Dear Blessed,

It is worth discussing the written prayers used by the orthodox churches. The
question of the relevance of extembor prayers seems to the influence of
Prtostent faith. According to them the prayer is

P= patience
R= repentance
A= asking
Y= yielding

for the orthodox church the prayer is above that. The faithful of orthodox
churches join with angels,saints, departed souls and living people to praise the
Almighty. Please listen to " sthuthiyum sthothravum prabayum
pukaschayum............" you are lifted to the spiritual heights. when the
priest recites " M'hasiyono........." we get cleaned ourselves by the power of
Holy S[irit. If we analyse our prayers it has been well arranged with Quomas,
praisings, psalms, promeyon, sedara, intercessary prayers to Yeldod Aloho,
saints, repenting 'yachanakal', evengelion, nicean creed and luthaniya. When one
attends the prayer he/she feels that standing in heavanly presence and not with
worldy presence. The prayers written by holy fathers could not be repeated with
same level of divinity and beauty of language. Those who participate in our
chruch prayers they indeed experience the unique feeling of heaven. In fact when
we get that feeling we forget our miseries and fail to submit to God our
demands. When the disciples saw the their master with Moses and Elijah they
forgot about their existence and asked the Lord His permission for constructing
three tents. The holy fathers of Syrian Orthodox Church have presented us such a
heavenly gift. No can repalce it. At the end of any prayer there is time to
meditate and present our problems to our Lord with the intercession of saints.
Those who are encouraged by Holy Spirit can make extembor prayers. Indeed when
one attends the Orthodox Church prayers the extembor prayers are found to be
inapt. The prayer warriors shout the extembor prayers which dilute the devine
written prayers. Those who feel the repetition of written prayers may be becasue
they compare it with extembor prayers.

This is my humble opinion about this modern concept.

With prayers
Dr.GeorgeK John, Sharjah
ID 0204

Dear Brothers and Sisters of Universal Syriac Church,
	 Let me start off by saying that it is with deep regret that
I must bring up politics in the forum during this Holy Lent period,
but I hope God will have mercy on me because it is due to my anguish
over the things read. I pray that we will all be blessed by God in
partaking in the upcoming Blessed Holy Week.

	 I recently read in a popular MOSC forum about the ideas
brought up by Mr. P.C. Alexander for the MOSC church. Mr. P.C.
Alexander suggested that the Syriac word be taken out of the title
and the church be called Indian Orthodox Church and furthermore the
Catholicos of the East should be renamed Patriarch of India. These
ideas were supported by same cast of the IOC propagandist. One
interesting (foolish) comment was the idea that because the Pope had
dropped the title Patriarch of the East, so they thought, the
Catholicos of the MOSC should quickly take it before some other
church might claim it. Rev. Dn. Joel noted in the forum that the
title that was dropped was "Patriarch of the West and not East".  It
is just interesting to see that people think the title Patriarch is
just grabbed. Titles are merely taken from one Church to another.

	 It is beyond my why these people must bring these spurious
claims and then to add insult, these are all tactics to degrade our
Holy Patriarch and the SOC. I find it rather funny that they think
the Catholicos of the east should be renamed to Patriarch because
all these years they claimed the Catholicos was equal to the
Patriarch and even defended it by examples of other orthodox
churches. If both titles are the same, what's the point of changing
it?  They continue to just keep changing stories and fabricating
ideas to please their lust for power. I even heard the idea that the
Malankara Metropolitan title should be changed to Patriarch of
India. How can you change the title of the Malankara Metropolitan?
Any person with any sense of history knows why that is such a
foolish notion. I am just amazed at the ideas that can be created by
certain people, and then there are actually people who justify such
malicious ideas. Malankara was the birthplace of Christianity in
India. St. Thomas came to this place called Malankara; history makes
no difference to these people. We are orthodox and thus strict
observers of tradition, so how can we forget our history and just
omit the words Malankara and Syrian. These are words which tell
something about who we are.

Mr. P.C. Alexander goes to the great extent of saying that the
Malankara Church is no longer Syriac nor uses Syriac language. One
person even suggests that Syriac language does not exist. Syriac is
a classical language like Latin, even through they are not used in
modern communication, it is still considered classical liturgical
language. It is very similar to how Roman Catholics use Latin and
not Italian in their western liturgy. My suggestion to Mr. P.C.
Alexander is why stop at the change in name? Maybe Mr. P.C.
Alexander can change the vestments of the clergy to fit a more
Indian church he envisions, maybe he can create a so called Liturgy
for India maybe use Sanskrit, or maybe go back to the liturgy used
by the Nestorian church, that the MOSC so sadly misses, use the
Liturgy of Adai and Mari. Of course to make all these GREAT changes
the MOSC would have to rewrite their Magical 1934 Constitution, but
I am sure the think tanks in Devalokam can probably figure out a way
to say that the 1934 constitution actually already says all theese
GREAT things that Mr. P.C. Alexander has suggested.

I know many probably have varied feelings about Vattaseril
Thirumeni, but I do believe he was a great scholar and faithful of
the Syriac Traditions which Thirumeni had deep reverence for, but I
am sure Thirumeni is deeply distressed at what has become of the
MOSC. MOSC hails Vattaseril Thirumeni has the father of
independence, but I know Thirumeni would have never approved at what
is happening now in the MOSC.

Jacobite brethren, now is the time to hold onto the Holy Faith even
tighter. It will be through this common Holy Faith that we will
fight off any evil that comes at our Holy Church. Let us all with
utmost open hearts and minds take part in the coming Holy Week as a
way to Strengthen our Faith  for the upcoming struggles we will
face. I believe God will guide his Holy Church and its faithful. We
will always be united in our faith and nothing can change that fact.
God Bless

Your Servant in Christ and Faithful of the Universal SOC and the
Holy Patriarch,
Robin J. Mani
2364

Dear All,

   A good question from a faithful - "Why do churh insists us to pray from
written prayers rather than praying ourself from our heart"?

   Can I ask number of questions - "What happen if I do not pray?"  "What happen
if I do not go to church?" What happen if I do not respect the elders? What
happen if am not faithful to my wife/husband? What happen if I do not eat? What
happen if I do learn my lessons? What happen if I jump in front of a speeding
vehicle? What happen if I go to a prostitute? What happen if I do not take
medicine? etc. etc.

   These are the kind of questions the young generation prefer to ask? We all
know how to answer these questions. Whether the individual accept it or not it
is upto him/her. When we come back to Bro. Rajesh's question, I feel, the
circumstances only forced him to ask such a question. I remember a story heard
during my childhood. The story of a lion-cub, which has been reared by a wolf.
The grown up lion finally lost its capacity to roar as usual by a lion.

   Dear Bro. Rajesh, I would like to urge you to observe and involve with
devotion the coming Good Friday prayers from its start till end. It is all
written prayers. Observe the change in your immediate surrounding. From 2-30 PM
till end of the Good Friday prayers, the visible change in the atmosphere made
me panic and think and feel like a meek soul, no-one to stand in front of the
Creator.

   The instant prayers of the protestant's are just like sugar-coated pills,
which require no explanation. If we can have a Holy BIBLE, we can have written
prayers also, and it is essential for human. Protestant teachers claim that
their ability to spell out a lengthy instant prayer is a god-given gift, but in
reality it is not. They spell out all these like a parrot. Just go back to your
school days, how so ever bright and brilliant you are, you might not have
suceeded in reproducing a lengthy answer with 100% fool-proof. Like-wise if we
pray from our heart, definitely there will be omissions/commissions, which is
natural, but our LORD is so compassionate and graceful not to take account of
all those omissions we commit in our oral/practical day-by-day examination of
life. Do not have doubt, you can score 100% through written prayers.

   With prayers,
   CJ Varughese
   Member ID 1012

"Do you see how all who hear His word and do it He elevates to the rank of His
mother, and says they are His brothers, and calls them all His kinsmen? Still,
as we said above, she who was His mother in the body is alone properly so, as
she gave birth to Him ineffably without a man. Yet, all the saints who conceive
Him by grace and gift do possess Him. Thus, while from His immaculate mother He
borrowed her immaculate flesh, and have her in return His own divinity - O
strange and new exchange! - He takes no flesh from the saints, but He does make
them sharers of His own, deified flesh. Consider with me, please, the depths of
this mystery! While the grace of the Spirit, that is, the flame of the Godhead
is of the one Savior and God, from His nature and essence, His body is not from
that source but, on the contrary, is taken from the all-pure and holy flesh of
the Theotokos and from her all-immaculate blood. This He took from her and made
His own, according to the holy saying: `And the Wo

rd became flesh' [Jn.1:14]. As we have said, it is by means of this flesh that
He Who is Son of God and son of the Virgin communicates the grace of the Spirit
- i.e., of divinity - from, on the one hand, the nature and essence of His
co-eternal Father, as He says Himself through His prophet, `And it will come to
pass that in those days I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh' [Joel 2:28],
on all flesh, clearly, that believes; and on the other hand, from the flesh
which He took from her who, truly and in the proper sense, gave Him birth."

St. Symeon the New Theologian.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will
overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called
the Son of God."  Luke 1:35

---------------------------------------------------------------
The Christians in Egypt. "Blessed is Egypt My people." Isaiah 19:25
Please remember me in your prayers.
Please pray for the peace of the world.
"casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

Respected Members,

The 7th edition of RUHO 2006 can be found at http://ruho.org

Click this link or point your browser to find:

1 Gospel of Mathew Bible Study Ch.6 >>> Sermon On the Mount Part 3

2 News >>> Catholicos in Texas, Regional Bible Study, Staten Island

3 Celebration of Discipline >>> Service & Submission

4 Your Words >>> Questions and Answers from Mathew Ch.5 Bible Study

5 Qurbono Commentary >>> Candles in Church?

6 Stories >>> Chinese beat Christian

7 Bible Reading Guide >>> Read the entire Bible in a year!

8 Other links to quotes, prayers, apologetics, and saints!

Excerpted from the Gospel of Mathew Ch.6 Bible Study by Susan Jacob,
M.D. & Rev. Fr. George Mathews Nalunnackal, Ph.D., with editorial
content by George Aramath, Seminarian

...We know that all humans are motivated by rewards and this is
acknowledged by Jesus in Matthew Chapters 6, 10: 41-42 and 25: 14-
46.  Being rewarded for one's good actions is therefore right.  In
the familiar story of the talents, not only rewards, but punishment
is also used as a motivating factor.  If these motivations were
banished, life would become much more complicated.  Even more so than
they now do, people would do as they felt with their own
interpretation of good or evil. In Matthew Chapter 6, one is made
aware that we either get our reward from people or God.  Think of a
life without any rewards or punishment: no justice and no love.  It
becomes meaningless.  If we then were to follow any standards, it
would be a societal pattern that's constantly changing.

