4 4

HHISTORICALISTORICAL O OVERVIEWVERVIEW OFOF C CHRISTIANHRISTIAN M MISSIONISSION

PPARTART I – B I – BOOKOOK 1 1

TTABLEABLE OFOF C CONTENTSONTENTS

IINTRODUCTIONNTRODUCTION 3 3

TTHEHE C CHURCHHURCH EMERGINGEMERGING ININ M MISSIONISSION 44

CCONSTANTSONSTANTS ININ THETHE CHURCHCHURCH’’SS MISSIONMISSION 77

MMISSIONISSION ININ THETHE EARLYEARLY CHURCHCHURCH 8 8

MMISSIONISSION ANDAND THETHE MONASTICMONASTIC MOVEMENTMOVEMENT 1111

MMISSIONISSION ANDAND THETHE MENDICANTMENDICANT MOVEMENTMOVEMENT 1414

MMISSIONISSION ININ THETHE AGEAGE OFOF DISCOVERYDISCOVERY 1818

MMISSIONISSION ININ THETHE AGEAGE OFOF PROGRESSPROGRESS 2222

MMISSIONISSION ININ THETHE T TWENTIETHWENTIETH C CENTURYENTURY 2828

EENDND N NOTESOTES 31 31

Since this is an overview the aim is to present the broad sweep of events that have shaped Christian Mission. Consequently details are not generally given and only some persons’ contributions are noted. The development of the overview is drawn especially from the development presented in Stephen Bevans, svd, Roger

2

Schroeder, svd. Constants in Context:A Theology of Mission for Today . New York, Maryknoll: Orbis Books. 2004.

FORFOR FMM FMM USEUSE ONLYONLY1.1. IINTRODUCTIONNTRODUCTION

SSENDINGENDING ININ M MISSIONISSION ISIS ROOTEDROOTED ININ G GODOD SENDINGSENDING THETHE S SONON INTOINTO THETHE WORLDWORLD TOTO INAUGURATEINAUGURATE THETHE R REIGNEIGN OFOF G GODOD

Prior to considering mission with specific reference to its historical development, it is important to recall the source of mission is God, who sends the Son into the world to proclaim the Reign of God. In other words mission is God’s Mission – Missio Dei. This insight has illuminated the development of missiology in the twentieth century – both Protestant and Catholic.1 Our call to mission means we are participating in God’s mission in the world through the sending of the Son and the Spirit.2 As Bevans and Schroeder point out, the Church is only the church insofar as it focuses on God’s reign.3

Ad Gentes stated the Church is missionary by its very nature. (AG 9) In speaking of this text, David Bosch notes that here the Church is not the sender, but the one sent.4 Paul VI speaks of the witness and mission of Jesus at the very beginning of Evangelii Nuntiandi: The witness that the Lord gives of himself and that Saint Luke gathered together in his Gospel – ‘I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God’5 – without doubt has enormous consequences for it sums up the whole mission of Jesus: ‘That is what I was sent to do’. These words

3

take on their full significance if one links them with the previous verses, in which Christ has just applied to himself the words of the Prophet Isaiah: ‘The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor.’6

2.2. TTHEHE C CHURCHHURCH EMERGINGEMERGING ININ M MISSIONISSION – – THETHE A ACTSCTS OFOF THETHE AAPOSTLESPOSTLES

TTHEHE PROCLAMATIONPROCLAMATION OFOF THETHE G GOSPELOSPEL ININ APOSTOLICAPOSTOLIC TIMESTIMES, , BEGINNINGBEGINNING WITHWITH THOSETHOSE CHOSENCHOSEN TOTO BEBE A APOSTLESPOSTLES BYBY J JESUSESUS, , ISIS THETHE SOURCESOURCE OFOF

THETHE C CHURCHHURCH EMERGINGEMERGING ININ MISSIONMISSION, , ANDAND TODAYTODAY THETHE C CHURCHHURCH ISIS ALIVEALIVE WHENWHEN ITIT ISIS PROCLAIMINGPROCLAIMING THETHE G GOSPELOSPEL..77

The dynamic development in understanding mission that has been taking place in recent years has led to recognition of mission as the mother of theology, and mother of the Church8. These emerging insights about Mission recognize:

o All believers – sent in their turn - are bound together by the great task of mission confided to them and this call to speak the Good News of God’s love for all peoples provides them with nourishment, focuses their energies, heals their sinfulness and provides them with challenge and vision.9

o The Acts of the Apostles is the clearest New Testament source which shows how the church comes to be as it engages in missionary activity. Most scholars agree that

4

the Acts is our primary source of information about the historical beginnings of Christian mission, as well as the principal New Testament source for seeing the emergence of the church’s first understanding of itself10.

A brief consideration of biblical theology offers us further insight into the development of understanding mission:

o Inclusivity and universality are to be found especially in the vision of the prophets – the election of Israel was not for its own sake but always so that, in it, all nations would receive a blessing - Gen 12:3; Is 45:1-8; 49:1-6.11

o Another source of the church’s mission is found in the ministry and person of Jesus as he preached, served and witnessed to the reign of God and gathered about him a community that assisted him in his work – cf. Mk 1:4-45; 6:7-13; Lk 10:1-20… a

o The mission of the church is also rooted in the post-resurrection faith of the first disciples - they were called to witness to the gospel of Jesus and the gospel about Jesus. They held the firm conviction … of Jesus’ universal Lordship as risen Christ, through whom humanity has direct access to God; they believed he was the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15) – the Word made flesh (cf John 1:14)12:

a Bevans and Schroeder point out that Redemptoris Missio 13 reminds us the church is rooted in the mission and person of Jesus who is both ‘evangel’ and ‘evangelizer’. cf, Constants in Context 11

