arORTHODOX SYRIAN SUNDAY

SCHOOL ASSOCIATION OF THE

EAST

Thabore Division
Class XI
(English)






Sunday School Central Office
Devalokom, Kottayam-4
Ph: 2572890

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AN OSSAE PUBLICATION
Sunday School Padavali-XI
First Edition April 2012
Copies 6,000
Price ` 60.00

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Preface


Education is a continuing and refreshing endeavour which attempts to train and
equip kids and the young people for a spiritual, active and successful life; and hence
it is an ‘investment’ for today and tomorrow. The myriad possibilities of education
have encouraged religion, countries and ideologies to adapt it for furthering their
objectives and long term aims. In the Christian tradition “Christian education’ is a
ministry of the Church.
Secular education programme in every situation and country has undergone
enormous transformation through the years. More and more study and research is
going into the philosophical base, content, techniques of teaching and learning,
learners’ participation, technique of evaluation etc. So it is only natural that ‘revisions’
happen from time to time.
“Christian Education”, for which the Sunday School lays the foundation and
prods nurture, is never intended to be a carbon copy of what happens in the world
of secular education. Christian education has its unique aim and objectives,
philosophy, ethics and vision. However, it is not irrelevant to learn from the relevant
and succesful ‘techniques’ available and adopted in the secular front. But we must
be constantly careful, never to slip away from our firm Orthodox foundations!
It is highly commendable that the Orthodox Syrian Sundayschool Association
has taken the bold step to completely revise the whole curriculum, trusting in God,
who loves children. Every lesson and every detail is prepared after a pretty long
stretch of study, discussion, correction and revisits by a team of people who have
the interest and expertise to engage in this exacting and time-consuming exercise.
Provisions are made to give proper guidelines and direction to teachers. All this
study materials are being prepared in Malayalam and English simultaneously. The
regional schools, especially, those outside India, shall adapt these basic materials to
suit local situations, linguistic and cultural variances; and aptitudes of children but
keeping the broad structure and basics intact.
These revised study materials are dedicated to the Church, with the fervent
expectation that all those who love the Church, and our children who are dear to
our Lord Jesus Christ, shall certainly welcome this venture.

Devalokom Yakob Mar Irenious Metrapolitan
20-10-2012 President, OSSAE
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Curriculum Revision Committee
H.G. Dr. Yakob Mar Irenius Metropolitan
Fr. Dr. O. Thomas
Fr. K.V. Thomas Fr. Dr.
Reji Mathew Prof. Dr.
Sam. V. Daniel Prof.
Cherian Thomas Prof.
Dr. Jibi George Shri.
Santosh Baby A.K.
Miss Annamma Philippose
Dr. Ipe Varghese
Translated into English by
Prof. Jose K. Philip

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Introduction


We are living through a period of rapid changes. The educational sector reflects
these changes to a great extend. Secular education is undergoing a lot of revisions
and children are greatly influenced by secular education. Therefore Sunday School
Curriculam also requires to be revised according to the new learning methods. The
comprehensive revision of the curriculum is undertaken in the light of this reality.
We have no notion that just by implementing the secular methodology of
learning, we can reform the character of our children. The fundamental principle
there should be the teacher-student relationship modelled on the love between
Christ and his disciples. The method of presentation followed in this book would
help teachers and students alike in the transaction of the topics discussed.
This textbook comes as a product of the strenuous efforts of the Curriculum
Revision Committee headed by H.G. Dr. Yakob Mar Irenius, President, OSSAE.
The contributions of those who wrote various units are invaluable. This textbook,
on its completion, owes much to all members of the curriculum committee, especially
H.G. Mar Irenius, President OSSAE and executive editor Sam V. Daniel. Suggestions
to improve this book are welcome.
Let me pray for this New Curriculum to inaugurate a new age of Spiritual
Enlightenment in Sunday School education. Let me also place on record
the gratitude to all those who worked for it. We are highly obliged to Prof.
Jose K. Philip for preparing this English edition.


Devalokam Fr. Dr. O. Thomas
20-12-2012 Director General

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Dear students,
We are undertaking a comprehensive revision of the Sunday School
Curriculum. The period of learning from Preschool to Class XII is
divided into 5 stages.


1. Bethlahem Preschool class Upto Age 5
2. Nazreth Class I to III Age 5-7
3. Galilee Class IV to VII Age 8-11
4. Jerusalem Class VIII to X Age 12-14
5. Thabore Class XI and XII Age 15-16


The two year learning programme in the Thabore category is titled
‘Orthodox Vedapraveen Diploma’. A Diploma certificate will be issued
on successful completion of this course. In the second year lessons
topics like learning psychology, teaching methods and Evaluation are
included. Hence those who complete this course will also acquire the
eligibility to become Sunday School teachers. Therefore, learn this
course diligently and with enthusiasm. The lessons included are very
useful to you. They are prepared in such a simple manner as to promote
self-learning.
The textbook for the first year contains 28 lessons in 7 units. Besides
another book titled. ‘ The Holy Eucharist: A Study’ w ill be the
supplementary reader. There will be a unit each in all textbooks of the
lower classes devoted to the study of the Holy Eucharist. The
supplementary Reader of Class XI is specially designed by incorporating
the important ideas that require detailed study. Above all, a simple
project is suggested as the practical activity of this class.
A topic related to the first year syllabus (Class XI Syllabus) should
be selected for the project. The project report should be submitted to
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 the headmaster through the class teacher. You can seek the help of
teachers, parents and the vicar in this regard.


Structure of the Project Report
1. Project Title
2. Introduction
3. Significance and relevance of the study
4. Methodology

5. Analysis of Data Collected

6. Findings/Inferences
7. Conclusions
8. Reference


You can select a topic of your choice as the project. For example
you may choose the topic ‘The exemplary life of St. Vattasseril Mar
Dionysius’ based on the lesson ‘Church Fathers’. Available books and
published articles can be collected and read, and interviews with
scholars can be conducted for collecting the data. Consolidate the
information thus collected and prepare the report. Arrange the
consolidated information according to the structure given above. The
report should contain at least four pages.
Take care to learn the lessons systematically. Attend Sunday school
classes without fail. Attend the worship in the Church and pray
regularly.
Above all, you should pray for all Sunday School students and
teachers. The service rendered by our Sunday School teachers in
imparting spiritual training to the growing generation and confirming
them in right faith and right worship is invaluable. Full co-operation
of all students and teachers is essential for the successful
implementation of the New Curriculum. Since the new system is
different to a large extend from the old, teachers should handle the
new curriculum and methods of learning carefully and diligently.
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 Be kind enough to let your valuable suggestions and encouragement
known to us. Let there be abundant blessings of the Benevolent God
on this righteous endeavour of Sunday school teachers and other
authorities for the sake of the Holy Church.


Dr. Sam V. Daniel
Executive Editor

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Contents



Unit 1
Bible Studies
Chapter 1: The Perspective of Orthodox Church regarding
The Holy Bible 11
Chapter 2: The Relationship between the Old and
the new Testaments 15
Chapter 3: The Gospels and the Epistles of St Paul 18
Chapter 4: The importance of Holy Bible in Orthodox worship 22


Unit 2
Orthodox Worship
Chapter 1: Spirituality-An Orthodox Perspective 25
Chapter 2: Features of Orthodox Worship 29
Chapter 3: Orthodox Liturgy 34
Chapter 4: Festivals of the Orthodox Church 38

Unit 3
Church History
Chapter 1: Milestones in Church History 42
Chapter 2: Important Events in Malankara Church 49
Chapter 3: History of the Catholicate 58
Chapter 4: Malankara Church in the Modern Age 63


Unit 4
The Christian Family
Chapter I: Biblical Basis 68
Chapter 2: Challenges faced by the Modern Family 72
Chapter 3: Family Relationships 75
Chapter 4: Marriage between members of different churches and
religions 78
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 Unit 5
Various Religions and Ecumenism
Chapter 1: Various Religions 82
Chapter 2: Various Christian Churches 87
Chapter 3: The Ecumenical Movement 93
Chapter 4: The participation of Orthodox churches in the
Ecumenical movement 98


Unit 6
Human Rights
Chapter 1: The Origin and nature of Human Rights 102
Chapter 2: Basic Fundamental Human Rights in the Constitution 105
Chapter 3: Human Rights and Valuable Human Life 109
Chapter 4: Human Rights and Responsibilities 112

Unit 7
The Christian Approach to Various Ideologies
Chapter 1: Gandhian Thought 115
Chapter 2: Religious Fundamentalism 119
Chapter 3: Social Ideologies 123
Chapter 4: Economic Ideologies 126

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Unit 1

Bible Studies


Chapter 1

The Perspective of Orthodox Church

regarding The Holy Bible


The Holy Bible is the authoritative text of the Church. It is the source of the faith
and rituals of the Church. The Bible has been composed under the inspiration and
help of the Holy Spirit. Apostle St. Peter, reveals this truth of composition thus: ‘For
prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were
moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1: 21). St. Paul states ‘All scripture is given by
inspiration of God and is profitable....’ (2 Timothy 3: 16-17). Word is the medium
through which God has revealed His will and work. Therefore the Bible
is the word of God. It can be viewed as the message given for the salvation of
mankind.
God was making use of certain individuals to write this message completely
and without errors. He gave them inspiration and light. They were not merely
mechanical tools for scribbling. Like any other writer, they too were subject to the
influence of spatial and temporal conditions in which they lived. They got the gift
to present God’s message without errors or oversight while retaining their cultural,
social and literal peculiarities. Thus the message of God got documented in the
words of man. The Holy Bible is error free in the facts connected with God and
human salvation.
The Bible is not a text of science. We can’t find knowledge of physical sciences
in it. However, the Bible contains no facts contrary to scientific knowledge. It
presents the history of salvation and suggests the path of salvation.

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 Orthodox Church and the Protestant Bible
The Protestant Bible contains only 39 books in the Old Testament. But there
are forty six books in the Old Testament recognized by the Orthodox Church. How
can we account for this difference? In the 3rd century BC there were a number of
Jewish migrants living in Egypt. The second generation of these migrants knew
only the local Greek language. The Greek translation of the Bible was done in
Alexandria for their use.
This happened at the end of 3rd century BC. The translation was done by a
team of 72 scholars and hence it came to be known as Septuagint (LXX).
This translation contained seven additional books when compared with the
Bible used in Palestine. The reason for this difference is that the Biblical canon was
not established at that time. Since Hebrew had become a mother tongue and Greek
was the universal language, even the Jewish community recognised the Septuagint.
The early Christian Church followed that tradition and used only the Septuagint.
St Paul and others used to quote from this Greek translation and not from the
Hebrew Bible.
The Rabis of Judaism convened a council at Jamnia to prevent the growth and
progress of the Christian church. One of the decisions of this council was to reject
the Bible used by the Christian community. Instead they approved of only 39 books
used in Palestine as canonical books of the Old Testament. Then the Christian
church called these additional book in the Septuagint as ‘Deutro canonical’ books.
These books are Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch and I and II of
Macabees. (Besides, the appendices to the books of Esther and Daniel belong to this
category)
The Septuagint Bible and its translations were used in the Christian church till
Protestant reformation. The Protestant scholars decided that only 39 books of the
Hebrew canon would constitute the Old Testament. That is why all Catholic and
Orthodox churches other than the Reformist churches accept the Old Testament
containing 46 books.
The Peshitta translation used in the Syrian Church is based on Septuagint.
Hence it has 46 books. The Malayalam translation of Peshitta Bible is done by Fr.
Kurian Kaniamparambil.

The Book written ‘by the Church, for the Church’
We have seen above that the Holy Book is the word of God and it was written
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But we should also know the role of the

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 church in constituting and consolidating it. The Old Testament evolved in the
background of Jewish worship. Similarly the New Testament evolved in the
background of worship of the Christian church. The books are consolidated in
such a way that they can be used in worship and utilized in its teachings.
Several other books and writings existed in those days. It was the Church that
decided which of them should be included in the Holy Book. We can say that the
Holy Spirit led the church in the consolidation of the Holy Bible. Hence we can say
that the Holy Book was consolidated in the church, by the church, for the church.
It is this Book that helps in defining and controlling the creed, and shaping the
rituals of the church. Hence we should view and evaluate the Holy Book only in the
light of our relationship with the church.
St Augustine declared: ‘I would not believe in the Gospel were it not for the
authority of the church. The church is to teach, the Bible is to prove.’ St. Paul
confirms that ‘the house of God is the church of the living God, the pillar and
ground of the truth’ ( 1 Timothy 3:15). This statement clarifies the position and
importance of the church.
It is dangerous to attempt an independent interpretation of the Bible separating
it from our relationship with the church. That is how many new generation churches
have come into being. When each attempts to interpret the Bible on his own, wrong
inferences and thoughts may come up. Hence the study of the Bible should be
taken up only in the light of our relationship with the church and the teachings of
Church Fathers.
Orthodox church doesn’t share the protestant view that the Holy Bible is the
only source of authority of all doctrines, rituals and practices of the church. The
Holy Book is an important and authoritative resource. Along with it, the teachings
of Holy Fathers of the Church and the decisions of Holy Synods are also considered.
It is important to know how the Church Fathers understood and approved the
Biblical truths. We need to know how the preceeding generations understood and
accepted the Holy Book which was written two thousand years ago.

Conclusion
1. We recognise the Holy Bible as the authoritative text of the church.
2. We should include the teachings of Church Fathers and canons of Synods in
Biblical studies.
3. The Syrian Bible (Peshitta) recognised by us differs from the Protestant Bible
in the number of books in the Old Testament.

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 4. We do not believe in sole scripture or the belief that the Holy Bible is the only
basis of all doctrines of the church

Activities
1. What is the reason for difference in the number of books in the Protestant
Bible and the Bible recognized by the Orthodox church?
2. The Holy Bible should be interpreted only in the light of our relationship with
the church. Explain.
3. Prepare an essay on the topic: ‘The features of the Holy Bible in the Orthodox
perspective.’









































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Chapter 2
The Relationship between
the Old and the new Testaments


Some people say that they don’t read the Old Testament and they would read only
the New Testament. The explanations given by them are:
1. The Old Testament is the Holy Book of the Jews. It consists of laws and the
practice of laws. They are not relevant to those who believe in Christ.
2. The dominant emotions reflected in the Old Testament are those of revenge,
violence and punishment. They are contrary to the spirit of the Gospels.
There might be several people who hold this view. Therefore it is very important
for us to understand the relation between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
St. Augustine’s statement regarding this is very relevant and meaningful. ‘The New
Testament is concealed in the Old the Old is revealed in the New’’. It is a clear
statement of the relation between the Old and the New Testaments. The knowledge
of the Old Testament is inevitable in any proper study of the New. The events and
teachings of the Old Testament are fulfilled in the New Testament.
We do not forget that there are differences between the Old and the New
Testaments in many aspects. But what attracts us is the congruity and unity between
both.
1. Both of them speak about the same God. It is the same God of Abraham, Issac
and Jacob who speaks through Christ in the New Testament.
The God who worked out salvation through Jesus Christ is the same God who
liberated Israel from Egypt and brought them to Canan and who spoke through His
prophets. The same God who did the Act of Creation operated through Jesus Christ
also. ‘For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has
shone in our hearts to give the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’’
(2 Corithians 4:6). God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time
past to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.
(Hebrews 1:1).

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 2. Both the parts speak about the chosen people. The Old Testament speaks about
Israel, the chosen people of God-their origins, history, victories and defeats and
their ultimate goal. They are delegated to fulfil the mission of God.
In the same way, the Christian church is the people chosen by God in the New
Testament. This is the New Israel. It is the continuation and fulfilment of the Old
Israel. The new society centred on Jesus Christ has became God’s chosen people
and a holy generation. (Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9). They are designated to continue
the salvific act of God.
3. The incidents in the Old Testament are examples, models and prototypes of
those in the New. Numerous incidents in the life of Jesus Christ and in the
experience of Christian Church find their prototypes and signs in the Old
Testament. The writers of gospels point out that the return of child Jesus from
Egypt, His forty days fast in the desert and His subsequent temptations had
been suggested in the experience of Israel. Similarly several experiences of the
church are also foretold in the Old Testament (See 1 Corinthians 10: 1-13)
4. Numerous prophecies and pslams of the Old Testament are fulfilled in the
New. All authors of the New Testament uphold this view. The Gospel of St.
Matthew uses quotations from the Old Testament throughout, to explain each
incident in the life of Jesus Christ as a fulfillment of ancient prophecy. In other
gospels also we find many references to the Old Testament, though not as
profusely as in St. Matthew.
St. Paul was a scholar of the Old Testament. He uses quotations and references
from the Old Testament in his epistles, in order to clarify his ideas. Eg. St. Paul
proves that the theory of ‘righteousness of the faith’ was not his new teaching but
was revealed in the life of Abraham in the Old Testament. He quotes Genesis 15:6
to prove his point (Romans 4:22).
The author s of the Ne w Testament used qu otat ions from the Old
Testament not to prove their Old Testament Scholarship. Instead they wanted to
prove that the Christian church was not a movement out of the blue, and that was
formed as result of long preparation and a well thought out and dependant
project of God. The Old Testament expectations and desires bore flower and fruit
through the life of Jesus Christ and His work in the New Testament.
How should we understand St Paul’s statement that "We are not under law but
under grace’’ (Romans 6:15). Does it mean that the law of Moses is not relevant to
Christians? Laws and doctrines make up a significant portion of the Old Testament.
If they are not relevant to us, how can the Old Testament become acceptable to us?
This issue is profound and deep and can be summarised as follows.

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 1. Old Testament laws related to rituals and practices are not relevant to us as
such. Eg. The categorisation of animals and fishes into pure and impure and
hence edible and non-edible as per the law of Moses is not relevant to us. Some
notions of purity are not acceptable to us. Eg. Christian faith doesn’t share the
belief that touching a corpse or a leper makes us impure. (Numbers 5:2) The
commandment that we should observe the Sabbath (on the seventh day) is not
applicable to us. Instead we observe Sunday, the day of Resurrection and the
first day of the week. Sabbath has become irrelevant to us.
2. St. Paul states that we cannot accept that God’s kingdom can be attained by
observing laws and principles. We can’t believe that God’s kingdom (salvation)
is attained through human efforts. In this regard we say that we are not under
the law. It is impossible for the sinful man to attain the perfection defined in
the laws however he tries. God realized this limitation and send His own Son to
wash off our sins. When we recognize ( in faith) that Christ has saved us from
our sins, we become acceptable before God. The basis of this acceptance is
grace. Hence we live not under the law but under grace. We lead a moral life
because God has given us the status of His children and brought us into the
experience of salvation. The moral and ethical laws we got from Moses and
other prophets are relevant to us. However laws connected with rituals and
practices became irrelevant through Christ.
When we consider the inseparable relationship between the Old Testament
and the New Testament, the tendency to neglect the Old Testament cannot be
justified. We should view the New Testament as a fulfilment of the Old and should
preserve the right relationship between both. We should view one as shadow and
the other as essence.

Activities
1. Prepare a list of at least ten Old Testament quotations used in the Gospel of St.
Matthew.
2. How was St. Paul’s concept of ‘righteousness of faith’revealed in the life of Father
Abraham?
3. Find out the Old Testament practices that are irrelevant to us today.
4. Explain the similarities and differences between the Old and the New Testaments.







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Chapter 3

The Gospels and the Epistles

of St Paul


The word ‘gospel’ is a translation of the Greek word ‘euangelion’ which means good
news. It contains the good news for the whole of mankind. The gospels are centred
on Jesus Christ who acted in history (Romans 1: 1-2, 2 Timothy 2:8). The gospels
reveal who Jesus Christ was and what his preachings and activities were, in the light
of the New Experience received through Him.
At first the gospels spread orally. No one tried to record them. The aim of the
apostles and the evangelists was to propagate them not in writing, but through
speech and preaching. As they expected the second coming of Christ in near future,
they didn’t feel the need to record them for future generations. The eyewitnesses to
the words and works of Christ delivered those facts faithfully to others. (1 John
1:1-2, Acts 2:42, Luke 1:2)

The circumstances of writing the gospels
The period of Apostles who were eyewitness passed off quickly. As opportunities
to listen directly from them decreased, people felt the need to record their words.
Moreover, as the Church grew and expanded the Apostles and their colleagues
found it impossible to reach everywhere. Moreover there was a feeling that the
second coming of Christ might not be as imminent as they had expected earlier. All
these factors prompted the recording of gospels. The preachings and works of Jesus
Christ were written as either memoirs of the apostles, or creed of faith of the
community or as handbooks of spiritual instruction. All the four gospels came into
currency by the end of the first century.

Are there four gospels?
It is in fact wrong to describe the gospels as four in number. There is only one
gospel and it pertains to Christ, the Son of God. What we find in the four gospels is
four perspectives or four different presentations. They developed from traditions

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 that were handed down according to differences in time and place. The live traditions
of the Church forms the background of the gospels. Each writer consolidates and
presents the traditional facts after understanding his needs and conditions and by
adding his own evaluation and analysis. The statement ‘Gospel of Jesus Christ,
according to St.Matthew or St Mark or St. Luke or St. John’ given in the English
version of Gospels reveals this fact.

The differences between the Gospels
Eventhough the four gospels contain the teachings and works of Jesus Christ,
we find many differences among them. The first three gospels are quite similar. But
they are totally different from the Gospel of St.John. Because of the close similarity
among the first three gospels (St. Matthew, St.Mark and St. Luke) they are described
as Synoptic Gospels or ‘Gospels of the same perspective’. The important differences
between them and the gospel of St. John are given below.

1. The public ministry of Jesus
The Synoptic Gospels or ‘gospels of the same perspective’ record the span of
ministry as about one year. But the descriptions in the gospel of St. John span over
three years. St. John describes Jesus as participating in three Pass Overs (St. John
2:13, 6:4 and 12:1). According to him, Jesus visits Jerusalem several times.

2. Difference in the style of preaching
The Synoptic Gospels have numerous real life parables. In St.John’s gospel
we don’t have any parables but only long and complicated speeches. The themes
are also different. When the Synoptic Gospels emphasize the Kingdom of
God, St.John’s gospel reveals who Jesus Christ is and His relationship with God the
Father.

3. Miracles and signs
Synoptic Gospels are full of miracles and heroic acts. St.John selects only seven
of them and describes them as signs. He reveals the truths of Chirst’s Person through
them. We do not find any exorcisms in St. John.

Epistles of St. Paul
The epistles of St. Paul occupy almost one fourth of the New Testament. They
are next in importance to the gospels. We come to know about St.Paul’s personality
and theological insights through these epistles.

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 There are certain general observations to be made regarding the epistles of
St.Paul.
1. All epistles are not available to us. We have to think that some of them are lost
to us.
For example, in the first epistle to the Corinthians there is a reference to another
lett er w hich he had send them earlier. (1 Cor inth 5:9). Similarly in
2 Corinth 2:4 it is said that he had written out of much affliction and mental anguish.
The reference here is definitely not to the first epistle. Scholars point out that chapters
10 to 13 of 2 Corinthians may be this letter or a part of it.
In Colossians 4:16, there is a reference to an epistle send to Church of the
Laodiceans. This epistle also is not available to us.
2. Many epistles are considered to have undergone editing later. It is evident that
2 Corinthians have undergone such editing . The section from 2 Corinthians
6:14 to 7:1 is quite unrelated to the parts before and after it. At the same time
there is continuity of ideas if we read 7:2 after 6:13. Similarly, Chapters 8 and 9
of 2 Corinthians give the impression of being compiled from different sources.
Repetition of ideas and lack of coherence in presentation are evident in them.
3. Each of these epistles is written in a specific context. They are not products of
inspiration and creativity. Moreover they are not written as spiritual texts for
all people to read. They are meant to provide guidelines to churches in various
places in the light of their specific needs and problems.
The epistles of St.Paul are responses to the problems that arose in each church.
Hence if we want to understand the contents of the epistles correctly we should
learn about the problems faced by each church and their contexts. However we
have only the epistles of the apostle to rely upon in this regard. We can understand
the context by reading between the lines of these epistles. Then we can learn about
the manner in which the apostle gives directions.
The problems of different churches were different and the apostle wrote his
epistles accordingly. If he could pay a personal visit to this church community,
there would have been no need for the epistles. The opinion that, had there been
telephones in those days, there would have been no need for these epistles is
meaningful. The impossibility of direct contact had necessitated the sending of the
epistles.
If these epistles are written as solutions to the problems of specific local
churches, how do they assume universal significance. Two things can be pointed
out. Firstly the problems of those days reappear in one form or other these days also
and hence the message of the apostle is relevant even today. Secondly these epistles

20
 didn’t originate from more superficial thinking or intellect. They are inspired by the
Holy Spirit and hence have spiritual message and relevance. They are relevant to all
people in all places and all times. Even though they were meant only for temporary
circumstances they contain eternal spiritual truths.
4. The apostle also follows the model of the epistles that existed in ancient days.
But he makes certain modifications according to his genius. We have also got
some ancient writings which help us to understand the model of the epistles
prevalent among the Greeks and the Romans. The apostle’s writing also follow
this model.
The epistles were sent through faithful messengers. They would read them in
the respective church and give necessary clarifications. See Ephesians 6:21-22 and
Colossians 4:7-8

Activities
1. Find out the differences between Synoptic Gospels and Gospel of St. John.
2. Pick out evidences to prove that we haven’t got all epistles of St. Paul.
3. Read the epistle to the Corinthians and find out the problems in their church.
4. The epistles of St.Paul are written in the light of the specific needs and problems
that existed in various places. Bring out how they have got a universal
significance.


























