Fr. Jerry Kurian is a priest, theological educator and public speaker with interests in blogging, social media, theatre, internet ethics, preaching, life skills and leadership training.
Showing posts with label Jacobite church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jacobite church. Show all posts
Today (October 19) is dear and respected Kaniyamparambil achen’s tenth death anniversary. Even though he lived long and passed at a very old age, many in the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church and other denominations still miss him. It is not only his family; his two daughters and their family and other family members, but the church at large which still misses him. And ten years is a long time, considering people are forgotten in weeks if not months. There is something about him which lingers on in our hearts and minds.
For me whenever I take a book to read or start writing an article, I am reminded of him. Even though he did not have numerous degrees and did not teach full time in a university or theological college, in Thiruvalla and several parts of Central Kerala as well as Ernakulam and other places and some parts of the world, achen was a well-known scholar with an impressive list of publications. His knowledge of Syriac, his usage of poetic Malayalam and use of simple yet effective English made him stand out among priests of all denominations and religious leaders of all religions. The term used in Malayalam for a person who is well read and knowledgeable is “Adheham oru sarvakalashala aanu”, literally meaning “He is a university” and in everyday usage meaning “He is very knowledgeable and/or he knows everything.” In English we sometimes say, “He is a travelling dictionary or encyclopedia.” Achen was well read, very knowledgeable and wise.
The old generation of people in India and Kerala were very, very special. With limited education they had many skills. Their skills were very useful to their community and their life thus was a blessing to many. In today’s time we have many people with lots of degrees but zero skills. The corporate sector complains about engineering and management graduates and says that there is a significant gap between academic training and industry demands. One of the biggest problems is the lack of various kinds of skills. The same thing can be felt in the field of theology and in the church as well. Candidates who are trained in theological colleges and seminaries lack the skills to do good and effective ministry in the churches. Again, the issue is the lack of various skills which are key to pastoral ministry.
This is where Kaniyamparambil Archcorepiscopa is a guiding light for us. He converted his knowledge into skills. He knew Syriac very well. But many who know the language these days lament that it can’t be used in congregations as people don’t know the language. But achen used Syriac as a skill. In the church he used it to translate prayers into Malayalam and English and research on various topics of interest to the faithful and church. Outside the church he used it to teach Syriac to many youngsters so that they could learn Syriac as a language under the Mahatma Gandhi University and Kerala University. He also taught Syriac to prelates and priests of different churches. And finally, he used Syriac to speak to several Syriac speaking bishops and priests from several parts of the world.
Archcorepiscopa Kaniyamparambil achen was content with his life. He was happy and peaceful with what he had and was doing. That is where there is a big difference with the priests of today. Many of them feel that there is no use to study, that they can’t use their education or research anywhere in the church and society and no one recognizes their scholarship. A transformation of education into skills could make a whole lot of a difference. Having a skill set is no easy thing because it is what no university or college can give us. We have to carve it out from what we have learnt. I believe Jesus also came down to the level of children, women and men through his skill set. He transformed his knowledge into skills of how to express love and compassion.
I feel very happy and proud to have known and related closely with Kaniyamparambil achen (appachen to some and valiyachan to others). And I also realise a great lesson that he taught me and many others. Education is important but then having skills will make education effective. I hope that we use achen’s tenth memorial anniversary to remind ourselves that we have a lot to give to our church and community. We have to transform whatever we have learnt and read into the common language and common need of people so that both are benefitted. I would like to see young and old priests feeling satisfied with their work and ministry, knowing that they could make use of everything they learnt. Thank you Archcorepiscopa achen. For enrolling us into your university of skills. We have a long way to go, but we will surely reach our goal holding your hand and seeking your guidance. Please intercede for us dear achen.
Above is the youtube link of the sermon for Tanya and Deepak's wedding conducted on December 27, 2021 at the Marth Mariam Church (Valiya Palli), Kothamangalam.
Today is the 5th
death anniversary of Archcorepiscopa Dr. Curien Kaniyamparambil achen, fondly
known as Kaniyamparambil achen. The Simhasana Church in Thiruvalla, where I now
serve, has a long and deep relationship with achen as he touched the lives of
several generations of families here. He was a scholar without parallel in the Jacobite
Syrian Orthodox Church and respected among people from all denominations and
religions. He was known for his scholarship, humility and hospitality. But I would
like to touch upon a topic seldom discussed with regard to achen. He was a priest
who overcame disabilities, the lack of hearing being primary among them.
Looking back, I feel that
we never discuss the struggles and hardships of our ancestors and straight away
harp on their achievements as if no struggles were involved or that they were
so talented that they did not have to try too much. But achen had to overcome
his hearing disability which then expanded to tremor (uncontrollable shaking of
hands) and later on to finding it difficult to walk. Our communities want us to
believe that priests and ministerial candidates are perfect and should be
perfect. Medical check ups before bishop elections are only one example of
this. But the most perfect of ministries are done by imperfect men and women
and achen is a prime example of that.
I have heard other
priests and people making fun of achen’s hearing disability and calling him a
mute (pottan in Malayalam, which also has a derogatory meaning of being an
idiot). All because he could not hear properly and one had to strain their
voice while speaking to him! But instead of being bogged down and faltering
under the weight of ill timed and unjustified jokes, he wrote and spoke like a
man guided by the Holy Spirit. Many of us learnt to speak for long by listening
to him. Achen made his disability into his ability. While we were being
influenced by the sounds and temptations of the world, he sat for hours to read
and write.
His major achievement of
translating the Peshitta Syriac bible into Malayalam was done with these
disabilities. He found the strength to overcome his tremor when he wrote and it
came back when he had to do something else. He offered hundreds of prayers and
services by reading lips and the actions of those around him. For me he has
shown that one does not have to be ashamed of their disability but can rather
embrace it and make it their biggest ability and asset.
I am reminded of St. John
9:3 where Jesus answers his disciples and says that “neither the man nor his
parents have sinned, he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in
him.” The St. George Simhasana Church in Thiruvalla is indebted to achen for
showing us that we can overcome our disabilities and to know that our disabilities
have opened our eyes to see our abilities. There are so many children and youngsters
who think that they are not good enough and wont make the cut or mark in an
examination or test and that they are not perfect enough as their family and
society would want them to be. May God and achen be a source of inspiration so
that we never feel bogged down and dejected. We thank God for his life and
contributions and pray that several people will get the courage and strength to
do their education through achen’s blessed intercession. Dear achen, pray for
us, your beloved children.
Fr. Jerry Kurian is a priest of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church and
an alumnus of UTC. He
joined the United Theological College, Bangalore as lecturer in the Department of
Communication in May, 2011.
Jerry Kurian taught at the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Theological
Seminary (MSOTS) for a period of five years before joining for his
research. He has many years of pastoral experience as well. He functions as the Chairperson of the Department of Communication.