5

- this first aspect of the apostolic faith is clearly evident in Acts: 2:36,4:8-12, 8:5, 35; 10:34-42; 38:30; and especially clear in Pauline literature: Gal 2:15-20; 1 Cor 1:23-24; Rom 5:15-19; 2 Cor 5:19-21; Eph 1:7-1013

- the first disciples were convinced that they were called as well to proclaim, to serve and to embody the same gospel of forgiveness, graciousness, generosity, inclusiveness and justice that Jesus had preached, served and witnessed to in his own earthly ministry.14

In the Acts of the Apostles the action moves outward from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the earth (see Acts 1:8). As mission takes shape, so does the church. The Acts show us:

o from the beginning the church is missionary by its very nature – mission comes before the church and is constitutive of its existence;

o the church’s missionary nature only emerges as the community engages with particular contexts: cf. the example of the recognition of the Spirit among the Samaritans, in the Ethiopian Eunuch, in Cornelius and his household, in the community of Antioch.15

From these examples we can see that to the extent that the Jesus community responds to the Spirit’s call to continue Jesus’ mission in new and perhaps unthinkable ways, it becomes the church.16

6

The Acts of the Apostles provides a strong biblical basis for the dictum that the church is ‘missionary by its very nature.’ (see Ad Gentes 2)b.17

3.3. CCONSTANTSONSTANTS ININ THETHE C CHURCHHURCH’’SS M MISSIONISSIONCC

TTOO BEBE CHURCHCHURCH ISIS TOTO BEBE ININ MISSIONMISSION; ; TOTO BEBE ININ MISSIONMISSION

ISIS TOTO BEBE RESPONSIVERESPONSIVE TOTO THETHE DEMANDSDEMANDS OFOF THETHE G GOSPELOSPEL

ININ PARTICULARPARTICULAR CONTEXTSCONTEXTS1818

The existence of Christianity seems always to be linked to its expansion beyond itself, across generational and cultural boundaries.

The church only becomes the church as it responds to God’s call to mission, and to be in mission means to change continually as the gospel encounters new and diverse contexts.19 Such change … is not arbitrary; rather there have

b Jesus in choosing the enter into human life, freely chose to accept the limitations of this condition – although he was divine, he did not consider divinity something to be held onto.(Phil 2:5). Although he freely chose to be bound by the conditions of his time, he offered his followers a foundation on which to build. Jesus’ ways of living and relating became the basis for the movement and mission which began and grew after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Cf. Bevans & Schroeder, 14. c Constants are those elements which are always found throughout history as integral to understanding Christian Faith; Christology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, Salvation, Anthropology, Culture. (cf. use of this framework by Bevans & Schroeder in Constants in Context .

7

always existed certain constants … which provide a kind of framework by which the church identifies itself … the message of the gospel takes shape around these constants..20

The constants which are the framework defining Christianity in its missionary nature are:o the ultimate significance of the person of Jesus, called the

Christo the continual use of the Bibleo the sacramental significance of Baptism and Eucharisto the awareness of continuity with Israel from which

Christianity has its beginnings… Christians….will always see themselves as a community that is

nourished and equipped for its work in the world by both word and sacrament. … Christianity is never without faith in and theology of Jesus as Christ, and never without a commitment to and understanding of the community it names church.21

4. MISSION IN THE EARLY CHURCH (100 – 301)

DURING THIS EARLY HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, THERE WAS RICH DIVERSITY, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THEOLOGY AND CHURCH MINISTRY.

LIKEWISE, MISSION WAS CARRIED OUT IN A WIDE VARIETY OF FORMS WITHIN THE SOCIAL-POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS AND INSTITUTIONAL

CONTEXT. IN FACT, EVERY MINISTRY WAS MISSIONARY, BECAUSE AT THIS POINT THE ENTIRE CHURCH SAW ITSELF IN THIS WAY. MISSION WAS NOT A PART OF THE CHURCH’S REALITY, RATHER MISSION WAS

THE VERY ESSENCE OF THE CHURCH.22

8

In the thought and practice of the early Church there was a basic understanding of the theological and missiological relationship of mission, church and baptism.“ 23

During this early period the church shifts from being a Jewish sect to being a Greco-Roman religion; it also spreads to the East.24 The development of the church in the East has been largely neglected until recently.d

The spread of Christianity at the beginning was done in a variety of ways: travelling evangelists, teachers… but especially through the witness of Christians who were even willing to die for their faith.25 The Christian faith moved beyond the Roman borders via the trade routes and migration.26

In the West the spread of Christian faith and the growth of the church were deeply influenced by the political situation of the Roman Empire: the Pax Romana assured a certain peace and provided an excellent network of roads. At the same time, in spite of a certain religious tolerance, Christians were persecuted and many died for their faith.27

The growth of cities in the West greatly influenced the where, how and why Christianity grew. On the one hand the Jewish

d See Bevans and Schroeder pp 75-80; S.H. Moffett.A History of the Church in Asia: Volume I: Beginnings to 1500. San Francisco: Harper Collins. 1992. D.T. Irvin, S.W. Sunquist. History of the World Christian Movement, Vol.I: Earliest Christianity to 1453. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2001; D.J. Bosch. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991; J. Stamoolis. Eastern Orthodox Mission Theology Today. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1992.

