Hello John



We are very sorry to hear about the tragedy you have faced in your
life..
I have no words to console you my dear friend..

Our prayers are with you  at this time of your greatest grief..

May God bless you with his abundant peace to overcome this crucuial
time in your life..

You are going through a test like  Prophet Job and I have no doubt
that you will  surpass this test..

I am calling friends in the US to find your phone number and I will
phone you if I can find it..

May God bless the soul of your son John..

Yesterday I was hearing the CD of  a sermon my brother gave in the US
recently..

There is no death for a christian..

A christian is travelling from Eternity to Eternity..

Our life on this earth is just a passing phase..

If Jesus is eteranal; those who are eating from his body and drinking
from his blood is eternal too..

I pray that your son's memory  be a strength to you to continue the
good work you were doing ..

YOur son is in the bosom of our beloved fathers Abraham, Issac and
Jacob, waiting for us to join him in everlasting praise of our Lord
and Our God.

With prayers for you and your family.



Ronnie Daniel

Toronto, Canada

A message to Mrs. & Mr. John Kunnathu

Dear Mr. John and Lizzy,

Heartfelt condolences. Only today I came to know about the untimely
and unexpected passing away of your one and only son, Vineeth. I
really do not know how to console you.

Death of our loved ones is always a difficult reality to accept, but
our Christian faith gives us strength to bear such losses and to
accept the truth. You very well know that the one who has given us
life has the full authority to take it back too. Believe that these
tests and problems are to make us mentally more strong. He will make
us to go through these trials, but He will not make us suffer. As you
know life is a strict and tough teacher and the difference is, teacher
teaches a lesson first and takes the exam, but life takes the exam
first and teaches the lesson.

Just quoting some of the Bible verses which you might have read
several times before, but will find it different when you read it this
time.

"I have summoned you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the
waters, I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they
will not sweep over you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of
Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43:2

"Fear not I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God, for I will
strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you". Isaiah 41: 10

"For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand it is I who say to
you, :Fear not I will help you" Isaiah 4: 13

Praying that let Vineeth's soul find rest in the bosom of Abraham,
Issac and Jacob. Also praying to grant you strength to bear this
unexpected loss.

With heartfelt condolences and sincere prayers,

Mrs. Sabu George,Mumbai

After Resurrection - Divinity and Humanity

Sermon delivered by Fr John Brian at Holy Transfiguration Mission Chapel in
Madison, Wisconsin on Sunday May 4, 2008

After resurrection....now what? This sermon is further teaching about the
gift of Christ Resurrection to us, for us and with us. This is more
teachings about the transformative power of Orthodox Christian fasting and
healing as preparation of the life to come. 28 minutes, 50 seconds

PODCAST OR DOWNLOAD:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/frjohnbrian or
http://frjohnbrian.hipcast.com/rss/spiritual_reflections_or_fr_john_brian.xm
l

LISTEN ONLINE:
http://frjohbrian.blogspot.com/2008/05/after-resurrection-divinity-and.html



Previous sermons:

+*+*+*+*+*+*+
Through Resurrection - Everything

Sermon delivered by Fr John Brian at Holy Transfiguration Mission Chapel in
Madison, Wisconsin on Sunday April 27, 2008
This short sermon is about the gift of Christ Resurrection to us, for us and
with us. It is the culmination of the teachings about the transformative
power of Orthodox Christian fasting and healing as preparation of the life
to come. 4 minutes, 59 seconds
PODCAST OR DOWNLOAD:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/frjohnbrian or
http://frjohnbrian.hipcast.com/rss/spiritual_reflections_or_fr_john_brian.xm
l
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://frjohbrian.blogspot.com/2008/05/through-resurrection-everything.html

+*+*+*+*+*+*+
Preparing for Our Resurrection

Sermon delivered by Fr John Brian at Holy Transfiguration Mission Chapel in
Madison, Wisconsin on Sunday April 20, 2008 and Monday April 21, 2008 (this
recording)
This sermon continues the teachings about the transformative power of
Orthodox Christian fasting and healing as preparation of the life to come.
19 minutes, 45 seconds
PODCAST OR DOWNLOAD:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/frjohnbrian or
http://frjohnbrian.hipcast.com/rss/spiritual_reflections_or_fr_john_brian.xm
l
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://frjohbrian.blogspot.com/2008/04/preparing-for-our-resurrection.html



+*+*+*+*+
Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53705
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@...
www.maruroopa.blogspot.com
www.angelfire.com/wi/inroads/transfig.html
o HEALING LIFE o DEEPENING FAITH
o ENRICHING PRACTICE o REFRESHING SPIRIT

Re: Puthuppally & Chandanappally Perunnal Live

Dear Mr. Joice,

Best wishes for your efforts and program, it is realy worth for the
people, who living far from Kerala.

with prayers,
Bijoy

Snaps of Coptic Poe H H Shenud to Ethiopia ( April May) 2008

International Orthodox Chritian Updates - May 2008 Issue

Click the below link

http://www.theorthodoxchurch.info/blogs/news/2008/05/coptic-popes-
visit-to-ethiopia-2008_06.html

Also Read Article

Roman Catholic Journey to Orthodoxy (Story Two)

http://www.theorthodoxchurch.info/blogs/articles/2008/05/roman-
catholic-journey-to-orthodoxy.html

www.theorthodoxchurch.info

Please post your comments

George Alexander
Allapuzha
Orthodoxy Beyond Limits

Puthuppally & Chandanappally Perunnal Live

Puthuppally Perunnal May 6, 2 pm to 10 pm & May 7, 8
am to 1 pm.

Chandanappally Perunnal May 7, 5 pm to 10 pm & May 8,
8 am to 2 pm.

Pl. Visit
http://www.malankaraorthodox.tv/

Joice Thottackad
M TV
Kottayam, Kerala



      
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Obituary - Wife of Kaniamparambil Achen passes away

Saramma (91), wife of Malankara Malpan Very. Rev. Curian Corepiscopa
Kaniamparambil, Priest trustee of the Malankara Jacobite Church,
passes away on 4th May 2008. The funeral will be held at
Kanjiramattom St. Ignatius Jacobite Syrian Church on 10th May.

http://www.syrianchurch.org/news/Kaniamparambil04may08.pdf
http://www.syrianchurch.org/News.html

It is with deep regret and sympathy that we join all of you to pray
for the departed soul of the beloved wife of our dear Kaniamparambil
Achan.

We express deep regret and condolence to the bereaved family,
especially to Kaniamparambil Achen and pray that the departed soul
may rest in Peace.