His research interests include new media, the internet, public speaking,
drama, film analysis, communication and mission, alternative media,
alternative journalism, traditional media, social networking, blogs,
communication and women's liberation and communication and climate
change.
Fr. Jerry is serving as priest in the St. Ignatius Jacobite Syrian
Orthodox Church, K.R. Puram, Bangalore. He believes his calling is to
teach and pastor towards an inclusive society where everyone will be a
part of our spiritual expression and everyone will benefit from the
liberative gospel of Jesus Christ. He believes Orthodox Christianity has
many things to offer in the diverse ecumenical and religious
environment of India. He affirms that proper Communication can lead to a
just society.
He worked on the design and implementation of the college web site and is presently maintaining the web site @ http://utc.edu.in/ He also designed and is maintaining and updating the college blog @ http://www.utcbangalore.blogspot.in/
Publications and presentations
Asia Communication Sunday worship order for the WACC Asia
Communication Sunday booklet June, 2010
Presentation on ‘God’s providence and the youth in the
church’ in Yercadu on July 24, 2010.
Meditations for Gurukul Daily Devotion 2011 submitted in
October, 2010.
‘Rights of (Vulnerable) Children and the New Media:
Challenges for the church in India’.
Paper presented in the seminar on ‘Children and their rights: A Theological
exploration’, Chennai on November 15-17, 2010.
‘Examining the claims of the Information Revolution:
Social Revolution or Knowledge Capitalism’. Published in KCC magazine,
November, 2010.
‘The woman and Jesus. A bible study on Luke 7: 36-50’.
Presented for the NCCI workshop on ‘Daring to study scriptures publicly and
sensually’ on 5-2-2011, Chennai. This was later published by NCCI.
‘The essence of Lent: Learning and struggling to bend our
knees, mend our hearts, and lend our hands’. Published in CSI Life magazine,
March, 2011.
Co-edited the WACC Asia Communication Sunday booklet June,
2011.
Poem/song on “Vulnerability in
the midst of Climate Change”, p.8 in Asia Communication Sunday booklet,
Communicating Climate Justice, WACC-AR, June 26, 2011.
Co-edited the Asia Communication
Sunday booklet, 2011.
Bible study for the BTESSC-UTC
workshop on “Online Training Techniques and Different Possibilities” on August
30, 2011.
“Media Ethics, the main line
media and new (social) media: A case for alternative people’s journalism”-
paper presented for the UTC alumni meeting in October, 2011.
Meditations for the Gurukul
Daily Devotion, 2012, GLTC, Chennai, 2012, “Neighbourly Relations and Christian
discipleship”, pp. 289-296.
Article on “Christ the
Revolutionary” published in Assisi Magazine, February-March 2012, Vol.58, Issue
2, Assisi Ashram, Bharananganam, Kottayam, Kerala, pp. 20-22.
Presentation on “Bollywood and
the Construction of Masculinities” in the WCC-SCMI gender training workshop on
March 20, 2012 in UTC, Bangalore.
Article on “Alternative Media
and Journalism as a framework for Communicating Peace” published in the Clark
Journal Of Theology (Theological Reflections on Peace building), Vol. II. No.
1, January- June, 2012.
Article titled
“The Church, Human Sexuality and Challenging the Unchallenged” in the Gurukul
Journal of Theological Studies (Human Sexuality: Theological and Biblical
Reflections), Vol XXIII, No. 2, June, 2012. This was published in December,
2012.
Presentation on “Forms of
spirituality” to 50 ordained pastors from CSI Rayalaseema and Nandyal
Dioceses on July 3, 2012 at Vishranthi Nilayam, Bangalore.
Presented a bible study on
Genesis 4:3-9 titled “Am I the reason for the divide” (A bible study on the
digital divide) for the SCMI Centenary Bible Study workshop on September 6-8,
2012. This was later published by the SCMI and released during its centenary
celebrations.
UTC alumni refresher course
presentation on “Lord Renew the Church: Begin From Me. Empowered by the Spirit
of Renewal: People of God as the True Agents of Change. Internet as a catalyst
for building an alternative community for church renewal” in October, 2012.
Class for youth of Mumbai
diocese of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church on November 16, 17 and 18, 2012
on “Who and what am I for God”.
Took sessions on “Media and
Leadership” and “Cyber ethos and internet de-addiction” for the Fest Zoe 2012
(Ecumenical Youth Leadership Training Camp) with the theme Beyond
Globalization, Youth Culture, Mission
and Leadership on
November 14, 15, 2012. It was conducted by the The CSI Department of Pastoral Concerns and the
Department of Ecumenical Relations & Ecological Concerns in the CSI Synod
Centre, Royapettah, Chennai.
Presented a paper on “The Internet and
Alternative Media for Communicating Peace” for the Faculty Research Seminar in
the UTC on November 28, 2012.
Recorded a Jacobite Syrian Orthodox
worship liturgy cd in English on November 29, 30, 2012. The CD was released on May 5, 2013.
Did a presentation on
“Christian Communication, internet and alternative Communication” and helped in
the sessions on “Reporting and Editing” in the workshop on “Communicating Ecological Justice”, held at CSI Synod Guest House, from 3rd to 5th Dec
2012. It was conducted by WACC and the CSI Synod.
Took a session on “Exodus: A
journey to Togetherness” for the youth of the Bangalore diocese of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox
Church on January 26, 2013.
“Lord
Renew the Church: Begin From Me. Empowered by the Spirit of Renewal: People of
God as the True Agents of Change. Internet as a catalyst for building an
alternative community for church renewal” done for the UTC alumni refresher
course was published in the latest issue of the Masihi Sevak, UTC.
Initiated the discussion for
Dr. Joseph George’s faculty research seminar paper on “Changing patterns of
Relationships in the Cyberage: Challenges and Directions for Ministry in India”
on February 27, 2013.
Attended the NCCI sub
committee meetings on March 6, 7, 2013 in Gurukul, Chennai. Apart from the
Commission on Communication, was also nominated to the Centenary Celebrations
sub committee to prepare a documentary on the NCCI.
Paper presented on “An Ecumenical
View on Churches View of the Eucharist. A Critical Discussion” for theologians
across India in the
Ecumenical Christian Centre (ECC), Bangalore
on May 15, 2013.
Presentation on “Church: The
Sacramental Sign of Hope. The church and internet: Hope in the New Age” for the
CSI Central Kerala Youth Pre Assembly in May, 2013.
Presentation on “Media values in India” to a study group from Edinburgh University
in June, 2013.
Retreat for teachers of the CSI
Institute of Technology, Nagercoil on July 8, 2013.
Presentation on “Women and
Migration” for a CSI Synod programme in Vishranthi Nilayam, Bangalore in July, 2013.
Article on “The Internet and
Alternate Media as Christian Communication” published in the National Council
of Churches in India (NCCI) review in July, 2013.