9

communities – the Diaspora – had already been present in many of these places. People became interested in monotheistic religion, but at the same time had difficulties with circumcision. Hence, the attractiveness of Christian faith when it appeared. Also, as some sociologists point out, the large urban centers resulted in a certain alienation for some people, and these sought communities which provided socialization as well as the hope of salvation.28

The first way of mission during this period was recognizing Baptism as a call to mission: the conduct of ordinary Christians had the greatest significance and impact for the spread of the gospel.29 There were also Evangelists, Bishops, Apologists , Teachers and Martyrs who contributed to the spread of the Christian faith.30 The catechumenate also developed during this period. 31 Women figured prominently in the mission of the early church.32

In the text of Galatians 3:28 we can discover a key expression of the theological self-understanding of the Christian Missionary movement: ‘there does not exist among you Jew or Greek, slave or free person, male or female. The implications of this text of Galatians continue to challenge the church in every age and in every context.33

10

Reflecting upon the various attitudes of the early church towards human culture can shed some light on our present-day concerns about inculturation / contextualization.e

5. MISSION AND THE MONASTIC MOVEMENT (313-907)

e See Bevans and Schroeder, pp. 98 … For example: Origen stressed continuity between Christian faith and Greek philosophy; Tertullian stressed discontinuity. … Irenaeus’ approach seems to fall between these two positions as he includes both some accommodations to the world of the ‘other’ and a lack of interest in conforming to the society around him. Inculturation requires such a balanced ‘both/and’ approach, discerning in each particular context both the continuity and discontinuity between gospel and society.

1EENDND N NOTESOTES

? see David Bosch. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1992. 390 ff.; Stephen B. Bevans, Roger P. Schroeder. Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2004. 292-3032 Constants in Cont ext 292.3 Ibid. 94 David Bosch. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991. 3725 Luke 4:436 Evangelii Nuntiandi n. 67 Constants in Context 118 Ibid. 119 Ibid. 1110 Ibid. 1111 Ibid. 1112 Ibid. 11

11

MONASTICISMMONASTICISM POINTSPOINTS OUTOUT THETHE POSSIBILITIESPOSSIBILITIES OFOF THETHE PPROPHETICROPHETIC WWITNESSITNESS AASPECTSPECT OFOF THETHE C CHRISTIANHRISTIAN C CALLALL ASAS AA PARTPART OFOF THETHE

POSSIBILITIESPOSSIBILITIES OFOF G GODOD’’SS MISSIONMISSION..3434

13 Ibid. 1114 Ibid. 11,1215 Ibid. 1316 Ibid. 3017 Ibid. 3018 Ibid. 7219 Ibid. 7220 Ibid. 7221 Ibid. 33

22 Ibid. 8323 This interrelationship was rediscovered by the church (both Protestant and Catholic) in the middle of the twentieth century. These rediscoveries, as Bevans and Schroeder point out, resulted in the shifts concerning mission…o The integration of the International Missionary Council and the World

Council of Churches – New Delhi 1961, symbolized this shift in the Protestant world, and brought the missionary movement increasingly into the churches, rather than being solely sponsored by the mission agencies;

o For the Catholic world this shift was symbolized in the results of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), which:

- Reclaimed a mission ecclesiology of the local church within the Catholic Church

- Stated the ‘pilgrim church’ is missionary by its very nature (AG 2)- Shifted from a hierarchal to a communion (people of God)

ecclesiology

12

The decline in the role of the catechumenate and the growth of monasticism resulted in understanding mission as a particular vocation rather than as essentially belonging to Baptism. 35

At the same time we find that the East Syrian monks insisted on the essential interrelationship of baptism, church, and mission as had been evident in the early church.f … It seems

f The context of the East Syrian Church provides an interesting point of reference parallel to the situation of the Christian diaspora existing today in many parts of the world, such as in post-Christian Europe. cf. Bevans & Schroeder, Constants in Context, 135.

- Reintroduced central role of laity in the church- Recognized baptism, not ordination, as the primary sacrament for

being church and therefore for being in mission.-

Christian liturgical practices has reinforced the foundational theology of mission, church and baptism. Such renewal in the Catholic Church has led to a more communal celebration of the Eucharist and other sacraments, restoration of the catechumenate process (RCIA), a revitalization of the importance of scriptures and a rediscovery of the close connection between liturgy and mission. On this latter point, much can be learned from the Orthodox tradition: ‘the Eucharist is always the End, the sacrament of the parouisia, and yet is always the beginning, the starting point : now the mission begins. … The Eucharist transforming ‘the church into what it is – transforms it into mission.´(Constants in Context p.97 -98)24 Ibid. 7425 Ibid. 7426 Ibid. 75 - 8027 Ibid. 8028 Ibid. 80 - 8129 Ibid. 86 - 8830 Ibid. 83 -8631 Ibid. 92-95

13

that this basic mission ecclesiologyg remained prominent, in contrast to the developments in the Latin West and Greek East. It is possible that the minority status of the East Syrian Christians, who had neither mass conversions nor close state-church relations, resulted in their holding onto this basic understanding. Also, the monastic movement was a part of their history from about the beginning. 36