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Chapter 4
The importance of Holy Bible in
Orthodox worship


The fundamental mission of the Church is worship of God. The spiritual
enlightenment received through worship empowers the Church’s witness. There is
an inseparable relationship between worship and the Holy Scriptures. The Old
Testament originated in the background of the worship of Jewish community.
Similarly the New Testament originated from the worship of the Christian Church.
The truths revealed through the scriptures inspire the various components of
worship.
Orthodox Church, which is a very old church accords a very important position
to the Holy Bible. We can understand this when we examine the liturgical structure
and liturgical organisation of the church. Every believer who enters the church for
worship finds the Holy Book kept specially encased on a table in the Alb (choir). All
believers disperse after kissing this Holy Book at the end of worship in the church.
This is done not only to show respect to the word of God, but also to commemorate
the scriptures as lamp to their feet and light to their path.
In the Madbaha (Holy of Holies) we find a decorated altar and another decorated
lectern. The Holy Bible is kept on that lectern. Whenever incence is burned before
the altar which is the Throne of God, it is also burned before the lectern for Holy
Book. The former contains the Incarnated Word whereas the latter contains the
Word of God. In all processions in the liturgy a cross will be carried at the front
followed by the Holy Book This proclaims that the Word of God is the guiding light
of the faithful.
The Holy Eucharist is the most important form of Orthodox worship.
Observance of the Eucharist is mandatory on all Sundays and Mora Naya festivals.
The Holy Eucharist is the fulfilment of all other sacraments. All other sacraments
are administered along with the Holy Eucharist. Thus the Holy Eucharist has
Supreme importance and reading the Word of God in it is given a prominent position.
The Holy Eucharist can mainly be divided into two parts. The first part is from the

22
 beginning of Public worship till recital of the Creed of the Church. Till then the
priest will not step on the elevated position (step) just in front of the altar and prays
by standing just below it. The second part is called Anaphora. Then onwards the
priest mounts on the step and prays. The first part of the Holy Eucharist has two
names. It is called (1) Ministry of the Word and (2) liturgy of the catechumens. It is
called Ministry of the Word because it contains specified readings from the scriptures
and the preaching based on them. The second name originated from catechumens
(or people learning faith to receive baptism) of the early church. They were permitted
to attend only the first part of the liturgy and had to disperse after it. The second
part (Anaphora) is exclusively for the baptized believers.
The first part of Ministry of the word is modelled on the worship in the
synagogue. There, readings from the scriptures and the books of prophets and singing
of psalms are followed by preaching. In the Holy Eucharist we read both the Old
Testament and the New Testament. Now a days, readings from the Old Testament
are done at the end of the prayers preceeding the Holy Eucharist. Earlier it was not
so. The scriptures include both New and Old Testaments. Now a days we have
three readings from the Bible. The third reading is from the gospels which are the
roof and crown of all scriptures. The gospels are carried in a procession to be read.
The Holy Book is raised, incense is burned before it and is carried forward in a
procession accompanied by lighted candles on both sides. In other Orthodox
Churches this procession is a spectacular one. Now a days it is the priest himself
who carries the Holy Book westward. Before reading the gospels, the priest speaks
about the glory of the gospels through the following introductory words: ‘It is the
living Word of God which gives life and Salvation to the World.’
In the liturgical structure, preaching should follow the readings from the gospels.
Earlier it had been done in this manner. But now a days preaching has been shifted
to the time of ‘Kukiliyon’ and it cannot be liturgically justified. The readings from
the Bible have been selected to aid the believers in their meditation and studies. For
this, one year of worship is divided into various periods and passages related to
Incarnation and ministry of Jesus Christ, His Second Coming and Final Judgement
are apportioned suitably.
Readings from the Holy Bible, especially those from the gospels and epistles of
St. Paul, are an inseparable ingredient of other sacraments like Baptism, Marriage
and Ordination as well. They are included in the Books of Services. Readings from
the Old Testament are also included in the funeral services (However they are not
read these days). On special occasions like Yeldo (Christmas), ‘Danaha’, Palm Sunday,
Good Friday and Day of the Pentecost there are special Church services meant to
drive in their respective significance and blessings. In all those services relevant and

23
 suitable passages from both Old and New Testaments are read out. It is evident that
the Church Fathers who compiled these services were good scholars of the Bible.
When we examine the Daily prayers and prayers of the Passion Week
commemorating the tribulations of Jesus Christ, we will become convinced that
Biblical truths are either mentioned or quoted in them. The ‘Prumiyons’ and ‘Sedras’
used in the prayers of the Passion Week are full of prophetic statements from the
Old Testament.
The biblical enrichment of the Orthodox liturgy and sacraments deeply impress
the believers when they participate meaningfully in them. Moreover in the Family
prayers, the canonical prayers are said after reading the Holy Bible. This practice
teaches the youngsters that meditation of the Word of God is part of Worship.
In some dioceses, the prayer meetings held within the parish are known as
‘Readings’. We should understand how this name originated. The believers would
assemble in various homes for readings from the Holy Bible. Such prayer meetings
have systematic readings from the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Let us end this chapter with the authoritative statement given by St. Paul
regarding the scriptures. ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
That the man of God may be complete thoroughly equipped for every good
work.” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17)

Activities
1. What is meant by Incarnated Word?
2. Prove that preaching has an important role in the Holy Eucharist.
3. When does the ‘Anaphora’ section of the Holy Eucharist begin?
4. Prepare a project report on ‘The importance of Holy Bible in Orthodox Worship.’
















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Unit 2

Orthodox Worship


Chapter 1
Spirituality
An Orthodox Perspective


Spirituality is not an added phenomenon to human nature rather it is an essential
part, or the crux of it. That is the reason why manifestations of spirituality are
plenty in human nature and behaviour. Human being is not only a physical body;
but is a compact whole containing body, mind and spirit. Since man is created by
God and was found good, spirituality comes natural to humans. It is the rule and
influence of the Holy Spirit that the physical body and the unseen mind are governed
by the spirit.
Humans are created in the image and likeness of God, so says the Bible, which
means there are areas of similarity between God and the created man. Man has the
native capacity and potential to love, forgive, serve, and make sacrifices like God.
The ‘Fall’ of man, when he disobeyed God and assumed that he could exist by
himself without depending on anyone outside himself, including God, effected an
enormous transformation on him. After the Fall, he is condemned to die and
disappear into ‘the absence of God.’ The genre of man’s life is from God; and it is self
deception to assume that man became like what he is either by his own will or by
some physical or scientific phenomena.
Spirituality is at the heart of every great religion. Ancient religions like Hinduism,
Buddhism, Jainism all share in this. There seem to have a complementarity of religion
in the basic idea of the fundamental spirituality of human beings.
Spirituality in the Orthodox faith and tradition is a state in which there is a
constant attempt on the part of man to free himself from the shackles of materialism
and sin and regain the blessed state of being the image and likeness of God in its
fulness.

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 Strictly speaking, spirituality deals with the operations of the Holy Spirit in us.
Spiritual progress is not measured by man’s constant effort alone. Ultimately it is
the grace of God that makes us to ‘will’ towards purity and perfection. Thus it is not
wrong to assume that spiritual progress is a gift of God, but at the same time, it
demands to constant and sincere preparation and effort on our part to climb up the
ladder that elevates us step by step in to heights of spirituality, where we are
transformed and translated into the holiness and perfection of the Lord.
We find some very strong examples and images in the Bible which speaks a lot
about spiritual upliftment of humans. Genesis accounts give us the story of Jacob,
son of Issac, who is shown a ladder that reaches up to heaven, in a dream. The
image of the ‘ladder of ascent’ is a powerful image, simply because Jacob is at the
bottom of the ladder, and he finds God standing at the top of the ladder and talking
to him endearingly. Gospel accounts record a teaching of Lord Jesus that if anyone
wants to follow Him, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Him.
Actually it was for the ‘following’, ie. to follow faithfully the footsteps of the Lord,
that He ‘called’ his disciples. St. Paul claims that he was taken upto the heights of
heaven in a trance (2 Cor. 12-2-3).
Another significant factor is the emphasis on ‘transformation.’ On Mount Tabor,
on top of which Jesus was Transfigured, teaches that the ultimate destiny for us is
not just to have a ‘darsan’ of the glory of God; but to get transformed in ourselves and
share in his nature and glory. Moses went up mount Zion as commanded by God.
As he was descending the mountain, his face shone brightly that Israelites could not
look at his face. Spirituality talks about the transformation of the individual through
continuous dissociation with sin and evil and attempt at association with God and
His grace.
It is wrong to assume that only a select few-the saints–who can advance in
spirituality. In fact, every human being is called to their unceasing process of
transformation and spiritual ascent. However it is not achieved in a day; there is the
demand for strenuous preparation, humility, self sacrifice and unconditional love
for all.
The Desert ‘Father’ and ‘Mothers, who present before us eternal models of
spiritual transformation, exhort us to completely obey and put into practice the
twin commandments of ‘love of God’ and ‘love of man’. They bear witness to the
fact that spiritual transformation and progress calls for enormous and continuous
struggle, in which one needs to be steadfast and longsuffering. Yet it must never for
a moment forgotten that spiritual ascent and growth is not achieved without
the flowering of the grace of God in us.

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 The monks of the Desert tradition adopted ‘flight from the world’ as a primary
condition for their spiritual warfare and progress. The cardinal principle was that
attachment to the ‘world’ and ‘flesh’ were the real impediments to spiritual
advancement. The two words, ‘world’ and ‘flesh’ signified for them passions and
tendencies in humans which work against the dominance of all things which are
Godly and rights. They practiced ‘renunciation’ of the world, not just for individual
salvation, but to defeat the Devil, the enemy of all good things, who tempt human
beings renounce God and the goods. They always warn that the ways of the demons
are subtle and stealthily accomplished.
The two genuine models for Orthodox spirituality are the martyrs and the
monasteries of old. They provide perennial examples as to how to struggle against
the forces of evil, which always attempt to defeat us in the subtled manner
possible. Sometimes they appear like angels of light. The enemy had dared to
tempt even Jesus when he was hungry, after the forty days fast in the wilderness.
So one needs to be constantly vigilant to identify and defend against the designs of
demons.
Fighting the demons is only one part of the schedule of spiritual growth. Humility
was the cardinal virtue which they valued. At the same time they spared no toil, in
nurturing and developing virtues in them. The life, and teachings of these spiritual
stalwarts inspire us to raise and answer issues like • What is the goal of spiritual life
• What are the means to reach the goal
• What factors help us to reach the god
•What factors hinder spiritual development
• How to measure spiritual growth
• What are the fruits of the spirit?
Anyone who would wish to take to the path of spirituality and spiritual progress
may have to ponder on these questions and seek for answers in themselves.
As pointed out earlier, it is the conviction of the Orthodox, that the way of
spirituality is open to all, and not just to a chosen few. Unless there is spiritual
progress, Christian life runs dry, and slowly opens the door for the enemy to enter
and work. The Western view of spirituality says that the ultimate destiny of the
spiritual person is ‘vision’ beautific or the vision of God.
However the Eastern Orthodox Churches hold a different view. They affirm
that spiritual progress is an ‘unending growth.’ The idea is that the spiritual person
is not satiated, at any point in his life, about the progress he has attained. He always,
moves forward with further spiritual excercises with a kind of ‘divine discontent.
St. Gregory of Nyssa is the great exponent of this idea. While the unending process
27
 of transformation and transfiguration is reckoned as the destiny of the person, the
path to this goal is identified as ‘ascesis’ or life of spiritual discipline. ‘Flight’ from
the world of passions, silence, fasting, vigils, spiritual reading, manual work,
meditation, self sacrifice are considered as the means or ‘spiritual excercises’ to
reach the goal of spirituality. These exercises are to be constantly resorted to by the
seeker. The exhortation of St. Paul ‘Pray without ceasing’ (1 Thess 5:17) was taken
seriously by the Eastern Orthodox monks, mystries and spiritualists. One way to
realize their goal, according to them, was to repeat the ‘Jesus Prayer’ or ‘Prayer of
the heart’ constantly at heart. This was to be done linking the one sentence prayer
to breathing and every heart beat. This is the prayer.
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner’. This became a
kind of ‘mantra’ for the Eastern monks and mystics.
The ultimate aim of spiritual progress, in the Eastern Orthodox view is described
as “Theosis” or “Divinization”. This goal certainly contain the essential idea of
transformation of individuals and communities and the grace granted to humans
in partaking in the ‘nature of God.’ We are created in the “image and likewise” of
God, and God has blessed us the will and wisdom to freely choose the good and be
on the road to being like God. This exactly is the route leading of ‘Theosis’ or
‘Divinization.’ We need to discern that the Orthodox concept of ‘Theosis’ transcends
the idea of ‘imitation’ and ‘vision of God’ stipulated by Western Churches, as the
goal of spirituality.
In fact we are created as spiritual beings, and as St. Augustine said we never
find real rest until we rest in God. Speaking in practical terms, we as Orthodox
Christian, fasting, vigil, reading and meditating on the scripturs and serve the poor
and needy. Although these are “obligatory” on our part, it is the benign grace of God
that transforms us steadily from the level of worldiness to the blessed state of Theosis.
However much we practice ‘self-disciplining we never qualify for God’s grace. But
God is loving, kind and gracious enough to grant us the opportunity by to regain
‘the mega and likeness’ of God.
The soul of the ‘process of unending growth’ prescribed for spiritual growth, is
always anchored on the substance of all commandments–of loving God and man.
Just as Upanishads present the sum and substance of the Vedas, the twin command-
ments’ contain the soul of all spiritual endeavours.

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Chapter 2
Features of Orthodox Worship


The word ‘Orthodox’ means ‘right faith’ or ‘right worship’. In early periods this
word was translated as ‘having corrected faith.’ The oriental churches assumed the
name Orthodox in the sense that they follow right faith and right worship in contrast
to the heretics. The perception of Orthodox Fathers is that right faith is the basis of
right worship or in other words, right faith gets expressed through right worship.
Therefore there are several features that distinguish Orthodox worship from the
worship of other churches. Marthoma Church which splitted away from Orthodox
Church in the last period of the 19th Century and Malankara rite (part of Roman
Catholic Church) Church which splitted away in the first half of the 20th century
basically follow the Orthodox liturgy.
Worship is an enlivening experience in which the Heaven and the earth merge.
The entire creation is raised in Spirit towards the Creator and the heavenly
experiences through worship. Simultaneously God in Heaven establishes His
tabernacle on earth with man and other mundane objects, dwells in it and communes
with man. "Behold the tabernacle of God, is with men." This statement in the Book
of Revelation is quite meaningful with regard to Orthodox worship. (Revelation
21:3)

Local language
One feature of Orthodox worship is the active participation of people. The
Orthodox churches use local language for worship in order to ensure this
participation. During the time of the apostles, the language used in Palestine was
Aramaic. Eventhough the worship in towns like Jerusalem and Antioch were in
Greek, the prayers were translated into Aramaic for the benefit of people coming
from rural areas. Eventhough Greek was the liturgical language of Antioch in the
early period, it was later replaced by Syriac as the importance of Greek dwindled.
Malankara which accepted the Antiochian liturgy used Syriac during the early period.
However all these services were later translated into Malayalam. As the Church

29
 spread to other states, all services including the Holy Eucharist are getting translated
into other languages. The translation of Holy Eucharist into Tamil, Kannada,
Konkani, Hindi, English, German have taken place during the later half of the
preceeding century. Yet, as Syrian Christians we retain certain Syriac words in our
liturgy even today.

Participation of the laity
The tradition of Orthodox Church insists that if the Holy Mass is to be said
there should be at least the deacon and one layman representing the faithful, present
in the church. Throughout the liturgy, there are arrangements for all those who
participate in Public Worship, to worship God using all the five senses. Our liturgy
provides opportunities to see (the decorations of Madbaha (Holy of Holies) and
vestments), hear (music), smell (incence), touch (exchange of peace) and taste
(Holy Communion). With the advent of the choir, the believers are sometimes
relegated to the position of mere spectators in modern times. This is a wrong trend.
The aim of choir should be only to lead the believers in worship. More number of
melodious prayers are included in the worship in order to ensure the collective
participation of the believers. But inorder to understand the meaning of the songs
used in worship, the people and the priests who lead them should act in tandem.
Only then will a heart rending worship become possible.

Worship is not individual centered
The community rather than the individual is more important in Orthodox
worship. The Church worships God as one community. We have modelled our
prayers on Lord Father in heaven.‘ Usages like I, my and mine are very rare in
Orthodox worship. However Orthodox worship may seem distasteful for
communities which like to pray,’ Give me my daily bread’ instead of ‘Give us our
daily bread’. Only such selfish people can leave this ‘right worship’ and migrate to
other fellowships.

Instruction of faith through worship
Orthodox fathers perceive worship as the most important medium of instructing
the right faith. This is because theology is something that should not be learned
through intellectual and logics thinking. Faith should be learned through worship
with the help of Holy Spirit. We can understand that ‘Sedra’, ‘Prumeyon’ and songs
contain studies in faith. The song ‘The tree that bore the wonderful fruit’ is a fine
example. How sharply does this song react against those heretics who spoke against

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 St. Mary! The ‘Sedras’ used in Services on the Pentecost are indepth studies and
expressions of our faith in the Holy Trinity.

Rich in biblical passages
We have seen earlier that Orthodox liturgy is rich in biblical passages. (Unit 1
Chap. 4). We will understand this only if we part take in worship with diligence and
concentration. Just like in learning faith, the church has grounded meditation of
the Holy Bible also, on the liturgy. Readings from Old and New Testaments and
from the Gospels are part of our liturgy. Plenty of psalms are included in each
hourly prayer. Besides biblical passages are included in several songs and prayers.
The prayer cycle called ‘Kukiliyon’ which is very important in Orthodox liturgy
always begins with the singing of a psalm. Those who attend the worship meditatively
will undoubtedly be surprised at the biblical scholarship of our Church Fathers.

Intercessory Prayers
Just as we don’t focus on personal and selfish needs in our prayer, another
aspect in which we take special care is in praying for others. There are two types of
intercessory prayers in our liturgy-we pray for others, we seek refuge in the
intercession of Saints. Our liturgy has plenty of prayers for the living as well as the
departed. The intercessory prayers known as ‘Thubden’ are examples. The songs
known as ‘Hymns of Eucharistic Devotion’ are also intercessory prayers. Here we
seek refuge in the intercession of St. Mary and other saints and remember them
and the departed as well in God. One prayer in the preparatory prayers for the Holy
Eucharist is notable. ‘By virtue of this Eucharist of Thanksgiving placed before us,
we verily remember Adam, Our Father, Eve, our mother, St.Mary, Mother of God,
prophets and apostles’
The incorrect school of thought that prayer is seeking favours from God for
personal needs existed since ancient times. Orthodox liturgy is a correction of this
notion altogether.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Prayer to the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life to all is an important
component of Orthodox liturgy. Orthodox theology states that the Holy Spirit is
the Giver of Life to everything and the one who fulfils everything. That is why
prayers to the Holy Spirit are given so much importance.
In sacraments like Holy Eucharist, Baptism, Ordination and Consecration of
the Mooron there are special prayers invoking the Holy Spirit. (Kroithode Rooho).

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 In all such occasions the deacon would proclaim the importance of the occasion to
the people. (My Beloved, the living Holy Spirit condescends from the heights of
Heaven above and broods...) The duty of we believers on such occasions is to pray
for the advent of the Holy Spirit in us in order to guide us, just as He had
condescended on the Sacrament.

Use of the Icons
Orthodox church decorates the places of worship with pictures of Saints to
suggest that Saints and Departed believers are with us in worship. Icons which
reveal theological truths are more meaningful than mere pictures. It is in the 12th
and 13th centuries that icons gained an important place in Orthodox worship. Icon
drawing requires the total disciplining of fasting and prayers and hence most of the
iconographers are monks. Icons are drawn by controlling artistic techniques through
indepth mental and spiritual disciplining. The Church has accorded the same
importance of the Word of God to the icons. Some of our churches and ‘Dayaras’
(monasteries) give much importance to icons. However icons have not gained
currency in the Church. In many places ordinary pictures are used instead.

Worship that provides
an Ecological consciousness
There are plenty of songs, ‘Sedras’ and portions from psalms in Orthodox worship
which help in providing ecological consciousness to people. Today, all churches
discuss about the environment and take steps for environmental conservation. But
our church fathers had, right from the beginning, tried to develop an ecological
aptitude through the atmosphere of the liturgy itself. We can see references to earth,
sky, air, water, trees and plants etc. at several places in our liturgy. For example look
at the song ‘There rose light in darkness to the righteous...’ given in the morning
prayer.

Importance of music in Orthodox worship
Our liturgy was originally composed in Syriac. Before the relationship with
Antioch, the liturgy was in Chaldean Syriac. The Syriac language is generally musical.
Orthodox liturgy reflects this feature of the language. As there are a lot of poetical
passages included, the parttakers enjoy greater participation and pleasure. Moreover
it pacifies the hearts of the listeners. Many Syriac musical notes are timeless. Songs
composed in Syriac musical notes make our worship different from other types of
Christian worship. Most of the songs used in our worship can be sung in eight
different notes. Our Fathers have made this arrangement to avoid the monotony of

32
 listening to the same musical note everyday. The book containing the basic principles
of this musical arrangement is called ‘Eckhara’. The word Eckhara means ‘basis’.

Activities
1. Find out the psalms in the ‘Kukiliyons’ used in the Holy Eucharist.
2. Compare the song ‘Give Good word Oh mind...’ sung in the sacrament of
blessing the rings, with verses 1-3 of Psalms 45.
3. Discuss the lacunas in our worship habits that need to be rectified.
4. State the importance of intercessory prayer in Orthodox liturgy.
5. Find out prayers to the Holy Spirit used in the Holy Eucharist.

For Further reading
1. In Spirit and Truth—Fr. Dr. B. Varghese
2. Light of Freedom—Dr. Paulose Mar Gregorios
3. Holy Eucharist: A Meditative study—Bishop H. Pecken Ham Walsh
4. A Meditative study of Holy Eucharist—H.G. Mathews Mar Barnabas






























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Chapter 3
Orthodox Liturgy


Worship was in existence since the beginning of mankind. Sacrifice, which is the
epitome of worship, also existed since the beginnings. However there weren’t well
organised liturgies in the beginning. Worship was conducted in the manner suggested
by tribal heads. But by the time of Moses, special priestly class and definite forms of
worship emerged according to God’s commandments. During Solomon’s period
God’s temple and spectacular systems of worship developed. It is quite natural that
practices of Jewish worship influenced Christian worship when Christian church
originated. Liturgies, in their infancy, took shape in Jerusalem, which was the mother
of all Christian churches. As the church spread across the world, Church life and
liturgy developed, assimilating the culture and traditions of the respective places.

Liturgy of Malankara Church
There are no proofs regarding the liturgy that existed in Malankara before the
advent of the Portugese. It is a historical truth that all the liturgical books of the
native Church were destroyed in connection with the Synod of Udayamperor. After
the Oath of Koonan Cross, members of Malankara Church who stood away from
the Portugese independently, sought ecclesiastical help from various foreign churches.
Finally they established relationship with Church of Antioch and Western Syrian
liturgy became widespread in Malankara. Today most part of this liturgy have got
translated into Malayalam. Yet the form and content of our liturgy is the same as
that of Western Syrian liturgy. Hence certain technical words of Syriac are still
retained in our Holy Eucharist.
In Orthodox liturgy, the Holy Eucharist is the epitome of worship. However,
the believers are compulsorily obliged to say Hourly prayers at the designated Hours
of the day.

Prayers of Canonical Hours
Eventhough prayers can be said at any time, it is mandatory for an Orthodox
believer to say prayers seven times (at seven specified hours) a day. The church has

34
 permitted the believers to say prayers of these seven canonical Hours at two times a
day. In the oriental tradition, a day begins with vespers. The seven Canonical hours
are Evening, Late Evening, Midnight, Morning, Third watch, Sixth watch (Noon)
and Nineth watch. The church has permitted to conduct the prayers of Nineth
watch, Evening and Late evening together as evening prayer and the rest in the
morning. The seven canonical hours are often correlated with the seven stages of
Christ’s Passion. However we can understand from the Psalms that the practice of
praying seven times existed since the Old Testament period. King David says "Seven
times a day I Praise you because of Your righteous judgements." (Psalms 119:164).
During the lent and the Three Day’s Fast, we have the practice of saying the prayers
of the seven specified Hours as three times. On Saturdays and Sundays of the lent,
the prayers of ordinary days have to be followed.

Actions or Gestures that accompany prayers
In prayers, the body, soul and mind participate together. "For we do not know
what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for
us with groanings which cannot be uttered." (Romans 8:26). Prayer is the time
when the mind communes with God concentratedly. But in the Oriental tradition,
our body also becomes a participant in worship.
All our prayers begin with the recital of ‘Kauma’. The word ‘Kauma’ means
‘standing up’. It is called Kauma because such prayers are said by standing up. The
Orthodox practice is to stand up in God’s presence while saying the prayers.
Crossing oneself and genuflecting are important components of Orthodox
worship (Exodus 4:31, 12 :27). The Church insists on genuflecting at the specified
hours of prayer except on Sundays, ‘Mora Naya’ festivals and days from the
Resurrection to the Pentecost.‘ The liturgies of Three days Fast and the Lent are
arranged in such a manner that there are forty genuflections after the prayers at
noon. Ten of them are made by reciting ‘Kuriye laison’ another ten by reciting ‘Oh
Lord, have mercy up on us,’ yet another ten by reciting ‘Oh Lord, Benevolently have
mercy up on us and the last ten by reciting “Oh Lord Answer us by having mercy
upon us’. In the days of Communion, we do not genuflect till evening.

The components that make up worship
All Hourly prayers in Orthodox church begin with praising the Holy Trinity. If
the Priest is present, the Hourly prayers usually begin with the Syriac verse ‘Shubaho
Labo Ulabbrowala Rooho Kadisho’ which means"“Glory to Father, Son and the
Holy Spirit". Similarly all Hourly prayers begin and end by reciting the ‘Kauma’. The
‘Kauma’ and the Creed of the Church are the pillars of worship and the Orthodox

35
 church never eschew them in worship. Similarly reading of the scriptures is also
part of all services. The reading of six passages from the Holy Bible, including three
readings from the Old Testament books is a unique feature of Orthodox liturgy.
The components of Orthodox liturgy include ‘sloosoe’ or the preliminary prayer
used in Canonical Hourly prayers and services, ‘Prumeyon’ or Introductory prayer,
‘Sedra’ or chain of prayers, ‘Hoosoyoe’ or prayer of Absolution, ‘Ethrow’ or Prayers
using incense, and ‘Hoothowmo’ or concluding prayer. Among these ‘Hoothowmo’
alone are sometimes recited as songs.

