A. A. SIMONIA

Candidate of Economic Sciences

Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Keywords: Myanmar / Burma, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, Protestantism( Baptist), Buddhism,

Pope, beatification

Myanmar is a Buddhist country, more than 80% of its 51 million people are mainly Burmese (Myanmar, Bama), profess Theravada Buddhism, almost 8% are Muslims, about 7% are Christians, the rest of the population are adherents of Hinduism, Confucianism, Animism and other religions.¹ Two-thirds of Burmese Christians are Protestants (almost half of them Baptists), and one-third profess Catholicism. Christianity is spread mainly among ethnic minorities - Karen, Ka-chin, Chin and to a lesser extent-among Burmese.

Burma / Myanmar, with its Buddhist majority population, has always been considered a relatively tolerant country. Representatives of different religions coexisted peacefully in it. The Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar provides citizens with the right to freedom of religion. The Ministry of Religious Affairs, which was specially created in 1972, is charged with ensuring this right. The Ministry is obliged to resolve inter-religious conflicts that arise in the country, to provide support and patronage to all religions.

Religious holidays of the main confessions are celebrated and broadcast on the radio in the country. The Ministry's leadership regularly attends religious festive events. Traditionally, since colonial times, Christmas is one of everyone's favorite holidays. It is particularly popular among young people, the urban population, the propertied and" advanced " stratum of citizens. In recent decades, it has been celebrated en masse without any religious background, as, indeed, in many other countries. As a demonstration of tolerance in Myanmar, they like to show the famous Sule Pagoda Square in Yangon, where religious buildings of different religions are located next to each other.

However, there was no complete freedom of religion under the military regime. The religious activities of minorities were not only closely monitored, but also banned by the Government. The majority of Christians are ethnic groups of mountain peoples living on the periphery of Myanmar proper-Chin, Kachin, Kaya, Karen, etc.

From the moment of independence (1948) to the present day, a civil war has been simmering in the country, and military clashes between the army and separatist-minded ethnic armed groups continue. These military conflicts temporarily subside after the conclusion of regular "cease-fire agreements". Representatives of these peoples were subjected to repression by the military junta, especially during military operations, including on religious grounds.

In 2011-2014, Myanmar Christians celebrated significant dates - the 500th anniversary of the Roman Catholic Church and the 200th anniversary of Protestantism in their country. This article is dedicated to Myanmar Christianity, so we will not touch on the problems of other faiths and inter-religious conflicts.²

BICENTENNIAL OF BURMA/MYANMAR BAPTISMS

The first Protestant preachers appeared in Burma in 1807, but their mission was short-lived and not very successful. Baptism, as one of the trends of Protestantism, was introduced to Burmese soil by American missionaries later. In 1813, the 25-year - old American missionary Adoniram Judson (1788-1850) arrived in Rangoon with his young wife Ann. The Judsons were the first American missionaries to work outside of America. They spent the first three years studying Burmese. At the same time, work began on translating the Bible into Burmese, which was not completed until 1840.

During the first Anglo-Burmese War (1824-1826) Judson, along with other foreigners, was arrested by the Burmese authorities and thrown on death row on charges of espionage. He spent more than a year awaiting execution in the most difficult conditions, and was released from prison only in November 1825 to work as an interpreter in negotiations with the British.

His faithful wife managed to save him from starvation during his imprisonment with the help of a pod-

kupa prison administration. Ann Judson also managed to keep a cache of the only manuscript translation of the New Testament, which was hunted by Burmese soldiers to destroy the mission materials. Shortly after her husband's release, in 1826, Ann Judson died of a tropical fever, along with her newly born daughter. In the United States, she is revered as the first female missionary. She lost two children in Burma as an infant, and described all her experiences, family affairs, and Christian mission activities in her diaries and letters home. These documents, which attest to the missionary family's selfless, hard-pressed life, were published after her death and are still being reprinted and translated into other languages.³ In her short life, Ann Judson was an example of a devoted wife, a loyal companion, and a dedicated helper.

After the death of his beloved wife, A. Judson tried to drown out the grief with work, but the pain did not go away. After two years, he began to avoid people and retreated into the jungle, built a hut there and even dug his own grave in anticipation of death. But unlike some other missionaries, he eventually managed to overcome his depression and return to life and missionary work. He remarried to the 30-year-old widow of a missionary, Sarah Brodman, who also could not stand the harsh living conditions and climate and after 10 years also passed away, leaving six children.

