Matteo Ricci Emerges Out Of The Muddle Of Reformation To Become Another Leader Analysis

Ricci Emerges out of the Muddle of Reformation to Become Another Leader

Imagine being in the late sixteenth century, the Reformation had begun, and Protestant sects criticized the great Catholic Church, as followers abandoned the Church, and the Church has reacted by creating anti-Protestant Inquisitions, harsh Catholic inquiries, and had amended some of their religious policies. Just as Protestant groups sprung up, Counter-Reformation, or the Church’s fight against Reformation, groups were also established. One of those parties was the Jesuits, which did not completely focus on the Protestant-Catholic conflict in Europe but in other areas of the world as well, such as Latin America and Asia. At that time, Matteo Ricci was just starting
This was during the Reformation, when the Protestants and Catholics were clashing in their beliefs, and the both sides have loyalists, the church is also slowly changing their policies. Some of the church loyalists, such as the Society of Jesus decided to spread their beliefs on an international scale, such as influencing the Chinese. One of the most important members of this party in China was Matteo Ricci, who was fluent enough at Chinese to translate several books into Mandarin, and understand China enough to state, “The Chinese form of government is monarchical, it must be evident from what has been said, and it will be made clearer by what is to come, that it is to some extent an aristocracy” (Ricci). Due to China’s technology and ideas being more basic than the West, the Chinese were more interested in the technology than religion. Matteo Ricci was also tolerant to the mandatory local rituals, allowing converts to go, and which will lead to the Chinese Rites Controversy after his death. Ricci’s and the Society of Jesus’s decision to influence China was deeper than just converting people, which Ricci did convert the “Three Pillars of the Chinese Catholic Church”. but also the because his tolerance toward the mandatory Chinese religious rituals, and not turning down converts who participate in the rituals, which would later lead to a conflict between the Church, Ming, and Jesuits. His ideas were not turned down by the government, which during that time, missionaries were not accepted as