Cry of the Assyrian !!!! -2

Cry of the Assyrian -2

On March 26 , posted  here on the pod cast of  Crucible of the Assyrians


http://rightglory.blogspot.ca/2015/03/cry-of-assyrian-1.html

On March 27, I wake up to reading that the Spiritual Leader of the Ancient Church of the East enters Eternal rest . Memory Eternal !!! . May his prayers be with the Cry of the Assyrians and with each of us.

http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/2015/03/catholicos-patriarch-mar-dinkha-iv-enters-eternal-rest/

I felt it very  appropriate that the community of Christians from Kerala living within India and abroad ,those who owes their paternity as Church to St. Thomas , to listen, take heed and act  to the cry of the Assyrian .

In the podcast  crucible of the Assyrians it is mentioned that the Tradition is that St. Thomas converted the Assyrian to Christianity before the crucifixion and the Ancient Church of the East carried the  faith to India  and China.

It is believed that like me that there are around 5 Million St. Thomas Christians across the world today that trace their origin to the state of Kerala in India where St. Thomas the Apostle of Christ came in AD 52 and founded the Church bringing the Gospel of Christ en-route to the Jewish community. I believe they are  broadly divided into

1. From Knanaya community that trace their heritage either direct lineage to Thomas of Cana an Assyrian  trader from the ancient Church of the East that immigrated as a community to Kerala or those from the local community already evangelized by St. Thomas the Apostle,   that that took to the faith of the Church of the East . Its current local leader Mar Aphrem of India is the Locums Tenens until a new Spiritual leader  is selected for the Ancient Church of the East - those suffering in the podcast ' Crucible of the Assyrians' as well as the very small community in Kerala. Interestingly they are also known as Chaldean Church of the East and not Roman Catholic.

2. From the local Christians in Kerala that chose to be under the Roman Catholic rather than the very small minority under the Church of the East. Interestingly they follow the East Syrian liturgical tradition though certain aspects within it has be modified to be in synch with Roman Catholicism.

3 and 4 . The two groups within the Oriental Orthodox Christian tradition
- Jacobite Syrian also known as Pathrikeese group who chose to be under the  fold of the Syrian Orthodox Church  of Antioch
- Malankara Orthodox Church as an Autonomous and Autocephalous community with its prelate known as Catholicose of East and Malankara Metropolitan of the Ancient see of St. Thomas

Between these two groups alone , it is believed that there are around 3.5 to 4 Million that has from within it many that spend time fighting and quarrelling amongst themselves and forget their own heritage. Interestingly they follow the West Syrian Liturgical tradition that they adapted from 16th Century. I am of the later community not only by accident of birth ,but also by choice . Historically both these groups still claim their heritage to St. Thomas and agree they lived as one community in Kerala , India isolated from the ancient Councils of the Church of Nicea ,Constantinople and Ephesius ( Oriental Orthodox Christians accept these councils as fundamental teaching/foundation to their faith while the Church of the East accepts only the first two Councils and there exist yet another group called Eastern Orthodox Christians who chose to hold 4 other councils as dear to them. The Roman Catholics separated from this Eastern Orthodox  in 1052 AD) .

5. Marthomites - This group separated from groups 3 and 4 , as an isolated group adopting the Protestant Anglican tradition. Interestingly they follow the West Syrian liturgical tradition though there are certain aspects modified to be in synch with Anglican teaching.

All these five groups are either known or  taken pride to be known as Nasrani or Nazarene and called St. Thomas Christians  and sometimes slanderously to those outside to reject Christ. We in His mercy are  granted another occasion to celebrate the glorious resurrection of our Lord .
Let us remember that Christ identified with every one of the least and told to St. Paul that  while he is persecuting Christians, he is persecuting Jesus Christ.

Let us each look to ourselves that by not praying and acting to help the Assyrian when we can , we too could be persecuting Jesus Christ.

May Lord have mercy upon each of us. , Amen



 

Cry of the Assyrian -3 !!!!

 I felt It as important to post this organization that Ms. Juliana  whose talk was posted

 at  http://rightglory.blogspot.ca/2015/03/cry-of-assyrian-1.html

It is the Iraqi Christian Relief Council

http://iraqichristianrelief.org/

There might be other organizations  stepping forward to help .

http://www.iraqichristianrelieffund.org/videointro/

 Incidentally CBS has aired 60 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpWJjPOPip4

It has Archibishop of Mosul from our Syrian Orthodox Church which  has the same faith with the Malankara (Indian) Orthodox as part of Oriental Orthodox Christian commune


Please keep in prayer and act as God lead you

April 2, 2015
 

Faith , Love and Repentance

Today a young friend gave a talk . He asks to remind ourselves to heed to these Three - Faith, Love and Repentance . Something I know in my head but need to get down to my heart . Lord Help

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elder-Thaddeus-of-Vitovnica/192118247471702

March 31, 2015

 

Cry of the Assyrian !!!!! -1

Cry of the Assyrian!!!!