Kukiliyon (Intercessory Recitals)
Kukiliyons are a kind of worship that have influenced the Orthodox liturgy
very much. This word means cycle of prayers. All Kukiliyons begin with a passage
from the Psalms. At the end of it, we will have a praise of the Holy Trinity.
(‘Shubaho..MenaO’lam’ meaning praise to Father, Son and Spirit, Right from the
Beginnings and for ever). The succeeding passage is called ‘Ekbo’ (This word means
step or stair). ‘Ekbos’ end by saying ‘Sthaumen kalos’ meaning ‘‘we should stand
befittingly upright.” This is followed by songs called ‘Kolos’. They are a cluster of
two or more songs composed in the same musical note. There will be praise of the
Holy Trinity in between. ‘Kolos’ end with the recital of ‘Moriyo Rahem Melainu
Adarein’ (meaning ‘Lord, Help us by having mercy upon us). This is the time of
praying with incence. There are a lot number of worships arranged in this fashion
in the church. The Kukiliyons generally used in the Holy Eucharist are titled Mother
of God, Saints, The departed Priests, The Departed and The Cross. We can see the
presence of ‘Kukiliyons’ in the liturgies of Baptism, Marriage, Blessing of houses,
etc.

Canonical Offices (Sheema Prayer)
Orthodox church insists that all members of a family should say morning prayers
and vespers together at home everyday. For this the synod has recognized and
published a book ‘Book of Family worship.’ The Canonical Hourly prayers of Ninth
watch, evening and late evening are meant to be said in the evening and those of
Night, Morning, Third watch and midday are meant to be said in the morning.
However the book of prayer followed in seminaries and ‘Dayaras’ (monastries) are
Canonical Offices (Sheema prayer). Here the topic of prayer for each day will be
different according to the impor tance of that day. Sunday is the day of
commemorating Christ’s ‘Kyemtha’ (Resurrection). Monday and Tuesday are days
of repentance. Wednesday is the day commemorating Mother Mary (It is the prayers
for Wednesday in the Canonical Offices that we use as ‘Sleeba’ prayer on Sundays).

36
 Thursday is the day commemorating the Apostles, Malpans and Episcopas. Friday
commemorates the Passion of Christ. Saturday commemorates all the Departed.
The Hourly prayers said during the Lent, Three Day Fast and the Passion Week
are different from Ordinary prayers.

Incense burning prayers
Submission of incense is an integral part of Orthodox liturgy. There is an
important place for incense burning in Hourly prayers, Holy Eucharist and other
sacramental practices. Burning of incence had great importance in the worship
during the Old Testament period. There was a separate table for burning incense in
the tabernacle of Jehova. (Exodus 30: 1-10). There are several suggestions in the
Book of Revelation regarding the burning of incence. St.John here says that the
prayer of the Church which is the New Israel is like the golden bowl full of incence
submitted in God’s presence (Revelation 5:8). Burning of incence is a symbol of
total submission before God. Burning of incence has a symbolic meaning too. Just
as fragrance of incence fills the House of God, the life of the believers too should be
filled with love and goodness. Incence removes the foul smell and the wastes in the
atmosphere. Burning of the incence is also a symbol of the cleaning of time and
space through worship of the church.

Activities
1. Conduct a sample survey among Sunday school students and find out the
percentage of homes saying family prayer both in the morning and in the evening.
2. Analyse and study the significance of various parts of the bowl of
incence.
3. Find out the passages from psalms used in the ‘Kukiliyon’ of funeral services.
4. Write a brief account of the prayers to be said in homes during morning and
evening.
5. Describe the seven specific times of worship and their characteristics.

For further reading
1. The System of Church Services-H.G. Yoohanon Mar Severious
2. Worship and rituals of the Orthodox church-H.G. Joseph Mar Pachomios
3. ‘Abba Father’-Rev. Dr. B. Varghese
4. For a detailed study of the Holy Eucharist which is the epitome of worship refer
to ‘Holy Eucharist: A meditative study’ by H.G. Mathews Mar Barnabas.

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Chapter 4
Festivals of the Orthodox Church


Orthodox church gives great importance to community worship along with
worshipping God as individuals and families.
Our Church Fathers thought that the more the members of the Church could
assemble in one accord for community worship of God, the more will be the
benediction. This led to the increased importance of festivals in the church. During
the Old Testament period, the Jews observed a number of festivals as per God’s
commandment. During the major festivals like the Passover, the Pentecost etc. Jews
assembled in the temple of Jerusalem and prayed.
The word festival means ‘Great day’. Therefore all festivals of the church are
connected in one way or other with Jesus Christ. Festivals are conducted to
commemorate the important events in the life of Jesus Christ or in the Church
founded by Him (Eg: Festival of the Cross) and also to observe the memory of
Apostles, Church Fathers and Saints. As far as a parish is concerned, festivals are
observed on the day of laying its foundation stone or on the day of commemoration
of the Patron saint of that parish.

Moranaya festivals
The word ‘moran’ means ‘of our Lord’. All Sundays are moronaya days, the
festival commemorating Christ’s Resurrection. Besides, the days commemorating
the important events in Christ’s life are also Moranaya festivals. Annunciation of
Mother Mar y, Christmas, Christ’s temple entr y, Baptism, Transfiguration,
Resurrection and the Pentecost belong to the category of Moranaya festivals. (Among
them Resurrection and the Pentecost fall on Sundays and hence are not accounted
in the list of Moranaya festivals).
Besides these, the days of commemorating people connected with Christ’s
incarnation are also observed as Moranaya festivals. Important among them are
festivals connected with Mother of God (Shoonoyo or Assumption of Mother Mary).
The Church has also commanded the observance of some festivals in the same

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 status as Moranaya festivals. The commemoration of Apostles of Christ and Martyrs
who suffered and died for Christ belong to this category. The commemoration of
St. Peter and St. Paul on June 29 and St. Thomas Day on July 3rd (Or December 21)
are Moranaya festivals in Malankara.

How should Sundays be observed?
On this day we should keep away from worldly work and undertake spiritual
works like partaking in the Holy Eucharist, reading of the Holy Bible, Prayer and
singing Hymns. We shouldn’t idle away our time indolently. (‘Principles of Religious
Instruction’). The Church doesn’t permit genuflection or fasting on that day (Read
Isaiah 58: 13, 14). Eventhough Moranaya festivals are to be observed in a similar
manner, the church doesn’t place a compulsory insistence on them due to the
limitations of living conditions in the modern age.

The utility and usefulness of observing Festivals
By commemorating the important events of Christ’s incarnated life at different
times of the year, we experience a contemporaneity with Him. When we observe
the memory of Saints, we can imitate their exemplary life, steadfastedness of Faith
and love for Christ in our lives. We would get God’s grace and blessings through
their intercession. Moreover the festivals are occasions to praise God for the benefits
showered on the Church and the world, through the saints.

The Greatest festival
The greatest festival for a Christian is Easter. Christ who died on the cross got
resurrected. This historical truth distinguishes Christian religion from all other
religions of the world. That event which enabled our salvation gladdens us most.
That is why we celebrate all Sundays as festivals. However unfortunately, believers
attending Easter services are reducing in number and this tendency should be
corrected.

Special rituals associated with festivals
We shall note that the rituals associated with the observance of festivals are
suitable to the nature and content of such festivals. The ritual of bonfire in Christmas
service, is symbolic of the glorious light seen by shepherds on the night of Christ’s
birth and the light that rose over the world which was in darkness. We put
frankincense in the bonfire commemorating the shepherds who came to submit
their gifts to child Jesus and the three wise men who presented gifts of gold, myrrh

39
 and frankincense to Him. When we do so, we can meditate on our own submission
before God. This ritual is conducted at the end of midnight prayer before the
Praise of the Angels.
On ‘Danaha, or Christ’s baptism the ritual of consecrating water commemora-
ting Christ’s baptism is done. When the Holy Trinity arose in Jordan, St. John the
Baptist, revealed the One who baptizes in fire and soul to the world. Hence this
festival is called festival of arising or ‘Denaha’.
The important section in the festival of Resurrection is the Proclamation of
Resurrection. The priest declares ‘Our Christ has resurrected from the Dead and
has defeated His enemies”. The believers reply that ‘We believe and verily confess
that He has truly risen from the dead’.
The present services on the festival of the Pentecost are quite lengthy. The
service of the Pentecost has three parts—those addressing the Father, those
addressing the Son and those addressing the Holy Spirit. The consecrated water is
sprinkled over the faithful after each of these services. The believers who got baptized
in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, get a renewal of their baptism
through the service of the Pentecost.

‘Hawd Maalakhe’
The celebration of the Holy Cross known as ‘Hawd Maalakhe’ is a pattern of
worship included in all special services of the Orthodox church except in the service
of the Pentecost. This is the practice of reciting a ‘Kauma’ elaborately with ceremony
and revelry. Normally the words of response are ‘O!’ The One who got Cruicified
for us...
But in festivals the words of response are changed according to the occasion. It
is a heavenly worship in which the Church praises God jointly with the Nine chores
of angels in heaven and with all living creatures above, below and in between. The
celebration of the Holy Cross is done on Christmas, mid Lent, Good Friday, Easter
and Ascension and on occasions of consecrating the church, and wayside chapels.
‘Hawd Maalakhe’ is celebrated on the festival of Danaha along with consecrated
water, on palm Sunday along with consecrated palm and in consecration of ‘Mooron’
along with ‘Mooron’.

The unnecessary luxuries in festivals
The festivals of saints who lived and died for Christ have today become occasions
for unnecessary luxuries. We celebrate the festival of a saint to glorify the name of
Christ and to imitate his path of sanctity in our lives. Instead many festivals have

40
 today dwindled into luxuries and commotions. Our upcoming generations should
raise their voice against such practices. When we celebrate festivals of martyrs (like
St.George, St.Thomas, St. Peter and St. Paul) we should think and meditate over
why they embraced death eschewing the world. We should avoid celebrations which
do not have any connection with their lives. When we celebrate the festivals of the
saints of Malankara like St. Gregorios of Parumala, and St. Dionysius we should
meditate on their practices in life and try to imitate their lives. These festivals should
help us in praising God who gifted them to the Church.

Activities
1. Prepare a list of the festivals of the Jews
2. What are Moranaya Festivals? Find out their dates.
3. Discuss the non-Christian practices associated with festivals conducted in
various churches.
4. Attempt a study of the unnecessary luxuries and spendthriftness in connection
with festivals.

For further reading
1. The worship and ritualistic practices of Orthodox church-H.G. Joseph Mar
Pachomios
2. ‘Nirlepam’ (Chp 5)-H.G. Geevarghese Mar Ivanios
3. In Spirit and Truth (Chapter 5, 6)—Fr. Dr. B. Varghese.























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Unit 3

Church History


Chapter 1
Milestones in Church History


A comprehensive and synoptic history of the Christian Church from I st
century
AD to the twentieth century is given below. Only the important events which can
be described as milestones of church history are discussed here.
1. The Pentecost and Baptism of the Church
2. The selection of deacons and the conversion of Saul
3. The Council of Jerusalem-AD 50
4. The tribulations of the Church
5. Constitution of the Holy Bible.
6. Milan proclamation AD 313
7. The Great Councils and Divisions of the Church
8. The origin and development of monasticism
9. Crusades
10 Reformation
11. The Ecuminical movement

The Pentecost and Baptism of the Church
Jesus Christ who resurrected on the third day, appeared to his disciples and
some women and affirmed them in faith. He breathed Holy Spirit on his selected
disciples and entrusted them with the evangelical mission. (St. John 20: 19-23,
St.Matthew 28: 18-20)
He also commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the
Promise of the Father which they had heard from Him (Acts 1:2-5).

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 As they were awaiting to be filled with the Holy Spirit, they elected Matthias in
place of Judas who had been removed from the apostolic fold because of his
transgression of betraying Christ. (Acts 1: 15-26)
On the Day of the Pentecost all the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and
spoke in other tongues. (Acts 2:1-4). About three thousand people among those
who listened to St. Peter’s speech got baptized and joined the Christian church
(Acts 2:14-42). The Holy Bible thus records the beginnings and baptism of the
Christian church. Christ’s passion, Crucifixion, Resurrection and the Ascension
and the anointment of His disciples with Holy Spirit on the fiftieth day marked the
beginning and growth of the Christian church in Jerusalem.

The selection of deacons and the conversion of Saul
When the number of disciples multiplied and the church attained unprecedented
growth, seven men of good reputation, Holy spirit and wisdom were prayfully elected
to assist the apostles in church services, especially its welfare activities (Acts 6:1-6).
They came to be known as ‘deacons’ which means ‘those who serve’.”
Jews who became jealous of the fast growth of the church, tried to destroy it in
what all ways they could. Their solution was to find out, persecute and exterminate
Christians. Saul of Tarsus who gave leadership to such persecutions was caught by
Jesus Christ and was transformed into the chief deacon of the church. (Acts 9: 1-
18, 22:3-21). The conversion of Paul gave a new awakening and energy to the
Christian church. Saul or St. Paul spread his evangelical activities to various parts
of the Roman empire outside Judea and Samaria. As a result St. Paul was called
“apostle of the gentiles.”
The missionary travels and evangelical activities of St. Paul resulted in the
dispersal and development of the Christian church.

The Council of Jerusalem (AD 50)
The council of Jerusalem is a significant one in church history. When disputes
regarding the laws and rituals to be observed by non-Jewish people who joined
Christian church arose, a meeting headed by the apostles was convened in Jerusalem
in AD 50 and solutions were sorted out (Acts 15:1-15). Even though this council
might seem insignificant, it is important because of two reasons.
1. This council became instrumental in creating an identity and status for
the Christian church. Hitherto, the Christian church had been regarded as
part of the Jewish religion. It acquired a separate identity and status after this
council.

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 2. The historical importance of this council is that it became a perfect model of
solving disputes arising within the church. The growth of the church became
faster thereafter.

Persecutions
In the beginning, the Christian church had to undergo a lot of persecutions.
Jews, followed by the Romans, persecuted the Christians. The cruel and beastly
persecutions which began in the first century AD lasted till the fourth century AD.
Thousands of people including the apostles and the apostolic fathers suffered
martyrdom. The blood of the early Christians who valued martyrdom above
everything else, became the seed and manure for the growth of the church.
Roman emperors like Valarius (253-260 AD) and Diocletian (284-313 AD)
gave leadership to the persecution. The reasons for the persecution pointed out by
the rulers were insubordination to the Roman empire and its emperors, neglect of
Roman gods, refusal of military service, acting against or contrary to the interests of
the empire, assembling in secret places to plot against the empire, assembling secretly
for prostitution and eating meat and abstaining from social rituals and practices.
Even though the tribulations were a challenge to the Christian church, the
faith, determination and desire for martyrdom of Christians attracted many to the
Christian fold. As a result, the growth of the church became faster. The persecutions
did not merely create martyrs. They also caused the growth and dispersal of the
church. Besides the persecutions resulted in the establishment of the canon of the
New Testament and writings connected with faith.

Establishing the Canon of the Holy Bible
The early church expected the second coming of Jesus Christ soon and hence
didn’t pay attention to writings. The epistles of St. Paul were written after AD 50
and the gospels were written after AD 60. Numerous books were written in the
name of apostles and early fathers. As a result several contradictory teaching gained
currency in the church. The early church fathers thought about the writings to be
included in and excluded from the Holy Bible. Consequently the canon of the New
Testament was established around AD 175. In the ‘Muratorian’ canon which is
believed to be written around AD 180, only 22 books are included. The other books
were excluded from the canon because of lack of clarity regarding authorship, and
doubts about the content. However subsequent confirmation in these matters led
to the later inclusion of the other books in the canon. Mar Athanasius, Bishop of

44
 Alexandria, had stated in an Easter message send to various parishes in AD 367 that
there are 27 books in the New Testament. The meeting of the Rabbis of Judaism at
Jamnia in AD 90 decided that there would be 39 books in the Old Testament (Jamnia
Council) The church took authoritative and official decision regarding the books
of the Holy Bible towards the end of the second century AD. Thus the early church
officially recognised the Old Testament containing 39 books and the New Testament
with 27 books.

Milan proclamation (AD 313)
Milan proclamation was made on 13th June 313 AD jointly by Lissi Nius who
was the emperor of the eastern parts of the Roman empire and Constantine who
was the emperor of the western parts of Rome. This proclaimation removed all
restrictions imposed on Christians in the Roman empire and declared Christianity
as a recognised religion of the Roman empire. The Christian church which had
been suppressed and tortured for three centuries, got independence and recognition
in the Roman empire through the Milan proclaimation. The confiscated properties
and churches of Christians were given back. Christians who were imprisoned were
released. Sunday was declared a public holiday. However the later historical incidents
prove that Milan declaration did more harm than good on the spiritual plane.
As Christianity became a recognized religion, thousands accepted Christian
faith. But the ethical principles, moral life styles and love based fellowship upheld
by the Christian church till that date became nominal. The Christian church in the
Roman empire was transformed into an administrative mechanism that functions
with the support of political power. Moreover the church that protested against
imperial forces till that date, became supporters of such forces and individuals. The
Christian church became an imperial church.

The three Great Councils and Division in the Church
The Church Councils (Synods; gatherings or meetings) were venues for studying
theological and religious disputes within the church and finding out solutions. The
early Christian church faced two main challenges-one was political-imperial
persecution and the other was heresy. The important heresies of the first century
were Gnosticism, Marcianism, montanism and monarchianism . In later ages,
numerous other heresies developed either under the influence of the early heresies
or independently. These later heresies created divisions in the church and led to
councils or synods. The important synods and the heresies that caused them are
given below.

45
 1. Nicea (AD 325) - heresy of Arius
2. Constantinople (AD 381)-the heresies of Macedonianism and Apolinarianism.
3. Ephesus (AD 431)-Nestorianism.
These three synods are recognized by all ancient churches. Eighteen synods
or great councils were convened in the later ages. Out of the total twenty one synods
the first three are recognised by the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the first
seven are recognised by the Byzantine Orthodox churches. The rest are recognised
and claimed only by the Catholic Church.
The synod of Chalcedon (AD 451), known as the fourth Great Council has
great importance in the history of the church. Eutyches, the old Abbot of the
monastry of Alexandria, raised the question whether the Incarnated Christ was of
one nature or of two natures. This gave rise to the division of the Church in the
Roman empire. Those churches which accepted the decisions of the Council of
Chalcedon were called Chalcedonian churches (Rome and Constantinople) and
those which didn’t accept them were cal le d Non-Chalcedonian churches
(Alexandria, Antioch and Armenia). After the division of the church in 1054 AD,
the Church in the Roman empire was split into Eastern (Byzantine) and Western
(Catholic) factions.

The origin and development of Monasticism
Monasticism originated in the Christian Church in the last decades of the second
century and in the first decade of the third century AD. The desire to attain
‘perfection’ demanded by Jesus Christ (St. Matthew 5:48; 19:21), the end of
tribulations, the spiritual life style of Christians and their unique concepts about
the world attracted many people to monastic life. Monasticism originated in Egypt.
St. Antony is the founder and practitioner of solitary monasticism and St. Pachomius
is the founder and practitioner of community monasticism. Monasticism and monks
have made invaluable contribution to the Christian church. Their contributions
include studies, liturgical writings, social welfare activities, missionary activities and
moral life styles.

Crusades
The efforts made by Christians of the West to wrest control of the Holy Land of
Palestine from Turks who were followers of Islam, are generally known as Crusades.
This is a Holy war waged by Christians by bearing a cross, against the enemies of
the cross. Crusades took place during the period from 1095 AD to 1291 AD. The
crusades of children known as children’s crusade happened in 1212 AD. The

46
 crusaders not only failed to capture Palestine but also lost many other Christian
dominated places to the Turks. The crusades affected the entire Christian church
adversely. It led to quarrels and disputes among the various Christian churches.

Reformation movement
The attempts at church reform initiated under the leadership of Martin Luther
in the Western Church came to be known as Reformation. Even though Martin
Luther is the father of Reformation, its founding principles were in currency long
before him. People like John Wycliffe and John Huss had propagated the reformist
ideas and had questioned the structure and style of action of the Western Church.
The practice of selling Cards of Absolution of the Catholic church gave impetus to
Reformation. Martin Luther opposed the corruption, immorality and nepotism that
existed in the Roman church. He founded the Reformation movement officially in
1517. Luther’s actions were supported by H. Swingley and John Calvin who spread
the ideas of Reformation to places like Germany, Switzerland, France and
Netherlands. Churches which originated as a result of the Reformation movement
are known as ‘Reformed churches’. The Reformation movement led to the formation
of Reformed churches and thereafter, the Protestant churches. It caused the later
divisions of the Roman church.

Ecumenical movement
The reformist ideas effected new trends in the entire Christendom. As a result
reformist churches and organizations came forward to conduct bible studies and
mission activities more effectively. The interest in bible studies and missionary
activities enabled such missionaries to assemble and work together. Such fellowships
developed with the passage of time and later led to the World Missionary Conference.
The Edinburgh conference of 1910 laid the foundation of the modern ecumenical
movement. The influence of the World Missionary Conference led to the formation
of two ecumenical movements-Life and Work Movement and Faith and Order
Movement. Life and Work Movement tried to understand the responsibility of
Christians in the midst of urgent social issues. ‘Faith and Order Movement helped
in studying the faith and order issues of different churches and fostered mutual
understanding among churches. The ‘Faith and Order’ conference held in 1937 at
Oxford and the ‘Life and Work’ conference held in Edinburgh caused the emergence
of the World Council of Churches. The two movements jointly decided to found
the World Council of Churches. The World Council of Churches was formed in
August 1948 at the meeting in Amsterdam in which delegates from 147 Christian
churches participated. Rev. W.A. Vissert Hoaft was elected the first general secretary

47
 of WCC. His Grace Alexois Mar Thevodosios Metropolitan and Fr. K. Philipose
participated as delegates of Malankara Orthodox Church. Thus Malankara Church
became one of the founding members of WCC. Thereafter the Malankara Orthodox
church is working actively in the ecumenical movement. It is a matter of pride for
us that Late Paulose Mar Gregorios metropolitan was one of the leading names in
the ecumenical scenario.

Activities
1. What were the conditions that led to the selection of deacons?
2. How was Matthias elected in place of Judas, who betrayed Christ? Read Acts
1:15-26 and find out.
3. What is Jerusalem Council? Why was it held? What is its importance?
4. What is Milan proclamation? Discuss the good and bad aspects of this declaration.
5. What is the synod of Chalcedon? Describe the division of the church after the
synod?
6. Write short notes on
1. The beginning of monasticism
2. Crusades
3. Reformation movement
4. Ecumenical movement

























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Chapter 2
Important Events in
Malankara Church


This chapter describes the events that played an important role in the growth of
Malankara Church. A brief outline of the Malankara Church history of twenty
centuries is given below.
1. St. Thomas and the Malankara Church
2. Persian immigration
3. Synod of Udayamperor (1599)
4. Koonan Cross oath
5. Marthoma I and Episcopa
6. Division of the Malankara church
7. The relation between Malankara and Antioch
8. Vattippanam
9. Bible translation and beginning of the Seminary
10. Malankara-Anglican relationship
11. Synod of Mulanthuruthy
12. Modern Malankara Church

St. Thomas and the Malankara Church
History states that St. Thomas came to Malankara in AD 52 and founded certain
Christian communities. There are two traditions regarding the visit of St. Thomas
to India-the North Indian tradition and the South Indian tradition.

The South Indian tradition
St. Thomas came to Kodungalloor which was then known as ‘Muziris’ and
founded Christian communities in seven important places. St. Thomas suffered
martyrdom in AD 72 while he was living in Mylapore and was interred there.

49
 The following are the important evidences for the fact that St. Thomas founded
the church in Malankara.
1. The tomb of St. Thomas.
2. The ancient Christian communities founded by St. Thomas.
3. The name of St. Thomas used by the Christian communities.
4. Historical documents regarding the activities of the apostle.
5. Christian witnesses in the oral and literal traditions.

The North Indian tradition
The basis of our belief that St. Thomas preached the Gospels in North India is
a book titled ‘The activities of Judas Thomas’ written by an author from Uraha
between AD 180 and AD 230. This book states that apostle St. Thomas propagated
the way of Christ in the country of Gondaphores. Scholars affirm that Gondaphores
was the king who ruled over lands adjoining Afghanisthan, Baluchisthan and Punjab
in the Ist century AD. Coins issued in his name have been found in the later
centuries. Gregorios Bar Ebraya, the Syrian Father of Antioch who lived in the 13th
century says in his book of Church History that St. Thomas preached the gospels in
places under the authority of Gondaphores. Solomon the Nestorian Bishop of Basra
who lived in the same century has recorded in his book ‘The Book of the Bee’ that
Thomas, of the Tribe of Judea, had preached gospel in India.

Persian immigration
Both Malankara and Persian Churches preserve and take pride in the apostolic
tradition and heritage of St. Thomas. The heritage of St. Thomas has augmented
the interrelationship and friendship of the two churches. The Malankara Church
maintained good relationship with the Persian church since the first centuries of
Christendom. When the great persecution of the Christians took place, the Persian
Christians migrated in small groups to Malankara. The first Persian immigration
took place in AD 345 under the leadership of Thomas of Cana and the second
immigration took place in AD 825 under the leadership of ‘Sabrisho’. The first was
a migration of fugitives and the second was of merchants. The Persian immigration
has exerted a significant influence in the history of Malankara Church. To some
extend, it has helped in enriching the church life of Malankara church and in fulfilling
its spiritual needs.

