Peter C. Phan
The Catholic University of America
Christianity seems to have made its first appearance in Vietnam in the 16th century. An edict of 1663 mentions that there had been a prohibition dated 1533 proscribing the preaching of a new religion called Gia To (Jesus) by a man named I Nu Khu (Ignatius) in the villages of Ninh Cuong, Quan Anh, and Tra Lu. Historical records of the Portuguese Dominican Province of the Holy Cross in Malacca and of the Spanish Franciscan Province of the Holy Rosary in Manila show that between 1550 and 1596 several groups of the Mendicant Friars came to preach in Vietnam. As a whole, however, these expeditions produced no lasting results, mainly because these early missionaries did not know the local language.
It was only with the arrival of the Jesuits in Cochinchina in 1615 that Christianity began to strike root. The Jesuit mission to Vietnam was not a planned enterprise but happened by chance as a response to a request of Fernandes de Costa, a captain of a Portuguese merchant ship. De Costa had come back from Cochinchina and proposed to the Jesuits to set up a mission there. Valentin de Carvalho, then the provincial of Japan, agreed with da Costa's proposal, and on January 6, 1615 sent three Jesuits, Fathers Francis Buzomi and Diego Carvalho, and Brother Anthony Dias to Cochinchina. Between 1616 and 1623, 11 other Jesuits joined the mission. In December 1624, another group of 7 Jesuits, among whom Alexander de Rhodes, arrived in Cochinchina.
Alexander de Rhodes, Founder of Vietnamese Christianity
Though not the first to arrive in Vietnam, de Rhodes is often proclaimed the founder of Vietnamese Christianity. No doubt he deserves this accolade. First, he carried out a highly successful mission in both parts of Vietnam, Tonkin and Cochinchina. Secondly, besides two priceless memoirs on the Vietnamese society in the 17th century and on the beginnings of Vietnamese Christianity, he published the first books, including a catechism, in Vietnamese in the Romanized script. Thirdly, he successfully lobbied for the establishment of a hierarchy in Vietnam. Thanks to his persistent efforts, in 1659, two bishops, François Pallu and Pierre Lambert de la Motte, were appointed apostolic vicars of Tonkin and Cochinchina respectively.
In this essay I will first give a brief account of de Rhodes' mission in Vietnam. Next I will present his catechetical work and his catechism. The last part of the essay will focus de Rhodes' catechetical method.
DE RHODES' MISSION IN TONKIN AND COCHINCHINA
Born in Avignon, then a papal state, on March 15, 1593 into a family of Jewish origin, Alexander de Rhodes was the son of Bernardin de Rhodes II and Frances de Rafaelis. After completing his high school studies at the local Jesuit college, de Rhodes joined the Jesuit noviciate in Rome to pursue his missionary vocation (1612). After his profession, he wrote to the General Claudius Aquaviva expressing his desire to go to the missions. De Rhodes did his theological studies at the Roman College and was ordained on Easter Sunday, 1618. Shortly after his ordination, he was granted by the General Mutio Vitelleschi the permission to go to the mission of Japan.
From Lisbon to Macao
Under the padroado system, all missionaries to the East Indies (except to the Philippines), had to embark at Lisbon on Portuguese ships bound for Goa from where they would head off to different parts of Asia. On July 20, 1619, de Rhodes boarded the ship St. Theresa, and after six months and ten days arrived in Goa. Because of persecutions in Japan, he did not immediately set out for Macao and from there for Japan. After a three and a half years delay in Goa, on April 22, 1622, de Rhodes resumed his journey to Macao where he arrived on May 29, 1623. De Rhodes stayed at the Jesuit college Madre de Deus, preparing himself for his mission in Japan by learning the Japanese language.
De Rhodes' dream of being a missionary in Japan was not to be realized. Shogun Iemitsu, who succeeded his father Hidetaka in 1623, was even more hostile to Christianity. Under the circumstances de Rhodes' superiors thought it wise not to send him to Japan. Instead, they dispatched him to Cochinchina where the order had started a mission in 1615.
Annam: Tonkin and Cochinchina
In the 17th century, Vietnam, then known as Annam, a name given by the Chinese since 1164, was under the Le dynasty (1427-1788). However, by the middle of the 16th century, the Le kings were only puppets; real power rested in the hands of the Trinh clan in the north known as Tonkin and of the Nguyen clan in the south known as Cochinchina. When Christianity reached Vietnam in the 17th century, the country was marked by three major events: the protracted wars between the two parts of the country (1627-1672), with the Trinh clan's attempt to assert control over the whole country, and the Nguyen clan's attempt to assert independence from Tonkin; Cochinchina's ruthless and rapid expansionist movement to the south, annexing the kingdom of Champa and parts of Cambodia; and commercial contacts with Europeans, especially with the Portuguese.
Christian missionaries, willy-nilly, were caught in this web of political, economic, and military interests. The lords of the Trinh and Nguyen clans used them as pawns to establish commercial trade with the Europeans and to obtain weapons in order to realize their political and military ambitions. Arriving in Tonkin and Cochinchina on Portuguese ships, and presented to the lords of the two countries with great reverence by the Portuguese merchants and military officers, de Rhodes and his fellow missionaries would have had a difficult time distinguishing themselves from their compatriots, at least in the eyes of the local authorities.
It was no accident that the religion they preached was then known in Vietnamese as dao Hoa Lang, literally, way or religion of the Portuguese. De Rhodes himself was called "the Father of the Portuguese," that is, "the Father of Christians." In his Cathechismus, de Rhodes has to argue that though Christianity came to Portugal before arriving in Vietnam, it is not the "way of the Portuguese" but the way of the Lord of heaven and earth destined for all peoples.