Today I was led to hearing this Special Podcast in Ancient Faith radio - Crucible of the Assyrians.

 

http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/features/crucible_of_the_assyrians

It so much touched my heart  that it  made me cry and the thought came to me repeatedly  that I should not to go to sleep tonight without sharing  and asking others too to listen to the crying plea of the Assyrian  - A people being systematically made extinct while we live in the comfort of  of our day to day affairs .

Please pray and do what your heart tells you to . May God in His Mercy  .

 

Yet another SCOOCH meeting in 2015 !!!

http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/2015/03/patriarch-ignatius-aphrem-ii-presides-over-the-meeting-of-the-standing-committee-of-oriental-orthodox-churches-in-north-america/

It is indeed with a sad heart that I  wake to see that in this land of North America where racial discrimination and partiality is not acceptable when the Standing Council of Oriental Orthodox Church meet that that the participants and Diocesan Bishops in North America of Orthodox Church in India and its Catholicate is excluded and alienated .

- A whole community founded on its Apostolic faith handed by none other than St. Thomas, that was constantly involved with OO Christian relations including its Catholicose of the East representing the Oriental Orthodox Council of Heads held in 1965 at Addis Ababa and its Theologians like Fr. V.C Samuel , many unknown lay persons struggling on a day to day basis this wonderful faith amidst distractions is excluded and alienated .

While the choice to closing our eyes and pretending not to see or turn the other way , Please remember that allowing this discrimination to continue is not only a wrong against the Children living now including my own children, but also against our Lord Jesus Christ and His Body that we proclaim as ' One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church ' . Lord Have Mercy

March 17, 2015

 

Sunday of the Crippled Woman , March 15, 2015

Sunday of the Crippled Woman

Readings St. Luke 13: 10- 17  , I Peter 3:8-16  , Romans 12: 1-15

"And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God."

 It is the first time that it stuck me that crippled woman was at the Synagogue to be seen the Lord to be healed. Very often, we too have to come to stand in prayer and in the temple before God to be healed by Him . It is reminder to stand in prayer  even when not expecting a sudden reply or even when what we have come to ask may not be as expected by God to  have that expectation that all seeing God may yet have mercy upon us and heal us ,and touch us  as He did the crippled woman.

Wonderful how we need to focus and see the Epistle Reading that tells -

'Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:'Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing'

"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers."

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

  

as well as the reading from Romans 12

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

 

Another message that I have read or heard is how at this specific event in a specific moment in time when the Eternal God  willed to be incarnate in  His temple of the Old Israel, of the chosen people. He chose to make straight that was bend and  in His mercy continues to making straight all of creation through His Church  where He dwells in its fullness by His very presence . Like the rulers of the Synagogue ,we the custodians those baptised and  especially the Clergy called to serve chose to see only the legal implications and not see and glorify as the Crippled woman gave Glory to Him whom all Glory is due.  Our very birthright to which we are born gain as  ' Orthodox Christians' (' Christians who give 'Right Glory' )have reduced to become sectarian and  fallen short of our calling. Let us cry out and seek His Mercy that he may yet heal us and  through us heal this world, which has fallen short of what good it was created to be. 

Remembering our Fathers - February 23, 2015

" We are never allowed to forget even in a small local church the presence of this great cloud of witnesses who share with us the life of the One Church. We remember at every Eucharist the departed as a whole, and especially the Apostles, great teachers, and spiritual leaders who have helped build up and protect the Church from error and deviation. It is not a law that we have to ask the Saints to intercede for us. We do it with great joy and genuine appreciation of their past and present role in the one Church of Jesus Christ."  - extract from St. Thomas Seminary, Nagpur  Webpage

 

Lest we forget -

 

• Our father HG Makarios who served the Catholicate and the Holy Church including 46 years of his ministry to serve the Church in North America.
• Our saint  Saint HG Geevarghese Mar Dionysius of Vattasseril

When asked at some time what was the mission field of his, Makarios Thirumeni told it is You - You the Future of the Church . May His prayers be with us . See below Final Message by HG Makarios ( 3 parts). It  was of the Church and its mission outside Kerala and India

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW7y5wlrqwg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR-5xzOXERY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnKpoAkdxMc

 

See below last Kalpana by St. Dionysius

http://rightglory.blogspot.ca/2014/02/last-kalpana-of-vattasheril-tirumeni-to.html

 

 As the Church is being persecuted by the evil one and his forces to bring disharmony from within the Oriental Orthodox Christian community, within the Catholicate and every Parish , Let us pray that through us the  evil  not spread and cry desperately with tears  our Lord's mercy ,so that even with our shortcomings He may use us for His Glory

 

May the Prayers of the Fathers to our Lord be our Strength

 

George Varghese

Calgary, Canada

February 23, 2015