Let us look at different aspects of rewards.  A very poignant example
would be the love between a child and parents.  A child tries to obey
his parents because he loves them and he is confident that they know
what is right for him. Also, he desires their approval.  As one ages
this pattern continues.  For instance, the love between a husband and
wife motivates the desire to do things that bring joy to the partner,
even if it means subjugating one's own personality.  One does this in
order to have love acknowledged and returned – a reward.  This
pattern can be compared to the spiritual form of the love a Christian
has for God.  In another words, when we are truly one with God, we
will have such love and faith in Him that we are more conscious of
Him than any other person.  Our motivation will be to please Him. Our
reward will be His approval; it's our ultimate goal.

Christ points out the errors that people commonly make when they
expect to be rewarded... FOR MORE >>> http://ruho.org

Dn. Zach Varghese
Vice-Chair, Ruho.org Deployment Sub-Committee
MGSOSA North America
Member ID 0970

This question has ran across many people's minds at one point.  As we're
bombarded with Evangelical churches, our members wonder why we read from a
book and not from the heart.

Unfortunately, our church has inadvertently hidden its pearl.  Not too long
ago, we had prayers for the hours (7 times a day) that were different for
each day.  Each of the hours had its own particular theme or themes.  For
instance, on Friday we remember the Crucifixion, Saturday the departed and
clergy while on Sunday, it's about the Resurrection.  The melody or tunes
for the songs were even different.  There's even a guide for these eight
tones:
http://sor.cua.edu/BethGazo/BGModesGuide.html

The Syriac church is distinguished by the antiquity and beauty of its
prayers and rituals.  But the great tragedy is that no one knows and
therefore many don't care or have the time.

How did we get away from using these prayers?  We allowed the faithful to do
the same common prayer everyday.  Give us an inch and we'll take a mile!  So
now we're repeating the same words all the time.  But this was not always
the case.  People think that these ancient prayers are for monks and
ascetics.  But is that so?  Why do we now have people questioning our
prayers?  It's partially because they're not exposed to its full beauty.

I came to know this by speaking with others and after being exposed to this
excellent book:
http://www.gorgiaspress.com/bookshop/p-217-griffiths-bede-the-book-of-common-pra\
yer-shhimo-of-the-syrian-church.aspx


It includes the different prayers of the day.  Imagine giving thanks to God
on Sunday night for being able to partake of His Body and Blood.  These
prayers are much more relevant, and are not the same everyday.

Our church needs to translate these liturgical texts.  These pearls
shouldn't remain hidden.  Once we're fully exposed to the words of our
saints and fathers, we'll understand why written prayer is important.  But
it's up to our spiritual leaders and learned members to take an active role
in revealing these pearls.

George Aramath
#0892

The authenticity of the position of Patriarch Abdul Messiah 11 in his
canonical position as the Patriarch of Antioch is very controversial in the
Malankara in the first decade of the twentieth century and in the alleged
transferring of the Catholicate/Mafrianate. I have dealt a part of this
along with the discussion of the validity of the transfer of the Mafrianate
and the related issues earlier in this series. Here I will be concentrating
only to the juridical status of the deposed Patriarch.

Georgy as any other IO propagandist has tried vehemently to console all the
fanatics that the removal of Patriarch Abdul Messiah was only a political
interference and the Church was only passively accepting the removal and so
outside the Turkish territory he was canonically a 'senior Patriarch'
and had all privileges of his rank. Let us see his main arguments.

"Our attempt today would be to find evidence to dispel another popular myth.

 Myth: HH Patriarch Abdul Masih II didn’t have the authority to consecrate a
Catholicos for Malankara in 1912."

To substantiate the counter argument he first relies on the judgment of the
courts specifically mentioning in favor of the IO stand. He concludes by
saying that

"Thus we find the Travancore High Court judge pointing out that no plea had
been raised on the invalidity of HH Abdul Masih continuing to perform his
spiritual functions. If the Jacobites had material on the invalidity of HH
Abdul Masih performing spiritual functions due to the insinuations now being
made in internet forums, surely they would have presented it."

I don't know whether Georgy had a look to the Judgment of the Kerala High
Court (1946 T.L.R). There we can have ample reference to the Synodal
excommunication of Mor Abdul Messiah. The technical reason of the court for
not relying on this exhibit was the rules and regulations in the Travancore
evidence act. The Exhibit presented was the certified copy of the Synod
decision. The decision was then published in Syriac and in Malayalam in
various publications. The court's finding was that the 'synodal removal was
not satisfactoraly proved beyond doubt' in accordance with the regulations
of Travancore Act. In fact the decision of the synod certified and attested
by the first class Magistrate of Mousul was submitted in the court. The
court did not accept it based on the restrictions in the Travancore Evidence
Act. There are also ample evidences other than this. The first and most
reliable source is from the direct report of a person present there in
turkey at that time. It is none other than Mor Augen Bava, then T.A.Mathai
Semmasan, a student and deacon. He wrote to Malankara headquarters and his
letter was published in the official monthly, the ‘Malankara Edavaka
Pathrika’, (1906 Karkkidakom). He writes, "...especially Mor Gregoriose
Abdulla Bava is elected as the new Patriarch. All the people elected him
without any dissension and have unanimously and in full unity..."
While being a Metropolitan, Mor Theemotheose Augen has given under oath
statements in the court. The 1946 TLR judgment has quoted his statements.
He has witnessed about the synod that assembled there for this purpose.
Moreover he has pledged to repudiate all the uncanonical acts of the
excommunicated and deposed Patriarch Mor Abdul Messiah. The only
‘reciprocity’, if any, I can find here is the attraction of getting
consecrated as the Metropolitan. If you rely on this 1946 TLR there are
other conclusive findings of the court like the invalidity of the
installation of the second and third Catholicos, etc. I am not going into
such details here.

I invite again the attention of my readers to the articles and documents
published by the Malankara Church at that time itself. It was much before
any split in Malankara and it at least shed light to the stand of the
undivided church on this issue. I have compiled,

1. A letter by T.A. Mathai Semmasan who was personally present there at the
senario and is almost like a first hand report. You can read this as
Appendix No.14B in my book, Perumpilly Thirumeni..

2. The official circular letter from the then Malankara Metropolitan Mor
Dionasius Joseph conforming the installation of Mor Abdulla 11 as the
Patriarch. See Appendix No.14F {Ibid)

3. Another article titled, 'Pathriarkka Prathishtta' appended as 14 A (Ibid)

4. Appendix 14D (Ibid) is also another article of the Malankara Edavaka
Pathrika on this issue. Here there are explicit references to the stand of
Sultan asking Poulose Episcopa,( official delegate at the capital)  to go in
allegience to Mor Abdul Messiah. It took two more years to convince the
Sultan's office  on the necessity of the deposition.

The original decision of the 1903 synod on the excommunication of Abdul
Messiah was published here in Malankara in the 'Suriyani Sabha' monthly and
the attested copy was filed as exhibit in the court. I have also seen the
copy of a letter from the foreign affairs department of the Turkish
Government addressed to the Travancore Government stating that Mor Abdul
Messiah was a deposed Patriarch. This is included as a document in
the litigation files in our church cases.

I know it is a futile exercise to investigate on the validity of the
canonical status of a deposed Patriarch. His deposing and excommunication
were well accepted by the Church everywhere. There is none in his clerical
or blood lineage supporting or sympathizing him anywhere in the Church. The
Malankara church also wholly accepted and received his deposing de facto and
accepted the substitute successor on the throne. Suppose if the untoward
split and excommunication of Vattaseril Thirumeni didn't happen in
Malankara, what would have been the stand taken by the Church here? So it is
a very basic truth that these entire advocacy role taken by IO propagandist
in favor of this poor soul is only based on the schismatic developments that
happened here. So it is the ultimate 'duty' of the IOC to
justify the (il)'legitimacy' of the excommunicated prelate. But it is also a
fact that after the (mis)using this deposed Patriarch the IO forefathers is
infamous for not keeping their word to support him to his end. Read his own
letter complain on this. (exhibit No.81 in the Samudaya Case). Read the
Malayalam text in my book, 'Catholica Stapanathinte Yadhartha Nila', Pages
78-80. It says that it was agreed by those here in Malankara that they would
support him for all his needs. He is pleading to the IOs to keep the word.
After the return from Malankara Abdul Messiah had to resort other means like
joining the Romans for his sustenance. This was because of two evident
reasons.

1. The mother church where he was supported till his uncanonical acts in
Malankara quite naturally might have been embittered and gave little care
and support. Or he himself was ashamed to rely on the church which he has
betrayed. So he thought of joining the Roman Church.

2. The dissenters in Malankara who persuaded him to act against the Church
did not keep their word and supported him. The Romans were also not
attracted to this poor, innocent and troubled old Patriarch for reasons of
their need to steal the sheep. So he was not well taken there. Finally he
was taken back for support by his own mother church which he deserted and
betrayed. He was allowed to spend his last days at Kurkuma Dayara and was
buried there. But Georgy wrongly claims that 

"it’s reasonable to assume that Patriarch Abdul Masih could draw upon
considerable strength in the area surrounding the patriarchate. Surely, he
would have beenthe pride of his people. This perhaps explains his continued
residence there as a rival patriarch."

"HH Abdul Masih too would have returned back to his mother church since he
was after all buried at Deir-el-Za’aferan. I don’t know how reliable the
information is due to the Catholic connections of the
authors. But nevertheless, it may reflect some kernel of truth."

