Latin Missionaries and Catholics in Constantinople 1650-1760: Between Local Religious Culture and Confessional Determination
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Latin missionaries and Catholics in Constantinople 1650-1760: Between local religious culture and confessional determination Laura Elisabeth Binz Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Florence, September, 2013 (defence) ii European University Institute Department of History and Civilization Latin missionaries and Catholics in Constantinople 1650-1760: Between local religious culture and confessional determination Laura Elisabeth Binz Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Examining Board Prof. Antonella Romano (EUI/Supervisor) Prof. Luca Molà (EUI) Prof. Christian Windler (University of Bern/External Supervisor) Prof. Bernard Heyberger (Institut d’Etudes de l’Islam et des Sociétés du Monde Musulman IISMM/EHESS Paris) iv Abstract of the thesis This thesis examines the actions of the Latin missionaries in the Latin Catholic community of Constantinople between 1650 and 1760. In Constantinople as well as in other mission territories, missionaries were constantly confronted with the universal claims of the post- Tridentine Catholic Church and the practical requirements of the local pluri-religious context. The main aim of this dissertation is to analyze how the missionaries acted within the local context of Constantinople. In terms of methodology, this study combines the approaches of recent research on Early Modern Catholicism after the Council of Trent, of closely related research on extra-European local Christianities and of recent social and cultural research on the Ottoman Empire. In order to work out the processes of negotiation and appropriation between the different actors, the thesis adopts a micro-historical approach and an actor-focused perspective. First, the thesis focuses on the institutional actors, as the representatives of the local Latin Catholics, the patriarchal vicars and missionaries as well as the ambassadors of the European powers. Secondly, the tensions between Roman standards and the local requirements are analyzed with regard to the Constantinopolitan sacramental practice regarding baptism, marriage and funeral rituals. Finally, issues related to the crossing of religious boundaries are explored. The study reveals that the multi-religious structure of Constantinople and the strong position of the French ambassador limited the influence of the Roman Curia on the Latin Catholic community remarkably. Moreover, it emerges how, rather than represent Roman standards, the missionaries acted to a large extent as representatives of the local Latin Catholics. v vi Table of contents 1. Introduction p. 1 1.1. Research questions and hypothesis p. 1 1.2. Historiography p. 3 1.3. Methodology and period of examination p. 16 1.4. Sources p. 21 1.4.1. Archives in Rome p. 21 1.4.2. Archives in Paris p. 23 1.4.3. Archives in Istanbul p. 24 1.4.4. General considerations to the sources p. 24 1.5. Structure of the thesis p. 26 2. Latin Catholics in Constantinople: From Genoese to Ottoman Galata p. 29 2.1. The origin of the Latin presence in the city p. 30 2.2. The structure of Galata after the Ottoman conquest p. 34 2.3. Latin living in the Ottoman city in the 17th and 18th centuries p. 37 2.3.1. Franks and Perots p. 37 2.3.2. Latin Catholic Churches and convents in Galata and Pera p. 42 2.3.3. The Latin clergy p. 48 2.3.4. Confraternities and the visibility of the Latin Catholic Community in the streets of Galata p. 60 3. Local representations vs. Roman centralization: the disempowerment of the Magnifica Comunità di Pera p. 67 3.1. Characterising the Magnifica Comunità di Pera p. 68 3.2. From Rome to Constantinople: the attention of Propaganda Fide for the ecclesiastic organization in the Ottoman capital p. 72 3.3. The members of the Magnifica Comunità di Pera vs. the patriarchal vicar Gasparini p. 75 3.4. Crisis between Rome, Vienna and Venice p. 79 3.5. The escalation of the dispute (1682/83) p. 82 3.6. The role of the French and Venetian ambassadors in the power struggle p. 86 vii 4. Reflections of European power struggles within the Latin clergy: Diplomatic protection and ecclesiastic independence p. 93 4.1. French or Venetian protection? Developments in diplomatic protection of the religious orders in the 17th and 18th century p. 97 4.2. The Dutch protection of the Reformed Franciscans p. 101 4.3. National or supranational parishes? p. 107 4.3.1. The members of the Magnifica Comunità di Pera and the parish clergy against the French Jesuits p. 110 4.3.2. National parishes: a necessity or the first step towards the destruction of the Latin Catholic community in Constantinople? p. 115 4.4. Collaboration or opposition? Roman