August 1st is the rememberence of the Martyrs, 'Marthashmuni',
her 7 sons and their teacher, Mor Eliasor. Let us remember
these holy martyrs in our prayers as we pass through the lent of
the Holy Mary, the mother of God.
Sinu John,
NMSU, USA.

Click the following links for the latest from Malankara
1. "Suon-dro-niso" Koodoso of the newly consecrated Catholicos
http://www.geocities.com/malankarav2/Sunthroniso.htm
2. "Jacobite church does not want to continue with litigations":
Catholicose Baselios Thomas I
http://www.geocities.com/malankarav2/Indian_Express_1_Aug_02.htm

To read more click below http://www.malankaravoice.cjb.net
http://www.geocities.com/malankarav2/news_section_1.htm

Morth Mariam Yeldos Aloho, (St. Mary)

Mary is familiar name for Bible readers. 7 different women bear the
name, Mary in the New Testament.

1, St. Mary, mother of Jesus.
2, Mary, Mother of James and Joses, Mat 27:5, Mk 15:40, Lk 24:10.
3, Mary Magdalene from whom Jesus cast out 7 demons, Mk 16:9,
    Lk 8:2.
4, Mary, sister of Lazarus and Martha Lk 10: 39-42, John 12:3-4.
5, Mary, Wife of Cleopas, Jn 19:25.
6, Mary, Mother of John Mark,  AA12: 12.
7, Mary who greeted Paul at Rome, Rom 16:6.

Multiplicity of names, absence of clear identification to discern
relationship between each of them and translation errors have
contributed lot of confusion and gave room for many erroneous
interpretations concerning blessed Mary, the mother of God.

Bible does not give enough details about St. Mary such as her birth,
her parents, her life before conception of Jesus, her life with
Joseph, death of Joseph, her life after the departing of Jesus,
especially her death, etc. It is really difficult to construct a
biography only based on Biblical references.

Numerous traditions have emerged on these matters. Many of them are
contradictory and some are even of vicious origin. While Roman
Catholics heavily rely on such traditions and exalt her equal to God,
Protestants fully repudiate the whole traditions as absurd because
they are not found in the Holy Bible. Orthodox Church, as ever
before, follows a medium course namely; we have neither added nor
deleted anything from the genuine apostolic teaching. Thus we
acknowledge her status as a created being. She was not born
different. She, like any other human being, inherited at birth and
shared in the fallen nature of Adam. She grew up like any other girl
of her age yet, in humility and devotion. She found favor with God.
The Holy Spirit purged her from all impurities of original sin just
when she conceived Jesus. Her virginity was unaffected by the divine
conception, bearing and delivery. She remained chaste virgin even
after birth of Jesus. She was not defiled by human contact through
out life either before or after divine conception as God predestined.
Ezekiel's vision of `the shut gate' symbolized Mary, the mother of
Jesus. In other words, the shut gate was the shadow of which St.Mary
was the substance. "This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened,
and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord, the God of Israel has
entered in by it." Ezk 44:2. Jerusalem temple had most holy place,
which was separated by a veil, usually shut and the high priest
entered only once a year on the Day of atonement, Heb 9: 7.
Jerusalem Temple built by Solomon or any other temple for that matter
had no such eternally shut gate through which human beings were
forbidden to pass. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, invaded,
besieged, ransacked and destroyed Jerusalem temple around BC 600.
Ezekiel saw the vision in BC 574 that is 26 years after the temple
destruction. Spoils of the temple were only survived then. Thus,
Ezekiel was referring to a heavenly `new messianic temple,' not to
the Jerusalem or any earthly temple. This confirms and supports
ever-virginity of St. Mary.

We confer her first position before all apostles and saints but not
equal to God for creation shall never equal the creator. We adore,
venerate and honor her as first among saints but we do not worship
her. Worship belongs to God alone. It was her unqualified submission,
unmatched devotion to the ultimate will of God and active
participation in the redemptive plan that merited her the first
position before all saints. For this reason, we commemorate her day
of departing (Soonoyo), not the day of birth, as the feast of the
Church on August 15th.

End of Part 1
To be continued....

Maniso (Anthem) of Mor Severus sung during the procession of
the Incarnate World at the outset of the Public Celebration
of the Holy Eucharist.

Priest:  Mariam who brought Thee forth
          Youhanon who baptized Thee
          These are our Supplicants to Thee
          Have mercy upon us O Lord.

People:  By the prayers of Thy Mother
          Who brought Thee forth
          And by those of all thy saints,
          Thee will I magnify, my Lord and King
          Son, only begotten, Heavenly father's Word
          Immortal by nature, who by Thy grace
          Didst come down for the life and salvation of
          all mankind
          Who didst become incarnate of the holy and glorious
          Pure Virgin Mary, Mother of God
          Who didst become man, remaining God unchanged….

"Nestorious should be ashamed, and should place his hand on his lips.
This Child is God. How then can she who bore Him be anything but
God's Mother? If anyone does not acknowledge her as Mother of God,
such a one is far removed from the Godhead. These words, though it is
I who use them, are not my own for I have inherited these glorious
teachings from Gregory the Theologian. Let us adore God alone, the
Creator and Maker of all things. Let us offer to Him the worship of
latria as to God who is of His very nature adorable. Let us revere,
too, the Holy Mother of God, not indeed as God, but as God's Mother
according to the flesh." Saint John Damascene (676-754)

From a letter by Saint Cyril of Alexandria, bishop:

"That anyone could doubt the right of the holy Virgin to be called
the Mother of God fills me with astonishment. Surely she must be the
Mother of God if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, and she gave birth to
him! Our Lord's disciples may not have used those exact words, but
they delivered to us the belief those words enshrine, and this has
also been taught us by the holy fathers.

In the third book of his work on the holy and consubstantial Trinity,
our father Athanasius, of glorious memory, several times refers to
the holy Virgin as "Mother of God." I cannot resist quoting his own
words: "As I have often told you, the distinctive mark of holy
Scripture is that it was written to make a twofold declaration
concerning our Savior; namely, that he is and has always been God,
and that for our sake in these latter days he took flesh from the
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and became man."

Again further on he says: "There have been many holy men, free from
all sin. Jeremiah was sanctified in his mother's womb, and John while
still in the womb leaped for joy at the voice of Mary, the Mother of
God."

Athanasius is a man we can trust, one who deserves our complete
confidence, for he taught nothing contrary to the sacred books.The
divinely inspired Scriptures affirm that the Word of God was made
flesh, that is to say, he was united to a human body endowed with a
rational soul. He undertook to help the descendents of Abraham,
fashioning a body for himself from a woman and sharing our flesh and
blood, to enable us to see in him not only God, but also, by reason
of this union, a man like ourselves. It is held, therefore, that
there are in Emmanuel two entities, divinity and humanity. Yet
our Lord Jesus Christ is nonetheless one, the one true Son, both God
and man; not a deified man on the same footing as those who share the
divine nature by grace, but true God who for our sake appeared in
human form. We are assured of this by Saint Paul's declaration: When
the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born
under the law, to redeem those who were under the law and to enable
us to be adopted as sons."

