Abstract
Goa, a former Portuguese colony and, at present, a state of the Republic of India, located on the west coast of the subcontinent, has an interesting history of commercial and cultural contacts with Ceylon that were nurtured through the maritime route, especially during the colonial period. Portuguese Goa enjoyed thriving trade relations with the Ilha de Ceilão. It also participated in the Christianisation of this island both under the Portuguese and later, in the seventeenth century, when the Goan priest, Fr. Joseph Vaz, and other Oratorians, made a bid to revive Roman Catholicism there. In 1885, Msgr. Sebastião Rodolfo Dalgado was deputed to Ceylon as its Vicar-General. He served there for two years and with the surrender of their mission of Ceylon by the Portuguese, he returned to Goa in 1887. And in the very same year, 1887, another Goan priest, Padre Alvares, journeyed to Ceylon to contribute to its religious history: initially, to rally the Goan clergy posted there in their fight against the Concordat of 1886, and later to perform his episcopal duties as the Archbishop of Ceylon, Goa and India. Alvares Mar Julius, also known as Padre Alvares, was an editor, writer, founder of educational and social institutions, patriot and, above all, a dedicated social worker. In the pursuit of the spiritual and socio-political uplift of his people, Padre Alvares was branded seditious by the colonial Government of Goa, ex-communicated by the Roman Catholic Church, and elevated to episcopal stature by the Syrian Orthodox Church in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The present article focuses on the socio-political contributions of Alvares Mar Julius both before he joined the Syrian Orthodox Church and after. It examines the ideology of economic nationalism espoused by Padre Alvares, the “swadeshi” (nationalist) ideology, and attempts to situate this revolutionary priest in the context of local resistance to colonial hegemony in nineteenth century Goa. Further, it reviews the contributions of Alvares Mar Julius to the Syrian Orthodox Church which have been many-fold, with a special focus on his activities in Ceylon in the context of The Padroado Defence Association, the Independent Catholic Mission, and as his mission-field.“I have fought the Good Fight I have finished the race I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/suslj.v12i1.7024 Sabaragamuwa University Journal 2013; V. 12 No. 1 pp 61-82
Highlights
A couple of years ago, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in India, Prasad Kariyawasam, had said: “Portuguese had their first introduction to Sri Lanka in Galle, a southern port city in 1505 and ‘Goa, God’s own paradise’ and ‘Sri Lanka, a land like no other’ have common threads.”2 Goa, a former Portuguese colony and, at present, a state of the Indian Union located on its west coast, has an interesting history of commercial and cultural contacts with Ceylon that were nurtured through the maritime route, especially during the colonial period
Sri Lanka had experienced the rule of three successive European powers from 1505 to 1948: the Portuguese (1505-1658), the Dutch (1658-1796) and the British (1796-1948)
The convicts were generally sent to war-torn regions where there was an acute need of manpower, and in the early seventeenth century, in the wake of internal wars and the Dutch incursions, the rate of deportation from Goa to Ceylon increased considerably
Summary
A couple of years ago, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in India, Prasad Kariyawasam, had said: “Portuguese had their first introduction to Sri Lanka in Galle, a southern port city in 1505 and ‘Goa, God’s own paradise’ and ‘Sri Lanka, a land like no other’ have common threads.” Goa, a former Portuguese colony and, at present, a state of the Indian Union located on its west coast, has an interesting history of commercial and cultural contacts with Ceylon that were nurtured through the maritime route, especially during the colonial period. The Goa-Ceylon Religious Connection: A Review of the ‘The Indian Cry’ of Alvares Mar Julius, Archbishop of Ceylon, Goa and India social worker to whom the church was “the community of Faith, hope and charity,” and who aspired to make the civil and ecclesiastical administration of Portuguese Goa likewise This firebrand journalist and fearless patriot used his pen and raised his voice to fight against the corruption and malpractices in the contemporary colonial administration of Goa. In the pursuit of the spiritual and socio-political uplift of the people, Alvares was branded seditious by the colonial government of Goa and forced to leave the Roman Catholic Church. The ideologies of brahmanism (that sought to critique the corrupt and exploitative policies of the colonial regime) and Indianness (that strove to emphasize Goa’s Indian connection and argued for the creation of an economically self-sufficient, socio-culturally united and politically aware Goa) dominated the nineteenth century political scene in Goa and it is within this context, that the speeches, writings and activities of Padre Alvares may be analyzed
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