Also during this period there were moments of interreligious dialogue – involving persons such as Alopenh, Adami and Timothy I. j These dialogues were between Christians and followers of Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, or Confucianism. Given

g Mission ecclesiology: a way of understanding baptism, church and mission as essentially interrelated.h Alopen: (7th century) Persian Nestorian Missionary in China – the first recorded Christian missionary to enter the Chinese empire, reaching the T’ang dynasty capital, Changan (Xian) in 635. This was the beginning of the first opening of China to the Christian faith. Samuel H. Moffett, in Gerald H. Anderson (editor). Bibliographic Dictionary of Christian Missions. New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1998 – Hereafter referred to as BDCM, 14-15i Adam: (8th century) East Syrian Christian, bishop, missionary and translator, so well-known for his knowledge of Chinese language and literature that even Buddhist missionaries came to him for help in translating their own sacred books. S. Bevans & R. Schroeder, Constants in Context, 105.j Timothy I: (8th century) great Persian patriarch who combined his Christian integrity, intelligence and diplomatic skills with missionary vision and courage; he prayed openly that Christians would be able to share the gospel message with Muslims… S.Bevans & R.Schroeder, Constants in Context, 108-09New York, 1987. 199.34 cf. Constants in Context Chapter 435 Ibid. 13436 Ibid. 135

14

the time, these dialogues were quite exceptional; they also offer a unique perspective within mission history in general. One wonders how these persons were able to engage in such interchange while maintaining their Christian identity and their minority status. Looking ahead, it offers us an example of prophetic dialogue, which will be discussed in Paths of Mission Today, the next book in this series. 37

The emergence of Christianity in Africa during this time frame was due especially to significant individuals and to the rise of an indigenous African monastic movement. Eventually the Muslim invasion had a major impact on Christianity in Africa as it took over large sections of the continent. 38

At this same time in Europe we find the example of the Germanic peoples who received and appropriated the Christian message and faith.k Andrew Walls considers this kind of appropriation as a series of translations or retranslations of the Christian message in a way that, rather than something new totally replacing something old, the already existing is transformed into something new:“39

There is much positive missionary activity during this time, but there are very disturbing aspects also. In his efforts at Christianization, Charlemagne used his might to control the Saxons. Both Justinian and Augustine chose respectively to

k Today we call this process inculturation – cf. Bevans and Schroeder 13537 Ibid. 13538 Ibid. 113 - 11539 Ibid. 135-136; Andrew F. Walls, The Missionary Movement in Christian History (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1996) 20.

15

use power and force against the pagans and the Donatists. Such moments in mission history are very wrong; unfortunately they are repeated up to the present time.40

6. MISSION AND THE MENDICANT MOVEMENT 1000 – 1453

FFOLLOWINGOLLOWING THETHE AGEAGE OFOF MONASTICISMMONASTICISM, THE , THE MENDICANTMENDICANT ORDERSORDERS REMINDREMIND USUS OFOF THETHE IMPORTANTIMPORTANT LINKLINK BETWEENBETWEEN THEOLOGICALTHEOLOGICAL STUDYSTUDY

ANDAND THETHE APOSTOLATEAPOSTOLATE, , BETWEENBETWEEN THEOLOGICALTHEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONREFLECTION ANDAND MISSIONARYMISSIONARY PRACTICEPRACTICE..4141

In the first part of the medieval period, the Irish monks saw wandering for the sake of Christ as the highest form of asceticism, the East Syrian missionaries were primarily religious and secular monks, and Liobal established female monastic communities as part of the Anglo-Saxon missionary outreach.

With the centers of learning shifting from the monasteries to the universities, the Franciscans and Dominicans took up their rightful places in the new setting ... While most of the academic theological developments were accomplished by members of the First Orders, one must not forget the work of such persons as Catherine of Siena,m and Raymond Lull, as

l Lioba (710 – 780) English missionary who in connection with St. Boniface’s intention to entrust a larger share of the missionary task to women, went to Tauberbischofshein in south Germany. There she was Abbess of a Monastery. She was greatly respected for her learning and her commitment to evangelism and charity in pagan surroundings. Hans-Werner Gensichen in BDCM 403

16

well as of John of Montecorvino and Clare of Assisi , among the Franciscans.

The mendicant movement of the West offers us a model of mission that placed less emphasis on a monastery and more focus on going out to people and explicitly preaching the Word of God. Perhaps one could describe the primary emphasis of the monastic model as See and Believe! and the mendicant model as Hear and Believe!42

The mendicants, especially Dominicans and Franciscans, both remind us and challenge us with the witness and integrity of their lives lived according to the Gospel. This was an essential point in the mission of Francis, Dominic, and those who followed their founding visions and examples. 43

As time passed, the monastic tradition generally lost this explicitly mission dimension, and the cloistered life became much stricter, particularly for women. This aspect of the mendicant movement was lived out in a particular way by the second orders of cloistered women. In the case of the Franciscan family, Clare of Assisi renewed monasticism with a strong sense of mission.44 She led the way to restore this sense

m Catherine of Siena (1347 – 1380) Doctor of the Church, Dominican tertiary. She is especially remembered for her mystical writings, The Dialogue, and for her leadership in a mission of peace between the city of Florence and the Avignon-based papacy – which was a success. Robert Ellsberg. All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets and Witnesses for our Time. New York: Crossroad, 1997. 188 - 19040 Constants in Context 13641 Ibid. 16842 Ibid. 16843 Ibid. 168

17

of mission to cloistered life within the Franciscan movement and we would add, within the church.45

Contemplation and prayer are essential components for mission today. Just as Clare enfleshed this within her context, the church, missionaries and Christians in general are continually challenged to keep a balance in the doing-being and contemplation-action aspects of life and work.”46

The practice of Francis of Assisi who lived during the time of the crusades, offers considerable insights into how one should engage in mission. He realized his desire to visit the Sultan of Egypt in 1219. It was already rather extraordinary that Francis had this desire, since preaching the Gospel to the Saracen (or Muslims) was not something done at that time.47 He was the first medieval founder of a religious community to direct his energies toward people who had not heard the Gospel message.48 Yet Francis’ spirituality allowed him not only to approach the Sultan in a nonviolent manner – already a great step – but even to be open enough to learn from him. The Muslim Call to Prayer at different times during the day impressed Francis deeply. Upon his return to Assisi, he wrote a Letter to all the Friars and one to the Rulers of the People. In the letters he asks that times of prayer be announced and that

