Christian Missions to Asia
Christianity is traditionally believed to have been established in India during the first century, in the form of the “Mar Thoma” church – a group of Christians who traced their origins to St. Thomas the Apostle. According to this ancient tradition, Thomas first set foot in India at Cranganore near Cochin, at that time a major sea port on the Malabar Coast with important trade connections with Palestine and its neighbors. The later voyages of the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama led to the opening up of the coastal regions of the subcontinent to Catholic missionaries, with Goa as their center of operations.
Catholic missionary work in Asia was based on techniques originally developed by Alessandro Valignano, which involved adapting or accommodating the fun- damental themes of Christianity to Asian cultures. This required a good knowledge of the native language, a knowledge of and respect for Asian culture, and a willingness to train indigenous clergy. This approach involved drawing a distinction between “civil” and “reli- gious” traditions, and ensuring that the former were respected and retained. As a result, Christian communities became established in large Chinese cities such as Nanjing, Shang- hai, Hangzhou, and Beijing. A secondary strategy was also deployed in Asian cultures – the notion of mission “from above,” in which missionaries aimed to convert the educated Confucian elite and imperial civil servants, rather than the population at large. The earlier work of Matteo Ricci was seen as an excellent application of such an approach.