The Synod of Udayamperor (Diamper)
The Portugese who were Roman Catholics came to Malankara for commerce
at the end of the 15th century. These members of the Western church who came to

50
 Malankara under the leadership of Vasco da Gama tried their best to convert
Malankara Church into Roman Catholic faith. The followers of the Malankara
Church who had ecclesiastical relationship only with the Persian Church till then,
became dissatisfied with the activities of the Catholic church. Gradually the Portugese
catholics wrested administrative control over Malankara forcibly and Malankara
church was forced to surrender to their hegemony. The Synod of Udayamperor
was such a notorious incident. The Malankara church which refused to accept the
supremacy, faith and rituals and other church practices of the Roman church, was
forcibly yoked to Roman slavery through the synod of Udayamperor. The helpless
‘Nazranis’ did not have enough strength to resist this external force. It was the then
Archbishop of Goa, Alexis de Menesis, who controlled the proceedings of the Synod
and took decisions. The meeting which took place in June 1599 was presided over
by the Archbishop. 153 priests and 600 laymen from the Malankara Church
participated in the Synod. Historical writings testify that the decisions and decrees
claimed to be taken at the synod of Udayamperor were obtained unilaterally through
compulsion. Besides Menesis is said to have added certain decisions which were not
discussed in the synod.

The following decisions were taken at the synod
1. The perspectives of the Roman Catholic church regarding Trinity, Incarnation,
Mother Mary, Original sin, Purgatory, Intercession of Saints, Icon worship,
Church and its organization and Books of the Bible should be accepted.
2. The Pope of Rome should be the only supreme head of the church. The Patriarch
of Babylon should be rejected as he promotes heresy and schism.
3. The list of saints of Malankara is not acceptable. Hence that list should be
abandoned.
4. Celibacy for priests should be made compulsory.
5. The Malankara church should be divided into Parishes and vicars should be
appointed for each parish.
Thus synod of Udayamperor suppressed the identity and independence of the
Malankara Church.

Koonan Cross Oath (1653)
Koonan Cross Oath is a great event that led Malankara church from its fifty
four year long slavery to the shores of independence. The synod of Udayamperor
had brought about radical changes in worship, faith and practices of the Malankara

51
 church. The faith and observances of the Roman Catholics were enforced in the
Malankara church and the whole church was brought under the Pope of Rome.
The hapless Malankara church lived in its sufferings for about half a century before
it got a chance of attaining independence. In 1652 an episcopa named Ahathalla
arrived in Malankara. The followers of the Malankara church looked upon him as
their saviour and approached Roman Archbishop Francis Garcia for permission to
meet him and for getting him released from Portugese captivity. The Archbishop
who vehemently opposed the dreams of independence of the Malankara church
didn’t give permission either to meet Ahathalla or to release him. Due to the
influence of the foreign forces, even the king of Kochi could not help the Nazranis.
The authorities feared that children of the Malankara church might release Ahathalla
by force and ordered the ship carrying him to sail out of Kochi harbour. At that
time a rumour that the Portugese murdered Ahathalla and drowned his corpse at
sea spread like wildfire in Malankara. The enraged children of Malankara church
assembled in Alangadu church and took an oath. This is known as Koonan cross
oath. The oath was taken by tying a long rope to a cross, and consequently the cross
was bent. Therefore this oath came to be known as Koonan cross (bent cross) oath.
This historical event which happened on 3rd January 1653 has been distorted
and misinterpreted by later Catholic historians. History testifies that the Koonan
cross oath, known as ‘the independence struggle of Malankara Church’ was against
all forms of foreign domination and supremacy. This is evident to anyone who
examines the contemporary historical scenario. Even the historical books of the
Roman Catholic Church contain evidences in this direction. Koonan Cross oath
was not merely a farce or an expression of anger. It was a combined effort of the
Malankara church to regain its traditions of worship and faith. The whole of
Malankara church put up a joint front in this direct struggle and unconditionally
rejected the Roman Catholic church, its representative authorities and the Roman
Catholic faith which was imposed forcibly. It also returned to its Marthoman heritage
and Syrian traditions. We should not forget the fact that condemning those who
stood steadfast in the traditions and heritage followed by the church for centuries,
as ‘Newfangled loyals’ (Puthan Kootukar) is not in tune with historical truths. The
oath of Koonan cross was a great attempt to conserve the independence and identity
of Malankara Church and revive its lost heritage and traditions.

Mar Thoma First and the Episcopate
On May 22nd, 1653, after the Koonan Cross oath, an assembly was held in
Alangadu church. Twelve priests jointly anointed Archdeacon Thoma as Episcopa
at this assembly. Mar Thoma I anointed in this manner was the first prelate of the

52
 Indian Church in the episcopal cadre. Historians then and now have difference of
opinion regarding the legitimacy of the consecration of Marthoma I. However his
anointment as Episcopa was something that the Malankara Church desired for and
decided single mindedly. Moreover Bishop Mar Gregorios of Jerusalem who arrived
in Malankara in 1665 legitimized the consecration of Mar Thoma 1. The Malankara
Church which had to depend on foreign metropolitans for all spiritual needs, realized
that an indigenous episcopate was essential for its comprehensive development and
laid its foundation. Mar Thoma I is the first known episcopa of the Indian church.
The precedence of twelve priests raising a person to episcopacy existed in the
Alexandrian (Coptic) Church.

The Division of Malankara Church
The Roman Church which came to know about Koonan Cross oath and
subsequent developments tried to placate the children of Malankara and bring them
back to the Roman fold. They send Carmelite missionaries Hyacinth and Joseph
Sebastiani as mediators for this purpose. The mediators succeeded in their mission.
Majority of the people and parishes under MarThoma I deserted their prelate in
favour of Roman faith. Parambil Chandy Kathanar of Kuravilangadu and Kadavil
Chandy Kathanar of Kaduthuruthy, two of the four major priests elected to assist
Marthoma I had already accepted Roman faith.
On January 7, 1663 the Dutch captured Kochi. As a result, the political influence
of the Portugese in Malankara declined. When the Dutch ordered the eviction of
the Portugese from Kochi, the latter had no option but to raise Parambil Chandy
Kathanar as episcopa. This interference of the Catholic Church caused a division
in the Malankara Church which had remained undivided for sixteen centuries.
The two factions became bitter enemies. One should rethink whether Christian
missionary activities are meant to promote enmity and division in the above described
manner.
The interference of the Catholic Church led Malankara Church into power
tussles and further divisions. History testifies to the fact that it is the Roman Catholic
church and its desire for power that laid the foundation of factionalism and power
struggle that we see in Malankara Church today. Thus the Malankara Church which
was one in faith, tradition and practices got divided in the second half of the
seventeenth century.

The relationship between Malankara and Antioch
The Malankara Church which had been ruled by indigenous leaders till the
15 century, went under the Roman Catholic administration in the 16th century
th

53
 after the arrival of the Portugese. It had to bear the Roman yoke for about half a
century. After the oath of Koonan Cross in 1653, it severed all relations with the
Catholic church. The consecration of Marthoma I and the dissensions regarding
his episcopacy led Malankara church into new relationships. Church historians say
that Mar Gregorios of Jerusalem who reached Malankara in 1665 led Malankara
church into its relationship with Antioch. Eventhough the Malankara Church had
relationship with the Persian (Nestorian) church till the sixteenth century, it had
no relationship with the church of Antioch till then. There are no historical
documents to prove the relationship with Antioch. It is the arrival of Mar Gregorios
in the seventeenth century and the legitimization of episcopate in Malankara that
led to the relationship between Malankara and Antioch. The visit and collaboration
of Metropolitians from Antioch in 17 th and 18 th centuries strengthened the
relationship between Malankara and Antioch. The Synod of Mulanthuruthy held
in 1896 formalised this relationship. Even though this relationship helped to sustain
the Syrian tradition of the Malankara church, it led to decisive changes in faith and
rituals. When the relationship with the Catholic church caused two divisions
(including Malankara rite) in Malankara church, the relationship with Church of
Antioch shattered the Malankara church to pieces. Thozhiyoor and Jacobite factions
originated as a result of the relationship of the Malankara church with the Patriarch
of Antioch.

Vattippanam (Fixed Deposit given for interest)
During the rule of British Resident Colonel Mecaulay, Marthoma Seventh who
succeeded Marthoma Sixth (Mar Dionysius, the Great) deposited 3000 poovarhan
(Golden or star pagodas) equivalent to Rs. 10,500 with the British East India
Company at a rate of 8 percent interest per annum. Out of these 3000 star pagodas,
840 star pagodas were collected by Mar Dionysius from the community and the
rest (2160) were got from his co-operation with Mecaulay. (The word ‘Baddhi’ in
Kannada means interest and it became ‘Vatti’ in Malayalam)
The interest got from the above mentioned deposit was meant to be spend
on welfare projects of the Church. The first annual interest of the deposit was
received by Marthoma Seventh and the interest for the three succeeding years was
received by Pulikkottil Ittoop Ramban for the construction of the seminar y.
The interest on this deposit was utilized for the daily expenses of the seminary
till 1836. Thereafter there arose a dispute with the Patriarchal faction regarding
who is entitled to receive the interest and this dispute came to be known as
‘Vattippanam suit’.

54
 Translation of the Bible and founding of the Seminary
The Old Testament of the Holy Bible was written originally in Hebrew and the
New Testament in Greek. Later the complete Bible was translated into various
languages like Latin, Syriac, Coptic, English and German. The Holy Bible used in
Malankara till the first decade of the 19th century was the Syriac translation of the
Bible. It was in 1811 that the Malayalam translation of the four gospels became
popular in Malayalam. It is believed that Ramban Philippose of Kayamkulam and
Ramban Joseph of Pulikottil played an important role in the translation of the
Malayalam Bible. This translation known as Ramban Bible was published from
Mumbai in 1811. The roles of Ramban Philippose of Kayamkulam and Claudius
Bucanan in the publication of Ramban Bible are widely acknowledged. The complete
New Testament published in 1829 was realized mainly through the efforts of
Pulikkottil Ittoop Ramban and Benjamin Bailey. In 1841 the complete Bible containing
both Old and New Testaments was published through the efforts of Benjamin Bailey
and Thomas Norton. The contributions of Mathen Malpan Konattu and Kadavil
Paulose Mar Athanasius in the publication of Malayalam Bible cannot be forgotten.
The services rendered by foreign missionaries, especially Anglican Missionaries in
the publication of Malayalam Bible are incomparable. Among them Benjamin Bailey,
Thomas Norton and Herman Gundert deserve special mention.
Joseph Mar Dionysius II of Pulikkottil founded priesthood training centre known
as Old Seminary at Kottayam in 1815. Rani Lakshmi Bai who ruled Travancore at
that time contributed 16 acres of land, the required timber and about 20,000 rupees
for the purpose. The foundation stone of the work in the tax-free land allotted on
the banks of Meenachil river was laid on 15th February 1814. The construction of
the seminary was completed in March 1815 and thereafter priesthood training
started. The Old Seminary soon developed as the administrative headquarters and
priesthood training centre. The contribution of Joseph Mar Dionysius II in this
development is incomparable. English education in the land of Kerala had its
beginning in the Old Seminary.

The relationship between Malankara
and the Anglican Church
Malankara- Anglican relationship is yet another relationship that helped the
growth of Malankara church on one hand and caused its division on the other.
Malankara church maintained cordial relationship with CMS missionaries, the
missionary arm of the Anglican church, right from the beginning of the 19th century.
With the aim of co-operative action with the Malankara church, the Church Mission
Society (CMS) send the missionaries Thomas Norton, Benjamin Bailey, Henry Baker

55
 and Joseph Fenn to Malankara. They executed their evangelical mission with
Kottayam as their centre. Fenn got engaged in Seminary services, Bailey in the
translation of the Holy Bible and Baker in founding schools. Along with their mission,
the missionaries tried to implement Reformist ideas in the Malankara church. They
wanted to alter the liturgy and rituals of the Malankara Church in order to attune
them with those of theirs. As a result there arose two factions within Malankara
Church-those who supported and those who opposed reformation. In order to decide
whether the Church should accept or reject the reformist ideas, a Church assembly
was held in 1836 at Mavelikkara. This assembly decided to reject reformist ideas
altogether . This is known as ‘Mavelikkara Padiyola’. However this official decision
of the Church was not acceptable to all.

Kochi Panchayat of AD 1840
As the differences with the missionaries heightened and a compromise became
impossible, both factions decided to divide the property of the Church between
them. On April 24, 1840 a committee having three Europeans as its members met
at Kochi for this purpose. As per the decision of the committee, Old Seminary and
its properties and Vattippanam was apportioned for the Syrian Church. On the
other hand CMS College, Kottayam and its surroundings, Rupees 20,000 got from
the government, and Munroe island were given to the missionaries. The court also
suggested that there should be an elected priest and a layman along with the
Metropolitan to handle public money and receive the interest on ‘Vattippanam’.
Thus trustees of the Church were posted.
Later Abraham Malpan and others tried to implement Reformist ideas in the
Church. As a result those who supported reformation continued to exist as a
separate faction within the Church and resulted in another division of the Church
subsequently. After the Royal Court judgement of 1889, the reformist faction got
separated from the Malankara Church and founded a new church named ‘Mar
Thoma Church’.

Synod of Mulanthuruthy (1876)
Synod of Mulanthuruthy is one of the important events in the history of
Malankara Church. The Malankara Church brought Patriarch of Antioch to
Malankara in order to defeat the Reformist faction in court cases. An assembly of
the Malankara Church was held at Mulanthuruthy and it was presided over by the
Patriarch. The assembly of Church representatives was held at Mulanthuruthy
church in June 1876. The Patriarch insisted that Malankara church should oblige
in writing to surrender its independence and soverignity to the Patriarch of Antioch.

56
 Apart from the decisions taken at Veliyanadu assembly in 1873, it was also decided
that Malankara Church had been under the Patriarch of Antioch since ancient
times. Even though the decisions of the Synod helped in defeating the Reformist
faction in court cases, it is a sad truth of history that the Synod led to the surrender
of the identity and freedom of the church and to its subsequent division. It was
Patriarch Pathrose III who convened the Synod of Mulanthuruthy and presided
over it. This historical event happened during the period of Pulikkottil Joseph Mar
Dionysius V.

Activities
1. Explain the two traditions that exist regarding the visit of St. Thomas to India.
2. What is Synod of Udayamperor? How did it affect our church?
3. Describe briefly
1. Persian Immigration
2. Koonan Cross Oath
4. How was Arch Deacon Thoma ordained as Marthoma I?
5. Explain the circumstances that led to division in Malankara Church.
6. What is ‘Vattippanam suit’?
7. What is Synod of Mulanthuruthy? Discuss its impact on the Church.


























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Chapter 3

History of the Catholicate



The Catholicate of Malankara is the symbol of the freedom and identity of
Malankara Church. This chapter discusses the founding of the Catholicate and the
events that led to its foundation.

1. The titles of Catholicos and Patriarch.
2. The titles of Catholicos and Maphriyan in the Persian empire.
3. The background of founding Catholicate in Malankara.
4. Was it Catholicate or Maphriyanate that was founded in Malankara?
5. Was it a founding or a reinstatement?


The titles of Catholicos and Patriarch
The word Catholicos has originated from the Greek word Cath-Nolikos. This
word means ‘Person of the Public.’
Revenue officers in the Roman Empire were known by this name. Hence this
name was not used to designate church administrators within the Roman Empire.
But in places like Persia, Georgia, Armenia etc outside the Roman Empire, Church
administrators were known as Catholicos. Besides, ‘Person of the Public’, this title
was also used in these churches in the sense of a church administrator who rules a
See independently.
The title Patriarch was used by prelates of the church within the Roman
Empire the title Patriarch originated from the Greek words ‘Patri’ and ‘Archies’
which mean ‘Chief Father’. The Supreme leader of Church, family, clan or tribe
was known by this title. These facts underline that Patriarch and Catholicos are
equivalent titles and have equal authority and rights. The two titles were used
alternately to designate prelates of different churches having equal authority and
rights.

58
 The titles of Catholicos and Maphriyan
in the Persian Empire
Catholicate originated in the Persian church by about AD 290. After three
hundred years Maphrianate was founded in the Church of Tigris which was under
the Syrian church of Antioch but geographically within the Persian Empire. The
head of Persian Church was called Catholicos and the head of Church of Tigris was
called Maphriyan. Catholicos was the leader of Persian Christians whereas Maphriyan
was the leader of members of Church of Antioch living in Persia. In those days
Catholicos was considered equal to Patriarch and Maphriyan was considered as
under the see of Antioch. However the records after the 13th century tend to use
these titles alternately. It is with the Catholicos of the Persian Church that Malankara
Church had friendship and communion till the 12th century AD. The Maphriyan of
Tigris was a subordinate of Patriarch of Antioch and a member of the Syrian Church
ordained by the Patriarch. He executed pastoral service to members of Syrian Church
who lived in Tigris. Moreover the Church of Tigris was part of the Church of
Antioch.

The background of founding the
Catholicate in Malankara
When we think about the background of founding the Catholicate in Malankara,
it becomes prima face evident that the liberation from foreign domination and the
innate desire for freedom of the Malankara church prompted the church fathers to
think about such an administrative mechanism. Besides the founding of Catholicate
can be seen as part of the progressive development of the Malankara Church.
The most important cause of the founding of Catholicate was the Synod of
Mulanthuruthy and the rights and authority illegitimately claimed by the Patriarch
through it. The synod of Mulanthuruthy convened in 1876 had taken two wrong
decisions. One was that the Malankara church had recognized the supremacy of
the Patriarch of Antioch since ancient days. These decisions ensured the supreme
authority of Patriarch of Antioch and Malankara Church was to be considered as
part of church of Antioch. There was a general impression that the reins of authority
of the Malankara Church was transferred from the Malankara Metropolitan to the
Patriarch. This foreign intervention destroyed the freedom of the Malankara Church
and Malankara Church once again had to submit before foreign domination.
The desire for liberation from foreign domination led to the founding of the
Catholicate.
Another reason for the founding of Catholicate was the desire to give due
recognition and repect to Joseph Mar Dionysius V, who led Malankara Church to

59
 victory in its struggle against the Reformists. The members of the Church desired
to found an administrative system (Maphriyanate) similar to the one that existed in
Tigris, Persia under the Patriarch of Antioch and wanted to raise Joseph Mar
Dionysius to that post. Mathan Malpan of Konattu and Vattasseril Mar Dionysius
metropolitan wrote letters to the Patriarch placing this request before him. Malankara
Church demanded the reinstatement of Maphriyanate in Malankara which had
ceased to exist in Tigris. The historical documents reveal that Vattasseril Metropolitan
and his followers were driven solely by the desire to establish an independent
administrative system and had no intention to break off the relationship with the
Patriarch or with the Church of Antioch. The immediate cause of establishing the
Catholicate was the uncanonical interdict against Saint Vattasseril Metropolitan
issued by Patriarch Abdulla on 5th May 1911.
The Catholicate can be seen as an outward expression of the ageoldness and
historical consciousness of the Malankara Church. Besides it can also be seen as an
independent administrative mechanism that evolved as a result of the progressive
growth of the Church. The ageoldness, historical consciousness and evolution can
be listed as the reasons for the founding of the Catholicate.

The founding of Catholicate in Malankara
The interdict on St. Vattasseril Metropolitan created great commotion in the
Malankara Church. Majority of the people and Churches rallied behind the saintly
metropolitan. They decided that such high handed actions of the Patriarch of Antioch
should be stopped altogether and steps should be taken to prevent any such moves
in future. They referred the matter to Patriarch Abded Meshiha, the Predecessor of
Patriarch Abdulla, who accepted the invitation of Malankara and arrived here on
13th June 1912.
The managing committee of the Church which assembled in Parumala under
the presidentship of Mar Dionysius VI decided to consecrate Murimattathil Paulose
Mar Ivanios of Kandanad diocese as Catholicos. Accordingly the Synod of Malankara
Church headed by Patriarch Abded Meshiha consecrated Mar Ivanios as Catholicos
under the title Mar Baselius. The consecration took place at Niranam Church on
Sunday 15th September 1912. Thus the Catholicate was established in Malankara.

Was it Catholicate or Maphriyanate
that was founded in Malankara?
There are two opinions over this question. The demand raised in the letter
send by St. Vattasseril Mar Dionysius and Mathan Malpan of Konattu to the Patriarch

60
 of Antioch was regarding the Maphrianate and its foundation. But in the Orders
issued by Patriarch Abded Meshiha in connection with the establishment of the
Catholicate, Mar Baselius Paulose I was designated as Catholicos or Maphriyan.
One of the above mentioned orders reads like this:
In response to your request, we have ordained our beloved Ivanios as Baselios
with the name Maphrian or Catholicos of the East that is the See of the Apostle
Marthoma in India and elsewhere (V.C. Samuel ‘Truth Triumphs’ MOC, Kottayam,
46). This order was issued on 17th September 1912. Even though what was desired
for and meant to be founded was the Maphrianate, the order proclaims it as
Catholicate also. Moreover in the order issued in February 1913, the Head of
Malankara church is designated as Catholicos. It reads:“"When the Catholicos passes
away, your bishops have the legitimate right to ordain another person in the place.’’
Both these orders refer to the Head of Malankara Church as Catholicos. Even though
what the Malankara Church desired for was a Maphrianate, what was founded
here in effect was the Catholicate. Also in the orders regarding the rights and
authority of the Catholicos, the rights and authorities mentioned are those that can
be executed only by the Catholicos and not by a Maphriyan. Hence what was founded
in Malankara was an independent Catholicate.
Was it a founding or a reinstatement of the Catholicate
How did the founding of the Catholicate come to be known as a reinstatement?
The reasons for such a misrepresentation are the following.
1. The thought that it was the Maphrianate of Tigris that was transplanted to
Malankara and the propaganda in this direction.
2. The misconcept that Malankara church was part of Church of Tigris.
3. As the Catholicos of Malankara uses the title (‘Catholicos of the East’) used by
the Catholicos of Tigris.
4. The thought that the Catholicate of Tigris has ceased to exist and is non extant
today.
Because of these reasons the establishment of the Catholicate came to be known
as a reinstatement. However when we think in the light of the historical background
we understand that the above listed grounds are false. What happened in Malankara
was the establishment, not the reinstatement, of the Catholicate.
It was not the Maphrianate of Tigris that was founded in Malankara but the
Catholicate with same powers and rights. It is a historical truth that Malankara
Church had never been a part of the Church of Tigris. Besides those who use the
same titles or designations need not represent the same position. The Maphrianate
of Tigris was an administrative mechanism founded by the Patriarch of Antioch for

61
 the members of the Syrian fold there. The Church of Tigris was a part of the Church
of Antioch.
There are many evidences for the fact that it was the founding of the Catholicate
that happened in Malankara. The Catholicate of Malankara had never been
established anywhere else in history. It is an administrative mechanism of Malankara
Church Fathers for the members of the Malankara church. From this we can
understand that what happened in 1912 was the founding of the Catholicate.

Activities
1. Conduct a comparative study of the titles-Catholicos, Patriarch and Maphrian
2. Explain the historical background of the founding of Catholicate in Malankara.
3. Examine the reasons for the establishment of the Catholicate getting represented
as a reinstatement.
4. Enumerate the qualities of Church fathers who took efforts for the independence
of Malankara Church and the establishment of the Catholicate.
5. Pray for Malankara Orthodox Church.
































62






Chapter 4
Malankara Church in the Modern Age


The history of the Malankara Church after the establishment of the Catholicate is
one of development and progress. The consciousness of freedom and identity gave
the right sense of direction to the Malankara Church and opened up the horizon
for the Malankara Church to become a world class church. The important events
of the modern age are described in this chapter.
1. Framing the constitution of the Malankara Church
2. The merger of the posts of Malankara metropolitan and Catholicos.
3. The Supreme Court judgement of 1958 and Reconciliation in the Church.
4. Malankara Church and the Ecumenical movement.

Framing the Constitution of the
Malankara Church-1934
It is a matter of pride that Malankara Orthodox Church, the Christian Church
of India could frame and implement a constitution even before India became an
independent nation and framed her national constitution. The constitution of the
Malankara Church was passed by the Malankara Syrian Christian Association
convened at M.D. Seminary, Kottayam on 26th December 1934. The framing of the
constitution helped in preserving the independence and identity of the Malankara
Church and in checking foreign domination.
The period between 1911 and 1934 was a period of conflicts. Yet the peaceful
atmosphere was maintained through peace talks in this period. The managing
committee of Malankara Association which met in 1928 entrusted a constituent
sub committee under the leadership of Shri. O.M. Cherian. This committee prepared
a draft document titled ‘Compendium of Laws’. At the same time St. Vattasseril Mar
Dionysius metropolitan was also preparing another draft of the constitution. While
discussions and studies on both these drafts were going on, Vattasseril metropolitan
passed away on 23rd February 1934. The Malankara Syrian Christian Association
that met on 26th December 1934 passed the constitution drafted and submitted by

63
 the constituent subcommittee and the constitution came into force in 1935. The
constitution of Malankara Church passed in 1934 contained 13 chapters and 127
articles. Today the constitution has 13 chapters and 135 articles. The constitution
has been amended in the years 1951, 1967, 1997, 2006 and 2012.

The merger of the posts of
Malankara Metropolitan and Catholicos
The posts of Catholicos and Malankara Metropolitan were formed during
various stages of development of the Malankara church. When we examine the
history of Malankara Church till the twentieth century, we find that the apostolic
heritage and succession that originated from St. Thomas continued for centuries
through the Church prelates. This apostolic line extends from the Early Fathers of
Indian Church who received their blessings directly from St. Thomas till the
Catholicos. Just like in other early churches, the early Fathers of Indian Church too
might have been known as Elders and Chiefs. History states that these Heads of the
Church were known as Archdeacons in later periods. Ever since the declaration of
Independence of the church in 1653, the Heads of Malankara church came to be
known as Marthomas. These Marthomas and their successors called Malankara
Metropolitans gave strong leadership to the Church and with the founding of the
Catholicate in 1912, there were two key spiritual positions in Malankara Church.
One was that of Malankara Metropolitan who executed the physical, spiritual, and
ecclesiastical administration of the Malankara Church. The other was that of the
Catholicos who executed the consecration of Holy Mooron and consecration of
bishops along with presiding over the synod. These two positions existed as separate
entities from 1912 to 1934. However the Malankara Syrian Christian Association of
1934 decided that both these positions should be vested in one person. Thus the
two key spiritual positions in Malankara were merged into one and assumed the
entitlement of ‘Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan.’ Thus the
Catholicos became the president of Malankara Syrian Christian Association and
the Metropolitan Trustee of the Malankara Church. This merger of positions helped
in the rapid development of the Malankara church thereafter.

