Aleixo de Menezes

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Archbishop Aleixo de Menezes
Tomb with heraldic shield in Braga Cathedral

Aleixo de Menezes (born January 25, 1559 - † May 3, 1617 ) was Archbishop of Goa , Archbishop of Braga in Portugal and Spanish Viceroy of Portugal .

Biographical data

It is known about Aleixo that he joined the Augustinian order . In 1595 he was consecrated as Bishop of Goa .

The Synod of Diamper , which took place under his leadership, resulted in the extensive classification of the Thomas Christians who had lived in southern India since apostolic times under the Latin rite of the Catholic Church , which cut off their historical ties to the Assyrian Church of the East .

In 1612 Alexis de Menezes was appointed Archbishop of Braga, Portugal. He was the Spanish Viceroy in Portugal from 1612 to 1615, died in 1617 and was buried in the Cathedral of Braga .

A questionable legacy

Archbishop Aleixo de Menezes

Aleixo de Menezes was unwilling to accept even the smallest of the customs of the Thomas Christians. Instead, he intensified the Latinization of the Thomas Christians, which had been going on since the arrival of the Portuguese in the early 16th century.

The result of the activities of Aleixos de Menezes was not only assessed very negatively by the affected indigenous Christians, but also by the Roman Catholic Church:

The only case in which an ancient Eastern rite has been willfully romanized is that of the Uniat Malabar Christians, where it was not Roman authority but the misguided zeal of Alexius de Menezes, Archbishop of Goa, and his Portuguese advisers at the Synod of Diamper ( 1599) which spoiled the old Malabar Rite.

“The only case in which an ancient Eastern rite was deliberately romanized is that of the Malabar Christians. Here it was not the authority of Rome, but the misguided zeal of Alexius de Menezes, Archbishop of Goa and his Portuguese advisers during the Synod of Diamper, that destroyed the ancient rite of the Malabar Christians. "

- Catholic Encyclopedia , 1913

The legality of the Synod of Diamper has been questioned by many scholars throughout history. It was never confirmed by Rome and is now considered the “robber synod”, especially since the theological necessity of many changes made there is not given.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Aleixo de Menezes  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Prehistory of the Christian denominations in Kerala
  2. ↑ The grave of Archbishop Aleixo de Menezes  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.free-photos.biz  
  3. ↑ Patrick Griffin:  Rites . In: Catholic Encyclopedia , Volume 13, Robert Appleton Company, New York 1912 (Chapter Difference of rite , Section 6).
  4. ↑ Paul Pallath : The Synod of Diamper: or valid invalid? In: George Nedungatt (Ed.): The Synod of Diamper Revisited (= Kanonika. 9). Pontificio Istituto Orientale, Rome 2001, ISBN 88-7210-331-2 , pp. 199-226.
personal data
SURNAME Menezes, Aleixo de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Archbishop of Goa, Archbishop of Braga in Portugal and Spanish Viceroy of Portugal
DATE OF BIRTH January 25, 1559
DATE OF DEATH May 3, 1617