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July Edition 2016 Volume 3(3)

Table of Contents
Message from Diocesan Episcopa................................ 3
Editorial ........................................................................ 4
Welcome Note ............................................................. 7
Prayer in the News ....................................................... 7
A Collection of Prayers ................................................. 8
Liturgy and Scripture in the Mar Thoma Church: An
Observation................................................................ 10
Lex orandi, lex credenti ............................................ 13
An Overview of Bible Study Classes of Maramon
Convention, 2016. ...................................................... 15

The COMPE Executive Committee

President: The Rt. Revd. Dr.Issac Mar Philoxenos
Vice President: Very Revd.V.T.John
Secretary: Mr.P.M.Mathew
Treasurer: Mr.Jaffey Chacko

News........................................................................... 18
Creative partnership with the Sinai Mar Thoma
Church of North London ........................................ 18
34th Mar Thoma Family conference-Europe .......... 19
Speakers-Family Conference.................................. 20
Visiting those in prison ........................................... 21
COMPE Meeting 2016 ............................................ 23

Editorial Board of the Mar Thoma Echo

Editorial Director: Dr. Zac Varghese
Chief Editor: Very.Revd.V.T.John
Mr. Sherry Mathews
Mr. Oommen Abraham
Mrs. Geena Ajay

Obituary ..................................................................... 25

For private circulation only

Disclaimer: The views published in this journal are
those of its authors. Editors or the COMPE do not
endorse the contents or views expressed and they are
not liable for the contents or views in any form.
Send your articles- compe.echo@gmail.com

Message from Diocesan

Episcopa

Dearly beloved in Christ,

Greetings from Sinai Mar Thoma Centre of North
America & Europe Diocese of Mar Thoma Church.
After assuming the office of the Diocesan Bishop
in April 2016, I am happy to reach to you through
the Mar Thoma ECHO, the online magazine of the
council of Mar Thoma Parishes in Europe. I
appreciate all who have contributed in this
publication since 2014 and the leadership of Dr.
Zac Varghese in continuing the programme
without break, for the benefit of the Diaspora Mar
Thoma community, especially of the members in
the UK and Europe.

can be possible only by allowing God to shape our

lives. In the words of Mother Theresa, Prayer is
putting oneself in the hands of God, at His
disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth
of our hearts. Jesus Christ instructed the
disciples to pray without ceasing. He taught them
how to pray and continues to ask the faithful
believers to carry on this discipline of spending
time with the Lord by which our lives will be more
pleasing to God and to fellow human beings. Let
the beauty of life remain by keeping our intimate
relation with the Lord and quenching the intense
spiritual thirst through prayer.
The Mar Thoma Community in different parts of
the world kept the richness of spiritual life that
was practiced by our forefathers, through prayer
and fellowship. This has very much contributed in
keeping the healthy relationship that is being
exercised in the local context by the Mar Thoma
community of Indian origin. As a Diaspora
community it witnessed Jesus Christ through its
life and action and has now become the
distinctive Christian presence in different parts of
the world. It is our wish and prayer that God may
continue to strengthen us as a spiritual force in
the midst of the enticing worldly attractions. May
the spirit of God guide and counsel us to journey
forward with the peace that we experience and the
love that we share as a community of faith.
With love and prayers,
Rt. Rev. Dr. Isaac Mar Philoxenos
Diocesan Episcopa

Let us thank God for the blessings that we have

received these years as faith community, to live in
a land that is not known to us and to relate to
people who are not familiar to us. However, the
Spirit of God strengthens us to cross the
boundaries and transcend our connections to the
wider community.
Prayer is the most powerful tool to transcend our
inner being to the God the creator and Jesus
Christ, the best model who began and ended His
ministry with prayer. It is only by gaining the
inner strength that one can face the challenges of
life and do the work without fear and distraction.
The early church father St. Basil has advocated
making time for God by saying The time you lend
to God is not lost. To those who have preferred
spiritual welfare, He will give health of body,
sharpness of mind, success in business and
unbroken prosperity. A steady progress in life
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Editorial

commit themselves to traditional forms of

religious observances.

The theme selected for the July issue of the ECHO

is prayer. For us in the Europe region of the Mar
Thoma Diocese of North America and Europe, it
is a new beginning with the ministry of Rt. Revd
Dr. Isaac Mar Philoxenos as our Diocesan
Episcopa. Let us enter into this new beginning
with prayers for continuing with all the work we
have at hand and look forward in hope with
Thirumeni for new opportunities for establishing
kingdom values in all areas of our day to day
involvements. Let us welcome Thirumeni and
offer him support and prayers for his ministry.
We also welcome all our new achens who have
arrived in this country for helping us with our life
in Christ.

One of the causes of the present crisis in the

Church and fall in Church attendance is the lack
of faith formation. Once the catechism for the first
communion and basic Sunday school lessons are
over and done with, there is no systematic effort
in faith formation apart from custom-made
Sunday sermons. The starting point of this crisis
is the breakdown and discontinuation of morning
and evening family prayers and prayers at meal
times. We have a need to learn how to pray, and
more importantly, as Jesus taught his disciple
how not to pray (Matt 6: 5-15).

