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This 18th-century ecclesiastical decree, issued by Charles Thomas Maillard de Tournon in his capacity as Apostolic Commissioner and Titular Patriarch of Antioch with the authority of a Legate *de latere*, comprises two principal documents dated 29 November 1704 and 27 January 1707, both promulgated in Nanking during the Chinese Rites controversy. The text constitutes an official papal directive addressed to bishops, apostolic vicars, missionaries, and priests—secular and regular, including members of the Society of Jesus—operating within the Chinese mission territories. It formally establishes doctrinal and liturgical regulations concerning the compatibility of Chinese rites, customs, and religious practices with Christian orthodoxy. Central to the document is the prohibition of ancestral sacrifices, veneration of Confucius, and the use of ancestral tablets, all deemed incompatible with the Christian monotheistic faith. It explicitly rejects the identification of Shangdi (Xanti) or Tianzhu (Tien Tiu) with the Christian God absent orthodox theological alignment. Missionaries are required to affirm adherence only to those Chinese practices reconcilable with Christian law. The decree upholds the Lovanian Rite as mandatory under penalty of automatic excommunication reserved to the Holy See, suspending prior privileges, including those granted to the Jesuits, except in articulo mortis. Rooted in the authority of Pope Clement XI and reaffirming earlier rulings such as that of Pope Alexander VII in 1656, this document serves as a critical primary source for understanding the Vatican’s stance on inculturation, religious syncretism, and ecclesiastical jurisdiction in early modern Sino-Western missionary encounters.
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This 18th-century ecclesiastical decree, issued by Charles Thomas Maillard de Tournon in his capacity as Apostolic Commissioner and Titular Patriarch of Antioch with the authority of a Legate *de latere*, comprises two principal documents dated 29 November 1704 and 27 January 1707, both promulgated in Nanking during the Chinese Rites controversy. The text constitutes an official papal directive addressed to bishops, apostolic vicars, missionaries, and priests—secular and regular, including members of the Society of Jesus—operating within the Chinese mission territories. It formally establishes doctrinal and liturgical regulations concerning the compatibility of Chinese rites, customs, and religious practices with Christian orthodoxy. Central to the document is the prohibition of ancestral sacrifices, veneration of Confucius, and the use of ancestral tablets, all deemed incompatible with the Christian monotheistic faith. It explicitly rejects the identification of Shangdi (Xanti) or Tianzhu (Tien Tiu) with the Christian God absent orthodox theological alignment. Missionaries are required to affirm adherence only to those Chinese practices reconcilable with Christian law. The decree upholds the Lovanian Rite as mandatory under penalty of automatic excommunication reserved to the Holy See, suspending prior privileges, including those granted to the Jesuits, except in articulo mortis. Rooted in the authority of Pope Clement XI and reaffirming earlier rulings such as that of Pope Alexander VII in 1656, this document serves as a critical primary source for understanding the Vatican’s stance on inculturation, religious syncretism, and ecclesiastical jurisdiction in early modern Sino-Western missionary encounters.
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- Manuscript (5)
Publication year
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Between 1700 and 1799
(4)
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Between 1700 and 1709
(4)
- 1707 (4)
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Between 1700 and 1709
(4)
- Unknown (1)