Judson spent a total of forty years in Burma, where he lost two wives and four children to tropical diseases and harsh living conditions. During his first 12 years in Burma, Judson managed to convert only 18 people to Christianity, and among them was a former thief and murderer, one Ko Tha Byu. Judson bought him at the slave market, converted him to Christianity, and gave him his freedom. This converted robber became an ardent evangelist, and he succeeded in converting many of his fellow tribesmen to Christianity. He went down in history as the "apostle of the Karens". Mass baptism took place among these Burmese people, and by 1850 there were already more than 10 thousand members of the Baptist Church. The Judson couple also made the first attempts to Christianize the Siamese. Ann translated into Thai the catechism that her husband had written in Burmese. In 1880, the Burma Baptist Convention sent three Karen preachers to the Karen villages in Thailand.

The missionary and educator A. Judson made a huge contribution to the development of education in Burma, as well as to the development of Oriental studies and Burmese studies, in particular, in Europe and the United States. He is one of the founders of the Rangoon University, where the Baptist Church named after him is located, built in 1932. A. Judson is the author of the first Burmese-English dictionary, which is still used to study the Burmese language. Adoniram and Ann Judson are remembered in the Christian West and East as pioneers of the Baptist mission in Burma. For a century and a half, it has become one of the largest Christian communities in the East. Day of A.'s death Judson, April 12, is listed on the Calendar of Saints of the Episcopal Church of the United States.

Another well-known American Baptist missionary, Olaf Hanson, of Swedish descent, arrived with his wife-colleague in the Kachin State (Kachin State) in northeastern Burma in 1890 and spent 27 years there. He compiled the Kachin alphabet, grammar, and the first Kachin-English dictionary (11,000 words). He also translated the Bible into Kachin.

The main purpose of the preaching activities of American Baptist missionaries was to convert to Christianity those who adhered to the animistic beliefs of national minorities. The most intensive missionary work was carried out among the Karen (since 1827), Chin (since 1845) and Kachin (since 1876). In 1865, the established Baptist communities were united into the Baptist Convention of Burma. The Burma/Myanmar Baptist Convention is similar in its creed, cult, and church structure to the American Baptist churches. In 1945, American missionaries transferred their authority to local church leaders.

Currently, the Myanmar Baptist Convention, which is headquartered in Yangon, has 16 Baptist organizations operating in different regions of the country. The three most numerous are the Karen Baptist Convention (established in 1828), and the Baptist Convention of the United States of America.-

The Chin-zomi Convention (1899) and the Kachin Baptist Convention (1876) include 3/4 of all Christian Baptists in the country.

The remaining numerous organizations representing different ethnic groups throughout the country are many times smaller. Among them: the Union of Burma Baptist Churches (1819), to which belongs a small group of baptized Burmese, the Burma Baptist Indian Convention (1829), which includes a small group of Tamils and Telugu, the previously mentioned Judson Baptist Church (1932) on the campus of Yangon University with a very small English-speaking parish, and others.

There are also many small Baptist organizations in areas where Buddhists are homogenous among the peoples of national minorities - Shan, Wa, Lahu, Kai, Mon, etc. The Myanmar Baptist Congregation is one of the largest in Asia and one of the fastest growing Baptist conventions in the world. In 1985, the Baptist Church in Myanmar had 630,000 members, 1.1 million in 2007,and over 1.5 million in 2014, half of them Karen, one - fifth Chin, and one-sixth Kachin^. 4

In December 2013, the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the first American Baptist missionaries in Burma was celebrated. The four-day celebrations in Yangon were dedicated to the memory of missionary educator A. Judson. More than 40 thousand parishioners of the Baptist Church took part in the anniversary events. At the opening ceremony of the festival, Baptist Christians-representatives of Kachins, Chinas, Karens, Karenni, Mons, Arakanese (Rakhine) and Shan in national costumes - performed.

FIVE-HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF CATHOLICISM IN BURMA/MYANMAR

The first Catholic missionaries from the Franciscan and Dominican monastic orders appeared in Burma in the early 16th century. The monks carried on their preaching activities, mainly among European merchants living in the ports of Burma. In the middle of the 16th century, the Jesuits arrived in Burma.

But the very first Catholics to arrive in the country were Portuguese sailors who landed on the Burmese coast in 1511.

As the organizers of the celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of Catholicism in Myanmar in 2011 explained, they could not celebrate this date because the military regime in power at that time pursued a repressive policy against religious minorities, promoting Buddhism as an instrument of national identity. After the transfer of power to the civil administration and the beginning of democratic reforms in the country, the leadership of the Catholic Church considered it possible to celebrate this significant date in 2014, especially since Baptist Christians have already had a successful experience.