Prayer is all about developing an intimate

relationship with our Triune God, and through
this relationship man can experience the intimacy
with God; the primary purpose of creation was
this intimate relationship. It is a simple, sincere,
intimate conversation, and there is nothing more
to it. This relationship has a built in freedom, free
will for God to be God and man to be man.
However, when man tries to become god there is
tension and strain in this relationship, but prayer
is a shock absorber for reducing this tension. As
we grow in prayer we begin to realise that we
cannot compartmentalise our relationship with
God from our relationship with our fellow men.
Hence we need to give importance to both private
and shared prayer; sometimes our prayer life will
require more silence and separation from others,
while at other times we need prayer-fellowship.
Jesus practiced both types of prayers.
It is increasingly clear that many of the traditional
forms of Christian prayers and canticles from
prayer books and liturgy do not seem to be
relevant to young people. Therefore, the young
generation is more interested in charismatic
exuberances, self-expressions through rhythmic
hymns and many other self-seeking out-ward
activities. We often forget the fundamental reality
that worship is for giving glory to God, but we
often use occasions of worship for glorifying
ourselves. It is indeed an age of diminishing true
religious commitment and growth in secularism;
religion is used as a political tool and a weapon
for destroying the otherness. Every part of
human activity is in a high degree of turbulence,
and flux and many people are hesitating to

A standardised and registered-Christian seems

to be a person paying membership fees to a
parish and having his/her name in parish
electoral register, attending occasional Sunday
worship, and taking Holy Communion. They also
tick other boxes by attending annual parish
conventions, family conferences and such events.
What is missing? Prayer, unity, and fellowship are
missing. Without the prayerful involvement of
every one, the Church cannot fulfil her mission in
the world. The Church has become divided body
for various reasons. We need leaders with vision
and prayer, and not managers with meaningless
programmes and calculators. We lost our way
and need to find it again through accepting the
free gifts of faith and prayer.
What are the barriers that create division in our
parishes? Demographic division is a barrier;
young people, women, young married couples and
senior citizens make their own watertight
compartmentalised groupings. There are other
barriers: poor and rich, elite and non-elite,
learned and illiterate, clergy and laity, members of
the inner circle and outsiders, born-again saints
and perpetually condemned sinners. Some people
encourage these divisions; the power structure of
the parish is built around these walls of division.
Some people manufacture conflicts out of nothing
and find meaning for words never ever imagined
by the speaker of those words or an innocent look
or a gesture. These group structures become alive
and significant when we have new ministers and
bishops in our Dioceses. People in these clicks
destroy new opportunities and possibilities;
instead of healing wounds, these people create
more. Craze for power and recognition destroy
communion. It is high time we thought of
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removing these barriers and build a praying

community with contracts between generations
and gender. As Jesus Christ cleansed the Temple,
it is time for us to take down these barriers and
discourage the agents of these divisions. Jesus
Christ and the Holy Spirit have come to break
these barriers and build a united faith community
because both faith and prayer are Gods gift to
humanity.
When Jesus Christ died upon the cross he not
only removed the sin barrier between us and God
but also broke down the division between Jews
and Gentiles. His sacrifice renders all distinctions
valueless at the foot of the cross. We must beware
of religious superiority complexes. In-groups
exclude others. Jesus unites everyone in Him and
through Him. This levelled community has no ingroups; it is like a new Temple in which God
dwells, grounded and held together in Jesus
Christ without dividing walls. Living stones (1
Peter 2:5) have no room for superiority
complexes; their worth lies in their willingness to
be built up together. There is neither Jew nor
Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male
and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
(Galatians 3:28).
Sometimes our prayers are not directed to God,
but to an audience; we are more conscious that
people are listening to us, than God. Perhaps, we
chant and pray in flowery language in our public
prayer to impress an audience or a congregation.
We also have formulaic prayers with traditional
beginning and a middle bit with biblical verses,
praising someone or destroying reputations, and a
concluding sentence like in the name of Lord
Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Then there are
meaningless repetitions of adding the word God
in every sentence when we pray. The words of Sri
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa are of interest in this
context: Even if you shout the word opium a
thousand times, you cannot get intoxicated. Only
if you take at least a small quantity of opium, you
get intoxicated. Similarly it serves no purpose just
to recite the name of God a million time without
devoting ones mind totally to Him. It is not
number of words or the length of prayer that
matter; real prayer is from a most sincere and
contrite heart in absolute humility.
Jesus compared and commented on the prayer of
the Pharisee and the Publican, and the authentic
simple prayer of the publican was most acceptable

to our Lord. His words were simply: God, have

mercy on me, a sinner (Luke18: 13). The prayer is
a password to Gods presence. There is a story of a
similar prayer from a hardworking simple street
labourer, Mathen, from Kerala who used to get
drunk to anaesthetise his pain, but he had this
amazing simple prayer in three words when he
stretched out on his bed at night everyday:
Mathen, etha malakunnu, meaningI am just
lying down before thee. God loves this simplicity
and sincerity. It is not the length of time spent in
prayer or flowery words that determines whether
it is acceptable to God or not. It is the
transparency, simplicity and sincerity that God
appreciates. There are many types of prayers
practiced by people who lived in closed religious
communities such as Ignatian and Sulpician
methods and many more, but we need to find our
own way of entering into communion with God.
Praying for others is a burden that we should
carry at all times.
It is also possible to pray in silence, and it is in
silence we listen to what God has to say to us and
to understand His will for us. Those who have a
sanctuary of inner quietness to which they can
retire are blessed to hear Lords voice. We may
appreciate at times that our prayer life will need
more withdrawal and silence, Jesus did this quite
often away from his disciples.
Some people search for special times and places
for prayers, which is good, but there is a way of
finding Gods presence in work too. The ancient
Israelites did not distinguish between the sacred
and the secular; for them the sacred ran through
the whole of everyday life. The culture
surrounding many of us is one of self-sufficiency
and although we may assert that God is the only
one who can save, we might be tempted to assign
that salvation to spiritual realms and act as if we
can deliver ourselves in everyday life. But
awareness of Gods presence in our whole life and
in all aspects of work and leisure would help us to
seek perfection in what we do under the divine
gaze and grace. The prime example of this aspect
of prayer is the Carmelite monk, Brother
Lawrence, who was elevated to sainthood. He was
assigned to the monastery kitchen in Paris where,
amidst the tedious chores of cooking and cleaning
at the constant bidding of his superiors, he
developed his rule of spirituality and work. For
him every act of work, placing a piece of wood in
the fire and such for cooking, was giving glory to
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God, a prayer; he tried to achieve perfection in