The above claims are totally unacceptable. The church and the people
everywhere accepted the excommunication of Abdul Messiah and very well
received the newly elected Patriarch. I have quoted the first hand
contemporary report of Mathai Semmasan published here. Moreover, lack of
supporters or sympathizers there could be another reason for the valid
background of the excommunication. Georgy has fancifully opens the windows
through O.H. Parry’s pages to state that,

 "it has the ‘‘most glorious view to south and west across the plain and up
the Qala’at-el-Mara Valley’’. This means that HH Abdul Masih’s supposed
native village was only a stone’s throw away from the Patriarchal seat. HH
Abdullah, on the other hand, was a native of Saddad, a village near Homs. If
this inference is true, it’s reasonable to assume that Patriarch Abdul Masih
could draw upon considerable strength in the area surrounding the
patriarchate"

But these whims are totally unfound when we see that the former Patriarch
had no considerable support from anywhere. He himself not even believed and
relied on the two monks who were with him and Fr. P.T. Geevarghese sent them
in another ship from Bombay on their return from Malankara. Similarly none
followed him when he went with the Romans. Nobody till this day has recorded
anything in support of him even though Georgy fancies that "he could
draw considerable strength in the area surrounding the Patriarchate".
Moreover it is totally erroneous to claim that he was buried with the honor
of a Patriarch. Georgy has very selectively used words to allude to this
idea of the IO propaganda. He was buried among the tombs where the monks
there were buried. V.Rev.Dr. Kuriakose Thottupuram from Chicago visited
there last year and has recorded the truth of this. Read his article in
Indian Orthodox Herald Malayalam Vol.1, No.44 - May 15, 2005. His burial
among the tombs of the Monks itself will prove all the counter arguments of
IO writers on his canonicity, strength and support, claims of rival/senior
Patriarch, lack of synodal removal, etc, etc.

Georgy's research to find whether “Patriarch Abdul Masih II was
excommunicated by the Syriac Synod?"  is said to be "constrained by the
absence of a first hand visit to the theatre of action — the Tur Abdin area
of Turkey —to secure authentic information through interviews with local
experts, and possibly the descendants of Patriarch Abdul Masih II’s
immediate family."

He has disregarded all the available references about this episode and goes
on to Ottoman attitude to Christians. I am not entering into the non
contextual lengthy arguments raised by Georgy to say that the Ottomans tried
to interfere in the affairs of the church based on the western writers to
say that the same might have happened in the case of Abdul Messiah. I must
also warn about the then prejudiced western writers on all Islamic rulers
and Eastern Christians. Any glance through authors like Badger or Grant
testifies to my apprehension. I am also of the opinion that in case of the
Syrian Church no such occurrences of undue interference from the Sultan were
not at all reported. In the case of Mor Abdul Messiah too the Sultan was at
first not in favor of the change as I have quoted before.

Georgy's following argument is dealt before. Read him,

“There are some other curious developments in the case of HH Abdul Masih.
Throughout his tenure, the de jure Patriarch Abdullah II was either
traveling or resident at the Dayro d-Mor Margos in Jerusalem, while the
deposed Patriarch continued to stay in Turabdin, either at the Kurkmo Dayro,
the then official seat of the Patriarch, or at Mor Gabriel in Midyat! On his
death, the official patriarch was buried at Jerusalem, while the so-called
excommunicated patriarch was buried at the Kurkmo Dayro, just as all
patriarchs were honored."

His admission that Mor Abdul Messiah stayed at Turabdin, the seat of the
Patriarch while Patriarch Abdullah was travelling all around points to the
wide reception to the newly installed Patriarch Mor Abdullah 11... He says
this as a proof to the 'validity' of the occupancy of the deposed Patriarch.
But any one can infer the fact that the ruling Patriarch cannot be idle to
his 'seat' but will have to move around in his 'see' to nourish his church.
The 'honor' of the tomb of Mor Abdul Messiah has been testified by their own
scholar. I need not repeat it again.

Georgy's 'shock' by reading Adrian Fortescue is really without any reason.
Any student of Church History knows very well that the author is a Roman
Catholic  who is only interested in noting anything infamous about any non-
Roman catholic church. The quote by Georgy proves beyond doubt that
Fortescue first blame Mor Abdullah to be a Protestant supporter and then
definitely declare him to be a uniat. It is also clear that in catholic
church they will not accept two bishops at the same time in a bishopric. The
real catholic uniat bishop of Homs at that time was Gregoriose Georges
Sahin. Moreover Georgy could also read O.H. Parry, who he has quoted before,
to know about the wisdom, integrity and zeal of Mor Abdulla to his church.
He had to flee from his seat out of oppression from authorities and had to
seek asylum at the French consulate for political reasons. They gave
protection there and he found safety with them. That is all. When the
situation changed he came out and the church at large knowing his precarious
situations, very well received and accepted him. It is also believed that
one of the reasons for the estrangement of the church from Mor Abdul Messiah
is his ill treatment of Bishop Mor Abdulla. So to me the references from
Fortescue are not at all shocking! It is merely the Roman bickering!  

John Joseph also is seen to repeat the same story told by the American
Missionaries again based on a Roman uniat author. It is the same dish
arranged in two plates. I have discussed the real picture from the internal
evidences earlier. So it is ecclesiastically a proven fact that Mor Abdul
Messiah was deposed and was living among the monks, died there and was
buried among the monks. He had no canonical status after his removal from
office anywhere in the church. He had no sympathizers from among his
relatives or from the members of the church, where he served for decades.

The Church in Malankara accepted this fact and wholly received Mor Abdulla
as Patriarch. (Personally I have sympathy to the IOC who cannot refrain from
defending this unhappy episode.) The whole validity of IOC hierarchy is
built upon this invalid and uncanonical act of this accommodated Patriarch.
We must understand their position. They cannot undo what their forefathers
did. These are all accomplished facts and cannot go back to rectify, reform
nor refrain from justifying as a community and as a church. History cannot
be undone.

Factually Abdul Messiah Mafrianate withered in 1913 itself. The so called
rejunuation in 1925 was done again more uncanonically by the uncanonically
installed bishops, even without the co operation of Vattaseril Thirumeni.
All these unhappy episodes were cosmetised in 1958 and were mainstreamed in
1964. We need not have to look back to all these anomalies if the
established peace process was reciprocated and upheld. To my dismay I was
forced to look back to describe all these unhappy episodes in history only
because of Georgy's discussion of the half baked ’myths’. Sorry if I wounded
the feelings of the innocent IO believers who think that what they are
taught are the only truth.

Epilogue

I am indebted to my friend Georgy for prompting me to write a series on
these issues related to the split in the Malankara Church despite the fact
it makes cool many of my warm friendships and give me a title "hard
core factionalist". My appeal to all is to take these as my academic
commitment and try to understand these as the perspective of the SOC to
which I ardently belong and believe. This is how we see the facts contrary
to the IO perspectives. I would not have dared to write this series without
the provocation from the learned and well articulated presentation from
Georgy. I acknowledge Georgy's zeal to the cause he is committed and his
earnest research to defend his position. I am again thankful to Georgy for
writing very positive to the differences of opinion I have expressed and the
academic spirit he is expressing throughout. He even wrote in MOSC Forum not
to ban my postings instead requested to promote patience and listening.
Thank you Georgy .

I am sure none will change their allegiance based on these debates and
discussions. But my request is to try to understand each other by these. At
least we must learn to agree to disagree. Let us try for mutual respect,
acceptance and peaceful co existence. SOCM and ICON forums have taken
initiative to archive both the series for study and mutual understanding. I
think this will be the first reciprocal act in both churches to compile
together a debate. This it is a great leap in mutuality.

http://www.socmnet.org/Malankaras_Mythical_Minefields.htm
http://www.icon.org.in/iconarchives_malankaramyths.icon?method=getArticle&id=1R

I also express my gratitude to ICON forum for publishing my first few
responses in the daily digest. I thought they were disgusted with my
presentations when they stopped publishing in the daily digest. But I am
happy that they have presented the whole series in their documented
archive section. I express my thanks for their kind words and openness to
refer to my postings for reference and study.

MOSC forum was also publishing my notes till recently. But all on a sudden
they came forward with a ban on my postings saying flimsy reasons contrary
to their claim of the forum of free expression. Some fanatics there tried to
mock me by saying many unworthy and painful comments instead of pointing to
my errors, if any, raising counter arguments to the issues I raised or
presenting other reliable documents. I am sorry that the moderators of MOSC
never banned any of those disparaging notes against me but only resorted to
ban my exposition. Nevertheless  I am thankful to them for bearing me a lot
and giving me space to a series which I wrote in reply to the postings that
came in another forum. I am also happy that the MOSC 'elder' informed me
that my ban there is lifted for all other 'useful' postings.

Lastly, I must thank the moderator, Mr. Thomas Daniel of SOCM Forum for his
kind persuasions, support, space and time for publishing this series. He
also created a link in the SOCMNET for further reference and easy access. I
am also thankful to Dr. Thomas Joseph and Mr. John Philip for their support
and suggestions.
Many of my readers sent me their appreciations. Thank you all.

Lovingly, Moolelachen.
Kuriakose Corepiscopa Moolayil
========================================================
From the Desk of the Moderators

We are archiving these series at
http://www.socmnet.org/Malankaras_Mythical_Minefields.htm
for study and discernment by those who seek the truth.

Religion may be help to reduce a person's stress levels
Weekly religious attendance could add years to your life, according
to a medical study carried out in the US.
The effects of exercise, religious attendance and anti-cholesterol
drugs on life expectancy were examined.

All three were found to be beneficial, with religious attendance
adding two to three years to your life.

The results of the research were published in the March-April issue
of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

Community factor?

Using age-dependent death-rate statistics, scientists from the
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center found that weekly attendance
at religious services accounted for an additional two to three
years.

Regular physical exercise clocked up an extra three to five years
and cholesterol-reducing drugs such as Lipitor cholesterol about 2.5
to 3.5 years.

Study leader Daniel Hall, a resident in general surgery at the
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, told the LiveScience
website that the benefits of religious attendance may stem more from
social set-up, than faith.

