Thomas Stephens (c. 1549–1619) was an English Jesuit priest and missionary in Portuguese India, writer and linguist (focusing on Marathi and Konkani).
Father Thomas Stephens, educated at Oxford, was one of the earliest Western Christian missionaries to India. He, along with Roberto Nobili, helped in converting the top class of Indian Society by adopting local practices and writing books in local languages, to appeal to the local people. He is famous for having written the Krista Purana (Story of Christ).
Early years and studies
The son of a merchant, Stephens was born a Protestant in Bushton, Wiltshire, England, and studied at Oxford before becoming a Catholic. He went to Rome where he entered the Society of Jesus in 1575. He did philosophical studies at the Collegio Romano before departing for Lisbon, en route for Goa which he reached on 24 October 1579, probably the first Englishman to set foot on Indian soil. This is, however, disputed by G. Schurhammer and others. After a few months of theological studies he was ordained to the priesthood in 1580. He learned to read and write in Konkani and Marathi.
In Goa
He was the Jesuit Superior of Salcete from 1590 to 1596. Except for a year in Vasai (Bassein), a Portuguese holding north of Bombay (Mumbai), he spent all his pastoral years in Salcete, being parish priest in Margão, Benaulim, Marmugão, Navelim and several other places. He died in Salcete in 1619.
It is very likely that Roberto de Nobili, SJ, met Thomas Stephens upon landing in Goa, and before proceeding to the Madurai Mission. Falcão has shown that there are terms common to both these pioneers of inculturation, e.g. jnana-snana (bath of knowledge or enlightenment), a term which Stephens used for baptism and which de Nobili seems to have borrowed; the term is still current in Tamil Christian usage. Stephens died in Salcete, Goa, aged about 70.
Variations in the name
There are many variations of Thomas Stephens' name. Cunha Rivara notes that the Bibliotheca Lusitana "clearly but erroneously calls him Esteves." J.L. Saldanha observes: “Among his clerical brethren he was known as Padre Estevam, and the laity seem to have improved upon the appellation and turned it into Padre Busten, Buston, and the grand and high-sounding de Bubston.” Saldanha also notes that Monier-Williams renders the name ‘Thomas Stevens,’ while also pointing out that Dodd's Church History speaks of Stephen de Buston or Bubston. Mariano Saldanha instead gives the name as ‘Tomás Estêvão.’ The Catholic Encyclopedia (see External Links below) itself seems to have two entries for the same person: Thomas Stephens and Thomas Stephen Buston.
These variations, together with variations in the titles of the Khristapurana, add to the difficulty of tracing print editions and manuscript copies of the latter.
Achievements
In English
Before the end of the century he was already known in England thanks to a letter written to his father, and published in the 2nd volume of Richard Hakluyt's Principal Navigations (in 1599) in which he gives a description of Portuguese India and its languages.
In Konkani
Stephens is remembered above all for his contribution to the Konkani in the Roman script. His Arte da lingoa Canarim, written in Portuguese, was the first printed grammar of what is now called the Konkani language. It was published in 1640, as enlarged by Diogo Ribeiro, SJ, and four other Jesuits, and became the first ever printed Indian Language grammar. The published work bore the title Arte da lingoa Canarim composta pelo Padre Thomaz Estevão da Companhia de IESUS & acrecentada pello Padre Diogo Ribeiro da mesma Cõpanhia e nouemente reuista & emendada por outros quarto Padres da mesma Companhia. 1640. A second edition was produced by J.H. da Cunha Rivara, and published under the title: Grammatica da Lingua Concani composta pelo Padre Thomaz Estevão e accrescentada por outros Padres da Companhia de Jesus. Segunda Impressão, correcta e annotada, a que precede como introducção A Memoria sobre a Distribução Geographica das Principaes Linguas da India por Sir Erskine Perry, e o Ensaio historico da lingua Concani pelo Editor. Ed. J.H. da Cunha Rivara. Nova Goa: Imprensa Nacional. 1857. The language, called Canarim or Bramana-Canarim in Stephens' time, was, by the time of Cunha Rivara, known as Konkani. Recently a facsimile print of the 1640 edition was published in Goa.