what he did, because he was doing it for the love
of God. Brother Lawrence wrote: "Men invent
means and methods of coming at God's love, they
learn rules and set up devices to remind them of
that love, and it seems like a world of trouble to
bring oneself into the consciousness of God's
presence. Yet it might be so simple. Is it not
quicker and easier just to do our common
business wholly for the love of him?" This is an
amazing aspect of prayer to emulate.
Dr. Ninan, from Bolton (a member of the Mar
Thoma parish in Manchester) very carefully took
notes of the Bible classes conducted by Dr.
Leonard Sweet at the Maramon convention in
2016, and in which he wrote: We should become
the Lords prayer. There is a Jewish sayingan
hour of study is an hour of prayer. Our work
should become our prayer, work and prayer
should become partners St. Benedict said, Work
is prayer. We are grateful to Dr. Ninan for
allowing us to publish his Bible Study notes in this
issue. We are also very grateful to Jameson Achen
for his article on Liturgy and Scripture. We also
pray for the successful completion of his PhD
studies on Liturgy.
Finally, we need good instruction on how to pray
and how not to pray; prayer does not come
naturally or easily to most people. Therefore, we
need advice, assistance, and mentoring for an
effective prayer life. Juhanon Thirumenis little
book on, The Lords Prayer is helpful to begin
with. Thirumeni was a man of prayer and he
regularly prayed every morning for all the people
he knew by making a mental journey to the
household of these people and praying for them;
he visited these people in every corner of the
world; he continued this habit throughout his
ministry; it is an amazing and effective way of
praying for others. The best way to teach others to
pray is to pray with them; this is the Benedictine
way. Parents are usually very helpful in helping
children with prayer, and their faith formation.
We do not have to struggle and think about
perfecting extempore prayers; it should flow
effortlessly and continuously as thanksgiving
under the flow of grace. It is perfectly helpful to
use well known written prayers of saints, Psalms,
our ancestors, and fellow Christians; it helps us to
be in communion with them. It is with this
understanding that the editorial board is asking
others to send in their favourite prayers, which

made a difference to them. We shall publish them

for helping others. Let us pray for Gods help for a
life in prayer and thank God in all circumstances.
The following New Testaments texts may be of
help in our life of prayer:
Matthew 6: 5-14; 7: 7-11; 18: 19, 20; Mark 9: 29;
11:2 4, 25; Luke 11: 1-13; 18: 1-8; Romans 8: 26,
27; 12: 12; Ephesians 6: 18; Colossians 4: 2-4; 1
Thessalonians 5: 17; 1 Timothy 2: 1-4, 8; Hebrews
4: 16; James 1: 5-8; 4: 2, 3; 5: 13-18; 1 Peter 3: 7;
4:7; 1 John 3: 21, 22; 5: 14-17; Jude 20; Revelation
8: 3, 4.
It is good to end this editorial with a prayer that
St. Paul delivered for the Ephesian Church. For
this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom
his whole family in heaven and on earth derives
its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he
may strengthen you with power through his Spirit
in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in
your hearts through faith. And I pray that you,
being rooted and established in love, may have
power, together with all the saints, to grasp how
wide and long and high and deep is the love of
Christ, and to know this love that surpasses
knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure
of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is
able to do immeasurably more than all we
ask or imagine, according to his power that
is at work within us, to him be glory in the
church and in Christ Jesus throughout all
generations, for ever and ever! Amen
(Ephesians 3: 14-21).

The Editorial Board

Welcome Note
A Very Warm Welcome to Rt.
Revd Dr. Isaac Mar
Philoxenos
We thank God for sending us Philoxenos
Thirumeni as our Diocesan bishop from 1st April
2016. The Mar Thoma ECHO is delighted in
offering a warm welcome to Thirumeni. We
request everyone in the Mar Thoma Diocese of
North America and Europe to pray for
Thirumenis wellbeing and ministry.
The Rt. Revd Dr. Isaac Mar Philoxenos, our
Diocesan Bishop, was born at Attupurathu House,
Mavelikkara, Kerala, on 5th Dec 1951. He had
college education at Bishop Moore College,
Mavelikkara and Banaras Hindu University and
studied theology at Bishops College, Kolkota and
Princeton Theological Seminary. He obtained
Ph.D. from Banaras Hindu University on the topic
Doctrine of grace in Vaishnavism and
Christianity. While being a lecturer at Mar
Thoma theological Seminary, he was elected to be
the bishop of Mar Thoma Syrian Church and
consecrated in October 1993. Thirumeni served as
Diocesan Bishop at Bombay-Delhi Diocese (19932001), Kottayam-Kochi Diocese (2001-2008) and
Chennai-Bangalore Diocese (2009 - 2016).
Thirumeni carried a large number of
responsibilities over the years which include:
President, Senate of Serampore
University,
Central Committee member, World
Council of Churches,
President, Christian Agency for Rural
Development,
Chairperson, Ecumenical Christian
Centre, Bangalore,
Chairperson, Holistic Child Development
India,
Member, Governing Board, Churches
Council for Child and Youth Care,
Bangalore.
Thirumeni started many mission projects which
include:

Started Navjeevan Centre in Mumbai, for

the rehabilitation of Children from streets
and red light areas of Mumbai.
Initiated educational programmes for
children in the villages, especially of North
India through Gramjyoti Schools.
Planned and implemented Child focused
community
Development Programmes in backward
villages.
Monitored relief operations at the
Earthquake areas of Lathur in
Maharastra, Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh,
and Bhuj in Gujarat.

