Real Patronato, Military Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, and the Licensing of Royal Chaplains in Manila, 1734–1737: A Case Study
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Jurisdictional conflicts between the Church and the Crown were a common feature of political and religious life of the Philippines in the early modern period.Although there are many studies that focus on these conflicts, there are also many gaps in the historiography.This study addresses some of those gaps by examining a case from the first half of the eighteenth century where the controversy regarding the Real Patronato touched on the issue of royal chaplains and the exercise of military ecclesiastical jurisdiction within Patronato law.The examination of the documents produced during the course of the crisis affords us a glimpse into the actual procedure for naming royal chaplains, a practice hitherto undescribed in historiography for the Philippines.It highlights the contrast between legal theory and actual practice based on local custom by analyzing the main arguments used by the parties in the case and the sources that they utilized to make those arguments.Finally, this case study permits us to view the resolution of the controversy in the wider context of the monarchy's efforts to establish a distinct ordinary jurisdiction for the military under the protection of the Real Patronato.Specifically, by viewing the king's decision within the broader framework of military ecclesiastical jurisdiction, we are able to see how the evolution of this vicariate affected decisions regarding the application of the Real Patronato that represent a break from past interpretations for the purpose of bringing the Patronato more *
Source: Philippiniana Sacra
Author: Matthew Hill
Institution: Brigham Young University
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4285415226