COOPERATION AND CONTRADICTION : PORTUGAL AND THE HOLY SEE IN THE ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS IN CHINA IN 17-18TH CENTURIES
This study examines the intertwined trajectories of cooperation and contradiction between Portugal and the Holy See in the administration of Catholic ecclesiastical affairs in China during the 17th–18th centuries. It argues that the Padroado Real, while enabling Portugal to sponsor churches and appo...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Articles |
| Published: |
Instituto Cultural de Macau
April 2002
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40002/2666 |
| _version_ | 1877196271510355968 |
|---|---|
| author | Gu Wei-min |
| author_autocomplete | Gu Wei-min |
| author_browse | Gu Wei-min |
| author_facet | Gu Wei-min Gu Wei-min |
| author_sort | Gu Wei-min |
| container_title | Review of Culture |
| container_title_str | Review of Culture |
| container_volume | 2 |
| container_volume_str | 2 |
| description | This study examines the intertwined trajectories of cooperation and contradiction between Portugal and the Holy See in the administration of Catholic ecclesiastical affairs in China during the 17th–18th centuries. It argues that the Padroado Real, while enabling Portugal to sponsor churches and appoint clergy across its Asian empire, repeatedly collided with Rome’s efforts to regulate mission governance from the center, prompting a structural shift toward centralized papal control via the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith and the deployment of Vicars-Apostolic. Employing a documentary-historical method, the article analyzes papal bulls, royal privileges, apostolic acts, and mission correspondences, alongside local Chinese and Macanese records, to uncover how authorities negotiated jurisdiction, resource allocation, and doctrinal strategy. The findings show a persistent, pragmatic cooperation: Lisbon provided logistics, local knowledge, and patronage networks that sustained missions in a difficult field; Rome supplied doctrinal direction, mission standardization, and institutional oversight to ensure uniformity across diverse theatres. Yet contradictions were equally salient: conflicts over nomination rights, episcopal authority, and the reach of papal decrees, as well as tensions in adapting to Chinese religious, political, and cultural contexts. The analysis concludes that the 17th–18th-century Catholic presence in China emerged from a dynamic compromise between imperial patronage and papal centralization, a pattern that shaped the governance of ecclesiastical affairs in Macao and beyond. |
| first_indexed | 2026-09-11T02:56:50Z |
| format | Articles |
| genre | Articles |
| genre_facet | Articles |
| hierarchy_browse | Review of Culture{{{_ID_}}}zotero-coll-76L3BRGH |
| hierarchy_parent_id | zotero-coll-76L3BRGH |
| hierarchy_parent_title | Review of Culture |
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| hierarchy_top_title | News |
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| id | zotero-UA2ZMEU8 |
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| issn | 1682-1106 |
| last_indexed | 2026-09-11T02:56:50Z |
| latest_content_date | 2026-09-11T02:56:50Z |
| publishDate | April 2002 |
| publishDateRange | 2002 |
| publishDateSort | 2002 |
| publishPlace | Macau |
| publisher | Instituto Cultural de Macau |
| publisherStr | Instituto Cultural de Macau |
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| spelling | COOPERATION AND CONTRADICTION : PORTUGAL AND THE HOLY SEE IN THE ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS IN CHINA IN 17-18TH CENTURIES This study examines the intertwined trajectories of cooperation and contradiction between Portugal and the Holy See in the administration of Catholic ecclesiastical affairs in China during the 17th–18th centuries. It argues that the Padroado Real, while enabling Portugal to sponsor churches and appoint clergy across its Asian empire, repeatedly collided with Rome’s efforts to regulate mission governance from the center, prompting a structural shift toward centralized papal control via the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith and the deployment of Vicars-Apostolic. Employing a documentary-historical method, the article analyzes papal bulls, royal privileges, apostolic acts, and mission correspondences, alongside local Chinese and Macanese records, to uncover how authorities negotiated jurisdiction, resource allocation, and doctrinal strategy. The findings show a persistent, pragmatic cooperation: Lisbon provided logistics, local knowledge, and patronage networks that sustained missions in a difficult field; Rome supplied doctrinal direction, mission standardization, and institutional oversight to ensure uniformity across diverse theatres. Yet contradictions were equally salient: conflicts over nomination rights, episcopal authority, and the reach of papal decrees, as well as tensions in adapting to Chinese religious, political, and cultural contexts. The analysis concludes that the 17th–18th-century Catholic presence in China emerged from a dynamic compromise between imperial patronage and papal centralization, a pattern that shaped the governance of ecclesiastical affairs in Macao and beyond. Instituto Cultural de Macau Macau Review of Culture Articles April 2002 Gu Wei-min |
| spellingShingle | COOPERATION AND CONTRADICTION : PORTUGAL AND THE HOLY SEE IN THE ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS IN CHINA IN 17-18TH CENTURIES Gu Wei-min |
| title | COOPERATION AND CONTRADICTION : PORTUGAL AND THE HOLY SEE IN THE ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS IN CHINA IN 17-18TH CENTURIES |
| title_autocomplete | COOPERATION AND CONTRADICTION : PORTUGAL AND THE HOLY SEE IN THE ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS IN CHINA IN 17-18TH CENTURIES |
| title_full | COOPERATION AND CONTRADICTION : PORTUGAL AND THE HOLY SEE IN THE ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS IN CHINA IN 17-18TH CENTURIES |
| title_fullStr | COOPERATION AND CONTRADICTION : PORTUGAL AND THE HOLY SEE IN THE ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS IN CHINA IN 17-18TH CENTURIES |
| title_full_unstemmed | COOPERATION AND CONTRADICTION : PORTUGAL AND THE HOLY SEE IN THE ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS IN CHINA IN 17-18TH CENTURIES |
| title_short | COOPERATION AND CONTRADICTION : PORTUGAL AND THE HOLY SEE IN THE ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS IN CHINA IN 17-18TH CENTURIES |
| title_sort | cooperation and contradiction : portugal and the holy see in the ecclesiastical affairs in china in 17-18th centuries |
| url | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40002/2666 |
| zotero_collection_key | 76L3BRGH |