Prayer in the News

Week of prayer for evangelism
touched a chord says Archbishop

has

Archbishop Justin Welby spoke to Premier Radio

about prayer, evangelism and thy kingdom Come.
The call for Christians across England to prayer
for our nation to know Jesus Christ has "touched
a chord", the Archbishop of Canterbury has told
Premier Radio.
With tens of thousands of Christians taking part
across throughout England and beyond this week,
Archbishop Justin Welby said people are
motivated and excited about praying together
for those they love to know Jesus. The week of
prayer ahead of Pentecost was called for by
Archbishop Justin Welby and the Archbishop of
York, Dr John Sentamu, in November last year.
Revd James Mercer of All Saints, Harrow Weald
(This is parish where the Sinai MTC now
worships) distributed pieces of strings to the
congregation at
Wednesday morning Holy
Communion service and asked people to put five
knots on it and use it for remembering and
praying for five people regularly to bring them to
Christ. These prayer knots are a lovely way of
regularly remembering others. May God help you
to find a suitable place and a method for regularly
praying for others and the nation.

A Collection of Prayers

guidance, in all our dangers, thy protection, in all

our sorrows, thy peace; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
St. Francis of Assisi
Lord, make an instrument of peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair. hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
for the mercy and for thy truths sake.

[Prayer is natural human response to God for

everything for which we are grateful, the
experience of everyday miracles, the needs of
ourselves and others, and the mess we make of
our lives. These prayers take different forms such
as praise, wonder, confession, thanksgiving, and
intercession. Prayer can also be resting in quiet
intimacy with God. Words are useful but not
necessary. They can be formal from a prayer
book or as personal and relaxed as talking with a
friend. At the heart of prayer is simply a desire to
be at one with God. We should not try to
persuade or manipulate God to do anything for
our selfish interest. We are trying to put our will
alongside Gods, and to make our love available
for God to use. In that way, praying for someone
is our best way of knowing and loving him/her.
There are no right or wrong ways to pray, only
our own unique sincere and humble way of
communicating with God. Prayer is often said to
be difficult but there are no real experts in
prayer, only sincere beginners, we are children
before a merciful and loving Father. We hope the
following collection of prayers will be of some
help in building an intimate relationship with
our Lord and our God.]
A. Devotional Prayers:
St. Benedict
O gracious and Holy Father, give us wisdom to
perceive thee, diligence to seek thee, patience to
wait for thee, eyes to behold thee, a heart to
meditate upon thee; through the power of the
Spirit of Lord Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
St. Augustine of Hippo
O thou, from whom to be turned is to fall, to
whom to be turned is to rise, and in whom to
stand is to abide for ever; grant us, in all our
duties, thy help, in all our perplexities, thy

St. Ignatius Loyola

Teach us, good Lord, to serve as thou deservest:
to give and not count the cost;
to fight and not to heed the wounds;
to toil and not to seek for rest;
to labour and not to ask for any reward
save that of knowing that we do thy will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Cardinal Newman
O Lord, support us all the day long of this
troubled life, until the shades lengthen, and the
evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, the
fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then
Lord, in thy mercy, grant us safe lodging, a holy
rest, and peace at the last; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
B. Collection of prayers from Family
Prayers by Frank Colquhoun, SPCK, 1084.

For Forgiveness
Dear Lord, if my soul has turned perversely to the
dark;
if I have left some brother wounded by the way;
if I have preferred my aims to thine;
if I have been inpatient and would not wait;
if I have marred the pattern drawn out for my life;
if I have cost tears to those I love;
if my heart has murmured against thy will:
O Lord, in thy mercy forgive.

For penitence
Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought,
word and deed. We have not loved you with our
whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as
ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have
been, help us to amend what we are, and direct
what we shall be: that we may do justly, love
mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God.
Amen.
For Renewal
Almighty God, who in Christ makest all things
new; transform the poverty of our nature into the
riches of thy grace; that by the renewal of our lives
thy glory may be revealed; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.

For Faith

freedom of your service that, when evening

comes, we may again give you thanks; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Orthodox Church
Evening Prayer:
Abide with us Lord, for it is toward evening and
the day is far spent; abide with us and with your
whole Church. Abide with us in the evening of the
day, in the evening of life, in the evening of the
world. Abide with us and with all your faithful
ones, O Lord, in time and eternity. Amen.
Lutheran
Manuel Prayer
A Prayer before sleeping:
Into thy hands, O Lord, we commend our souls
and bodies, beseeching thee to keep us this night
under thy protection, and strengthen us for thy
service on the morrow, for Christ sake. Amen.
William Laud

O Lord, strengthen the faith of us who believe,

and sow the seed of faith in the heart of those who
lack it. Give us grace to show our faith by our
works; reach us to fight the good fight of faith,
that by faith we may overcome the world; thorugh
our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Grace

O God our father, let us find grace in thy sight so

as to have grace to serve thee acceptably with
reverence and godly fear; and further grace not to
receive thy grace in vain, nor to neglect it and fall
from it, but to stir it up and grow in it, and to
persevere in it unto the end of our lives; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Morning Prayers:
We give you heartfelt thanks, heavenly Father,
for the rest of the past night, and for the gift of the
new day with its opportunities of living to your
glory, May we so pass its hours in the perfect
9