Biography of V. Rev. Kaniamparambil Corepiscopa Achen:
http://www.syrianchurch.org/bio/Kaniamparambil.htm

With deepest sympathy and prayers,
SOCM Moderators
=============================
Posted By
Chev. Thomas Daniel (Reji)

Monthly Reminder


  Dear friend,
       Thanks for being a member of the Malankara Orthodox Renaissance Movement. 
We are a support group of those people who earnestly wish for a renewal in our
church, and together, let us strive to make a renaissance in our church and in
our world.

      You may contact us at  almayavedi@..., and send a message to the
group at MORM@... .You may also post a message directly on the the
site of the group by going to http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/MORM/.  Feel free
to write to us anything you want to tell us. However, everything you write may
not be posted in the group. We are trying to have a focused discussion and
research of the issues in our church.

       If you have a friend who might like to join us, please encourage and help
him/her to join, or send that person's email address to us, and we will be happy
to send an invitation.

      We are looking for volunteers to do researches on specific topics and
issues related to the church. If you like to participate, please let us know.

Regards,

         Moderators

The April 2008 edition of "Shroro " is now online.

Dear friends and brethren,

The April 2008 edition of "Shroro - The Syriac Orthodox Christian
digest" http://www.socdigest.org is now online.

Your dedication to the faith has given birth to Shroro, and your love
and interest has made the tremendous growth in this magazine leading
to its immediate success.

We ask that you pray for us, so that we may better serve
ourcommunity's interests in coming years.

Shroro Editorial Board
http://www.socdigest.org

International Orthodox Christian News

Patriarchal Proclamation of the Holy Pascha

Albanian Orthodox Great Lend Celebration- Rare Snaps

Patriarch Alexy II calls for sympathy for `Penza Recluses'

Overwhelming majority of Russians celebrate Easter

COMMEMORATION OF THE 93RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

No external force can destroy spiritual unity between Ukrainians,
Russians – Patriarch Alexy II

Over 7 Mln Russian citizens attend Easter night Church Services

Easter events draw about 400,000 people in Moscow

Holy Easter Fire Comes to Bulgaria from Jerusalem

Link

http://www.theorthodoxchurch.info/blogs/news/news.html


Articles

Antiochian Orthodox Church Preserves Age-old Faith

From Tibetan Buddhism to Orthodox Christianity

Roman Catholic Journey to the Holy Orthodox Church (Story One)

The Most-Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

Link

http://www.theorthodoxchurch.info/blogs/articles/article.html

www.theorthodoxchurch.info

George Alexander
Allapuzha

327 th Dhukrono of St. Gregorios Abdul' Galeel

St. Gregorios Abdul' Galeel, the Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan of
Jerusalem who came to India in AD.1665 on the request of the
Malankara Church to reinstate the Holy Apostolic faith here, is
remembered by the local Syrian Christian community with great
veneration. It was his untiring efforts that helped to revive the
ancient faith and traditions of the Malankara Syrian Christian
Church.

His Holiness was born in the city of Mosul in Iraq.  In AD.1654 he
was ordained Metropolitan by name 'Thimotheos' for the Omid diocese
(Ameed/Diyarbaker) in Turkey by the Patriarch of Antioch Mor
Ignatius She'mun. After ten years, the Patriarch elevated him as the
Archbishop for the Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese of Jerusalem. In view
of the historical importance of the city of Jerusalem in the
Christian Church, the Metropolitan residing here was often referred
as the 5th Patriarch in the Syrian Orthodox Church. 'Mor Gregorios'
was the honorable title entrusted to this Jerusalem Patriarch who
was within the spiritual supremacy of the Holy Patriarchal See of
Antioch. Thus from his assumption as the Metropolitan of Jerusalem
diocese,  Mor Timotheos came to be known as 'Mor Gregorios'.

During the 16th and 17th Centuries, Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church
was subjected to different kinds of religious persecution and
suppression from external forces. In that period, first the
Nestorians through their emissaries, and later the Catholic Church
with the help of Portuguese, established their foothold in
Malankara. In 1653, Patriarch Mor Ahatullah who was on his way to
Malankara was murdered by the Portuguese navy and drowned in the
Arabian Sea. The desperate Malankara church leadership appealed to
the Patriarchate for immediate help. To discuss about the serious
situation, the Patriarch of Antioch summoned an Episcopal Synod and
decided to send his delegate to protect the interests of the Syrian
church in Malankara. The mission was boldly undertaken by Archbishop
Mor Gregorios Abdul' Jaleel Bava. During his journey he had to
encounter many hardships, ultimately he landed near Ponnani, then an
important port in north Kerala, in 1665. Bava was fully conscious of
the situations prevailing in Malankara and was prepared to face any
untoward instances. He stayed there in disguise until some
parishioners of the St.Thomas Church, North Paravur visited the
place to whom he revealed his identity. They took him to their
church and informed others. Thomas Arkadiyokan (the one who was
giving leadership to the Malankara church) and others rushed to
place, all were very happy to see the delegate from the Apostolic
See. Soon after, Mor Gregorios Bava ordained Thomas Arkadiyokan as
bishop in the name 'Marthoma I'. With this single act, the holy
father reestablished the Malankara-Antioch relationship which was
cut off during some time. Later both these bishops jointly travelled
the length and breath of Kerala, visiting various Churches and
preached to the people and revived the spiritual traditions and
faith of the Syriac Christians. In 1670 Mor Gregorios and Marthoma
the first, together ordained Marthoma the second. But for His
Holiness timely action, the Malankara Church in its present form
should not have been in existence. As he was responsible for the re-
establishment of Jacobite (Orthodox) faith, Mor Gregorios is known
as "Yakoob Burdana" of Malankara. Due to the abound love and respect
showered on Him by the faithful's of the St.Thomas Jacobite Syrian
Church, N Paravur, the holy father stayed on for about 7 years
there. On 27th April, 1681 A.D. (M.E. 857 Medom 14th, Friday), His
Holiness was called to eternal rest and entombed in the North
Paravur Church. The tomb of the saintly father has subsequently
became a Holy Place for the Syrian Christians.

Thousands of Pilgrims visit the tomb every year seeking his
intercession. On April 9, 2000, the supreme head of the Syriac
Orthodox Church of Antioch & all the East, H.H the Patriarch
Ignatius Zakka I, through an historical bull, permitted to recite
the Quqalya hymns and prayers of the Zadeeqo (saints) at the tomb of
Mor Gregorios Abdel`Galeel Bava and beseech his intercession.