"There is something about being knit into the type of community that
religious communities embody that has a way of mediating a positive
health effect," he said.

Financial cost

He also suggested that religion may have a role in reducing stress,
or at least in boosting an individual's ability to cope.

"Being in a religious community helps you make meaning out of your
life," he said.

However, such benefits do not come for free. The study estimated the
cost of each year of life apparently gained by each method.

The costs were based on average gym fees, medical costs and
household donations to religious institutions:

The approximate cost per life-year gained was:

$2,000 to $6,000 for regular exercise

$3,000 to $10,000 for regular religious attendance

$4,000 and $14,000 for cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4876666.stm

Praise The Lord / Fr. George Joshua released

Fr. George Joshua of Malankara Catholic Church and altar boys, who apprehended
two days ago by the religious police of Saudi Arabia during the celebration of
Holy Eucharistic Service is just released.

He is allowed to celebrate Holy Eucharistic in private only for the Palm Sunday
and asked to leave the country immediately after that.

We thank every ones prayer and other support for the release of the priest.

All the praises and glory to HIM only

SOCM News Bureau

Observed the Sunday prior to Easter Day, Palm Sunday commemorates
Christ's entrance to Jerusalem riding a colt (Mark 11). The service
commences with a procession in the church with the clergy, dressed
in their vestments, carrying olive and palm branches. Following the
procession, a special service for the Blessing of the Branches is
held. The following are excerpts from the hymns sung during the
procession.

Excerpts from the Palm Sunday Procession Hymns

Qolo: Tubo Lyalude

Blessed are the children who were worthy to see Christ
When he entered Jerusalem, riding a borrowed stripped colt.
The children cried in front of him, "Hosanna in the High,
Hosanna to the Son of David.
Blessed is he Who came in the Name of the Lord."

Note: The "stripped" colt is a reference to the modesty of Christ,
for he did not enter like a king on a decorated horse, and instead
came on a barren colt.

For Audio http://sor.cua.edu/Liturgy/Audio/LebPalmTuboLyalude.ra

Bocootho (Petition) of Mor Ya`qub

"Qadish – Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord," cried the infants;
"Holy is the Lord, Who rode on a colt and entered Jerusalem."

Sing to Him, Sing to Him, Sing praises to the Son of God.
He Created you for His praise; Why are you then not praising Him?

The Prophets before Him and the Apostles after Him;
The infants and the children magnified Him with "Hosanna.

Audio http://sor.cua.edu/Liturgy/Audio/LebPalmJacob.ra

Source: Ma`de`dono: The Book of the Church Festivals (1984).

Dear Ms. Singh,

You are certainly most welcome in this group.  Here in this group,
you'll find all sorts of information about the Church: both positive
and negative.

As for our Church, it is not a denomination,per se, as it is
the oldest Church in all Christendom.  I will begin by breaking down
the title that you used:  Malankara Jacobite Syrian (Orthodox)
Christian

Malankara:  Because that is the place (Kerala) where this community
of the Syriac Orthodox Church is located.

Jacobite:  A name given to us by those who wanted to see us
destroyed. They named us this after a holy man named Jacob, who
tirelessly worked to preserve the Holy Church when two governments
(the Roman and Persian) were trying to destroy God's Church.  You
may ask why fellow Christians would call us this. It is because many
Christians allied themselves with governments and tried to use local
governments to manipulate the Church (i.e., take funds from the
Church, take Church lands, take Church buildings, etc.)  So the
Christians who allied themselves with the Roman government and
Persian government labeled us Jacobite, because the holy man Jacob
worked so hard, walked 30 miles a day all over the Middle East, to
make sure that those who were being abused and persecuted kept
Christ�fs love close to their hearts.

Syrian:  The country called Syria today is only a small part of
traditional Syria, which encompassed most of the Near East (and the
Israeli-Palestinian lands of our Lord!)  In fact, Aramaic, the
language of our Lord Jesus Christ, is spoken in our Church and also
called Syrian or Syriac.  Just as European Christians have a
Greek-Latin heritage, we have a Syriac-Aramaic heritage.  Many words
in Malayalam are in fact Syriac-Aramaic words.  Just as the European
Christians have the word Baptism from the Greek Baptismos,
speakers of Malayalam have the word Mamoudisa from the Syriac-
Aramaic word Mamouditha.  (Meaning, baptism)

Orthodox:  We are Orthodox Christians because Orthodox is a word
that means Correct Worship or Correct Glory.  This refers to
the fact that our Church has not changed in its two thousand year
history.

Christian:  Because we follow Christ Jesus.

You also mentioned your part of the world because you are not
from Kerala.  With the last name Singh, you might be interested to
know that our Church used to exist in Northwest India many years
ago. In fact, our Church was also all over Afghanistan, Persia,
Uzbekistan, and further Eastward (including China).  Due to much
persecution, we have only survived in South India and the Near
East.

As I mentioned earlier, we have not changed in 2000 years, and have
maintained the Semitic culture of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In fact,
the home of St. Mark, also known as the Upper Room in Jerusalem,
is one of our monasteries until this very day!

Since you were so kind to introduce yourself, I will give you a
short introduction about myself.  My name is Mike Wingert, and I was
not raised in the Christian religion, but some eight years ago I
came to know Christ and converted to the Syriac Orthodox Church.
Presently, I live in Los Angeles, where I am blessed to live near a
Middle Eastern Syrian Christian congregation and an Indian
(Malayalee) Syrian Christian congregation.  I usually attend the
Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church (though I attend both),
and these people embraced me as a family member without hesitation.
I hope to welcome you to learning about our Church in the same
Christian love that I was met with.

If you have any questions about anything, please don�ft hesitate to
email me: either by the forum or private email.

God bless you!
Mike Wingert
St. Mary�fs and St. Ephraim's
Los Angeles, CA
#0902

--- In SOCM-FORUM@yahoogroups.com, Ness Singh wrote:
>
> Dear Brothers and Sisters,
>
> My name is Vanessa but we are all family under God I ask that you
all please call me Ness!
>
> I am new to this forum but hope that in time I will become not
only part of the furniture but learn even more then I know about God
as I grow closer to him while learning all about your denomination
along with your part of the world!

Ness,

Welcome to our forum!  It's great to hear from those curious about the
Orthodox faith.  I'm glad that you're taking the time to learn about
the faith to which you may marry into, God-willing.  Please use this
forum to ask questions, so that we too may learn.

Here are a few resources I'd recommend on the internet:

1) Syriac Orthodox Resources:
http://sor.cua.edu/

2) Answers to FAQ questions related to the Orthodox faith (use the
links on the left menu, too):
http://www.stignatious.com/salvation.htm

3)Short explanation of our beautiful liturgical service:
http://www.stignatious.com/holy_qurbana.htm

4)Answers to a few questions in a satirical, dialogue format:
http://www.stignatious.com/annseries/annseries.htm

5)About our Syriac Church (history, biographies, etc.):
http://www.syriacchristianity.com/

6)Monthly Syriac Orthodox Online Magazine:
http://www.socdigest.org/

7)Ruho (Bible Study & Newsletter):
http://www.ruho.org

This is just a small list of resources.  Please utilize our forum for
the benefit of us all.

Welcome again,
George Aramath
#0892

Dear All in Christ,

I am a new member to SOCM community. I work with IBM and live in Phoenix,
Arizona, USA. Back in India, I am a member of St Georges Jacobite Church,
Arakunnam.

Recenly we have started our Church in Phoenix. Requesting your prayer and
support for this new Church. Given below are the details on the new church.

With prayers,
Saju Skaria
Member Id # 2373

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

St Peters Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, Phoenix
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The prayers of Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Christian Community in
Greater Phoenix
came to fruition with the inauguration St Peters Jacobite Syrian
Orthodox
Church, Phoenix on 12th March 2006 by His Eminence Archbishop Mor
Titus Yeldho
Pathickal, the Archbishop of Malankara Arch Diocese of the Syrian
Orthodox
Church in North America . H.E. Archbishop  inaugurated the Church by
conducting
the Holy Mass along with Rev.Fr. Sabu Thomas and Rev.Fr. John
Kothakariyil,
Vicar of the new Church.

The new Church will be operating out of the facilities of St. Mark
Coptic
Orthodox Church 525 N 74th Street , Scottsdale, AZ 85257 till the
Church
establish it's own facilities.

His Eminence Archbishop Mor Titus Yeldho Pathickal in his inaugural
speech
thanked the support of His Eminence Archbishop Yusuf of Coptic
Orthodox Church,
Fr. Marcus & Fr. Philemon of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, 525 N
74th Street,
Scottsdale, AZ - 85257 for gracefully agreeing to provide the Church
premises
for conducting mass till we establish our own facilities. H.E. also
expressed
deep appreciation for Rev.Fr. Sabu Thomas for providing spiritual
leadership for
the community and the efforts for establishing the new church.

Following are the contact details of the Church Committee

Rev.Fr. John Kothakariyil - 623-915-1024(Vicar)
Mr.Saju Skaria - 623-266-7800(Vice President)
Mr.Kurian Abraham - 623-939-6450(Trustee)
Mr.Felix Mathews - 480-451-1071(Secretary)
Mr.Bibbin Chacko - 480-205-1983(Committee Member)
Mr.Saji Paul - 602-266-0503(Committee Member)
Email - Secretary@...
URL - http://www.stpetersphoenix.org

Rich becoming richer, triggering spurt in crimes !! - A recent study on the
economic situation in Kerala
(April 6 2006, The New India Express)

KOCHI: The impressive economic growth Kerala has achieved in recent years is
concentrated in an elite segment, leaving the majority in penury, points out a
study by the Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP).

The study based on the Annual Economic Reviews of the last four years and
various research documents says that this growing income divide leads to social
tension.

Kerala’s 9.2 per cent economic growth rate for the year 2004-2005, which is well
above the national average, reflects only the rich becoming richer as the growth
rate in the primary sector, which includes agriculture and traditional
industries, is just 2.5 per cent.

About 61 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product comes from the service sector
alone while the productive sector, which accounts for 44 per cent of the total
population, contributes just 16.8 per cent.