De Rhodes' First Mission in Cochinchina (1624-1526)
There were three Jesuit residences in Cochinchina when de Rhodes arrived in the country. He was assigned to that of Thanh Chiem to study the language under the guidance of Francis Pina. His learning experience has as much to say about his linguistic abilities as about his missionary method: "Every day I was give lessons, which I studied with the same application as I once studied theology in Rome. God willed that within four months I knew enough to be able to hear confessions and within six months to preach in the language of Cochinchina, as I have continued to do so for many years since. I would advise all those wishing to come to our province to convert souls to take this trouble at the outset. I assure them that the fruit produced by presenting our mysteries in their own language is incomparably greater than through an interpreter, who tells them only what he pleases and cannot speak with the efficacy of words coming from the mouth of a peacher animated by the Holy Spirit."
During his one year and a half stay in Cochinchina, de Rhodes' apostolic activities were rather meager, his main occupation being the study of the language. Meanwhile Andrew Palmieri, the Jesuit visitor, was planning to send missionaries to Tonkin. In 1626, Julian Baldinotti and Jules Piani had gone to Tonkin to explore the possibility of setting up a mission. Upon their return they recommended that someone with the knowledge of the Vietnamese language be sent there. The obvious choice was de Rhodes who by then knew the language well. In July 1626, he and Peter Marquez were recalled to Macao to prepare for their mission in Tonkin.
De Rhodes' Mission in Tonkin (1627-1630)
On March 1627, the two missionaries embarked a Portuguese merchant ship for Tonkin. They arrived at Cua Bang (today Ba Lang) on March 19, 1627. Shortly afterwards, they met Lord Trinh Trang who was on his way to war against Cochinchina. When Lord Trinh Trang returned in defeat from his military expedition, the missionaries accompanied him to Thang Long, the capital, and there began their mission in earnest. The great number of conversions aroused the opposition of eunuchs, Buddhist monks, and the concubines who were dismissed by their husbands who decided to become Christian. One of the monks accused the missionaries of joining a plot against Lord Trinh Trang. As a result, on May 28, 1628, Lord Trinh Trang issued a decree forbidding his subjects, under pain of death, to meet the missionaries and to embrace the religion they preached.
However, the lord tolerated the presence of the two missionaries in the hope that they would attract Portuguese traders. When the Portuguese ships had not come during the sailing season, the lord expelled the missionaries, ordering them to return to Macao by way of Cochinchina. In March 1629, de Rhodes and Peter Marquez left for the south with the plan to return to Macao. On the way, they continued to preach and effected many conversions. However, in November, they received news that two Jesuits, Gaspar d'Amiral and Paul Saito, had come to Tonkin in a Portuguese ship. They joined them and sailed for the capital in their company and resumed their ministry there. At first, Lord Trinh Trang tolerated their presence, but after six months, when the Portuguese ship returned to Macao, he ordered them to embark and leave the country.
Before his departure, de Rhodes had the brilliant idea of forming some of his closest collaborators, the catechists, into a quasi-religious community. They would profess the three vows of not marrying until the return of the missionaries, of putting their possessions in common, and of obeying the one among them who would be appointed superior. Four catechists took the vows during the last Mass de Rhodes celebrated.
In May 1630, de Rhodes left Tonkin, never to return. He had worked there for more than three years. By numerical standards alone, his mission had been a huge success: when he left, there were 5,602 Christians. During the ten-month absence of missionaries, from May 1630 ro March 1631, the catechists he had trained baptized 3,340 people and built 20 new churches.
Banished from Tonkin de Rhodes returned to Macao and stayed there for ten years during which he taught theology at the Madre de Deus College and took care of Chinese Christians. However, in 1639, events in Cochinchina once again made de Rhodes' missionary experience highly desirable. There were then some 15,000 Christians and 20 churches in central Vietnam. In 1639, the lord of Cochinchina, Nguyen Phuoc Lan, who suspected that the missionaries had assisted his brother in rebelling against him, ordered the seven Jesuits to leave the country.
De Rhodes' Second Mission to Cochinchina (1640-1645)
Eager to continue the mission in Cochinchina, the new visitor Anthony Rubino looked around for someone to send there. De Rhodes volunteered and was accepted. Thus began de Rhodes' second mission to Cochinchina. It was divided into four trips and lasted a total of 50 months, from 1640 to 1645. As a whole, it was far more difficult and eventful than his mission in Tonkin. Four times he was exiled from the country. Once he was condemned to death by Lord Nguyen Phuoc Lan on the charge of espionage for Tonkin, but the sentence was commuted to permanent exile.
During the 50 months de Rhodes spent in Cochinchina between 1640 and 1645, he baptized some 3,400 people, without counting the baptisms administered by his catechists. Compared with his mission in Tonkin which produced 5,602 conversions, de Rhodes' second mission in Cochinchina produced significantly fewer, though it was much longer and much more strenous, 50 versus 38 months). But the smaller number of conversions is amply made up by the number of martyrs. Whereas Tonkin can boast of one martyr in 1630, Cochinchina three: Andrew of Phu Yen, Ignatius of Quang Tri, and Vincent of Quang Nghia, all de Rhodes' catechists.
As he had done in Tonkin in 1630, de Rhodes organized his catechists into a vowed community. On July 31, 1643, on the feast of Saint Ignatius, in the course of the Mass, ten catechists professed the vows of chastity and obedience. On July 3, 1645, sentenced to perpetual exile from Cochinchina, de Rhodes left Vietnam for Macao, bringing with him the head of Andrew of Phu Yen.
Return to Rome and the Establishment of the Hierarchy in Vietnam
De Rhodes' superiors in Macao decided that a man of his experience could render a vast service to the missions by going back to Europe to fetch spiritual and temporal help. He was charged with three tasks: to impress the Pope of the extreme need to send bishops to Tonkin and Cochinchina, to seek material help from Christian princes for the missions, and to ask the General to send more missionaries to the Asian countries.
