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5 Periods of Missions History
- 0-400: Romans
- 400-800: Barbarians
- 800-1200: Vikings
- 1200-1600: Turks (Islam)
- 1600-2000: Ends of the Earth
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2 Catholic Missionaries in India
- Francis Xavier (India and Japan; 1506-52) from the Basque-region in Spain
- --X. lived very frugally and today is the patron saint of all Catholic missions
- In 10 yrs allegedly baptized more than 40,000 (10,000 in one month in India), ate with headhunting tribesmen, washed the sores of lepers in Venice, and catechized children in India
- Roberto de' Nobili (1577-1656):
- Became a Roman Catholic Brahmin (India, followed Xavier)
- Adapted cultural and religious setting--imitated austere Hindu monks
- Refused to criticize horrible religious Hindu customs like the widow-burnings (Sati) (compare with Carey)
- Very adaptive to the culture, creating a syncretized version of Christianity
- Malabar rites: accusations against Jesuit missionaries that they sycretized to achieve converts
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2 Catholic Missionaries to China
Mateo Ricci (1552-1610)Dressed within the Chinese culture as a man of lettersActed as a teacher of law, praising Buddhism and ConfuciusPerpetuated a form of Christian doctrine that syncretized with BuddhismArrived in China in 1583; taught them Copernican view of the solar system (ironically, while Galileo is being tried for it by the Vatican!)Due to opposition, rented haunted houses so the Chinese would leave them aloneEventually gained the ear of the Emperor and established a syncretized form of RCAdam Schall (1591-1666) China: Credited with gaining a half million converts for RC in just 15 years
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Catholic Missionary to Japan
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Alessandro Valignano (1539-1606)
- Disciple of Mateo's missions philosophy
- Required missionaries to read, write, and speak Japanese
- Insisted on an indigenous clergy, adapting the presentation of Christianity to the culture
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Catholic missionaries to Abyssinia and the Congo
Nunez, Baretto (d. 1561), Sylveira
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Catholic missionaries to North America
Jean de Brebeuf (1593-1649); martyred by Iroquois in Quebec
Gabriel Lallemant (Quebec Huron Indians; martyred)
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Catholic missionaries to South America
- Peter Claver
- (1581-1654) "Slave of the Blacks" or "Slave of the Slaves"
- Allegedly saw 300,000 converts
- Worked for humane treatment of slaves on plantations
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Catholic missionary to Central America
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Bartolome Las Casas
- (Honduras, Guatemals, and Venezuela) 1474-1566
- Adopted during Columbus' second voyage
- Sometimes "credited" with introducing black slavery in the New World
- Very concerned about the manipulation of the "indians" in the New World
Vincent de Paul (1580-1660)--succeeded Las Cases ministering to large number of converts
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