http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/29244
Accession Date and Time-27-10-2011;3.05PM
*Keynote Address by Fr Dr K.M. George at the Public meeting �Malankara
Orthodox Church in the New Millennium�, and Reception for HH Catholicos
Marthoma Paulose II, Tyaga Raja Stadium, March 13, 2011, New Delhi*
* *Today, as we gather together in the national capital of our nation, in
the presence of some of the distinguished leaders of our country, let us in
all humility give thanks to God Almighty and bless his holy name. For
marvellous are the ways in which the ancient Orthodox Church of Malankara
has been guided by divine providence for the last two millennia. From a
rather small community, in the south west Malabar coast, of faithful and
hardworking Christians, loyal to the country and friendly to the neighbours,
the Church has now spread her wings far and wide over the face of the earth
by this third millennium.
The recent archaeological findings of the remains of an ancient city
called *Pattanam* near the ancient port of Kodungalloor in Kerala where the
Apostle Thomas is believed to have arrived are sensational. It has begun to
unveil for us the great confluence of cultures- Roman and Greek, Aramaic
and Arab, Chinese and Persian- that took place in the spice country. The
Indian Church was founded in this setting of the dynamic interplay of
diverse cultures.
Five hundred and thirteen years ago, precisely in 1498, when Vasco da Gama,
the adventurous Portuguese navigator landed near Calicut in Kerala, the face
of Asia began to change. That momentous event inaugurated the massive
colonial era for India and the rest of Asia. The Christian community in
Kerala founded by St. Thomas, the apostle of Christ, thousand five hundred
years before that event, was the first in Asian history to bear the brunt of
the colonial invasion. The Indian church was deprived of her language and
liturgy, her indigenous social customs, and her eastern spiritual ethos and
autonomy for over half a century of direct Portuguese-Roman Catholic rule.
But the indomitable Indian church rose in a historic revolt against the
foreign yoke, in the celebrated pledge of Coonen Cross in Kochi in 1653.
This culminating event, after a long struggle with foreign domination,
anticipated the beginning of India�s political movement for liberation and
independence some two hundred years later.
Today, as we receive in the national capital the new head of the Orthodox
Church of India, H.H. Baselius Mar Thoma Paulose II, we celebrate the
freedom of the church and of the nation in humility and hope.
Let me very briefly indicate some aspects of the hope that we cherish for
the new millennium.
First, the Church has no model to follow except that of Christ who loved the
world and who gave himself up for the world. So the Church�s involvement in
any human field be it social, educational, or healthcare, is to transform
the world to its pristine harmony and integrity, to redeem it. The strength
of the Christian Church is to be perceived, as many do, not in the power of
its institutions, nor its political clout, but in its capacity for
compassionate and self-giving love to all humanity. Metropolitan Paulos Mar
Gregorios of blessed memory, the renowned theologian, philosopher and
spiritual leader, the first Orthodox bishop of Delhi, wrote on the occasion
of the 50th year celebration of the Orthodox presence in Delhi: �For the
Orthodox, the true worship of God with genuine compassionate love for all is
more important than dogma or creed. When there is a failure of love, there
is the failure of the Church, for the Church�s main task is to manifest that
love� Divisions and wars, oppression and exploitation, corruption and
injustice � these are basic failures of love, whether in the Church or the
lives of nations.�
It is in this spirit that his successor, the present Metropolitan of Delhi,
H.G. Job Mar Philexenos leads the social and charitable activities of the
Diocese. In spite of his health problems, he dreams great dreams and ably
brings together a team of competent lay people and clergy to implement his
dreams. His new coadjutor bishop HG Dr Yuhanon Mar Demetrius, well known
biblical scholar, teacher and ecumenist, is God�s gift to the Diocese to
continue the great work.
Secondly, it is a privilege for the Christian Church to be closely
associated with the life of our great nation. The richness of our country�s
cultural traditions, the diversity of its religious beliefs and practices,
are unique in the world. Look at the nations of the world, travel across
the globe, criss-cross the cultures of the earth; you see that India is
truly incredible. Yes, the Incredible India, as they say, the *Atulya
Bharat* !
It is now that the mono-cultural western world begins to speak about
religious pluralism as if it is a new discovery, but our country has lived,
and lived well, that reality for ages. The Orthodox Church rejoices in this
great diversity and subscribes fully to the ancient principle of *�sarva
dharma samabhavana.�* As our prophetic Orthodox bishop Metropolitan
Geevarghese Mar Osthathios continues to teach, we believe in the conversion
of minds, and not of religion � in *manasantharam *and not in *mathantharam.
* The millennium policies of the Church are to be governed by these
principles.
