Vignettes From The Sabha Vijnanakosham

Test Your Orthodox Quotient: Answers

1.)What is the minimum height of the crossier carried by a bishop
(epsicopa/metropolitan) of our church?
Ans: 4.5 feet.
(source: entry on `Amshavadi' Page 1)

2.)The New Testament mentions how many individuals by the name
Ananias?
Ans: 3. A.) Acts (23:2-5 & 24:1) mentions about Ananias the high
priest. B.) Acts (5:1-11) speaks about Ananias the husband of
Sapphira. C.) Acts (9:10-17 & 22: 12) speaks about the Ananias of
Damascus who was instrumental in St Paul recovering his lost
eyesight.
(From the entry on Ananias. Page 20)

3.)How many anaphoras are there in the Syriac Church?
Ans: The encyclopaedia lists 80, but acknowledges that since many
manuscripts mention the same anaphoras under different names, an
accurate listing has been rendered difficult.
(Entry on Anaphoras. Page 22)

4.)When did the Nicene Creed become part of the liturgy of the Roman
Catholic Church?
Ans: 1014 CE during the time of Pope Benedict VII.
(entry on Nicene Creed. Page 432)

5.)Who first instituted the tradition of using the Nicene Creed in
the liturgy?
Ans: Patriarch Peter the Fuller of Antioch in 473 CE.
(entry on Nicene Creed. Page 432)

6.)What is the meaning of the words `pattangapetta daivam
thampurane'…as in the prayer which begins with the same words.
Ans: Truthful Lord God. Pattanga is an archaic Malayalam word which
means the truth. This word is not in currency now.
(entry on `Pattangapetta'. Page 450)

7.)Name the father of the apostle St. Peter?
Ans: Jonah (from Matthew 16:17).
(source entry on Apostle Peter. Page 453)

8.)What is the Malayalam word for Orthodox/Orthodoxy?
Ans: sthuthi chovvakapetta.
(entry on Orthodoxy. Page 183)

9.)How many churches attended the Mulanthuruthy Synod of 1876?
Ans: 103.
(entry on Mulanthuruthy Synod. Page 682)

10.)Where does Saint Paul talk about his epistle to the Laodiceans?
Ans: In Colossians (4:16) .
(entry on Laodicea. Page 747)

(From the 1995 edition of the Malankara Orthodox Church
Encyclopaedia — Malayalam)

to be continued...