Skit direction and presentation
for the National Council of Churches in India- World Council of Churches pre
assembly seminar in Bangalore
in August, 2013.
Presentation on “Blogs and
writing” and “The Spirituality of writing” in the Writers’ workshop for pastors
conducted by the United Basel Mission and UTC in Mumbai YMCA on September 16,
2013.
Scripted, directed and edited a
documentary on the United Theological College,
Bangalore in
October, 2013. This was screened in the World Council of Churches Assemby in Busan, South
Korea.
Part of the NCCI centenary
documentary team working on a documentary for the NCCI.
Presentation on “Living with God
in the Contemporary World” for the Tangkhul Christian Fellowship, Bangalore on November 1,
2013.
“Media, Culture and Religion:
Alternative Media as a New Religious Expression in India.” Paper presented to the St.
Olaf College, U.S. students in the Ecumenical Christian Centre, Whitefield, Bangalore on November 5,
2013.
“Christian perspective on media
and youth advocacy for social change.” Paper presented to college students from
all over India at the
Student Christian Movement India Centre in Bangalore on November 15, 2013.
Paper on “Orkut, Facebook,
Tumblr: What next?” presented for the National Ecumenical Youth Pre-assembly of
the NCCI in Goa via video conference on Nov
18, 2013.
Chapter on “Media Ethics” in
December, 2013 for Sunday school students of the Kottayam diocese of the
Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church in their book for senior Sunday school
students.
Presentation on “Atrocities
against Women” in ECC, Bangalore
on Feb, 2014.
Article on the Patriarch Ignatius
Zakka I Iwas titled “Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas: The Equinox on which the
Church rode three decades” published in the Malankara World Journal in March,
2014.
Paper presented on “Ecclesiology in
the Cyber Age” in the NCCI seminar held in Bangalore on June 26, 2014.
Paper presented on “Informed Prodigy
or Juvenile Criminal” in the National workshop on Crimes by Juveniles in India
on July 30, 2014.
“Theatre as a pedagogical framework
for theological education”. Faculty seminar presented on October 29, 2014.
"Media, Culture and
Religion". Presentation in ECC for the St. Olaf Seminary students on
November 6, 2014.
Main speaker for the District Youth
Conference of the Marthoma Church in Bangalore on May 14-17, 2015.
Paper presented on “Media and
Spirituality: A journey of the church into the lives of people” on June
27, 2015 in the Marthoma Seminary, Kottayam, Kerala.
Paper presented on “Religion in the
Market Place: The Changing environment of Women in the Church” in the National
Seminar on Role of Women in the Christian Church: An ecumenical perspective,
conducted by BTESSC and the MSOT seminary in the MSOTS, Ernakulam, Kerala on
July 14, 2015.
Presentation made to St. Olaf students on "Media and Spirituality" on
October 26, 2015 at the Ecumenical Christian Centre, Whitefield,
Bangalore.
Main speaker for the Marthoma Church Regional Youth Conference, Delhi on November 10-13, 2015.
Produced and acted in the College play "The Nation of refugees" on December 3, 2015 in UTC.
Paper titled “Religion in the market place: The
changing environment of women in the church” published in the Bangalore
Theological Forum, Bangalore, Vol. XLVII, No.2, December, 2015.
Produced and acted in the play “The Nation of the
Refugees” in an entire new location and format on March 4 and 5, 2016.
Paper titled “Theatre as a pedagogical expression
for theological education” published in the Hekamtho Theological Journal Vol 1,
No. 2, MSOT Seminary, Ernakulam, Kerala in March, 2016.
Presented a paper on “The Theatrical expression of
the Eucharist” in the National seminar for Theological Students in ECC,
Whitefield, Bangalore on May 18, 2016.
Presented a paper on "Role of Media in Environmental Justice" in the National seminar on "Environmental Justice: Issues and Challenges." on July 6, 2016.
Took two sessions for the youth on the theme "Get up: Don't be afraid (Matthew 17:7)" at the International Youth Conference of the Assyrian Church of the East on July 22, 2016.
Presented a paper on "Maoists and Social Media" in the National seminar on "The Red Corridor and Maoism: Issues and Challenges"on August 19, 2016.
Took a session on "Women in the Church" for the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Bangalore diocese women's fellowship one day meeting on August 27, 2016.
Gave two talks on the theme "New Creation in Christ" for the first youth conference of the CSI Malabar diocese on September 12, 13, 2016 and took a session on Internet de-addiction on September 12, 2016.
Preached in the Naga Christian Fellowship Bangalore for their Power House service on September 25, 2016.
Presented a paper on "Transforming
discipleship in a changing nation: Social media as a tool for ministering to
the youth in church" for the UTC alumni refresher meeting on October 19, 2016.
Has been writing quite
regularly in a personal blog on social, religious and cultural affairs @ www.jerryachensworld.blogspot.in
Priest in the St. Ignatius
Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, K.R. Puram, Bangalore. Responsibility includes leading
worship, preaching and taking classes for the youth on Sunday. Has also been
taking sessions on “Communication in the family” for the pre-marriage
counselling courses held by the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church diocese in Bangalore”.
Phone: +91-9483966951
E mail: jerryachen@gmail.com
Mary is a very important name in the church and it includes St. Mary, first among saints, St. Mary Magdalene and St. Mary the sister of St. Martha among others. Mary brings to mind several things. It is a name that the church will never be able to wipe out. The name brings not just assurance, hope and obedience but rebellion, sacrifice and victory from oppression. Along with Mary John Akhouri who has managed to wake up the senses of the church and civil society in Kerala, India and the world, is Mary Roy who single handedly fought against an oppressive law and a patriarchal church and society which supported the law.
We are still looking at the merit and faults of denying a decent burial to Mary John Akhouri in the church of her choice and as per her last wish. But there is also another interesting aspect to this time and year. 2016 is an important date because it comes exactly 100 years after the act of 1916 which was discriminatory towards Syrian Christian women in India because it gave only 1/4th the share of ancestral property going to the son, to the daughter or Rs 5,000 whichever was less. In 1984 Mary Roy who also belonged to a Syrian Christian family and was separated from her husband and was going to be evicted from her house in Ooty, filed a case in a court of law, which came out with a favourable verdict in 1986. This was followed by several other cases which culminated in the 2010 verdict of the court granting the right to one part of the property to Mary Roy. 100 years after a discriminatory law and 30 years after a favourable court verdict for Syrian Christian women. This is what 2016 offers and the passing away of Mary John Akhouri and her wish to be buried in her parish brings to focus not just inter religious weddings, church membership and funerals but the key factor of rights of women.
Venu Menon writes that the Supreme Court verdict brought about by Mary Roy’s court case brought the Syrian Christians under the more liberal Indian Succession Act, 1921. “The judicial order sent shock waves through the community, especially the patriarchal authority that influenced the lives of Christians. The verdict not only gave the female progeny equal rights in the father's property, it did so with retrospective effect. The retrospective clause promised to unleash chaos in the community. Every Christian household faced the prospect of an insurrection from within. All past land transactions became open to question. All titles to property derived from intestate succession now stood invalidated. There could be no precise estimate of the number of women who suffered injustice under the earlier law. The Supreme Court judgement provided an instant remedy.”
