New Book:
Mirʾāt al-quds (Mirror of Holiness): A Life of Christ for Emperor Akbar
A Commentary on Father Jerome Xavier’s Text and the Miniatures of Cleveland Museum of Art,
By Pedro Moura Carvalho
With a Translation and Annotated Transcription of the Text by Wheeler M. Thackston
Published by Brill, Boston - 2012

Download pdf book:

http://bit.ly/2D70T1U

Jerome Xavier, born Jerónimo de Ezpeleta y Goñi (1549 – June 27, 1617), was a Spanish Jesuit missionary into the Mughal court of Akbar (1542–1605), and his son Jahangir. Grand-nephew of Saint Francis Xavier he chose to be called Jerome Xavier.

In the court of Akbar:

Father Jerome's arrival in Lahore was marked by the hospitality of Akbar who provided Xavier and his two companions, Father Emmanuel Pinheiro and Brother Bento de Góis, with lodgings in his own palace and "assigned a Muslim doctor to instruct them" in learning the Persian language".

During the reign of Akbar, Father Jerome accompanied the Emperor on various expeditions through the Deccan Plateau witnessing the capture of the fortress as Asirgarh in January 1601.

During the conquest Akbar moved his permanent residence to Agra providing stability that allowed Father Jerome to "devote much of his time to the creation of a Christian religious literature written in the Persian tongue".

It was approximately during this time that more Jesuit missionaries began to arrive to replace Father Emmanuel and Brother Bento who had been sent to explore on the central route leading to China (the search of Cathay) and that the greatest accomplishment of Father Jerome and the Jesuits under Emperor Akbar was achieved.

While Xavier was accompanying the army and his two original companions sent elsewhere he was notified by Father Francesco Corsi, (1573–1635), of the declining atmosphere of religious freedom in Lahore under the "intolerant attitude of the Viceroy" put in place by Akbar. Immediately Father Jerome requested that the Emperor send the more experienced Father Pinheiro back to Lahore as well as issuing a farmān "granting freedom of worship"[6] to the Christians. This is significant largely because Akbar had denied previous requests by the missionaries to "strengthen the position of the mission" in more of an authoritative way within the Islamic Empire.

Xavier and the Emperor often debated topics regarding religion. The most frequent of which was of Akbar's disbelief in the divinity of Christ. While the Conversion of the Emperor seemed unlikely, Xavier "entertained great hopes"[6] for the conversion of his son Salīm, born 1569, called Salim as a sign of respect towards Sheikh Sufi Mystic Salim Chishti (1478–1572) whose daughter nursed Salim as a child, and descendant of the famous Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti, (1141–1230), whose tomb/Dargha is in Ajmer, Rajasthan.

In the court of Jahāngīr:

Prince Salīm took the name Jahangir when he took the throne and his attitude towards Christian missionaries and a discourse on religion within his court was similar to that of his father. Low conversion rates continued though "Xavier attended...audiences [at Lahore] throwing the hook into the water, hoping the fish will bite". The most notable of all conversions during Father Jerome's charge of the mission was the conversion and baptism of three nephews of Jahangir in the summer of 1610.

This conversion was short lived as in 1613 "the princes apostatized and gave their crucifixes [given to them at upon their baptism] back to the Jesuits". This act confirmed Father Jerome's growing pessimism about his mission among the "hardness of the Muslims and...motives of the converts".[8] The Father's doubts of the effectiveness of his mission were further confirmed as war broke out between the Portuguese and Mughal Empires in the autumn of 1613.

During the conflict Xavier had to protect the possessions of the church by storing them "in the home of a poor Christian".[9] As the war progressed safety became a concern for Father Jerome, who moved the Mission and its congregation from Lahore to Agra in 1614. While the "end of the mission seemed evident" peace was restored in 1615 and the mission resumed its pre-war activity though without Father Jerome, who for the first time since his departure, returned to Goa "a broken man".

- Wikipedia