However, in December 2011, Myanmar Catholics celebrated the 100th anniversary of their cathedral in Yangon. The corresponding celebrations were held on December 8, 2011, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino was the special Papal Representative at the celebrations. Pope Benedict XVI instructed him in his message of faith to "encourage Myanmar Catholics to constantly increase their faith and love for Christ and the gospel," and to convey his congratulations to secular authorities, Buddhist religious leaders, and all those who respect the church's mission and human rights.⁵ The Catholic Church of Myanmar is part of the world

The Roman Catholic Church. The number of Catholics in Myanmar (2014) is about 770 thousand people (1.5 % of the total population). The central organ of the Roman Catholic Church in Myanmar is the Conference of Catholic Bishops (Myanmar) It is headquartered in Yangon. There are 3 archdioceses in the country - Yangon, Mandalay and Taunji, which include 16 dioceses (300 parishes).

Their origin dates back to the 17th century. In 1699, the Papal See established the Apostolic Vicariate of Siam, Ava and Pegu, which included what is now Myanmar. In 1856, the Apostolic Vicariate of Ava and Pegu was renamed the Apostolic Vicariate of Burma. In November 1866, it was divided into three new apostolic vicariates - Central Burma, Eastern Burma, and Southwestern Burma. The latter was transformed in 1870 into the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Burma, in 1953 - into the Archdiocese of Rangoon (since 1991 - Yangon).

Similarly, the Apostolic Vicariate of Central Burma was transformed: in 1870 - to the Vicariate of Northern Burma, in 1939 - to the Vicariate of Mandalay, and on January 1, 1955 - to the Archdiocese of Mandalay. The Apostolic Vicariate of Eastern Burma was transformed into the Apostolic Vicariate of Taungu in 1927. In 1961, the Diocese of Taunji (Shan State) was established, and in January 1998, Pope John Paul II issued a bull that transformed the Diocese of Taunji into an archdiocese.

Burma's 500th Catholic Anniversary celebrations/Miaime was opened by the Catholic Bishops ' Conference on November 24, 2013. Throughout the year, morning and afternoon services were held regularly, and in the evenings, masses were performed with the participation of famous Myanmar singers. The main venue of the celebrations was the largest, designed for 1,500 seats, the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Yangon.

The jubilee year ended on November 23, 2014 with the final three-day celebrations, which were attended by more than 30 thousand Catholics from all over the country: from the national states of Chin, Kachin, Kaya (Karenni), Shan, Mon and the administrative regions of Mandalay, Bago, Sagaing. The culmination was a general prayer service for all Catholics of Myanmar and a big musical celebration at the stadium with the participation of famous artists and ethnic dance ensembles who arrived from different regions of the country. The event was attended by the Holy See's representative in the Philippines (Apostolic Nuncio) Adolfo Tito Ilyana. Myint Swe, the Minister (head) of the Yangon Administrative Region, as well as spiritual leaders of Buddhists and other faiths were invited to the celebrations.

According to the secretary of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Myanmar, "an invitation was sent to Pope Francis for the celebrations, but as it turned out, the pontiff, being the head of state of the Vatican, can only come to Myanmar at the invitation of the president of the country, and it would be difficult to ensure the Pope's security in Myanmar."⁶. Cardinal Oswald Gracias, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Asia, arrived in Yangon on behalf of Pope Francis from India. Archbishop Charles Maung Bo of the Archdiocese of Yangon expressed hope that Pope Francis will visit Myanmar during his planned trip to Asia.

Pope Francis is well aware of the situation in Myanmar. In October 2013, opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi** visited Rome during a European tour, where she was elected Honorary President.

* On February 14, 2015, Archbishop Charles Maung Bo became the first ever Burmese cardinal in the Vatican.

** Aung San Suu Kyi, chairman of the opposition National League for Democracy party, spent 15 years under house arrest during the military junta in Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi has become an international symbol of peaceful opposition to despotism.

a citizen of the city. The meeting with the Pope took place in the Vatican's Pontifical Library. Pope Francis expressed his gratitude to the Burmese politician for her "commitment to the non-violent promotion of democracy in her country" and offered his support. The Pontiff said that he prayed for Myanmar and for the success of interreligious dialogue in this country. During a press briefing for journalists, the head of the Holy See's press center, Federico Lombardi, said that the conversation " showed great harmony and agreement in views and opinions between the Pope and his guest, who represented all of Asia." Among the topics discussed during the meeting were issues related to culture and interreligious relations. Father Lombardi also noted the great attention that the Pope shows to the Asian continent and his desire to visit it. Aung San Suu Kyi herself said that she had spoken with the Holy Father about the importance of love and mutual understanding in the modern world. The interlocutors agreed that hatred and distrust cause serious damage to human dignity.⁷