The church and the state tried to stall and circumvent the court order and has been successful to a great extend with changes in will and daughters agreeing to sign legal documents mentioning they have received their share. The court order should be read from the perspective of daughters being sent off from their house in the hope that they will never return. It is a once for all settlement. Perhaps this was what happened with Mary John Akhouri. Her being sent off or her going on her own was the part of the societal and church sponsored programme of making sure that the daughter of the house was settled and sent away. Mary John Akhouri’s wish to be buried in her mother parish can and must be seen as her return for her rights which were denied to her earlier. Even if she personally got something from her family her return is the return of a Syrian Christian woman for an equal share of the property of her family which includes a space in church and the cemetery as well. Here I am again sympathetic to the priest in charge as his denial must be seen as the denial of the church to accept someone like Mary Roy and her fight for her rights and the effort to circumvent any court order given otherwise.
The court order giving equal rights over ancestral property to women in the family was always fought by the church and the political class as well because they thought that the ruling patriarchal class would be offended if they did not circumvent the court verdict. It was also a case of holding on to power by the influential class of people in society. The church still has a chance to redeem itself by first of all accepting what Mary Roy, a Syrian Christian herself has done for the emancipation and equal rights of women. She should be honored for this fight and struggle that she has undertaken. Her fight and case should not be seen as anti-church but as a struggle for the church and its constituency of women. What the church has not done for various reasons was taken up and done by a church member and this should be appreciated by the church. The church finds itself at the cross roads looking at itself on what it means by equality, justice and peace. Is it only a slogan or is it something which suggests that all who are in the church are its members and deserve equal treatment from the church? In the Mary John Akhouri analysis it will help church members and others to understand that her burial is not just a burial of a church member who was away and therefore had given up her membership status but that she was a woman of the church who was collectively wronged by a patriarchal society and church together. Her wish to be buried in Kumarakom is her coming back and her journey for the justice which was denied to her because of a discriminatory law of 1916 which still seems to be hanging like a mill stone around the neck of church administrators.
The church and all of us together must understand that we have been hand in glove with all of this. We have not considered the work of women like Mary Roy and Mary John Akhouri because they were women and they tried to change the status quo of gender roles prevalent in the church. One did it through a life long legal battle to get a right to her ancestral property and the other did it through an end of life wish to gain access and right to her ancestral tomb and thus property.
In Numbers 27 the daughters of Zelophehad Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the LORD, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.” So Moses brought their case before the LORD, and the LORD said to him, “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them. The five daughters of Zelophehad are the women who makes God change God’s rules. They go to Moses and the others and when Moses asks God, God tells Moses to give them the inheritance to their father’s property and name even though that was not the norm.
The year 2016 is a good year to remind ourselves about our commitment to women and that we owe them their inheritance which they will come to claim at a time they choose. Mary John Akhouri chose now and chose her way to do that. Mary Roy has already brought about a change through her struggles. Now it is time for us to go to God like Moses did and ask God what indeed we must do.
In a church which tries to express itself in the 21st century it is important for all to know who a priest who leads a church can and should be. This is important for the priest to minister well to the priest’s flock and for the flock to understand what to expect and how to work with the priest in a particular church. It is also important that the clergy and laity work together in the church so that everyone in church and society benefits from the policies of the church.
Looking at the clergy from the perspective of the laity is also important. It is this Orthodox understanding of the "laity" that discloses the real meaning and function of clergy. In the Orthodox Church clergy is not above laity or opposed to it. First of all, strangely as it may seem, the basic meaning of the term clergy is very close to that of laity. Clergy comes from "clerus" which means the "part of God". "Clergy" means that part of humankind that belongs to God, has accepted God's call, and has dedicated itself to God. In this initial meaning the whole Church is described as "clergy"— part or inheritance of God. But gradually the term "clergy" was limited to those who fulfilled a special ministry within the People of God, who were especially set apart to serve on behalf of the whole community.
This association of the clergy and laity is important to keep the clergy grounded in the grace and mercy of God instead of always talking of priesthood in terms of privilege that certain people enjoy over others. Pope Francis in his sermon to priests made a very critical observation which is valid for priests all over the world. He requested the priests to strive for a “conversion of our institutional mindset,” because if priests don’t showcase God’s mercy, they become something “bizarre and counterproductive.” A priest cannot forget that the basis of priesthood is the very humble grounding on the mercy of God. Priests would do very well for the church if they can come out of this institutional mind set mentioned by the Pope. It is not what we cannot do, but what we can do which makes a priest a listener, helper, motivator and provider for someone seeking the time of a priest.
The Pope continues “If we start by feeling compassion for the poor and the outcast, surely we will come to realize that we ourselves stand in need of mercy.” A priest will definitely go through several forms of crisis in pastoral ministry and family life. This should not be the reason to jump on the laity but a reason to love them more because our journey in search of God’s mercy should make us be merciful and reflect God’s mercy to others. That is why the Pope reminds us to “show mercy” in order to receive it. He makes this clearer by saying “The priest who has scarce pity for sinners is only half a priest. These vestments I wear are not what make me a priest; if I don’t have charity in my heart, I am not even a Christian.” The Pope uses the gospel passage of the woman caught in adultery. When Jesus encounters her, he’s asked “should she be stoned or not?” “He did not rule, he did not apply the law. He played dumb, and then turned to something else,” Pope Francis said, adding that in doing this Jesus started a process in the heart of a woman who needed to hear, “Neither do I condemn you.” It will do well in this era for a priest to understand the needs of a congregation and make it the best place available in an area to come to and be in. It should be a place where a congregation member can be herself or himself. A church will become a dark, judgmental place if the priest is judgmental.
Sometimes long years in ministry can slacken a priest and lead to disinterest in being a spiritual counselor and guide for the congregation. The Pope has a clear piece of advice here. He says “A shepherd after the heart of God has a heart sufficiently free to set aside his own concerns. He does not live by calculating his gains or how long he has worked: he is not an accountant of the Spirit, but a Good Samaritan who seeks out those in need,” the Pope said in a June 3 homily. “For the flock he is a shepherd, not an inspector, and he devotes himself to the mission not fifty or sixty percent, but with all he has.” “In seeking, he finds, and he finds because he takes risks. He does not stop when disappointed and he does not yield to weariness. Indeed, he is stubborn in doing good, anointed with the divine obstinacy that loses sight of no one,” the Pope continued. “Not only does he keep his doors open, but he also goes to seek out those who no longer wish to enter them.”