In December 1645, de Rhodes began his return journey to Rome which lasted three years and six months. Upon arriving in Rome on June 27, 1649, de Rhodes immediately set out to realize his plan of having a hierarchy established in Vietnam. De Rhodes anticipated objections to his proposal by the Portuguese government in virtue of the padroado system. He suggested that the Holy See appoint bishops as "apostolic vicars" in partibus infidelieum, under the jurisdiction of the Propaganda Fide, without the knowledge of the Portuguese crown. The pope thought there was no better candidate for the episcopacy in Vietnam than de Rhodes himself, but the latter declined the appointment, not only because being a Jesuit he was barred from seeking the episcopacy but also because having been expelled from the country, he would not be able to return to it officially. Instead, he was made prefect of the mission and was charged with recruiting candidates for the episcopacy.
On September 11, 1652, de Rhodes left for Paris where he met Rev. Bagot, a Jesuit, director of a group of 12 students who formed the Société des Bons Amis. Three priests of the group were judged worthy candidates for the episcopacy, among whom was François Pallu. On learning that Rome was about to send French bishops to Vietnam, Portugal voiced fierce opposition. Meanwhile the Jesuit General, believing that de Rhodes' presence in the project of establishing a hierarchy in Vietnam would prevent it from being realized, decided to make him superior of the Jesuit mission in Persia. On November 16, 1654, de Rhodes left Marseilles for his new mission where he died on November 5, 1660. But his dream of having a hierarchy for Vietnam was fulfilled shortly before his death when on September 9, 1959, the Propaganda Fide published a decree, confirmed by Pope Alexander VII, establishing two apostolic vicariates with two bishops François Pallu and Pierre Lambert de la Motte.
DE RHODES' CATECHETICAL WORK AND CATHECHISMUS
The development of catechism as a genre was intertwined with the Protestant Reformation, the Tridentine Counter-Reformation, and the Christian missions in the New World and Asia. De Rhodes' Cathechismus stood thus in the long line of catechisms composed not only in Europe, but also and particularly in Asia. It was not the first catechism to be composed in Vietnam either. Already in 1620, the Jesuits in Cochinchina had already produced a catechism in Vietnamese written in chu nom, that is, the popular or demotic script in which Chinese characters are borrowed and altered to render the meaning of the Vietnamese words. Furthermore, in 1627, one of de Rhodes' first converts in Tonkin, a daughter of Lord Trinh Trang' sister, named Catherine, "composed in beautiful verses for the use of catechism poems on the entire sacred history, beginning with the creation of the world to the coming, life, passion, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord." Unfortunately, neither the Jesuits' catechism in Cochinchina nor Catherine's catechetical poems in Tonkin are extant.
History of Cathechismus
Of course, in evangelizing de Rhodes must have written down something on the basis of which to preach and teach because he had to find, for the first time, Vietnamese words that would be appropriate equivalents of Christian theological concepts and Latin terminologies, especially as he began his ministry in Tonkin in 1627. He had learnt the Vietnamese language for two years in Cochinchina, with the help of Francis de Pina. His lessons must have included some theological terms, since he was able to hear confessions within four months and preach within six. However, there is little doubt that the theological vocabularies in Cathechismus are far more numerous and sophisticated than those he had been taught.
De Rhodes must have begun the process of writing Cathechismus early, perhaps already during his mission in Tonkin. But the bulk of its composition must have taken place during the years 1636-1645, that is, during the later years of de Rhodes' professorship in Macao and his second mission to Cochinchina, when he had gained a mastery of the Vietnamese language and the romanizing system. At any rate, it must have been completed after Histoire du Royaume de Tonquin (1636) since in this memoir de Rhodes made no mention of his Cathechismus (or his Dictionarium), and before Divers voyages et missions (1647), since in this work de Rhodes referred twice to his Cathechismus.
The cost of printing Cathechismus were underwritten by the Propaganda Fide. It was printed in two languages, each page having two columns, the right featuring the Vietnamese text, the left the Latin translation. To facilitate cross-checking the two texts, each text is divided into small sections having the same meaning, each section marked with the same alphabet from a to z. The book is printed in quarto, with 319 pages.
As a catechism, Cathechismus is distinctive in that it adopts neither the time-honored question-and-answer format of Counter-Reformation catechisms nor the dialogue structure popularized by Ruggieri's and Ricci's works. Rather it uses the expository method, perhaps because this is more appropriate for a manual of catechesis.
Catechesis in Eight Days
Furthermore, the book is not divided into chapters but "days" and there are no titled subdivisions within each day. Each day is of roughly the same length, apparently so that each day's material can be treated in one day, and the material of the whole book should/could be covered in eight days.
That de Rhodes intended his Cathechismus to be covered in eight days is implied by the following account of the first months of his mission in Tonkin:
Toward September (i.e., of 1627), that is, four months after our arrival in the capital, we moved into a new house part of which we turned into a church. From the time we first moved in, so many people came to see us that we had to preach six times a day, three in the morning and three in the afternoon, to satisfy the demands of those who kept coming to hear us, one group after another. The fruits we gathered from our labor and from the seeds of God's Word which we sowed were so great that we had to take two days out of the week to administer baptism to those who wished to receive it. Ordinarily, each group had 20 and sometimes 40 persons, among whom there were people of distinction, even from the lord's family.At the beginning we had to engage in dispute with certain curious and contentious people who came to listen to us with the intention to contradict the doctrines we were teaching. This not only disturbed the order of our sermons, taking away the precious time which was allotted to them, forcing us to answer their questions and resolvong their doubts, but also sowed confusion in the minds of others and prevented the Gopel from producing its fruits.
We therefore decided not to allow anyone to ask questions unless he or she had assiduously listened for eight days to the doctrines we were teaching. As a result, either these contentious people withdrew, too impatient to wait until the end, or they listened attentively to us during this time, and had thier doubts eventually cleared up and had nothing more to object to us. In this way we didd not lose time and there was less danger of troubling those who were well-intentioned with frivolous question.