Liturgy and Scripture in the

Mar Thoma Church: An
Observation
Revd K. Jameson, Co. Kildare, Ireland*
Even though, the geographical and
cultural landscape of the MTC widens consistently
through the migration and evangelisation process,
the Eucharistic liturgy is the centre of its liturgical
life and mission. The Church communicates its
theology and proclaims its faith through the
liturgy, especially by liturgical prayers, preaching,
teaching, singing, using signs and symbols. The
liturgical celebration binds the Mar Thoma
community together irrespective of its ethnic
plurality and cultural differences and it motivates
the Church to discover new avenues for mission.
An awareness of the uniqueness of the liturgy
encourages the faithful to participate in it actively.
An integration of liturgy and Scripture in the life
and mission of the Church mark it as a bridging
Church in between the Orthodox and Protestant
traditions. This article is an observation of the
importance of Scripture in the Mar Thoma
Church in the background of its liturgy.
Scripture in the Liturgical Settings
The proclamation of the Word of God and the
administration of the sacraments are the
foundations of the Christian Church. The Bible
and liturgy are intrinsically related to each other
and both are mutually complementary. A liturgy
is a Patristic synthesis on the basis of the sacred
scriptures and tradition
For a thorough
understanding of the liturgy, it is essential to
know the biblical world, sacred history, historical
context, content of the books, the metaphors and
symbols of the biblical world and the biblical
ethics. In the liturgy, the symbolic importance of
Scripture is very evident. For instance, when the
celebrant reads the Gospel in the liturgical
celebration, it is believed that the person of Jesus
himself speaks through the celebrant. It is the
revelation of Jesus as Christ that makes Scripture
the inspiring and empowering source of Christian
life. The Bible inspires the content of the texts of
the liturgy and the meaning of its symbolic
actions.
Scripture has influenced the formation of
the liturgy. It is noted that the Jewish liturgy is
the womb from which the Christian liturgy is
born. The original setting of Scripture was in the

liturgy, the ritual worship of the community. It is

on the basis of the Old Testament that Christian
liturgy is derived initially. The place in which
Israel most directly experienced and received its
identity was in the liturgical setting. Later, by
following the tradition of worships at synagogues,
the Christian Church began to read out Scripture
portions in the midst of the liturgical gatherings.
Most of the early Christian believers were from
the Jewish background. They went to the Jewish
temple or to the Synagogue in order to pray and
hear the word of God spoken through the law and
the prophets. (Acts. 3:1-2). They gathered in the
house to break the bread (Acts. 2:46-47).
Gradually they gathered together in the Christian
Church for the ministry of the Word and the
administration of the sacraments. In the early
Christian communities, faith was transmitted
through liturgy. By a thorough examination, one
can understand that Scripture itself is a liturgy or
creedal statements of the people of God.

The reading of Scripture takes up a

significant part of the worship. It is surrounded
with a certain reverence and ceremony. It shapes
the language of prayer. The reading and
interpretation of Scripture form a part of the
ongoing conversation between the worshipping
community and God. The Church considers the
Bible as a sacramental word. The Bible is the word
of God in a sacramental sense, uniting the faithful
to Christ, the one true Word of God. It brings
Christ to believers. As a sacramental word, it
draws the faithful into Christs presence and
invites them to be transformed into his image. It
opens the possibility of relationship between the
divine and the human. 1 The New Testament is
born in the Church and for the Church and
tradition bears from the very beginning the seal of
the Church. It is in the Church that Scripture and
1

Leanne Van Dyk, Proclamation: Revelation, Christology,

in A More Profound Alleluia, 65-66

10

tradition appear and are contained. Thus

Scripture, tradition and the Church are linked
through an inner relationship, a harmonious coexistence, a mutual supplementation and
agreement.
Malankara Reformation: A Re-reading of
Scripture
The reformation in the Malankara Church
had decisively helped the Church to reconstitute
its identity more symbolically and seriously based
on revisiting the biblical teachings.
The
reformation in the Malankara Church had several
elements of the protestant reformation that
happened in the 16th century in Europe by Martin
Luther. The Protestant reformation initiated a
renewed interest in the understanding and
hermeneutical aspect of Scripture. The slogan
Scripture alone had a great impact on the
doctrinal position of the reforming process. This
changed approach and new initiative in the study
of the word of God and its consequent practices
were more epistemological and ontological,
raising more why and what questions in the
micro and macro social structures and practices.
Moreover, the members of the Mar Thoma
Church being formed and re-formed within this
changed space have had a deeper conviction of
their calling and vocation which also helped the
growth of the Church along with their own growth
in the diaspora.2 Because of reformation, a new
trend emerged in the theological thinking of the
reformed wing about their doctrines, spiritual
practices and mission. A recovery of the Lutheran
maxim of the priesthood of all believers and the
reclamation of the Christian vocation as the task
of the whole Church, signalled a realignment of
the nature of ministry and mission. The ministry
was no longer solely equated with the activities of
the clergy, but rather became something exercised
by the whole people of God, in the Church and the
world. Instead of clerical paradigm (something
oriented towards ordained ministry), theological
literacy among the whole people of God is
emphasized.
Integration of Scripture and the Liturgy in
the Mar Thoma Church
The liturgy of the Mar Thoma Church is a
combination of Scripture and tradition. The
liturgy of the word and the liturgy of the Eucharist
are inseparably united. The Bible illuminates the
2

Geevarghese, Beyond the Diaspora, 58, 62.

mystery of the Eucharist, just as the Eucharist is

what actualizes and fulfils the saving truth of
Scripture. The translation of the Bible into
Malayalam and its availability to the common
people made a revival in the Malankara Church.
Openness of the CMS missionaries in interpreting
the Bible and its exposition led to a renewed
understanding of the Church and its mission. The
pioneers of reformation reviewed the faith and
practice of the Malankara Church in the light of a
renewed understanding of Scripture.
The Church maintains an intrinsic
relationship and unity between the liturgy and
Scripture in its spiritual life. It is the word of God
that gives authority for any sacrament; therefore,
in the Church, readings from Scripture are done
with great devotion and solemnity. The Psalms,
Pauline Epistles, and gospel are read and the
congregation is asked to listen to the
proclamation of the living word of God with
reverence. The Church keeps a balance between
Scripture and tradition in its very life and
ministry. The liturgical tradition of the Church as
per the scriptural interpretation is a unique
character of the Church. The Church gratefully
remembers the contributions of the Syrian
Church Fathers and values their liturgical
contributions to the spiritual growth of the
community. The Church always gives importance
to the teachings of the Church Fathers like
Aphrem, Mar Bala and uses their prayers and
petitions in its liturgical worship. The early
Eastern Fathers who composed the prayers of the
liturgy were soaked in Scripture. And the
congregation, both literate and illiterate, listened
to these meditations year after year throughout
the liturgical cycle and in repeated prayers. The
words of the Bible became engrafted in the
consciousness of the ordinary believer more than
any formal teaching. Here chants and liturgical
hymns play a major role. Through the liturgical
songs believers memorize scriptural truth and
handed it over to the subsequent generations.
There is a liturgical conditioning that happens in
worship. This liturgical conditioning of the mind
helps the Bible achieve a more profound
effectiveness so as to touch deeper levels of
consciousness in the believers.
The Bible is the base of the liturgy of the
Church and the liturgy is redolent with biblical
passages. Hence one can say that the liturgy
reiterates Scripture. Without Scripture, liturgy is
nothing or in a vacuum. The Bible is an
11

