Catholic Word of the Day: MALABAR RITES, 04-11-12

CatholicReference.net ^ | 04-11-12 | Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary

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MALABAR RITES

The customs and practices of the natives of South India, which the Jesuit missionaries in the seventeenth century permitted their converts but which the Holy See afterward prohibited. Robert de Nobili (1577-1656) initiated these rites in order to pave the way for the hoped-for conversion of the Brahmins. Among those who observed the Malabar Rites was St. John de Britto (1647-93).

All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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New to me.

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Catholic Word of the Day – links will be provided later by another FReeper.  (Would anyone like to help with this?)

 

Santa Maria Maggiore	Doctrine	Eugenic Sterilization
Via Dolorosa	Seven Dolors	Authority
Western Schism	Sick Call	Plain Chant
Palm Sunday	Malabar Rites

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Among the currently-used Catholic rites in India are Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara. The history of both Catholicism and non-Catholic Christianity in India is *very* complex, perhaps even more than Central and Eastern Europe’s. The very early evangelization of some Indians left a unique Christian communion, “Thomas Christians,” and the influence of Hinduism is also an important feature.

Ethiopia has some of the same historical curiosities, with the addition of a Semitic language and a very substantial Moslem population. That reminds me, I need to email my priest in Ethiopia with the latest baby pictures!

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Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I had no idea about any of it other than the Hindu influences.

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Syrian Christians, most of whom we now call “Lebanese,” also arrived in India very early. Then as now, they were amazingly enterprising traders and colonizers. There were some very old Jewish communities in South India as well.

I’m always happy to share from my overflowing stocks of historical and cultural trivia. It’s a shame there’s no paying profession of “knows all kinds of largely useless facts”!