Portuguese Catholic assault
- Francis Xavier and Portuguese rule.
- “The fruit that is reaped by the baptism of infants, as well as by the instruction of children and others, is quite incredible…Whenever I hear of any act of idolatrous worship, I go to the place with a large band of these children, who very soon load the devil [statues of Hindu gods] with a greater amount of insult and abuse…The children run at the idols, upset them, dash them down, break them to pieces, spit on them, trample on them, kick them about, and in short heap on them every possible outrage.” [Xaviers college letter]
- Temple destruction and looting in vijayanagara.
- Foiled raid on tirmala, destruction in malbar, nAgapaTTanam, mangaLUru etc.. The_Portuguese_Vijayanagar_War_of_1558 thesis.
- Their depredations hampered the Kerala maths and astronomy university at tirunavaya
- Dissimulation as European brAhmaNa-s - De Nobili, AbbeDubois.
Goa inquisition
- [wiki]
- SV_YT18, OC_YT_20
- “In his letter to John III, King of Portugal, dated 16th May 1545, Xavier called upon the king to “establish the Holy Inquisition” because there were many who lived according to their laws of belief and “without any fear of God or shame of the world.”” [Xaviers college letter]
- 4 Persecution of Hindus
- Quotes 1.
- 5 Persecution of Christians 5.1 Persecution of Goan Catholics
- 5.1.1 Suppression of Konkani
- 5.2 Persecution of Syrian Christians
- Some acceptance by modern Christian Goans BS15: “The struggle, in which several lives were lost, dates back to 16th century when early Christian missionaries along with their Portuguese armed escorts tried to convert the residents of these five villages to Christianity. When the attempts largely failed, the missionaries destroyed nearby temples, which enraged the villagers, resulting in the massacre of some priests including Fr. Rudolfo Acquaviva - an Italian Jesuit who had also held position at Emperor Akbar’s court and has since been beatified - and their colleagues on July 15, 1583.”
Syrian christian subversion
- Suppression of Indian “Syrian” christian customs by that were in harmony with the surrounding hindu society [Olikara1] is a good example of the deracination that accompanies strong enforcement of Christian doctrine.
Prior pattern
- They believed that different faiths and religious observances were but different ways of reaching the same God.
- Their children studied in Hindu schools and children of other faiths studied in our schools too.
- They held the Hindu philosophies of transmigration of souls and that of fate dear to our hearts.
- Hindu musicians played in churches during church festivals.
- They celebrated hindu festivals like Onam.
- They were indistinguishable in dress and appearance from the heathens.
General high status and friendliness:
- “As a reward for their services, a few Syrian Christian families were given honored privileges in many state rituals by the rulers. In Cochin, Syrian Christian prelates participated in the installation ceremonies of the rulers. During the premier Kerala festival, Onam, part of the regalia for the rituals was stored in a Cochin Syrian Christian church. The procession carrying the Hindu deity, Krishna, at that festival was expected by custom to make a brief stop at the home of a prominent Syrian Christian family who had contributed to the cost of financing that procession. The high status of the Syrian Christians in Hindu society was reflected everywhere by their right of access to Hindu society was reflected everywhere by their right of access to Hindu shrines and ‘sacred space’. In Alleppey, a newly emerging urban center in Tranvancore, during the eighteenth country, a Hindu temple and a Syrian Christian church were built on adjoining sites, a practice found in the case of older churches and temples in places such as Niranom, Chengannur, Kallopara, and Parur between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Christians continued to use Hindu style torches, umbrellas, and banners at their festivals to honor saints and bishops of the Syrian church. There was at least one Hindu temple that lent its temple elephants for Syrian Christian festival processions.” [Gheverghese article].
Prominent betrayal by Syrian Christians:
- They welcomed British Christian rule, did not support independence struggle and organized to subvert local hindu hierarchy. [TW]
- “When Vasco-da-Gama arrived at Cochin on his second voyage (1502) , a delegation of Thomas Christians went to met him and implored protection.” [Malankara webpage]