Source: http://www.syrianchurch.org/Paravur/StGregorios.htm

Revision of Liturgy in the Malankara Orthodox Church:
A Symposium conducted online.
Pl. Visit
http://www.malankaraorthodox.tv/

Joice Thottackad
Kottayam, Kerala



      
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Intellectual Culture

By ES John, Australia

The words like `please', `no worries, `sorry, thank you, `excuse me'
of the signs of superlative affection are the most commonly used
words of apology or salutations among the humans which exhibit that
man is living in a super or bionic culture of aristocratic order that
has no parallel in the annals of human history, yet not the less
frequently used words of vulgar swearing or its equivalents in
different global vernacular languages, unearth a dastardly kind of a
second or third tier of lifestyle that augment the vexation of
morally turpitude symptoms of a dying culture of a vanishing species.
The cosmetic appearance and lifestyle of a high- tech man is
meritoriously successful in laminating the instinctive impulses and
frailties and vicissitudes of this ephemeral life. The more he goes
to the super- tech hibernations, the vast is his resources to harden
his heart that tune to the deprivations of finer human relationships,
the imperative symptoms of maturity and give and take culture of
sharing and mutual understanding. "The higher the monkey climbs, the
more it shows its tail" is the proverb that explicitly portrays the
cultural deviations of a materialistic society that is the product of
a fossil wealth of petroleum and minerals of various kinds. From
monolithic to monolithic is the cycle of our progress that circumvent
into an unbridgeable gulf of lisping into an unfamiliar and bleak
aeon of uncertainties and helplessness. Civilizations of various
kinds flourished in course of time, yet evaporated sooner or later
because of cultural diversities due to the mundane and superficial
lifestyle that associated with them.
Commandments and sins
Sins become rampant and poignant when commandments are violated, so
also rules are made for infringement. Less rules, better for
implementing them. God's own hands wrote the 10 commandments that
embraces every aspect of our life in general terms; seeing that those
commandments were not practiced in our day to day life due to its
vastness and vividness, God renewed and elaborated them meticulously
in special categories and gave them to Moses for people to adhere to,
for example, Deuteronomy chapters 21 to 28. The first commandment of
making the Altar sacrifice given to Adam was renewed for making it as
a bloodless one in the post-sacrificial era of the Lamb's self-
denial. There wouldn't have been any sins, if there hadn't been
commandments and creeds that were given to Moses, so also the
constraints of eating the forbidden fruit by the first parents. Sin
is the process of walking over the commandments that are the foods
prescribed by God. The reason for Jesus to instruct to follow the
commandments to the lawyer for getting salvation was on this ground,
Mt.19: 17. Thus sins become a transgression against the authority of
God. The desire of the flesh to gratify itself is the father of sin
that brings death of the soul. `Then desire when it has conceived
gives birth to sin; and when sin it is full-grown brings forth
death", Jas.1: 15. Sin is a raging battle between the two enemies:
the body and soul that, to an extent, rests in the Spirit of God.
There is a multitude of sins that are the weapons of Satan which
breed them and supply for its seven legions. Sins that are not mortal
ones are forgiven by repentance and willful recompense and by the
prayers of others.

Mortal Sins
"If anyone sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin, he
will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not
mortal. There is a sin which is mortal; I do not say that one is to
pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not
mortal", 1.Jn.5: 16-17. Just as the society survives by the help and
continuing work of every individual of the global community lately,
every soul that doesn't commit mortal sins makes the spiritual
progress by the prayers of other people and self-penitence. Pray and
live for others is the religion that preaches love and concord among
the communities. The mortal sins that are prone to kill our soul may
be absolved by contrition and tearful repentance by the person
himself; the prayers of other persons cannot blot out the stains of
such sins. The sin against the Holy Spirit may not always get a
chance for repentance as in the case of Judas. The church has listed
homosexuality and secondly, depriving the privileges of hired people
who toil and moil under the scorching sun and under the dark hours of
day and night as mortal sins.
Hired Employees
Those who sit under the air-conditioned multi-storied building can be
categorized as the slaves who work under the darkness, because the
light of the sun is an indispensable food for the good health of
every individual. The people who are scared to go to the daylight sun
due to the -UV-ultra-violet rays- are prone to suffer from vitamin D
deficiency. The one who doesn't give the wage that one deserves for
those who kill themselves for earning bread and butter is a cruel act
of treachery. Despite the Trade unions fight against the employers
for better salaries and working conditions, the employers in certain
cases have proven to be the blood-sucking money-makers of the
Shylocks brands, particularly in the developing and third world
countries, so also some of the employees as hard line Goliaths due to
the insincerity and unethical slanders. The latest conditions of
signing the contract work are an inhuman policy that violates the
freedom of individuals who will have to sacrifice their free thinking
by pressure tactics. They deny the human rights of employees who work
under consternation and intimidation. One who withholds the rights
and better salary conditions of the workers come under the category
of the one who commit mortal sins. The apocalyptic times have
manufactured a multitude of people making mortal sins because of
imposing of hard line conditions; despite they are illegal under the
Labour Act Policies. Unless each individual strives to get out of
one's mortal sins, nobody else can give a helping hand to exonerate
their inexcusable infirmities.
Same-sex relationship
This is the second lethal sin that eats away our soul and body,
unless the person lives a penitent life and discontinues the brutal
sin. Complementing family life that is blessed by the religious
imperatives between a man and a woman is the only sexual relationship
allowed by God for the propagation of the human race; all other
sexual relationship is illegitimate and unproductive, as the result
of eating the forbidden fruit was the carnage of `nakedness', Gen.2:
25. Same-sex relationship is biologically barren and perniciously a
health hazard; spiritually it is a bomb that explodes and shatters
the personality of the individual. Even a lustful look that gratifies
one's flesh comes under the banner of sexual abomination, Mt.5,
although there are minor and major sins. It doesn't mean all other
forgivable iniquities become stain free by the prayers of others;
transgressions that come under the momentary impulses are forgiven by
our prayers; long continuing and willful sins also may come under the
label of mortal sins. However, these explanations cannot question
the righteousness and jurisprudence of God; these all depend on the
genetic conditions and mental, physical and circumstantial set-up of
an individual. If Mary Magdalene can get the immunity from the
visitation of the 7 legions of the devil by the touch of the Saviour,
we are mere pigmies in the territory of spiritual vastness that has
no horizon or boundary while engaged in the process of judging others.

