Domingo Fernández Navarrete (c. 1610 in Peñafiel – 1689, in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

) was a Spanish Dominican missionary and archbishop.

Biography

Born in Peñafiel in

Old Castile Old Castile ( ) is a historic region of Spain, which had different definitions across the centuries. Its extension was formally defined in the 1833 territorial division of Spain as the sum of the following provinces: Santander (now Cantabria ...

, Navarrete received the habit around 1630 and after completing his studies was offered the chair of Thomistic theology by several Spanish universities. He declined all the offers, preferring to go into the missionary field. In 1646, he and twenty-seven brethren left

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

for the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

via

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. They arrived at their destination on 23 June 1648. Navarrete taught

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the Dominican University of St. Thomas, Manila, before he left with a group to go on a mission to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 1657. After learning the language, he labored chiefly in

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

province. When persecution broke out in 1665, the effect on missions was disastrous. Forbidden to preach, Navarrate occupied himself with writing, hoping in this way to spread and confirm the faith. However, he was hampered too much and left for Rome in 1673 as prefect of the Dominican mission to discuss the question of Chinese Rites. This problem had reached an acute stage in China, with the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

on one side and the Dominicans and

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

on the other. Navarrate was highly respected by

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI (; ; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689. Political and religious tensions with ...

, who wanted to make him bishop of the Chinese missions; however, Navarrete refused. It was at this time (1676) that Navarrete's book, ''Tratados historicos, politicos, ethicos, y religiosos de la monarchia de China'' was published in Madrid. A strongly anti-Jesuit work (which, e.g. denied the authenticity of the Nestorian Stele), it was translated into most major European languages. It became particularly popular in England, and admired by the French Jansenists and

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

. Jesuits, on the other hand, tried to have this book suppressed. On his return to Spain in 1677, the Pope, at the suggestion of Charles II, forced him to accept the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, where he laboured until his death. While on the question of Chinese Rites he was opposed to the Jesuits; in his diocese he had the highest regard for them. In his letters to the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

and to the king, requesting them to permit the fathers of the Society to establish a college in his residential city, Navarrete pays them a glowing tribute. Navarrete was one of the few individuals to visit Kaili on the west coast of Sulawesi, He provides some of the most accurate early accounts of Minahasa also.

Principal works

*''Tratados históricos, políticos, éticos y religiosos de la monarquia de China'' (Madrid, 1676) *''Catechismus, lingua sinica'', 2 vol. *''Præceptor ethnicus ex optimis quibusque Sinensium libris extractus, et ex eorumdem sententiis concinnatus, lingua sinica''

References

External links and additional sources

* (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez Navarrete, Domingo 1610s births 1689 deaths Spanish Dominicans 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Dominican Republic 17th-century people from the Colony of Santo Domingo Roman Catholic missionaries in the Philippines Roman Catholic missionaries in China Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries 17th-century Spanish Roman Catholic theologians Spanish missionaries in China Dominican missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in the Dominican Republic Roman Catholic archbishops of Santo Domingo Spanish expatriates in the Dominican Republic Dominican bishops