Even young priests could back track from their ministerial objectives because of the pressure they may have from seasoned and established seniors and lay leaders who may not agree with the free flow of grace and mercy. The Pope gives hope here by saying “Woe to the shepherds who privatise their ministry.” A shepherd after the heart of God does not protect his own comfort zone; he is not worried about protecting his good name; he will be slandered like Jesus. But rather, without fearing criticism, he is disposed to take risks in seeking to imitate his Lord. Blessed are you when they insult you, when they persecute you,” he said. A good shepherd excludes none of his flock and does “not await greetings and compliments” but is the first one who reaches out to others, listening patiently to their problems and accompanying them with compassion. “He does not scold those who wander off or lose their way, but is always ready to bring them back and to resolve difficulties and disagreements. He is a man (sic) who knows how to include,” the Pope said.The final exhortation of the Pope is passionate and he reminds priests “Dear priests, in the Eucharistic celebration we rediscover each day our identity as shepherds. In every Mass, may we truly make our own Christ’s words: "This is my body, which is given up for you”.
This is also true in the Orthodox church. Although Orthodox clergy are given considerable honor by the Orthodox Church, each ordination is also viewed as a kind of martyrdom. The Orthodox cleric agrees to be a servant of both Jesus Christ and of the people of the church; many of the vestments are intended to remind him of this. Much is expected of the clergy, both practically and spiritually; consequently, they also have a special place in the litanies that are prayed, asking God to have mercy on them.
The Priestly Commandment in most Orthodox churches include to teach people by good example and inspiring sermons, caring for the congregation as a father not a hireling, to work for achieving the food of eternal life which does not perish, rather than that which perishes, continuous growth in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The priest must escape from the love of money which is the source of all evil deeds, must be aware of drunkenness and bodily lusts as it darkens the enlightened mind and converts a man to a lustful animal, must avoid envy and strife, unkindness, mockery and pride, so that he does not lose and destroy his service, must avoid gossip, boasting, hypocrisy and pretence, for they are terrible vices which cause problems and make people stumble. The priest must also avoid being double faced, double tongued, and false witnessing, must not frighten or dominate people, but rather, be compassionate and patient, must love God and all creation with all his heart and soul, must possess the virtues of righteousness, mercy, chastity, humbleness, content, contrition, endurance and patience, resembling his master and teacher Christ Jesus in His virtues and good behavior. The priest must not deviate from the true faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who is the foundation of religion and by whom all Christians are saved, must treat the congregation of God with compassion and skill, leading them by the tenderness of Christ, endurance and compassion, must care to acquire the first Christian virtue, which is love, by the sincerity of conscience and true witnessing, must care for the Holy Mysteries, especially the sacrament of Communion which are the Holy Body and Precious Blood of Christ Lord, and watch these treasures and gems as the cherubim guarded the tree of life (Genesis 3:24).
It is quite clear. Who is a priest? A priest is a person who serves, is merciful to others, looks at life as sacrifice, looks beyond an institutional mind set, does not judge but is rather a shepherd, and looks forward to martyrdom. It is our prayer that the church gets more such priests for ministry.
The inevitable has happened. A revered priest who completed a century on this earth has passed away or rather passed on to paradise. Everyone knew that one day it had to happen and yet the void, blankness and sadness felt is immeasurable. It is but natural that one who is born has to die but when that person happens to be the Archcorepiscopa it is a bit difficult to accept and one is left bargaining with God to change destiny.
Now that Archcorepiscopa Kaniyamparambil leaves behind memories it is also a time to identity what achen wants from us in the course of his final journey from earth. He was a man of faith and a practical man who gave a lot of importance to relationships. He loved to see us during an engagement, wedding, prayer and then hold our hand, ask about news in our lives and look ahead as if showing that he was making the information received settle down into his well oiled brain. The Archcorepiscopa wanted to be loved, affirmed, respected and accepted. But it was never a one way expectation but rather a required minimal requisite from our part for the countless ways in which he loved, affirmed, respected and accepted us. As we visit to see his mortal remains we can touch any part of the bed to keep the spirit of community which binded us with the Archcorepiscopa to be kept alive.
Kaniyamparambil Archcorepiscopa prayed for several miracles to take place in the lives of his congregation. He used the relics with him to touch people and pray for them. He believed that the body and blood of Christ gave life to the lifeless and brought back the dead to life. Many people are not aware that the Archcorepiscopa went to visit a new born baby who was declared dead at birth in one hospital in Thiruvalla. The Archcorepiscopa undeterred and unfazed by the hopeless situation told the family that he would bless the baby with Holy oil. The baby came to life to the joy of the family. Such incidents are many and lot of people have benefitted from the prayers of the Archcorepiscopa. He would be happy to leave behind that legacy of faith among those who are close to him and know him.
Archcorepiscopa Kaniyamparambil would also like people to maintain peace and harmony in their lives. He was known for having a good relationship with priests and people belonging to various denominations and religions. His close friends were priests from other denominations and religions. He never instigated people to commit violence and take revenge. He was willing to forgive and let go and he will expect the same from us. Perhaps it was his scholarly approach which made him such or it was his pastoral foundation which was responsible. Whatever it was he inspires us to do the same. Finding problems in everything is easy. But finding good in everything is a special calling.
Appachen as many called him out of love considering him as their own grandfather and great grand father used his talents to the maximum. He didn’t believing in allowing our talents to be buried underground and letting them stay there. It is interesting that although the church and many of us consider the Archcorepiscopa as a scholar of the church, he did not do so himself. His works are interesting. No work of his was the best he could ever produce but it was the best he could produce on a particular day. Success for him was measured not on the basis of what we had inside us but what we could produce with meager resources. He understood that he was successful not because there were no other priests in the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church but because he took a risk in doing something with whatever less he possessed. He would definitely want us to do the same. He would want us to write with whatever little we possess in the hope that God will transform it into something great and useful for others.
Kaniyamparambil Archcorepiscopa’s life was one which was relentlessly lived in the understanding that each day had a value of its own and yet each day had certain responsibilities to complete. Despite his high stature he kept praying every single day at the appointed time, being also careful to intercede to Mother Mary and several saints. It was his understanding that time would pass only if every single second in the clock arm would tick, which was also our own responsibility in this world. He saw this together with the God given gift to think and plan a sermon, prayer, book or programme. He stayed alive because his mind was more fresh than a youngster, always alert and thinking about various things and permutations in its entirety. He would want us to be thinking beings, looking at the enumerable possibilities of what we can do instead of living resigned to what we assume our fate to be.
When it is time for Elijah to go in 2 Kings 2:1-14, Elisha his disciple says “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” Usually this is what we would want someone who has to go say. But here Elijah knew he had to go but Elisha simply could not let go. He finally gets Elijah’s mantle, which interestingly in modern day usage is also responsibility. He wanted to get double the share of Elijah’s spirit. Elijah replies and says that Elisha has asked for a hard thing. Yet if he sees him being taken up he will get it. The mantle of Elijah falls upon Elisha and he uses it to strike the water and say “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” The water parts. This passing away of Archcorepiscopa Curien Kaniyamparambil is not an end but a test of our faith to take up his mantle and see God’s glory being manifested now.