While the richest 10 per cent controls a little more than 42 per cent of the
total resources, the poorest 10 per cent ’s share is a paltry 1.3 per cent.

To put it simply, farmers, labourers and artisans who form the majority of the
population sustain themselves on a paltry income while the lion’s share of
wealth is concentrated in the hotel, banking and real estate businesses. This
growing inequality has direct links with the crime spurt.

The crime rate has increased by 11.6 per cent in the last three years. Rape
cases have registered a rise of 148 per cent during this period.

(Indian Express)
--------
Posted by Chandy S Samuel
Kumarakom,
Kottayam

member ID is  2352

Dear All,

This year, the Passion Week service at Bahrain St. Peter's Jacobite Syrian
Orthodox Church will be lead by H.G. Youhanon Mor Meletheos of Thumpamon &
Quilon Dioceses.  His Grace arrived in Bahrain on 5th Wednesday morning and
conducted the first Holy Qurbana on 7th Friday, i.e. 40th day of the Lent. The
Hosanna service was on 8th Saturday evening, which ended at around 10.45 PM.

The balance programme schedule is as follows:

Sunday, April 9th  -  Evening Prayer & Convention - 7.30 PM to 9.30 PM
Monday, April 10th -  A 'Bhajana' will be conducted from 8 AM to 1 PM, since
Monday is a public holiday, under the leadership of Youth Association.
Evening Prayer & Convention - 7.30 PM to 9.30 PM

Tuesday, April 11th - Evening Prayer & Convention - 7.30 PM to 9.30 PM

Wednesday, April 12th - Confession for Sunday School Children - 5 PM to 6 PM
"Pesaha" (Maundy Thursday) services and Holy Qurbana - 6.30 PM to 10.30 PM.

Thursday, April 13th - Evening Prayer & 'Kalkazhukal' (Washing the feet of
disciples) Service - 7.30 PM to 9.30 PM.

Friday, April 14th - 'Good Friday' Service - 8.30 AM to 3.30 PM

Saturday, April 15th - Holy Qurbana & Prayer for All Departed Faithful - 9 30 AM
to 11 AM.
"EASTER" services & Holy Qurbana - 6.45 PM to 11.30 PM.

Our Sunday School is celebrating its Silver Jubilee on Friday, 28th April 2006
evening, at the 'Palace Inn Hotel'. H.G. Youhanon Mor Meletheos, who is the
President of MJSSA, will be the chief guest of the celebrations.

Cultural programmes of Sunday school students, local artists and releasing of a
commemorative souvenir are the programmes planned for the function.

Kindly pray for the success of these programmes.

Chev. Thomas Abraham - Bahrain
http://groups.msn.com/BahrainSt-PetersJacobiteSyrianOrthodoxChurch
http://www.socmnet.org/

Dear honorable members

Greetings in HIS name

To keep the forum debate's authenticity, we the moderators of this forum, have
decided to implement a new guideline.

As per the new guideline from 26th of October 2004, we will not publish any
messages without proper signature. Your signature should contain full name,
family name, home parish, present parish attending along with proper references
like that of the parish priest's; name, e mail address and telephone number,
where we can verify the genuineness of the e mails.

After the verification of your identity, we will provide a member ID Number
which can be used as your signature for future postings and by member ID numbers
we can verify your mails. However, If you want your name to be withheld from the
messages published, we will comply to your request and then only the ID number
will be published.

These personal contact details will be stored in our database and will not be
published in the forum.

However, if you are hesitant to reveal the name and identity, you can still be a
member of the forum and get the daily digests in your e-mail id supplied, if you
wish so.

This new guideline is applicable to all members, regardless of their Christian
denomination.

We hope our members will appreciate it and cooperate with us.

Be with us and be part of us.

In Our Lords Love
For & on behalf of
SOCM-FORUM Moderators

Thomas Daniel (Reji)
(Forum Owner)
St. George Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church
Cheppaud, Alleppy Dist, Kerala, India.
http://groups.msn.com/StGeorgeSyrianOrthodoxChurchCheppaud

Kochu Thirumeni started the journey from Cochin on 19th February, accompanied by
Kochuparambil Ramban Paulose (later Paulose Mor Kurillos, the Malankara
Metropolitan from 1911-'17); Wattasseril Fr. Geevarghese Malpan (later Malankara
Metropolitan, Mor Dionysius VI -1909);  Thoppil Lukose Corepiscopa of N.Paravur;
Karingattil Fr.Scariah of Thumpamon  and  Puthenpurakal Fr.Geevarghese of
Kadambanitta.   Deacon Sleebo (later Metropolitan St.Sleeba Mor Osthatheos of
Kunnamkulam, the Patriarchal delegate to the Holy Throne of Antioch from 1908) 
and  Thirumeni's servant, Parumala Thoppil Philipose  were already send to
Bombay for the arrangement of the journey.   A large gathering including Mor
Dionysius V  were there at Cochin to bid farewell for the group.   After
reaching 'Pattambi', they left for Bombay by train. On 18th March, the group
boarded the Ship from Bombay and reached 'Port Saidi' on 4th April.  The Ship
journey was extremely difficult for the pilgrims.  On Sunday the 6th April, Mor
Gregorios celebrated the 'Holy Qurbono' at the Coptic Church situated there. 
From there they left for Jerusalem and reached the Holy City of Jerusalem on 7th
April 1895.

On reaching Jerusalem, the delegation led by Mor Gregorios of Malankara were
welcomed by a large gathering, including the Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan, Mor
Gregorios Geevarghese of Jerusalem diocese.   Arrangements were made at the
famous St.Mark's Dayro (the seat of the Jerusalem Metropolitan of the Syrian
Orthodox Church) for the stay of Kochu Thirumeni and others from Malankara. This
'Dayro' stands on the ancient site of the house of St.Mark the Evangelist.   It
is located some distance away south of 'The Church of Holy Sepulchre' and is on
the northern slope of Mount Zion.  The Street in front of this church is known
as  'St.Mark's Street'.

To read more about it, please visit:

Pilgrimage to the Holy Land ( in  AD.1895 )
http://www.stgeorgecheppaud.org/MSCR/Chathuruthil/pilgrimage.htm

The famous speech delivered by Parumala Thirumeni on his return from
Jerusalem
http://www.geocities.com/parumalathirumeni/Speech_in_Malayalam.htm

The excerpts from the travelogue of Parumala Thirumeni
http://www.geocities.com/parumalathirumeni/excerpts_from_travelouge.htm

Passion Week in Kuwait.

Please find the Hasaa Week Programs of the three parishes in Kuwait
Under the Holy See of the Patriarchal Throne of Antioch.

Calling all Jacobites in Kuwait to attend services accordingly.

1. St: George Universal Syrian Orthodox Church, Kuwait.

Services Lead by H.G. Gheevarghese Mor Dynasious, Metropolitan of Simhasana
Churches. Assisted by Vicar Rev. Fr. Mathews Poozhikolel.
Parsonage Contact Tel:  4341407

Pessahah -   Wednesday
Evening Prayer 7 PM to 8 PM at Parsonage
Holy Pessaha  Qurbono -  9.45 PM  to 12. 30 AM at  NECK Kuwait City

Good Friday -
Service 6.30 AM to 9 AM at NECK and service continued from
        10.30 AM to 1 PM at Integrated Indian School Abbassia followed by Kanji
Nercha.
Evening Prayer 7 PM to 8 PM at Parsonage

Easter Service -
Saturday Evening Prayer 7PM to 8Pm at Parsonage and
Holy Qurbono & Ressuruction -  9.15 PM to 12 Midnight at NECK Kuwait City

St: Mary's Jacobite Syrian Church, Kuwait.

Services Lead by H.G. Gevargis Mor Athanasius, Metropolitan of Kuwait, Bahrain &
Doha and Patriarchal Vicar of Indian Affairs and assisted by Vicar Rev. Fr.
Gheevarghese Kattuchira.
Parsonage Contact Tel:  4348237

Pessahah -
Holy Pessaha  Qurbono - Wed. 8 PM  to 11 PM at  Salwa Church

Good Friday -
Service 8 AM to 2 PM at Al-Rashid School Abbassia
Evening Prayer 6.30 PM to 7.15 PM at Parsonage

Easter Service -
Saturday evening  6 PM to 1o PM at Salwa Church


St: Peter's Knanaya Church,  Kuwait.

Services Lead By Vicar Rev. Fr. Mathew Kuruvilla
Parsonage Contact Tel:  4345325

Pessahah -
Holy Pessaha  Qurbono -  9 PM  to 12 Midnight at  NECK South Tent,

Good Friday -
Service  8 AM to 1 PM at Vigi Auditorium Abbassia

Easter Service -
Saturday Evening   7 PM to 10 Pm at NECK Hall of Faith.

SOCM NEWS BUREAU, KUWAIT

Hi All in God
                      I just read this article in an indian website. Since I dont
get chance to see TV or channles, I dont know anything more than what is written
here. I request all to read and share any knowledge regarding this. Lot of
people including me were ignorant and never gave any botheration to find out
what happened to the man who betrayed Jesus and did he have followers. I did a
little web search on Judas Iscariot since I did nto know anything other than
what I have learnt - that he betrayed our Lord for 30 pieces of silver and later
out of shame and guilt commited suicide. My search led to some appaling views
and interpretations about Judas Iscariot. It looks like there are people who
believe that he was indeed chosen by God as the person who had to relieve Christ
of his sufferrings of this world and if he had not been there God would have
left to struggle in the world. There is also a part which proclaims that Jesus
and Judah mutually agreed on the betrayal. I
  was also shocked by the number of sects and followers and the interpretations
on the web. I thought I might share this with you and probably let people who
did not know sich things existed. First let me share this news Item on
Rediff.com.
   -------------------------------------------------------------------
   http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/apr/07judas.htm

   Judas was no traitor, says new Gospel

April 07, 2006

   The dictionary describes 'Judas' as a betrayer. For 2000 years and more, Judas
Iscariot, one of Jesus Christ's 12 apostles who sold his master for 30 pieces of
silver, has been condemned to infamy for this terrible act of betrayal.
   The Gospels of the Bible's New Testament -- Matthew, Luke, Mark and John --
denounce Judas as a traitor. But through history, the question lingered: was
there a Gospel of Judas too?
   New evidence says, yes, there was, and according to it Judas was not the
villain he has been made out to be.
   According to the Gospel of Judas that was unveiled on Thursday at the National
Georgraphic Society headquarters in Washington, DC, after being restored,
authenticated and translated from the original ancient Coptic language, Judas
was the chosen one among the 12 apostles, and that Jesus requested Judas to
'betray' him to the authorities for execution -- an act that pained the apostle
immensely.
   From early Christian times it had been rumoured that the Gospel of Judas did
exist and, a new National Geographic Channel documentary says the mystery
started to unravel almost 30 years ago.
   According to the documentary, it began with a farmer in Egypt finding a codex
in a cave. Written in ancient Coptic, the farmer who had no clue about his
finding sold it to an antiques dealer and thus the text went about its way for
five long years before scholars stumbled on to it.
   The codex remained in a safe-deposit vault in New York till 2000 AD, when
former antiquities dealer Frieda Nussberger-Tchacos acquired it. After that,
with funding from the National Geographic Society and two foundations, a team of
scientists and scholars came together to determine the document's authenticity.
   It was no easy task. For one, the 13 pages of papyrus was almost crumbling,
and it was up to Swiss restorer Florence Darbre and her partner to fit the tiny
pieces together.
   Restoration done, next came the more difficult task, of proving its
authenticity. For this, Stephen Emmel, Coptic studies professor at the
University of Münster in Germany, and expert Rodolphe Kasser were roped in.
   Emmel estimated that worldwide there were just four or five people who could
create such a document, and that included himself and Kasser. 'Someone would
have to know Coptic better than we do, and there isn't anybody who does,' he was
quoted as saying.
   With the experts giving the green signal, came the final step, carbon dating
the document for which tiny pieces needed to be destroyed.
   This done, the Gospel of Judas, written between the third and fourth
centuries, was authenticated to be a copy of a document in Greek from the second
century.
   The question continues to be asked: can it be a fake? But experts on the
Gnostic or secret gospels -- the Gospel of Mary, subject of Dan Brown's racy Da
Vinci Code, is one of them -- are unanimous that such a codex cannot be faked,
it is not worth anyone's while to do so, and way too difficult to do it.
   Now that the Gospel of Judas is out, what is in it?
   According to the documents, the betrayal of Jesus Christ is a secret mystery
between him and Judas. A National Geographic statement says the key passage in
the text comes when Jesus tells Judas '... you will exceed all of them. For you
will sacrifice the man that clothes me,' indicating that Judas, by helping Jesus
get rid of his physical flesh, will help liberate the true spiritual self or
divine being within.
   Those looking for historical proof of what transpired 2000 years ago will find
none in the Gospel of Judas -- but, then, it is not found in any of the other
Gospels either, say experts. The question that remains unsaid is, does anything
change for Christian theology in the light of the latest revelations?
   The Gospel of Judas -- contrary to the title its authorship remains unknowns
-- will eventually return to Egypt to be housed in Cairo's Coptic Museum.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

   The other article I found while was searching was about this
religion/cult/sect called Gnostics

   http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/reference/judas_iscariot

   and they giving a hero like image to Judas Iscariot

   I also found another site which declares about the Gospel of Judas among other
gospels. I would like to hear from the learnt members more about these info and
how our church treats it.

   with prayers
   Boney Kuriakose
   # 0963

Reading: From the Gospel according to St. John 12: 12-20

Dear and Respected Brethren,

It is a truth that the deepness of meaning and the circumstances of today’s
reading are by heart to one and all of the faithful. Holy scripture tells us
that many foreign and local rushed in great thrill and enthusiasm, when they
heard that the Savior of the entire mankind and the whole world would be
attending the feast in Jerusalem Temple. At the same time our Lord was on
the peak of the mount Olive, which is in the opposite side of  the temple.
(From the top of mount olive one could have a clear picture of the entire
Jerusalem)  We could imagine how great and staunch was the faith and cheer
of the faithful who reached our Lord’s presence, covering the long distance
as well as the steep way from the base of mount to the top. They welcomed
our Lord by holding tender branches of olives as well as palm leaves and
uttering “Hosanna, Blessed is the king of Israel who comes in the name of
the Lord”. We could see so many people using the term Hosanna in a
misunderstanding to flatter others in Malayalam. There is a phrase “sing
Hosanna to him/her”. The literal meaning of the term Hosanna is “save us”.
The people who cried “Hosanna” in front of our Lord was so sure that the
person whom they welcomed was their savior. They got the courage and
willingness to cry “Blessed is the king of Israel, who comes in the name of
the Lord”. We must note that our Lord had never addressed himself as the Son
of God, but he had addressed himself as son of man. The people who shouted
and cried “Hosanna” had a revelation from God Almighty that our Lord was
their Savior and Son of God.

Our Lord accepted an Ass for the travel, which is often referred as the
triumphant entry of our Lord. There is a prominent saying that our Lord had
accepted the Ass to show the simplicity and humbleness. Though it is also a
truth, there is another much more important reason behind it. It was a clear
declaration that our Lord is the ideal and true shepherd, who came in search
of the lost sheep. An Ass will be the true companion and help of a shepherd.
There is no doubt that the Ass will go ahead through the forests or through
the paths filled with thorns and stones. One who has visited Jerusalem must
be aware of the so called Palm Sunday road starting from the peak of Mount
Olive and reaching the base through the steep and narrow road. In this
modern era too the road is almost the same. We read in Zechariah 9:9 about
the Ass, which happened to be the carrier of our Lord.

We could see more information about the triumphant entry of our Lord in St.
Luke chapter 19. We could realize that the verses uttered by the people were
the repetitions of Psalms 72: 17-19. St. Luke writes that the Pharisees had
requested our Lord to stop disciples of our Lord from saying “Hosanna,
Blessed is the king of Israel, who comes in the name of the Lord”. Our Lord
retorted, “if they do not say so, these stones will shout”.

The graveyards of the Jews, Christians and the Muslims are the side of the
Palm Sunday road. Each Jewish visitor will keep a stone on the tomb, which
they might visit. They continue the same practice till now. Our Lord might
have referred these stones or about the dead who have been mixed with the
sand. What ever it might be, no one could stop the shouting of the masses.

We conduct the processions around our Churches on the Palm Sunday in
accordance with the great march followed by our Lord. We also sing Hosanna
and submit flowers. How many of us could recite “hosanna’ in the real
meaning. How many of us could feel that we are praying ‘ save us our Lord’?
We must be able to recite the term in the real meaning. If so our prayers,
lent and fasting will be meaningful and acceptable to our Lord God. As the
disciples uttered Hosanna in great thrill let us also utter, remembering the
vast blessings and mercies we enjoyed from our Lord God. We must give proper
awareness to the growing generations. Long time ago, the Palm Sunday was the
thrill of children and youngsters. When we would hold the palm leaves, let
us have the purity and simplicity of those leaves in our hearts.

May God bless us all.

Jose Kurian Puliyeril.

Final farewell to young couple
MANAMA

THE St Peter's Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church held a condolence meeting in
memory of dhow disaster victims Arby Mathew and wife Sinu.

They were among 58 people killed when the Al Dana capsized just off Muharraq
during a corporate party on March 30.

The party was organised by contractor Nass, Murray & Roberts to celebrate
finishing concreting work on the Bahrain World Trade Centre.

Mr Mathew, 29, and his 22-year-old wife were both members of the church.

He was an electrical engineer working as a construction superintendent for J
A Zayani's Otis division.

She was a computer engineer, working as an instructor at an information
technology institute and had joined him in Bahrain just nine months ago.

The condolence meeting started after the Holy Mass and visiting Bishop of
Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church H G Yuhanon Mor Meletheose delivered the
condolence message.

Father Rijo Kochukunnel and representatives of spiritual associations Thomas
Abraham, P V Paulson, Eliamma Thomas and Roy Samuel, also spoke.

Church secretary T V Jacob thanked the Bahrain government, concerned
ministries and the Indian Embassy, especially Ambassador Balkrishna Shetty
for their timely support and co-operation in repatriating the bodies.

Source:
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=140360&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=29020

Matrimonial Digest / 0015-06

Dear members

We do not take or assume any responsibility for the particulars
given by the advertiser. Concerned parties are encouraged to verify
the particulars. As per the request of some advertisers we withheld
the contact details and will forward any reply to the advertiser for
further personal contact.

Please read the successful stories of the matrimonial advertisement
in the SOCM forum at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SOCM-FORUM/message/6505
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SOCM-FORUM/message/4384

For the full list of the matrimonial advertisement, please visit:
http://www.socmnet.org/Matrimonial.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------
SEEKING BRIDEGROOM
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Matrimonial; Code # 045/04
***************************
Proposals invited for a god fearing girl 28years 28/163 cm preparing  for MFDS
and working in Chennai, from a middle class Jacobite family  from Perumbavoor.
Her parents working  in Kuwait. Sister, BDS and  doing internship & brother
final year ECE student.

Proposals are invited from god fearing, well placed professionals  from
India/abroad, with good moral values and clean habits.  Interested parties may
please respond to sheelagk@... with  full details and recent full size
photograph of the boy.

Matrimonial; Code # 044/04
***************************
Orthodox parents living in US for 32 years invite marriage proposals  for their
daughter,31 Years old,5'6'' fair, beautiful, intelligent,  very family oriented
& God fearing. Born and brought up in US with  traditional Indian cultures &
Christian values. She is doing her  Family Medicine Residency in New York. All
her siblings are in the
Medical profession. We are looking for professionals preferably  Doctors,
Engineers, Lawyers, CPAs from any Christian denomination.  Please respond with
bio-data and a returnable photograph to  vjacob02@... or call 201-921-7815

Matrimonial; Code # 043/04
***************************
Proposals invited for a god fearing girl 23years 5-4" BDS and doing  intern,
from a nationally reputed dental college - completing June  2006 , slim, fair
and beautiful, from a middle class orthodox family.  Her father (late) was an
Advocate and Mother working in Govt. service  (Associate Professor). Only
brother studying for Degree Course.