indispensable source of the language of the

liturgy, of its signs, and of its prayers, especially in
the psalms. The liturgy is of crucial importance
because it touches upon the source and
sustenance of Christian belief. The liturgy is,
however, the mirror of the faith that the
individual holds in the community. It transcends
the limits of space and time not in an ahistorical
and disembodied sense, but in the faith of this
person, and this community remains in
communion with the Church as a whole.
Prayerful preparation and an active participation
are essential for the effectiveness of liturgical
celebration. One could understand the spiritual
richness in worship only by full and repeated
participation along with a community nurtured in
the same liturgical tradition. No true liturgy can
be performed with words alone, for words are
only one of the elements in liturgical worship.
The gestures of the priest and the laity, Kiss of
Peace, bowing of the heads, signing of the cross,
and reverence paid to the Eucharistic elements
etc., are part of the rich liturgical act of the
worship in the Mar Thoma community which is
rooted in the biblical teachings.
Conclusion
The Mar Thoma liturgy is Scripture
oriented. An emphasis on scripture is clearly
evident in the Mar Thoma liturgy. The main
thrust of reformation in the Church was an
amendment or correction of the liturgy on the
basis of Scripture. The Mar Thoma liturgy is built
on the foundation of Scripture. Biblical imagery,
Biblical echoes, allusions and parallelisms,
paraphrase of Biblical passages, woven into the
text abound in the prayers of the liturgy and thus
the original flavour of revelation as expressed in
the Bible is preserved intact.3 The Bible, which is
the basis for the formation of the liturgy,
subsequently also becomes the parameter for the
renewal of the liturgy in the Church. The Bible
and the liturgy equip and motivate the faithful to
participate in the mission of the Church.

Damien Casey. Liturgy Matters: Liturgy and

Scripture as the Mirrors of Catholicity,
Australian e Journal of Theology 4, February
2005.
George Mathew Kuttiyil. Liturgy for our Times.
Kerala: Christava Sahitya Samithi, 2006.
Stephen Conway, Living the Eucharist: Affirming
Catholism and the Liturgy. London: Darton,
Longman and Todd, 2001.
Leanne Van Dyk. ed. A More Profound Alleluia:
Theology and Worship in Harmony. Grand
Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2005.
P.J. Alexander. ed. Tradition and Modernity.
Thiruvalla: Mar Thoma Syrian Church, 2000.
Geevarghese Panicker and John Vellian. A
Historical Introduction to the Syriac Liturgy
Kottayam: SEERI, 2010.

*Revd Jameson is currently completing

his PhD studies at St. Patricks college,
Ireland in the field of Liturgical
Theology. Achen has been in Ireland
since 2010; he completed his MTh studies
in 2012.

Bibliography
Paul F. Bradshaw and Maxwell E. Johnson. The
Eucharistic Liturgies: Their Evolution and
Interpretation. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2012.

Geevarghese Panicker and John Vellian, A Historical

Introduction to the Syriac Liturgy (Kottayam: SEERI, 2010),
33.

12

Lex orandi, lex credenti

(Prayer Leads to Belief.)
Dr. Zac Varghese, Sinai MTC, London
Prayer is fundamental
to
all
religions.
Religion
articulates
itself through a set of
commandments, laws
or doctrines; these will
become beliefs, but it is
prayer that leads to
these beliefs. Followers
of religions try to express their beliefs based on
their sacred scriptures, sacraments and the
traditions of their communities. Stanley Jones in
his book, The way quotes Deissman to say, All
the religions of the world begin with mans
initiativeman searching for God. In Christianity
God takes the initiative. In Christianity, we
believe in Gods redeeming unconditional love
and His amazing grace. Mans initiative in this
respect is thanking God through prayer for the
redemptive action on the Cross. As we will see
later, this mans initiative itself is a gift from God.
Primal religions in the early years of the life on
the earth were based on, spontaneous responses
of our ancestors to their environment, which were
linked with their security and survival. They
believed in the protection provided by an unseen
power or powers, which they assumed to be god
or gods. They developed the ideas of good
beneficial gods and of evil demonic gods. They
thanked good gods through prayers and offerings
of all kinds including human sacrifice. Therefore,
whatever was helpful to humans was that good
gods desired and provided; whatever was harmful
was divinely forbidden. This is how God
consciousness began and prayer became an
integral part of this development and human
nature. This continues to be a way of making use
of God for personal benefits and self-centred
interests without a concern for the common good
of the community. Someone once said, as long as
there are math examinations, there will be prayer
in schools. This very true in all aspects of our
lives, we turn to God in prayer only when we have
a personal need. Our love for God mostly is a
need-love because we need Him for overcoming
difficulties in life.

