Editorial

Security

Politics

World

Letters

Sports

Obituaries

Archives

by W. T. A. Leslie Fernando

Blessed Joseph Vaz.

The Portuguese landed in Sri Lanka on November 15, 1505. When Lorenzo de Almeida's fleet put into Colombo harbour, there was the Franciscan Friar Vencente as the chaplain. He offered Mass in a chapel erected ashore which was dedicated to St. Lawrence, the name-saint of Almeida. St. Lawrence eventually became the patron saint of the city of Colombo.

Accordingly this year is the 500th anniversary of the introduction of Catholic faith to our country. And the Portuguese were instrumental in establishing the Catholic faith and opening the way for the missionaries to spread the religion in the island. For the first four decades there were Portuguese Catholics with a chaplain and some native converts but there was no organised mission.

The first group of well organised missionaries to land in Sri Lanka were the Fransicans who came to Kotte in 1543. They were followed by the Jesuits who came in 1602, the Dominicans in 1605 and the Augustinians in 1606. The missionaries during the Portuguese times worked in close collaboration with the Portuguese in power.

The portuguese showered the converts to Christianity with many benefits, favours and privileges. Some missionaries in turn got involved in politics of the day and made attempts to put Christian converts to the throne.

They even got the Portuguese rulers to take over some Buddhist and Hindu temples, destroy images and convert them to churches.

The link between the ruling Portuguese and the religion was detrimental to the Catholic Church as well as to the Portuguese. The native kings and princes outwitted the manuovers of the Portuguese and the missionaries. Some of them manipulated Portuguese support to strengthen their power and once they were safe on the throne reverted back to Buddhism and chased Portuguese away from the domains.

The repressive attitude of the Portuguese towards non-Catholics and destruction of places of worship aroused patriotic feelings against both the Portuguese and the missionaries. Most of those who were converted by dubious ways fell away when the Portuguese were ousted from Sri Lanka. However, there were some Catholics who stood by their faith in spite of the Dutch persecution in the succeeding period. As such it is clear that by and large many who adopted the Catholic faith during the Portuguese period were genuine converts.

In 1658, the Dutch overpowered the Portuguese and took over the maritime provinces. For both political and sectarian reasons the Dutch set their face against the Catholics, proscribed the religion drew away the priests and took over Catholic churches and schools. It was blessed Joseph Vaz, who came into this country in 1687 under the guise of a coolie who revived the Catholic faith in Sri Lanka.

Blessed Joseph Vaz and other oratorians who followed him worked hard and looked after the spiritual welfare of Catholics under severe oppression, victimisation and humiliation. It has been the history of the Catholic Church that the faith strived at its best when the religion was persecuted. It was so during the Dutch times in Sri Lanka. In fact during this period, the Catholic faith strengthened and its roots struck deep down in the soil.

It was during the Dutch times that a foundation was laid for an indigenous Catholic Church in our country. The missionaries like Blessed Joseph Vaz, Fr. Jacome Gonsalvez and other oratorians, being Easterners were in a better position than the European missionaries during the Portuguese times to understand our culture.

Cultural adaptation

They did not transplant Western religious forms but produced original religious literature, prayers and hymns to suit the cultural traits in this country. They somewhat succeeded in bringing about a synthesis between Christian concepts and indigenous cultural patterns.

The British not only granted full religious freedom but also assisted Christian denominations to have public schools and other social institutions. The Catholics being the majority of Christians and being well organised made full use of resources available. The foreign Christian missionaries during the British times through their public schools imparted western ideas of democracy and advanced studies on science and technology. They also set up well organised institutions to look after the aged, orphans, the disabled and the destitute.

However the European missionaries during the British times could not understand or appreciate what their predecessors had done towards an indigenous Church.

As a result the cultural adaptation set in motion by the oratorians during the Dutch times was superseded.

In 1940s there was a national awakening in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. With the appointment of native bishops and priests in the higher echelons of administration the Church witnessed a cultural renaissance.