De Rhodes' baptismal catechesis then was not a lengthy as patristic catechumenate but not as cursory as Francis Xavier's which, because of the great number of people who came to him, was often limited to the rudiments of the Christian faith -- the Credo, Pater, and Ave Maria. Indeed, if each day's material is divided into six lectures, as de Rhodes reported, each lasting, let's say, about an hour, it could without difficulty be treated adequately.
Although Cathechismus is called a catechism, it is also a manual of catechesis, as is clear from the occasional instructions de Rhodes gives to catechists on when and how to present certain doctrines. However, Cathechismus is not a how-to book, explicit methodological instructions being minimal. It is essentially an exposition of the Christian faith, and the catechetical method is found, not in the few asides about how to illustrate a particular teaching, but in the very selection, structuring, and application of the doctrines to be taught.
DE RHODES' CATECHETICAL METHOD
There is in Cathechismus no preface and/or introduction in which de Rhodes would explain his catechetical method. However, elsewhere he did expound at some length on how Christian doctrines should be taught. To understand both de Rhodes' catechetical enterprise and Cathechismus, we will have to analyse these texts carefully as well as the actual ordering of doctrines Cathechismus itself.
Foundational Texts on Catechetical Method
Given the extreme importance of the passages in which de Rhodes explains how Christian doctrines should be taught in Vietnam, it is necessary to quote them here in full, despite their length, and in chronological order.
The first text occurs in the context of de Rhodes' arrival in Tonkin in March, 1627. After telling the curious crowd who had gathered around the newly-arrived Portuguese merchants that he had a precious pearl to sell so cheap that everybody could afford to buy, that is, the true way, de Rhodes added:
Text AHaving heard of the law which they call dao in scholarly language and dang in popular language, which means the way, they became all the more curious to know from me what the true law, the true way that I wanted to show them. Thereupon I talked to them about the sovereign Principle of all created beings. I decided to announce it to them under the name of the Lord of heaven and earth, finding no proper word in their language to refer to God.
Indeed, what they commonly call Phat or But designates nothing but an idol. And knowing that the cult of idols was held in high esteem by the leaders and doctors of the kingdom, I do not deem it proper to designate God with these words. Rather, I decided to employ the name used by the apostle Saint Paul when he preached to the Athenians who had set up an altar to an unknown God. This God, he said, whom they adored without knowing him, is the Lord of heaven and earth (duc Chua troi dat).
It was therefore under this name full of majesty even in the hearts of the pagans that I first announced to them that the true way consisted first and foremost in fulfilling our legitimate duties to the Lord of heaven and earth by the means God has revealed to us.
The second, and most important text, constitutes de Rhodes' magna carta of the catechetical method which he developed explicitly for the Vietnamese people:
Text BAmong those who announce the doctrine of the Gospel to other kingdoms of pagans there are many who are of the opinion that it is necessary first to destroy the errors of paganism and disabuse their minds of these erroneous views before establishing and teaching the doctrines and principles of the Christian religion. This method, they claim, follows the order God has given to a prophet, saying: I have commanded you to destroy and pull up, to build and plant. Others, as far as the most august mystery of the Holy Trinity is concerned, maintain that it should be expounded to catechumens only after they have been disposed to receive baptism in order to avoid troubling their minds with doubts which this most sublime and ineffable mystery might induce.
From my own experience, however, I believe that between these two options there is another method of teaching more appropriate for the people of this kingdom. This method requires that one do not attack the errors of the Tonkinese sects before establishing the truths knowable by the light of natural reason, such as the creation of the world, the end for which the sovereign Principle of created things has made and ordered the rational creatures, the obligations imcumbent upon them to know and serve God. The goal is to build in the hearers' minds a sort of firm foundation on which the rest of their faith can be supported and not to turn them off, which often happens, by our rebutting and ridiculing their devotions, false though they are, and their superstitious observances.
I have often been more successful, as far as I can tell, in impressing upon them feelings of piety and natural love toward the Creator and the First Principle of their being. Then, by means of a narrative of the history of the universal flood and of the confusion of languages, I inspire in them a sense of fear of God whom they must fear and adore. Then follows a refutation of the idolatry which, incidentally, the devil himself has not introduced into the world until after the flood.
In this I am in perfect agreement with others that we must not expound to the pagans whom we wish to convert the mysteries of the Holy Trinity, the incarnation and the passion of the Son of God, and sow the holy seed of these great truths in their hearts before we have uprooted the errors and superstition of idolatry.
Nevertheless, I do not believe that we should wait until the time of baptism to propose to the catechumens the faith in the Trinity of the divine persons. On the contrary, we must begin with an exposition of this mystery, and then it will be easier to go from there to the incarnation of the Son of God, who is the Second Person, and to what he has suffered to save the world lost by sin, and to his resurrection and other mysteries of our religion. After all, this is the order and method followed by the apostles in the symbol of the faith which they have left us.
For myself, during the many years I have been engaged in teaching the pagans, I have not found anyone who has objected to our faith with regard to the exposition of the incomprehensible mystery of the Trinity. On the contrary, I have always found that they have more difficulty in believing the Incarnation. The reason for this is that they do not find it strange that God, whose nature they recognize by the light of natural reason to be incomprehensible and exceeding the scope of our knowledge, is also less amenable to explanation by our discourses with regard to his properties and persons whom we propose to their belief.
On the other hand, we have the greatest trouble in convincing them that the one who is pure spirit, eternal, and immortal, and who reigns in heaven crowned with glory, was clothed in the flesh, born in time, subject to death, and exposed to all sorts of shame and misery.