44 Ibid. 16845 Ibid. 168-169 46 Ibid. 169-17047 Mary Motte, fmm. “The Image of the Crucified God: A Missiological Interpretation of Francis of Assisi” 79- 81 in Dale T. Irwin and Akintunde E. Akinade (editors). The Agitated Mind of God: Essays in Honor of Kosuke Koyama. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.1996 48 Ibid. 79-81

18

the people be called to praise God. It was also after his visit with the Sultan that Francis wrote Chapter XVI of the Rule of 1223 in which he expresses his deep respect for the Saracen and gives directions to those Brothers who would go to be among them. Today we are facing a terrible standoff situation between many in the West and nations of Islam. We need to ask what this means for mission in terms of interreligious dialogue and reconciliation? Likewise, there is an evident connection between Francis’s spirituality and his relation with all of creation. Today we are rediscovering the importance of the integrity of creation and ecology for mission.49

In 1245 Pope Innocent IV sent two Friars Minor to Mongolia. Because their mission was unsuccessful, they returned five months later to Lyons in November 1247. In 1289 Pope Nicholas IV (Jerome of Ascoli – former general of the Friars Minor) sent John of Montecorvinon to go to the Mongols. Together with Friar Nicholas of Pistoia, Dominican, he worked for about 13 months in India where Nicholas died. John then continued on to Beijing in 1294. His ability to speak Persian, Armenian and Mongol enabled him to communicate with a wide range of people.50

n John of Montecorvino, ofm 1247 c – 1328) Friar Minor, first Roman Catholic missionary to reach China proper and first bishop of Khanbaliq (Beijing). He learned the Mongolian language and translated the New Testament and Psalms. Samuel Hugh Moffett in BDCM 334-33549 Ibid. 17050 Arnulf Camps, ofm, Pat McCloskey, ofm. The Friars Minor in China: 1294-1955. Rome: General Secretariat for Missionary Evangelization – OFM, 1995. 2-3

19

The evangelical awakening in the medieval West represented various creative expressions linking baptism, church and mission. For example: ‘The Beguine movement was part of the desire to ‘democratize’ religion. The desire to bring God to the people, into the market place, flowed from the dawning realization that Christianity was properly a way of life accessible to all, not just a series of rites performed by an inner circle of initiates. 51

The Catholic Church in the Second Vatican Council rediscovered this vision of the interrelationship among baptism, church, mission. While this shift in consciousness is still developing, it is already possible to see the powerful effect that the renewed vocation of all baptized Christians is having throughout the church. The search for lay spirituality and concern for both church and mission to be in dialogue with the modern world can draw upon the example of community-in-mission. This spirituality grew out of the Beguine movement and this was a spirituality practiced in the business of everyday life.52

7. MMISSIONISSION ININ THETHE AGEAGE OFOF D DISCOVERYISCOVERY 1492-1773 1492-1773

THE PERIOD OF MISSION HISTORY IN THE AGE OF DISCOVERY EXPOSES PAINFUL POINTS OF TENSION AND POLARITY IN MISSION:

CONQUEST, GENOCIDE AND COERCION VS. JUSTICE, SURVIVAL AND

51 Constants in Context, 17052 Ibid. 170

20

GENTLENESS; EXPLOITATION, COMPETITION AND FOREIGNNESS VS. RESPECT, MUTUALITY AND ACCOMMODATION53

During this time, missionary enthusiasm and confidence were in evidence. Earlier mission was understood as the Father sending the Son and the Father and Son sending the Spirit. The newly founded Jesuits began using mission in a generic sense of carrying out whatever task the pope requested. Soon the meaning of mission specified the idea of being sent, but not necessarily beyond one’s local area; mission was directed toward non-Christians, non-Catholic and Catholic Christians as well.54

In 1492 Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic; and seven years later Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and reached the west coast of India. The opening up of these new trade routes was important … for the commercial revolution in Europe. These geographical discoveries would be followed by many expeditions of soldiers, colonists and missionaries, especially from Spain and Portugal, but also from England, France, Holland and Scandinavia, to conquer these ‘new worlds’.55

Copernicus and Galileo were making challenging discoveries in the wider universe, proposing that the earth was a part of a solar system along with other planets revolving around the sun.56 In many different ways Europe had a new vision of the world, which included both new possibilities and, unfortunately, new conquests.57

53 Ibid. 20354 Ibid. 173-17455 Ibid. 172 ff.

21

The slave trade was a horrible reality of these conquests; and it affected Christianity on both sides of the Atlantic. Slavery did not begin at this time, but a new type of slave trade began in the mid fifteenth century. Spaniards and later Portuguese enslaved sub-Saharan African people to work in their newly founded colonies. The African slave trade, which was under Portuguese control after 1493, soon was supplying workers to replace the diminishing number of indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and the Americas. Acknowledging the difficulty of obtaining accurate estimates, it seems that over a four-hundred-year period ten to twelve million Africans were transported to the ‘New World,’ another one or two million died in the ‘middle passage’ across the Atlantic, and possibly twelve million more died during the march from inland Africa before even reaching the holding areas on the coast. … The magnitude of this enslavement and forced movement of peoples makes it one of the worst tragedies in human history.58