Indigenous forms of prayer and hymns, oriental art and architecture, decorations and designs and other traditional cultural forms were given their due place in the Church.

When the Vatican Council II (1962-65) directed that Catholic services could be offered in national languages instead of Latin and Church functions could be performed in a traditional cultural setting, the Church in Sri Lanka was already geared to the situation so that changes could be effected without much ado.

Disciplined

Christian institutions and social organisations are being emulated by other religious denominations. The organisational structure of the Catholic Church, the disciplined lives of most of the clergy and the services rendered by the nuns for sick, disabled and the destititute are much appreciated.

In the meantime there are attempts to re-write history to show that there have been Catholics in Sri Lanka even before coming of the Portuguese.

There are some Catholic priests too behind this move and they expressed that there have been a Church in Sri Lanka from the 6th century A. D. They have released some booklets to this effect.

For this purpose, they rely mainly on the observations of Cosmos Indicopuleustus in the 6th century, the Nestorian Cross found in Anuradhapura, the crosses mentioned by Trinidad and Queros and some writings of Prof. Senerath Paranavithana.

As Fr. S. G. Perera has vividly explained the observations of Cosmos the Nestorian Cross and the crosses mentioned by Trinidad and Queros all indicate that there have been Christians in Sri Lanka before the Portuguese came but they were Persian Christins of the Nestorian heresy. They were neither Catholics nor the natives.

The theory of Prof. Senerath Paranavithana as expressed in the "story of Sigiri" that there were Christians during the Sigiri era and at some stage Kings Moggallana and Kumaradasa have been Christians was not well received by eminent historians. Prof. Paranavithana presented this view when he was ailing and six months before his death.

Prof. M. Quere OMI, an authority on Church history wonders whether the daring imagination of Prof. Paranavithana with his flair as an epigraphist has got the better of him at the expense of authentic erudition. Prof. Quere expresses at most the plausible evidence could be the presence of some Christians in the Court of Sinhala Kings. (Aquinas Journal, December 1987 - page 134) Anyhow Prof. Paranavithana never speaks of Catholics and the Christians he mentions are those of St. Thomas' order of Syria that had severed its links with the Catholic Church.

Besides all the travellers who have come to Sri Lanka for one thousand years from 6th century to 16th century never refers to any Christians in the island. Even Christians like Marco Polo and Blessed ordoric Bordenome, a Fransiscan Friar speaks of Christians in India but never mentions about such a community in Sri Lanka. So it is clear that the first organised Christian sect to establish in Sri Lanka is the Catholic Church in the 16th century on the initiative of the Portuguese.

It is true that the Portuguese resorted to both fair and foul means to convert people to Christianity. Nevertheless the Catholic missionaries during the Portuguese times who came from far distant lands adjusted to the life here, underwent hardships, sacrificed their whole career, died and laid their bones in this country.

Simple lives

They learned Sinhala and Tamil with great difficulty and made an attempt to present the Gospel in a manner meaningful to the native population. They led pure and simple lives and in their holiness stood in sharp contrast to the Portuguese, their vandalism and scandalous behaviour of their soldiers.

Today with all the super-class institutions, mass media, modern vehicles, foreign aid and other amenities at the command of the Catholic Church it has not gained anything beyond the areas covered by the missionaries during the Dutch times. On the other hand abortion, child abuse, homosexuality, prostitution, drug addiction and other vices have made fast in roads on Catholic areas. The religion appears to have lost its spiritual and moral force.

It would be opportune for us in the Church to take a leaf from history and study the role played by the missionaries, specially those during the Dutch times - their spiritually, sanctity, holiness sincerity and dedication, so that we Catholics in Sri Lanka could maintain our spiritual vigour in the modern world.

(The writer is a former High Court Judge)

www.ceylincoproperties.com

| News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security |
| Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries | Junior Observer |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager