The Histories of the Latin American Church

A Handbook

Joel M. Cruz

• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781451465648
• eBook ISBN: 9781451469745
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Asian Religions

Latin American Christianity is too often presented as a unified story appended to the end of larger western narratives. And yet the stories of Christianity in Latin America are as varied and diverse as the lands and the peoples who live there. The unique political, ecclesial, social, and historical realities of each nation inevitably shaped a variety of Christian expressions in each. Now, for the first time, a resource exists to help students and scholars understand the histories of Latin American Christianity. An ideal resource, this handbook is designed as an accompaniment to reading and research in the field. After a generous overview to the history and theology of the region, the text moves nation-by-nation, providing timelines, outlines, and substantial introductions to the politics, people, movements, and relevant facts of Christianity as experienced in that nation. The result is an informative and eye-opening introduction to a kaleidoscope of efforts to articulate the meanings and implications of Christianity in the context of Latin America.

2

Country-by-Country Exploration

Argentina

2:1:1: Demographics

Official name	Argentine Republic (República Argentina)
Capital	Buenos Aires
Government	Constitutional republic
Divisions	Twenty-three provinces
National holidays	March 24—Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice June 20—Flag Day July 9—Independence Day (1816) Second Monday in October—Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity Fourth Monday in November—Day of National Sovereignty
Population	40,117,096 (2010 Census)^[1]
Ethnic makeup	European (Italian, Spanish, French, German)—86.4 percent Mestizo—6.5 percent Indigenous (Mapuche, Kolla, Toba, Guaraní, and so on)—3.4 percent Arab—3.3 percent Other (Asian, African)—0.4 percent
Language	Spanish (official), German, Italian, English, Welsh, Portuguese, Slavic, andIndigenous (Guaraní, Aruacanian/Mapuche, Quechua)
Religion	Roman Catholic—76.5 percent^[2] Protestant—9.0 percent Historic/Mainline Protestant—1.1 percent Pentecostal/Evangelical—7.9 percent Other—3.2 percent None / None specified—11.3 percent

