Christianity in Goa

{{see also|Christianisation of Goa}}File: Churcholdgoa (64).JPG during Portuguese rule. It should not be confused with the Cathedral of Santa Catarina, also in Old Goa.]]

After the Portuguese Conquest of Goa in 1510 and its subsequent rule by Portugal, Goa's indigenous population underwent a large-scale conversion to Roman Catholicism. The first converts to Christianity in Goa were native Goan women who married Portuguese men that arrived with Afonso de Albuquerque. The city of Goa became the center of Christianisation in the east.{{cite book

|title=Conversions and citizenry: Goa under Portugal 1510-1610

|first=Délio

|last=de Mendonça

|publisher=Concept Publishing Company

|date=2002

|page=67}}

The evangelisation activities in Goa were divided in 1555 by the Portuguese viceroy of Goa, Pedro Mascarenhas. He allotted Bardez to the Franciscans, Tiswadi to the Dominicans, and Salcette, together with fifteen southeastern villages of Tiswadi, including Chorão and Divar, to the Jesuits.{{cite book

|last=Meersman

|first=Achilles

|year=1971

|title=The ancient Franciscan provinces in India, 1500–1835

|publisher=Christian Literature Society Press

|page=107

}}

After conversion, locals were usually granted Portuguese citizenship.

{{cite book

|title=Pidgins and Creoles: References survey

|first=John A.

|last=Holm

|publisher=Cambridge University Press

|date=1989

|page=286}} The rapid rise of converts in Goa has been described as mostly the result of Portuguese economic and political control over the Hindus, who were vassals of the Portuguese crown.{{cite book

|title=Conversions and citizenry: Goa under Portugal 1510-1610

|first=Délio

|last=de Mendonça

|publisher=Concept Publishing Company

|date=2002

|page=397}}

The process of Christianisation was simultaneously accompanied by "Lusitanisation", as the Christian converts typically assumed a Portuguese veneer. This was most visible by the discarding of old Hindu names for new Christian Portuguese names. Converts usually adopted the surnames of the Portuguese priest, governor, soldier or layman who stood as godfather for their baptism ceremony.{{cite book

|last=Prabhu

|first=Alan Machado

|year=1999

|title=Sarasvati's Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians

|publisher=I.J.A. Publications

|isbn=978-81-86778-25-8

}}

For instance, the Boletim do Instituto Vasco da Gama lists the new names of some of the prominent ganvkars (Konkani: Freeholders):

Rama Prabhu, the son of Dado Vithal Prabhu from Benaulim, Salcette became Francisco Fernandes, while Mahabal Pai, the son of Nara Pai, became Manuel Fernandes in 1596. Mahabal Kamati of Curtorim became Aleixo Menezes in 1607, while Chandrappa Naik of Gandaulim became António Dias in 1632. In 1595, Vittu Prabhu became Irmão de Diego Soares and the son of Raulu Kamat became Manuel Pinto in Aldona, Bardez. Ram Kamat of Punola became Duarte Lobo in 1601, while Tados Irmaose of Anjuna became João de Souza in 1658.

{{cite book

|title=History of the Dakshinatya Saraswats

|first=Venkataraya Narayan

|last=Kudva

|publisher=Samyukta Gowda Saraswata Sabha

|date=1972

|page=359}}

However, the converted Hindus retained Konkani as their first language and also an approximation of their original caste status, even after becoming Catholic. Based on their previous caste affiliations, the new converts were usually lumped into their new respective Catholic castes. All converted Brahmins (Saraswat, Daivadnya, etc.) were lumped together into the Christian caste of Bamonn. The converts from the Kshatriya and even some Vaishya Vani castes became Chardos (Konkani word for Kshatriya); remaining Vaishyas became Gauddos; and converts from the Shudra castes as well as the previously Dalit and adivasi groups became Sudirs (Konkani word for Shudra).Land and people of Indian states and union territories, Gopal K. Bhargava, Gopal K.; S. C. Bhatt., p. 39.

The Portuguese also oversaw the destruction of many Hindu temples. The majority of Hindu temples had already been demolished by the Bahmani and Bijapur sultanates by the time the Portuguese arrived in 1510. The Portuguese demolished almost all the remaining temples from the Velhas Conquistas and converted the majority of villagers to Catholicism.{{cite book|first1=Charles J. |last1=Borges |first2=Helmut |last2=Feldmann|title=Goa and Portugal: their cultural links|year=1997|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-659-8 |pages=319(refer page:58)}} The few Hindus wishing to retain their religion relocated with their idols and built temples for them in the Novas Conquistas.

{{cite book

|last=Prabhu

|first=Alan Machado

|year=1999

|title=Sarasvati's Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians

|publisher=I.J.A. Publications

|isbn=978-81-86778-25-8

|page=133

}}

File:Christian shrine outside Sarzora Village, Goa, India.jpg), of a Goan Catholic family, constructed using olden-style Portuguese architecture.]]

