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Lê Văn Trung (
Chữ Hán ( , ) are the Chinese characters that were used to write Literary Chinese in Vietnam, Literary Chinese (; ) and Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary in Vietnamese language, Vietnamese. They were officially used in Vietnam after the Red River Delta region ...
: 黎文忠; 25 November 1876 – 19 November 1934) was the first and only person to serve as Pope (''Giáo Tông'') of
Caodaism Caodaism (; ; ; ) or Cao Đài is a Vietnamese Monotheism, monotheistic Religious syncretism, syncretic religion that retains many elements from Vietnamese folk religion such as Veneration of the dead, ancestor worship, as well as "ethical prec ...
.Serguei A. Blagov -Caodaism: Vietnamese Traditionalism and Its Leap Into Modernity 2001– Page 78 "800 delegates, representing some 135,000 adepts, reportedly attended. However, Lê Văn Trung declined to attend the meeting. Consequently, the Council supported Trang's allegations. Phạm Công Tắc initiated an attempt to clinch a peace ..." Giáo Tông is a figure in Caodaism similar to that of the
Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
in the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. The term ''Giáo Tông'' means “leader or head of a religious group”. Translators noticed similarities between the structural hierarchy of Caodaism and the Roman
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, and, for lack of better words or whatever reasons, borrowed terminologies such as "
pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
", "cardinal", "bishop", "priest", etc. In practice, Caodaism has many more ranks and titles of which there are no official English translation yet. Also, the actual Vietnamese term for “pope”, as in “The Catholic Pope”, is ''Giáo Hoàng''. In 1926, Trung believed a Chinese poet had contacted him during a '' séance'' to give him a religious mission in life. This led to his signing the “Declaration of the Founding of the Cao Đài Religion” on 7 October 1926. This formally announced the founding of the religion to the world. The declaration he signed affirmed principles that combined
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
,
Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...
,
Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...
,
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
,
spiritism Spiritism may refer to: Religion * Espiritismo, a Latin American and Caribbean belief that evolved and less evolved spirits can affect health, luck and other aspects of human life * Kardecist spiritism, a new religious movement established in ...
and others. Before this, Ngô Văn Chiêu had declined his appointment as Pope and withdrew to represent a more
esoteric Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...
form of the faith. Trung took the more exoteric approach, becoming their leader and acting Pope. After Trung's death (disincarnation) in 1934, the Venerable Phạm Công Tắc, who was also the Maintainer of the Laws/
Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...
, assumed the role.


References


Religious Movements on Cao Daism


{{DEFAULTSORT:Le, Van Trung Vietnamese religious leaders 1934 deaths Caodaism Vietnamese Caodaists Place of birth missing Place of death missing 1876 births