2:1:2: Timeline

Date	Christianity	Social-Political and Cultural Events
1480		The Inca Empire conquers northwestern Argentina.
1502		Amerigo Vespucci’s expedition encounters the Río de la Plata region.
1516		Juan de Solís becomes the first European to explore the Río de la Plata region; he is subsequently killed and possibly cannibalized by the natives.
1535	Mercedarian friars are the first religious order to explore the La Plata region.
1536		Santa María de Buen Aire founded by Pedro de Mendoza; abandoned five years later due to indigenous attacks.
1538	First Franciscan friars arrive to assist in the evangelization and colonization of the La Plata and Tucumán regions.
1550	Dominicans accompany Spanish conquistadores from Peru into Tucumán.
1552	Diocese of La Plata erected covering Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Bolivia (today the Archdiocese of La Plata encompasses Bolivia).
1570	Diocese of Cordoba in Tucumán founded.As part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, Argentina is subject to the Inquisition, newly established in Lima.
1575	Franciscan missionary LUIS DE BOLAÑOS arrives in South America.
1580		Buenos Aires reestablished as part of the Viceroyalty of Peru.First church built, now site of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires.
1586	Jesuits arrive in Tucumán and use it as a base from which to launch evangelistic expeditions into Paraguay and Buenos Aires.
1588	ALONSO DE BÁRCENA, Jesuit missionary, arrives in Argentina to minister among the Indians.	First African slaves arrive in Río de la Plata.
1593	JUAN ROMERO begins work as superior of missions in Tucumán.
1609	First Jesuit reductions to the Guaraní founded in the Upper Paraná region.
1610	Franciscan missionary FRANCISCO SOLANO dies.
1617	Diocese of Buenos Aires founded.
1622		University of Córdoba founded by the Society of Jesus.Cathedral of Buenos Aires is dedicated.
1629	First Provincial Council of La Plata convened by Fernando de Arías y Ugarte to reform efforts at Indian evangelization and education.
1766		British occupy the Falkland Islands (Islas Maldivas).
1767	Expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish America; Franciscans, Dominicans, and Mercedarians take over their reductions.
1774–1778	Second Provincial Council of La Plata presided over by Archbishop Pedro Argadoña to review the geographical limits of dioceses as well as the education and development of the clergy and the faithful.
1776		Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata (Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay, and parts of Bolivia) is established.
1780		The Spanish authorities force the British to leave the Falkland Islands.
1806		Unsuccessful British invasion repelled by local militias.
1810	Father MANUEL ALBERTI takes part in the May Revolution against Spain.
1812	Our Lady of Mercies crowned as patron of the army.
1813	The Inquisition is dismantled.	Freedom of immigration to all nations promulgated.
1814–1876		Argentine Civil Wars fought.
1814	GREGORIO DE FUNES defends republican forms of government.
1816		Led by José de San Martín, Argentina declares its independence from Spain at the Congress of Tucumán; of the twenty-nine who signed the declaration, eleven were priests.
1818	JAMES “DIEGO” THOMPSON arrives as a Bible colporteur from the British and Foreign Bible Society.
1822	Anglican mission begun among Patagonian Indians.	Clerical reform laws under minister of Buenos Aires, Bernardino Rivadavia, place the Catholic clergy under the control of the state, abolish the tithe and ecclesiastical privileges, secularize some monasteries, suppress religious orders, and make education a responsibility of the government.
1823	Presbyterian Church in the USA begins mission work.
1824	Scottish Presbyterians arrive to evangelize.	Bernardino Rivadavia rebuffs the papal delegate.
1825–1829	First Presbyterians and Anglicans arrive from Great Britain to minister to English-speaking populations.
1825		Religious tolerance enacted.
1829–1832		Juan Manuel de Rosas serves as governor.
1829–1851	MARIANO MEDRANO serves as bishop of Buenos Aires.
1831		Juan Manuel de Rosas voids all papal edicts issued after 1810; seeks to control church appointments, reviving patronage.
1832		First Conquest of the Desert under Rosas against the indigenous populations.Charles Darwin arrives in Argentina aboard HMS Beagle.
1833		British reassert control over the Falklands.
1835–1852		Juan Manuel de Rosas rules as dictator.
1835		Juan Manuel de Rosas reverses the Clerical reform laws in order to control the church.
1836–1839		War of the Confederations pits Peru and Bolivia against Argentina and Chile.
1836	First Methodists begin missions in Argentina.
1839		Catholic Churches ordered to display images of Rosas and his wife over altars and public spaces.
1843	Evangelical Church of the River Plate founded in Buenos Aires by Swiss and Russian-German immigrants.German Lutherans arrive.
1844	South American Mission Society formed in England to evangelize among the indigenous people of Tierra de Fuego.
1853	MAMERTO ESQUIÚ preaches the “Sermon of the Constitution” in Catamarca, urging the union of all Argentines.	The Argentine Constitution is adopted. The Roman Catholic Church retains a privileged and official position but religious freedom is promulgated.Slavery abolished in the Argentine Constitution.
1859	First Waldensians arrive in Río de la Plata from Europe.	Buenos Aires refuses to become part of the country of Argentina.
1864–1870		The Paraguayan War (Paraguay versus Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay) fought.
1864	American Bible Society
1865	Buenos Aires is raised to archdiocese.
1875–1884		Second Conquest of the Desert extends Argentine rule into Patagonia by massacring Indian populations.
1878	ANTONIO MAMERTO GIL NÚÑEZ dies; now venerated as the popular folk saint Gauchito Gil.
1882	Plymouth Brethren arrive from England.Danish Lutheran Church
1884	Catholic Union Party formed by politician JOSÉ MANUEL ESTRADA.First Assembly of Argentine Catholics meets to counter liberal tendencies in government.	Civil marriage and compulsory civil education leads to church-state tensions.
1886	Dutch Reformed arrive, establishing the Argentine Reformed Church.
1889	Salvation Army	Civil marriage mandated.
1892	FEDERICO GROTE begins to advocate behalf of workers’ rights.
1894	Seventh-Day Adventist Church
1895	First Christian and Missionary Alliance missions.
1898	South American Missionary Society arrives.
1900	San Pedro Mission to the Indians begins.
1901	YMCA arrives.
1902	First Russian Orthodox Church consecrated in Buenos Aires.
1903	Southern Baptist Convention
1904	Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) missions begun.LAURITA VICUÑA dies.	Christ the Redeemer of the Andes is dedicated.
1905	Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
1907	First Greek Orthodox Church in Argentina established.
1909	Alice Wood and Berger Johnson, first Pentecostal missionaries, arrive.Christian Assembly Church established among Italian immigrants.Church of the Nazarene established.
1919	Evangelical Lutheran Church in the USA sends missionaries.
1920	Swedish Pentecostal missionaries begin the Assemblies of God in Argentina.	First indirect blood transfusion
1922	Evangelical Congregational Church of Argentina founded by German pietists fleeing the Russian Revolution.
1928		Ernesto “Che” Guevara born in Rosario, Argentina.
1930		Golden Age of Tango begins (and lasts until 1955).
1931	Catholic Action organized in Argentina.
1934	BENITO DE JESÚS SÁEZ dies during the Spanish Civil War.International Eucharistic Congress held in Argentina.
1935		Carlos Gardel, tango singer, dies.
1936	Julio Meinvielle, priest, attacks assumptions of the New Christendom.
1940	Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) arrives.
1941	Chosen People Ministries evangelizes among Jews in Buenos Aires.
1943–1955		Juan Perón serves as president.
1943	Assemblies of God (USA) sends its first missionaries.
1948	Pentecostal churches merge and form National Union of the Assemblies of God.
1949	Latin American Evangelical Conference (CELA) forms in Buenos Aires.
1950	Opus Dei arrives in Argentina.
1951	ARTIMIDES ZATTI, Salesian brother, dies.United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina and Uruguay formed.
1952		EVA “Evita” PERÓN dies.
1954	Pentecostal revival led by TOMMY HICKS held with the permission of the Perón administration draws over 200 thousand.	Juan Perón threatens the Catholic Church with total disestablishment, resulting in church vandalism, clergy publicly denounced, and Catholic schools confiscated.
1955	Corpus Christi celebration turns into antigovernment demonstration wh...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Table Of Contents
• Introduction
• How To Use This Book
• Abbreviations
• List of Illustrations
• Survey of the Region
• Country-by-Country Exploration
• Denominational and Organizational Weblinks
• For Further Reading
• Calendar
• Glossary
• Bibliography