Are we willing to take upon the mantle of Archcorepiscopa Curien Kaniyamparambil? Are we willing to ask “Where is the Lord, the God of Archcorepiscopa Kaniyamparambil?” The blessed man has left behind several disciples and it is our responsibility to rise up to the occasion and work for the church and society. Women and men of the church and all walks of life have been inspired by his life. The Archcorepiscopa knows that it is the time for him to leave as it is decided by God. But can we in our inspirational grief say “As long as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you”? It has been a blessing to know the Archcorepiscopa and I say at this time with all my heart and soul “I will not leave you.”
(The picture was taken on July 23, 2015 with Archcorepiscopa Curien Kaniyamparambil blessing the St. Ignatius JSOC, K.R. Puram, Bangalore with the relic of St. Ignatius Elias III. We bow down before the greatness of this humble father.)
Church has to be inclusive in every respect. Theological differences with regard to communion and beliefs always were a part of the church. But bringing people to church and making them feel the fellowship of acceptance, love and caring is what the church stood for and has to stand for. It is not in judging and keeping away but in accepting and including that the church stands apart from an organization or group. In Acts 8:26-38 Philip talks to the Ethiopian eunuch and they get into the water as a sign of their acceptance of Jesus.
The Jacobite church like many other churches has been stuck in the non-availability of a neutral space where any Jacobite Christian can come and pray. The net neutrality debate which was going on a month ago was about how the internet cannot be controlled and made into a place for a few but must be left free for people to come to and get what they want. Making churches language specific limit the coming in of our very own community members as they don’t understand what is going on but have no choice on offer before them. The liturgy as such used is very meaningful but unfortunately no one can understand very liturgical Malayalam. This questions whether the church can offer a platform of neutrality which the church should stand for and which will offer meaning to the church members. We are after all called to take care of everyone. Acts 20:28 says “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
It is an uncontested yet usually undisclosed secret that many members, young and old are keeping away from church because they do not understand the prayers. It should also be noted that there are people who flock to church to keep in touch with a culture that is highly being diluted both inside and outside Kerala. In this context it should be noted that making the liturgy used understandable and comprehensible is of utmost importance as otherwise the prayers will not make any effect on the congregation in a particular place. 1 Corinthians 12:14 speaks “For the body does not consist of one member but of many.” Thus languages that are used and understood by people should replace one language whenever the need is felt. This is not to undermine a language but to say that the belief, faith and theology of the church are beyond any one language.
English could be one such language which can be used. At the same time other South Indian and North Indian languages should also be tried whenever it is needed and meaningful for the congregation. This will in essence be location specific and cannot be dictated by anyone. In South India, English becomes one language which can be used for a congregation which is multi lingual. English by default is a unifying language in India because as of yet we do not have a language accepted by people as national. Hence English services should be encouraged and started in cities and towns and this should be made a space where people can come to be part of a Syrian Orthodox service. Such spaces are simply not available at the moment. It is very interesting to note what Dalit ideologue Kancha Ilaiah says while discussing Dalit empowerment in India “My way of equality is English education. Even if 10% of our children got English education, the intellectual field would have changed. This country would have changed.” Upward mobility of people coming to church should be taken into consideration while doing worship services.
In those lines the Bangalore diocese of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church under the leadership of its bishop H.G. Osthatheos Mor Pathros is starting an English congregation named the St. John’s English Chapel. Unlike how it was seen many decades ago, this is not anymore an experiment but a need of the hour. It is to bring people who are not going to church due to various reasons, back to church. It is also to offer other people who are already going to a church, the option of going to a church where they can understand completely what is going on. The Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church definitely affirms mystery as an integral part of its worship. But that does not mean that the worship in its entirety should not be understood by those attending it! It means that there are parts of the communion which go beyond human understanding.
The call for all to assemble and come to church is beautifully put in the song after the Nicene creed in the worship service.
Mercy here is full and free,
Come, beloved, come and see,
Give the kiss of peace divine,
Hearts sincere in love combine.
The success of such a worship service depends on several factors; the actual interest of the people being the last of the lot. It depends rather on how the service is done. Knowing every language is a skill and it should be studied to an extend where it can be used so that people who listen to it understand what it is. “It sounds like Greek to me” is a usage that one has not understood a word which was used because it was either not communicated properly or it did not make any meaning to the person who heard it. Similarly using a language is a skill which has to be developed in all seriousness and with great effort. Secondly, the success of such a service also depends on whether people know about it and whether those conducting it have made an honest effort to inform people of its existence. Clubbed along with this are the timings of such a service, continuity, team work and location.
Considering all such things one also faces the question “Are we ready?” When will we be ready? Another decade or two, five years? Maybe then it will be of no consequence anymore. A 40 odd year old man I talked to told me that he goes to one of the new churches offering a host of services. I asked him whether he was happy? He said that he actually was not. He did not agree with what was being preached but the only reason he continued to go there was that he understood to a great extend what the preacher was saying even though he did not agree with it. Will such people flock back to a congregation like this? Only time will tell. The only thing we can gauge now is the feelings of children, teenagers, youth and even those hovering around their half century of life. This then is not an effort to count numbers and then say this is a success but an effort in the right direction understanding the needs of people.
The church has always stood for the outcasts and the discriminated. The church is by itself struggling still with the issue of casteism but one should also realize that there has been a more internal problem of seeing as outcasts people from within as well. There are several inter caste marriages happening in the church. The couple starts living as one but then realize that there is nothing on offer for them from the church because one of them and sometimes both of them cannot understand the language used for service. A service such as this is meant also for such couples who have found themselves at the cross roads, having to figure out for themselves how they have to continue as Christians and as a Christian family.
Only time will tell whether a decision is right or wrong. But some decisions can never go wrong. They will only be perceived as wrong. I have a strong feeling that this decision by the Bangalore diocese of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church, which has received consent from the Holy Episcopal Synod in India, will fall in the latter category.
Palm Sunday is perhaps one of the most popular pictures that we may remember from austerity and popular memory. The picture of women and men standing and holding palm leaves fills up the entire frame due to the leaves of various sizes. The picture also reminds one of an entire army standing in anticipation for the orders to carry out the mission. In a world consumed by the thought that power and force will bring about victory and conquer insignificant others into submission, the main stream picture of Palm Sunday may strongly bend us over to a similar line of thought.
But far from that, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem should be seen as the courageous and single minded journey of one man in the hope that he could turn around popular notion into correct notion and unruly crowds into peaceful ones. Two symbols suggest very clear meanings about what Palm Sunday should be for each one of us and why Hosanna is not a war cry but a yearning for peace.