Judgement
The multifarious vividness and complexities of earthly life make us
as only mere nomads in the stretching wilderness of human life. There
again we are deprived of knowing the head or tail of the mirage of
this passing sojourn. We have no knowledge or ability and the
authority of judging others. As the sexual aberrations are the mother
of all other evils that germinated by the openness of nakedness, let
us have an observation over the ocean of sins that rule over the
humanity from the first day after the Eden tragedy. Sexual sins that
breed within the body of every cell of individuals, 1.Cor.6: 18-20,
they become congenital aberrations of genetic disorder that make
imprint upon the cells of the coming generations. This is the reason
for Jesus to spell out that a lustful look, the cradle of vices that
becomes the nursery of amorous love.
The money culture that made it conducive for dating and sleeping
with different people is a blatant sin of fornication that become the
storehouse of genetic maladies which bud into chronic disorders of
multiple tragedies. The transactions of various enzymes, hormones and
chemical nutrients and wastes, due to cohabiting with different
people, that make a heterogeneous body cripple the soul due to the
stain that burden for the future running of the body and spirit.
Fornication is a sin that corrupt the soul and body before the
marriage; the extra-marital relationship or adultery after the
marriage is a serious crime than fornication because marriage is a
socially and legally-arranged and accepted relationship that only the
death can separate. Taking into account of the congenital and genetic
dysfunctions, no secular system has the authority to condone their
legal duties that enshrine their moral responsibilities in upholding
the moral, spiritual and religious values that is a part of our
intrinsic human make-up. We should have entrusted the duties of
governance only upon such people who are conversant with the moral,
social and religious knowledge which work as the social network of a
web that constrain the animal magnetism which torpedo the personality
of an individual and others.

Same-sex relationship is also is an aberration that supplements the
chemical imbalance of our body system that links and controls the
autonomous set-up of a complementing body apparatus. As there is an
intrinsic and complex method of fuelling the body by the soul and
vice-versa, any perpetration of the natural ethos is detrimental to
the body that corrupts the soul is a dynamite of the inner
personality of an individual. The unforgivable part is that while the
fornicators jeer and laugh at the adulterers, who might have also
been fornicators before their marriage, the self-conceited morality
of a materialistic society is an open advertisement that it looks
like a spit that falls on their own face while they are lying flat.
The most perpetrated saga is that the fornicators and the adulterers
condemn the traffic of same-sex relationship; despite it is a more
serious sin that brought fire from heavens on Sodom and Gomorrah.
Just like Sodom was destroyed by fire, the whole world of Noah's
generation was exterminated for their sins by a great deluge, Gen.6:
1-8, mainly of sexual profligacy of misadventures. Surrogate
motherhood and in-vitro fertilization are matters of condemnation for
many who are indulged in all sorts of sex traffic and sexual
deviations. Criminals criticizing criminals is a sign of white
sepulchre panacea, especially in this doomsday culture of suicidal
traits. One who makes error or mistake in one thing is prone to make
faults in everything.

Virgins
All are expected to be sex virgins before the marriage, but that clan
is dying out from everywhere from the face of the globe. The high-
tech trend of high-flying life has wiped out the monastic lifestyle
that once stood out as a monument of spiritual life of unearthly
pinnacle. Even that sphere is corroded with sex corruptions and
banalities that lead a life of exoteric culture which invites high
places in public life. Man has no time or taste in living a frugal
and religious life in the land of material abundance and religious
apostasy that lead into the territory of bohemianism, which is
synonymous to spiritual poverty. The instincts of the senses rule
where the spiritual instincts are rooted out, while the religious
hypocrisy has a social role that is still craving for man's spirit.
Instead of the Spirit of God run our body system and our religious
venues, if we allow the spirit of this world to take over the control
of man and his trademark, we can produce only the Pharisees and
Sadducees and moral hunchbacks. When we lose the middle ground, only
the extremes become the centre of our attraction. Religious extremism
and fanaticism that galvanize the secular set-up or vise versa only
end up in the mass production of atheists, agnostics and religious
and social mafias. Christ came at a time when such puritanical forces
of cosmetic religious pluralism harnessed the rein of the society.
The reason for Him to drive out the laminating religious leaders from
the holy place was because they made it as a den of robbers.

Outcasts
Jesus took the whip to bring the downtrodden ones to His fold because
they were a shepperdless flock. The light that magnified from Him
could convert a woman who was haunted by 7 types of demons. He loved
all the marginalized ones, as they were helpless in leading a life of
the soul and body. The people sitting at the helm of affairs misled
them with a political religiosity that was neither good for their
soul nor their body. The womanizing ruling class swallowed the
houses of the widows and the social vulnerable. "Truly, I say to you,
the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before
you", Mt.21: 31-32. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte, and make he
become a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as
yourselves", Mt.23: 15. Sex crimes, sex trade and slavery are all
abominable sins, but the sin of spiritual pride that hides all forms
of sexual demeanors which walk over the religious commands bring
everything to nothing. "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in
one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, `do not
commit adultery', said also, `do not kill'. I f you do not commit
adultery but to kill, you have become a transgressor of the law",
Jas.2: 10-11.
Arrogance
Jesus talked about this type of hypocrisy in very lucid language to
the inhabitants of His father's native place, Capernaum. "And you
Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down
to Hades. For if the mighty work done in you had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained in this day. But I tell you that it shall be
more tolerable on the day of judgement for the land of Sodom than for
you", Mt.11: 20-24. Jesus failed to do many miracles in his father's
place because they knew that He was the son of Joseph, a poor
carpenter. The poor has no place in this world of affluence that is
amassed by looting and shooting. The religious faith has no value,
just like the natives rejected the Son of Man in His own father's
native land. The money culture of the nations and religions has
helped only building a monument of human pride that goes before a
fall. This pride that elevates us to the level of Godhead to rule in
Heavenly Zion which man inherited from Lucifer is the real test of
humanity.
A poor man's wisdom is trampled over by a multitude of worldly
zealots. The sleeping pride of man till the boom of the fossil money
is at its zenith now, raging a battle that he may be evicted from his
seemingly comfortable sojourn. One has to be welded with the fire of
wisdom that whether it comes from a white or black man or from a
slave. In order to make the wise fool Jesus took His birth as the son
of a carpenter in a manger that give refuge to a mute animal, making
the donkey as his vehicle on Palms Sunday. He had many things to say
but kept quiet that spoke violently and vehemently after taking His
seen mission from this world. The people who seduced to sexual
slavery brought Mary Magdalene to Jesus to sentence her to stone to
death, so that they could hide their immoral traffic with a paranoid
person, before it comes to sight.