BEATIFICATION* OF A CATHOLIC FROM BURMA

In the anniversary year of the 500th anniversary of Catholicism in Burma/Myanmar, the most important event for Catholics in the country took place. On May 27, 2014, in the Italian city of Aversa, Father Mario Vergara (1910-1950), a priest of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, and Isidoro Ngei Ko Lat (1918-1950), a Burmese catechist, were beatified (beatified) after being killed by religious fanatics in Myanmar on May 24, 1950. Thus, for the first time in history, a Catholic from Burma/Myanmar was beatified. Pope Francis has authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to publish a decree recognizing the martyrdom of missionaries. "May their heroic loyalty to Christ become an incentive and an example for missionaries, especially catechists in the new lands, who carry out an important and irreplaceable apostolic mission, and for this work the entire Church is grateful to them," Pope Francis said during his speech on May ^{21, 2014.8}

After graduating from the Jesuit seminary in 1934, Mario Vergara was ordained a priest and sent on a mission to Burma, which was then a British colony in India. He was sent to the Apostolic Vicariate of Eastern Burma, later renamed the Diocese of Taungu, where he was soon assigned to a parish in the mountains of Kayin (Karen) State. In remote mountainous areas, he and the local population had to go through difficult times, including mass starvation due to the invasion of mice, which destroyed all food.

At the beginning of World War II, in 1941, the priest Mario Vergara, along with other Italian missionaries, as representatives of the "fascist coalition", was sent to a British concentration camp in India, where he spent 4 years. It was only two years after his release that he was able to return to Burma and continue his missionary work in an extremely emaciated and painful condition after having a kidney removed. He was sent to the mountainous regions of Kaya (Karenni) state, east of the city of Loiko. For 4 years, Mario Vergara worked there together with the young priest Pietro Galastri and several catechists, including Isidoro Ngei Ko Lat.

Little is known about catechist Isidoro Ngei Ko Lata. From the letters of Fr. Mario Vergara, it is known that he was born into a Christian family of farmers and was baptized. Orphaned at the age of 14, he and his brother spent a lot of time with missionaries, helping them. He wanted to become a priest and entered the theological seminary in the city of Taungu. Due to poor health, his dream of becoming a priest was not destined to come true. He suffered from bronchial asthma and was therefore expelled from the seminary and sent to live with relatives. In his village, he opened a free private school, where he taught children Burmese and English, and introduced them to the basics of Christian teaching. He also taught them music and hymn-singing. He had a good relationship with people.

He first met Father Mario Vergara, who was constantly looking for a catechist, in 1948. Isidoro immediately seized the opportunity and got the position. From that moment until his martyrdom, he remained in the mission. He also served as a translator for P. Galastri, who had not yet mastered the Burmese language. The parish's population consisted mainly of illiterate rice farmers, many of whom had already been converted to their faith by Baptists hostile to Catholics. Despite the difficulties and obstacles, Isidoro worked hard alongside O. Vergara to educate the local population. They had to make long marches through mountainous terrain on foot to reach remote villages.

After Burma gained independence in 1948, this eastern region (Shan States, Ka-

* Beatification is the beatification of the deceased in the Roman Catholic Church. Beatification is a necessary step to start the process of canonization.

ren, Kaya) turned into a theater of military operations between various armed groups, including ethnic and religious ones. The separatist insurgency was supported by Protestant Baptists, who had settled here before the Catholics and had already formed the local elite. The local religious and political authority was represented by an appointed head of the area, and the armed forces were commanded by a certain Richmond.

The Karen Baptists fought for independence from the Rangoon government, which was formed by the Buddhist majority of Burma's population, and sought to create a separate independent Kotul state. Father M. Vergara was against the war, trying to protect a population that was suffering from military operations that brought death and destruction without any hope of independence or international recognition.⁹

The rebels, most of whom were fanatical Baptists, regularly threatened the Catholic mission. The catechists, who worked together with Priests M. Vergara and P. Galastri, were a constant target for attacks by religious fanatics. The arrest of one of the catechists led to the martyrdom of the missionaries. Fearing for his life, on May 24, 1950, Fr. Mario Vergara and catechist Isidoro Ngei Ko Lat went to the local regional chief to persuade him to release the arrested catechist. But it seems that this was a trap set for the ministers of the Catholic Church. On the way, they were waylaid by Commander Richmond's rebel squad and, after a brutal interrogation, the two clergymen were dragged through the jungle all night to the Salween River. At dawn on May 25, they were shot and thrown into the river. The bodies of the martyrs were not found. Priest P. Galastri was later arrested while praying with orphans, killed and thrown into the river. In those years, at least four other priests and an unspecified number of catechists died in this troubled region.