Prayer
Father, the bishop Cyril courageously taught that Mary was the Mother
of God. May we who cherish this belief receive salvation through the
incarnation of Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Every Grace Through Her
"All gifts, virtues, and graces of the Holy Ghost are administered by
the hands of Mary to whomsoever she desires, when she desires, in the
manner she desires, and to whatever degree she desires. Mary is the
dispensatrix of all the graces God bestows. Every grace granted to
man in this life has three successive steps: from God it comes to
Christ, and from Christ to the Virgin,and from the Virgin it descends
to us. -St. Bernardine of Siena, "On the Birth of the Blessed
Virgin"

BIBLICAL BASIS
(a) Luke 1:43: Elizabeth calls her "mother of my Lord." In the NT,
"Lord" refers only to God.
(b) Mt 1:23: "Behold the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name Him " Emmanuel," which means "God is with us."
(c) Luke 1:35: "the child to be born will be called holy, the son of
God."
(d) Gal 4:4: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son
, born of a woman."

EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
"For our God, Jesus Christ, was conceived by Mary, in accord with
God's
plan..." LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS, 18, 2; Jurgens, P. 18, # 42. (St.
Ignatius,
110 A.D.)

"The Virgin Mary, ... being obedient to His word, received from an
angel the glad tidings that she would bear God. " AGAINST HERESIES,
5, 19, 1; Jurgens, p. 101, #26a. (St. Irenaeus, 180-199 A.D.)

TOTUS TUUS MARIA
The oriental Orthodox tradition venerates Mary Theotokos more
than any other tradition, Latin included. The fast and feast
connected with the Soonoyo has been with us for almost 1500
years while the Roman Church declared the Dogma only in 1950.

Mary is our mother and mediator. She does not displace her Son
who is the unique mediator between man and God, but she complements
and supplements in a mysteriously supportive role. John who wrote the
Gospel to bring in perfection to the synoptics and to supply significant
omissions refers to the Cana Miracle as THE FIRST sign. That miracle
has two essential meanings besides what we always hear in sermons.
Firstly, the intercession operates only when we obey the intercessor,
in this case Mary, who commands us to do whatever her Son bids. Secondly
when we are asked to fill with water we have to fill to the brim.No space
is to be spared.To my mind the most tragic figures in the New Testament
are (1) the guy who smuggled himself in without proper clothes to the
durbar of the king and (2) the guy who was thrown out for keeping safe
the only talent he had been given! The second case is relevant when we
think of the second aspect I mentioned supra, " fill to brim". We should
hold nothing back. This morning I preached a sermon in a Catholic church
here and in passing said all of us Syrian Christians( Catholic, Orthodox,
Marthoma, CSI) can do with two names, Ananias for men and Saphira for
women, because we always hold back something. Let us this fasting season
introspect and ensure that we " fill to the brim". Let us use the next
12 days to assess ourselves how far we follow the 10 + 2 commandments
in our daily lives, using the Sermon on the Mount and the commandments
of the Church tradition as torches to illumine our interiors to check
whether we obey Mary's Son without reservation and whether we fill the
jars to the brim when he asks us to fill.

Mary is the Perpetual Virgin. Mary is the Mother of God because her
child was God. Mary is the unique intercessor with her Son. In our
churches we never see Mary portrayed alone; she is always with the
Infant. Also in our tradition we do not use the icon of the Holy Family;
in fact barring the one at Kottayam we have no St. Joseph's church
anywhere as far as I know. These features do not detract from the
position of Mary or Joseph. Mary is justified only if she is with the
Infant; without Him she may be holy and saintly but her uniqueness
comes from the Infant, the only "child" who had the power to choose
His mother; we may choose the mothers of our children but we have no
way to choose our own mothers; God had that opportunity and he chose
Mary " from all generations". And Joseph is sort-of "de emphasised"
not because we do not venerate him, in fact on all feasts of Mary in
the SAADEEKO we traditionally remember Joseph, but the de emphasis is
to re emphasise the virgin birth and Mary's perpetual virginity.

In our tradition the two recitals at the time of death are the Creed and
the Hail Mary. I recall how my wife died in my hands as I was saying the
Hail Mary and had come to, " and at the hour of death". Mary is our
strength. She is our refuge. She leads us to her Son in a way only a
mother can do. May her intercession help us, as individuals, as families,
as parishes and as church.

TOTUS TUUS MARIA

In the Thooyaba (Preparatory prayer) Virgin Mariam

In the hymn preparatory to the public celebration of the Holy
Qurbono of the Syrian Orthodox Church, congregation sings:

From the flaming glory bright
Flew the angel swift
Unto Mary, Naz’reth’s maid
Saying unto her,
With thee is the Lord-from thee
Comes the saviour of the world

As the fire enflamed the bush
Yet did not it burn
So did God come down and dwell
In the Virgin’s womb;
He incarnate was of her
Loosing not the Virgin’s seal

What ye say of me is wrong,
Mary told the Jews,
I do keep my seal, am sound;
Nor unchaste am I.
As the Lord did will, I bore-
Suckled Him with milk, a Babe.”

Court restrains Baselios Thomas I from entering churches

KOCHI: Ernakulam Additional District Judge A Hariprasad on
Saturday issued an order of temporary injunction restraining
Baselios Thomas I (formerly Thomas Mar Dionysius), the new
Catholicos of the Jacobite Syrian Church, from entering any of
the 107 parish churches in Angamali Diocese, 57 churches in Kochi
Diocese and 55 churches in Kandanad Diocese of the Malankara
Church which are administered under the 1934 constitution of
the Church.

The Court also issued orders restraining the Catholicos from
acting as the Catholicos or bishop of the Malankara Church. The
Judge pointed out that nobody could claim that there are still
two groups in the Church after the election to the Malankara
Association held under the supervision of Justice Malimath, the
observer appointed by the Apex Court.

The order was passed on an interlocutory application filed by
Thomas Mar Athanasius Metropolitan of the Chengannur Diocese
and two others belonging to the rival Orthodox faction of the
Malankara Church. They submitted that Mar Dionysius was not
entitled to benefit the status quo order of the Supreme Court
in the Church dispute case.

Meanwhile, Thampu George Thukalan, secretary of the Jacobite
Syrian Church, said in a statement that Saturday’s order was not
applicable to the Jacobite Church or its Catholicos as it is made
clear in the order itself that the order is applicable only to
churches belonging to Malankara Orthodox Church which are
administered by the 1934 constitution.