Hypocrisy, self -betrayal and self-conceit that rule a society accuse
one another for sexual immorality-such as dating that end up in
fornication and abortion, same-sex relationship and many other
illegal sexual traffic, rape, corner stone of all other vices, hiding
one's own head under the Himalayan sand dunes. Some sort of witch
hunt is made against some sexual perverts by people of other kinds of
sexual maniacs. Every kind of sin will have judgement on the day when
this earth vanishes; a sinner shouldn't accuse another sinner. "Let
him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at
her"Jn.8. Jesus didn't specifically say a sexual sinner stone her
first, but a person with any sin. Sexual immorality is the
infringement of the sixth commandment, there are 9 other commandments
that one has to follow stringently, to doctrines, statutes and
covenants we are bound to give heed to. The god mammon has
manufactured only a sea of faith bashers and morality bashers who
lead a life of religious and non-religious mafias.

Pride
Pride is a product of ignorance and personality break-up that
conceals all sort of pandemonium. It is the pride of Capernaum that
paid no heed to the Son of Man. Sexual profligacy is only second to
self-deceit and blatant hypocrisy. The darkness of this planet that
caused by Lucifer's to rebel against the law of God is a classic
example. His fall is due to his head weight that forced him not to
worship the Most Holy One. As we don't worship God in truth and
Spirit, all the wickedness that the devil manufacture becomes our
menu, eventuating not only blaspheming God, but also slandering and
despising one's own brethren. Read St.Matthew 18 and read the parable
given there. This is about you and me. Fear God who only can instill
the beauty of this evanescent life. The pride of Capernaum is
haunting us and forces us to abandon God and follow a life of
licentiousness.

Don't kick a dead body. Help the sick and the poor. The people of
Capernaum had a responsibility of caring a helpless man in his own
home town; instead they turned a blind eye to Him and ignored Him.
Our modern wars and atrocities have made this world as uninhabitable.
Millions and millions of uprooted nomads are wandering around the
world; stop this weapons of mass destruction and lethal wars that
pull out the innocent and the helpless from their habitats. We have a
moral duty of caring the sick and feeding the hungry. Nations and
States are squandering billions and billions of money and their
resources for whetting the lust for their own satisfactions. Leave
alone the war, how much national wealth is wasted for spying and
espionage their own innocent and helpless citizens. The law makers
intend some good things, but the implementers use the law for their
own end by torturing the helpless, uprooting the defenseless and
vulnerable. Colour, ethnicity, geography and many other things come
to the forefront glare while hunting the apparent culprits. Taunting
words and actions that have multiple meanings are not jokes, but only
can make a pandemonium in the midst of a happy setting. Jokes are
empty words and gestures that a fool enjoys in the company of
ruffians hurt the wise and sincere. Those who stand for values and
wisdom have no value in this world that predating the chain reality
of `diamond cut down diamond itself'. It is not easy for everyone to
look and pretend like good people and act as cool villains.

Charming and pleasing expressions of manners come usually from the
carnivorous nature of an inner Goliath of solid iron. "Look like the
innocent flower and let there be serpent under it', Shakespeare, is
the philosophy behind the charming generations of modernity. Blind
Legal binding, not the moral one, is the fibre that runs the society,
institutions and families. The super-tech Pharaohs can't have any
human relationship because the mechanical intelligence that
encompasses the moral machines is controlling our day to day affairs
now. The man who supposedly harnesses the mechanical system has
become a blind machine in the jungles of machineries; he is in no way
different from one of the machines that he bridles with. The brain
culture of today that transact the human affairs has no character of
finer sentiments. Brain culture has no purity of character unless
aligned with the vibrations of feeling that emanates from the heart.
Feelings come from the heart, not from the brain. Saluting with
superlative adjectives become shallow if we don't associate them with
sublime affection and care.
The intellectual culture that was not a symptom of a natural
lifestyle of the bygone age is an offshoot of materialistic culture
of legal-minded technological aristocracy that is aligned with the
super lifestyle of self-worship and egoism, whereas we used to
correct people by saying straight to their face before. That age is
no more because the mob thinks that correcting by moral lesson is
hurting and unethical. "Woe unto you hypocrites! for you are like
white-washed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they
are full of dead man's bones and all uncleanness, mt.23: 27-28.
Polished behaviour that hides the corrupt, sophisticated man is a
threat to the society that destroys the quality of this transitory
life.

OCYM 2008 Theme: Cultural Facets of the Cross - Part 3

5. Misunderstood and Risky Solidarity.
Cross of Jesus was set between the crosses of two thieves. There was
every possibility for it being misunderstood as that of another thief.
It was his association with tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes,
those with leprosy, fishermen, Samaritans and Galileans and his
empathy and solidarity with their struggle in life that put him in
such a risky and tragic situation. It of course changed the lives of
all of them and even made one of those thieves able to inherit kingdom
of God. It also helped the centurion identify the difference of the
Jesus' cross (Mk. 15:39). Of course we know that Jesus' incarnation
itself was an expression of this solidarity.

Though this solidarity provided salvation to several, it gifted Jesus
with abandonment, suffering and death. Solidarity with the oppressed
and neglected is dangerous. Isaiah's words which says, "He was
despised and rejected by men" (Isa. 53:3) came true in him.
Interestingly this is what Christ expects from his people. In the
world today, our culture is trying hard to keep off all kinds of
troubles caused by solidarity and association with the neglected and
the weak. There were several sections of our community (unfortunately
still are) like homeless, jobless, poor and members of tribes and
backward communities that had to be uplifted through our solidarity.
It is good to have an introspection to see what our attitude to them
was. Have we, the so called traditional Christians, ever tried to be
with them and fulfilled our duty to liberate them? It is easy to note
that with a feudalistic attitude through pseudo-charity work we helped
them and always left them to be our dependants in the past. It is
worth examining which cultural facet is prevalent in us today, culture
of the cross or of feudalism?

6. Symbol of Unity and Peace.
I recall what Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati said about cross in one of his
writings. He said, 'Cross is made of two pieces of wood, vertical one
symbolizing relationship between the divine and human and a horizontal
one symbolizing relationship between humans and humans. Both are
brought and stuck together by a nail". This is the most beautiful
explanation I have ever heard regarding the cross. Cross brings peace
and unity into our midst. St. Paul says, 'Christ on the cross removed
the distance between God and human (see Gen. 3:8, 23-24) and
consequently rivalry between human and human (see Gen. 4:8) and
established peace (Eph. 2:14-17). The culture of cross is that of
peace. Of course Jesus had to pay a heavy price for that. Jesus
himself talked about this peace as divine and priceless (John 14:27).
So any attempt to establish peace the hard way will certainly be paid
off. Culture of the cross enables us to go to the extreme limits for
the establishment of peace.