It is worth listening to the French Benedictine

monk, who became an Indian Sannyasi, on how to
pray: No one can truly be a Christian, if he makes
use of God or things of Godfor example, the
Churchfor any kind of selfish object either in this
world or the next. A Christian is the one who loves
God for His own sake and for his fellow Christians
for their own sakeor else, for Gods sake which is
the same thingand never make use of them for
his own personal interests. Even when he prays
for himself, his prayer is always, like that of Jesus,
for the glory of the Lordthat glory of which he
himself, in all that he is and in all that he does, is
only a manifestation in time, yet within the
fullness of risen Christ.
Anyone whose self-centred prayer sought to
appropriate the gift of God for his own benefit
cannot be a Christian; for a Christian is one who
would in this world manifests the only son of God
in a human body and spirit. Petition in the name
of Jesus which is so warmly recommended to the
disciples and which should be like the continual
breathing of faithful hearts, reaches infinitely
further than the petty individuality of the one who
prays
or of the one who is prayed
forNo one can pray except
in the spirit, in the mystery of divine koinonia.1
No person becomes irreligious by raising a
question, even about what may be considered as
the key principle of religion. Therefore, it is time
that we ask questions about our prayer life and
the theology of prayer. Prayer is not to get God to
do what we want Him to do for our individualistic
interest and convenience, but is getting our
interests and needs in line with Gods purpose.
Jesus taught us, Thy will be done on earth as it is
in heaven. If we carefully listen to most of our
extempore prayers, we are often preaching to God
and reminding him of His promises as if He has a
memory loss. We often think that we know how to
pray, but there is so much to learn about prayer.
It is important to learn about prayer because
prayer is life itself. It is said that when we learn to
pray, we learn to live according to Gods purpose
for us. Prayer is for bringing the whole of life,
every aspect of life, into the presence of God for
transformation. Prayer is the only way open to us
for establishing and sustaining a relationship with
God which is intimate, personal, and real. St. Paul
asked us to pray continuously and thank God
under all circumstances.

13

Unfortunately, prayer in public or during

corporate worship does not come naturally or
easily to most of us and as a result when a priest
invites us to pray after his sermon, it is usually left
to just few regular people and who often have an
habit of repeating the sermon and highlighting
the points as if God was somehow not listening.
Therefore, we need advice and assistance if we are
going to pray effectively in public and in private.
Even the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how
to pray. Jesus most importantly taught them how
not to pray as well (Matt 6: 5-13). I have often
thought that the theology of the prayer is not
sufficiently emphasised in our Church. The early
Church was first and foremost a praying
community. Prayer was the spiritual energy
behind the entire apostolic mission. There is
nothing wrong in using the prayers of saints and
other well-meaning prayers used by our ancestors
and others because we do believe in the
communion of saints.
St. Augustine did leave a wealth of insights on
prayer through his treaties and letters. Augustine
held the view that without faith, one could not
pray. For Augustine, The very source of all good
things, is given to him in prayer, it is faith that
prays, a faith given to him without asking, which
indeed unless it had been given, he could not
pray. Augustine argues that faith and prayer are
gifts of God. He has good authority in presenting
this theology of prayer because St. Paul wrote to
Romans, In the same way, the Spirit helps us in
our weakness. We do not know what we ought to
pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us
with groans that words cannot express (Romans
8: 26).
Sometimes there is a spiritual arrogance in
thinking that God knows our needs even before
we ask and hence there is no need to pray. There
is no enemy to prayer like pride; spiritual pride is
the death of prayer. Prayer is an expression of
humility and our utter dependence on God. We
will be what we will be through the grace of God;
grace is not a repayment, nor is it given according
to ones merit through good work. Prayer points
to the human need for divine grace. Grace is what
St. Paul preached throughout his ministry: For it
is by grace you have been saved, through faithand this not from yourselves, it is the gift of Godnot by works, so that no one can boast. For we are
God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do

good works, which God prepared in advance for

us to do (Ephesians 2: 8-10).

Prayer is also a time for listening to God; it is in

our inner silence we listen to God. If we want to
understand silence in action we must look at the
Lord of the Gospels. In Jesus we see a perfect
balance between inner silence and outer activity;
in Jesus we see silence in activity and activity in
silence. It is to this balance and this permeation
of one with the other that we aspire and to the
gaining to which our lives should be directed. This
alternation between activity and the silence is set
in motion in all physical and metaphysical
dimensions such as day and night, wave motions
of peak and trough, high tide and low tide, sleep
and wake cycles, seasonal changes and setting up
of circadian rhythm. Thus, silence is at the centre
of our existence. In this amazing world of silence,
movement is not directly from one person to
another outwardly, but from the silence in one
person to the silence in the other. It is in silence
we feel the grace and power of the indwelling
Christ. It was this awareness which prompted the
Psalmist to say, Be still, and know that I am
God. Silence should always be regarded as one
of the blessings of a Christian lifestyle, for it
prepares the way for the union of the soul with the
will of God.
The tabernacle worship described at length in
great detail in the Old Testament (Exodus and
Leviticus) was very restricting, prescriptive and
legalistic. God was not pleased with vicarious
sacrifices which had become no more than trite,
hypocritical ritual, as was spelt out in Amos (5:
21-23). Today, thanks to the ultimate sacrifice of
Jesus, we are able to worship God and enter His
presence whenever we want to through our
prayers; the curtain in the Temple is torn from
top to bottom. Prayer has the power to make
justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a
never-failing stream (Amos 5: 24). In the April
14

this year, Laurence Freeman wrote the following

in the Meditatio Newsletter about silent
conversation with God: For the contemplative
Christian prayer is not, essentially, speaking to
God. It is about entering into a silent conversation
with God through the mind of Christ. It is not
about opposing our will to Gods or negotiating a
settlement over our differences of opinion about
what is good for us. It is about an active, wholehearted surrender to the will of God who knows
our needs with an intimate and unique love
because he is part of our humanity, sharing will
all wounded-ness and complexity.
In summary, praying without believing and
believing without praying are meaningless. Faith
leads to prayer and prayer leads to faith, and faith
is grace. Prayer is the place and time where we
experience the overlap between heaven and earth;
it is indeed the place where past, present and
future are mysteriously held together under the
mediation of the Holy Spirit.

Reference:
1. Abhishiktananda, In Spirit and Truth, ISPCK,
1989.