The order is not applicable to churches which have joined together
to form Jacobite Syrian Christian Association and decided to stand
steadfast for the ancient traditions and faith of the Malankara
Church. These churches are administered as per the constitution
drawn up and accepted by the Jacobite Syrian Christian Association.

Thomas Mar Dionysius was elected Catholicos as per the said
constitution. Even as per the the Supreme Court judgment the
Patriarch of Antioch is the supreme head of the Church.

Mar Dionysius was ordained Catholicos by that supreme head

http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IER20020804005432&Title=Kerala&rLink\
=0

Some days back an old American man and an Indian guy
from Hyderabad had come to visit me in part of their
mission to make others a Jehovah's witness. They
argued with me about my faiths, and one among them was
about St Mary and her virginity. They asked me why do
we call St. Mary, the mother of God?. Other question
was how she can be a virgin even after delivering
Jesus.
I knew the bible Jehovah's witnesses use is a
completely remade one in favour of them adding and
deleting most of the part.
One quick reference i could find to show them in
answering their first question was:
"How does it happen to me that mother of my Lord
should come to me" (Luke 1:43) told by Elizabeth. If
Elizabeth call her mother of God, then why we can't
call her Mother of God?.Fortunately their bible also
had this verses without much changes.
Yes,she is the mother of God, but she was not the
mother of God when the 'WORD'(Jesus) was formed from
father.When the Word wanted to become body, He chose
St. Mary. She carried Him in her womb, the Son of God,
who is God. Thus she delivered God, Jesus Christ.
Any body who delivers a baby, is called mother. Since
St. Mary delivered Jesus, we call her mother of God.
But for people who do not believe Jesus as
God,(Jehovah's witnesses)she is not the mother of God.
Why do we seek the intercession of St. Mary?. To
answer this we have many references and one among the
many is the first miracle did by Jesus, converting
water into wine. Jesus did the first miracle through
the intercession of St. Mary!. She informed Jesus
about lack of wine for the party and she was very
confident that Jesus can find a solution for it!. Yes,
is she asks something, he will answer it definitely!.
She is the blessed. She was the choosen woman for God
to come to earth. That is why we believe in her
intercession.
The second question was about her virginity even after
giving birth. My answer was that nothing is impossible
for God. God made everything in the world including
the virginity for women. He knows how to keep the
virginity of the mother of God even during the
delivery of Jesus, God himself. We sing in our Holy
Qurbana 'Mulmara meriyatheruthi than naduvil kandathu
pol.....vratha mudrakkundayilla'. Just like the thorn
tree flaming without burning, as seen by the Moses,
Jesus came into the womb of St. Mary and became man.
The tree didn't turn into ashes and the same way the
virginity of the St. Mary was not lost. Nothing is
impossible for God!.
     "Hail Mary Full of grace, Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, our Lord, Jesus Christ. O Virgin Saint
Mary, O Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at
all times, and at the hour of our death. Amen."

Sinu John
NMSU, USA.
Reference:
http://www.stignatious.com/salvation5.htm#123

In the Kukilion of Syrian Orthodox Church, following the elevation of
the Holy Mysteries, the first cycle of hymns is devoted to Blessed
Virgin Mariam. In this hymn, the relationship between Jesus and
Mother of God has been treated analogous to the King and Princess,
illustrated in King David's Psalm 45: 9-12. This Psalm is treated as
glorification of the Church as well as Virgin Mother Of God. It is
rendered in a contracted form and sung as under:

See the royal daughter stand
Glorious Queen at Thy right hand
Thy father's folk and home leave thou
The King desires thy beauty now.

This is followed by further praises and supplications

Thou whose praise the Church doth sing
Intercession  for us bring
Unto Him thine only son
That He may not mercy shun.

Peace the bright archangel brought
Hailing Mary fair,
Favoured is thy blessed lot
Thou the Lord shall bear.

Like a ship did Mary bear-
Laud and honour be-
Him, the captain and the Lord,
God of all the World.

By Thy cross, O Jesus Lord
By thy Mother's praying word,
Take from us and from our path
Punishments and rods of wrath.

Greetings,

I am new to this group, and I would like to take a moment of
introduction. I pray that these words will be an encouraging
blessing to you. By sharing my experiences, and subsequently my
introduction to Holy Orthodoxy (via the Indian Churches), I hope to
inspire my brothers and sisters in the Syrian Orthodox Church to
better appreciate their tradition. I also pray that my words will
encourage the Syrian Church to remember those of us who have received
the honor of coming to know your tradition, and why we desparately
need your help to bring us to the fulness of Christian truth.

I am an American, of British and Native American descent. I was
raised an evangelical protestant and my faith has always been the
most important thing in my life. Since I was young, I had a strong
sense of religious inquiry. I was quite independent and attended
several churches of various traditions, even at the young age of 10.

My journey eventually led me to a more experiential and charismatic
form of worship, known to many today as Pentecostalism. However, the
intellectual and spiritual depth of this movement soon proved to be
lacking. So i left, and began my own studies in College. During
these years I spent most of my time studying western theology, mostly
liberal historical criticism ("higher criticism"). This led me to
the doors of atheism, where I lingered for several years. After
receiving my B.A. in Religious Studies, I slowly discovered that my
education was exclusively western, and had several blind spots
concerning the Church Universal.

As a protestant, I never understood the purpose of the eucharist.
Our tradition generally relegated this act to a irreverent side
ritual, and few of us understood why it was necessary in the first
place. We had little if no sacramental theology. As I began to
study the eucharist, I was introduced to liturgics and ecclesiology
(something completely absent from my college education!).

Let me add this note to further bring out the thrust of my message; I
am known in evangelical circles as a "cultural guru", in the sense
that I have always had a keen understanding of the ever shifting
landscape of American culture (and sub-cultures). For the
evangelical church, this is a great asset, as our worship and
outreach has generally followed the trends of secular philosophy and
pop-culture. My ability to translate Christian truths (as I then
understood them) in our cultural context came naturally for me. When
I discovered the centrality of the Holy eucharist in early Christian
worship, it was as if I discovered the missing link!

Right now, there is a major shift occuring in the Protestant church.
I have been invited to several panel discussions where concerned
leaders are struggling to figure out how to do ministry in this post-
modern, "post-religious" culture. The old ways of following culture
are becoming more difficult, if not impossible to implement an
effective strategy in reaching people. This has caused many of us to
re-examine our approach. In doing so, many of us have discovered the
ancient traditions of Holy Orthodoxy. One example of this is the
incredible growth of the Byzantine Antiochian Archdiocese in North
America (hundreds of thousands of evangelical protestants are joining
Metropolitan Saliba).

