Christendom and beyond : the development of the Franciscan Foreign Mission in the thirteenth century
Date
1994
Authors
Horie, Ruth
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Abstract
The Christian foreign mission, an inherent aspect of the Church, was recovered in the thirteenth century by the Order of Friars Minor, after several generations of relative obscurity. Historians have written tittle as yet about this area of Franciscan history; various documents, including the early lives of St Francis, missionary narratives, and legislation relative to the order, virtually constitute the sole source at the researcher's disposal. By examining these closely, the beginnings and the subsequent development of the Franciscan mission to the unbeliever may be established.
Early medieval missionary activity had essentially come to an end by the tenth century. The Church's energies turned to military expansion, internal consolidation, and reform; though pagans in newly-conquered territories were forced to accept baptism, little effort was made to achieve sincere conversions. It was through the Franciscan Order that the apostolic preaching mission was reintroduced to Christendom.
Francis himself, committed to a life modelled upon that of Christ and of the apostles, provided the vision, but apparently felt that his vocation lay elsewhere; after a few fruitless attempts to meet and convert the infidel, he passed the ideal on to his followers by means of several rather vague instructions. The early friars took up the challenge with great enthusiasm but little tact; their utter lack of experience and preparation frustrated missionary success, and many young missionaries died as martyrs. A missionary method had to be discovered anew, partly through hard practical experience, partly through thought and observation.
A number of external factors were influential in shaping the mission. Joachimist prophecy strengthened the Franciscans' sense of divine calling and of the approaching end of time. The crusades and the Mongol invasions provided a mission field. Papal involvement proved to be of value, as it provided the organization and supetvision which the friars lacked. As the order acquired experience and learning, the manner of the Franciscan mission changed from an approach characterized by an almost reckless enthusiasm to one marked by prudence. Accounts of missionaries such as Friar William of Rubruck, who set out to preach the Gospel to the Mongols in the 1250s, inspired pioneering attempts to formulate a missionary theory. The Franciscans Roger Bacon and Ramon Lull advocated that the missionaries prepare themselves thoroughly for their task by studying the language and religion of their prospective converts, that they might conduct profitable doctrinal discussions with the unbeliever. Although this advice, sound enough in some respects, was not immediately taken, the missions of the late thirteenth century yet evince a strength and depth which the early endeavours had not possessed.
It is difficult to measure the success of the Franciscan mission in the thirteenth century. While accounts of the expeditions and particularly of the martyrdoms fascinated Europe, they did not give rise to an united missionary effort. Yet the Church was strengthened by the ministry of the friars, both within and without Christendom, and though the number of converts made in pagan and infidel lands seems to have been small, the friars' effectiveness may not be as readily apparent as it was real. H nothing else, the mendicant missionaries disclosed to the unbeliever a different sort of Christian than he had hitherto met: neither mercantile nor military, the Franciscan came in simplicity and peace, and with the sincere desire of serving God and man.