This is an age of competition. Culture of competition produces
anxiety, restlessness, paranoia and hatred. On the contrary in culture
of the cross all these will be wiped away and peace within and between
will be established. First step in the establishment of peace is
acceptance of others as they are and acknowledging them in their
situation. God became incarnate to understand human situation and
humbled himself as far as the cross to establish peace in our midst.
According to Isaiah, this peace transcends all boundaries and brings
together every element in creation and helps them live in perfect
peace and harmony (Isa. 11:1-9). Disciples of the cross have to
become disciples of peace and unity.

Conclusion
Cultural facets of the cross are manifold. I have only attempted to
enumerate a few. This subject needs more elaborate and in-depth
analysis and study. What I want to say through these few is that
culture of the cross is the opposite to and correction of several of
the cultural trends that are prevalent in our society. What are we
trying to proclaim to the world when we exhibit the cross on the top
of our Church building and hang it on our neck? Are we trying to say
that we are guided by the culture of the cross or we are simply using
it as a status symbol and ornament, or as a mere symbol of our
religion? If it is just an ornament and symbol of our religion, then
we are neglecting the cultural facets of the cross which we as
Christians should not be doing. The challenge is, can we try to make
a new world and social order by letting the cross and its cultural
facets control our lives? Will the cross challenge us to make a new
heaven and new earth?

Just as we did in the previous years, this year also we are relating
this theme with our general theme 'Malankara Sabha Vision 2012'.
Catholicate is the symbol of unity as the word itself would mean. At
a time when we prepare ourselves for the centenary celebration of the
establishment of the Catholicate in Malankara, can we try for
ourselves to adapt some of these cultural facets of the cross to and
make it our mission to change the face of our Church and the world?

With regards and prayers
Yuhanon Mor Meletius Metropolitan (Thrissur)
President, OCYM

pls  read

   http://www.icmc-episcopal.com/EpiscopalMissionaryDioceseOfEluru.htm

OCYM 2008 Theme: Cultural Facets of the Cross-Part 2

2. Abandoned and Cursed.
Cross of Jesus was set up out side the city limits and at a place
considered to be an abandoned location (John 19:17; Mk 15:22). Those
days out side the city limits was considered to be a place of danger
and of no protection (see the plight of the man who went from
Jerusalem to Jericho in Luke. 10:30 ff. It is also believed that the
place was the site of stone quarry of Solomon's temple. But the stone
of that particular area was not of good quality and so a skull shaped
portion in the middle of the hill was left by the mining people from
hewing. This is how it got the name Golgotha). It was this cross on
the abandoned site that became the symbol of salvation and helped the
whole creation to inherit the kingdom of heaven and the city of the
Lord. Birth of Jesus who died on the cross was also of similar
nature. He was denied a safe and comfortable place to be born. This
corrects the general understanding about safety and protection under
the rich and the powerful as the basics of salvation, success and
growth. Here a new cultural facet is emerged.

After the first centuries of Christianity when it had no protection
from the rulers, it had to face this challenge (with King Constantine
taking the leadership in the Church) and failed to a great extend.
Even today we interpret blessing of God and prosperity in terms of
material gains. But none of these were the reason for the victory on
the cross. On the contrary his relation with this Father and his
commitment to his mission facing and overcoming all obstacles helped
him take up the cross and bring salvation to the creation. This has
become one of the greatest challenges before modern humans. Our
eagerness not to be out of the boundaries of the society and of the
accepted power structures many times makes us forget culture of the
cross. Fear of being small and insignificant makes us do lot of
unethical things. We need to know that even if thrown out by the
society, we may not be out side the culture of the cross.

3. One for all
We proclaim and say on the Hasa Friday while prostrating before the
cross, "We adore the cross, the one through which we received
salvation". Cross though is numerically single, it is the whole
creation that is saved through it. The high priest who questioned
Jesus commented, "It is well that one should die on behalf of many"
(John 18:14). Though the high priest meant differently, it was proven
that he was prophesying. The words of prophet Isaiah who said "And
with his stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:5) came true in Jesus on the
cross. Take particular note of the words 'his' and 'we'. A new
cultural theme, 'each one for all and all for each' is emerging and it
turns the old pyramidal style of power which says 'all for the one' is
turned upside down. This is what Jesus did on the cross. Lonely
man's cry saying 'I am alone' and of selfish man's shouting saying, 'I
am enough for me' are removed from human culture. But unfortunately
even in Christian communities it is not culture of the cross, but of
the self-sufficiency and selfishness that are promoted today. The
tragedy of 'dead burying the dead' is seen every where. If the young
person who said 'let me first go and bury my deceased father' was in
Christ and had accepted the culture of the cross, would have had
several including Jesus Christ joining him to bury his father. In
this culture, mine will become ours and ours will turn to be mine.
Jesus said, "And every one who has forsaken … for my name's sake shall
receive a hundredfold" (Mtt. 19:29). This is the promise to us from
the cross.

4. The Power of Powerlessness
Cross in itself is an immovable and lifeless thing. But it provides
millions with mobility, dynamism and life. People mocked Jesus on the
cross saying, 'You saved others, but unable to save yourself' (Mtt.
27:39-42). The Sedra prayer on Hasa Friday says, 'He grabbed on to
the pillar in the torture room while he was whipped by the soldiers'.
On the cross Jesus was found helpless. But those who mocked Jesus
thinking that cross was the end of every thing did not know that cross
will be the end of death too and consequently shall become the source
of strength. So much strength is needed to endure pain, suffering and
face hardship. But in today's culture pain and hardship are considered
as symbols of weakness. Hence a new culture of avoiding at any cost
suffering, pain and difficulties is emerging. Cure of illness has
become a multi million dollar business among religious leaders and
Church workers (I am not saying pain and suffering should not be
avoided. The point is they should not be considered as curse and some
thing negative all the time). But when we try to avoid pain and
suffering resurrection is also avoided. Jesus said, 'unless a grain
of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it
dies, it bears much fruit' (John 12:24). All attempts to avoid pain
will cause pain to self and to several others. We will be deep-rooted
in the culture of the cross only when we recognize that suffering and
toil for the welfare of others is more honorable than that for our own
welfare.

