Search

From the end of the 16 th century to the beginning of the 17 th century, under the direction of the archdiocese in Macao (China), Jesuit missionaries set foot in China and Vietnam in turn to preach the Gospel and convert believers in these two countries. The main reason for the success of the Jesuits was the use of appropriate missionary methods and advocating proper cultural integration in each country. However, due to the different paradigm of historical development in China and Vietnam, and especially due to disagreement about the perception and behavior of indigenous culture among the Jesuits themselves, the process of evangelization in the two countries occurred differently. Based on historical and logical methods, especially the comparative method, this study analyzes and compares the similarities and differences in missionary methods and the advocacy of cultural integration in the two countries mentioned above. Primary sources were the foundation of the work, such as archival records and recently published research results of Chinese and Vietnamese scholars as well as other researchers. The results of this work contribute to assessing the similarities and differences in the process of applying missionary methods and cultural integration. The work further contributes to the study of Christian history in China and Vietnam in the16 th and 17 th centuries.

This article assesses how Lutheran and other Reformation doctrines spread and were countered in the Portuguese seaborne empire. Portugal's inquisitorial and episcopal repression of ‘Lutherans’ was extended to Brazil and Asia, where it was supported by the Society of Jesus. The Portuguese empire's transcontinental connections favoured the emergence of interconnected histories, facilitating the circulation of books, engravings and beliefs and thus provided non-Portuguese people with links to the reformed world that spread amongst and disturbed the Portuguese living in India and Portuguese America. By opening up routes the Portuguese, paradoxically, functioned as vectors for other ways of interpreting Christianity.

The paper offers a historical perspective on the division within the Roman Catholic Church in mainland China, focusing on the appointment of bishops, ...

Over the last two decades, the historiography that focused on the solutions for representation of the inquisitorial tribunals in their diverse peripheries paid special attention to the role played by the commissioners of the Holy Office. The commissioners nominated to operate in non-peninsular settings (particularly Brazil and the Estado da Índia) were the object of particular analysis. In these cases, historiography highlighted a wide array of faculties and capacities when compared to their homologues in the kingdom of Portugal, specially the ones operating in the district of the Inquisition of Goa. Here, commissioners even benefited from faculties to absolve some offences in foro conscientiæ and sometimes even judicially. This proposal undertakes to reflect what might have motivated such departure from the profile of the Portuguese commissioner; whether it was, according to some texts, the dimension of the Goa Inquisition’s district; whether, according to other sources, the qualities of the newly-converted population that was subjected to the jurisdiction of this tribunal. Finally, we will seek to determine the consequences of the attribution of a specific judicial space to the episcopate in dioceses with more dynamic missions for the diversity of the models of inquisitorial vigilance in the Estado da Índia.

As an essential member of the tangible cultural heritage, historic architectural heritage contains unique historical and social values. This paper describes the current state of conservation of historic buildings and the ways of conservation, revitalization and renewal by the Macao authorities, and draws on the Cathedral of the Merciful Jesus in Goa, India, and Coventry Cathedral in England, to provide suggestions for the conservation and restoration of the site of St. Paul’s College in Macao. St. Paul’s College is divided into three main parts: St. Paul’s Church, the Seminary, and the Fortress, for conservation, revitalization, and renewal. The current conservation and renewal measures of the site are still inadequate. By analyzing the conservation strategies and the current situation, St. Paul’s College needs the cooperation of the government and the public to value and improve the reuse value of the site and increase its visibility. At the same time, the use of rich restoration and renewal methods, combined with the current situation of society in the restoration and renewal of the site, can present valuable ideas.

Based on the original materials recorded by the missionaries of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris operating in Vietnam from the second half of the 17th century to the late 18th century and the achievements of French and Vietnamese scholars, this article addresses the building of indigenous force of missionaries of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris in Tonkin and Cochinchina (Vietnam) during this period. In particular, the author of this article focuses on comparing the results of training Vietnamese priest resources and building seminaries in the two above areas, and at the same time points out the reason for such difference. To complete the content of this article, the author combines two main research methods of historical science (historical method and logical method) with other research methods (systematic, statistical, differential analysis, synthetic, etc.), especially the comparative method. The research result presented in the article makes specific contributions to studying the history of Christianity in Vietnam and the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris in this country in the 17th and 18th centuries.