That is why, when it is time to propose to the catechumens the mysteries of Passion, we must do it with skill and a little differently from when we present them to Christians by observing three things. First, we must throw in much sharper relief the miraculous events happening in the death of Jesus Christ, such as nature recoiling from the crime committed against his person, the sun withdrawing its rays and refusing to shine upon the earth guilty of such an execrable sacrilege, the tombs opening up, the rocks bursting asunder, the earth shaking, and all the creatures experiencing pains at the death of their creator. From all this the conclusion is drawn that if he died, it is because he chose to do so of his own free will and that he granted his murderers the power which he had to kill him, in order to redeem and save the human race.
Secondly, after explaining the great love and the wonderful virtues which Jesus Christ has shown in his suffering and death, it is appropriate to expose to them for the first time the image of the cross for their adoration, with lighted candles and other similar ceremonies of devotion.
Thirdly, we must never explain the passion and death of the Redeemer without adding immediately the narrative of his glorious resurrection, of how he rose by his own power on the third day, and how he went out in triumph from the tomb where he had been placed. In this way it is made clear that if he could give himself life by overcoming death, he was the Lord of life and death, and that as such he could have prevented his own death and could have been delivered from the hands of the Jews, had he so wanted.
These things should be repeated often and impressed upon their minds so that they may conceive more love and respect for the Savior. Experience has taught me that the deeper love and devotion they have for the Savior's passion, the firmer they become in their Christian faith and the more constant in their practice of virtues.
The third text contains de Rhodes' reflections on the ease with which he succeeded in converting the "idolatrous priests (i.e., Buddhists monks), who are usually the most obstinate." This success de Rhodes attributes to the particular method he uses in catechizing Vietnamese pagans:
Text CI found them marvelously open to reason. I baptized 200 of them who will be of unbelievable help to us in converting others. One of them brought me 500 of those he had disabused of error by teaching them the truths of faith, and they have since become our most fervent catechists. They were all delighted when I pointed out to them how our religion conforms to right reason, and they admired above all God's Ten Commandments, finding that nothing more reasonable could be uttered or more worthy of being laid down by the Supreme Ruler of the world. My favorite method was to propose to them the immortality of the soul and the afterlife. From thence I went on to prove God's existence and providence. Advancing thus from one degree to the next, we gradually came to the more difficult mysteries. Experience has shown us that this way of instructing the pagans is very useful. I have explained it at length in my catechism, which I divide over the course of eight days, wherein I try to propound all the main truths on which the idolaters should be taught.
De Rhodes' Catechetical Method
These three fundamental texts give us in a nutshell the method de Rhodes adopted in his catechesis in Vietnam. Before examining whether and if so, how Cathechismus embodies these methodological principles, it would be helpful to lay them out in systematic form:
1. No catechetical method is universally applicable. A method that is apt for "other kingdoms of pagans" (Text B) may not be effective in Vietnam. One has to discover through "experience" (this word is used repeatedly in Texts B and C) which method is most appropriate and effective for the people one is catechizing.
2. Experience has taught de Rhodes that two approaches were counter-productive in Vietnam. The first begins with an attack of the Vietnamese religious beliefs and practices. A critique of these traditions is, de Rhodes concedes, necessary since they do contain doctrinal errors and superstitious practices, but it should not be undertaken as the preliminary step before one teaches the truths of Christianity.
The Vietnamese people are deeply religious; preliminary "rebutting and ridiculing" (Text B) of their religions would, as is often the case, offend their religious sensibility and close their ears and hearts to the Gospel. This "refutation of idolatry" will be done only after one has spoken of the existence of God, creation, the fall, the flood, the Tower of Babel (Text B). De Rhodes notes that this order is not only logically and psychologically sound but also historically correct, because, according to him, it was only after the flood that the devil brought idolatry into the world (Text B).
3. The second approach to be rejected for the Vietnamese people concerns the ordering of Christian doctrines. Some missionaries maintain that the doctrine of the Trinity should not be presented to catechumens at the beginning of catechesis but should be postponed toward its end, right before baptism. The reason for this order is to "avoid troubling their minds with doubts" (Text B). De Rhodes rejects this proposal for three reasons. Theologically, the doctrine of the Trinity is presupposed by the doctrine of "the incarnation of the Son of God, who is the Second Person" (Text B). Experientially, in the many years of teaching pagans, de Rhodes has not found anyone objecting to the doctrine of the Trinity. Traditionally, the proposed order is not the one followed by the creed. Hence, de Rhodes recommends that the exposition of the Trinitarian mystery be done at the beginning of catechesis (Text B).
4. This does not mean that one starts with the doctrine of the Trinity. Rather one must commence with truths "knowable by the light of natural reason," such as the creation of the world, the aim of human life, and the obligations of knowing and serving God (Text B). Other "natural" truths with which one should begin catechesis for the Vietnamese include "the immortality of the soul and the afterlife" (Text C). The goal is to establish in the hearers' minds "a sort of firm foundation on which the rest of their faith can be supported" (Text B) so that Christianity is shown "to conform to right reason" (Text C). This is one of the reasons why Vietnamese Buddhist monks admired and accepted the Christian doctrines and ethics (Text C).
5. The most difficult Christian doctrine to teach the Vietnamese, in de Rhodes' experience, is that of the incarnation, passion, and death of the Son of God. To the Vietnamese mind it seems to contradict God's spirituality, eternity, immortality, and omnipotence. Interestingly, de Rhodes notes that presenting christological doctrines to pagans requires a different method from the one used to explain them to believers (Text B). To make them credible, de Rhodes suggests a triple strategy: highlighting the cosmic wonders associated with Christ's death, fostering devotion to the suffering Christ, and connecting Christ's passion with his resurrection. The point is to affirm as strongly as possible the freedom of Jesus in accepting his passion and hence his lordship over all his enemies and all things, including humankind's most powerful adversary, death (Text B).