I am not among those who joined the Byzantine Church. The truth is
that I do not yet belong to a canonically recognized Oriental
Orthodox Church either. But this has not prevented me from being
greatly rewarded by my interactions with The Syrian, Armenian,
Coptic, and other OO Churches. I find in them the most intact form
of ancient Christianity. I am often internally persuaded that I must
proceed to full reception into Communion, and perhaps this is what
will eventually happen. However, I believe that this decision must
be made with utmost sincerity and with an honest heart. I see
several Americans (including clergy) who seek entrance in the Church
for reasons of position and comfort, rather than a wholehearted
embrace of the Orthodox faith. Until i can honestly stand with full
conviction in ALL of Orthodox theology, ecclesiology, and
comtemporary praxis...then I must refrain from taking that final step.

I have watched for quite some time, the debate in the Malankara
Churches. To a westerner, the situation is initially overwhelmingly
complicated. However, I have followed long enough to understand the
positions of all those involved. My purpose here is not to take a
side, as my opinion is certainly of no value. What I most urgently
want to convey to you all is this; Remember us brothers and sisters!
the global community is getting smaller day by day. This means that
Syrian Orthodoxy is being observed more and more by those of us in
the west.

There are many of us who would be eternally grateful to receive the
ancient blessings you have to offer to our disintegrating western
culture. We NEED you to be a light for us. We desparately need you
to see beyond your historical experience, to look to the
future...where multitudes of westerners await reception into the
Universal blessing of Holy Orthodoxy! But you must remember our
cultural/historical context. You must learn how to translate the
faith into our dialect, without compromising Holy Tradition. I
personally feel it has been a grave mistake of the Orthodox Church,
to have left theological creativity behind in the Middle Ages. The
early Syriac tradition is brilliantly creative and this is what the
Church owes its very life to (remember Mar Jacob Bardaeus, Mar
Severus and others who defied opposition to bring the true faith to
the people). We must look to the Fathers for help, but there must
also be Fathers among us today in this critical time in history.

It takes great courage to be a Father. It means he must look beyond
the internal conflicts which afflict his own tradition, without
losing sight of them. He does this to ensure the prosperity and
truthful transmission of the Holy Orthodox Faith to the WHOLE WORLD,
which is the only way the early Church perceived catholicity. If our
primary concerns do not first take into account this truly catholic
perspective, then I do not see how it is possible to be truly
Orthodox.

Perhaps this reason for my abstaination is not acceptable to you. I
doubt that it will be. But I do hope and pray that it will at least
provoke my readers to take a critical examination of their own lives,
in order to see if they are living a PERSONAL life of true Orthodoxy,
and true catholicity!

I am forever grateful to all of you. You who have kept the
traditions and are now sharing them with us in the west. My prayers
and supplications will continue to be offered for H.H. Mar Ignatius
Zakka Iwas I, and for all those everywhere who profress Jesus as
Lord. Please remember us also, and especially our difficulties in
understanding our theoligcal "blind spots."

Your unworthy friend,

Severus Shemashen
Los Angeles, CA
----------------------------------------
From the desk of the moderator
We welcome you in our Lord's Love. Be part of us and share your
heavenly given spiritual experience. If any members want to contact
him, please email to SOCM-FORUM-owner@yahoogroups.com

From the second century onwards Church fathers had in no uncertain
terms held that Christ, born from holy Virgin Mariam, assumed a body
formed of the substance of her human essence.

And was incarnate of the Holy Virgin Mary Mother of God, by the Holy
Ghost and became man;….. (Nicene Creed)

Tertullian (155-240)

This word is called His Son.. he was brought down from the spirit and
power of God, the Father, in the Virgin Mary and was made flesh in
her womb and having been born from her came forth as Jesus Christ
(Ibid, Vol: I Para 290 P:120)

Let this be said to all those who do not think that our flesh was in
Christ because He was not received through the seed of man-let them
remember that Adam himself was made of this flesh without the seed of
a man. As the earth was converted into the flesh without the seed of
man, so also was the Word of God able to pass into the material of
flesh without the agency of the seed. (Ibid,Vol: I Para 355 P: 147)

To be continued

We have several feasts in honor of St. Mary.

1.Annunciation observed yearly twice on the fourth Sunday of Church
calendar and on March 25. Church admonishes to conduct Holy Eucharist
on March 25 without fail which, if happens to be on Good Friday we
are obligated to first celebrate the feast of annunciation and then
conduct Good Friday services. Thus evidently Church bids great
importance to the Day of annunciation.

2.Blessing of Seeds on January 15.
3.Blessing of harvest on May 15.
4.Blessing of Vine and Soonoyo or departing on August 15.
5.Her Entry into temple on November 21.
6.Day of Veneration on December 26.

Tradition has that Yuyakim or Yunakir and Hanna was God fearing and
devoted couple but they had no children. People's contempt made them
very sad. The couple vowed that if Hanna bore a child they would
dedicate the child to the service of the Lord. Such practice was very
ancient and popular among Jews. Hanna conceived, delivered a female
child and named the child, Mary. According to the vow they dedicated
Mary to the Lord's service in the temple entrusting her to the care
of high priest. Mary grew up in the temple until maturity. Custom did
not permit to further keep her in the temple lest the temple's
sanctity would be defiled and required that she be married and sent
out. The priests were conscious about her safety for, Mary was
extraordinarily devoted and pious. The temple authorities summoned
the Elders, as custom demanded. Bridegroom was to be chosen by
casting lot and the lot fell to Joseph. Joseph, carpenter by
profession was old man married and with children. Polygamy was not
forbidden on those days. Custom required that one had to accept the
choice of casting lot as divine decision, Prov 16: 33. Indeed, it was
divine decision because as the very name connotes Joseph was the most
matured and righteous man available on those days who would have
least thought of putting Mary to shame or risk. Joseph took Mary with
him but they did not come together, Mat 1:18. Meaning of the
word `wife' is greatly different at present. On those days, from the
time of betrothal, whether or not they married or consummated the
marriage, people called and treated them as husband and wife.
Nowadays we, the Syrian Orthodox conduct betrothal and marriage
ceremonies together on the same day due to certain practical reasons.
But on those days and even in the early centuries of Christianity
these ceremonies were conducted separately. There was considerable
time gap between the two. The bride and the bridegroom were not
allowed intimate contact during this period. Severe consequences such
as public inquest, death by stoning, etc awaited law-breakers.
Incidentally, it is not easy for today's young generation that
derives comfort and enjoyment in frequent dating, living together and
direct action without commitments whatsoever to fully comprehend what
was then the order of the day. These matters are irrelevant these
days.