Proposals are invited from god fearing, well placed professionals  from
India/abroad, with good moral values and clean habits.  Interested parties may
please respond to mathewabru@... / cvjacob@...  or
davischerian@...

Matrimonial; Code # 041/04
***************************
Jacobite Christian girl, 29 yrs old, 5'3", very fair,  USA citizen, registered
nurse, divorced after 6 months  of marriage. No issues. Looking for qualified
boys with clean habits.  e-mail address ph476@...

Matrimonial; Code # 040/04
***************************
Proposals invited for a 25year old Jacobite girl presently working  as a
software engineer in Bangalore. Parents retired teachers  presently settled in
Perumbavoor.Only brother married and working  as an engineer in Citibank
Singapore. If interested please contact  0484-2523269 or kurianyeldho@...

Matrimonial; Code # 039/04
***************************
Suitable proposals invited from parents of boys between  26 & 30 for a fair,
thin, humble and God fearing girl,  M.P.E., MPhill., (Rank holder)

She is 172 Cms., DOB March 1981 & She is working in a  Kuwait Private School.
Proposed girl is very soft spoken,  modest and is a Sunday School Teacher.
Father a Jacobite  Priest, Mother a Housewife, Only younger sister studying for
B.Sc., Nursing.

Prefer boys to be qualified, well behaved and with clean habits,  from middle
class Jacobite families, working in India or abroad.  Preference is for boys
working in Kuwait. Please send proposals with maximum details in first e-mail to
raajuissac@...

Matrimonial; Code # 038/04
***************************
Suitable alliance invited for a God-fearing Jacobite girl 28years,  Height :
181cms, Complexsion : Fair, BTech in EEE Working with an  indian MNC in
Bangalore.
Parish : Simhasana Church, Kottayam  Father : Advocate, practising at Kottayam
Mother : Retired Professor.  Siblings : Two.   The proposed girl has two elder
broters, both married and settled.  our prefferance for goom - should well
qualified and employed, have  good moral values.  If interested please respond
with your son's details with recent  photo to roni.simon@...

Matrimonial; Code # 037/04
***************************
Orthodox parents residing in USA invite proposals for their daughter  who is 31
Years old; green card holder from professionally qualified  boys from any
Christian denomination who would like to immigrate to  USA. She is born &
brought up in Kerala, very pretty, goodlooking,  5'7" tall & slightly disabled.
Interested parties please respond  with your details & a recent photograph to
this address vivaham06@...

Matrimonial; Code # 036/04
***************************
Proposals invited for orthodox girl,24yrs,164 cms, MBBS. Father  working 
abroad, but legally separated since 8 yrs. Mother working in Govt  service. Only
brother studying for BTech. Proposals invited from  doctors  only. If interested
contact at ashbluelark05@...

Matrimonial; Code # 035/04
***************************
Suitable alliance invited for a God-fearing orthodox girl  26years, Height :
153, Complexsion : Fair, M B A in HR & Marketing  (dual specialization)
Languages Known: Malayalam, Hindi& English.  Working in a stock & share broking
company.
Parish : St. Mary's Orthodox Church (Kottayam Cheriyapally) Father: Mr. Bose
Punnathra, Business man  Mother : Ms. Susan Bose, Rtd. Deputy DEMO.  Siblings :
Two

The proposed girl is the one among twins the elder one married and  working as a
teacher in a CBSE school Kottayam and younger sister is  persuing engineering in
Calicut government college.  our prefferance for goom - should well qualified
and employed, have  good moral values. If interested please respond with your
son's details with recent  photo to bosepunnathra@...

Matrimonial; Code # 034/04
***************************
Jacobite parents, middle class family, invite proposals for their  daughter, B.
Pharm, MBA, 26/158, medium complexion, God fearing,  employed in a multinational
pharmaceutical company in Chennai,  from parents of professionally qualified or
postgraduates well  employed Jacobite/Orthodox boys.

Interested may contact on Email: johnmercy@...

Matrimonial; Code # 027/04
***************************
Jacobite parents invite remarriage proposals for their  daughter /white&fair/
28/ 152cm /M.com, DCA. Recordical proof only  existed for the first marriage and
the court declared the same as  null and void. Please contact by e-mail with
details at at
simiraj@...

Matrimonial; Code # 026/04
***************************
Suitable alliance invited for a God fearing Jacobite Girl, Working  in UK, as
staff nurse she is in25, 5.4?, 59 KG, will be coming by  middle of April. Her
father is a retired teacher; an active member  of church, Mother is housewife
and one brother, working in Delhi.  The boy should be God fearing, fair, caring,
having good manners and preferably from the medical background (BPT or any
other).

Interested parents may please contact at basilpaul@...; 
basilpaulk@... , 9818730557 04842678110 (K. K Paulose)

Matrimonial; Code # 023/04
***************************
Suitable alliance invited for a Jacobite Girl, 22 years, 164cm,slim,  M.com
final. Parents in Saudi Arabia. Family belongs to Angamally  Diocese. Interested
parents may contact vvmvvm2003@...

Matrimonial; Code # 021/04
***************************
Looking for a good boy computer professional/engineer from a middle  class
family from Kerala preferably cochin orthodox/Jacobite aged  over 28 for our
second daughter aged 27 MCA slim good looking.  interested persons may wish to
contact at george_kunju@...  giving the details.

Matrimonial; Code # 020/04
***************************
Jacobite Christian parents settled in Canada invite proposals for  their
daughter, 28 years old, fair, slim 5;5''tall with very high  moral value. she is
working after finishing masters in chemical  engineering. Proposals are invited
from parents of well educated
boys from any Christian denomination in North America. Please e-mail
thomekurian@... giving the details with code # MP-020/04.

Matrimonial; Code # 019/04
***************************
Jacobite parents seeking alliance for their beautiful daughter  31yrs, height
5.6'' postgraduate teacher in a public school. Born  and brought up outside
Kerala. Parents settled in Angamally. The boy  should be God fearing educated &
employed. Preferance will be given  to boys working outside Kerala. Please
contact on mcsm53@... giving the details.

Matrimonial; Code # 013/04
***************************
Jacobite parents from Ernakulam Dt. invites proposals to her  daughter, who is
presently working at Bangalore. Educated and  employed Jacobite youths working
at Bangalore are preferred. The  proposals to be made from middle class family.
The boy should be God  fearing. The girl is 25 yrs of old, 5.3". She had
Completed B.Sc. Maths and have GNIIT, (3 yr computer diploma) course 
Certificate) please respond to eldhoshimmy@...

Matrimonial; Code # 011/04
***************************
Suitable alliance invited from Jacobite parents for a Jacobite girl  24
years/161 cm), fair, smart and God-fearing, B-tech with MBA, working  in a
leading firm in Techno-Park, Trivandrum. Please respond to thomasvt@...

Matrimonial; Code # 003/04
***************************
Jacobite parents from Kottayam invite proposals for their daughter, divorcee
with one girl child,)39 yrs.5'3", Home Science Graduate, medium complexion, very
Home loving and God fearing, from JACOBITE  Widowers/ Divorcees of 40 to 45 age
group, well settled in life in  India or abroad, with clean habits, positive
attitude towards life
and home loving.  Please respond to moderator_socm@... with code #
MP-003/04


--------------------------------------------------------------------
SEEKING BRIDE
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Matrimonial; Code # 046/04
***************************
NRI Syrian Orthodox parents from a reputed family invite proposal for a Smart,
Very Loving & Caring Son, 27, 179cm, athletic, healthy,  broad-minded, medium
complexion, Hotel Management Degree, Immigrated to Canada and decently employed.

Need a Very Loving and Fair girl of any denominations, above 165 cm,  has
interest in Nature & Pets and has Professional Qualifications - preferably
Medical/Teaching field- and caliber to adjust to life in  Canada. Tel:
0481-2582025//2518569/ 2517056/+9663-5331674 pulickaparamb@... /
pulickaparamb@...

Matrimonial; Code # 042/04
***************************
Jacobite Christian boy 29 yrs, MCA ( Master of Computer Application) ,very
spiritual with clean habits and employed in  Kuwait as Product Manager for
Microsoft products.Fair,170cm.Looking  for qualified, God fearing girls from
middle class families. Parents in Qatar with one sister married and settled in
Bangalore. Please respond if interested with full details and recent photographs
to  jacobp@... or parayiljacob@...   or contact on  +974 4326859
or +974 5412443

Matrimonial; Code # 030/04
***************************
Suitable alliance invited for a God-fearing Jacobite boy from Chelad 
Kothamangalam], working with a leading Fashion brand, managing  Retail
Operations in Mumbai. Age:28y Complexion: Wheatish  Height:180cms or 5ft
11inches Weight:73kgs Family: Moderate. His  father is working as a Dy. Manager
with a MNC in Cochin. Mother, a  house-wife. Younger brother pursuing his
graduation from Mor  Athanasius College, Kothamangalam.  Interested parents may
contact paul.live@...

Matrimonial; Code # 029/04
***************************
Proposals invited for a well settled Jacobite boy belonging to an  ancient
family. The proposed boy is a Mechanical Engineer working in  a leading
Multinational trading company. The boy is 27years,175cms,  fair, God- fearing
and with clean habits.

We are looking for a fair, good looking, homely God-fearing girl from a good
Jacobite family.  If interested please contact : email : tioman_78@...

Matrimonial; Code # 024/04
***************************
Suitable alliance invited for a God fearing Jacobite boy, B.Sc  Computer
Science, 29,5'8",63 kg, fair, working in Riyadh, Saudi  Arabia. The boy hails
from a well-known family at Kundara, Kollam.  His father is a retired Supt. in
Court, mother Rtd.  State Coordinator in Rural Dept. One elder brother doing
Business and one  elder sister got married. Interested parents may contact 
joby007in@... or Thomas Abraham, +966 1 4885339 or  +9660507432962

Matrimonial; Code # 017/04
***************************
Suitable alliance is invited for a Jacobite deacon, age 31, 5ft 5inch 
B.A.,B.Ed.,B.D., M.Th., at present doing research work in university  of
Toronto, Canada) teaching in the seminary. family background:  father, senior
Corepiscopa in the church. mother house wife. one  elder sister, lecturer, got
married and one younger brother advocate. for more information, mail to me 
kjpunnachalil@...