6. As one attempts to tailor one's catechetical method to the local situation, its religious language must be pressed into service. In so doing two guidelines should be observed. First, words that at first sight seem equivalent to Christian concepts may not be appropriate; attention must be paid to their different philosophical and religious contexts (e.g., but or phat are not appropriate equivalents of God, given the polytheistic context in which they were used). Second, biblical usage provides a useful guide in coining new theological terms (e.g., Duc Chua troi dat for God, on the basis of Acts 17:23-25). This second rule makes it clear that de Rhodes' method is normed by divine revelation and not by natural reason, that is, "by the means God has revealed to us" (Text A).
7. Finally, in catechesis it is necessary to link doctrine with praxis, instruction with worship. Christian truths are shown to have practical implications both for worship, e.g., devotion to the Passion of Christ (Text B) and ethics, e.g, " our legitimate duties to the Lord of heaven and earth" (Text A) and "the practice of virtues" (Text B).
To what extent has Cathechismus exemplified these methodological principles? A close analysis of de Rhodes' catechism will confirm that it has observed his method point-by-point.
The Ordering of Doctrines in Cathechismus
As has been mentioned above, Cathechismus is divided into eight days. Furthermore, it is clear that as far as content is concerned, de Rhodes has also divided it into two parts: the first is composed of Day One to Day Four, and the second of Day Five to Day Eight. Each part is then symmetrically made up of four days, with the Day Five marking a decisive turning point in both the method and content of catechesis: "What follows should not be expounded to all but only to those who, having heard what has been said above, have already despised idols and false religions and are prepared to receive baptism by fasting and other works of piety. At this stage, they may be given the Our Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Apostles' Creed to learn by heart."
1. The double goal of the first four days is then (1) to lead the catechumens to "despise idols and false religions" and (2) to make a personal decision to accept baptism and to corroborate this choice with works of piety. In other words, the aim of all catechesis is Christian conversion. How is this objective achieved? Day One opens with reflections on the precariousness of life and our natural desire for longevity or better still, eternal life. These thoughts naturally lead to the time-honored doctrine of the two ways, the one leading to heaven, the other to hell. The way to heaven is constituted by the cult of "heaven," and the way to hell by the cult of "idols." This double way, says de Rhodes, happens to be the philosophy "commonly found among the Vietnamese."
To determine which way is true requires the use of right reason, since "the true way must necessarily conform to reason." This use of reason as the means to build a common ground between Christianity and the Vietnamese pagans helps de Rhodes to carry out his plan to establish a basis upon which their eventual faith can rest (principle 4). It is important to note here that despite de Rhodes' metaphor of natural reason as the "foundation" of faith, he is no Enlightenment, rationalist theologian attempting to justify Christian beliefs at the bar of reason or demonstrate the reasonableness of the Christian mysteries by means of philosophical arguments. Rather his appeal to reason only serves the purpose of finding an entry-point into the culture and religions of the people whom he was catechizing and of instituting a dialogue between Christian faith and the Vietnamese cultural and religious traditions. In other words, the search for a common ground is purely methodological. Substantively, however, de Rhodes' theology is shaped by divine revelation and not by what reason can discovers (principle 6).
2. This primacy of faith over reason is made abundantly clear in Day Two. After arguing, on the basis of reason and Vietnamese religious practices (e.g., the Nam Giao sacrifice), that the way to heaven by means of the cult of "the supreme Father and Lord of all things, who creates and preserves heaven and the earth and all things," de Rhodes relates the story of a pagan philosopher who was asked by his king to find the answer to the problem of the nature of God. The philosopher asked for one day, then two, then four more days to reflect on his answer and at the end confessed his inability to produce one. Then adds de Rhodes: "This non-Christian philosopher is like someone who, contemplating the immensity of the ocean, sees it better the more he moves away from the beach. We, however, assisted by the Lord of Heaven, we will dare to say something about who the true artisan of heaven and the earth and all things, the supreme Lord."
This "assistance by the Lord of Heaven" is nothing other than divine revelation. Indeed, to arrive at an adequate understanding of God and divine nature, we have to have recourse to both reason and revelation: "These attributes of the sovereign creator of all things, Lord of heaven, the earth, and all things are made known to us not only by God' revelation in his book but also by natural reason impressed in our hearts by God."
3. This appeal to revelation allows de Rhodes to speak on Day Three of the creation of angels (in particular, of Lucifer and Michael), of the material world, of Adam and Eve, of the earthly paradise; of the temptation and fall of Eve and Adam; of the consequences of original sin; of the necessity of the baptism of children. On Day Four he continues the sacred history with the narrative of the first patriarchs, in particular Cain and Abel, Seth, Enoch, and Methusalah, and Noah and the flood.
4. Only after having taught these truths that de Rhodes, according to his method (principle 2), undertakes his critique of the errors and superstitious practices of the Three Religions and of the Vietnamese indigenous religion. By this time, de Rhodes hopes, the catechumens will have been convinced of the truths of Christianity and are already psychologically disposed to perceive the errors of their religions. Only at this stage, then, is an attack against the Vietnamese religions pastorally opportune and effective. As we have seen in Chapter Three, de Rhodes' knowledge of the doctrines of these religions leaves a lot to be desired, though he displays a remarkable familiarity with their practices. The point here is not whether de Rhodes' knowledge of the Vietnamese religions is accurate but that contrary to many other missionaries, he does not preface his exposition of the Christian truths with an attack against the Vietnamese religions with the risk of alienating his audience. Rather he makes the rejection of the Vietnamese religions a natural consequence of accepting the truth of Christianity.