Joseph, to his utter dismay, found that Mary was pregnant with child
before they came together. Luke affirms that Joseph was not the
father of Jesus but people thought so, Lk 3:23. Joseph was in between
the devil and the deep sea. Mary would be put to public shame and
death if he published the matter and if he did not disown he had to
bear burden of caring someone else's child and its mother. Joseph
went to bed overburdened with serious thoughts and decision to
secretly abandon her. Angel Gabriel appeared in dream and explained
the whole episode and encouraged him to keep Mary. Joseph's ordeal
came to an unexpected happy ending. Joseph woke up from the sleep. He
was new man fully convinced of the supernatural conception, kept and
protected Mary. Such divine provision was absolutely necessary to
conceal actual identity for safety and survival of both the mother
and child in order to successfully carry out the mysterious plan of
redemption.

End of Part 2
To be continued....

Congratulations

We take this opportunity to congratulate our national team
for their performance in the 17th Commonwealth Games at
Manchester.

SOCM – FORUM Members & Moderators.
----------------------------------------------------------
Indian sports get a shot in the arm with Commonwealth performance

IANS

NEW DELHI: Sports in India got a shot in the arm when its contingent
garnered an unprecedented tally of medals to finish third and create
history at the 17th Commonwealth Games at Manchester.

India's tally of 72 medals (32 gold, 21 silver and 19 bronze medals)
was third behind sports powerhouses Australia (82, 62, 62, total 206)
and hosts England (54, 51, 60, total 165).

The contingent, comprising 107 athletes, was the largest that India
has ever sent to any Commonwealth Games. But the selection of such a
large number of athletes was justified to an extent, particularly in
the case of shooting, weightlifting and wrestling, as these
disciplines won the maximum medals.

While shooters, who are always begging and borrowing ammunition at
home, won 23 medals, including 15 gold, weightlifters clinched a
total of 30, comprising 13 gold.

However, wrestling, which is India's traditional medal bank along
with weightlifting, could only muster six medals, including three
gold.

Although it is a matter of great pride for the shooters and
weightlifters to have won so many medals, India hardly made its
presence felt in other disciplines.

India participated in 10 disciplines but won only two gold medals in
the rest of the seven -- athletics, badminton, boxing, gymnastics,
women's hockey, judo and table tennis.

Light flyweight boxer Mohammad Ali Qamar and the women's hockey team
were the other winners.

But there was some consolation in the form of the historic bronze
that long jumper Anju Bobby George won, the silver shot putter Neelam
J. Singh bagged and a couple of other medals that the paddlers and
judokas won.

While the shooters, weightlifters and wrestlers deserve all the
accolades, sports administrators will need to take a second look at
the other disciplines in which India took part at Manchester.

Individually, shooters Jaspal Rana and Anjali Bhagwat led the
onslaught with four gold medals each while veteran weightlifter
Kunjarani Devi snatched three gold to underline that she was still a
force to reckon with, despite official apathy.

Pistol ace Jaspal, 26, was the toast of the country as besides the
four gold (including two in pairs events), he also won a silver medal
(pairs event) and a bronze. Anjali, 32, quiet and unassuming by
nature, let her rifle speak on her behalf as she also shot two gold
in pairs events and two in singles.

For Indian sportspersons, who are almost always without good
equipment, sufficient infrastructure and efficient coaches, it was a
grand surprise to see so many shooters, weightlifters and wrestlers
finish at the top.

It is a testimony to their ability to adjust to the alien conditions
in Manchester and then go on to beat their fancied rivals. Only the
shooters were already in Europe, where they participated in the World
Championship in Finland. The rest of contingent went from India,
where climatic conditions are entirely different from those in
Britain.

The only blot on India's magnificent performance was the positive
drug test of weightlifter Krishnan Madasamy, who had won three silver
medals in the 62-kg category. An acceptable level of 19-
Norandrosterone, a metabolic Nandrolone, was found in his urine
sample and the organisers took his medals back.

The next big test for Indian athletes will be the Busan Asian Games
in October. Till then, there is time for officials and athletes to
take a close look at the Commonwealth Games performance and try to
raise the bar further.

http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?
ID=IES20020805140547&Title=Sports&rLink=-166

The hymns posted earlier by Thomas Daniel are sung by the laity in
Malankara Churches during the Tooyobo (preparatory prayers preceding
the public celebration of the Holy Qurbono). However, they are
actually from the saphro (morning) liturgy of the Sh-himo (the Syriac
Orthodox Common Prayer). Virtually every hymn in the canonical
offices in the Sh-Himo has a section of stanzas which magnifies Morth
Mariam. I am posting the translation of the hymn from d-saphro d-
tleetho b-shabo (lit. morning of the third day of the week--Tuesday).
The translation is from my forthcoming edition of the Holy Qurbono
tekso in English from the original Syriac, translated faithfully in
grammatically correct English (unlike the currently popular
translation) and set to the appropriate qolo (meter). This hymn is
set to the meter of daHto lo neHte. A few stanzas of the hymn are
also sung in Malankara Churches during the Tooyobo; faithful from
Malankara will recognize it as "dhanye mathave..." The manner in
which it is sung in most churches is not faithful to the traditional
qolo. I give you here both the original Syriac text and the English
translation. The English is set to the traditional Syriac qolo but
can also be sung in the tune now popular in Malankara (attributed by
those I have consulted to Koruthu Malpan, who was taught the Beth
Gazo by late Patriarch Ya`qub III but was in the Malankara Orthodox
Church later). As with any hymn, the English will take a bit of
practice to sing. (Note that in some cases the "and" at the beginning
of a line and elsewhere have to be sung in a short syllable to fit
the meter.)

5. yoldath aloho: lek methkashfeenan emo m-barakto.
dath-feeseen Hlofayn labro d-menek d-naH.
dab-raHmé d-meneh nelHé shTor Hawbayn.
w-mo dothé l-Harto l-deeno lo na`lan.
`am halelooyah w-halelooyah.
Sloothek tehwé lan shooro w-beth gawsov

Bless-ed mother, we entreat you to plead
for us to the Son who sprang forth from you.
By His mercy may He erase our bonds
and when He comes at the end, may He not judge us.
Halleluiah w-Halleluiah.
May your prayers be a fortress and refuge for us.

6. emar leey maryam `nono qalyeelto.
aykano T`enteey-haw ganbor `olmé.
gabreeyel etho w-sabran w-emar leey.
d-men `oobek donaH d-forooqeh d-`olmo.
`am halelooyah w-halelooyah.
w-hooyoo bashroro forooqeh d`olmov

Recount to me Mary, O fleeting cloud
How did you bear the God, Mighty for ever?
"Gabriel came and greeted me and said,
`From your womb will dawn the Savior of the world.'"
Halleluiah w-Halleluiah.
And He surely is the Savior of the world.