In the second half of the sixteenth century, the popes began to reclaim the church’s rightful responsibility for mission, culminating with the foundation of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faitho (SCPF) in 1622.59 A number of religious orders became involved in missionary activities. It is not possible here to give the details for all, but some examples offer the possibility of seeing some of the insights and varieties in congregational mission history.

oSince Vatican II the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.56 Ibid. 17257 Ibid. 17258 Ibid. 172-17359 Ibid. 191-192

22

Between the 16th and 18th centuries the Capuchins began their missionary history in different parts of Africa. They were in the presence of a wide and varied field of apostolate: there was the problem of slaves that the pirates and the merchants of Northern Africa were trading in the thousands; the beginning of ecumenical dialogue with the Coptics in Egypt and Ethiopia; and they recognized the need to evangelize other parts of Africa. The pioneers of the Capuchin missionary presence in Africa were Fr. Juan Zuazo de Medina del Campo and Br. Giovanni de Troia, who arrived in Egypt in the year 1549.60

In 1503 the encomienda system was set up in parts of Latin America. Under this system indigenous peoples became charges of particular Spanish settlers, who had the responsibility to take care of them. Instruction in Christian faith was also part of the responsibility. The encomienda was intended to be a form of indentured labor, but it became, still worse, a system of slavery. Theologically it was thought that there was no salvation outside the church. Some Europeans therefore believed that those who did not accept the invitation to Christian faith could be enslaved.61

There were many missionaries who supported and worked within this system. However, there were also those who spoke out against these abuses and injustices. They became the institutional conscience of the Spanish crown.62 Among these was the Dominican, Bartolomé de las Casas.p

p “…celebrated defender of the Indians in sixteenth-century Spanish America … after experiencing a deep conversion, he set out to champion the cause of the New World natives. A Spanish Dominican, he is credited with making a major contribution to the modern concept of human rights.” Jeffrey Klaiber, sj in BDCM 385.

23

The response of Las Casas and other missionaries to the situation of conquest and violence points both to the necessity of opposition to such tactics and the various forms such opposition would take. Missionaries like Las Casas stood outside the system to confront the systemic evils of the conquest, the encomienda system and racism – raising a prophetic voice for justice to both the state and church. The Franciscans, through variations of the convent model, worked to varying degrees within the system to promote and protect the dignity, culture and lives of the indigenous peoples. The Jesuit reductions fell somewhere between the two approaches. To varying degrees, they gave witness on behalf of the human dignity and religious freedom of all people. Today we would speak of these examples in terms of a liberating evangelization.63

In Asia the Jesuits successfully separated mission from coercion and conquest, and accommodated themselves and the Christian message to the host society and culture.64 Matteo Ricci was one of the Jesuits in China who explored ways of entering into the culture.65

With the hindsight of today we can see that even the greatest of missionaries who were so prophetic in challenging prejudices and injustices, were blinded to injustice in other

60 The Capuchins in Africa: Proceedings of the Pan African Capuchin Conferences’ Meeting, Curia Generale OFMCap: Rome, 1993. 2861 Constants in Context 175-17762 Ibid. 17563 Ibid. 203-20464 Ibid. 20465 Ibid. 187

24

areas. Las Casas, the staunch defender of Native Americans, supported the slavery of Africans, and Valignanoqdid not consider other non-Western peoples as ‘advanced’ and ‘worthy’ as the Chinese and Japanese. Las Casas did eventually acknowledge his prejudice, while Valignano didn’t live long enough to see his judgment proven wrong. We are reminded that we are all children of our time and approach the constants of missionary practice within our own historical, cultural and religious contexts.”66

8. MMISSIONISSION ININ THETHE A AGEGE OFOF P PROGRESSROGRESS – 1792- 1914 – 1792- 1914

MMISSIONARIESISSIONARIES ALTHOUGHALTHOUGH SHAPEDSHAPED BYBY THEIRTHEIR CONTEXTCONTEXT WITHWITH THEIRTHEIR BLINDBLIND SPOTSSPOTS , SUPERIORITYSUPERIORITY ANDAND COMPLEXESCOMPLEXES, , THEIRTHEIR GENERALGENERAL

CONCERNCONCERN FORFOR INDIGENOUSINDIGENOUS PEOPLESPEOPLES OFTENOFTEN PROVIDEDPROVIDED AA MUCHMUCH--NEEDEDNEEDED PROPHETICPROPHETIC CONSCIENCECONSCIENCE TOTO THETHE COLONIALCOLONIAL MOVEMENTMOVEMENT6767

Missionaries often were the ones who defended the rights of the indigenous peoples and several others were skeptical of the correlation of mission with nationalism. Both circumstances at times led to tensions between the missionaries and colonial agencies.68

Catholic mission history shows that a number of non-western people carried on mission: the work of catechists of the Pacific Islands; the lay foundations of the church in Korea; the role of catechists and the development of The House of God

q Allessandro Valignano, sj (1530 – 1606) – organizer of the Jesuit Missions in Japan and China; patron of Matteo Ricci, sj. Andrew Ross. See BDCM, 69466 Ibid. 203-20567 Ibid. 23668 Ibid. 236

25

institutions as a continuation of the tradition of Alexandre de Rhodesr in Vietnam; and the formation of a local Catholic Chinese church through Chinese priests, Lazarists (Vincentians), lay leaders and ‘Christian virgins’. The Christian virgins were women who had taken private vows, lived in the homes of their families, and did work in the areas of teaching, catechesis and medical care.69