Matrimonial; Code # 016/04
***************************
Suitable alliance invited for a God fearing Jacobite boy, B.E.  (Electrical &
Electronics), 26, presently employed in Bangalore as  Electrical Engineer in a
Consultancy firm. The boy hails from a well-  Known family at Kumarakom,
Kottayam.

  His father is a retired KSEB Sub Engineer, mother is Govt. UP school 
headmistress and got one younger sister, who is married. The girl  should be God
fearing, caring, having good manners and preferably  with B.Sc Nursing, employed
(In India or abroad). Interested parties  may please contact the boy's uncle at
monthiruvanchoor@...

Matrimonial; Code # 014/04
***************************
Retired PWD Contractor's family (Jacobite, Middle Class, Ernakulam  District)
invites suitable proposal from middle class Jacobite  parents of God fearing
girls under 28, 5'1', 48 Kg, employed or  qualified to be employed (prefer
teachers or lecturers) in or around  Ernakulam Dist. She has to look after home
affairs as the brother and sister of the boy to be working overseas.

Their son (32, 5'3" 55 Kg) is a Vet. surgeon in Kerala Government  Service,
posted within few kilometers from home, fair, clean habits,  soft spoken, thin
built and God fearing. His has an elder brother and younger sister, both
married. Genuine enquiries may be posted to varkod@...

Matrimonial; code # 012/04
***************************
Proposals invited from parents of god fearing BSc nurses for a  handsome
Jacobite boy, hailing from Kolencherry, 29/168 Graduate,  only son, working as
Marketing Executive for a reputed Co. in  Kuwait, active in church matters and
having family visa status. He
  has two sisters and both of them are well settled. The girl will have good job
prospects in Kuwait. Interested please respond to: yeljoseph@...

Matrimonial; Code # 006/04
***************************
Jacobite Parents from Kottayam Diocese invites proposals for their  second son
PDC /30/168 working in MRF Kottayam. Father doing business  in Kottayam. Mother
Gazzetted officer in govt. One elder brother  married (Working) and younger
sister studying. Graduates in any  discipline or diploma holders in Nursing
(GNM) prefered. Please respond to moderator_socm@... with code #
MP-006/04

"Do you know what eternity is? Eternity is beginning without end. That is, one
it begins it never ends. Or, it is always and never. That is, it shall always be
and never cease. This is eternity. All the ages from the foundation of the world
to the end are as the smallest speck as compared to the whole world, or as a
minute as compared to thousands of years."

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk.

--------------------------------------------------------------
"He who glories, let him glory in the Lord."  1 Corinthians 1:31
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Christians in Egypt. "Blessed is Egypt My people." Isaiah 19:25
Please remember me in your prayers.
Please pray for the peace of the world.
"casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

Dear All,

Please pray for the following person individually and collectively. Let us
remember this son in the prayer cell chain.

Master Noel George, a 13 years old boy from MES School, Doha, Qatar fainted
yesterday at the school and brought Hamad Medical Corp. During the examination
he was found to be suffering from Internal Cerebral Hemorrhage (Bleeding in the
brain) and admited to the Intensive Care Unit. Please remember this child in
your prayers to get well soon.

Thanks,

Chev. Daniel K. J.(Babu)

Dear Members

Holy Week services led by HB Mor Baselius Thomas I, Catholicose of India, at St.
Ignatious Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church, Dallas can be viewed at the link
below.

Part 1: Convention (Friday & Saturday)
http://www.stignatious.com/video/holyweek06video.htm

Other Services to follow.

Thanks,
Binu Aramath
Member ID # 0912
http://www.StIgnatious.com

The question is, to whom the ransom was given?

View 1  :  Ransom was given to Satan.   I have hard time to follow
this.  Lord giving 'ransom' to Satan??.  That does not look right.
But this view was held by  Origen, Gregory of  Nyssa, Augustine,
Gregory the Gread etc.  Some supporting statments for this
   1) Lord came to  destroy the works of devil  ( 1 John 3:8)
   2) He won victory over the forces of  darkness ( 2 Col 2:15; Heb
2:14) ( Heb 2:15)
   3) as sinners we, were in bondage to Satan. Lord redeemed us from
this bondage. ( because  world is in the pwoer of the evil one ( 1
John 5:19)


View 2:  Ransom given to  God the Father.  It more difficult for me
to accept this view.  First  Jesus and  Father are one.  So giving
ransom to Father  from Son and Son "buying" the sinners  is hard for
me to accept.  But  some  reformists are teaching this. The first
strong teaching on this view came only  around  AD  1000 by  Anselm.
Later by  Thomas Aquinas and recently  Martin  Luther.  So I am
almost sure this is not what our church teaches.

If any one can find answers from the priests you know, please post.

regards
paul no:901

About written prayers

Concentration is just something that most of us cannot have all the time.
Whatever you say, you cannot concentrate on one thing for more than ten minutes.
Your mind escapes from your grip. Honestly speaking, are you fully immersed in
the holy mass from the start to the finish? Doesn't your mind drift away
unknowingly? Don't the modulation of recitation of prayers, the chimes of the
bell, crossing, frequent kurialaayisson and Amen bring you back to the holy
service from the wandering of  your mind?  So, written prayers will help you
hold on to or at least come back to the presence of God.  Please remember in a
congregation, all the people are not capable of full time concentration. For
such people a written prayer in their hands will help them remember they are in
the presence of God. This is the advantage of having a written prayer as an
object in your hand.

Also remember,  Jesus Himself has understood that many people do not know how to
pray, and the result is, as you know, Our Lord's Prayer. So, if an ignoramus is
guided, there is nothing wrong in it. Man first imitates and then shows his
originality.

As long as written prayers are based upon the cardinal principles of
Christianity, this whole issue is much ado about nothing. Let the poor people
depend upon written prayers. You wiseacre, talk to God straight in your own
wonderful verbosity.

V P George
====================================================================
From the desk of the Moderator:

Please sign your messages with member ID. If not having a member ID, please send
your details including contact number to
moderators(SOCM-FORUM-owner@yahoogroups.com) and obtain a member ID before
posting any more messages in SOCM. Thank you for your cooperation.

"The foundation of justice therefore is faith, for the hearts of the just dwell
on faith, and the just man that accuses himself builds justice on faith, for his
justice becomes plain when he confesses the truth.  So the Lord says through
Isaiah: `Behold, I lay a stone for a foundation in Zion.' This means Christ as
the foundation of the Church. For Christ is the object of faith to all; but the
Church is as it were the outward form of justice, she is the common right of
all. For all in common she prays, for all in common she works, in the
temptations of all, she is tried. So he who denies himself is indeed a just man,
is indeed worthy of Christ. For this reason Paul has made Christ to be the
foundation, so that we may build upon Him the works of justice, while faith is
the foundation. In our works, then, if they are evil, there appears
unrighteousness; if they are good, justice."

St. Ambrose of Milan.
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I
acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me."  Psalms 51:2-3
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Christians in Egypt. "Blessed is Egypt My people." Isaiah 19:25
Please remember me in your prayers.
Please pray for the peace of the world.
"casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

Eleventh 24-hour Global Chain Prayer Started

By the grace of God, SOCM PRAYER CELL started its Eleventh 24- hour Global Chain
Prayer by H.E Geevargis Mor Athanasios, the Patriarchal Vicar for Indian Affair
and H.G. Gheevarghese Mor Dynasious, Metropolitan of Simhasana Churches, and
followed by various dedicated priests and laity members from all over the world,
without barriers of denominations.

We request all members of this forum to pray at least 5 minutes for the support
of our Prayer Warriors to complete the Chain Prayer without any interruption.

Eleventh Global Chain Prayer will ends on Wednesday, 12th April 2006 at 1800 hrs
GMT.

The event is scheduled for twice in a month and the next 24-hour chain prayer
will be held on 25 th April 2006. Any one who would like to join the group and
are interested to pray for others may please contact the moderators of SOCM
Prayer Cell at:-
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/socmprayercell

PRAISE THE LORD
SOCM PRAYER CELL

Excerpts from the Washing of the Feet Service

Qolo: Emo Dkhitho

He, Whom the seraphim sanctify with fear,
Washed today the feet of His disciples.
Refrain: Have mercy upon us O Lord.

He, Whom the Cherubim carry in fear,
Bowed His head in front of His disciples.
Refrain: Have mercy upon us O Lord.

He, Whom the fiery hosts serve Him on the high,
Poured water in the basin on earth.
Refrain: Have mercy upon us O Lord.

Audio : http://sor.cua.edu/Liturgy/Audio/LebThEmoDkhitho.ra

Qolo: Bro Dashro

Blessed is He Who poured water into a basin
And washed the feet of His disciples.
Saying unto them: "Follow this example,
And do likewise to one another."
Blessed are You, O Lord God.

Blessed is Christ, Who by His love,
Tied a cloth around His loins,
And washed the feet of His disciples.
He also broke his Body and Blood for them.
Blessed are You, O Lord God.

Audio: http://sor.cua.edu/Liturgy/Audio/LebThBroDashroBmarbco.ra

Qolo: Quqoyo

How glorious was the eve
On which our Lord ministered to His Disciples
As they entered one by one for the washing.
The Fire was standing, holding a basin and a cloth
Tied around His loins.
What a great wonder that Judas did not burn at that moment
When our Savior offered him water for the washing.
Halleluiah and Halleluiah.

Audio: http://sor.cua.edu/Liturgy/Audio/LebThQuqoyo.ra

Bocootho (Petition) of Mor Ya`qub

How glorious was the eve
On which our Lord ministered to His Disciples
As they entered one by one for the washing.
The Fire was standing, holding a basin and a cloth
Tied around His loins.
What a great wonder that Judas did not burn at that moment
When our Savior offered him water for the washing.
Halleluiah and Halleluiah.

Audio: http://sor.cua.edu/Liturgy/Audio/LebThYacqub.ra

Source: Ma`de`dono: The Book of the Church Festivals (1984).