Supreme Court judgement of 1958
and Reconciliation in the Church
After the founding of Catholicate in 1912, disputes heightened in the Church
and the two factions, known as the Patriarchal faction and the Metropolitan faction
respectively, competed against each other. Along with registering cases against the

64
 rival faction, there were simultaneous attempts for reconciliation. Eventhough all
the efforts for reconciliation failed, the Honourable Supreme Court gave its verdict
in 1958. The verdict was in favour of the Orthodox Church and thereafter peace
was established in the Malankara Church. The verdict was given by a five member
bench presided over by Chief Justice S.R. Das. Apart from the Chief Justice of India,
the division bench comprised of Justice Bhagavathy, Justice Sinha, Justice Subba
Rao and Justice Wankoo as its members.
The Supreme Court verdict of 1958 ended the long standing case filed in 1938
by the Patriarchal faction against H.H. Geevarghese II, the then Catholicos and
Malankara Metropolitan. This case had several interim verdicts and verdicts of lower
courts as well as appeals during its course. Even though one such verdict of 1946
was against the Orthodox Church, the Supreme Court on appellate petition judged
in favour of the Orthodox Church in 1958. This verdict resulted in the establishment
of peace within the church.
After the verdict of 1958, all metropolitans, from both Patriarchal and
metropolitan factions met at Old Seminary Kottayam in presence of Mar Yoolios,
the Patriarchal representative. The meeting took place on 16th December 1958.
At 11O’ clock at night both factions exchanged letters of reconciliation. Mar Yoolios,
the representative of Patriarch Ignathius Yakob III and H.H. Geevarghese II
exchanged letters and established peace in the church.
Even though peace was re-established in the church in 1958, disputes continued
to raise its head here and there. Malankara Church remains divided for more than
one century and civil suits after civil suits plague it. A final judgement regarding the
disputes after the establishment of peace came from the Honourable Supreme Court
in 1995. However neither these subsequent judgements nor the efforts at establishing
peace could claim a final settlement. The verdict of the Supreme Court itself was an
attempt to promote the efforts for reconciliation. A meeting of Malankara Syrian
Christian Association was held on March 2002. Justice Malimutt of the Supreme
Court was observer at this meeting. This meeting endorsed through voting that
H.H. Baselius Marthoma Mathews II was the statutory Malankara Metropolitan.
Unfortunately the patriarchal faction withdrew from the meeting at the last
moment.Thereafter that faction has continued to respond negatively and therefore
peace in Malankara Church still remains at large.

Malankara Church and the Ecumenical movement
Twentieth century is a notable period in Church history. The emergence of
ecumenical movements have enabled the coming together of the divided church

65
 communities. It also aids in inter church dialogues and joint action. Malankara
Orthodox Church has always welcomed and co-operated with such initiatives. It is
one of the founding members of World Council of Churches. This is an indicator
of the ecumenical interest of the Malankara Church. Even before the emergence of
WCC, Malankara Church had shown great interest in the ecumenical scenario.
H.H. Catholicos Geevarghese II, H.G. Dr. Paulose Mar Gregorios, H.G. Dr. Philippose
Mar Theophilus, H.G. Alexios Mar Thevodosius, Fr. Dr. V.M. Samuel, Fr. Dr. K.M.
George, Fr. Dr. Jacob Kurian and Sarah Chacko have actively participated in several
ecumenical assemblies representing Malankara Church. It is a fact that the factional
disputes and internal problems of the Malankara Church have adversely affected
its ecumenical image.


Mission Activities
There are historical records regarding the existence of a monastic order of
Malankara Church named ‘Order of St. Thomas’ before the reign of Marthoma I
[that is when he was Arch deacon Thomas]. Majority of the monastic orders existing
in Malankara Church today originated in the first decades of the twentieth century
and even after that. The Bethany Ashram of Perunad, Ranni was founded in 1918,
Mount Tabor Dayara of Pathanapuram in 1929, Bethlahem Ashram, Chengamanad
in 1960, St. Paul’s Ashram, Puthuppady in 1958, Holy Trinity Ashram, Ranni in
1970, ‘Thadakam’ Ashram in Coimbatore in 1936 and Mar Kuriakose Dayara, Mylapra
was founded in 1985. Along with the monastries, nunnaries were also established.
Thus twentieth century decisively influenced the growth of Malankara Church.
Along with the founding of monastic ashrams, evangelical activities developed
in the Malankara Church. The Oriental Evangelical committee constituted by Rev.
Fr. Geevarghese of Arthunkal and the Sleebadasa (Servants of the Cross) community
founded by Deacon M.P. Pathrose are examples. Besides, the St. Paul’s evangelical
movement was founded in 1953 by Deacon M.V. George (H.G. Geevarghese Mar
Osthathios metropolitan).

Activities
1. The framing of the Church constitution provided the right sense of
direction to the Malankara Church after the founding of the Catholicate.
Substantiate.
2. Prepare brief notes on (1) The merger of the positions of Catholicos and
Malankara Metropolitan. (2) Malankara church and the ecumenical movement.
(3) Mission activities in the Malankara Orthodox Church.

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 Bibliography
1. Fr. V.C. Samuel ‘Modern Indian Church’ Divyabodhanam, Kottayam 1987.
2. C.V. Cherian: Orthodox Christianity in India; A. History of the Malankara
Orthodox Church AD 53-2002, Academic, Kottayam 2003.
3. Joseph Cheeran, The Indian Orthodox Church of St. Thomas (AD 52-2009),
Kottackal, Kottayam 2009
4. Church Encyclopaedia, Orthodox Seminary, Kottayam, 1983.
5. Fr. M.O. John, ‘From Jerusalem’, Divyabodhanam, Kottayam 2000.
6. Fr. V.C. Samuel, ‘The Church Grows’, Divyabodhanam, Kottayam 1991.
7. History of Catholicate, Sunday School Publication, Kottayam, 2009.








































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Unit 4

The Christian Family


Chapter I
Biblical Basis



Introduction
Societal changes have effected radical changes in the views on family. Also we cannot
say that different cultures, nations and religions had a homogenous perspective
regarding family. However we have to assimilate a Christian perspective regarding
family. It is a generally accepted fact that family plays a dominant role in building up
the life of an individual. We can view family form various perspectives.

1. Biological perspective
Living things in nature follow a particular order. When they come of age they
copulate and beget offsprings. They would raise their offsprings for some period of
time. After this stage paternal and filial affections cease to govern their lives.

2. Psychological perspective
Man and woman have a natural emotional desire to open up their hearts mutually
and share love and care. This is fulfilled through family relationship.

3. Commercial or Financial perspective.

All of us need financial security for our existence and development. Children
grow and develop in the protection of their parents alone. Family is an important
means for this development.

4. Sociological Perspective
Man is a social animal. Society needs an internally ordered structure
for its sustenance. Family becomes the smallest unit of such an order. That is why

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 it is said that if the family becomes good, the society would definitely become
good.

Christian Perspective
The Holy Bible assimilates the above listed four perspectives comprehensively
and puts forward a greater concept regarding family. Accordingly one should execute
all the family responsibilities by yielding to the Will of God. The system of family
itself is part of the creation and preservation of God. The biblical basis of family can
be stated briefly as follows.

1. God created the family
(Genesis 1: 25-26;2)
We read two descriptions of how God created the family in the Holy Bible.
The first description doesn’t mention how the creation was done. However it is
revealed that no living things other than our first parents are given God’s image and
resemblance in the act of creation. What is meant here is that man should grow up
in God’s nature and should reveal God through his thoughts, words and action. In
the second description how the first parents were created are detailed. Adam was
created by blowing life breath into his nostrils and Eve was created using Adam’s
rib-bone. This description reveals that God had crafted the family with His own
hands. It implies that man and woman should live together as partners and
friends. Some have interpreted that Eve was given lower position than Adam.
However this is not warranted in the Bible. What is emphasized here is the
strength of mutual relationship.

2. Marital relationship is inseparable
(St. Matthew 19:1-12)
This is the part of the gospel read during the sacrament of marriage. Jews
had the practice of divorcing their wives for silly reasons. Jesus Christ didn’t agree
to it. Marriage is not a mutual arrangement between a man and a woman. It is an
agreement with God. Our church views the teaching "Therefore what God has
joined together, let not man separate’’ quite seriously. We should realize that divorces,
which are increasing in number, are not in accordance with the Will of God.

3. The relation is like that between Jesus Christ and the Church
(Ephe 5: 22-32)
This part of the epistle is also read during the sacrament of marriage. Here
we find the term mystery, secret or sacrament. Sacrament is a Latin term. The

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 relationship between Christ and the Church cannot be separated at any time. Christ
gave His life and saved the Church. This section reminds us that husbands and
wives are bound to maintain sacrificial love and live together till the end of their
lives.

4. Only one husband and one wife
Polygamy and the system of keeping concubines existed in ancient cultures
and even among Jews. The Christian church doesn’t accept any of these. The church
has recognized the admonitions given by St Paul (through his epistles) to the
Elders and deacons of the Church as applicable to all the believers (1 Timothy 3.2,
Titus 1:6). We can say that it is the Christian Church that gave the family model of
one husband and one wife to the world.

5. Marriage is a sacrament
In the light of the biblical principles mentioned above, the church considers
marriage as a sacrament. A sacrament is chiefly officiated by God. The priest stands
in place of God and joins the husband and wife together through this sacrament.
The sacrament of marriage of the Church has two parts. In the first part rings are
blessed and are given to the bride and the groom. The priest himself blesses and
gives the rings as a symbol of how even betrothal is accepted by God. The bride and
the groom don’t exchange rings as marriage is not a mutual agreement. The priest
himself blesses and gives the rings. The next part is the blessing of the crown. The
priest blesses chains with cross and gives them to the bride and the groom. After
this, the priest joins the hands of the bride and the groom together and prays
reminding them that God will be their eternal mediator. All the prayers of the holy
sacrament of marriage teach us that family is a divine institution. “Unless the Lord
builds the house, they labour in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain’’ (Psalms 127-1). The family life of all those who
give importance to this belief will become successful.

6. The Holy Trinity as a perfect model
Eventhough we cannot attain perfection in this world, we should have an ultimate
goal in our lives. A family is made up of individuals and the personalities within it
inevitably have differences. To the question of how we can bring about harmony
within the family, the answer is Holy Trinity. But we should not think that the
solidarity of Holy Trinity can be comprehended merely by human intellect. Unity
and diversity co-exist in the Holy Trinity. God the Father who created everything,
and Son, the Saviour who reclaimed it through His Passion, and the Holy Spirit

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 who completes everything born and yet to be born Execute different functions. Yet
in essence all the three are One. Similarly the father, mother and children have
different functions within the family. At the same time all of them should be one in
their love of God. The mystery of the coexistence of unity and plurality in Holy
Trinity should become a model for Christian families.

7. The Holy Family of Nazareth
Eventhough Jesus Christ was born of a Virgin, he had a family background.
The Holy Bible says that Mary was betrothed to Joseph even before the Annunciation.
(St. Matthew 1:18-21, St Luke 1:26-38). When we consider the fact that Jesus Christ,
the saviour of the world, had a family to be born into and parents to look after, the
Spiritual significance of Family becomes clearer. St.Joseph and Virgin Mary received
divine revelations equally. These parents took care to bring up their child in God’s
grace and blessings of men alike by circumcising him on the eighth day, bringing
him to the House of God on the fortieth day, and dedicating the child at the age of
12 before God. If all these things were required for Jesus Christ, the need for Spiritual
education among children growing in the modern world of evil influences, is quite
large. When we think about the divine basis of family, we have to understand it in
the light all the points discussed above.

Activities
1. How is the Christian perspective regarding family different from other
perspectives?
2. Analyse the biblical passages read during the sacrament of marriage.
3. How does the Christian perspective regarding family help in strengthening family
ties? Discuss.


















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Chapter 2
Challenges faced by the
Modern Family



Introduction
Family life has faced several issues and challenges throughout history. But in the
modern world these have become more complicated. There are several reasons for
it, but the most important is the western influence. Today all think that the growth
of a society is contained in its material growth. We desire for the material conditions
and technological development of the West. Along with this, the problems in the
family relationships of the West, started spreading out into our families as well. One
inference got from observing people of the west is that material growth and peace
in family will not go hand in hand. Divorces and broken families are increasing
significantly in our society also. We shall examine the important challenges before
our families.

1. The sacramental value of family life has
lost its significance
The sustainability of the family rests on the Christian perspective and faith
regarding family. As we have learned in the previous chapter, the belief that family
is joined together by God and it cannot be separated is going down in modern
families. The modern couples believe that it is the material conditions that sustain
family. Hence they work hard for it forgetting even God. This loss of value is a great
challenge.

2. Inability of couples to accommodate the
changing systems of family
The changes in the society influence family a lot. The joint family system is
a hallmark of the argrarian society. Such a society has more God reliance and human
relationships. When the argrarian society moved into the industrial age, the joint
families became nuclear families. Today the society is changing from industrial age

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 to the cyber age. Material and spiritual values which were once upheld dogmatically
deteriorated. For example, protecting parents in their old age was a value recognised
in the erstwhile society. But today it has undergone changes. Changes that happened
in the society in this manner have become a challenge to the family.

3. Changing roles of husband and wife
Family is a system. Every member of the family has a definite role to play within
it. Formerly all conformed to these norms or standards. The husband would work
outside the house and earn for the family. The wife would serve inside the house
and the children would grow up obeying the parents. This system had one limitation.
It didn’t help in developing the skills and abilities of women folk. But it had the
positive aspect of having a recognized administrative system. This system has changed
and both man and woman have started working outside the homes. An internal
administrative system acceptable to all in the changed circumstances has not yet
evolved in families. This is another challenge.

4. Influence of Globalization
The important yardsticks of success in globalised society are financial growth
and achievements. The proverb that ‘those who have no money are useless’ has
literally influenced all in the society. Couples become dissatisfied if they are not
able to realise the achievements they desire for in material life. This badly affects
peace in family. Couples entertain a lot of expectations in material progress. The
gap between expectation and reality creates problems in families.

5. Bad influence of media
The media creates unnecessary greed for coziness, luxury and expensive articles.
They create emotional disturbances in places where intellect and logic should be
applied. The values and attitudes constructed by the media need not be based on
spirituality. Family life demands a lot of sacrifice. Media creats an attitude to achieve
and attain rather than to sacrifice. As we have started using the equation ‘Gain
more than you give’ within the families, it has become another challenge.

6. The social recognition got by evil habits
Today society has given recognition to many practices which were once considerd
bad. One such practice is consumption of alcoholic drinks. Many people who take
to the habit for the sake of friendship become addicts. Alcoholism creats problems
within many families and later leads even to divorce. Other challenges faced by

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 family are immoral actions like drug addiction, criminality and extra marital
relationships

7. Mental disorders
Mental disorders are on the rise in the modern society. If serious or light mental
disorders like depression, distrust, ecstasy, sadism, inferiority complex or unnecessary
fear affect one member of the family it will spoil the entire family. Many disorders
can be corrected if the patient is given the required treatment and care at the
appropriate time. If the partner doesn’t have a sacrificing attitude for it, the problem
will become serious. It should be prayfully decided whether divorce should be
obtained in such situations.
There are numerous other issues yet to be included in this list. Some of them
are estrangement between the families of the husband and wife, personality
differences, lack of mutual respect, haughtiness, jealousy, uncontrollable anger,
lack of a forgiving attitude, lethargy, lack of co-ordination in bringing up children
etc. The solution for all these is building your home on a spiritual foundation. A
family that prays together stays together. If the married couple live in divine nature
by practising spiritual austerities like prayer, lent and fasting they can overcome all
the challenges listed above. Modern families should try to understand with greater
seriousness that "Unless the lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it.’’
(Psalms 127:1)

Activities
1. State the challenges faced in modern family life.
2. Has material progress increased the happiness of family life? What do you think?
3. How do media influence families? Discuss in detail.
4. How can we solve the problems created by mental disorders in family life?
















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Chapter 3
Family Relationships



Introduction
Let us look at an odd but real situation. A palatial house. The only son has a spacious
room with all modern facilities like TV, internet etc. He studies in this room. Along
with it, he can chat with people in any corner of the world. He is always on-line on
social networks like Facebook, Twitter etc. A card hangs at his door with the
inscription "No entry without permission’’. The house is built by his father and
mother. But they need permission to enter the spacious room they had given to
their only child for his comfortable life! What we see here is a picture of irony
created by the modern information technology. Even when we see the world as a
global village and maintain international relations as a global citizen, conversation
and communication with parents living under the same roof become quite limited.
The inability to establish deep and intimate relationships even within the family
should be viewed seriously.

Reasons for family relationships becoming thinner

If parents work or are busy, they spend lesser time with their children. These
children on the other hand, spend their freetime in the technological world. They
start off with toys and computer games and establish relationship with the world
outside their homes. The joint family system disappeared and the practice of sharing
intimacy with grandparents listening to grandmother stories ceased. Modern houses
and flats spoiled neighbourhood relationships. Students join far away public schools
for the sake of English medium education. They neglect neighbourhood schools
and neighbourhood relationships become impossible for them. Moreover the
alienation created by globalization makes relationships thinner. The philosophy that
"People are to be utilized and things are to be loved’ has possessed human hearts.
The general belief today is that there is no need of people if there is sufficient
money and technology. Individualism has become a recognized norm in social
life.

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 Man’s estrangement from God has resulted in his estrangement from fellow
human beings. The consequence of man’s estrangement from God in the garden of
Eden was fratricide. Love of God and love of man are two sides of the same coin. As
a result of the changes in the spiritual and material conditions, family relationships
have become weaker. Christian families should consciously react against this. In
the context of breaking up of families, let us think about its solutions as well.

1. Attain indepth spirituality by placing God
as the centre of family
Create opportunities for the members of the family to interact at various
levels by praying, worshipping, dining and chatting together. If we utilize time only
for money making, deep relationship among members within a familty will not
develop.

2. Everyone has the duty to love aged parents
and extended families
It is an unchangeable commandment to obey and respect parents. None has
the right to violate God’s commandment just because social conditions have changed.
This commandment is clearly highlighted in the sacrament of marriage. Instead of
sending aged parents to old age homes, it would be ideal if the nearest relatives take
up the responsibility of looking after them within the family itself.

3. Bring up children in good advice

We should develop the expectations and dreams regarding material life only on
the foundation of spirituality. The saying ‘if character is lost everything is lost’ is
very meaningful. Christian life is not just recognizing certain creeds and observing
certain rituals. It is a way of life. The greatest feature of that way of life is respect for
the poor. The psalmist says ‘Blessed is he who considers the poor; the lord will
deliver him in time of trouble’’ (Psalms 41:1). Jesus Christ at the time of His
Incarnation empathized more with the marginalised including tax collectors, sinners,
prostitutes, blindmen and lepers. Children should learn and acquire this value from
parents. Special love and care should be given to aged parents and children within
the family. Outside, special care should be given to the diseased and the poor.

4. The youth should be able to assimilate Christian values
according to their age even if they don’t get this training at home
The youth should not keep away from responsibilities just because they didn’t
get their models from parents at home. The youth learn a lot of things of the secular

76
 world without the help of parents. This principle is applicable to spiritual life as
well. If the youth accept the word of God and the life of saints as greater models
than parents in this matter, they can do a lot of things to improve relationships in
the family.

5. The Church is a family
A community that worships together is bound to coexist like members of a
family. St Paul describes the faithful as organs of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians
12 : 11-20). If one organ suffers all the organs suffer together (Verse 26). The first
Christian communities lived in mutual care and they shared their material goods
among themselves. Now all who believed were together and had all things in
common...…and divided them among all, as anyone had need (Acts 2:44-45). There
was none among them who lacked (4:34). Our sharing of the flesh and blood of
Christ in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, becomes meaningful when we share
our material goods with those who don’t have them. A believer should cultivate
family relationship with those related in blood and friendliness with the believers in
his prayer fellowhip. When we consider the fact that Christ loved the world, we are
compelled in Christ to love all, including those who believe in other Churches,
religions or even atheism.

6. Human relations foster pleasure of body, mind and soul
No one lives and dies for himself. Life becomes meaningful when we live for
others. Mother Teresa, who is respected by all, stated "Though there are millions in
this world who don’t have enough food, there are many more who don’t have enough
love.’’ Life becomes intolerable when you have no one to love you. The old parents
in several homes suffer from this experience. The old don’t need much material
comforts. What they require is love, care and nursing in times of need. Alienation
and neglect within homes have become common in a society where information
technology is the leading norm. All those who have received spiritual education
should look into this matter and should try to foster human relations within and
outside their homes.

Activities
1. Discuss the good and bad aspects of joint and nuclear families.
2. Record your opinion about sending aged parents to old age homes.
3. Find out practical methods for developing thick family friendships among
families of your parish.


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Chapter 4

Marriage between members of

different churches and religions



Introduction
Marriage and family relationships always contain a religious and ritualistic
background. This fact becomes clear when we examine the history of civilizations
that evolved in various parts of the world. In societies which turned secular or non
religious, civil laws became the basis of family. Religious belief is not significant for
couples living in them. But the society of Kerala has not become fully secular.
However the Christian community has a lot of emigrants. The children of these
emigrants have to co-exist with different cultures and people of different religions
and castes. Some of these children might fall in love with people of other religions
and begin family life with such partners. It might seem that laws of the church
place restrictions on such people. The opposition of parents might become severe.
Eventhough all these can be overcome, differences in faith and perspective of life
might cause dissentions in family life later. Young men and women should become
conscious about these.

The law of the Church
In Orthodox church, marriage is a sacrament. A sacrament is given only to the
believers. Therefore the bride and the groom should become Orthodox believers
before marriage. Since the communion in the Holy Eucharist is very important,
member of churches which do not have this communion should become members
of Orthodox church before marriage. That is the reason why members of churches
like Marthoma and CSI (especially girls) are taught Orthodox faith, anointed with
Holy Mooron given confession and Communion and made members of the
Orthodox church before they are taken in marriage. Since we are nearer in faith to
Roman Catholic and Chaldeon Churches than to the Reformist Churches, members
of those churches are not anointed with Holy Mooron, before marriage. We recognize
their Baptism. But such people should accept Orthodox faith by taking Holy

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 confession and communion. Members of Pentecostal groups have to receive all
rituals and sacraments of accepting Orthodox faith, including baptism, before getting
married into the Church. Members of other religions also should become member
of the church fully before marriage.

The Catholic perspective
The Catholic church has adopted a different perspective regarding marriage
with members of other churches or religions. They would officiate the marriage
even without the partner changing his/her religion or faith. But the non-catholic
partner has to give consent to the catholic partner to retain his/her faith and bring
up their children in catholic faith. The Orthodox church has not adopted such a
perspective. Orthodox church thinks that the young generation would get strong
values and sense of direction only if the couple live in unity in the same faith. If the
father follows Orthodox faith and the mother follows Pentecostal fellowship it is
likely to affect the unity of their family life and thereby the future of their children
adversely. Therefore Orthodox church doesn’t encourage a couple following different
churches or religions.
Differences in faith is not a problem for marriage under civil laws. As per Indian
civil code, a male above twenty one and a female above eighteen can register their
marriage if they consent to it under own will without any compulsion.

Problems in the marriage between
members of different churches
As parents give consent to most of the marriages between members of apostolic
churches, there are hardly any problems in terms of consent. However disputes
regarding the day of conducting the marriage ceremony often arise. Orthodox church
doesn’t allow marriage ceremony during the five canonical fasts (3, 12, 15, 25 and
50 day fasts) and on days other than Sunday and Monday. Now a days, on practical
considerations, the Supreme Head of the Church permits certain concessions in
this rule. But other churches have different rules regarding the days of marriage.
They have permitted marriage on several days of the week. For example the
Marthoma church has permitted marriage on all days other than Sundays. But they
have not given any concession on Sundays. The members of Orthodox Church
should take special care not to violate Church laws in conducting marriage.
The betrothed should conduct a self evaluation of their aptitudes before marriage.
Those who follow the faith and its rituals, practices and life styles rigorously should
select a suitable bride to ensure happy family life. Those who are rigorous about

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 Lent, fasting, confession, communion of Christ’s flesh and blood, intercessory prayer
to Saintly Fathers, prayer for the departed etc. would find it difficult to live with a
non-rigorous partner in later life. Eventhough the fire of love prompts many young
people to think that they can neglect the creed of faith in their subconscious mind,
it is impossible in the long run. Hence in-depth self evaluation is essential before
we select our partner in life.

Problems in marriage with people of
different religious culture
Our church and the Ethiopian church have communion in the Holy Sacrament
of the Eucharist. Hence there are no canonical hinderances for members of these
two churches getting married. However there are a lot of cultural differences between
these churches. Therefore in marriage one should give serious consideration to
social and cultural conditions along with matters of faith.
Marriage between people belonging to different religions might face a number
of problems. The problems related to the church can be solved if both partners
become members of the Orthodox church. Still parents, relatives and perhaps the
conservative society around might not recognize such a marriage. Couples who get
married either in the church or as per civil law overcoming these oppositions still
face a lot of challenges. Can intense mutual love between such individuals survive
these differences? The period of love is a period of imagination and the period of
marriage is a period of reality. If the period of love is misunderstood as reality, a lot
of problems will arise. If the couple continue in the former imaginative world even
after marriage without recognizing the realities it will adversely affect family life.
The youth should not approach family life emotionally. The real world is beyond
the pleasures got from love. We should evaluate whether we have the maturity to
live in that world. Marriage is ordained by God. It should exist till the end of life.
Monogamy is God’s commandment. The couple should maintain fidelity throughout
their lives. Wealth, position and material comforts cannot sustain family. What is
required there is love, humility, compromise and readiness for renunciation. It is a
relationship that doesn’t find fault but support mutually in hours of crisis. The
couple should not quarrel in presence of their children. Both the partners have
equal responsibility to bring up their children by becoming good role models. The
Christian family has the duty to look after the aged parents and the needy in the
society. The basis of success in life depends on how far we have acquired the maturity
to take up the responsibilities of family life. When people from different religions
and cultures come together they have a number of different perspectives regarding

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 all that we discussed above. If we go forward in life with these different perspectives
and standpoints, problems will intensify. Therefore it is essential for one to prepare
prayfully for family life. Those who come from different religions need it in larger
amounts. Along with it, it is essential to take good guidelines from mature people.