Recently some non-Western peoples, who became Christians as a result of this missionary activity, are calling for a reinterpretation of the 19th century mission history. Lamin Sanneh (originally from Gambia) maintains that Christianity from its origin identified itself with the need to translate out of one cultural-linguistic world to another. This translatability of the gospel into another culture and language has over and over again shown its dynamic potential to create something new. This ‘something new’ in turn relativizes the previous translation. No translation should or can be absolutized.70 This dynamic is at work both through the Protestant emphasis on translation of the scriptures and the Catholic emphasis on cultural assimilation and adaptation.s

r Alexandre de Rhodes sj: 1591-1660; pioneer Jesuit missionary to Vietnam. He advocated the formation of a Vietnamese clergy, a measure contrary to the patronage agreement the Portuguese had established with Rome. He was forced to leave Vietnam. In 1655 he advocated policies of inculturation. He also devised a system for writing Vietnamese in Roman letters, which became the official writing system for the language. Bartholomew Lahiff, sj in BDCM 566s This idea is developed in Constants in Context by Bevans and Schroeder, 237; it offers the possibility of a deeper insight and understanding into ‘inculturation’ or the encounter of the Gospel with culture.69 Ibid. 226-227

26

To use Peter Berger’s sociology of religion language, one should not forget that …. all peoples are active social beings constantly involved in, not only maintaining, but also constructing and reconstructing their world (world view). Andrew Walls describes this dynamic in religious terms: … the Christian message that they (the missionaries) set loose in Africa has its own dynamic, as it comes into creative and critical encounter with African life with its needs and hurts. … Africans have responded to the gospel from where they were, not from where the missionaries were; they have responded to the Christian message as they heard it, not to the missionaries’ experience of the message.71

These missiological reflections are all founded upon the theological basis of the missio Dei:

o God’s word has its own energy and power to spark ever-new inculturations which can both enrich and challenge other inculturations.

o While missionaries need continually to critique their own context – world-view, culture, nation and church – in the light of the gospel, God’s mission is at work with or without missionaries in surprising ways.

o The invitation to and participation in the missio Dei continues the pattern described in the Acts of the Apostles of passing over human-made distinctions of culture, race, gender and class.72

70 Constants in Context 236-23771 Ibid. 238

27

Many new religious societies of men and women dedicated to missionary activity were founded in the second half of the nineteenth century. Charles Lavigeriet, associated with the revival of the North African church where he served as archbishop of Algiers and Carthage, was one of the better known and most influential of the time. His development of a communal catechetical project eventually influenced the reinstatement of the catechumenate after the Second Vatican Council.73 Cardinal Lavigerie became the Founder of the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) and Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (White Sisters).

Daniel Comboni also contributed greatly to Catholic missionary efforts in Africa.u Comboni, who was from Italy, worked in Sudan. Later he founded a missionary institute, which developed into two missionary societies Comboni Fathers and Comboni Sisters. Comboni laid a foundation for recognizing

t Charles Lavigerie: 1825-1892; French Cardinal founder of the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) and Sisters of OL of Africa (White Sisters); … he remains unquestionably the most influential single figure in the nineteenth-century missionary revival of the Catholic Church. Adrian Hastings. See BDCM, 387u Daniel Comboni: 1831-1881); Missionary, Bishop, Founder of the Verona (Comboni) Fathers, and later of the Comboni Sisters. With the mission entrusted to his Institute, Comboni traversed Sudan, challenging the institutions of slavery and founding new stations. … his fervent spirituality and far-sighted methodology have remained an inspiration for succeeding generations of missionaries committed to the creation of an indigenous apostolate. Marc R. Nikkel. BDCM 146-14772 Ibid. 23873 Ibid. 224-225

28

the human dignity of indigenous peoples and their role in evangelization.74

Mary of the Passion: (1839 – 1904) was sent to South India as a novice of the newly founded Society of Marie Reparatrix in 1865. After a few years there, during which she pronounced her Final Vows and served as provincial, difficulties eventually led to the separation from the Reparatrix for Mary of the Passion and nineteen others. In 1877, having come to Rome, Mary of the Passion and her companions requested and received approval of a new missionary congregation, Missionaries of Mary. In 1885 the Institute became the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. Founded in Ootacamund, India, the new missionary Institute grew rapidly and sent Sisters to other countries of Asia, Europe, Africa, and America (North and South). Universal mission was and is a defining characteristic of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. From the beginning women were accepted into the Institute from different parts of the world.

The Protestant missionary movement became the predominant Christian mission outreach throughout the nineteenth century. However, there were also signs of a vibrant renewal of the Catholic missionary movement, which would grow throughout the century. A great number of new orders and congregations emerged, including many devoted implicitly or explicitly to mission.75

The Protestant and Catholic missionary societies had a basic difference in organization. Protestant mission societies cut

74 Ibid. 22575 cf. Ibid. 222

29

across denominational lines and often distanced themselves from official church bodies at home. Catholic mission societies, founded upon a different understanding of church, maintained a strong link with the institutional church, particularly through the Vatican. Protestant mission societies opened more opportunities to non-ordained and married persons for involvement in mission. Catholic missionaries consisted almost exclusively of priests, brothers and sisters.76

Among Protestants there was a spirit of ecumenism. In 1910 a significant gathering of missionaries was convened in Edinburgh, Scotland, which marked the beginning of the modern ecumenical movement.77 The International Mission Council (IMC) was formed in 1921. Eventually in 1961 the IMC joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) founded in 1948 and became the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME). After Vatican II CWME included Roman Catholic consultants.78

The contribution of non-Western peoples to mission will continue to increase…”79 “…the nineteenth century remains crucial because of the way it shaped the twentieth.”80

