1593. Carta de Francisco Fernandes para destinatário anónimo.

Statement letter from Francisco Fernandes, a man waiting for his execution in the Oporto jail, to the abbot of Oporto cathedral.

The author denies the Catholic faith and recognizes that the Jewish must be right when they believe that Jesus is no son of God. He hopes Portugal will be full of Lutherans and its churches turned into stables.

Francisco Fernandes, while waiting for his execution in the Oporto jail, and since he was expected to confess his sins, wrote a denial of the Catholic faith instead. The Inquisition decided to leave him be, since he was writing in despair. Nevertheless, if his sentence were to be commuted, he should be persecuted for his denial.

Sir Abbot of the cathedral,

Well, you have told me to confess to you, since my honour was already lost, because my body is "cornudo" and Justice wants to hang me; things are not getting god for me. Well, the soul, let all the devils take it. The confession I need to make now is as follows and it comes from the heart.I abjure the baptism water and the chrism I have received. And even if they burn me or stone me to death, I object to dying in the faith of Christ. I actually regret certain masses I ordered and certain prayers and alms I have given. And the cause of this is that they have locked me up in the church. And as I know it would favour me and I won’t be allowed to go back to it, I do this because I know what happened in my case. And therefore I say that […] and truthfully that two witnesses who convicted me, saying that Amaro de Bartolomeu […] Conceição, lied and committed perjury. The other reason I have for not wanting to die under the law of Christ is that once a Jewish friend told me not to believe in Christ because Jews murdered Him for claiming to be the son of God, which He was not. And I believe it so. Other Jew [told] me that prayers said on Earth could not be heard in Heaven. And I believe it so and I see it clearly, because if they were heard as many as I have prayed, then God ought to be served, and the house where I was imprisoned will set me free, for it is the House of God. However, as I said before, I believe Christ doesn’t have that power and those who believe in His lay cannot be saved. I would enjoy seeing this land full of Lutherans and the churches knocked down and serving as stables, since they are of no use to men. And I say it with all my heart. And this is truly the confession I need to make and no other. I even remember hearing two clergymen saying they saw a book which said there was no Heaven or Hell and I believe it to be true and I sign here with my signature.

Francisco Fernandes