Activities
1. Make a study of the problems in family life and their solutions and present it in
the form of a report. (Five couples of various age groups can be selected for
this)
2. Conduct a debate in the class on: ‘Are love marriages a success or failure.’
3. Discuss the role of prayer, and ritualistic practices in confronting the problems
of family life.






































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Unit 5

Various Religions and Ecumenism


Chapter 1
Various Religions

In today’s world as a result of Globalization, people belonging to different religions
and brought up in different cultures, interact intimately. However this experience
of diversity has been there for centuries in our country. Friendly co-existence of
religions is the hall mark of our nation. Eventhough each religion can claim its own
uniqueness, peaceful co-existence of different religions is essential. This lesson
envisages a general study of world religions and a specific understanding of Indian
religions. This study also aims at how to conserve Christian identity and mission of
the gospels within this religious plurality.

1. Man and his religious experience
Some kind of religious experience is traceable in man right from prehistoric
times. Forms of worship centering around natural phenomena (Eg. Fire, wind) or
the Spirit that exists in everything developed. Such forms of worship developed into
religions. Later when certain evil forms of worship developed, reactions against
them set in and such reform movements in turn developed into religions.

2. Two types of Religions
The first type of religions can be called primal or primitive religions and the
second type of religions can be called developed religions. Primal religions have
intimate relationship with nature. However they do not have a developmental history,
established structure, founders, religious text, specific principles of belief or uniform
system of worship. The extant religious forms of social groups like aborigins or
tribals are primal religions.
Developed religions have a developmental history, great souls or saints who are
either founders or reformers, religious texts, common components related to belief

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 or ritual etc. Religions which are considered developed are all Asiatic religions. They
can be classified into Oriental and Occidental religions based on whether they
developed in the east or in the west of Asia.

3. Occidental Religions
Religions which developed in the western part of Asia are called Occidental
religions or Semetic religions. They are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They are
called Semitic religions or Shemia religions because historically they begin from the
genealogy of Shem, son of Noah. When compared with oriental religions, occidental
religions or semetic religions give greater importance to belief in One God,
predominance of religious text, establishment of that religion and aggressive
dissemination of that religion.

4. Oriental religions
Oriental religions refer to those religions which are formed in the eastern part
of Asia, especially, in Persia (modern Iran), India, China and Japan. They include
Zorastrianism, Taoism and Shintoism. Eventhough Zorastrianism or the religion of
the Parsis originated in Iran (ancient Persia) today it has much of its followers in
India. Since Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism originated in India, they
are known as Indian religions. Eventhough Confucianism and Taoism originated in
China, today they do not have much following anywhere. Shintoism which
originated in Japan is the royal religion of Japan.

5. From Judaism to Shintoism

(a) Judaism
Judaism or Hebraism is one of the oldest religions in the world. The Jews have
an anthropological history beginning from Adam and Eve, a genealogical history
beginning from Father of the Tribes, Abraham and a history of the God’s chosen led
by prophets from Moses. Tora or The Covenant is central to the religious life of the
Jews. The Old Testament of the Bible is in fact the Holy Book of Jews. Eventhough
the nerve centre of Jewish religious practices is the temple at Jerusalem, it was
destroyed in 71 AD and could not be reconstructed ever since. Jews became scattered
in various parts of the world. However the state of Israel was founded in 1948. Jews
are still awaiting their Messiah or saviour. Judaism is the first monotheistic religious
organization in world history.

(b) Christianity
Eventhough there are those who teach that Christianity should not be viewed
merely as one of the many religions, it is just one of the religions in the world as far

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 as historical studies are concerned. The essence of Christianity is a divine project of
salvation centred on Jesus Christ. The Holy Book of Christianity is the Bible which
includes both Old Testament and New Testament. Christianity has the largest
following in the world and is the third largest religion in India. Christians are
generally divided into three categories namely Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant.
There are subdivisions within each of these categories. Unlike the other categories,
Catholics recognize the Pope as the head of the church. The subdivisions within
this category observe unity in belief while they maintain ritualistic differences.

(c) Islam
The Arabic word Islam implies ‘religion of obedience’. Islam is the religious
movement founded by Prophet Mohammed who gave leadership to the awakening
of Arabia in 6th century AD. Muslims believe that Islam is a permanent religious
movement and Mohammed is its last prophet. The centre of this religious movement
which relies on monotheism and brotherhood of humanity is the religious text
‘Quran’. There are two dominant categories in Islam: the Sunnis and the Shias.
Islam has the second largest following in the world. The global Holy land of Islam is
Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Pilgrimage to this place is known as ‘Haj’.

(d) Parsis (Zorastrianism)
Zoraster is a great soul who lived in Persia in 6th century BC. The Parsi religion
or Zorastrianism is a religious movement which originated from him. The ‘Gathas’
, the advices of Zoraster, are considered as the Holy Book of the Parsi religion. Parsi
religion looks at life as a constant battle between the opposing forces of ‘Ahuramazda’
(goodness) and ‘Amgramanyu (evil) and exhorts to attain victory by siding with
"Ahuramazda’. Since Islam spread in Persia, Parsis are found only in India today.

(e) Hinduism
Hinduism is the dominant religion of India and is the third largest religion in
the world. In fact, the implication of the word ‘Hindu’ is geographical. This term
was used by people of the west to designate the land surrounding River Indus. The
term ‘Hindu religion’ gained currency only with coming of Europeans to India.
Hindus themselves had designated their religious movement as ‘Sanathana Dharma’.
Both Aryan and non-Aryan sections of the society have been included in the Hindu
religious tradition. Therefore Hinduism is the most diverse religion in the world.
The most important among the religious texts of Hinduism are the four Vedas, Six
Vedangas, and the four Upangas. There are a lot of multiplex categories and ‘bhakti’
movements within Hinduism. There are also sub categories within the bhakti
movements like Shaiva, Vaishnava and Shakti.

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 (f ) Jainism
Jainism is a movement that developed under the influence of Vardhamana
Mahavira who is believed to have lived in 6th century B.C. Eventhough he is
considered as the founder of Jainism, as per the official perspective of Jainism, it is
an infinite religion. Mahavira is only a contemporary ‘tirthankara’ of it.
A Jain is one who is ‘victorious.’ The goal of Jainism is to attain ‘Kaivalya’ by
gaining victory over the bondge of ‘karma’ and rebirth. The important religious texts
of Jainism are ‘Purva’, ‘Angas’ and ‘Upangas’. There are two sects in Jainism namely
‘Swethambarer’ and ‘Digambarer’. There are more than three million Jains in India.

(g) Buddhism
Buddhism developed under the influence of Gautam Bhuddha who is believed
to have lived in 6th Century BC. As per the official perspective, Buddhism is also
infinite. ‘Buddha’ means one who has attained wisdom or ‘bodhi’. The four Great
Truths of Buddhism provide the wisdom to overcome desire and attain ‘Nirvana’.
The religious texts which explain them are known as ‘Tripitika’. Eventhough
Buddhism originated in India, it spread into regions outside India. There are about
five million Buddhists in India. There are two important sects for Buddhism also.
They are ‘Mahayana’ and ‘Hinayana’. The common feature of Buddhism and Jainism
is that both of them originated in order to reform ancient Hindu religion from
undesirable practices. Both of them are notable as religious movements which do
not have concepts of God or Spirit.

(h) Sikhism
Sikhism is the last of the religions that originated in India. The Sikhs are
followers of the religious reformer Guru Nanak who lived in 15th century AD. ‘Guru
Granth Sahib’ which contains the teachings of Guru Nanak and the later gurus is
the Holy book of Sikhism. Sikhism upholds monotheism and universal brotherhood.
The golden temple of Amritsar is the centre of Sikhism. Sikhism is the fourth largest
religion in India.

(i) Confuscionism
Confuscious is a philosopher-teacher who is believed to have lived in China in
th
6 century B.C. Many people looked upon him as holy man and leader and became
his followers. This movement became known as a religious movement. Confuscious
focused on ethical principles and the concept of welfare state. His teachings were
known as Confusion classics. This movement was banned in later communist China.
Today Confuscionism is not a formal religion in China. However Confuscionism is
still active as the ideas that govern Chinese culture and life.

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 (j) Taoism
The Chinese word ‘Tao’ implies the principle that controls life and the Universe.
Taoism was developed into a religious movement by the followers of the religious
teacher who lived in 6th century B.C. in China. Taoism contains moral principles
centering around three terms ‘tao,’ ‘the’ and ‘ching’. In later communist China, Taoism
had the same fate as that of Confuscionism. (discussed above).

(k) Shintoism
Shintoism is the official religion of Japan. The foundation of Shintoism was
laid by a Chinese term ‘Shentao’ (which means the path of Gods). The most
important ritual of Shintoism is worship of Divine Spirits. In Japan these divine
Spirits are called ‘Kami’. The texts of Shintoism are called ‘Kakiji’ and ‘Nihomki’.
Shintoism is considered as the royal religion of Japan as the Japanese royal dynasty
is believed to be the succession of souls that originated from Sun goddess.

6. Religious plurality and Christian belief
There is only one God. He is the god of Jews and Gentiles alike (Romans
3:29). That God desires for the goodness and salvation of all. Jesus Christ is the
means of salvation. God awaits for everyone to attain the experience of salvation
through Jesus Christ. Christ has entrusted the responsibility of evangelism with his
disciples for this purpose. However it should be executed with patience, love, humility
and sacrificial attitude. Here is the need for religious harmony and peaceful
coexistence. We should not try to frighten or judge others. Instead we should try to
bear witness to Christ with deep rooted Christian faith thinking that other people
also have goodness and God can act in them. Acts of Apostles 10:34-35 is an approach
that supports such witness. ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in
every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by him.’’

Questions
1. How is globalization and study of religions interconnected?
2. What are ancient religions? What are their common characteristics?
3. What are occidental religions? What are their common features?
4. What are oriental religions? What are their common features?
5. Write an essay on the developed religions in the world.
6. State a religious approach that doesn’t forget an evangelical mission.
7. What should be the approach of the Church to the plurality of religions in
India?


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Chapter 2
Various Christian Churches



1. Jesus Christ and the Church
Jesus Christ had clearly stated that he would establish the Church (St Matthew
16:18). The historical founding of the Church happened in Jerusalem on the Day
of Pentecost. (Acts of Apostles Chap.2). And the Lord added to the Church daily
those who were being saved. (Acts of Apostles 2:47). The Church thus begun is an
expression of God’s kingdom on this earth. It has a unique internal unity with
Christ. Statements like ‘Church is the body of Christ’ and ‘Church is the bride of
Christ’ are epithets that describe this unity. One thing is true. The Church established
by Christ is One.’

2. One Church and Different Church Sects
The one church which is the body of Christ, failed to uphold unity of faith
among the various regional church communities due to human weaknesses in the
succeeding ages. As a result divisions developed in the church and different church
sects came into existence. The division of the church is the consequence of man’s
sin and contrary to God’s Will. But as each church sect believe and justify its
standpoints regarding faith, divisions continue to exist in the church. These divisions
exist as a hinderance to the unity of the one church of Christ. If we learn about
the divisions of the one church of Christ. If we learnabout the divisions of the
church, the important sectarian churches, and differences among them, we can
think about the ways of mutual fellowship and unity and pray for them.

3. History of divisions in the One Church
The Universal Christian church existed as one Church and as regional church
communities united in one faith till the fifth century. The first division of the church
on the basis of faith happened in the council of Chalcedon in AD 451. There was a
clash between two dominant views regarding how God nature and human nature
operated in Jesus Christ. The followers of one nature and two natures parted ways.

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 As the synod of Chalcedon recognized the two nature view, the other faction rejected
the council. Those who were opposed to the Council of Chalcedon became the non
Chalcedonian faction under the then Patriarch of Alexandria and those who accepted
the Council became the Chalcedonian faction under the Patriarch of Rome. The
non Chalcedonian faction retains their standpoint of faith till date and are known
as Oriental Orthodox Churches. Alexandrian or Coptic Orthodox Church, Syrian
Orthodox Church of Antioch, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Armenian Church,
Malankara Orthodox Church of India and Orthodox Church of Eritriea belong to
this category.

1. Coptic Church
This is also known as Alexandrian Church or Egyptian Church. Since there is
racial and linguistic domination of Coptics it is also known as Coptic church. This
Church has the thronal succession of St Mark (the evangelist). It has its headquarters
in Cairo, Egypt. The Coptic Patriarch is also designated as Pope.

2. The Church of Antioch
This church is today spread in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey and has the
succession of the Church of Antioch. However today it has no geographic connection
with Antioch. This Church has the apostolic succession from St. Peter. Its
headquarters is in Damascus, Syria. The Jacobite faction in India claims themselves
to be under this Church. The Head of this church is called Patriarch of Antioch.

3. Ethiopian Church
This church has the largest following among Oriental Orthodox churches.
Eventhough there were disciples of Christ in Ethiopia since the first century, (like
the Ethiopian eunach baptized by Philip), the history of Ethiopian Church begins
from fourth century AD. This church has the holy tradition of Frumensius who
evangelized Ethiopia in the 4th century and the nine Syrian monks who reached
Ethiopia in the 5th century. This church had long been under the spiritual supervision
of the Coptic Church. The head of this church is known as ‘patriarch’and its
headquarters is Adis Ababa.

4. Armenian Church
The Armenian church has a history of an entire country including its king
becoming Christians in 4th century AD. Armenia got its light of gospels from
St. Gregory, the man of miracles and Bearer of Light. The church has its headquarters
and followers in Armenia which was part of Russia and in Lebanon. The central

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 headquarters is at Echmiadsin in Armenia. The Catholicos of this region is called
Supreme Catholics and the regional Head of Church of Lebanon is called Celestian
Catholics.

5. Malankara Orthodox Church
Our church has the apostolic and ecclesiastical succession from St.Thomas
and exists in India from Ist Century AD onwards (Details of our Church are included
in the unit on Church History). The Head of the Church is known as the Catholicos
and Metropolitan of Malankara. The Headquarters of the church is in Devalokam,
Kottayam, Kerala.

6. Church of Eritriea
This is the church of Eritriea which has gained independence from Ethiopia.
As an independent church, church of Eritriea is undergoing changes today (due to
the changed political circumstances).
The Chalcedonean sect continued undividied till the 11th century. But in the
11th century a rift in faith happened among them on the subject of how the Holy
Spirit originates. When the Patriarch of Rome suggested that the creed of the church
of Nicea should be altered as ‘Holy spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son’
(Philoyoke), a division under the leadership of the Patriarch of Constantinople
disagreed with it. They tried to defend the wordings in the Creed of the Church of
Nicea as such. (that is, Holy Spirit..proceeds from the Father). Thus those who
were opposed to ‘Philoyoke’ have remained steadfast in their standpoint of faith till
date, and are known as Eastern Orthodox Churches. In a limited sense they are
also known as Byzantine Orthodox Churches and Greek Orthodox Churches. The
following churches belong to this category.

1. Church of Constantinople
The Head of the Church is known as Ecumenical Patriarch. The headquarters
of the Church is at Isthanbul, Turkey.

2. Byzantian Church of Alexandria
The Head of the Church is called Alexandrian Patriarch. The headquarters of
the church is Alexandria in Egypt.

3. Byzantian Church of Antioch
The head of the church is known as the Patriarch of Antioch. The headquarters
of the Church is Damascus in Syria.

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 4. Byzantian church of Jerusalem
The head of the church is known as Patriarch of Jerusalem. The headquarters
of the church is Jerusalem in Israel.

5. Russian Orthodox Church
The head of the church is known as Patriarch of Russia. Headquarters is at
Moscow, Russia. Russian church has the largest following among the Orthodox
churches.

6. Serbian Orthodox Church
The head of the church is known as Serbian Patriarch. The headquarters of the
church is at Belgrade, Serbia

7. Romanian Orthodox Church
The head of the church is called Romanian Patriarch. The headquarters of the
church is Bucharest, Romania.

8. The Orthodox Church
The Archbishop of Cyprus is the head of the Church. The headquarters of the
church is Nicosia in Cyprus.

9. Greek Orthodox Church
The head of the church is Archbishop of Greece. The headquarters of the church
is Athens, Greece.

10. Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The head of the church is Bulgarian Patriarch. Sophia in Bulgaria is the
headquarters of the Church.

11. Polish Orthodox Church
The Metropolitan of Poland is the head of the church. Headquarters of the
church is at Warsaw in Poland.

12. Georgian Orthodox Church
Georgian Patriarch is the head of the church. The headquarters of the church
is at Tbilisi in Georgia.

13. Czech Orthodox Church
The Metropolitan of Czechoslovakia is the head of the church. The head-
quarters of the church is at Prague, Czechoslovakia.

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 14. Orthodox Church of Finland
The head of the church is the Archbishop of Finland. The headquarters of the
church is at Kuopia, Finland.

15. American Orthodox Church
Metropolitan Archbishop is the head of the church. The headquarters of the
church is NewYork.

16. Japanese Orthodox Church
Metropolitan is the head of the church. The headquarters of the church is at
Tokyo, Japan.
After the division of the Church in the 11th century, the faction of the church
which remained under the Roman Patriarch, Pope is known as the Roman Catholic
Church. As a global church, there are several systems of church administration
with local flexibility in worship under the Pope of Rome. Another division which
happened in this church faction in the 16th century is known as Protestantism.
When Martin Luther, who had been a priest in the Catholic Church, dissented
with the evil practices of the church, several people came forward to support him.
Thus protestant churches came into being. Later numerous divisions happened
within these protestant churches. As a result, there are hundreds of reformist
churches or communities today. Since certain Protestant communities cannot be
seen as Churches, they are described as Sectarian categories.
In short, three major church divisions have happened in Christian History in
the 5th, eleventh and in the sixteenth century.

Certain features of faith and ritual of important church categories

(a) Oriental Orthodox Churches
1. Emphasize the oneness of the Divine and Human nature of Son of God’s
Unified Personality in His Incarnation.
2. Recognise only first three Great Councils (those of Nicea, Constantinople
and Ephesus)

(b) Eastern Orthodox Churches
1. Emphasize the difference in the Divine and Human Nature of the
Incarnated Son of God.
2. Recognize seven Great Councils including the first three Councils as
well as the council of Chalcedon

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 (c) Roman Catholic Church
1. Emphasizes the difference in the Divine and Human Nature of the
Incarnated Son of God.
2. Recognizes twenty one Great Councils including the first Seven Councils.
3. Accepts Philoyoke (that is, including ‘that the Holy Spirit proceeds from
the Son in the Creed of the Church of Nicea)
4. Teaches the doctrine of ‘Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary.
5. Recognizes Pope of Rome as the successor of St Peter and the Only-
Infalliable head of the Universal Church.
6. Insists on celibecy of Priests.
7. The doctrine of transubstantiation of the Holy Eucharist.
8. Follows the bible with seventy three books.

(d) Protestant Churches
1. Follow the Chalcedonian stand point in theology (emphasize the
difference in the ‘two natures’-divine and human natures-of the
Incarnated Son of God)
2. Emphasize the literal self-containmentedness of the Holy Bible which
has sixty six books
3. Don’t accept the Holy Eucharist as a sacrificial act.
4. Don’t recognize intercession of Saints, prayer for the departed and secret
confession.

Questions
1. Which are the indicators that suggest that The Church is One as far as Christ’s
relation with it is concerned?
2. Why do divisions exist in the Church?
3. Which are the three important stages in the history of division in the church?
4. What are the important features of faith of the four important church categories
in Christian history?










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Chapter 3
The Ecumenical Movement





1. The word meaning of ecumenism
The word ecumenical comes from the Greek word ‘Oikoumenikos’ which means
‘the place where we live in.’ This term has been applied in the sense of unity in the
place of living to the entire universe, the entire Roman Empire, places where Greek
was spoken, and the entire Church in various circumstances. The activities of co-
operation and unity of various Christian sects became known as Ecumenical
movement as a continuation of this. In modern times, the term ecumenism is used
in a sense wider than unity of churches to designate equitable co-operation among
various human communities and joint efforts for the intergration of the entire
universe. In this lesson we approach ecumenism mainly as the activity for the co-
operation and unity of the various sectarian churches.




2. Historical background
The efforts towards ecumenism in history began in the Western world. They
originated among the Protestant churches of Europe and America. When the
movements of Spiritual Awakening became powerful in the Protestant world, Bible
studies, Missionary activities and social service projects were began based on a Spiritual
Unity beyond the differences of the churches. This gave rise to the ecumenical
movement. There were four important items at its forefront.
1. Organizations which aim at the spiritual solidarity of students and youth.
2. Missionary movement.
3. The Christian social service movement ‘Life and Work’
4. The movement for Unity of Faith Studies ‘Faith and Order’


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 3. Organizations which aim at the
spiritual solidarity of students and Youth
The activities of individuals and societies exhorting for a spiritual renaissance
among the Christian youth of Europe and America became powerful in the 19th
century. Young Men Christian Association (YMCA) established in 1844, Young
Women Christian Association (YWCA) founded in 1854 and Students’ Volunteer
Movement (SVM) which started functioning in University campuses during the
same period invited the youth into prayer and studies beyond the differences of
churches. Drawing inspiration from these experiences, platforms and leadership
for the Youth developed at national and international levels. These gave inspiration
to bring church activities to the path of unity.

4. Missionary Movement
An important domain inspired by Spiritual awakening movements and student
and youth associations was that of evangelism. Societies for participating in
missionary activities irrespective of church differences were formed. The Baptist
Missionary society founded in 1792 and the London Missionary societies founded
in 1795 are examples. Along with this, joint projects for translating and propagating
the Holy Bible were also formed. That is how the British and Foreign Bible society
was founded in 1804. Besides, the national and international meetings of missionaries
who undertook mission work in Asia and Africa, emphasized the need for Christian
unity. A clear example of this is the International Missionary Conference held at
Edinburough in 1910.

5. Life and Work
This is the joint platform for action formed by Christian churches in order to
redress the distresses of the first and second world war. The international meetings
held under its auspicies emphasized the need to form a permanant organization to
work for the unity of churches. Thus the meeting of ‘Life and Work’ held in 1937 at
Oxford decided to constitute World Council of Churches.

6. Faith and Order
Many churches have shifted from the standpoint that it is matters of faith that
divide churches and therefore should be kept away from discussions. Rather, they
have come to the understanding that if matters of faith are discussed with a open
heart it will lead to unity of churches. The movement ‘Faith and Order’ was founded
as a consequence. This movement is active since 1927. In some places it could

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 bring churches into unity and reinterpret matters of faith in a generally acceptable
way. When World Council of Churches (WCC) was formed in 1948 it was decided
that ‘Life and Work’ movement should be discontinued. However it was decided to
continue ‘Faith and Order’ as an independent commission. Therefore today most
churches of the world, including the Catholic church work together in the Faith
and Order Commission.

7. World Council of Churches (WCC)

The suggestion that the various Christian communities across the world should
have a common organization was first proposed by the Head of an Orthodox Church
(the Ecumenical Patriarch) in the 1920s. Steps to form the World Council of churches
(WCC) was taken by the 1937 Oxford conference of the ‘Life and Work’ movement.
WCC was founded in 1948 at Amsterdam (Netherlands). Most of the Protestant
churches and many Orthodox churches including the Malankara Orthodox church
are members of WCC. The headquarters and secretariat of WCC is at Geneva,
Switzerland. WCC focuses on learning, discussion and joint action plan in subjects
which promote unity of churches and their common witness. It has no authority to
impose any decision on its member churches. Eventhough Roman Catholic church
is not a member of WCC, it co-operates with the council on certain fronts and
platforms. (Eg. Joint working group, faith, liturgy commissions etc.). International
assemblies held in various countries within a periodicity of 6 to 8 years is a significant
activity of WCC and a great celebration of global Christian co-operation.

8. Global Christian Forum (GCF)
Global Christian Forum started in 2007 is a broader Christian front than WCC.
It provides a more independent platform than WCC in terms of membership and
activities. Its first meeting held in Kenya in 2007 was attended by delegates from
several neo-Christian Awakening Communities along with members of Catholic,
Orthodox and Protestant churches. Global Christian Forum seeks broader domains
of co-operation among churches when compared with the activities and scope of
WCC.

9. Achievements and Limitations of the Ecumenical movement

(a) Achievements
1. Provides opportunities and venues for Christian co-operation and witness
at the global, national and international levels.
2. Helped directly and indirectly in unification of churches.

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 (Eg. The formation of Church of South India (CSI) in 1947 and Church of
North India (CNI) in 1970).
3. Could remove or lessen the misunderstanding between churches.
4. Prepared areas of co-operation and platforms for dialogue between
different religions and ideologies for common good.
5. Enabled studies and publication with a perspective of co-operation and
an approach of unity in faith and knowledge.
(Eg. Various studies on faith and literacy published by the Commission)
6. Created many joint ventures and opportunities in theological studies and
pastoral care.
(Eg. The joint F.F.R.R.C. faculty of Orthodox-Marthoma-CSI churches in
Kerala)
7. Provided opportunities for joint prayer meetings in order to promote
thoughts of unification of churches among the members of various
churches (Eg. Prayer week for church unification conducted jointly by
the Catholic church and WCC. Ecumenical prayer week of YMCA and
YWCA).
8. Ecumenical Movement is able to give leadership to global efforts for unity
of humanity and global integration.

(b) Limitations
1. Even though it could increase areas of co-operation, it could not
strengthen efforts for church unification significantly.
2. Under the guise of ecumenical co-operation, the faithful of the churches
are stolen away in some places.
3. There is a criticism that it spreads a casual approach in matters of faith
and morality.

Questions
1. What are the important implications of the word ‘ecumenical’?
2. Write a paragraph on the historical background of the ecumenical movement.
3. What are the contributions of students and youth to the ecumenical movement?
4. What is the contribution of the Missionary movement to ecumenical
enterprises?
5. The chief predecessor of WCC is ‘Life and Work.’ Elucidate.

