Syncretism of Christian and Asian features in the design of St. Paul's Church in Macau

Abstract

The subject of the study is the design of the Jesuit Church of St. Paul in Macau, built in 1602-1640. The plan and design of the temple are typical of the Jesuit churches of Europe, but the decoration is distinctive, which manifested a new strategy of the Jesuits. The focus of the publication is on the decor of the preserved western facade, combining both European Christian symbols and images, as well as Chinese and Japanese. The article shows how the Jesuits introduced the Christian doctrine into the consciousness of the inhabitants through the pictorial series familiar to the local population, seeking its speedy dissemination. The project of the church belongs to European masters, and local sculptors worked on the decoration. The novelty of the research lies in considering not only the historical aspects of the expansion of the influence of the Jesuit Order in the territories of the Far East in general, in China and Macau in particular, but also the artistic aspects, which is important, since art was an important tool for the Jesuits in promoting Christianity, especially in the era of the Counter-Reformation, after the Council of Trent. The main conclusion of the study is that the facade is a retablo of the Church of St. St. Paul's in Macau is a kind of doctrinal synthesis in stone: through images and inscriptions in Chinese and Latin, knowledge about Catholic doctrine and the basics of Christian teaching is transmitted to local residents.