* *Thirdly, what is the mission and the task of the Church in this unique
setting? Is it simply to bargain for the bits and pieces of the political
pie? Is it to seek exclusive privileges on the basis of some numerical
minority status? The answer is an emphatic no from the Christian
perspective. The Church has to exercise its critical prophetic ministry
towards governments and authority structures whenever any citizen in this
country is deprived of his or her constitutional rights and not simply when
Christians are in trouble. The Church, by its very nature, is called upon to
work together with all people of goodwill to improve the quality of freedom
and democracy that we enjoy today, to give voice to the voiceless, and to
listen to the cry of the poor, so that every man and woman in this country
should enjoy equal rights, freedom and dignity gifted by God. This is
nothing but what Jesus announced at the beginning of his earthly ministry.
(Luke 4:18).
Fourthly, India and China are generally perceived by others to be emerging
superpowers. Some of the richest of the world, according to the Forbes
Magazine�s latest count, are from our country. But we Indians, we know the
other side � the inside story: the incredible poverty and misery of millions
of own our brothers and sisters. St. John Chrysostom, 4th century father of
the Church and the fiery prophet of social justice, spoke about the two
altars of the Church: the one on which we offer the holy sacrifice of
praise and thanksgiving, the holy Qurbana, and the other, the altar is
that of the poor, the homeless, the disabled, all those who are oppressed
and marginalised of our society. It is with them and for them that the
Church worships the living God. These two altars need to be set up side by
side, even to be constantly exchanged with each other.
Fifth, according to recent statistical surveys, our country of over one
billion people have the largest number of youth nationwise. While rich
nations of the world are now desperately aging, it is certainly a boon for
our country to have young adults constituting the significant chunk of the
population. The Church�s future priority, therefore, is to give adequate
care for the youth- both boys and girls, their proper education and
employment, their training in human values, and the channeling of their
creative energy for the common good.
Our new Catholicos, H.H. Baselius Mar Thoma Paulose II, himself coming from
a solid background of pastoral work among the youth and students of the Mar
Gregorios Orthodox Students Movement, raises high hopes for the Church�s
policies favouring the emerging young generation.
Sixth, the Orthodox Church�s care for Mother Earth through various
environmental policies and programmes is already mapped out by the Church�s
Ecological Commission. Nature, long enduring the injuries inflicted on her
by our industrial- technological- consumerist culture, has now begun to
strike back. We have a great Indian tradition of respecting nature, since
every trace of it can manifest the *chaitanya* of the divine. This goes
very well with the Indian Orthodox Church�s sacramental understanding of
God�s creation.
Here is a major question for our nation as well for Indian religious
communities regarding the dialectic of environment and development:
India and China together, with their 2.2 billion people, constitute one
third of present day humanity. If these huge populations simply imitate the
greedy, competitive and consumerist culture of the west in the name of
progress we will end up in terrible catastrophe simply because that model is
not a sustainable one for over two billion human beings, let alone the rest
of Asian population.
The question is: are we able to propose a new paradigm, a new model of
development, a more sustainable human lifestyle, more in common with our own
Gandhian model than with the exploitative, profit-oriented, globalised
market model. This question is crucial for the future of our nation and of
all the peoples of Asia. Ultimately the test is: can we all share the gifts
of God, the resources of Mother Earth in justice and peace, with gratitude
and mutual respect, with care and love for our future generations.
Seventh, the Church is called to be a peacemaker in the world. Our society
is becoming increasingly violent and insecure, especially for women and
children, for the less powerful and the older generation. No measure of
high-tech and high-cost security systems can counter the surging spectre of
violence that is endemic to globalized societies. Pope Benedict XVI in his
brand new book on the life of Jesus says �Violence does not build up the
Kingdom of God, nor the kingdom of humanity.� We can unequivocally say that
the Church�s urgent task is to collaborate with all people of goodwill, and
with appropriate government agencies to uphold the rule of law, rights of
every citizen, especially women and children, and human dignity and welfare
of all. This sets an important millennium goal for the Orthodox Church.
To conclude, it is generally perceived that the great overarching western
civilization of the last millennium is fast declining. People all over the
world look up to Asia for leadership. Here again is the challenge for the
Asian church, numerically small as it may be, and particularly for the
Indian Orthodox Church with its positive experience of centuries of living
with the tolerant and benevolent Indian religious traditions.
The biblical vision of �new heavens and a new earth where justice dwells�
and our unshakeable faith in the One who �makes everything new� are the
driving force for the Church to outline the contours of a new civilization-
a civilization of love and human dignity, of peace, justice and care for
God�s creation.
God bless our nation. Namaste. Jai Hind.
Rino Rachel Joy
E -Volunteer
Indian Orthodox Diaspora Secretariat.