With regards and prayers
Yuhanon Mor Meletius Metropolitan (Thrissur),
President, OCYM

(Part 2 of 3)

Preparing for Our Resurrection

Sermon delivered by Fr John Brian at Holy Transfiguration Mission Chapel in
Madison, Wisconsin on Sunday April 20, 2008 and Monday April 21, 2008 (this
recording)

This sermon continues the teachings about the transformative power of
Orthodox Christian fasting and healing as preparation of the life to come.
19 minutes, 45 seconds

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LISTEN ONLINE:
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Previous sermon:

giving giving up giving away giving way
"God loves a cheerful giver"

Sermon delivered by Fr John Brian at Holy Transfiguration Mission Chapel in
Madison, Wisconsin on Sunday April 13, 2008

This sermon continues the teachings about the transformative power of
Orthodox Christian fasting and healing. Using the scriptures: John Chapter
9; Deuteronomy 26; end of the book of Job, Malachi 3 and 2 Corinthians 9 -
as well as encouraging the reading of 1 Peter 4 and the last two chapters of
Malachi. 32 minutes, 33 seconds

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LISTEN ONLINE:
http://frjohbrian.blogspot.com/2008/04/sermon-giving-giving-up-giving-away.h
tml



+*+*+*+*+
Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53705
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@...
www.maruroopa.blogspot.com
www.angelfire.com/wi/inroads/transfig.html
o HEALING LIFE o DEEPENING FAITH
o ENRICHING PRACTICE o REFRESHING SPIRIT

H.H. Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, the Patriarch of Antioch & all the East
to Visit India

Click the Below Link

http://www.theorthodoxchurch.info/blogs/news/2008/04/hh-ignatius-
zakka-i-iwas-patriarch-of.html

Also read

The Serbian Orthodox Church to Her Spiritual Children at Pascha, 2008

PATRIARCHAL DIVINE LITURGY AT THE HOLY CHURCH OF THE ARCHANGELS

HIS BEATITUDE THEODOROS II VISITS THE GREEK SCHOOLS OF ALEXANDRIA

HH Partiarch Alexi II to Meet Abbas

Link

http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blogs/news/news.html

www.theorthodoxchurch.info

George Alexander
Orthodoxy Beyond Limits
Allapuzha

Dear Benny Achen,
       Achen wrote:
"Clergy Transfer in American Diocese is a topic for discussion for a
long time.Personally I support this."

Can you please explain why achen supports clergy transfer?

between 0000-00-00 and 9999-99-99  

Dear all

You may remember that some three hundred plus families disassociated
themselves from the Patriarch of Antioch in Burbank, Los Angles joined
us and was accepted as a mission of our Church two years back. Now one
more congregation has joined the fold. This is a congregation of
thirty five families from Lincoln in the state of Rhode Island in the
East Cost. Another fifty families are expected to join them shortly.
This has been part of the mission for the last six months. I visited
this mission on the 13th and conducted Holy Qurbana for them. Some
hundred faithful attended the service. Currently Rev. Fr. Philip
Zechariah from Thrissur diocese serves as the vicar of the
congregation. You can see few pictures at
http://meletiusofth rissur.spaces. live.com/
photos/cns!866CC4F0CAF251C6! 480/
Your prayers are requested for God's continued blessing on this
congregation.
With regards and prayers

Yuhanon Mar Milithos

joice thottakad <joicethottackad@...> wrote:
>
> 1. Clergy Transfer in American Diocese:
> A Symposium Conducted Online 2001- 2007   >
> http://www.malankaraorthodox.tv/
........................


Dear Joice,
     Thank you very much for compiling the online discussions and
publishing them in the MalankaraOrthodox.TV site.

     I think what you have done is a very timely act. Although many
clergy members and lay people have been crying for a system of clergy
tranfer in American Diocese as we have in the rest of the church, and
although a diocesan assembly chaired by HG. Barnabas and Mor
Nicholovos decided to implement it, still we do not see any move in
that direction. Matters have only become worse by the recent
declaration by HG. Nicholovos that clergy transfer is unOrthodox. It
seems that as long as Mor Nicholovos stays as the metropolitan of this
diocese, this diocese cannot expect to have any clergy transfer or any
further growth.

     If and when a new metropolitan is assigned to this diocese, he may
make this the best and the most active diocese in Malankara Orthodox
Church by implementing a system of clergy transfer. No priest will be
allowed to stay as the vicar of the same parish for more than three
years. Thus parish-splits in the name of permanent vicars will come to
an end.

     To begin with, all the priests of the diocese may be classified
into:
1. Those who can be tranferred
2. Those who cannot be transferred due to family or job

Those who can be transfered should be transferred to a new church
every three years.

Those who cannot be transferred may be allowed to stay in the same
place but they should not be allowed to be the vicar of the same
parish for more than three years continuously. They can stay at one
place and be the vicar of a parish at a different place. Being a vicar
involves only administrative responsibilities.

Those who can be transferred should be paid an allowance from the
diocese for their living expenses, and all parishes should contribute
to this fund. Diocese should not take the obligation to financially
support those priests who cannot be tranferred.

This is a response to the article 'padi padiyayi sabha samadhanam' by
Fr. M.O. John in Malankara Deepam, April 1-15 issue. Achen is basing
his position on the observation that Jacobite side has grown as a
separate church in all respects. He is making the same observation
about Knanaya. Since they exist as separate church, unity is not
possible. This is Achen's basic argument. I have the following
observations.

1. Jacobite faction was like this in the past also. They had
everything parallel to the Orthodox side - seminary, dioeceses,
administration etc. Even they introduced changes based on Orthodox
side. So what we see now is no different from the past.

2. The tension that exist between two sides is at a superficial or
emotional level. Remember that HB Thomas 1 once made a consensus with
with H.H. Baselius Mar Thoma Mathews 11. It was disrupted by some
extremists. Such moves are still possible.

3. Just because two Church groups existed independently for some years
is not a valid proof that complete unity can never happen. In the long
run, it depends not the ambitions of people. Present leaders may be
extremist and they want to keep it divided due to pressure from the
extremists at top levels. But since majority of people look forward
for unity, it can happen in the future. Once such a framework is
established, people will follow it. Religious leaders of Malankara
need to work towards it.

4. Between Orthodox churches, it is a matter of faith. As long as it
is same faith, there is every chance for unity. There are many
examples. Recently Ethiopian and Coptic Churches could reconcile after
several decades of tension. ROCOR and Russian Orthodox Church united
after many years of backbiting (at least in internet forums). ROCOR
had their own Synod, Dioceses, Seminary and administrative system.
But their unity was based on the Orthodox faith they followed.

