page_title: Roberto de Nobili
section_title: Controversies about his method
hierarchical_section_title: Roberto de Nobili / Controversies about his method
caption_attribution_description: English: Cristóvão de Sá e Lisboa (d. 1622), Bishop of Malacca and Archbishop of Goa
context_page_description: Roberto de Nobili was an Italian Jesuit missionary to Southern India. He used a novel method of adaptation to preach Christianity, adopting many local customs of India which were, in his view, not contrary to Christianity.
context_section_description: His method raised a fierce controversy among his fellow Jesuits and with the Archbishop of Goa Cristóvão de Sá e Lisboa. The dispute was settled by Pope Gregory XV with the Constitution Romanæ Sedis Antistes issued on 31 January 1623. The customs of the three-stringed thread, the tuft, the use of sandalwood paste on the forefront and baths were allowed, inasmuch they did not imply any superstitious ritual. The Pope invited the Indian neophytes to overcome their caste sensitivity and their contempt of the pariahs.
caption: Archbishop Cristóvão de Sá e Lisboa, O.S.H.
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