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 6. What is the contribution of ‘Faith and Order’ to the ecumenical movement?
7. State briefly the activities and importance of WCC.
8. What is Global Christian Forum?
9. What are the important achievements and limitations of the ecumenical
movement?

Projects
1. Prepare a report and evaluation of the assemblies of WCC. Keep this report as
a file and add the assemblies in the coming years to it.
2. Prepare an ecumenical diary compiling ecumenical news items that appear in
news papers and visual media for one year or over a few years.
3. Write a paper on the activities of ecumenical movement in your state/country.





































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Chapter 4
The participation of Orthodox churches in the
Ecumenical movement




1. In WCC
There was the participation of Orthodox Churches right from the beginning of
the modern ecumenical movement. Since majority of the members of the ecumenical
movement are protestants, many people consider it as a protestant movement. In
1920 the Ecumenical Partriarch send a pastoral letter to Churches in which he
suggested that a league of churches ( a general assembly of churches) should be
founded. WCC was a realisation of this suggestion in course of time. There was
Orthodox presence as delegates and leaders in the ecumenical meetings of students
and youth even before 1920. For example, a metropolitan of the Greek Orthodox
church delivered the keynote address at the Tokyo meeting of W.S.C.F (World
Students Christian Federation) in 1907. The 1911 Instanbul meeting of the same
organization was inaugurated by the Ecumenical Patriarch.
There was active Orthodox presence in the Geneva (1920), Luzon (1927) and
Edinburgh (1937) meetings of Faith and Order and Stolkholm (1925) and Oxford
(1937) meetings of Life and Work. The participation of a delegation led by the Head
of Malankara Church H.H. Moran Mar Baselius Geevarghese II in the 1937 Faith
and Order meeting at Edinburgh was an international news at that time.
Malankara Orthodox Church and some other Orthodox Churches are
participating as founding members in all assemblies of WCC since 1948 (the year of
its inception). The Russian Orthodox Church took membership in WCC in the
New Delhi Assembly of 1961. Thereafter the Orthodox participation in the
ecumenical movement became very powerful and active.
In the first WCC assembly at Amsterdam in 1948, Germanos, the Archbishop
of the Greek Orthodox Church of London, was elected as one of the presidents. In
that assembly Miss Sara Chacko, a member of our Malankara Orthodox Church

98
 was elected woman president. In the history of WCC, on almost all occasions, one
of its presidents will be from Oriental Orthodox family and another one will be
from the Eastern Orthodox family. Dr. Paulose Mar Gregorios of Malankara
Orthodox Church served as the president of WCC from 1983 to 1991.
Dr. Paulose Mar Gregorios has served WCC in various capacities; first as a
layman and later as a priest. He had been the Associate General Secretary, Director
of Division of Ecumenical action, member of Central Committee, member of the
Executive committee and member of Faith and Order Commission of WCC. Besides,
members of Malankara Church like C.I. Itty, Fr. K.C. Joseph and Fr. Dr. K. M.
George have been members of the WCC staff. Dr.Philippose Mar Theophilus, Dr.
K.M. George and Dr. Elsy Philip have been members of the Central Committee. Fr.
Dr. V.C. Samuel, Fr. Dr. Johns Abraham and Fr. Dr. Baby Varghese have served as
members of Faith and Order Commission. Fr. Dr. Jacob Kurian has also worked as
member of Faith and Order Commission and Standing Commission.

2. Through Direct Ecumenical Dialogues
Orthodox churches have participated in direct ecumenical enterprises other
than through the WCC. All the details of direct dialogues with churches of the
same family, other Orthodox families and Catholic/Protestant churches cannot be
included here. Hence dialogues connected with the Malankara Orthodox church
alone are mentioned here.

a) Heads of Oriental Orthodox Churches Meet, Adis Ababa 1965
For the first time in history, a global meeting of the Heads of Oriental Orthodox
Churches was held in 1965 in Adis Ababa. It was hosted by Haily Salasi, the emperor
of Ethiopia. A high level delegation under the leadership of H.H. Baselius Augen I
Catholicos participated in that meeting. The meeting decided to design a common
Sunday school curriculum for all Oriental Orthodox Churches and it was put into
practice.

(b) The historically important meetings between heads of
Malankara Church and heads of the Catholic Church
1. Catholicos Baselius Augen I held a meeting with Pope Paul VI on 3rd December
1964 in Bombay.
2. Catholicos Baselius Marthoma Mathews I met Pope John Paul II on 3rd June
1983 in Vatican.
3. Pope John Paul II visited Catholicos Baselius Marthoma Mathews I at Kottayam
on 8th February 1985

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 (c) Unofficial dialogues between Oriental and
Eastern Orthodox Churches
The unofficial dialogues between Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churches
initiated by Fr. Nikos Nissiyots and Fr. Paul Varghese (Dr. Paulose Mar Gregorios)
were held in Aarhus, Denmark (1965), Bristol, England (1967) Geneva, Switzerland
(1970), Adis Ababa, Ethiopia (1971). The differences in Christology that existed
between these two church groups were only differences of interpretation. Both
groups infact meant the same. This fact was recognized in these unofficial meetings.


(d) The joint official theological commission of
Oriental-Eastern Orthodox Churches
The joint theological commission delegated officially from both the groups met
since 1988. In 1990, they signed at Geneva, the doctrinal document regarding
Christology mutually agreed upon and submitted it for the official recognition of
their respective churches. Unfortunately, no desirable steps have been taken in this
matter thereafter.


(e) Informal talks between Oriental Orthodox churches
and Roman Catholics
Informal talks between Oriental Orthodox churches and Roman Catholic
Church regarding Christology have been held since 1971 under the auspices of a
Catholic organization named Pro-Orienta. The discussions in Vienna, Austria
produced mutually acceptable standpoints regarding Christology. It was agreed that
predecessors of both the groups had differences of opinion over Christology at the
synod of Chalcedon because of lack of linguistic clarity and different political
backgrounds. In fact the perspectives of both parties are essentially the same. Even
though the official procedure to endorse this consensus is slowly going on, differences
in other subjects still exist between the two parties.


(f ) Joint theological commission of Malankara Orthodox Church
and Roman Catholics
The joint theological commission was appointed for promoting co-operation
and unity between these churches. This commission was set up as per the agreement
between H.H. Baselios Marthoma Mathews I and Pope John Paul II during their
meeting in Rome in 1983. Annual talks held regularly since 1989 have helped in
identifying new areas of mutual understanding.

100
 Through National and local Ecumenical Councils
Malankara Orthodox Church actively participates in National Council of
Churches (NCC) and KCC (Kerala Council of Churches)

3. Orthodox participation in the Ecumenical movement-An Evaluation
Both Orthodox tradition and other traditions have benefited a lot as a result of
Orthodox participation in the Ecumenical movement. The other church traditions
could study and assimilate many things from the spirituality, liturgical greatness
and theological insights of the Orthodox Churches. For example, when other
churches revise their liturgy, they try to include several aspects of Orthodox liturgy.
Another ideal move is the greater importance given to the writings of Church Fathers
and Church traditions by other churches. Similarly Orthodox Churches have also
open heartedly tried to find out without prejudice, the good aspects of the beliefs
and rituals of other churches. Orthodox Churches have to agree that ecumenical
co-operation with other traditions has enabled them to respond creatively to the
day to day realities of lives of people, observe the pastoral care in other societies,
realize the importance of bible studies, and promote mission activities. We should
also remember that through the ecumenical movement, Catholic and protestant
churches have provided facilities for higher education and research to some priests
and laymen of the Orthodox churches across the world.

Questions
1. Describe the history and background of Orthodox participation in the
Ecumenical movement through WCC.
2. List the dialogues regarding faith between various Orthodox Church traditions.
3. List the dialogues between Oriental Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
4. Write an essay on the participation of Malankara Orthodox Church in the
ecumenical movement.
5. Evaluate the contributions and achievements of the Orthodox Churches through
the ecumenical movement.











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Unit 6

Human Rights



Chapter 1
The Origin and nature of Human Rights


Man’s most valuable possession is life. The rights to live and enjoy liberty are
fundamental birth rights. All men are born free. They have equal rights and equal
dignity. The fundamental rights and freedoms deserved by all humans are considered
as human rights. The ‘natural laws’ that underwent transformation along with
(concomitant to) societal development resulted as human rights. The Holy Bible
protests against the exploitation and torture of the poor and the destitute. Jesus
Christ himself reacts strongly against such exploitation. Hence protection of human
rights is a Christian tenat itself.
The rights of individuals to life, freedom, equality and dignity can be called
human rights. The 1986 Law of Human rights defines Human rights as ‘rights to
life, freedom, equality and dignity guaranteed to each individual by the constitution
or those rights included in international treaties which can be implemented by the
law court of India.’
This includes civil and political rights like the rights to life, freedom,
communication, equality before law etc and economic and cultural rights like rights
to education, work, food etc. The right to get these rights protected is the right of
each individual.

History
The history of human rights is very old. The principle that man has got certain
rights by nature of his birth and that they are natural gained acceptance as a theory
in the 17th and 18th centuries. Magna Carta was a covenant of Rights prepared in

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 1215 to defend the rights of citizens against the despotism and misrule of King
John of England. This was the first declaration to protect freedom of citizens.
Eventhough it was a rebellion to protect the rights of manorial heads, priests and
lords, it has the historical importance of being the first challenge against the despotism
of an anointed king. The king was forced to sign this historic document. Magna
Carta contains human rights. Along with this document, Petition of Rights of 1628
and Bill of Rights of 1689 form the fundamental canon of British constitution. The
general laws that constitute the basis of the legal system of Britain include human
rights. Neither the King nor the parliament have the authority to override them.
Later American Constitution also passed amendments to protect human rights
assimilating the principles of Bill of Rights. When American Declaration of
Independence was made in 1776, the rights of people to dissolve a government that
denies human rights was recognized. It also declared that all humans are equal and
have inalienable rights. The French Revolution of 1789 which raised the slogans of
freedom, equality and fraternity is another important battle in the history of human
rights. Two centuries back many countries could include human rights in their
constitutional law.
Man’s unbounded desire for freedom is behind such declarations. When the
second world war ended there was a widespread impression around the world that,
the basis of peace should be respect for human rights. As a result world peace and
protection of human rights were recognized as the important goals of the UNO.
The term ‘Human Rights’ became widely accepted with the founding of the
UN. The General Assembly of the UN which met at Paris on Dec 10, 1948 gave
sanction to ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’. This is the authoritative
document of human rights. Universal Declaration of Human Rights exhorts to
uphold human dignity above all sectarian considerations and values individualism.

Violation of Human Rights
The condition that denies the basic considerations that man is entitled to is
known as human right violation. The condition of denying freedom of opinion,
freedom of religion and equal consideration is also an encroachment on human
rights. Merciless and cruel physical torture, brutality and mental torture are also
denial of human rights. Police brutality, lockup murder, firing and inhuman treatment
of prisoners are also human right violations. Man has the right to live with dignity
in all fields like health, education, livelihood, work etc. When these are denied they
become denial of human rights.
Human Right violations include denying medical aid at the appropriate time,
making appointments in educational institutions after accepting huge amount as

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 bribe, denying appointment to deserving candidates, unequal treatment of men
and women, human trafficking and enslavement discriminatory treatment against
women, creating difficulties in day to day life (making ordinary life inexorable),
unnecessary interference in the private life of individuals and tapping telephone
conversation. If any of these disrupts human life, liberty, equality and dignity, it will
be considered human rights violation.
Human right violations due to bribery are numerous. Misappropriation of public
money for private profits and nepotism to aid personal profits are gross human
rights violations.
The law courts take an uncompromising stand against human right violations.
Protection of human rights cannot be ensured by merely issuing statements regarding
it. This is a domain where appropriate decisions should be implemented with justice.
There should be a widespread awareness about the responsibility of human society
in his regard.
It is the responsibility of not only the Members of the Parliament and judges
but also of all sections of the society to participate in the protection of human
rights. Therefore it is the duty of the citizen to awaken social consciousness against
human rights violations. We should be prepared to join hands to work for it.

Activities
1. What is meant by human rights?
2. Explain the historical background of human rights.
3. Evaluate various types of human right violations.
4. How can we protect human rights?

Projects
1. Make a study of any case of human right violation in your neighbourhood and
discuss what were the remedial measures taken.
2. Analyse the newspapers of the previous week and list down human right
violations listed in them.











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Chapter 2
Basic Fundamental Human Rights in the
Constitution



United Nations Organisation
The greatest disaster faced by humanity in the first half of the twentieth century
was the second world war. The world witnessed very cruel and devilish homicide
and tortures.The famous Atlantic Charter was drawn up as a result of a meeting
between Winston Churchill and Roosvelt in a war ship anchored in the Atlantic in
1940. In the opinion of American president Roosvelt future world should be casted
in the mould of 4 fundamental liberties
1. Freedom of opinion
2. Freedom of Religion
3. Freedom from poverty
4. Freedom from fear
If the future generations are to enjoy this liberty the threat of war should be
avoided and peace should be ensured. In this context, there developed a conviction
at the international level that a new world organization should be founded for the
security of the entire mankind. Great powers like the USA, Great Britian, USSR
and China took the lead in this regard. As a result, fifty nations assembled in San
Franscico. Representatives from these nations assembled on 24th October 1945 and
signed the charter, which is the fundamental document of United Nations
Organization. October 24 is celebrated as the UN day. The proclaimed aim of the
United Nation is to attain progress and better standards of life for the entire humanity
by ensuring world peace and security. Today it has become essential for nations to
maintain mutual friendships by assimilating freedom and equality of rights of the
people. Developing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is its basic
principle. Solving economic, social, cultural and humanistic problems through
mutual co-operation is also its common goal. United Nations Organization functions
as a nerve centre to realize these goals. Hence UN Assembly is called as the
Parliament of mankind.

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 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
United Nations Organization decided that the Universal declaration of Human
Rights should be made if fundamental human rights and freedoms have to get
widespread recognition and permanancy. The Social and Economic organization of
this Organization looks after human right issues. The Universal Declaration of
Human rights recognized by the UN was made on December 10, 1948. December
10 is observed as Human Rights Day.
There are about thirty sections in this historic declaration regarding Human
Rights. It includes right to life, freedom and security, total liberation from slavery,
protection from physical and mental torture, equality before law etc. The right to
be considered innocent till incriminated by an impartial trial court, along with other
fundamental human rights like freedom of opinion, freedom of belief and freedom
of movement should be protected. Family is the fundamental unit of the society.
Hence family has the right to get the protection of society and the nation. Universal
Declaration of Human rights also gives importance to education, family health and
family welfare. The declaration also describes the need for an international social
order to protect these freedoms and rights.
Apart from Universal Declaration of Human Rights, various treaties at the
interanational level have also been made. Treaties like ‘International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights’, ‘International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights’ have been recognized by the UN in 1966. All of them insist on personality
development based on human rights and freedom aiming at the comprehensive
development of the society.
If the rights and freedoms according to this declaration and treaties are to be
implemented, member countries should frame their own laws.

Indian Constitution
The preamble of our constitution declares our resolve to constitute India into a
soverign, socialist, secular Democratic Republic, provide equality, justice, freedom
to all its citizens and to promote fraternity among them. Human Rights related to
life, freedom, equality and dignity are included as Fundamental Rights in Part III of
the constitution. Fundamental Rights include basic freedoms like freedom of speech,
freedom of movement, freedom to form organizations, equality before law, equal
protection of law, freedom to hold religious beliefs and cultural and educational freedom.
Article 21 of the constitution declares the right to life. No citizen should be
denied his life and individual freedom except by law. Article 21 of the constitution
can be considered as the fundamental principle of Human Rights. It promises Right
to dignified life.

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 As a human being each individual is entitled to certain rights. Our constitution
emphasizes that there is no need to depend on the will of any majority or minority
inorder to enjoy these rights. However when the fundamental rights ensured
by the constitution are interpreted and their depth is determined the spirit of
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and treaties are also taken into consideration.
The fundamental rights and Human Rights ensured by the constitution
should be preserved. For this a vigilant society which is conscious of its rights is
essential.

Human Rights Protection Law
Eventhough we can approach High Courts and the Supreme Court for redressal
in case of Human Right violations, instances of such violations are increasing on a
daily basis today. Hence a special mechanism for the protection of such rights had
to be set up. Crimes and atrocities are on the rise. We have to protect all people
from cruel, inhuman and humiliating harassments. Therefore everyone is convinced
of the necessity of an institution that deals exclusively with human rights. Human
Rights protection law is a significant stride of our nation in this regard. Human
Rights protection Law came into force on September 28, 1993.

Human Right commissions
On the basis of Human Rights Protection Law, National Human Rights
Commission, State Human Rights Commission and Human Right Courts were
constituted.

National Human Rights Commission
It is the centr al government that constitutes National Human Rig hts
Commission. A person not lower in rank than that of a Chief Justice in India, should
be its Chairman. The commission has four members other than the Chairman.
The headquarters of the National Commission is in New Delhi.

Powers and Responsibilities
1. Investigate allegations of human right violations, examine public documents,
record statements from other courts and offices, conduct direct investigations.
2. Become party in court procedures regarding human right violations.
3. Visit jails, protection homes, rehabilitation centres, sanatoriums etc and ensure
the welfare of the inmates.
4. Evaluate the functioning and effectiveness of the existing constitutional and
legal Human Rights protection mechanism and give judicious suggestions.

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 5. Make observations regarding human Right violations, atrocities and terrorist
activities and suggest remedies.
6. Analyse international treaties and proclamations regarding human rights and
adopt practical measures.
7. Undertake and encourage research studies regarding human rights.

State Human Rights Commission

State Human Rights Commission is functioning in each state. The state Human
Right Commission is appointed by the governer. The Chairman of State Human
Right Commission must be one who held the rank of High Court Chief Justice.
The Commission of Kerala includes two members other than the Chairman.

Powers and Responsibilities

The powers of the State Commission are the same as that of the National Human
Rights Commission.
When Human right violations happen, the commission can issue recommen-
dations to the government to pay for damages if it is convinced of such violations.
The commission has the authority to examine and investigate instances of Human
Right violations in educational institutions, hospitals, places of work etc.

Human Right Courts

There is provision in law to establish special courts for the speedy trial and
judgement of crimes against Human Rights. The Sessions Court of each district
can be declared as the special court of that respective district. Government
notification is required for this. Also the consent of High Court Chief Justice is
required. A public prosecutor can also be appointed to appear for cases in the special
court. Special courts of this kind are known as Human Right Courts.

Activities
1. Describe the goals of United Nations Organization.
2. Explain Universal Declaration of Human Rights
3. Explain Human Rights Protection Law.
4. Which are the various Human Right Commissions? Describe their powers and
responsibilities.
5. How can we implement the constitution and other laws to protect Human
Rights? Discuss.
6. Prepare a programme to develop awareness about Human Rights which can be
performed in the next Human Rights Day.


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Chapter 3
Human Rights and Valuable Human Life



Life is god-given. Man is the sentinal of life. However man has forgotten the value
of human life which is the crown of all creation. How many precious lives are lost
everyday due to riots, wars, murders, accidents etc! Besides, a large number of tiny
lives are lost by way of abortion and foeticide. Protection of life is a human right.
Along with this we should be able to uphold purity of life.
Family is formed by man and woman together who are unified through the
holy sacrament of marriage. Family is the smallest microcosm of the church and
the society. Children are the divine gifts granted to couples who are united divinely
through the sacrament of marriage. God gives life to them. Parents are only co-
participants in this act of creation of God. All human beings born on this earth are
the sons and daughters of God. Each child should grow up in God’s grace. Hence
parents have the responsibility to rear and protect the life they beget.

Foeticide
Foeticide is the debased practice of determining the sex of the child in its foetal
state growing up as body and spirit in its mother’s womb and willfully destroying it
after expert diagnosis.
Science has proven that a child that grows in the womb receiving blood and
food from it, has natural human feelings and thoughts. The foetes in the womb is a
human individual growing up into perfection. Destroying this foetes in the womb is
a great crime against Nature and God. By doing so we are willfully denying the
child’s right to live.
Doctors as well as hospitals who make money by killing the foetes in the womb
is the curse of today. The number of parents who don’t have any prick of conscience
to allow their female foetes to be murdered is on the rise. The cruelty of those who
try to kill postnatal female infants in various ways is also shocking. Today’s generation
that runs after comforts and selfishness are upholding such injustices. Destroying

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 a life in its foetal state, without even allowing it a chance to cry out ‘mother’’ is
murder itself.
The impression that the girlchild is a financial burden to the family and other
liabilities like dowry, marriage expenditure etc result in female foeticide. Determining
the sex of the foetes is punishable by law. However a number of hospitals and
scanning centres extort money and carry out sex determination tests. Man’s love
for comfort, money and extravagance inspires all these.

Abortion
Abortion means destroying the child in its foetal state. This may be done
voluntarily or deliberately. Deliberate destroyal of the child growing in the mother’s
womb is punishable just like foeticide. Sometimes foetal deaths may happen due to
insufficient development of the foetes and other diseases.
Abortion can be done legally if a girl conceives through extra marital relationship
or rape, or if the pregnant woman’s life is in danger or if the child has mental
retardation or physical disability. However such situations should not be misused.
During the severe process of abortion wounds in the uterus are likely and there
is possibility of back pain and bleeding in future. Besides disappointment and sense
of guilt will increase and develop into mental diseases. Thousands of women who
lose their hunger and sleep become afflicted. The wrigglings and cries of the aborted
child will haunt the mother’s conscience till death. Therefore it is our duty, our
love, to protect the life that sprouts in the womb.
Pslams 127:3 ‘Children a gift from God; they are his reward’’
The Holy Bible states that children are a gift from God. Parents have the
responsibility to rear their children gifted by God, in the path of God. For this they
should have the conviction that children are the gift of God the creator and not
merely a product of conjugal relationship of husband and wife or not just a link to
maintain the genealogy. We, who have to protect life, should never become murders
of life. Destroying a foetes created by God and worthy of being born is commiting
murder. Such debased acts which destroy the growth of a child cannot in any way
be justified.
The life of god-given children should be protected. They should be nurtured
with responsibility and should be reared in God’s grace. We should strongly resist
practices that destroy life. We should also take special care to keep away from lifestyles
that perpetrate injustice and immorality. Those who lead a Christian life should
neither take the lead in nor promote such debased practices. Instead human life
should be protected with great care right from the moment of conception.

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 Pro-life Movements
Pro-life movements are various movements that promote life. Pro-life activities
propagate teaching, training, counselling and guidelines for protecting and preserving
life. These movements play a great role in wiping out rotten practices like abortion,
foetcide, child labour and harassment of women from the society. Pro life implies
protecting the legal fundamental right to live. It inspires us to resist all practices
that destroy life and living, legally.
Christian churches should become institutions that defend life. Let us grow
from the ‘dead’ culture that destroy life to Christ, the Abundant life that conserves
life. It is God who gives life. We, who cannot give life, have no right to destroy life.
Let us become lovers of life, protectors of life.

Activities
1. What are the responsibilities of parents towards children?
2. Explain abortion and foeticide.
3. Why does female foeticide increase? How can it be resisted?
4. What is Pro-life movement?
5. Organize a seminar on the topic: ‘Protection of life in society’.
6. Write and present an essay on the ill effects of abortion.
7. Write a prayer for pregnant mothers and prenatal children.

























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Chapter 4
Human Rights and Responsibilities


Rights and responsibilities are two sides of the same coin. Where there are rights
there are responsibilities also. Hence responsibilities have equal importance as rights
and freedoms. One should not forget the limits of rights and the responsibility of
duties. Each individual has certain obligations to the society. Individual freedom
becomes meaningful only when judicious controls are made for general good and
are observed. Many a time the moral codes, general welfare and general system of
peace of the society might not be in consonance with individual freedom. Therefore
certain limits to individual freedom are necessary if the rights and freedoms of
others are to be protected. One should not misuse individual freedom in such a way
that it affects the integration of the society. A democratic society cannot exist without
co-joining individual freedom with the general good of the society. Hence the nation
has the right to impose judicious control even over human rights. Freedom of opinion
is a very valuable human right. But this right cannot be exercised against the system
of general peace, righteousness and morality. Similarly slanderous statements that
malign others under the guise of this freedom are not justifiable. Therefore as a
citizen one should execute the duties towards the nation and society along with
enjoying rights.
We are bound to preserve the soverignity, unity and integrity of our nation and
to protect our ideals and culture. We should go beyond parochial thoughts in terms
of religion, region and language and should imitate the example of Christ who saw
all people equally. We should preserve nature in its originality. We should understand
that all creatures of the universe also have rights over natural resources and it is out
duty to preserve and protect them. We should follow the good model of bearing
witness to Christ through our life. Along with this we should ensure equitable
justice to all.

Child Labour
In our society, there are parents and agents who earn livelihood by sending
their children to work or begging. We can see a number of children fatigued by

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 begging in festival grounds and waysides or destined to do hard work instead of
playing in our surroundings. Sending little children to work is a crime. However
such practices are still extant.
Children who are subjected to such torture are either orphans or from poor
socio-economic conditions. Antisocial elements who kidnap children and use them
for begging or stealing are also a curse of today. All children have the rights to get
health, protection and primary education. Laws for getting them are also in force.
‘Child labour’ refers to sending children below the age of fourteen to work. It is
a serious crime. Children are often employed in construction sites, factories, hotels,
small scale industrial houses etc. Employers resort to child labour because they can
get more work done for lower wages. The children thus employed suffer without
proper rest or food. Besides they experience ill treatment, hardwork and cruel torture.
They do not get proper life-habits or nutrition due to children. Denied of love
and care they fall into crimes and bad habits.
There should be proper legal instructions and right legal awareness for the
general public regarding the prohibition of child labour. We should be able to prevent
any instance of child labour and lodge complaints with the authorities regarding it.
We should realize that other children have the right to enjoy facilities, comfort and
freedom of life like us.