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey has been interpreted to already suggest that this was a symbol of humility and humbleness even though it could also suggest that his journey on a donkey (colt) could also be a sign that he was being welcomed just like a king. Two bible passages which throw light on this are Matthew 21:1-9 and Zechariah 9:9-10. In the gospel of St. Matthew unlike other gospels, Jesus tells his disciples to go to the village where they will find a donkey and her colt (or a colt). This suggests a she donkey and in all likelihood her off spring in the form of a colt (male). The symbolism is strongly suggestive of a nursing mother who stands for life, peace and sustenance. Zechariah 9:9 after announcing the arrival of the king says in verse 10 “ He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
John Dominic Crossan puts this beautifully by suggesting ‘Matthew wants two animals, a donkey with her little colt beside her, and that Jesus rides “them” in the sense of having them both as part of his demonstration’s highly visible symbolism. In other words, Jesus does not ride a stallion or a mare, a mule or a male donkey, and not even a female donkey. He rides the most unmilitary mount imaginable: a female nursing donkey with her little colt trotting along beside her.'
Both passages suggest a clear message of a messiah who comes for peace and stands for peace in the midst of violence and death. The symbolism of palm leaves adds to the message from the two passages. It signified heaven, victory and peace. It continues to be a symbol of hope and resurrection. The picture of the multitude in church holding palm leaves is a picture that arms, power and violence can all be left at the way side and instead the palm leaf of hope can become a significant symbol against all forms of violence and force.
The palm leaf is both straight and willing to bend, willing to make adjustments so that a common good can be attained. It is not wavering faith but unwavering commitment being expressed through a grounded expression of theology, that come what may, we will stand our ground and continue this struggle for justice and peace. The Palm Sunday procession with palm leaves becomes the anti thesis of the republic day procession with arms. Even as the arms bring about awe and fear, the palm leaves bring about awe and faith. It is a faith that Jesus will accompany us in every struggle and there can be no end to the struggle with the leader Jesus arising like a Phoenix bird, dying only to rise again in full strength. The struggle does not die out by his death but rather gains more strength and momentum to carry on with multiplied strength and commitment.
The Palm Sunday liturgy of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church has a prayer which says that God becomes small and low so that we may become holy. Jesus brings himself down so that humans may be exalted.
The first Kolo-Quqoyo further says
“Get stones and receive the One Who comes to Jerusalem
Children of Israel were asked by the oldest there
For receiving they picked stones and went to Him
On seeing Him; olive branches, instead, they carried,
And shouted, “Welcome the King of Israel;
Halleluiah, blessed is Your coming”
The young and children who were instigated by the elders to carry stones as Jesus enters, by themselves, drop the stones and carry olive branches instead, suggesting that the way of the world is not a way at all. The children and the young realise that when Jesus comes in seated on a she donkey and colt, he is suggesting to them that the only way forward is to give peace a chance.
Palm Sunday and the palm leaves become so significant in our world today. Holding the palm leaves and keeping them home remind us that we can’t resort to violence against the poor and helpless but rather should keep looking at the leaves as a symbol to follow and emulate Jesus. One has to die in order to resurrect with full force. Dying is indeed victory. The palm leaves and the spirit of Hosanna should remind our household that there can be no domestic violence, disrespect of spouses, mistreating parents, abusing and beating children, humiliating those who work for us, cheating others for short term gains and driving away people from God by using force and violent means. “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
The Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, H.H. Moran Mor Iganatius Zakka I Iwas is no more. The Holy Father who lead his sheep for 34 years is now a memory. As funeral service dates and the place of the funeral have been fixed and as people are waiting to be a part of the funeral, in person and online, one must bring grief, loss and confusion into perspective to come to terms with what has happened.
The patriarch did have health issues which were also linked with age but no one expected an end now. So much that many faithful in India are still waking up to the fact that their spiritual leader won’t be coming to India again to meet them and share his love with them. His passing away is a loss in definite terms to everyone who knew him personally, those who saw him from far and those who read and heard about him.
Grief has to have a way of being dealt with and when a national or church leader dies we try to deal with the grief that we have. The Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas is and was seen as a spiritual father to all the faithful in the church. The grief we are trying to deal with today is the grief of having lost a father. Seeing pictures of the patriarch in church and even in houses has been a constant for these 34 years. It was the feeling that when you entered the two common and most warm places in your life, your Holy Father was there to greet you. That was a constant and this removal of the constant becomes one of the significant aspects of the grief felt. It is like saying that wherever we went and whatever we did, we could come back to our house and to our church and see this familiar face which would put us at ease.
The loss felt at this point of time is of having lost the person who stood as the symbol of leadership for everyone. He was the sublime face of what is and what isn’t. Losing out on this face and the memories which come with it, make us feel that we have lost something so deep, committed and fixated in our hearts and minds that we cannot replace this with anything else. One has only one father and somehow another face cannot replace this immediately. The throne of the patriarch and the authority of the patriarch go beyond the personality of the patriarch but never the less the personality touches us in more ways than the throne or the authority can.
The confusion for the people is what happens next? Who will be the next patriarch and will that person be able to fulfill all that the Patriarch Ignatius Zakka Iwas has been to all? This confusion adds to the grief of having lost our father. It is the pain of uncertainty coupled with loss that makes grief even so much more hurtful. Many of us have already experienced this with the passing away of our parent/s. This puts us back in time to a place when we lost many things and it took time to get back to our normal lives. This time our mind tells us that we are repeating this feeling in our lives.
There are several things that give us solace and hope at this time though. The patriarch was born in an ordinary family and had an ordinary life style. He joined the seminary like any other youngster who wanted to serve the church. Iraq where he was born and Syria where he then lived went through severe strife and violence. The violence in Syria continues till date. He has had to deal with Muslim Christian tensions which come with living in the same place and having a shared culture but different belief. He had to bear witness to the migration that people in his church had to undertake from their own land. He has watched the schism that affected his church in India. In essence, the patriarch watched not just the best of what happened in the church but the worst of what happened. His enthronement and period as Patriarch went through suffering and violence. But he withstood all of this with utmost sincerity and passion for service. At this time of grief this gives us constant solace and hope. The Patriarch stood his ground no matter what and so will we, because we are after all his followers.
Such problems in his own church did not deter him from being ecumenical. He fostered good relationships with other churches and set forth a great precedent in church relations by coming together with Pope John Paul II to sign a historic agreement of acknowledging the misunderstandings that crept into the churches and looking at the way forward. His straight and up right relationship with various sister churches and with member churches in the WCC showed time and again that he was as ecumenical as a Patriarch could be and one should be proud of that.