This abstract describes a historical transcription of a letter dated 7 December 1548, composed in Malacca by the layman Manuel Pinto and addressed to the Bishop of Goa. The document details Pinto’s travels between 1545 and 1548 across the eastern Indonesian archipelago, with extended residence in Macassar (South Sulawesi), the inland kingdom of Sōr centred on Sedemrre, and the Javanese-ruled city of Sian. It records encounters with indigenous rulers—including an *opiano* (Christian) king of Suppa, the powerful Sōr ‘Emperor’ of Sedemrre, a Jpiano (Javanese) sovereign of Sian, and his Xpano (Spanish) uncle—as well as observations on local governance, religious affiliation, and geopolitical tensions. Central themes include early Christian missionary activity led by Franciscan friars Vicente Vieira and Munoz, indigenous expressions of desire for ecclesiastical support and Portuguese or Spanish settlement, the strategic significance of Macassar’s resources (sandalwood, gold, eaglewood, lac) and maritime connectivity to the Moluccas and Ambon, and urgent warnings regarding Javanese military ambitions to convert local populations to Islam and threaten Portuguese-held Malacca. The letter serves as a primary source for sixteenth-century Iberian colonial outreach, interreligious dynamics, and Southeast Asian political geography.

This abstract describes a composite historical document comprising multiple interrelated letters and administrative records dating from 1545, originating primarily from Malacca, Zomba, Goa, and the College of Santa Fé—likely situated in Portuguese India or Southeast Asia. The material includes correspondence authored by Jesuit and Augustinian missionaries, notably Fathers João de Gábara, António, Nicolau Lanciloto (also cited as Planaloto), Francisco Sallamo, Francisco de Mancilla, and S. Affonso D’Aveiro, addressed to figures including Father Martinho de Santa Cruz (Rector of the College of Jesus in Coimbra) and Father Comel. Key locations referenced are Malacca, Macassar, Cojon (or Kojoen), Oujo (Ujo), the Cape of Comorim, Goa, Ambueno, and territories associated with the Apostle Saint Thomas. The documents detail missionary activities, catechumenate organisation (*Fianos*, *mocos*), bilingual liturgical practice, translation of Spanish doctrinal works into Indigenous languages, baptismal administration to Muslims (*mouros*) and adherents of Indigenous religions (*gentios*), political tensions surrounding Christian conversion in Cojon—including the martyrdom of Deshoy Fin Cipeg and reported celestial miracles—and logistical arrangements for personnel deployment, supply procurement, and ecclesiastical governance. The collection reflects urgent pastoral needs, inter-order coordination, colonial administrative structures, and early modern Catholic evangelisation strategies across South and Southeast Asia.

This abstract describes a 1545 historical document comprising a multi-page ecclesiastical letter authored by Friar Manuel Fernandes, a Franciscan missionary stationed in São Tomé, and addressed to Dom Paulo Gestavo, Bishop of Goa, then based at the 10th Legion of Saint Faith (São Fé) in Goa. Dated 8 May 1545, the letter details Fernandes’s spiritual resolve to travel to Macassar (modern-day Makassar, Sulawesi) to evangelise recently settled Spaniards under two local kings, outlining plans to translate core Catholic prayers—including the *Pater Noster*, *Ave Maria*, and a General Confession—into their vernacular for sacramental use pending arrival of linguistically competent confessors. It references contemporary geopolitical conditions in Jaffnapatam (northern Ceylon), where investiture of its designated ruler—the ‘Fijiano’—was deferred due to intervention by a vessel from the King of Pegu, and notes the presence of Father Francisco de Mansilhas and other Malabar missionaries among the ‘Fianos’ at Cape Comorin, having wintered previously in Mozambique. The text includes marginal annotations, archival page numbers (5, 7, 97), and a humble Franciscan self-designation; no official seal or legible signature is present. Intended for scholarly analysis of early modern Iberian missionary activity, colonial administration, and inter-Asian religious exchange, the document reflects period-specific terminology, theological framing, and administrative concerns within the Portuguese ecclesiastical sphere.

This abstract describes a historical transcription of the second letter sent from India by St Francis Xavier, S.J., dated Cochin, 27 January 1545, addressed to the Fathers and Brothers of the Society of Jesus in Rome. The document is a firsthand missionary account detailing evangelisation efforts across multiple regions of sixteenth-century Portuguese India, including Cochin, Goa, Malacca, and territories extending up to five hundred leagues distant. Key figures include St Francis Xavier himself; the Governor of the Indies (Great East); the King of India and his brother, the legitimate heir; a martyred prince whose death was accompanied by reported celestial and terrestrial portents; three regional rulers in a distant territory who converted with their subjects in 1544; and secular figures such as Manuel Pinto and Father Vicente Viegas. Central subject matter encompasses mass baptisms—reportedly exceeding ten thousand in one month and anticipated to surpass one hundred thousand annually—vernacular liturgical translation and instruction, idol destruction, responses to persecution and martyrdom, political negotiations linking conversion to sovereignty, and intercessory diplomacy involving Portuguese colonial authorities. Marginal annotations and archival notes reflect contemporary scribal practices and textual uncertainties. The letter serves as a primary source for studying early Jesuit mission strategy, cross-cultural religious encounter, colonial ecclesiastical administration, and the intersection of spiritual authority and imperial power in the Portuguese Estado da Índia.