7. sanyo haw daHzo mooshé b-Toor seenay.
lek hoo Soy-ar hwo bthulto qadeeshto.
sanyo roshem hwo l-gushmek qadeesho.
wabthulayk Tarfaw d-lo ethHarak hwaw.
`am halelooyah w-halelooyah.
w-nuro dabsanyo aloho d-bek shrov

The bush that Moses saw on the Mount Sinai
was symbolic of you, O Holy Virgin
The bush indicated your holy body
and the leaf unsinged*, your virginity.
Halleluiah w-Halleluiah
and the fire on the bush, God Who dwelled in you.

*singe - scorch, to burn superficially or lightly

8a. bthulto qadeeshto emeh damraymo.
qareb bo`ootho  Hlof `awleh d`olmo.
d-ho zaw`é qshayo waqrobé w-qeersé.
Hdeereeyn loh lar`o wabHasho yothbo.
halelooyah w-halelooyah.
Sloothek tehwé lan shooro w-beth gawsow

Holy Virgin Mother of the Most High God
offer petitions for the sins of this world.
Behold! rough trembles, wars and misfortunes
encircle the earth and it sits in sorrow.
Halleluiah w-Halleluiah.
May your prayers be a fortress and refuge for us.

8b. dukrono d-maryam nehwé l-borkothan
waSlootho tehwé shooro l-nafshothan.
d-moro danbeeyé wad-shleeHé w-sohdé.
dnaH menoh wetho l-furqoneh d-`olmo.
halelooyah w-halelooyah.
w-hooyoo bashroro forooqeh d`olmov

Let Mary's memory be a blessing for us all
and may her prayers be a fortress for our souls.
The Lord of the prophets, apostles and martyrs,
sprang forth from her and came to save the world.
Halleluiah w-Halleluiah.
And He truly is the Savior of the world.

a. and b. are variants in different manuscripts.

In these days of fasting commemorating the Virgin Mary, Mother of
God, may her intercession be a fortress and refuge for our church and
her faithful children!

Thomas Joseph, Ph.D.
Web Master, SOR (http://sor.cua.edu)
Technical Editor, Hugoye (http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/)

From the second century onwards Church fathers had in no uncertain
terms held that Christ, born from holy Virgin Mariam, assumed a body
formed of the substance of her human essence.

And was incarnate of the Holy Virgin Mary Mother of God, by the Holy
Ghost and became man;….. (Nicene Creed)

St. Ephraim (306-373)

Called the Lyre of Holy Spirit, sang, "In the womb of Mary, the
infant was formed, Who from eternity is equal to the Father. He
imparted to us His greatness and took on our infirmity. He became
mortal like us and joined His life to ours so that we might die no
more. (Ibd, Vol: II, Para 711, P: 312)

St. Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386)

Believe that this only begotten Son of God came down from heaven and
took humanity of like condition to ours and was born of the Holy
Virgin and of the Holy Spirit; and was made man, not in appearance or
phantasy, but in truth… was truly made flesh of her. (Ibd, Vol. I,
Para 817 P:350)

To be continued..

It is commendable that the Moderator Daniel wishes to demonstrate the
antiquity of the doctrine of the true enfleshing of the Son of God in
the womb of the Virgin. He tells us this doctrine can be found in
second century Fathers.

Daniel, you'll find a great deal more (and better) second-century
material in the works of St. Justin Martyr and St. Irenaeus of Lyon.
But why not look to the FIRST century? We can go back to the FIRST
century as well: St. Ignatius (the Godbearer) of Antioch called
Mary "the mother of God the Logos (Word)" when he wrote in his
epistle to the Ephesians (ch. 7, 18), "God was manifest in the flesh
of born of Mary," "our God Jesus Christ was conceived in her womb."

Steve Marin


--- In SOCM-FORUM@y..., SOCM-Moderator wrote:
> From the second century onwards Church fathers had in no uncertain
> terms held that Christ, born from holy Virgin Mariam, assumed a
body
> formed of the substance of her human essence.
>
> And was incarnate of the Holy Virgin Mary Mother of God, by the
Holy
> Ghost and became man;….. (Nicene Creed)
>
> Tertullian (155-240)
>
> This word is called His Son.. he was brought down from the spirit
and....

Mother of God? Part 3

From the second century onwards Church fathers had in no uncertain
terms held that Christ, born from holy Virgin Mariam, assumed a body
formed of the substance of her human essence.

And was incarnate of the Holy Virgin Mary Mother of God, by the Holy
Ghost and became man;….. (Nicene Creed)

Alexander of Alexandria (328)

Jesus Christ, Our Lord… bore a body not in appearance, but in truth,
derived from Mary, the Mother of God. (Ibid, Vol. I, Para 680 P:301)

Gregory of Nazianz (330-389)

(On the Theophany or birthday of Christ in AD 380)- To his own image
(man) He came and took on flesh for the sake of flesh and mingled
Himself with an intelligent soul for the sake of my soul purfyong
like by like. In all except sin He was made Man. Conceived by the
Virgin who first was purified in soul and body by the Sprit for it
was needful that birth be honoured and that virginity be honoured
even more. He then came forth with that which He had assumed, one
from two opposites, flesh and sprit, of which the one was deifying,
the other deified.- (Ibd, Vol. II, Para 1006 P:35)

To be continued..

The author of this posting says this doctrine can found in
the second century Fathers writings , but it is peculiar that
he chooses as proof the writing of Tertullian, a man condemned
as a heretic. Admittedly the text from Tertullian that he presents
does reflect Orthodox teaching, but my question is why didn't author
choose a text from a **true** Father of the Church, a title that
Orthodoxy does not apply to heretics. We commemorate as Fathers
men whom we also commemorate as Saints. It is western scholars
who count as "fathers" all ecclesiastical writers of antiquity.

Orthodoxy never needs to resort to heretical writers in order to
support her doctrines, and certainly not to the exclusion of true
Church Fathers.

In Christ
Issac K Joseph

--- In SOCM-FORUM@y..., SOCM-Moderator wrote:
> From the second century onwards Church fathers had in no uncertain
> terms held that Christ, born from holy Virgin Mariam, assumed a
body
> formed of the substance of her human essence.
>
> And was incarnate of the Holy Virgin Mary Mother of God, by the
Holy
> Ghost and became man;….. (Nicene Creed)
>
> Tertullian (155-240)
>
> This word is called His Son.. he was brought down from the spirit
and
> power of God, the Father, in the Virgin Mary and was made flesh in

Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,

I became a member of this group couple of weeks ago. And I was
reading all the messages posted by the members. I liked digests
numbered 289, 290 and 291, because they discussed serious issues.
They were all about our faith and belief.

Instead of filling this pages with hatred and details of wrong doings
of other fraction, let us discuss our own theological matters in this
forum. One of the true Christian spirit is forgiveness. Only 10% of
our people know about our believes. That is the main problem, to my
opinion.