5. I tend to believe that Achen was against unity from the beginning.
I had made this observation and wrote in ICON before. I fear that
Achen is basing his arguments only on worldly aspects and completely
ignoring the importance of unity in the same confession of Orthodox
faith which both Orthodox and Jacobite factions follow. History of the
Orthodox Church proves that as long as it is the same faith, factions
will reunite at some point.

Though some leaders of Jacobite faction try to prove that their faith
is different, this is not true especially when you compare with
authentic SOC faith.

6. In all Orthodox Churches there are extremists reluctant to change
and blindly believing that they are the most perfect and correct.
While these extremists can keep the church divide for sometime, but
not for ever.

7. For Christians, believing is not seeing. It is about how we
approach unity. Vishwasam ennatho aashikkunnathinte urappum, kaanaatha
kaaryangalude nishchayavum aakunnu/ "
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of
things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1).

We all need to change our attitude and work towards unity so that we
make it happen. Nothing is impossible with God. Malankara Church
cannot be divided for ever.

Thomas
SJ CA

Yuhanon Mar Milithos.
An Exclusive Interview by Joice Thottackad
Pl. Visit
http://www.malankaraorthodox.tv/Yuhanon%20Mar%20Milithos/Interview%20Mar%20Milit\
hos.pdf

or

http://www.malankaraorthodox.tv/

Joice Thottackad
Kottayam, Kerala


      
________________________________________________________________________________\
____
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A Tribute to Mar Makarios Thirumeni

This tribute eulogy given by Fr John Brian was recorded at Holy
Transfiguration Chapel in Madison, Wisconsin on the 40th day memorial
occasion of His Grace, Metropolitan Thomas Mar Makarios on the evening of
April 2nd, 2008.

This tribute was delivered by Fr John Brian at St Gregorios Cathedral in
Chicago (Bellwood), Illinois on April 5th for the memorial gathering there.

PODCAST OR DOWNLOAD:
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http://frjohbrian.blogspot.com/2008/04/mar-makarios-40day-memorial-tribute.h
tml


+*+*+*+
Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53705
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@...
www.maruroopa.blogspot.com
www.angelfire.com/wi/inroads/transfig.html

o HEALING LIFE o DEEPENING FAITH
o ENRICHING PRACTICE o REFRESHING SPIRIT

Dear Friends,

Today (April 4) an excerpt of the article of Catholicos of India
(http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Catholicos_ of_India_ %28title% 29)
was featured in the 'Did you know' list in the main page of wikipedia.
Wikipedia is a web encyclopedia which is visited by millions of people
around the world.

Liju Moolayil

The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without
fear of drowning and deep enough for theologians to swim in without
ever reaching the bottom. - St. Jerome

(From SOCM-FORUM Digest Number 2565)

Shortly after our Madison mission became part of the Mission Society of St.
Gregorios of India (which is a mission effort of the Malankara Orthodox
Syrian Church) in 2001, a young Malayalee from New York complimented our
mission efforts and then detailed all of the issues confronting the
Malankara Orthodox Church. After that, he asked: "What did you find in the
Malankara Orthodox Church that made you join it? My question is a sincere
attempt to learn more about the vast treasure of my Church, which sadly many
of my own brethren have failed to see."

The response was found among email archives. It has been updated and edited.
And posted as an article online:

An American Faces East: My Journey to the Mission Society
By Fr John Brian - Madison, Wisconsin USA
http://maruroopa.blogspot.com/2008/04/american-faces-east-my-journey-to.html

Excerpt:
"Two such lights for me were Metropolitans Paulos Mar Gregorios and Thomas
Mar Makarios. The soil, the good ground of the Malankara Church, which
brought forth such bishops, must be fertile soil indeed. Although you may
say there is drought-like conditions, through Mar Gregorios Thirumeni's
writings I see fertile ground and trees with deep roots waiting to blossom,
waiting to be nurtured to bring forth fruit for all humankind. I bear
witness to the sowing, planting and nurturing efforts of Mar Makarios
Thirumeni in that garden. I see Christ tilling the soil, gently touching
young leaves and sprouts, encouraging new growth and weeding the gardens..."

+*+*+*+*+
Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish

621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53705
Sundays 9:30am
608.242.4244
transfiguration@...

www.maruroopa.blogspot.com
www.angelfire.com/wi/inroads/transfig.html

o HEALING LIFE o DEEPENING FAITH
o ENRICHING PRACTICE o REFRESHING SPIRIT

Pampady Perunnal. 43 rd Dukrono of St. Gregorios of
Pampady,

St. Kuriakose Dayara, Pampady. April 4, 5.

Live from Puthuppally, Pampady & Pampady Dayara.

April 4, 3 pm - 9 pm & April 5, 8 am - 11 am

Pl. Visit
http://www.malankaraorthodox.tv/
or
http://www.malankaraorthodox.tv/Pampady%20Perunnal%2008/Pampady%20Thirumeni.htm

Joice Thottackad
Kottayam, Kerala


      
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A Song for Easter to Pentecost Days'



Many of us might know or heard about a very melodious and meaningful
song in Malayalam beginning with "Vismaya sahitham Kabaru polli njuu
narakam  vilapichu.....This song is sung in many of our churches
during Holy Qurbana at the time of  Service of Fraction (Catholic
Hymn) from Easter to Pentecost of the year. It is very harmonious
and appropriate for the occasion.

Joice Thottakkad had uploaded this song in AUDIO file on
www.malankaraorthodox.tv under 'A Song for Easter to Pentecost
Days'  A PDF file is also available both in English & in Malayalam

http://www.malankaraorthodox.tv/Xian%20Songs/Vismaya.pdf



Thanks Joice for your time and effort.



Philip Ayyamplackal, Auckland

Monthly Reminder


  Dear friend,
       Thanks for being a member of the Malankara Orthodox Renaissance Movement. 
We are a support group of those people who earnestly wish for a renewal in our
church, and together, let us strive to make a renaissance in our church and in
our world.

      You may contact us at  almayavedi@..., and send a message to the
group at MORM@... .You may also post a message directly on the the
site of the group by going to http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/MORM/.  Feel free
to write to us anything you want to tell us. However, everything you write may
not be posted in the group. We are trying to have a focused discussion and
research of the issues in our church.

       If you have a friend who might like to join us, please encourage and help
him/her to join, or send that person's email address to us, and we will be happy
to send an invitation.

      We are looking for volunteers to do researches on specific topics and
issues related to the church. If you like to participate, please let us know.

Regards,

         Moderators