Syro-Malabar Church celebrated Holy Qurbana at Ernakulam Basilica thanking God for the position of the Cardinal to our Major Archbishop Mar George Alencherry. During the sermon, Syro-Malankara Metropolitan Archbishop mentioned twice about the See of St. Thomas. He said that the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church is enthroned at the See of St. Thomas. He also conveyed the greeting of the Syro-Malankara Major Archbishop with a solemn changed name.
Observations:
Syro-Malabar Church has not yet started using this term See of St. Thomas as far as I know. What should we do in this regard for the future?
Syro-Malabar Major Archbishops do not change their names. Should we do it? If we have to add the name of Mar Thoma together with the name of the Major Archbishop how should we say that? What is about the number which should also reflect the Apostolic origin of our Church?
The official name of our Church does not seem to be the most suitable one. Many have started using different names, though each one has own reasons. But none of the names used today seemed to be the most appropriate one.
Do you think that these problems are to be settled by the time we have the patriarchal title?
4 comments:
Dear Father,
Interesting topics- Throne of Saint Thomas, See of saint Thomas, Patriarch of Thomas Christians, Name of the Church, naming of the Patriarch etc.
I have two points to share in this regard.
1 How many of us think that we are a particular church ? We all are still under the hangover of a colonial master- slave relationship. None of us consider the status of the Director of the Throne of Apostle Thomas.
Church of the East gave us that status. ( AD 1301 manuscript confirms this). Has Rome ever consider giving us that status ?
We were considered as a few dioceses with Syrian liturgy. From there, the Catholic Church has grown out from its colonial attitude to the present concept of Universal Catholic Church as a communion of Eastern and Western Churches, thanks for the luminaries like Rev Dr Placid Podipara, now we are a particular church with our own synod.
I think the concept of Universal Catholic Church has to evolve more. Eastern Churches are still considered as minor partners, not an equal partner. The Pope of Rome should be a primus inter pares- first among equals. Then, the supreme council of the Universal Catholic Church should be a permanent synod of the head of these particular churches. College of Cardinals could be below this permanent synod.
Before the illegal Synod of Diamper, the Church of Saint Thomas Christians were in communion with the Church of Rome through the Patriarchate of Chaldeans. During that period, we never remembered the name of the Pope of Rome in our liturgies. We remembered only the Patriarch Mar Simon Denha, the Patriarch of the Chaldean rite. I think, this situation was totally in par with the concept of Primus inter pares.
2. Are we mature enough to have a sui iuris status ? Our Church has terribly failed to implement the unanimous decisions of the Holy Synod. If the Synod cannot apply its jurisdiction in its proper territories, how can it demand all India jurisdiction and Patriarchal status ? I think we have to show our maturity and show that we are worth of the status. Then, as Mar Giwargis II Bava said in an interview, these statuses will come to us.
We were competing to get Roman statuses- like Archbishops, Major Archbishops, Cardinlas etc. See the Syro Malankara Church. They declared that Major Archbishop is a Roman appellation and hence we call our Father and Head of the Church a Catholicose. The 43 member Synod of the Syro Malabar Church would not have that courage. When we decided to have a Curia Bishop, why we did not think about the dignity of the Archdeacon who was the administrator of the Church? We could have decided that we will have a Bishop as Archdeacon in the seat of the Curia Bishop. When we were elevated to a Major Archiepiscopal Church, why we forgot the historical diocese of Angamali, the first ever seat of a Bishop of Thomas Christians ? We could have our Major Archbishop's seat at Angamali with a separate Archbishop for Ernaculum. I think we were immature, jumping with silly emotions forgetting about our own identity.
Let us pray God to give us and our leaders the courage and strength to grow out from the colonial slave mentality to identify the Glory of the Church of Saint Thomas Christians and the See of Apostle Thomas and to have a healthy 'primus inter pares' relationship with the Universal Catholic Church.
Nice thoughts...we have to change our church's name to a meaningful one...we have to identify our identity and act wisely....
http://thesyromalabarchurch.blogspot.in/2011/07/why-we-need-patriarchate.html
"No more can any Catholic in his right senses repudiate existing legislation of the Church to revert to prescriptions based on the earliest sources of canon law." - Pope Pius XII
I am a syro malabr catholic from the slave mentality Ernakulam archdiocese. When the chaldeanization of the church is complete, please allow us the slaves to leave this church and join the universal church.
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