von Tibet, P. Franciscus Horatius Olivarius della Penna di Billi (1712—1745), in: Studien aus dem Gebiete von Kirche und Kultur (Festschrift Gustav Schniirer), Paderborn 1930, 128-207, nicht auBer Acht gelassen werden. SchlieBlich soil noch hervorgehoben werden, daB das Urteil Petechs liber die Wirkung der Missionen auf die tibetische Gesellschaft und Kultur — wie er selbst schreibt — "absolut negativ" (S. 365) ist. Petech glaubt, daB in dieser Hinsicht der Erfolg der Jesuiten in China auch nicht sonderlich eindrucksvoll gewesen sei. Nun stellt sich aber die Frage, ob es uberhaupt die Absicht der Missionare war, die tibetische oder chinesische Kultur zu bereinflussen. Zweck und Mittel soilten nich verwechselt werden. Es ist die Absicht Petechs, von der reinen Missionstatigkeit abzusehen (S. 363). Damit setzt er sich der Gefahr aus, den Wert der tibetischen Studien und der kulturellen Beeinflussung zu verabsolutieren. Auch die profane Arbeit der Jesuiten am Hofe der chinesischen Kaiser und am Hofe der Moghulkaiser in Indien hatte einen relativen Wert. Mittels guter Beziehungen mit den Herrschern sollte die apostolische Tatigkeit anderer Missionare im Innern des Landes sicher gestellt und die religiose Beeinflussung der gebildeten Kreise vorbereitet und moglich gemacht werden. Es liegt durchaus auf der Hand, daB sich die Missionare in Tibet von den gleichen Absichten leiten lieBen. Das von Petech in sieben Banden sorgfaltig zusammengetragene Material sollte darum einmal von einem Missionswissenschaftler missionsmethodisch ausgewertet werden!

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STUDIES IN CHRISTIAN MISSION The Studies in Christian Mission publishes scholarly monographs in the history of the world-wide missionary movements, the dynamics of Christian witness and service in new environments, the transition from movements to churches, and the areas of cultural initiative or involvement of Christian bodies and individuals such as education, health, community development, press, literature and art. Special attention is given to local initiative and leadership and to Christian missions from the Third World. Studies in the theories and paradigms of mission in their respective contexts and contributions to missiology as a theological discipline are a second focus of the series. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

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Williams, C.P. The Ideal of the Self-Governing Church. A Study in Victorian Missionary Strategy. 1990. ISBN 90 04 09188 2 Stine, P.C. (ed.). Bible Translation and the Spread of the Church. The Last 200 Years. 1990. Reprint 1992. ISBN 90 04 09331 1 Oosthuizen, G.C. The Healer-Prophet in Afro-Christian Churches. 1992. ISBN 90 04 09468 7 Carmody s.j., B.P. Conversion and Jesuit Schooling in ^ambia. 1992. ISBN 90 04 09428 8 Pirotte, J. & H. Derroite (eds.). Eglises et sante dans le Tiers Monde. Hier et Aujourd'hui — Churches and Health Care in the Third World. Past and Present. 1991. ISBN 90 04 09470 9 Brent, A. Cultural Episcopacy and Ecumenism. Representative Ministry in Church History from the Age of Ignatius of Antioch to the Reformation, With Special Reference to Contemporary Ecumenism. 1992. ISBN 90 04 09432 6 Ruokanen, M. The Catholic Doctrine of Non-Christian Religions. According to the Second Vatican Council. 1992. ISBN 90 04 09517 9 T'ien Ju-K'ang. Peaks of Faith. Protestant Mission in Revolutionary China. 1993. ISBN 90 04 09723 6 Weber, Ch. W. International Influences and Baptist Mission in West Cameroon. German-American Missionary Endeavor under International Mandate and British Colonialism. 1993. ISBN 90 04 09765 1 Aritonang, J. S. Mission Schools in Batakland (Indonesia), 1861-1940. 1994. ISBN 90 04 09967 0 Doti Sanou, B. L'Emancipation des femmes Madare. L'impact du projet administratif et missionnaire sur une societe africaine, 1900-1960. 1994. ISBN 90 04 09852 6 Lapointe, E. (ed.). Conespondance entre Francois Laydevant et Albert Perbal, 1927-1952. Dialogue du Missionnaire et du Missiologue. Avec annotations et introduction. 1994. ISBN 90 04 10171 3 Toullelan, P.-Y. Missionnaires au quotidien a Tahiti. Les Picpuciens en Polynesie au XIXe siecle. 1995. ISBN 90 04 10100 4 Johnson Black, N. The Frontier Mission and Social Transformation in Western Honduras. The Order of Our Lady of Mercy, 1525-1773. 1995. ISBN 90 04 10219 1 Thompson, T.J. Christianity in Northern Malawi. Donald Eraser's Missionary Methods and Ngoni Culture. 1995. ISBN 90 04 10208 6

16. Benedetto, R. (ed.). Translations by Winifred K. Vass. Presbyterian Reformers in Central Africa. A Documentary Account of the American Presbyterian Congo Mission and the Human Rights Struggle in the Congo, 1890-1918. 1996. ISBN 90 04 10239 6 17. Reed, C. Pastors, Partners and Paternalists. African Church Leaders and Western Missionaries in the Anglican Church in Kenya, 1850-1900. 1997. ISBN 90 04 10639 1 18. Cook, G. (ed.). Crosscurrents in Indigenous Spirituality. Interface of Maya, Catholic and Protestant Worldviews. 1997. ISBN 90 04 10622 7 19. Craig, T.L. The Missionary Lives. A Study in Canadian Missionary Biography and Autobiography. 1997. ISBN 90 04 10815 7 20. Wrang, X. Christianity and Imperial Culture. Chinese Christian Apologetics in the Seventeenth Century and their Latin Patristic Equivalent. 1998. ISBN 90 04 10927 7 21. Denis, P. The Dominicans Friars in Southern Africa. A Social History (15771990). 1998. ISBN 90 04 11144 1 22. Eber, I. The Jewish Bishop and the Chinese Bible. S.IJ. Schereschewsky (1831-1906). 1999. ISBN 90 04 11266 9 23. Vahakangas, M. In Search of Foundations for African Catholicism. Charles Nyamiti's Theological Methodology. 1999. ISBN 90 04 11328 2 24. Railton, N.M. jVo North Sea. The Anglo-German Evangelical Network in the Middle of the Nineteenth Century. 2000. ISBN 90 04 11573 0 25. Camps, A. Studies in Asian Mission History, 1956-1998. 2000. ISBN 90 04 11572 2