After the establishment of the first University Faculties of Missiology (Protestant and Catholic) in Germany, there was a dynamic development of missiology in Europe. In the second half of the twentieth century several academic missiological centers were established in America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. The missiologists of the first half of the twentieth century through their scientific work have proved that missiology is a theological and interdisciplinary science. This was achieved by emphasizing in their publications that the essence of missiology finds its foundations not in references to history and direct missionary practice, but the theology of mission, i.e., the theological justification of the Church’s missionary activity. This trend of missiological reflection was highlighted in the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and in numerous papal documents of the post-conciliar period. Teaching on the missionary nature of the Church has become the subject of scientific and interdisciplinary missiological reflection. Unfortunately, up to these days the acceptance of missiology as a theological science, is not yet fully understood and not always accepted.

Jesuits arrived in the land of the New Kingdom of Grande (Colombia) at the beginning of the 17th century. They founded colleges in all most important towns and began the mis-sionary service among Indians, according to the scheme of so-called ‘doctrinas’, i.e. villages inhabited by autochthons. During the years 1605-1660 they worked in a few doctrines on Altiplano in the surroundings of Bogota and Tunja and on eastern slopes of the Andes. Their service was usually very effective and carried out according to the established methodology of the missionary work. They were appealing to the following rules: systematic and regular religious education, knowledge of the local languages by missionaries, development of the educational system including study of the singing and the music, practising solemn liturgy based on solid and well equipped churches. The past experience of the work in ‘doctrinas’ was used in the second half of the 17th century during the establishment of Jesuits’ reductions in Casanare, Meta and Orinoko.