Antonio Fernandes (Jesuit)
Encyclopedia
António Fernandes was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary.
, where he soon won favour with Emperor Susenyos
.
Sent on missions for the king, Father Fernandes in 1613 was dispatched south to find a route to Malindi
on the Indian Ocean
. According to James Bruce
, the Father first started for Gojjam
with Fecur Egzie, a Catholic
convert, and ten Portuguese companions. After obtaining guides for the region south of the Abay, they left Gojjam 15 April, made their way through the territory of the Gonga, through Bizamo and to Ennarea where they were warmly welcomed. After an audience with the Benero or king of Ennerea, who received them surprisingly coolly (due to the influence of an Ethiopian Orthodox monk who was opposed to the Father's journey) and sent them to Malindi by way of Bale
, they travelled through the Kingdom of Janjero
, then across the Omo
to Kambaata
where they were detained for two days at Sangara. Upon reaching the ruler of Kambaata, Hamalmal, they found another Ethiopian Christian named Manquer, had arrived and claimed that the Father and his companions were to return to Susenyos' court. All three parties – Hamalmal, Father Fernandes, and Manquer – sent to Susenyos for instructions the ruler of Kambaata detained Manquer, waited three months for his reply, and found that the Emperor desired the Father to continue his journey south; Hamalmal detained Manquer and the Father and his party continued to the land of the Alaba. Their ruler, Aliko, was initially cool to this party, and when Manquer arrived to obstruct their journey, he imprisoned the party, where several of the Portuguese died. A council was then held, which decided to return the survivors to Kambaata, whence they returned to Gorgora
, according to Bruce, "without any sort of advantage to themselves."
Father Fernandes translated various liturgical book
s into Ethiopian, and was the author of ascetical and polemical works against the other faiths prevalent in Ethiopia.
Susenyos, years later, converted to Catholicism
in 1622, after the arrival of Afonso Mendes, the Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia. Fernandes at this time became superior of the mission to Ethiopia, though his advice wasn't always heeded. Susenyos publicly acknowledged the primacy of the Roman See and made Catholicism the state religion in 1626. For a time conversions were made, the monarch resorting to compulsion. However the Emperor's son, Fasilides
, sided with the native church, and after his father's death restored the former faith proscribing the Catholic religion under the penalty of death.
The missionaries, on their expulsion, found a temporary protector in one of the petty princes of the country, by whom, however, they were soon abandoned. Those who reached the port of Massowah were held for a ransom. Father Fernandes, then over eighty years of age, was one of those detained as hostage, but a younger companion persuaded the pasha to substitute him, and Fernandes was allowed to return to India, where he ended his days.
Life
About 1602 he was sent to India, whence two years later he went to EthiopiaEthiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, where he soon won favour with Emperor Susenyos
Susenyos of Ethiopia
Susenyos was of Ethiopia...
.
Sent on missions for the king, Father Fernandes in 1613 was dispatched south to find a route to Malindi
Malindi
Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 . It is the capital of the Malindi District.Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is...
on the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. According to James Bruce
James Bruce
James Bruce was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and Ethiopia, where he traced the origins of the Blue Nile.-Youth:...
, the Father first started for Gojjam
Gojjam
Gojjam was a kingdom in the north-western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. This region is distinctive for lying entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from its outflow from Lake Tana to the Sudan...
with Fecur Egzie, a Catholic
Roman Catholicism in Ethiopia
The Catholic Church in Ethiopia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.The Ethiopian Catholic Church, the primary organization of Catholicism in the country, is especially close to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose doctrine and...
convert, and ten Portuguese companions. After obtaining guides for the region south of the Abay, they left Gojjam 15 April, made their way through the territory of the Gonga, through Bizamo and to Ennarea where they were warmly welcomed. After an audience with the Benero or king of Ennerea, who received them surprisingly coolly (due to the influence of an Ethiopian Orthodox monk who was opposed to the Father's journey) and sent them to Malindi by way of Bale
Bale Province, Ethiopia
Bale is the name of two former polities located in the southeastern part of modern Ethiopia.- The medieval dependency of Bale :...
, they travelled through the Kingdom of Janjero
Kingdom of Janjero
The Kingdom of Janjero was a tiny kingdom located in what is now Ethiopia. It lay in the angle formed by the Omo and the Jimma Gibe Rivers; to the west lay the Kingdom of Jimma and to the south the Kingdom of Garo...
, then across the Omo
Omo River
The Omo River is an important river of southern Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into Lake Turkana on the border with Kenya...
to Kambaata
Kambaata
Kambaata is the name of the people who speak the Kambaata language. It was a province of Ethiopia beginning in the early 15th century and ending in the mid-17th century before Ethiopian rule was once again established under Emperor Menelek II...
where they were detained for two days at Sangara. Upon reaching the ruler of Kambaata, Hamalmal, they found another Ethiopian Christian named Manquer, had arrived and claimed that the Father and his companions were to return to Susenyos' court. All three parties – Hamalmal, Father Fernandes, and Manquer – sent to Susenyos for instructions the ruler of Kambaata detained Manquer, waited three months for his reply, and found that the Emperor desired the Father to continue his journey south; Hamalmal detained Manquer and the Father and his party continued to the land of the Alaba. Their ruler, Aliko, was initially cool to this party, and when Manquer arrived to obstruct their journey, he imprisoned the party, where several of the Portuguese died. A council was then held, which decided to return the survivors to Kambaata, whence they returned to Gorgora
Gorgora
Gorgora is a town and peninsula in northwestern Ethiopia...
, according to Bruce, "without any sort of advantage to themselves."
Father Fernandes translated various liturgical book
Liturgical book
A liturgical book is a book published by the authority of a church, that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services.-Roman Catholic:...
s into Ethiopian, and was the author of ascetical and polemical works against the other faiths prevalent in Ethiopia.
Susenyos, years later, converted to Catholicism
Roman Catholicism in Ethiopia
The Catholic Church in Ethiopia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.The Ethiopian Catholic Church, the primary organization of Catholicism in the country, is especially close to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose doctrine and...
in 1622, after the arrival of Afonso Mendes, the Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia. Fernandes at this time became superior of the mission to Ethiopia, though his advice wasn't always heeded. Susenyos publicly acknowledged the primacy of the Roman See and made Catholicism the state religion in 1626. For a time conversions were made, the monarch resorting to compulsion. However the Emperor's son, Fasilides
Fasilides of Ethiopia
Fasilides was of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
, sided with the native church, and after his father's death restored the former faith proscribing the Catholic religion under the penalty of death.
The missionaries, on their expulsion, found a temporary protector in one of the petty princes of the country, by whom, however, they were soon abandoned. Those who reached the port of Massowah were held for a ransom. Father Fernandes, then over eighty years of age, was one of those detained as hostage, but a younger companion persuaded the pasha to substitute him, and Fernandes was allowed to return to India, where he ended his days.