{{Main|Goa Inquisition}}

In 1560, the Inquisition established an office in Goa. It was finally abolished in 1812. Of the 1,582 persons convicted between 1560 and 1623, 45.2% were convicted for offenses related to Judaism and Islam.{{cite book

|first=João

|last=Delgado Figueira

|date=1623

|publisher=Biblioteca National

|place=Lisbon

|title=Listas da Inquisição de Goa (1560-1623)

}} A compilation of the auto-da-fé statistics from 1560 to 1812 of the Goa Inquisition reveal that a total of 57 persons were burnt in the flesh and 64 in effigy (i.e. a statue resembling the person). All the burnt were convicted as relapsed heretics or for sodomy.{{cite book

|first=Fortunato

|last=de Almeida

|title=História da Igreja em Portugal, vol. IV

|location=Porto

|publisher=Portucalense Editora

|date=1923

}}

Since the 20th century, the percentage of the Christian population of Goa has been facing continual decrease. This is caused by a combination of permanent emigration of native Goans from Goa to cosmopolitan Indian cities (e.g. Mumbai, Bangalore) and foreign countries,{{cite book

|last=Saldhana

|first=Arun

|title=Psychedelic White: Goa Trance and the Viscosity of Race

|publisher=University of Minnesota Press

|date=2007

|isbn=978-0-8166-4994-5}} combined with mass immigration of non-Goans from the rest of India since the 20th century, which has made Goans a virtual minority in the state.Rajesh Ghadge (2015). The story of Goan Migration.

According to the 1909 statistics in the Catholic Encyclopedia, the total Catholic population was 293,628 out of a total population 365,291 (80.33%).{{cite book

|chapter=Archdiocese of Goa

|first=Ernest

|last=Hull

|title=Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 6

|date=1909

|publisher=Robert Appleton Company

|location=New York}} Currently, Christians constitute 366,130 of the total population of 1,458,545 in Goa (25.10%) according to the 2011 census.

{{cite news

|url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/religious-communities-census-2011-what-the-numbers-say/article7582284.ece

|title = India's religions by numbers

|date = 29 March 2016

|publication-date = 26 August 2015

|work = The Hindu

|access-date = 6 September 2017

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160110201326/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/religious-communities-census-2011-what-the-numbers-say/article7582284.ece#

|archive-date = 10 January 2016

|url-status = live

}}

The Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Goa and Daman carries the title Patriarch of the East Indies.{{cite encyclopedia

| last = Benigni

| first = U.

| year = 1886

| url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07758a.htm

| title = Patriarchate of the East Indies

| encyclopedia = Catholic Encyclopedia

| access-date = March 13, 2006

| archive-date = February 21, 2006

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060221234217/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07758a.htm

| url-status = live

}} Old Goa was once called "Rome of the East" and was the capital of the Roman church in the eastern world. The remains of the Jesuit St. Francis Xavier are kept in veneration in the Basilica of Bom Jesus.{{cite web|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-12/goa/30390942_1_iffi-novena-baretto |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216065215/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-12/goa/30390942_1_iffi-novena-baretto |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 February 2013 |title=Church slams govt over Iffi dates, threat to Old Goa|date=12 November 2011 |work=The Times of India |access-date=4 December 2013}} The Sé Catedral de Santa Catarina is one of the largest church buildings in Asia.{{cite book|last=Pereira|first=José|title=Churches of Goa|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Delhi|isbn=978-0-19-565559-9}} The Igreja de São Francisco de Assis, built in 1661, now houses an archaeological museum. Churches and convents of Goa were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986.{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/234/|title=Churches and Convents of Goa|first=UNESCO World Heritage|last=Centre|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|access-date=26 December 2019|archive-date=26 November 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051126202241/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/234/|url-status=live}} Plenty of churches can be seen all over the state with impressive Portuguese-Manueline-Baroque architecture. The Goan Catholics still prefer to use Konkani in the Roman script rather than its Devanagiri counterpart, especially during the liturgy.{{cite book

|author1-link=Anvita Abbi |last1=Abbi |first1=Anvita |last2=Gupta |first2=R. S.|author3-link=Ayesha Kidwai |last3=Kidwai |first3=Ayesha |title= Linguistic Structure and Language Dynamics in South Asia: Papers from the Proceedings of SALA XVIII Roundtable

|year=1997

|isbn=978-81-208-1765-4

|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publications

}}

• [https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06602a.htm "Archdiocese of Goa"] by Hull, E. (1909). In The Catholic Encyclopedia

• Christianity in India
• Goan Inquisition
• Cuncolim Massacre
• Christianization of Goa

{{reflist|2}}

{{Christianity in India by region}}

Category:Religion in Goa