and French influence on the pastoral care p. 122 5. The sacrament of baptism: For the salvation of their souls p. 131 5.1. The administration of baptism according to the Roman Ritual p. 132 5.2. Baptism in Constantinople between the 1650s and the 1750s p. 135 5.2.1. Baptisms in private houses: necessity or simple convenience? p. 136 5.2.2. Parish priest or ‘national’ chaplain? p. 142 5.2.3. The choice of the godparents p. 146 5.2.4. The baptism of Muslims p. 149 6. Between social and sacramental practice: the marriage of the Latin Catholics in Constantinople p. 153 6.1. Latin marriages between the Tametsi decree and Ottoman marriage law p. 154 6.2. Marriages within the Latin community p. 157 6.2.1. Local rites in wedding ceremonies p. 157 6.2.2. Dispensations for consanguinity and spiritual affinity against the narrowness of the marriage market p. 161 6.2.3. Non-Catholic ministers for Catholic marriages p. 165 6.3. Mixed marriages: risk or opportunity? p. 169 6.3.1. The impediment of mixtae religionis p. 169 6.3.1.1. Discussions about the validity of mixed marriages p. 172 6.3.2. The impediment of disparitatis cultis: marriages between Muslims and Catholics p. 180 viii 7. Funerals in Constantinople: the regular visibility of Latin Catholics in the streets p. 187 7.1. The clericalization of death and funeral rituals in the Catholic Church p. 187 7.2. Funeral processions and the campo dei morti in Constantinople p. 191 7.2.1. For the glory of God and in honor of Christianity: examples of magnificent funeral ceremonies p. 196 7.3. The sacramental dimension of the funerals p. 203 7.4. Funerals and inter-religious contacts p. 209 8. The crossing of religious boundaries in Constantinople p. 215 8.1. Becoming ‘Frank’ in Constantinople: Contested conversions to Catholicism p. 218 8.2. Conversion of Latin Catholics to Islam p. 223 8.3. The veneration of martyrs in Constantinople in the 17th and 18th century p. 226 8.3.1. The precarious role of Latin missionaries in cases of apostasy from Islam p. 234 9. Conclusion p. 241 10. Bibliography p. 251 10.1. Unpublished sources p. 251 10.1.1. Archives in Rome p. 251 10.1.2. Archives in Paris p. 251 10.1.3. Archives in Istanbul p. 252 10.2. Published sources p. 252 10.3. Secondary literature p. 253 ix x Acknowledgements During the four years of the doctoral programme at the European University Institute (EUI) many persons and institutions have contributed to the completion of my PhD thesis and I would like to recognize those who had particularly important roles in this project. I am especially grateful to my supervisor Professor Antonella Romano for her encouragement and support during the past four years. The regular and often challenging discussions with her became an important element for the development of my research. I would also like to acknowledge the advices and support given by Professor Christian Windler who served as external supervisor and played an important role in the shaping of my research project. Furthermore, I greatly appreciate that Professor Luca Molà accepted to become my second reader. Special thanks go to Professor Bernard Heyberger who kindly gave me the opportunity to present and discuss my project in his seminar at the IISMM of the EHESS in Paris and was willing to act as an external jury member. His research was a great inspiration for the present thesis. In the course of the research other persons who have provided advice, encouragement and moral support include Priska Althaus, Paolo Aranha, Cecilia Cristellon, Aurélien Girard, Elena Iorio, Giovanni Pizzorusso and Michèle Steiner. The financial and logistic support provided by different institutions was crucial for the completion of my PhD project. This thesis was funded by a four-year grant from the Swiss Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation in the framework of the doctoral programme at the EUI. Research missions to Rome, Paris and Istanbul were supported by generous travel and accommodation funding of the EUI. I am particularly grateful for the months at the Istituto Svizzero di Roma, where I benefited from a perfect infrastructure for my research in Rome and a very inspiring environment. I would like to acknowledge the support and advice of the staff of the archives I used during my research and in particular the staff of the Archivio Storico de Propaganda Fide and the Archivio Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei in Rome. I am also deeply grateful to Giulia Gray for the final correction of my thesis. My greatest thanks go to Maria Böhmer my fellow researcher at the EUI who has become a good friend over the past four years. Finally, my most important acknowledgement goes to Denis Savi and my family, who have accompanied me with great support, confidence and patience.