His scholarship and academic interest lead him to pen several articles and a study of these articles exposes the openness and just theology of the Patriarch. His article on women in the church is a reminder to the people in the church that God does not take sides and if at all takes sides with the weak in society. His articles therefore become a good resource for further research and study. Perhaps his basic seminary education in Syria and his further education in the U.S. together with his experience as an observer in the Second Vatican Council and his association with the World Council of Churches as one of its president’s gave him the openness to see theology and doctrine as it is instead of seeing it as how he wanted to see it. His wish to have a place of education and research lead him to build the seminary in Syria called the Mor Ephrem Seminary and Monastery at Ma’arrat Saydanaya in Syria, where incidentally he will be buried. It further made him remark that seminary and theological education in the church was very important and hence the church needed theologically educated priests. His love for the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Theological Seminary is well known and his penchant for a system and a framework made him do things in the way that the Indian church wanted it at times. Scholarships in the Patriarch’s name were made available not just to Syrian Orthodox candidates but also to Orthodox Syrian, Marthoma and other Syrian church denominations. I think it wouldn’t be far fetched to say that other sister church denominations made use of foreign scholarships in comparison to our own church members. But we can see this as a good approach that the Patriarch followed in which he chose to give away a scholarship instead of seeing it go waste. The gloominess and vacuum of his departure can be made up to an extend by encouraging theological education and research in the Syrian Orthodox Church in India. We would be honouring the Holy Father by such a distinguished decision and move.
The Patriarch’s passing away on March 21 also signifies a special day, when usually on the 20th or 21st , night and day are almost on equal terms. It is also a day used to calculate the Easter date every year. The Easter date is calculated as the first Sunday after the full moon occurring on or after the Vernical Equinox or Spring Equinox, that is, after March 21. The Spring Equinox signifies that the son is betrayed, dies and is resurrected to attain eternal life. March 21 is seen as important by many religions. The Parsis commemorate it as the beginning of spring and the beginning of the New Year. It is also seen as the time of the fight between good and evil and of good emerging victorious. His passing away at a well placed time could suggest something hope filled to the church suffering from civil war in Syria.
A leader is a leader not just by the position he or she occupies but of what the leader makes of that position. The Patriarch vociferously expressed his expression for his flock. His four visits to India and his numerous visits around the world to meet people in the church were moments of the leader reaching out to his people. This was despite his flailing health and weak knees. Anyone who visited him felt the warmth and hospitality of a human being more than a leader. This raised his stature among the people and attracted people to him. One church member grieved the passing away of the patriarch and reminisced of his experience with the Patriarch saying that he felt a positive energy when he stood next to the Patriarch. His sadness was not just of the passing away but of the thought that he could not experience this positive energy anymore. This positive energy can make people attracted to a leader to the point that they feel assured and confident in the presence of such a leader. The Patriarch managed time and again to become a soothing presence to his people and to those who met him.
The Patriarch managed to bring more people to the church by seeing the change in times. Within the traditional understanding of the church he understood that when ordinary people want to come to the church, the doors of the church cannot be closed completely to them. This may have prompted the Patriarch to accept two churches from South America into the Syrian Orthodox fold. The first number about 100,000 and are from Brazil and the second number a whopping 800,000 and are from Guatemala. Such openness may also provide hope for many others all over the world. Whatever was the reason for the Patriarch to do this, the positive ramifications of this will provide more vigour to the church and prove that the church is much beyond specific race and tradition.
To sum up, the Patriarch Ignatius Zakka Iwas has managed to be a Patriarch and a true Holy Father for all the faithful. His spirituality, theology, and above all humanity have been something which the coming generations can emulate. Even as we grieve, the Holy Father has given us the hope of spring and resurrection. He has made us look forward to the rest of lent with renewed vigour, faith and hope. More than grief, he has reminded us of a new beginning and a fresh start. This is centred on the faith in the resurrection of Christ Jesus our Lord. Go in peace our Holy Father and keep praying for us.
(The author is the small boy in between the then Patriarch Ignatius Yacoub III and the present Catholicose Baselios Thomas I.)
The end of the three day lent has brought us to the point of asking, “now what?” Three days of lent and even conventions in certain places has brought about a spiritual awakening in many people. But for some it remains the same as any day. Conventions, sermons, retreats and prayers do not necessarily bring about any change.
Why should it? Some may ask. Maybe this was the same way Jonah slept in the ship even as the others were terrified by the mighty storm. We see this in Jonah 1:6 which says "The captain came and said to him, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.” Even as everyone else was thinking about whether they would have a future, Jonah was sleeping. It could have been because he had so much faith in God that he knew nothing would happen. But it could also have been that he was not bothered about what would happen to others. He was against God’s wish to go to Nineveh and preach salvation to them. So the saving of others was not on his top priority list.
Our lents are also taking on this colour and shape. We are turning out to be people who think just for ourselves and about ourselves. Our sense of justice is limited to us as individuals, and our family, community and church members as groups. It does not stretch much beyond this. It could be the reason why the Christian community has so many prayers, lents and conventions and yet is not doing enough to make a difference in fighting injustice in the country and the world.
This talks volumes about our sense of true morality and justice as some tool we use to hit out at others instead of helping others. The call of the sailors in the ship is interesting. The calamity does not differentiate between them and so each person is asked to call upon their own God. Jonah is unaware of this exercise and he has to be awakened from his slumber. Coming to think about it many of us may be suffering from the same sleepiness that Jonah had. This is almost a self imposed, forced sleep, a closing of the eyes to show that we do not know what is happening.
Sleep is good for the body and essential for a healthy mind and body. But over sleeping is not. It could lead to various complications. One of the reasons for over sleeping could be depression. If Jonah was sleeping while others weren’t could it suggest that he was under severe depression because of all that had transpired? There is an opportunity to pray for the good of everyone and that is over ridden by his sleep.
Many of us are undergoing the same experience of over sleeping. Even though there are many for who sleep deprivation is the problem, sleeping too much as if the problems will go away with that is also not an answer. Lying down is also something we do when we are sad and just don’t want to do anything else. With this there may also be instances of faking sleep. There is a call for all of us to pray for the good of everyone in society instead of faking sleep.
We need to be aware of those who are suffering in various ways in India and the world. We can’t be ignorant of such things and say we did not know. In today’s information rich culture where information is at the finger tip we should show the same eagerness to learn about others as we show to learn about our own culture and tradition. People need our prayers and our support. Saying we did not know, we were unaware and we are not interested in the welfare of others who God points us to is not what is expected of us after a time of lent and preparation.
The world and India are now undergoing challenges of several kinds. They include civil war in several countries, loss of pay for several, increase in the number of the poor, hungry and homeless, genocide, racism, casteism, gender disparity and oppression, discrimination against minorities, global warming, ecology related issues and developmental projects which are against the people of the land.
The Nineveh lent should help us to identify these gross humanitarian violations and pray for the people who are affected by them. Faking sleep and saying we did not know cannot make us oblivious to what is happening. Just as Jonah was awakened and asked to pray, we will also be awakened out of our slumber and asked to pray. Hope this lent will provide this very strength to know, understand and pray for the less fortunate and the least and the last.
