Nicholas Melo ( Spanish: Nicolas Melo ; 1550 , Belmonte , Spain - 1614 , near Astrakhan ) - Augustinian monk, missionary, who came to Russia during the Time of Troubles . He was imprisoned, and finally executed by burning at the stake.
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Content
- 1 Biography
- 2 notes
- 3 Literature
- 4 References
Biography
He served at the court of King Sebastian of Portugal , then went to America, where in 1577 in the Mexican city of Puebla he took vows in the Order of the Augustinians [1] . In 1582 he crossed the Pacific Ocean and began missionary work in the Philippines , where he baptized a young Japanese under the name Nikolai. Together with him in 1596, Melo went to Rome , but on the way he changed plans and ended up at the court of the Persian Shah Abbas I. When in 1599 the shah sent an embassy to Europe, offering an alliance to the European kings against the Ottoman Empire , Nikolai Melo and his companion joined this embassy, and they were entrusted with delivering the personal messages of the shah to Pope Clement VIII and the Spanish king Philip III [2] .
The embassy has chosen the path along the Volga , in order to bypass the hostile Ottoman Empire. During the trip, Melo had a conflict with the English advisers to the Shah, who also participated in the embassy. In 1600, the embassy arrived in Moscow (Japanese Nikolai was the first Japanese ever to visit Russia) [1] . Nikolai Melo and his companion stayed in the house of the court doctor Boris Godunov - the Italian Paolo Citadini. Father Nikolai Melo baptized the daughter of the owner of the house according to the Catholic rite, although the performance of the Catholic sacraments was strictly prohibited in Russia at that time. The British, who were at war with Melo, reported to the authorities, as a result, Nikolai Melo and the Japanese Nikolai were arrested and exiled to the Solovetsky Monastery [3] .
After the rise of False Dmitry I to power, a decree was followed to release the prisoners, but when they were released and arrived in Moscow, Vasily Shuisky reigned here, who again sent the Catholics to exile, first to Rostov and then to Nizhny Novgorod . In 1611, the Japanese Nikolai was executed in Nizhny Novgorod, according to Catholic sources, for refusing to convert to Orthodoxy [4] .
Nikolai Melo managed to survive, in 1613 he was freed by the chieftain Ivan Zarutsky , received freedom and left for Astrakhan , where he became Marina Mnishek 's personal chaplain . On August 28, 1613, he consecrated the Catholic house church in the Trinity Monastery of Astrakhan [5] . In 1614, Melo was arrested by archers with Marina Mnishek, after which he was executed by burning at a fire on one of the islands of Yaik [4] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Y. Nakamura. Japanese in Muscovy. A possible source of the legend of Belovodye?
- ↑ “Melo” // Catholic Encyclopedia . M.: Publ. Franciscans. 2007. V.3. Art. 305-307
- ↑ John M. Flannery. The Mission of the Portuguese Augustinians to Persia and Beyond (1602-1747). 2013. pp 50-51
- ↑ 1 2 Stanislav Kozlov-Strutinsky, Pavel Parfentiev. Chapter VII. Latins in Russia in the XIV-XVII centuries // History of the Catholic Church in Russia. - St. Petersburg: White Stone, 2014 .-- S. 136. - 740 p. - ISBN 978-5-98974-014-7 .
- ↑ Trinity Cathedral
Literature
- “Melo” // Catholic Encyclopedia . M.: Publ. Franciscans. 2007. V.3. Art. 305-307
- Stanislav Kozlov-Strutinsky, Pavel Parfentiev. Chapter VII. Latins in Russia in the XIV-XVII centuries // History of the Catholic Church in Russia. - St. Petersburg: White Stone, 2014 .-- S. 136. - 740 p. - ISBN 978-5-98974-014-7 .
- Arnulf Hartmann. Father Nicholas Melo and Brother Nicholas of St. Augustine, Martyrs, OESA Inst. Histor. Augustinien, 1959