Transcript Document

A HISTORICAL
PANORAMA
HOW THE CATHOLIC FAITH CAME TO ASIA
ASIA
The MISSIONARY CONTINENT “PAR EXCELLENCE”
The most fascinating continent
Half of the world’s population
Half of the world’s nations
The most
ancient
traditions
The most
advanced
societies
The birthplace of all major religions
“Natus
in Asia”
“Because Jesus was
born, lived, died and
rose from the dead in
the Holy Land, that
small portion of
western Asia became
a land of promise and
hope for all mankind.
Jesus knew and loved
this land, He made his
own the history, the
sufferings and hopes
of its people…”
(Ecclesia in Asia)
The growth of Christian
Faith in Asia
The Apostolic Period.
After
Pentecost,the
people of God
began their
missionary
journey on the
roads of the
world- towards
the far corners
of the earth.
With St. Paul and
St. Peter, the
gospel message
spread to many
countries
around the
world.
And with the zeal
of the martyrs
of the early
Catholic
Church, the
Christian faith
spread far and
wide - into the
heart of Asia
The Jesus Story
How it was told in South Asia
INDIA
Longstanding tradition credits the Apostle
Thomas with the introduction of Christianity
in the Kerala area in the year AD 52.
The arrival of the Portuguese in 1510 in Goa
which became their centre of mission marked
a new phase in missionary endeavour.
Missionary Journey of St. Francis Xavier
St. Francis Xavier arrived in 1542, laying the
foundation for Christian education and
worship.
Robert De Nobili, who touched the city of
Goa in 1605, was an indigenous foreigner
and his work is an example of far sighted
mission work and inculturation.
Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans,
Augustinians, and members of other religious
orders figured in the early missionary history
of the country.
A large percentage of the Catholic population
is located around Goa, Kerala, and further
south.
The country is predominantly Hindu.
However, the story of Jesus continues to be
told with increasing fervour.
SRI LANKA
The Catholic mission began with the arrival
of the Franciscans in 1543 and made great
progress by the middle of the 17th century.
The Jesuits arrived in 1602, and later
Augustinians and Dominicans.
In 1687, the Oratorian priest Fr. Joseph Vaz
arrived and set to work to revive and
reorganize the life of the vanishing Catholic
community.
The Vicariate Apostolic of Ceylon was
established in 1834.
NEPAL
Some Jesuits passed through from 1628 and
a few sections were evangelized in the 18th
century.
The territory is a Prefecture Apostolic since
1996.
Conversion from Hinduism, the state religion,
is not recognized by law and is punishable by
imprisonment
The Jesus Story
How it was told in East Asia
CHINA
The story of Jesus was first told in China by
missionaries from Syria. In 635, the
Nestorian Syrian monk Alopen arrived. Three
years later Emperor Taizhong of the Tang
dynasty authorized Nestorian Christians to
undertake missionary activity.
The great religious crusade in Asia during the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries dates
from the Council of Lyons held in 1245 by
Pope Innocent IV.
The Catholic Church is present in China since
1246 when Franciscan Giovanni Pian del
Carpine went to the court of the Great Khan
in Mongolia.
In 1294, another Italian Franciscan
Giovanni da Montecorvino arrived and
was became the first Archbishop of
Beijing.
A further wave of missionaries followed in
the 16th century with pioneers like Jesuits
Matteo Ricci, Miguel Ruggieri and later Adam
Schall.
In China, during almost 50 years of
communist regime, persecution, and
systematic harassment, the Catholic
population has more than tripled.
During the Boxer revolution (1900),
30,000 Christians were killed for
their faith
The passionate witness of those who live
persecution with joy has brought many
Chinese intellectuals to embrace the faith.
KOREA
Evangelization began in the 18th century
when some Korean lay people – Confucian
scholars - became Christians after reading
Christian texts found in Beijing.
In 1794 the first missionary priest, a
Chinese, James Choo was able to enter
Korea.
In 1831, Pope Leo XII created the Vicariate
Apostolic of Korea.
The very first local Korean priest, Andrew
Kim, ordained in China in 1845 was
beheaded in his native Korea only one year
after ordination for witnessing to his faith.
Of the 93 canonized Korean martyrs only
three were foreign missionaries.
Since Korea was divided (1953), the
communist regime has made evangelization
almost impossible in the north.
South Korea is the fourth largest population
of Christians in Asia.
This local church records the highest number
of adult baptisms per year and sends
numerous missionaries to other countries.
Conversions and vocations in Korea increase
at an equal pace.
JAPAN
Japan’s first contact with Christianity began
with the arrival of Francis Xavier in 1549. By
1582 there were 200,000 faithful and 250
churches in Japan.