Juvenile Justice Act
The future of a nation lies in its children. They are the wealth of the nation. It
is the responsibility of the society to ensure the allround development of children.
Indian constitution and laws ensure the total protection of children. However there
are many children who fall into crimes in adolescence and spoil their life by becoming
a scourge on the family, society and the nation. Torture and exploitation of children,
inspiring them to crimes, leading them into anti social activities and behaving in a
beastly manner towards children continue even today.
A boy who hasn’t completed the age of 16 or a girl who hasn’t completed the
age of 18 is defined as a child. Broken family atmosphere, the cruelties shown by
parents, towards children, parents who don’t try to understand the mental, physical
and emotional condition of children, sinful life of parents illegal brewing, gambling,
drunkenness, illicit activitites like adultery etc lead children into mental dissatis-
faction and sinful paths. Criminal tendencies are common in such children.
Sorrowful little mind, unrecognized personality, a heart yearing for love and
lack of sense of security generate hatred in children. They would neglect home and
parents and gradually would fall into bad conditions.

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 The Juvenile Justice Act was passed by the Indian parliament in 1986. This law
involves the mechanism to lead children who face the above mentioned problems
from wrongful ways of life to righteous path and transform them into ideal citizens.
This act was comprehensively revised in the year 2000. It is a crime to torture
children, abandon them in the streets or ill treat them in other ways. Juvenile Justice
Act includes clauses to take strict legal measures against those who ill treat children
in these ways. Similarly showing cruelty to children, using them for begging, giving
them narcotics or employing them in hotels and factories are also criminal acts.
It is our responsibility to safeguard the rights and dignity of children. It is the
general responsibility of the society to ensure the right education and healthcare of
children. We shall try to protect them and protest against injustices and tendencies
to exploit children.

Activities
1. How are human rights and responsibilities interrelated?
2. How can we prohibit child labour?
3. Explain Juvenile Justice.
4. Why do children fall into wrongful ways of life?
5. What measures would you take if you notice child labour in your locality?
6. Organize a discussion on the topic ‘Children and law’


























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Unit 7

The Christian Approach to
Various Ideologies


Chapter 1
Gandhian Thought




A Short Biographical Sketch
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Gujarat on 2 nd
October 1869. By
overcoming the vices and temptations of childhood and young age, he grew up as a
man of exemplary moral integrity and deep commitment to society. He married
Kasturbai in a very young age. After his studies in London, he became a lawyer.
From 1893 to 1914 his work place was South Africa where he devoted much time
and energy for the welfare of the Indians there. His experiences there, especially
the humiliations he suffered from the white authorities, were preparing a unique
freedom fighter in him. At the age of 46, he came back to India to give leadership to
the freedom struggle of the nation and the cause of the poor.
A religious fanatic shot and killed him on 30th January 1948. His auto-biography,
‘My Experiments With Truth’ will give us a beautiful description of this political
saint’s glorious life and contribution.


His indebtedness
Gandhiji was deeply indebted to the Indian tradition especially that of religions.
Among the Indian religious texts Bhagavad Gita had a unique influence on him.
Likewise, Christ and especially his ‘sermon on the mount’ was very dear to him. He
has openly confessed his indebtedness to towering personalities like Tolstoy and his
book The Kingdom of God is within you and John Ruskin and his work Unto this Lost.

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 He was a dedicated student of all religions. He learned lessons of Bhakti from His
mother herself and openness to other religions in childhood from his father.

On Receiving Knowledge
Five senses, reason, and intellect play a significant role in receiving knowledge.
But being a man of holistic vision, he did not discard any of these instruments as
insignificant. However he was fully aware of the limitations of these means of
knowledge. For example he believed that by senses and reason alone no one can
understand God. So he emphasized the importance of faith which transcends the
limitations of reason. Faith was for him a kind of sixth sense. For Gandhiji inner
voice of the conscience was the voice of God himself. Disciplining of life is essential
for listening to this divine voice or inner call. If we are not keeping our sense,
reason & intellect purified, the knowledge we receive through them may be distorted.
So he was very adamant that seekers of truth should uphold moral purity and sanctity
of life. Knowledge becomes meaningful only when it helps humans to address various
issues affecting their life.

On Truth
Gandhiji called himself a humble seeker of truth (satya) and converted his life
into a series of experiments with truth. Truth is foundational to his thought system.
Truth was Gandhiji’s dearest name for God. The insight ‘God is truth’ was a personal
experience to him. He distinguishes the absolute truth which is God and the relative
truth. Man cannot fully grasp the absolute truth. But relative truth is all that is
given to man. Living in the light of this truth he has to realize the absolute Truth. In
other words he believed that only by being truthful that one can identify with God.
He used to present his struggle for freedom and justice as satyagraha. He also teaches
that purity of heart is essential for the perception of Truth. So a pure and disciplined
life is recommended for the infallible listening to the Truth which reveals through
inner voice or conscience. Truth is end and ahimsa is the means to reach Truth.

On Non-Violence
Gandhiji was a great apostle of Ahimsa or Non Violence. He took the insight of
Ahimsa from ancient religious wisdom and tried to revise it as a dynamic soul force
in modern India. His innovation lies in the application of ahimsa in political life on
a mass scale.
Refraining from hurting or injuring others by thoughts, words and deeds is just
one part of Ahimsa. In the Gandhian thought, ahimsa means a bold stand and struggle

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 against injustice and exploitations. Otherwise it is an indirect attempt to permit the
violence of injustice to continue. If a person is non violent just because of his
weakness or cowardice, it is not at all a virtue. As Gandhiji rightly says, “The doctrine
of non-violence is not for the weak and the cowardly, it is meant for the brave and
the strong. The bravest man allows himself to be killed without killing and he desists
from killing and he desists from killing or injuring, because he knows that it is
wrong to injure.” (Harijan, 20, July 1937).

Universal brotherhood
One of the major foundations of his vision of the unity of mankind was his
religious belief. Being the children of God the Father, all are brothers & sisters. Also
he strongly believed that God is present in all and thus “Though many, we are all
one.” (The collected words of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. 44, p. 82).
He compares the humanity to a large tree having countless branches and leaves
through all which throbs the same life. Inspite of the diversity in colour, size,
possessions and positions, men and women of all countries and all ages share the
same soul. Based on this vision it was quite natural for him to take a stand for the
religious harmony and a stand against untouchability. In fact this oneness of life,
according to Gandhi, is not limited to human beings only but extends to all forms
of life.

The concept of Sarvodaya
Sarvodaya literally means the advancement of all. This is a vision for a society
in which the good of all is achieved. By Sarvodaya he visualized a society based on
love and human values, a decentralized, self governing non-exploitative, Co-operative
society. In short, Sarvodaya, the dream project of Gandhiji means ‘welfare of all.’
Gandhian vision of Sarvodaya is totally against the concept of survival of the fittest
or the greatest happiness of those who have good purchasing power. His holistic
vision includes the marginalized in society and also the material as well as spiritual
freedom and development of all. It is noticeable that he used to call dakuts or the
marginalized in society Harijan or people of God.
Only through moral means, this glorious end can be achieved. So he strongly
recommends Nishkama-karma (action without attachment or self interests) as the
means for the universal welfare. Message of his life was to ‘renounce and rejoice.’
Sarvodaya demands service to all and especially to the poor and the marginalised.
He clearly says that service of all is part of the realization of God, the ultimate aim
of man.

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 Prayer as the food of soul
Gandhiji was a man of deep prayer and he used to consider prayer as the food
of soul. Inspite of various challenges and crisis, be used to enjoy unusual peace and
he says that the secret of his peace of mind was his prayer life. Another advantage
highlighted by him was that prayer purifies and gives victory over passions. For him
prayer was an existential necessity which he describes thus: “A man may be able to
do without food for a number of days, but, believing in God, man cannot, should
not live a moment without prayer.” (India, 15-12-1927).

Conclusion
Gandhiji was an exemplary personality who wonderfully synthesized Bhakti,
Jnana and Karma and fulfilled his life and became a challenging presence of God
before others. Fulfillment of his life as well as that of the world around him were
closely interconnected. With the words “My life is my message” he is still challenging
the world to have an authentic human life with morals in the midst of moral crisis
of the consumerist culture today.

Activities
1. Briefly describe the greatness of Gandhiji’s life.
2. What was Gandhiji’s perspective on truth?
3. Write short notes on
1. Non-violence.
2. Sarvodaya.
4. Explain Gandhiji’s concept of ‘prayer as the food of Soul.’



















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Chapter 2
Religious Fundamentalism


Religions are meant for humanizing and enlightening humans. But religions are
misused by many to spread hatred and violence. Religious fundamentalism refers
to the narrow minded affiliation to one’s religion leading to hatred of other religious
communities which can result in conflicts and violence. Communalism and
fanaticism are other terms to indicate the same concept. There are fanatics or
extremists in all religions who uphold this dangerous self centered and narrow
world vision. Religious fundamentalism does not appreciate the very existence of
other religious communities and does not take any initiative for a harmonious
existence of religious communities in society.

Faithfulness and fundamentalism are not the same.
A genuine faithfulness or steadfastness to one’s own religion in itself is not evil.
Those who would like to fulfill their being by using religious resources will appreciate
very much such a faithfulness. It is by being faithful to their own religion that they
try to be open to other religions or to cooperate with people of other religions to
serve the society in a better way. For a Christian this means deep commitment to
Christ and his teachings and involvement in His Church.

Fundamentalism and Religious violence
God is love and forgiveness. But violence is taking place all over the world in the
name of religion. Quite often people in India rise up to watch horrible news of
communal violence or terrorism inspired by religious fanaticism in TV and print
media. India, especially from the time of partition witnessed many religious conflicts
and violence leading to the massacre of many and demolition of religious centres
and houses.
The demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, UP on December 6th, 1992 by the
fanatic forces aiming at the building up of a Mandir(temple) in the name of Rama,
was a decisive moment in the history of modern India. With the Ram temple
movement which culminated in the demolition of Babri mosque, communal rift in

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 this country was broadened and deepened tremendously. There were a few massive
incidents of religious violence and massacres subsequent to this. In 2002 Gujarat
witnessed the unfortunate Godhra event and consequent massacre of thousands of
Muslims by the communal forces who claim to have affiliation to the majority religion.
The next terrible persecution was against the Christians in Orissa in 2008 and
other parts of the country. Just like HIV/AIDS the virus of communalism is also
spreading throughout the country. South India, which was mostly used to be insular
to communalism, experienced religious violence and communal attacks in many
places recently.

Root causes of fundamentalism and communal violence
a. Fascist ideology: Fascist ideology of Nazis under the leadership of Hitler in
Germany was brought to India with an Indian version by Hindu fundamentalist
leaders like Hedgewar, Savarkar, and Golwalkaer. By closing the eyes to the
pluralistic culture of India, the ideology teaches the myth of ancient mono
culture of Hinduism. Actually India used to enjoy religious pluralism from
antiquity. There are many Hindhu fundamentalists who consider Christianity
and Islam as foreign religions and think that followers of these religions are not
entitled to have equal citizenship with the members of the majority religion. It
is through the hate campaign, misinformation and fear psychosis that various
organizations of Hindvata intensify communalization of Society.
b. Misuse of religion by Politicians: Religious sentiments are exploited by the
politicians to achieve their political agendas. Thus power becomes the ultimate
goal at the expense of the harmony and peace of society.
c. Economic matters: Economic progress of one religious community may stimulate
jealousy and hatred in other communities. One of the causes of the anti-
Christian movement in Kandhamal district in Orisa was the socio economic
progress of the dalit Christians there.
d. Conversion issue: Indian constitution guarantees the right to preach and
propagate one’s own of religion. In spite of the evangelization attempts by the
Christians in India, the total Christian population in this country is less than
3% and is not increasing in the last several decades. But the fundamentalists
have taken it as a big issue and introduced anti conversion bills in a few states.
Chrstian evangelists also need to rethink about their aggressive attitude.
Aggressive evangelization condemning other religions aiming at conversion in
large scale is also a kind of fundamentalism which provoke the fundamentalists
of other religions.

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 e. Lack of understanding about other religions: There are many who are well
versed in their own religion and unaware of even the basics of other religions.
This deficiency can lead to prejudices concerning other religions which may
result in indifference or hatred to others.

Remedial Measures
More and more opportunities for formal and informal dialogue among various
religions are to be encouraged to expose the miscommunications or prejudices.
Truth shall liberate us. Inter-religious prayer groups, inter-religious pilgrimages,
inter-religious live together camps are important to achieve this goal. Only those
who are deeply faithful to their own religion have the qualification and right to take
intiative for such programmes. Cooperation of people belonging to different religions
to serve the society will also prepare a ground for understanding each other in a
healthy manner. Just publishing a few books or articles is not enough when the
gravity of the issue of communalism is considered. More and more creative works
are to be encouraged to ensure the unity in diversity. Film makers, artists, novelists,
journalists etc. can play a decisive role to promote peace by overcoming
fundamentalism by using their creativity in a meaningful way. Documentaries like
Ram ke nam (1991) and ‘Father Son and Holy War’ (1995) on the psychological
element of communal violence made by Anant Patwardhan, the famous Indian
documentary filmmaker, is just an example. Theology of peace can be visualized
without stereotype jargons and to be expressed through various creative ways to
appeal to a wider society.
Teachers or Gurus used to enjoy a very prominent place in Indian society. They
still have an important role to play in dispersing the darkness of divisive forces to
ensure peace and the integration of the society. Even if Christians form a tiny part
of the population of this country churches still own a large number of schools. Do
we pursue earnestly this mission through our schools?

Panchasheel for Religions and Global Human Family
As nations work in the spirit of global international co-operation, the religious
people have also to come out to affirm a global inter-religious unity and co-operation.
In this context must we understand Paulos Mar Gregorios’ proposal of a Panchasheel
(five habits) for religions, which can be summarized as follows:
1. Mutual respect: Mutual respect between religions can be engendered by teach-
ing each person to respect other religions as well as his own, never to speak
hatefully of them and to learn what is best in each religion.

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 2. Non-discrimination: The principle of our secular democracy that no man or
woman shall be discriminated against because of his or her religion should be
upheld at any cost.
3. Dialogue or learning from each other: All religions have a tendency to feel self
sufficient. But when one sets out to learn deeply from other religions, one’s
understanding of one’s own religion is transformed and deepened. At least leaders
and thinkers of each religion need an exposure at depth to the teachings of
other religions.
4. Resolving conflicts by Peaceful Means: There should be a national network of
religious leaders commited to the ideal of religious and communal harmony,
who will be vigilant about communal tensions in various parts of the country.
5. Inter religious co-operation in service to community. Ways and means for joint
ser v ice are wor th exploring ( Paulos Mar Gre gor ios, Relig ion and
Dialogue, p. 167-170)

Reasoning for Christians Engaging in Dialogue
We Christians have a responsibility to have dialogue with followers of other
religions for various reasons; for knowing God’s work in other religions, especially
for knowing Christ’s influence in them, for strengthening and stimulating one’s
own faith, for contributing to a creative unity of mankind and peace and harmony
of the society. Above all, Christian love is compelling us to take up this mission.
Dialogue demands a deep commitment to Christ and openness to all. Dialogue is
not limited to theoretical discussions but includes all kinds of creative sharing and
co-operation beyond all boundaries to serve the society.
May God be with us in this struggle. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, because they
are the children of God.’ (St. Matthew 5:9)

Activities
1. What is religious fundamentalism? What are the evils involved in it?
2. Prove that religious fundamentalism is the cause of communal riots.
3. Explain the causes of fundamentalism.
4. Findout through a classroom discussion, the ways to solve issues generated by
religious fundamentalism.
5. What are the ‘Panchasheel’ for preserving religious harmony?
6. What are the reasons for religious harmony in your locality?



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Chapter 3

Social Ideologies



Even if God created human beings in His own image, certain groups of people are
discriminated based on their colour or gender or occupation/ descent. At the same
time we can see counter movements to ensure equality and justice in society. Blacks
in USA, Dalits in India and Women all over the world were experiencing the pain of
social discrimination and in modern period many social activists, ideologues and
theologians took initiative to address their issues.


Dalit Issues
The adjective dalit refers to the broken situation of the low caste and outcaste
people in India. All the socially oppressed people in India would like to be known as
dalits today. It refers to the oppression and captivity they were experiencing from
the high castes.


Oppression of Dalits
Oppression of dalits by the so called high caste people continued for the last
3500 years. It starts with the coming of the Aryan colonizers to India. The
Aryans used religious and psychological methods to enslave or oppress the original
people of India. A re-reading of religious scriptures written by the Aryans and also
history will enlighten us regarding this.
According to the Purushasukta hymn in the Rig-Veda, four castes were created
by God from the four parts of his own body: The Brahmin(priestly class) from
head, kshatriya ( the warriors) from arms, Vaishya ( traders) from thighs and Sudra
(serving caste) from feet. All those who did not fit into this fourfold structure were
called outcastes. Primarily dalits are outcastes.
Manusmriti composed during the first centuries of AD further legitimized the
oppression of the dalits and removed even their human identity.

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 Social Awakening
The contribution of the Bhakti movement saints like Kabir Das, Tulsi Das etc
and the leaders like Jyotiba Phule, B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi etc. for
the liberation of the dalits is remarkable. Almost all dalits consider Ambedkar as
the prophet or even god of the dalits.
Article 16 of the Constitution of India fully recognized the need for the
development of the dalits, both socially and educationally. It abolished the practice
of untouchability, declaring it offence punishable by law. However dalits are missing
an equal and just treatment in social life even today.

Dalit theology
It was during the 1980s that a few dalit Christian thinkers began to make serious
attempts to express themselves theologically to help the dalits to overcome a situation
of oppression, poverty , suffering , injustice, illiteracy denial of human dignity and
identity. A.P. Nirmal, NE Prabhakar, Bishop M Azariah, K.Wilson, V. Devasahayam,
and James Massey etc were a few important early dalit theologians.
Dalit theologians emphasized the need of re- reading and writing history from
the point of view of dalits. The God who liberated Israel also commanded them to
teach their past history of slavery and liberation to their children from generation
to generation ( Dueteronomy 6: 20- 25). St. Paul also reminds Dalit Christians that
they should always remember the past, how God out of nothing has made them a
‘something’ , a people.(I Cor. 1: 26-28)
From creation account onwards Bible is a record of God’s solidarity with the
humankind especially with the oppressed. In the Exodus account we read that God
became part of the struggle of the oppressed Israelites and “came down to deliver
them”(Exodus 3:7, 8). In the act of Incarnation, God in full solidarity with the
mankind gave up his other worldly identity and became a dalit, the poorest of the
poor. This is the best model for all to participate in dalits’ struggle to overcome
their ongoing captivity and oppression by being in solidarity with them.

Feminism
The feminist movement is also known as women’s liberation or women’s
movement. This refers to a series of campaigns for justice and equality to women
in society. Campaigns for reforms on issues like women’s suffrage, equal pay,
reproductive rights, domestic violence, sexual violence, maternity leave etc. were
part of this movement. Feminism is basically a struggle against the oppression of
women.

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 The first wave of feminism refers to the feminist movement of the 18th century
through early 20th century, which dealt with women’s suffrage. Virginia Wolf,
Elizabeth Stanton etc were a few women leaders of this age. In the second half of
twentieth century, Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique played an important
role towards the achievement of feminist goals.
Feminism could achieve their goals to a great extent especially in the western
world. Now women’s suffrage is almost a universal practice. It also led to broad
employment for women at more equitable wages, and access to university education.
The right of women to make individual decisions regarding personal or marital
matters and the right to own property are other achievements.
Feminist theology is a movement that re-interprets the traditions, practices,
scriptures and theologies of religion from a feminist perspective. Some of the goals
of feminist theology include increasing the role of women in the religious leadership,
re interpreting male dominated imagery and language about God, determining the
place of women in relation to career and motherhood, and studying images of women
in the religious sacred texts. Feminist Christian theologians began with a critique
of the past – that is a male patriarchal attitude in the Church and culture towards
women. The second step seeks alternative biblical and extra biblical traditions that
support women’s personhood, her equality in the image of God, her participation
in prophecy, teaching, and leadership. Finally they tried to examine every theological
doctrine and concept anew in the light of the feminist experience. Rosemary Ruether,
Elizabeth S Fiorenza, Letty Russel are a few renowned feminist theologians.
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither
male nor female; for you are all one in Jesus Christ.” Galatians 3: 28

Activities
1. What are the suggestions of Dalit theologians for Dalit development?
2. Discuss how women is represented in the Holy Bible.
3. Conduct a review of the good and bad aspects of Feminism.
4. Is Galatins 3:28 relevant in all fields? Discuss.











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Chapter 4
Economic Ideologies



1. Capitalism
Capitalism or free market economy refers to the economic system in which most
of the means of production are privately owned and production is guided largely
through the operation of markets. This economic system was boosted in the west
by the industrial revolution. Excess of production and enlargement of the productive
capacity are important marks of capitalism. Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations(1776)
beautifully describes the ideology of classical capitalism. Competition aiming at the
moderation of prices of commodities is central to capitalism. Survival of the fittest
is foundational to capitalism.
In this age of globalization, what is actually globalised is capitalist ideology and
culture. Multinational companies’ major concern is the maximization of profit. They
bring luxurious items to developing countries also targeting those who have high
purchasing power. Satisfying the greed of a minority rather than the need of majority
is their major agenda. Through various agreements, the governments are weakened
and slowly they withdraw from their commitment to social welfare. Quite often
small industries and businesses are swallowed by these Corporates resulting in their
monopoly and escalaton of prices.

2. Socialism
Socialism is basically an economic system which strongly recommends social
ownership or control of the means of production and cooperative management of
the economy. Thus property and distribution of income are subject to social control.
Socialism also refers to the political movements which tried to put this system into
practice.
As a political movement socialism includes a diverse array of political
philosophies, ranging from reformism to revolutionary socialism. Modern socialism
originated from an 18th century intellectual and working class political movement
that criticized the effects of industrialization and private property on society. By the
late 19th century, socialism had come to mean opposition to capitalism and advocacy

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 for an alternative system based on some form of social ownership. Proponents of
State socialism advocate for the nationalization of the means of production,
distribution and exchange as a strategy for implementing socialism.
Social democracy is the political ideology that advocate a peaceful evolutionary
transition of society from Capitalism to Socialism. It rejects Marxian social revolution
and uses established political processes for achieving a just society. Social democracy
began as a political movement in Germany in the 1870s . From the middle of 20th
century, social democratic governments came to power in many countries. Social-
democratic thought regards state control/ regulation without state ownership as
sufficient to ensure development and social justice.
Today, many democratic socialists, especially in Western Europe, want industries
to be guided jointly (together) by representatives of shareholders as well as the workers
working together in what is known as an industrial democracy because both groups
have interests in the success of the enterprise. This would be a more direct
democratic way of organizing rather than control by central government. Trade
unions and/or workers’ councils would represent the interests of the employees.

3. Marxism
Marxism is the famous ideology and socio-economic theory developed by Karl
Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxism or Communism teaches that all people are
entitled to enjoy the fruits of their labour. When the workers repossess the fruits of
their labour, the gap between the rich and the poor will vanish and economic class
divisions will cease. The Marxist theory explains that history progresses through
class struggles. The conflict between the capitalists and the proletariat or the owners
and workers or the rich and the poor is the driving force for achieving a classless
society. So the ultimate goal is a society where there will be no more a division of
rich class and poor class. Marxists believe that the transition from capitalism to
socialism is an inevitable part of the development of human society. Marxists believe
that a socialist society will be far better for the majority of the populace than its
capitalist counterpart
Since Marx’s death in 1883, various groups around the world have appealed to
Marxism as the theoretical basis for their politics and policies. The following
countries had governments at some point in the 20th century who at least nominally
adhered to Marxism. Albania, Afghanistan, Angola, Benin, Bulgaria, Chile, China,
Republic of Congo, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Ethiopia, Grenada,
Hungary, Laos, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, North Korea,
Poland, Romania, Russia, the USSR and its republics, South Yemen, Yugoslavia,
Venezuela, Vietnam. In addition, the Indian states of Kerala, Tripura and West Bengal
have had Marxist governments, but change takes place in the government due to

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 electoral process. Some of these governments such as in Venezuela, Nicaragua,
Chile, Moldova and parts of India have been democratic in nature and maintained
regular multiparty elections.
The 1917 October Revolution, led by Vladimir Lenin in Russia , was the first
large scale attempt to put Marxist ideas about a workers’ state into practice. Following
World War II, Marxist ideology, often with Soviet military backing, witnessed a rise
in revolutionary communist parties all over the world. Some of these parties were
eventually able to gain power, and establish their own version of a Marxist state.
Many of these self-proclaimed Marxist nations eventually became authoritarian
states, with stagnating economies. This caused some debate about whether Marxism
was doomed in practise or these nations were in fact not led by “true Marxists”.
In 1991 the Soviet Union was dismantled and the new Russian state, alongside
the other emerging republics, ceased to identify themselves with Marxism. Other
nations around the world followed suit. Since then, radical Marxism or Communism
has generally ceased to be a prominent political force in global politics, and has
largely been replaced by more moderate versions of democratic socialism—or, more
commonly, by neoliberal capitalism. Marxism has also had to engage with the rise
in the Environmental movement. Theorists have synthesized Marxism, socialism,
ecology and environmentalism into an ideology known as Eco-socialism. Communist
governments have historically been characterized by state ownership of productive
resources in a planned economy and sweeping campaigns of economic restructuring
such as nationalization of industry and land reform (often focusing on collective
farming or state farms.)
Towards a theology of wealth: Teaching of our Lord Jesus as recorded in
Gospels exhorts to share wealth with the poor and the needy. It emphasizes the
ultimate ownership of everything by God and the need to be sensitive to the needs
of the marginalized. Ancient Christian writers like St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil
the Great etc., and modern Orthodox Theologians like H.G. Paulos Mar Gregorios
and H. G. Mar Osthathios have affirmed strongly the link of faith and social justice.
Without losing faith and gospel, as Christians we have to critically evaluate ideologies
and work towards a just and peaceful society.

Activities
1. What is meant by Socialism?
2. What is the significance of October revolution?
3. Conduct a study of the economic ideas of H.G. Geevarghese Mar Osthathios.
4. Attempt a comparative study of Marxism and Christianity.

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