Let history prove what is right and what is wrong. What we can do is
to make a strong stand with the teaching of our Holy fathers. Leave
the rest to Him.

Yours in Christ,
SIJU JOHN
Philadelphia, USA.

Reception of H.B is postponed to September 26th 2002.

On 29th July 2002, meeting of southern dioceses of Malankara Jacobite
Syrian Orthodox Church held at Thiruvalla Simhasana Church, decided
to give a reception to the newly consecrated Catholicose Mor
Baselious Thomas I on 25th August 2002 at Thiruvalla.

Unfortunately on 2nd August 2002, meeting of Niranam diocese of the
Indian Orthodox Church also decided to give a reception to their
Catholicose and other bishops on the same date and same venue. (Was
this is planed for the repetition of Kolanchery incident?)

To avoid any law and order problem, as per the request of the
Pathanamthitta District Collector, the Malankara Jacobite Syrian
Orthodox Church decided to postpone the reception to September 26th
2002. Hoping their wont be any other sort of reception or meeting
will be arranging by Indian Orthodox in the same date and same venue.

Mother of God? Part 4

From the second century onwards Church fathers had in no uncertain
terms held that Christ, born from holy Virgin Mariam, assumed a body
formed of the substance of her human essence.

And was incarnate of the Holy Virgin Mary Mother of God, by the Holy
Ghost and became man;….. (Nicene Creed)

Epiphanius of Salamis (315-403)

The Holy saviour who came down from heaven who deigned to fashion our
salvation in virginal workshop who did not change His nature when He
took on humanity along with His divinity… who took on the human flesh
and soul being perfect at the side of the Father and incarnate among
us, not in appearance but in truth, He reshaped man to perfection in
Himself, from Mary the Mother of God through the Holy Spirit… The
Word Himself became flesh (St. John: 1.14) not ceasing to be God, not
changing divinity into humanity, but with the proper fullness of His
divinity and with the proper person of God the Word. He joined
together in His existence the being that is man's and whatever man
is. I mean perfect man, whatever is present in man, and whatever sets
man apart. (Ibid, Vol. II, Para 1086 P:69,70)

The Word first came down from heaven made flesh from the womb of the
holy Virgin subsist in Himself, and reshaped the whole humanity
perfectly into Himself. (Ibid, Vol. II, Para 1110 P:76)

To be continued..

HAIL, MARY, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed art
thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
HOLY MARY, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the
hour of our death. Amen.

Many us often say the Hail Mary. Some repeat it hastily not even
thinking on the words they are saying. These following words may
help some say it more thoughtfully.

They can give God's Mother great joy and obtain for themselves graces
that she wishes to give them.

One Hail Mary well said fills the heart of Our Mother with delight
and obtains for us indescribably great graces. One Hail Mary well
said gives us more graces than a thousand thoughtlessly said.

The Hail Mary is like a mine of gold that we can always take from but
never exhaust. Is it hard to say the Hail Mary well? All we have to do
is to know its value and understand its meaning.

St. Jerome tells us that "the truths contained in the Hail Mary are so
sublime, so wonderful that no man or Angel could fully understand them."

Almighty God gave His Blessed Mother all the dignity, greatness and holiness
necessary to make her His own most perfect Mother. But He also gave her all
the sweetness, love, tenderness and affection necessary to make her our most
loving Mother. Mary is truly and really our Mother.

As children when in trouble run to their mothers for help, so ought we to
run at once with unbounded confidence to Mary.

Many Saints said that it was never, never heard at any time or in any place
that Mary refused to hear the prayers of her children on earth. Why do we not
realize this most consoling truth? Why refuse the love and consolation that
God's Sweet Mother is offering us?

Is it our lamentable ignorance which deprives us of such help and consolation.
To love and trust Mary is to be happy on earth now and afterwards to be happy
in Heaven.

A priest was called to the bedside of a man who was dying in despair because
of his sins. Yet he refused obstinately to go to confession. As a last
recourse the priest asked him to say at least the Hail Mary after which the
poor man made a sincere confession and died a holy death.

St. Gertrude tells us in her book, "Revelations" that when we thank God for
the graces He has given to any Saint, we get a great share of those
particular graces.

What graces, then, do we not receive when we say the Hail Mary while
thanking God for all the unspeakable graces He has given His Blessed Mother?

Yeldo Mortho Mariyam, pray for us
Aji Thomas David

Dear members,

Let me thank everyone for sending such good articles
during this 15-day lent season dedicated to St. Mary.

Biblical basis of the prayer‘Hail Mary full of
grace….’

- “Peace be to you, Mary full of Grace; our Lord is
with you, O blessed one among woman.” Angel Gabriel
who came from God said this (Luke 1:28).
[In Syriac - ‘slom leck Mariyam Malyas Thybooso.’
Slom is a greeting (hail=greet) word among Jews. This
is how it became Hail Mary]

- Elizabeth who was filled with Holy Spirit said:
“Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit
of your womb” (Luke 1:42). How does it happen to me
that mother of my Lord should come to me" (Luke 1:43)


The final sentence is a request to Virgin Mary to pray
for us.

Source: http://www.stignatious.com/salvation5.htm#127

Mathew

KOCHI: The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church has said that Catholicos
Baselius Thomas I had conducted service only in churches which have
accepted the constitution of the Jacobite Syrian Church and he does
not want to enter the churches which follow the constitution of 1934.

A statement from the Jacobite Syrian Church said that the Catholicos
of the Orthodox faction has never welcomed the Supreme Court judgment
in its true spirit. If they had accepted it, edicts would have been
sent to parish churches to the effect that they had accepted the
supremacy of the Patriarch of Antioch as envisaged by the court
judgment.

The accusations of the Catholicos of the Orthodox faction are
contrary to the findings of the court. As the parish churches are not
parties in suits and have opted out of the Malankara Association,
framed a constitution for protecting their faith, tradition, freedom
and object of foundation and also the fundamental rights guaranteed
by the Constitution, the 1934 constitution does not affect the parish
churches either on spiritual matters or on temporal affairs, since
the parish general body is the final authority, the statement added.

http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?
ID=IER20020808141937&Title=Kerala&rLink=0

That the body and blood of Jesus which we are nourished with is taken from
Mary is clear in our tradition. In the prayers of Good Friday there is a
verse which says that He ascended the Cross with body and blood received
from Mariam. When we think of the Holy Eucharist we often miss two vital
elements. I myself was guided to this only after I began to concentrate my
spiritual life around the Holy Eucharist. The first is that it is Mary who
gave the Incarnate God all the 46 chromosomes as against 23+ 23 from father
and mother as in normal human beings. This is why the Syriac Creed clearly
says that Jesus was born of Mary and of Holy Spirit, not "from Mary BY THE
Holy Spirit" as wrongly translated sometimes in Malayalam. PARISUDHA RUHAYIL
NINNUM DAIVAMATHAVAYA KANYAKAMARIAMIL NINNUM and NOT repeat NOT "parisudha
ruhayal daivamathavil ninnu". The second point is that we are partaking in
the body which was tortured and blood which was spilt. Once these
realisations come, it has been my experience, the Holy Quorbono assumes much
greater significance than before. Each HQ is a new experience; no
repetitiveness anymore.
TOTUS TUUS MARIA

Hi All

Glad to join this group

Mathew

St. Mary is mentioned on 16 occasions in the New Testament. On most
occasions she plays prominent part and at other times name is simply
mentioned.