In 1614, anti-Christian laws expelled
missionaries, forbade the practice of
Christianity under penalty of death. There
followed a period of persecutions until 1873.
In 1622 took place what was called the "great
martyrdom", fifty-two chosen Christians
being martyred at Nagasaki on the same day
(2 Sept.), twenty-seven being decapitated,
and the remainder being burned alive.
Catholic missions restarted their work in
1863. The year 1873 marked the beginning
of a new freedom for Christians as Japan’s
new pattern of society emerged.
On 11 August, 1884, an official decree
proclaimed that there was no longer a state
religion.
The 158 Japanese martyrs are witnesses of
the convincing power of Jesus’ story in
Japan.
The Jesus Story
How it was told in South East Asia
VIETNAM
In 1580, Franciscans from the Philippines
went to Cochinchina in Vietnam. 1615 saw
the official opening of the Cochinchina
mission.
Jesuit Alexander de Rhodes visited the
country in 1627 and became the “Apostle
of Vietnam”
Persecutions against the Christians,for nearly
three centuries, the 17th, 18th and the 19th
with approximately 130,000 martyrs
117 of this immense multitude of heroes
were beatified.
Among the figures that have left a heroic and
courageous witness of faith and an indelible
trace in the hearts of the Vietnamese in the
last few years, there is the Vietnamese
Cardinal François Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan
(1928-2002)
The Church in Vietnam, 3rd in Asia in number
of Christians, is dynamic and confident
despite a difficult situation under the
communist regime.
PHILIPPINES
Ferdinand Magellan who claimed the island
for Spain in 1521 introduced Christianity in
the Philippines, and the Church here started
with the telling of the story of Jesus by
missionaries from Mexico and Spain.
The Roman Catholic Church was permanently
established in 1565 by the expedition of the
Augustinians. After them came the
Franciscans, the Jesuits, and the Dominicans.
Within one hundred years the vast majority
of the population was converted and thus
was established the only Christian nation of
Asia till the recent independence of East
Timor. Nearly 85% of the population is
Catholic.
Bishop William Finnemann svd, is a modern
example of living the story of Jesus in his
life.
THAILAND
The first Catholic priests visited Siam in 1511
Two Dominican priests came in 1555 and
were martyred 10 years later. A few Jesuits
and Franciscans started work in 1607. .
The arrival of the French fathers in 1622
from the “Foreign Missions of Paris” (MEP)
was a great contribution to the development
of the Church and her activities.
Since the Second World War, the mission has
expanded with missionaries from many
nations and congregations. The sacred
hierarchy was established in 1965.
There have always been very close relations
between the Royal Court and the Holy See.
The Jesus Story
How it was told in Central Asia
CENTRAL ASIA
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
1st century - Asia Minor reached by Apostle Paul
and companions.
1st-3rd century - Christianity spreads east to
Persia and reaches western Caspian.
6th century - Huns are evangelized. Large
numbers of Christians throughout Persia / Bactria
/ Turkestan.
7th/8th century - Muslim advance weakens
church in Persia through conquest.
11th-13th century - Nestorianism made
advances among Turkic tribes; Mongolian
invasions weakened all religions in the
region.
14th century - Catholics first began
attempting to evangelize the area.
Timur (Tamerlane) massacres Nestorians in
the region, and Islam becomes dominant.
1453 - Constantinople falls to the Ottoman
Turks
16th–19th century - Russian Empire spreads
into Turkestan, attempts to spread Orthodoxy
to Turkic peoples.
19th century - Protestant missionaries have
first contacts with Turkish peoples with little
success.
1917 - Communist revolution shuts out
mission efforts.
1970s - New initiatives among evangelicals.
1980s - Non- residential missionary strategy
and collapse of communism provides new
current advance
AFGHANISTAN
The only country in the world where the
Catholic Church has no structures of any
kind.
The Nestorians planted Christianity here and
there have been 9 bishops and dioceses in
the region.
This early establishment of the Church was
overcome by the Muslim conquest in the 7th
century
All inhabitants are subject to the law of
Islam. Christian missionaries are prohibited.
KAZHAKHSTAN
Catholic Population: about 200 000
KYRGYZSTAN
Population: 5,213,898
Catholics: 300
Russian Orthodox: 20%
Islam: 75%
Others: 5%
Priests: 1
Men Religious : 3
Women Religious: 4
Parishes: 11
CONCLUSION
KEY INSIGHTS
The Catholic Church in Asia has given the
largest number of martyrs.
Wherever there are missionaries or local
Christians who for their faith bear fatigue,
making of their life a gift to others, there the
Church grows.
The noticeable living testimony of
"Christians" in Asia is a miracle worth
celebrating.
Thank You