Accession Date and Time-27-10-2011;3.05PM
*Keynote Address by Fr Dr K.M. George at the Public meeting �Malankara
Orthodox Church in the New Millennium�, and Reception for HH Catholicos
Marthoma Paulose II, Tyaga Raja Stadium, March 13, 2011, New Delhi*
* *Today, as we gather together in the national capital of our nation, in
the presence of some of the distinguished leaders of our country, let us in
all humility give thanks to God Almighty and bless his holy name. For
marvellous are the ways in which the ancient Orthodox Church of Malankara
has been guided by divine providence for the last two millennia. From a
rather small community, in the south west Malabar coast, of faithful and
hardworking Christians, loyal to the country and friendly to the neighbours,
the Church has now spread her wings far and wide over the face of the earth
by this third millennium.
The recent archaeological findings of the remains of an ancient city
called *Pattanam* near the ancient port of Kodungalloor in Kerala where the
Apostle Thomas is believed to have arrived are sensational. It has begun to
unveil for us the great confluence of cultures- Roman and Greek, Aramaic
and Arab, Chinese and Persian- that took place in the spice country. The
Indian Church was founded in this setting of the dynamic interplay of
diverse cultures.
Five hundred and thirteen years ago, precisely in 1498, when Vasco da Gama,
the adventurous Portuguese navigator landed near Calicut in Kerala, the face
of Asia began to change. That momentous event inaugurated the massive
colonial era for India and the rest of Asia. The Christian community in
Kerala founded by St. Thomas, the apostle of Christ, thousand five hundred
years before that event, was the first in Asian history to bear the brunt of
the colonial invasion. The Indian church was deprived of her language and
liturgy, her indigenous social customs, and her eastern spiritual ethos and
autonomy for over half a century of direct Portuguese-Roman Catholic rule.
But the indomitable Indian church rose in a historic revolt against the
foreign yoke, in the celebrated pledge of Coonen Cross in Kochi in 1653.
This culminating event, after a long struggle with foreign domination,
anticipated the beginning of India�s political movement for liberation and
independence some two hundred years later.
Today, as we receive in the national capital the new head of the Orthodox
Church of India, H.H. Baselius Mar Thoma Paulose II, we celebrate the
freedom of the church and of the nation in humility and hope.
Let me very briefly indicate some aspects of the hope that we cherish for
the new millennium.
First, the Church has no model to follow except that of Christ who loved the
world and who gave himself up for the world. So the Church�s involvement in
any human field be it social, educational, or healthcare, is to transform
the world to its pristine harmony and integrity, to redeem it. The strength
of the Christian Church is to be perceived, as many do, not in the power of
its institutions, nor its political clout, but in its capacity for
compassionate and self-giving love to all humanity. Metropolitan Paulos Mar
Gregorios of blessed memory, the renowned theologian, philosopher and
spiritual leader, the first Orthodox bishop of Delhi, wrote on the occasion
of the 50th year celebration of the Orthodox presence in Delhi: �For the
Orthodox, the true worship of God with genuine compassionate love for all is
more important than dogma or creed. When there is a failure of love, there
is the failure of the Church, for the Church�s main task is to manifest that
love� Divisions and wars, oppression and exploitation, corruption and
injustice � these are basic failures of love, whether in the Church or the
lives of nations.�
It is in this spirit that his successor, the present Metropolitan of Delhi,
H.G. Job Mar Philexenos leads the social and charitable activities of the
Diocese. In spite of his health problems, he dreams great dreams and ably
brings together a team of competent lay people and clergy to implement his
dreams. His new coadjutor bishop HG Dr Yuhanon Mar Demetrius, well known
biblical scholar, teacher and ecumenist, is God�s gift to the Diocese to
continue the great work.
Secondly, it is a privilege for the Christian Church to be closely
associated with the life of our great nation. The richness of our country�s
cultural traditions, the diversity of its religious beliefs and practices,
are unique in the world. Look at the nations of the world, travel across
the globe, criss-cross the cultures of the earth; you see that India is
truly incredible. Yes, the Incredible India, as they say, the *Atulya
Bharat* !
It is now that the mono-cultural western world begins to speak about
religious pluralism as if it is a new discovery, but our country has lived,
and lived well, that reality for ages. The Orthodox Church rejoices in this
great diversity and subscribes fully to the ancient principle of *�sarva
dharma samabhavana.�* As our prophetic Orthodox bishop Metropolitan
Geevarghese Mar Osthathios continues to teach, we believe in the conversion
of minds, and not of religion � in *manasantharam *and not in *mathantharam.
* The millennium policies of the Church are to be governed by these
principles.