5. The predominance of faith over reason, which de Rhodes has already affirmed in Day Two, becomes even more explicit in Day Five. As has been mentioned above, Day Five marks a radical turning-point in the spiritual development of the catechumens. Enlightened by divine revelation and fortified by grace, they have been enabled to recognize the errors of their religious traditions and have decided to embrace the Christian truths. It is appropriate then at this stage to introduce the two most sublime Christian mysteries, the Trinity and the Incarnation: "We have established at the beginning that there exists a first principle of all created things, knowable by the light of natural reason .... His incomprehensible essence and his attributes are such that no created intellext can grasp them unless it is elevated by God with a supernatural light. This light of twofold. The first is the light of faith by which God reveals himself and divine matters to us in this life through his words.... The second light is called the light of gloria; the created intellect, elevated and enlightened by it, sees the divine essence clearly, as it is."
Faithful to his method, de Rhodes proceeds to expound the mystery of the Trinity at the beginning of the second phase of catechesis, in Day Five, before the mystery of the Incarnation, rather than at the end, immediately prior to baptism (principle 3).
6. In his exposition of the christological doctrines, de Rhodes introduces a method rarely practiced by Counter-Reformation catechisms. Differently from his explanation of the Trinity which is couched in abstract scholastic terms, de Rhodes' exposition of the christological mysteries is concrete and scripture-based. In fact, it is narrative theology at it best. De Rhodes devotes part of Day Five and the entire Day Six to telling the stories of Jesus' infancy and public ministry, with particular emphasis on Jesus' miracles. Instead of explaining christological and mariological doctrines in the abstract, de Rhodes anchors them in the appropriate stories of Mary's and Jesus' lives: Mary's immaculate conception in her birth, her perpetual virginity in the birth of Jesus, the hypostatic union of the one divine person of the Logos in his two natures in the annunciation, Jesus' divinity and the authenticity of his teaching in the miracles he performed. In this way, these doctrines appear to catechumens not as abstract propositions but as life-giving teachings intimately connected with the words and deeds of Jesus.
7. In his exposition of Jesus' passion and death in Day Seven, de Rhodes carries out his threefold strategy to the letter: highlighting the miraculous elements of Jesus' death, fostering devotion to the suffering Christ, and linking Jesus' death with his resurrection (principle 5). With regard to the first strategy, de Rhodes made good use of his astronomical knowledge to explain how the solar eclipse at Jesus' death could not be a natural occurrence but had to be a miracle. Indeed, de Rhodes adds that Dionysius, "a pagan gentleman and a famous mathematician," saw this solar eclipse at Hieropolis in Egypt, and later, when he heard St. Paul mention it in Athens, he recognized that it had happened on the day and at the hour of the eclipse he observed at Hieropolis. Thereupon, de Rhodes says, he embraced the Christian faith.
To foster devotion to the suffering Christ de Rhodes reminds the catechists that after they speak of Jesus' death, they should "display some beautiful representation of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, if possible with candles and incense, and address those present with the following words or words to this effect." There follows a long prayer composed by de Rhodes himself in which the catechumens are urged to express their repentance for their past sins and their gratitude and love for Christ: "Would that I had never offended you, o my most beloved Lord, but because the past is no longer in my power, I am firmly resolved to serve you in the future with all my heart and obey your commandments with all my strength until I depart from this world. I also renounce all the vain idols and all the diabolical religions I have foolisly adhered to till now; and you, my true God, who suffered and died on the cross, I adore you and bless you for ever and ever. Amen."
To link Jesus' passion with his resurrection, de Rhodes follows his account of Jesus' death immediately with a narrative of Jesus' descent into hell, resurrection, apparitions, and ascension. The point of the narrative is to demonstrate that death did not affect Jesus' divinity and that Jesus' power and glory shone forth in his resurrection: "On the third day, after the holy death of the Lord Jesus Christ (the day on which the Lord had often foretold that he would rise from the dead), when dawn had just begun, his most holy soul, surrounded by the souls of the just who had been released from the prison of the limbo and by a great number of angels, approached the tomb and reunited with his most holy body, raising it immediately, glorious and impassible."
8. De Rhodes' last catechetical principle requires that the practical implications of doctrines be unveiled to catechumens and that instruction be accompanied by worship and devotions (principle 7). Accordingly, Cathechismus is dominated throughout by the concern that catechumens be led through their understanding of Christian doctrines to perform a radical conversion toward God symbolized by the reception of baptism. That is why the book culminates with an immediate preparation for this sacrament.
Before arriving at that final act of self-surrender to God, however, the catechumens are gradually initiated into a process of intellectual and spiritual development punctuated by series of acts of devotion with, as has been mentioned, Day Five as a major turning point. In carrying out this initiation de Rhodes is constantly pointing out how for the catechumens accepting the truths of Christianity means taking decisions that change the direction of their lives and affect their daily behavior.
This is evident in the opening lines of Cathechismus which describe the two ways, of heaven and hell, eternal life and eternal death: "You must know that there are two dwellings in the afterlife: one is good, the other bad, one is above, the other below, paradise and hell." At once then the catechumens are presented with a radical choice.
At the end of Day One, once again the catechumens are urgently encouraged to make a decision for God and to adore and pray to God: "Now that this holy law of God has enlightened Vietnam, let no one among you close the spiritual eyes of your heart and soul. Rather, with all your heart and strength embrace the way that is in conformity with reason. Detest and renounce the darkness of your errors and the blindness of your sins you have committed so far. Receive this law with your whole heart, rendering thanks to the Creator and Lord for the light of the new law, though it is more ancient than heaven. And so that the Lord God may enlighten you in the future, prostrate yourselves before God to adore and pray to him."
Day Two concludes with an exhortation to respond to God's infinite love in creating us with an act of love: "Because true love is not shown by clever words but by great deeds, and as the infinitely good God has deigned to instruct us, true love is shown by keeping God's commandments perfectly. Therefore, to respond with at least a measure of gratitude for such goodness, let us resolve to keep God's commandments fully, with God's help, without which we can do nothing."
In concluding his instruction on original sin on Day Three, de Rhodes draws out its practical implication for the catechumens after they have become Christian: "Therefore, utmost care must be taken to baptize the babies, even those of pagans, who are on the point of death before the use of reason, and indeed with prudence we should baptize them, even without the knowledge and against the will of their parents, when they are on the point of death, before they breathe their last."
