Christianity, the Papacy, and Mission in Africa

by Richard Gray, Lamin Sanneh (Editor)

Overview

Richard Gray was a pioneer in the study of African history. In his last years he worked on a comprehensive study of the papacy and Africa. Originally he assumed that the critical initiatives in the implantation of Christianity in Africa came from within Catholic Europe or its missionaries. He soon discovered, however, that the initiatives came from African Christians: from Ethiopia, from Kongo, from appeals to Rome by African Catholics, and finally from slaves of African origin from the New World who were protesting against the appalling discrepancy between Christian principles and the practice of slave traders and owners. With Gray's final work left unfinished, Lamin Sanneh has assembled these published essays. The result is an enduring contribution to the study of Africa, mission, and World Christianity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781570759864
Publisher:	Orbis Books
Publication date:	10/01/2012
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Richard Gray, who died in 2005, was professor of African History at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, also serving on the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences. His many books include Black Christians and White Missionaries.

Lamin Sanneh is D. Willis James Professor of Missions and World Christianity and Professor of History at Yale Divinity School. His books include Translating the Message and Disciples of All Nations.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Foresight in Hindsight Lamin Sanneh 1

1 The African Origins of the Missio Antiqua 27

2 A Kongo Princess, the Kongo Ambassadors, and the Papacy 48

3 Ingoli, the Collector of Portugal, the "Gran Gusto" of Urban VIII, and the Atlantic Slave Trade 64

4 The Papacy and Africa in the Seventeenth Century 73

5 Come Vero Prencipe Catolico: The Capuchins and the Rulers of Soyo in the Late Seventeenth Century 94

6 Christian Traces and a Franciscan Mission in the Central Sudan, 1700-1711 116

7 The Catholic Church and National States in Western Europe during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries from a Perspective of Africa 131

8 The Southern Sudan 141

9 Christianity, Colonialism, and Communications in Sub-Saharan Africa 153

10 Popular Theologies in Africa: A Report on a Workshop on Small Christian Communities in Southern Africa 164

11 Bengt Sundkler's African Encounters 171

Sources 177

Bibliography 179

Index 193