9. M9. MISSIONISSION ININ THETHE T TWENTIETHWENTIETH C CENTURYENTURY (1919 – 1991) (1919 – 1991)

76 Constants in Context 22677 Mary Motte, fmm. “World Mission Conferences in the Twentieth Century” 20-21. in Mission at the Dawn of the 21 st Century . Ed. Paul Varo Martinson. Minneapolis, MN: Kirk House Publishers, 1999. 19 - 3178 Ibid.19-31.79 Ibid. 23880 Ibid. 238

30

TTHEHE TWENTIETHTWENTIETH CENTURYCENTURY HASHAS GIVENGIVEN BIRTHBIRTH NOTNOT ONLYONLY TOTO AA GLOBALGLOBAL CCHRISTIANITYHRISTIANITY, , BUTBUT AA GLOBALGLOBAL C CHRISTIANITYHRISTIANITY THATTHAT HASHAS ITSITS CENTERCENTER ININ

THETHE S SOUTHOUTH, , NOTNOT ININ THETHE N NORTHORTH8181

The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the different gatherings in the Protestant community from 1910 onwards, as well as many other gatherings at international and national levels have led to profound questioning and profound searching to understand the meaning of mission.82

New questions have been posed about relations with persons who have not heard the Gospel, about faith traditions other than Christian, about how the Gospel encounters a culture, about how working for justice is absolutely connected with proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel. The resources for these queries are too numerous to indicate here. But the questioning has touched into the nature and purpose of existence of many missionary congregations and societies – both Catholic and Protestant.83

Changes in the world and in the universe, concerns about creation, rapid growth of technology and consequently of communications, changes in the political structure of nations, wars, and questions related to human rights, oppression, justice and migration are just some of the causes which have

81 Ibid. 27982 cf. Constants in Context Chapter883 cf. Constants in Context Chapter 8

31

provoked a new moment in human history – the moment of globalization.84

By the end of the twentieth century Bevans and Schroeder were able to identify some basic models of mission that had emerged. These are taken up in Paths in Mission Today – the second booklet in this series..

As a background to the ferment of change experienced in the 20th century, especially in the second half of that century, there is the amazing growth of Christianity in the 19th century. This growth was the result of missionary efforts under many different shapes and forms – Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox. This diversity in some cases has led to situations of confusion, competition and contradiction – a situation that points to the scandal of a divided gospel and sparks some calls for dialogue among Christian bodies on various levels.85

This division urgently invites Christians (Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox) into a common witness for the sake of the gospel, for our human family and our world. At the same time, since such diversity represents the dedication and ingenuity of faith-filled Christians to participate in the missio Dei, when we come together from different denominations of Christian faith this diversity offers us the richness of seeing things from different perspectives and learning from each other.86

The majority of Christians now live in the southern hemisphere: Latin America, Africa and Asia. By the year 2025, Africa and

84 Ibid.85 Ibid. 27986 Ibid. 279

32

Latin America will be vying for the title of being the most Christian continent, and the two together will have half of the Christians in the world.87 Emerging world Christianity, given the various shifts that are occurring, will be traditionalist, orthodox, and supernatural. The rapid expansion of Pentecostalism and African Independent Churches (AIC’s) is the clearest and most predominant indicator of this trend.88 The remarkable growth of Christianity in Asia, especially in China, the Chinese diaspora, Korea and Vietnam indicate how, at this time, Christianity is increasingly identified with the poor South rather than the rich North. Our awareness of these developments requires us to ask how this will reshape Christianity.89

Another worldwide phenomenon is the reemergence of Muslim power in the political, economic and religious spheres. This movement will most probably continue to have a – if not the – major impact on the future of Christianity and the world through the first part of the twenty-first century. Based on their economic strength as oil-producing nations and their political strength, particularly in the Middle East and western Asia, the Muslims have reclaimed their place on the world stage. Tragically, this has led to a series of confrontations – marked by war and violence on all sides – between Muslims and Muslims, Muslims and Western nations, Muslims and Jews, and Muslims and Christians. Regarding the latter, these conflicts are not solely religious ones; rather, they are most often driven by a combination of ethnic, national, economic and religious motivations – as seen for example in the brutal Sudan

87 Ibid. 27988 Ibid. 279 - 28089 Ibid. 280

33

conflict between the light-skinned, Arabic-speaking Muslims in the north and dark-skinned Christians and traditionalists in the south. Political developments, with threats of war and terrorism, have fueled a crusading mentality among many Christian, Muslim and Jewish individuals and nations. How will Christianity participate in the missio Dei in these contexts, which call for peace, reconciliation and interreligious dialogue? How will this reshape Christianity?”90

34

90 Ibid. 280 “…this particular moment in the history of Christianity … offers us some

key points as we approach the issue and reality of inculturation today: o complexity, ambiguity and messiness in the lengthy process; o inevitability and necessity of continuity with the past; o difficulties and limitations of using categories such as religion and

culture/society;o acknowledgment of factors operating simultaneously on various

‘levels’ and in different ‘areas’; o recognition of the roles of the outsider (missionary) and insider (local

people); the importance and challenge of continually discerning new

appropriations of the Christian faith, while letting go of attitudes of superiority from old appropriations.

The delicate interplay of these questions provides important parameters for understanding inculturation as prophetic dialogue. Furthermore, missionaries and local communities in diverse contexts may be contemporaries, but they shape this process very differently – such as, Alopen and Adam and the Chinese, Cyril and Methodius? and the Moravians, Augustine? and Boniface and the Germanic peoples, as well as the Christians in Ethiopia, Ireland and India.”

35

36