1. Annunciation accounts, Angel announces divine conception, and
    Mary seeks clarification and submits to God's will, Luke 1:26-26.
2. Mary betrothed to Joseph, Mt 1:18-25.
3. Mary visits Elizabeth, her kinswoman and mother of John the
    Baptist who is filled with Holy Ghost, Magnificat, etc
    Luke 1:39-56.
4. Journey to Bethlehem, rejection in the inn, Jesus' birth, the
    manger, shepherds worship and heavenly hosts worship, etc,
    Luke 2:1-20.
5. Jesus brought in the temple for purification, circumcision
    Mayaltho), Simon's prophesy, the prophetess Hanna etc,
    Luke 2: 22-39.
6. Wise men's visit from the East, Mat 2:11.
7. Flight to Egypt, Mt 2: 14.
8. Return from Egypt, at Galilee, Mat 2: 21-24.
9. Jesus at the temple, Lk 2: 41-52.
10.Mary thought about what she heard of infant Jesus, Lk 2: 19, 51.
11.People of Galilee identified her as mother of Jesus and alleged
    that James, Joses, Simon, Judas were brothers and sisters of
    Jesus, Mat 13:55-56, Mk 6:3, Jn 6:42.
12.Reached Jesus while He spoke to multitude, Mt 12: 47,
    Mk 3:31-35, Lk 8:19-24.
13.The first miracle performed at the marriage feast at Cana at
    the request of Mary, Jn 2: 1-5.
14.Goes to Capernahum with Jesus, Jn 2:12.
15.Present at Jesus' death, Jn 19:25-27.
16.Seen with disciples, AA 1:14.

Jesus was compassionate to his mother. Even while suffering death
pangs on the Cross He fulfilled a loving son's duty. Pointing to
disciple John, He said to mother, "behold thy son," and to the
disciple He said, "behold your mother," and from that moment that
disciple John took her to his own home, John 19: 26-27. He created
new relationship of mother and child between Mary and the disciple.
She has become mother not only to one disciple but also to the entire
Christians of all ages. Ancient Churches believe and teach, as we
have seen above, that Mary is ever virgin and mother of God
(Theotokos or God bearer) because her son Jesus is God and had no
other children. Joseph had predeceased; thus practically there was no
immediate kindred to take care of St. Mary in the absence of Jesus.
Had she other children as Protestants teach there was no need for
Jesus to comment her to a disciple who was not blood-related. They
heavily rely on the assumption that His brethren did not believe in
Him as said in John 7:5 and completely ignore John 2:12 where it
says, His mother and brethren accompanied Him to Capernaum. How if
the brethren did not believe in Him they went with Him to Capernaum?
The disbelief of the brethren was because to them Jesus was not
moving swift enough to make Himself known in whole of Judia.
Synoptic gospels say that mother and brethren went desirous of
speaking to Jesus while He was speaking to multitude, (see 11, 12).
Thus belief or disbelief of brethren is not at all a cognizable
reason why Jesus would completely ignore and take upon Himself what
was the duty of His siblings, if any. Again, common sense cannot
grant that other brothers, if any, would allow one's mother to go and
live with an unrelated person just because a dying brother said so.
Alternatively, would a mother forsake and disregard her all others
sons, if any, let alone the sisters, and act only upon the words of a
dying son? Would a mother abandon her sons and daughters to live with
a mere acquaintance? Thus evidently, Jesus had no sibling. St. Mary
is then seen with the disciple at the gathering of 120, praying and
fasting as Jesus commanded them to do, (see 16). This amply affirms
that St. Mary spent rest of her life with the disciple and actively
involved in the formation and growth of infant Church of Jerusalem.
St. Ignatius of Antioch is said to have corresponded with her.

Yet another important point to bear in mind is, Mosaic Law poignantly
forbid children to curse or disobey parents. "Everyone that curses
his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he has cursed
his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him," Lev 20:9, Prov
20:20. If death penalty was imposed for cursing father or mother how
a son could go scot-free if he neglected them when they need the help
most? Concept of family according to Jewish custom was entirely
different from that of our contemporary society. There were no old
age homes or nursing homes to dump the elderly. It was nonnegotiable
duty of every child to afford care for parents in their old age.
Dereliction was viewed seriously and usually no one would have risked
the consequences.

End of Part 3
To be continued....

Dear Mr. Issac

Tertullian became a Montanist late in life, no writings
exist from this time of his life. Most of his writings are considered
Orthodox. The only exception being that he supported death-bed
Baptisms as opposed to infant Baptism.

Thomas Daniel

--- In SOCM-FORUM@y..., Issac K Joseph wrote:
> The author of this posting says this doctrine can found in
> the second century Fathers writings , but it is peculiar that
> he chooses as proof the writing of Tertullian, a man condemned
> as a heretic. Admittedly the text from Tertullian that he presents
> does reflect Orthodox teaching, but my question is why didn't author
> choose a text from a **true** Father of the Church, a title that
> Orthodoxy does not apply to heretics. We commemorate as Fathers
> men whom we also commemorate as Saints. It is western scholars
> who count as "fathers" all ecclesiastical writers of antiquity.
>
> Orthodoxy never needs to resort to heretical writers in order to
> support her doctrines, and certainly not to the exclusion of true
> Church Fathers.
>
> In Christ
> Issac K Joseph

Abraham Mar Clemis becomes the longest-serving Metropolitan

KOTTAYAM: Abraham Mar Clemis, the head of the Knanaya Church and the
senior-most Metropolitan in India has become the longest-serving
bishop in the history of the Malankara Syrian Church after the
historical `Koonankurisu Satyam' in 1653.

The record was previously held by Catholicos Baselius Geevarghese II.

Mar Abraham completed 18,744 days (51 years and four months) as
Metropolitan after being ordained on April 15, 1951, by Patriarch of
Antioch, Ignathios Mar Aprem I, in Syria.

Catholicos Baselius Mar Thoma Mathews II occupies the second
position, having served for 17,983 days (49 years and three months).

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