* *Thirdly, what is the mission and the task of the Church in this unique
setting? Is it simply to bargain for the bits and pieces of the political
pie? Is it to seek exclusive privileges on the basis of some numerical
minority status? The answer is an emphatic no from the Christian
perspective. The Church has to exercise its critical prophetic ministry
towards governments and authority structures whenever any citizen in this
country is deprived of his or her constitutional rights and not simply when
Christians are in trouble. The Church, by its very nature, is called upon to
work together with all people of goodwill to improve the quality of freedom
and democracy that we enjoy today, to give voice to the voiceless, and to
listen to the cry of the poor, so that every man and woman in this country
should enjoy equal rights, freedom and dignity gifted by God. This is
nothing but what Jesus announced at the beginning of his earthly ministry.
(Luke 4:18).
Fourthly, India and China are generally perceived by others to be emerging
superpowers. Some of the richest of the world, according to the Forbes
Magazine�s latest count, are from our country. But we Indians, we know the
other side � the inside story: the incredible poverty and misery of millions
of own our brothers and sisters. St. John Chrysostom, 4th century father of
the Church and the fiery prophet of social justice, spoke about the two
altars of the Church: the one on which we offer the holy sacrifice of
praise and thanksgiving, the holy Qurbana, and the other, the altar is
that of the poor, the homeless, the disabled, all those who are oppressed
and marginalised of our society. It is with them and for them that the
Church worships the living God. These two altars need to be set up side by
side, even to be constantly exchanged with each other.
Fifth, according to recent statistical surveys, our country of over one
billion people have the largest number of youth nationwise. While rich
nations of the world are now desperately aging, it is certainly a boon for
our country to have young adults constituting the significant chunk of the
population. The Church�s future priority, therefore, is to give adequate
care for the youth- both boys and girls, their proper education and
employment, their training in human values, and the channeling of their
creative energy for the common good.
Our new Catholicos, H.H. Baselius Mar Thoma Paulose II, himself coming from
a solid background of pastoral work among the youth and students of the Mar
Gregorios Orthodox Students Movement, raises high hopes for the Church�s
policies favouring the emerging young generation.
Sixth, the Orthodox Church�s care for Mother Earth through various
environmental policies and programmes is already mapped out by the Church�s
Ecological Commission. Nature, long enduring the injuries inflicted on her
by our industrial- technological- consumerist culture, has now begun to
strike back. We have a great Indian tradition of respecting nature, since
every trace of it can manifest the *chaitanya* of the divine. This goes
very well with the Indian Orthodox Church�s sacramental understanding of
God�s creation.
Here is a major question for our nation as well for Indian religious
communities regarding the dialectic of environment and development:
India and China together, with their 2.2 billion people, constitute one
third of present day humanity. If these huge populations simply imitate the
greedy, competitive and consumerist culture of the west in the name of
progress we will end up in terrible catastrophe simply because that model is
not a sustainable one for over two billion human beings, let alone the rest
of Asian population.
The question is: are we able to propose a new paradigm, a new model of
development, a more sustainable human lifestyle, more in common with our own
Gandhian model than with the exploitative, profit-oriented, globalised
market model. This question is crucial for the future of our nation and of
all the peoples of Asia. Ultimately the test is: can we all share the gifts
of God, the resources of Mother Earth in justice and peace, with gratitude
and mutual respect, with care and love for our future generations.
Seventh, the Church is called to be a peacemaker in the world. Our society
is becoming increasingly violent and insecure, especially for women and
children, for the less powerful and the older generation. No measure of
high-tech and high-cost security systems can counter the surging spectre of
violence that is endemic to globalized societies. Pope Benedict XVI in his
brand new book on the life of Jesus says �Violence does not build up the
Kingdom of God, nor the kingdom of humanity.� We can unequivocally say that
the Church�s urgent task is to collaborate with all people of goodwill, and
with appropriate government agencies to uphold the rule of law, rights of
every citizen, especially women and children, and human dignity and welfare
of all. This sets an important millennium goal for the Orthodox Church.
To conclude, it is generally perceived that the great overarching western
civilization of the last millennium is fast declining. People all over the
world look up to Asia for leadership. Here again is the challenge for the
Asian church, numerically small as it may be, and particularly for the
Indian Orthodox Church with its positive experience of centuries of living
with the tolerant and benevolent Indian religious traditions.
The biblical vision of �new heavens and a new earth where justice dwells�
and our unshakeable faith in the One who �makes everything new� are the
driving force for the Church to outline the contours of a new civilization-
a civilization of love and human dignity, of peace, justice and care for
God�s creation.
God bless our nation. Namaste. Jai Hind.
Rino Rachel Joy
E -Volunteer
Indian Orthodox Diaspora Secretariat.
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