Course
LE12 - The Chinese Rites Controversy
General Information
| Course Type | On Campus |
| Course Category | L03 Elective Courses |
| Description | Teaching Objective: The module aims to introduce the students into a very complex episode in the history of the Catholic Church in China, which had devastating consequences. Particular emphasis is given to cultural and communication misapprehensions between Chinese and Western institutions and the role of Chinese converts and officials in the controversy. The students are invited to pay due attention to the different cultural, ideological and religious backgrounds of the various religious orders (Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans, Foreign Missions of Paris and more) and to the personalities involved in the controversy. Teaching Content: The Rites Controversy initiated in Fujian province in mid 1630, when newly arrived Dominican and Franciscan missionaries objected to the method of the Jesuits, introduced in China by Matteo Ricci and in Fujian by Giulio Aleni. The Holy See was called in to declare whether the participation in the ancestral Rites was permissible for the Christians. Rome was unable to make a clear-cut decision, and the controversy dragged on for several decades. After the prohibition of the Rites issued by the Apostolic Vicar of Fujian Charles Maigrot MEP in 1693, the Controversy regained momentum, with the personal involvement of China’s Emperor Kangxi and Pope Clement XI. The Controversy reached an incredible level of complication and animosity. A vast amount of writings by clergy and intellectuals alike were produced in China and in Europe. The two Papal Legations to China (17th century) could not defuse the tension between Beijing and Rome, and among the various missionary groups. Since 1704 the Holy See was determined to disapprove the Rites and, at the same time, to save the China Mission from destruction. But the two objectives were not compatible. In 1742 Benedict XV condemned in the most solemn way the Rites, definitely putting to an end not only the century-long controversy, but also the China Mission initiated by Matteo Ricci, and indeed, creating the premises to the suppression of the Society of Jesus (1773). Teaching Mode: Lecture and Group Discussion Assessment Mode: Paper |
| College Organization Structure | THEOLOGY DIVISION |
| Course Tuition Fee | 1650.00 |
| Course Combination | There is no records at the moment. |