The beatification process for the Burmese martyrs was initiated in 2003 by the son of one of the murdered catechists, Bishop Sotero Phamo of the Diocese of Loiko, Kaya. In 2014, the diocese had 75.5 thousand members. Catholic parishioners, which accounted for 24.4% of the local population. The beatification ceremony in the Italian city of Aversa, the birthplace of the martyr Father Mario Vergara, was attended by a delegation from Loiko and other dioceses of Myanmar, headed by Bishop Sotero Phamo.

When the decision to beatify Burmese Catholic Isidoro Ngei Ko Lata was announced in December 2013, Archbishop Charles Maung Bo of the Archdiocese of Yangon said,"It means that the Holy Father has turned his attention and concern to a forgotten church that has been under military rule for more than 50 years." The Archbishop also noted that after the change of the country's leadership and the beginning of reforms, life for Catholics has become easier. "Now we have freedom of speech. Previously, during Sunday and Holiday services, military intelligence agents were always present in the church, listening to and recording sermons."

But it is still difficult to get permission to open a church or seminary. The archbishop said that for 4 years he has been applying to the authorities for permission to open a seminary in the eastern suburbs of Yangon next to an 18th-century Catholic church built by the Portuguese, but has not received a response. ¹⁰ Representatives of the Roman Catholic Church in Myanmar express their readiness to participate in the processes of State-building and national reconciliation, as well as directly in negotiations on a truce with the rebels.

It is still too early to talk about the harmony of faiths in the country, but the events of the last two years (2013-2014) in the Christian communities of Myanmar give reason to hope for the possibility of observing the "right of every citizen to freely choose a religion", in accordance with Article 34 of the Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and.

¹ The figures shown are preliminary. Official data from the last Myanmar census conducted in April 2014 will be published in mid-2015.

² On the Muslims of Myanmar, see: Simoniya A. A. Buddhist radicalism in Myanmar / / Asia and Africa Today, 2014, N 5. (Simoniya A. A. 2014. Buddistskiy radikalizm v Mianme // Aziya i Afrika Segodnya. N 5) (in Russian)

³ Memoir of Ann H.Judson, missionary to Burmah. By James D. Knowles. First Edition. Boston, 1846; Judson Ann Hasseltine. Memoir Mrs. Ann. H.Judson: wife Rev. Adoniram Judson, missionary Burmah, including a history of the American Baptist mission in the Burman Empire. 2009; Sharon James, Ann Hasseltine Judson. My heart in His Hands: Ann Judson of Burma. Evangelic Press, USA, 1998.

⁴ Encyclopedia of the peoples of the world. Religions of the world http://www.etnolog.ru/religion.php?id-234

⁵ Siberian Catholic newspaper. Novosibirsk. With reference to Vatican Radio. December 3, 2011 - http://www/sibcatholic.ru/ 2011/12/04/

^{Nobel law.} 6 Burma's Catholics celebrate 500^tn jubilee with events in Rangoon // The Irrawaddy (Thailand). 21.11.2014.

⁷ Pope Francis receives Aung San Suu Kyi in the Vatican. 2013.10.28. Vatican Radio - http://www/ news.va/en/news/

^{Piero Gheddo.} 8 Myanmar - Italy. Raised to the altars, Isidoro Ngei Ко Lat, first Burmese Blessed, and Mario Vergara, 19^th PIME martyr. AsiaNews.it.Online04/25/2014 - http://www.asianews.it/yiew4print. php?l=en&art-30915; Myanmar's PIME missioner, catechist beatified. Catholic News Asia. May 27 2014 - http:/www. ucanews.com/

⁹ M. Vergara was right. The Burmese/Myanmar Civil War was the longest in recent history. It has lasted for more than 60 years, and the first shift towards reconciliation of the central government with the Karens occurred only in 2012. The subject of the Karen insurgency in Myanmar was addressed in 2007 by the American actor and film director S. A. Shishkin on the advice of human rights defenders. Stallone in the movie "Rambo-4". The hero had to first guide American Baptist missionaries with medical supplies across the Salween River to the rebel camp, and then, at the request of the pastor, save them from the Burmese military. The film was shot on the territory of Thailand, and in Myanmar, distribution of the tape with this film was punishable by 7 years in prison.

^{Roughneen Simon.} 10 With Burma's first catholic saint possible, Archbishop hopes for Papal Visit // The Irrawaddy (Thailand). 19.12.2013 - httpp://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/

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