THE
PORTUGUESE PERIOD (1505-1658)
Ancient Taprobane
Lanka Prior to the Colonial Period
Advent of the Portuguese
Arrival of the Missionaries
Xavier and the Martyrs of Mannar
Church Makes Slow Progress
A Catholic King on the Sinhalese Throne
A King Without a Kingdom
Kotte Under Portuguese Rule
Attempts to Reduce Jaffna
Jaffna Under Portuguese Rule
Portuguese Relations with Kandy
Kandy Regains Independance
Kandy Prince Priest
Missionary Activity under Portuguese Rule
THE
DUTCH PERIOD (1658-1796)
A Flock Without a
Shepherd
God Sends a Shepherd
Provision for Others to Follow
Lanka's Sole Pastor
A Providential Imprisonment
Catholic Literature in the National Languages
Asian Missionary Par Excellence
Indigenous Ministers of Salvation
Indigenous Administrators of Local Churches
A Political Missionary Action
Respect for Other Faiths
Continuity of Service of the Indian Missionaries
Catholic Priests Banished from Kandy
The Dutch Relent
THE
BRITISH AND INDEPENDENCE PERIODS (1796-1948)
Lanka Becomes a
Vicariate Apostolic
European Missionaries Come Again
Two Vicariates for Lanka
Bonjean Champions Denominational Education
Bonjean as Bishop in Jaffna and in Colombo
Further Church Expansion
Padroado-Propaganda Conflict
Training of Native Clergy
Church Progress in Education
Church and Charities
Revival of Buddhism and its Aftermath
State Takeover of Schools
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin
CONCLUSION
SELECTED
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Of Printed Works in
English
THE AUTHOR
Educationist,
historian, Oriental scholar and missiologist, Dr. W. L. A Don
Peter holds double Bachelor's, Master's and Doctor's degrees:
B.A. Hons (Lond.) and B. Mis. (Rome); M.A. and M. Phil (Lond);
Ph. D. (Lond.) and Ph. D. (Colombo). He is also a Fellow of
the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain. He has been
Rector of the Colombo Archdiocesan Seminary (1956-1961), St.
Joseph's College, Colombo (1961-1971), Aquinas College of
Higher Studies, Colombo (1971-1974), 1979-1989) and St. John
Vianney Seminary for adult clergy candidates, Tudella (1989-1990).
He has also been Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Colombo
(1975-1977). He has held office in professional bodies in
education and has represented Sri Lanka at several
international educational conferences. He has written
extensively in both Sinhala and English for the local press
and has contributed to learned journals in Sri Lanka and
abroad. He is the author of several research studies in
Education and Sri Lankan Church History and has written a
number of children's novels in Sinhala. The Daham Sarana
Institute was initiated by him in 1991 for the publication of
Catholic literature in Sinhala.