On Day Four, after his attack on the doctrinal errors and superstitious practices of the Vietnamese cult of ancestors, de Rhodes comes to a practical conclusion: "Consequently, these erroneous acts and false honors should be desisted, for they are nothing but offences and mockeries against the parents and increase their pains."
On Day Five, now that the catechumens have resolved to renounce their false religions and embrace the Christian faith, de Rhodes immediately introduce them to the basic Christian prayers, i.e., the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Creed. To overcome an arid and abstract presentation of the trinitarian and christological doctrines which follows, de Rhodes, at the end of the day, recommends the performance of the typical Vietnamese gestures of vai and lay (bowing and prosternation). Note the careful and detailed rubric he lays out to express the various elements of Christian doctrines:
At this point, we should show a beautiful picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary carrying her infant son Jesus, our Lord, so that people may adore him humbly by bowing their heads to the ground. First, a triple adoration should be made to the three divine persons in the one divine essence, thus confessing the mystery of the divine Trinity by this external adoration. The knees should be bent only once, to confess the one divine essence. The head should be bowed to the ground three times, demonstrating our adoration to the three divine persons, imploring each of them to forgive our sins. The head should be bowed to the ground once more to render reverence and adoration to the Lord Jesus Christ, man and mediator, humbly asking him to make us worthy to receive the fruits of his abundant redemption and to forgive all our sins.Lastly, reverence should be shown to the Blessed Virgin by bowing the head to the ground once, though we know that the Blessed Virgin is not God, but because she is the mother of God, all-powerful over her son, we hope to obtain pardon for our sins through her holy intercession.
Day Six, which deals with Jesus' public ministry, ends with another exhortation: "Let us detest the hard-heartedness of the Jews, let us adore the Lord, and let us embrace ardently in our minds his divine doctrine in order to be enlightened now and after to obtain life eternal." De Rhodes' exposition of Jesus' passion, death, and resurrection on Day Seven is, as we have seen above, accompanied by the ritual of adoration of the cross and a long prayer to the suffering Christ. Moreover, at the end of the day, another ritual concludes the catechetical session: "Let us adore the Lord Jesus seated on the high throne of heaven. Let us ask him pardon for our lives spent in iniquities and at the same time the grace to serve him with all our hearts in the future, rejecting all superstitions and other sins of our past lives. Here we should present a beautiful picture of the Lord Christ holding the globe in his hands, so that all may adore the Lord Jesus as the true Lord and the sovereign king of heaven and earth."
Finally, on Day Eight, we arrive at the climax of the week-long catechesis. The day opens with reflections on eschatology (general judgment, the end of the world, the final resurrection, the coming of Christ, heaven and hell). Then, for the first time in his book, de Rhodes makes reference to himself as a missionary coming from afar to preach the Good News of salvation to the Vietnamese people. This self-referential invocation adds poignancy and urgency to the challenge he makes to the catechumens to choose the way of life:
On the order of our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings, I have come here to bring you the good news and to invite you all to receive these supreme joys of the blessed. I will show the way, and if you are willing to follow it, you will escape the unimaginable torments of eternal misery which the damned together with the devil suffer eternally and will possess the undescribable happiness in eternity. Either of these two ends will necessarily happen to each of us, as is attested by the supreme and infallible divine truth. While the goodness of the supreme God permits you the time, choose the good and straight path, that is, during the present life of which we cannot promise ourselves the tomorrow. If you are wise, grasp at once the divine ladder which I will show you. By climbing it, you will certainly reach the eternal joys of heaven; God himself promise it. And you will escape the eternal pains of hell. Who among you can live with eternal fires?
After this emotional appeal, de Rhodes proceeds to show the "good and straight path" by expounding the ten commandments. Finally, comes the supreme moment of decision. To perform the acts of choice for God, the candidates are urged to ask the divine goodness for them on their knees by reciting the Our Father and the Hail Mary. They are then guided through five series of questions to which they are to respond "with the mouth and the heart" and signify their consent "by crossing their arms on their breasts." These five series of questions, which neatly summarize the contents of de Rhodes' eight-day catechesis, are designed to elicit the basic acts of faith, fear, hope, love, and contrition. Once again, de Rhodes urges catechists to "show the picture of our Savior Jesus Christ on the cross, so that all may conceive sorrow in their heats, open up their interior senses, and express externally whatever their spirits and feelings suggest."
The catechumens are then dismissed so that "each can weep in private over his or her sins, at least for one night." On the next day, only candidates are admitted to baptism who fulfill the following four conditions: rejection of idols from one's hearts and houses; forgiving one's enemies and repairing all damages; monogamous marriage for both man and woman (securing a certificate of repudiation, if necessary); and paying off all debts.
It is clear therefore that throughout his catechesis, de Rhodes was at pains to unfold the practical implications of Christian doctrines for everyday life. Furthermore, catechesis was for him much more than instruction in Christian beliefs by means of concepts. With frequent use of sacred images (e.g., of Mary, the crucified Christ, and the risen Christ), bodily gestures (e.g., bowing, genuflection, prostration, crossing of arms over the breast, weeping), devotional prayers (e.g., the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Creed, the acts of faith, hope, love, fear, contrition), and personal exhortations, de Rhodes aimed at moving not only the intellect but also and above all the imagination and heart of his catechumens toward the ultimate goal of catechesis, that is, total and radical conversion to God signified in the reception of sacrament.
Founder of the Vietnamese Christianity, perfector of the Vietnamese national script, author of the first Vietnamese theological work, and pioneer in catechesis for the Vietnamese people, Alexander de Rhodes has left a cultural and theological legacy for which the Christian Church in Vietnam and the Vietnamese people as a whole will be eternally grateful.