ZNACZENIE TRZECH PIERWSZYCH SYNODÓW LIMSKICH DLA EWANGELIZACJI MISYJNEJ INDIAN W ICH JĘZYKU I KULTURZE
The Signi cance of the First Three Lima Councils for the Evangelization of the Indian Missions in their Language and Culture

Summary/Abstract: The first three synods of Lima were undoubtedly the most important events in the life of the church in Latin America in XVI century. They were called to address some of the most pressing issues confronting the church at the time. In the second half of the XVI century the archdiocese of Lima covered immense territory of 8000 square metres, stretching from the modern day Nicaragua to Tierra del Fuego at the southernmost tip of the continent. The enormous amount of work done at the synods was possible thanks to the determination of the bishops of Laoysy and Mogrovejo, coupled with commit- ment of distinguished theologians and lawyers, like the Franciscan linguist Jeronimo Ovegraz and the Jesuit Jose de Acosta. In order to assess the reforms initiated by the synods, one must think of their ob- jectives, implementation and results. The synods attempted not so much to eliminate the effects of the abuses occurring during the evangelisation process, but to uproot the causes that made those abuses possible in the rst place. For instance, apart from a thorough reorganisation of the church’s disciplinary measures, targeting the often not too evangelical style of life of the clergy, the synod fathers stressed the importance of making the most of the available human and material resources. To this end the synods issued many relevant decrees. One of the most signi cant among them was the instruc- tion of the Third Synod of Lima to write a catechism tailored for the evangelisation of the Indians and translate it into local languages. Few provincial synods exerted impact similar to that of the Third Synod of Lima. Reforms initiated by it would wield enormous in uence on the church in the Spanish speaking America and would reverberate through the next three hundred years. How- ever, one should bear in mind that its accomplishments were in large part due to the ex- perience and the resolutions of the two preceding synods, and the work of the Council of Trent. In this sense it was the latter truly crowning achievement in Latin America.

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