An Overview of Bible Study

Classes of Maramon
Convention, 2016.
Dr. Ninan D. Kurunthotikal, Tabore MTC,
Manchester*

[For the last 121 years our people have been

listening to many world famous theologians,
missionaries, our bishops, and evangelists at
Maramon Convention. As a result, our people are
familiar with biblical stories. Every year some
familiar and new interpretations are offered to
these familiar stories and parables in the Bible.
But we often forget these expositions as we leave
the convention venue as the waters of the Pampa
river flows away to the sea. Attending the
convention has become a ritual as well.
Therefore, it is refreshing to see the efforts of Dr.
Ninan; he has given us a brief sketch of the Bible
study of the 121st Maramon Convention for us to
reflect; we are grateful to him for making this
available to us for publication. The following
synopses of six Bible studies give us a taste of the
big overarching story of Gods relationship with
humanity and the created world. These stress
the importance of prayer and studying the Bible
in depth for walking with God. It begins with the
creation story and ends up with Pauls letters.
This should help us to internalise these stories
and make it our own and in our own contexts.]
Revd Dr. Leonard Sweet, an eminent theologian
and evangelist, was the main speaker at the 121st
Maramon Convention, organised by the
Evangelistic Association of the Mar Thoma
Church. He has been associated with The Stanley
Jones Foundation for quite some time. Dr.
Stanley Jones, as we all know, was a very close
friend of our Church and was arguably one of the
greatest evangelists and missionaries of all times.
His great legacy lives through the work of the
Foundation named after him. It is gratifying to
note that Dr. Stanley Jones granddaughter, Dr.
Anne Mathew- Younes, was also present at the
Convention this year.
15

At this years Maramon Convention, Dr. Sweet

took the Bible classes from Monday the 15th
February to Saturday 20th February from 7.30 am
to 8.30 am. This author had the unique
opportunity to attend these classes. Dr. Sweets
words were splendidly translated by Revd VM
Mathew, a rising star in the ranks of the Mar
Thoma clergy.
15-2-16: Revd Dr. Sweet opened his account by
saying that for too long, we have treated the Bible
as a bird in the pan, but the Bible is a live bird, he
exhorted. It is the greatest story ever told. He said
that we have always tried to memorise verses
rather than trying to grasp the meaning. He
compared the bird in the pan to the bird in the
bush and went on to say that from Genesis to
Revelation, the Bible is a living word of God, the
most inspired, authoritative word of God.
The story of Jesus starts in Genesis. Revd Sweet
directed us to Genesis Chapter 2 verse 4. He
asked: What is the first metaphor shown by God?
We have to get the metaphors right. Words come
last, metaphors first. He went on to describe the
metaphors:
1. The metaphor of dirt, dust and earth.
2. Water, we are clumps of clay, God raised Adam
from the ground.
3. Breath of God (wind).
We come from clay and we return to dust. Each
one of us is an original creation. How do we keep
the clay moist? Dr. Sweet mentioned hard-soul
Christians. We do not go the kiln until our death.
What is the moisture that we are talking about?
The biggest moisture is prayer and Bible study.
Fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit is the ultimate
moisture of all.
Dr. Sweet concluded the first mornings Bible
class by saying that we should read the Bible as
one story. The first and the last words of the Bible
are important. The book of Genesis tells us to eat
freely. In revelation, God says: Drink freely the
water of life.
16-2-16: Revd Sweet continued his deliverance
on the theme of the story of the Bible in six words:
Come down Justification
Come out Sanctification
Go up Glorification
God came down all the way to meet us. Revd
Sweet said that the Gospel in short the story of

dirt and water. He recalled how Jesus touched the

lepers. Pointing to Genesis Chapter 2, verse 8, he
reiterated the story of the Bible beginning in a
garden. God puts us in a garden. God likes trees.
We have a symbiotic relationship with trees. The
Bible describes two treesthe tree of life and the
tree of knowledge. Dr. Sweet said that God wants
us to participate in His creativity (Genesis 2: 1517). God wants us conserve His creativity and to
continue His work. He added that we are only
subcontractors to the Almighty. God saideat
freely of the tress except one. The first words of
God are yes, yes. Genesis is Gods yes. Dr.
Stanley Jones once said that Jesus is Gods big
yes. God believed that Adam needs to be in a
relationship (Gen 2: 20). Man gave names to
animals and birds.
Revd Sweet concluded the Tuesday study session
by referring to crucifixion. Jesus died due to a
broken heart, exuding blood and water. At That
moment the Church was conceived.
17-2-16: Revd Sweet started Wednesday session
by referring to the following back to basic points:
1. Return to the Scripture
2. Reading the Bible in the local vernacular
3. Rediscovering Jesus
For returning to the Bible, William Tyndale was
strangled to death and burned for translating the
Bible into English the Bible proved beyond any
shadow of doubt that Jesus was the greatest
communicator ever lived.
Revd sweet touched on the stories around
metaphors. (A metaphor is a comparison made
between two or more things using figurative or
descriptive languageGod is my shepherd, I am
the light of the world etc. Metaphors serve to
make difficult to understand ideas or concepts
more tangible.) He mentioned the Greek word
Alethea which means Truth. Christianity is about
Truth. He also stated that Truth is a person. Dr.
Sweet referred to Alethea again as coming out of
hiding. God has put us in the garden, expecting us
to tender and till it. He wants us to walk the
garden at dawn and desk with Him. The speaker
reminded us that we are hiding from God, from
ourselves and from each other. We have a broken
relationship with God, and with Nature. This is
the original sin. To come out of hiding is
evangelism. We are hiding and God is seeking us.
God steps in with His son, Emmanuel.
16

Revd Sweet brought the class to a close by

mentioning two Hebrew words: Yahve standing
for Jehovah and Hineni meaning Here I am.
18-2-16: Revd Sweet stated that true originality
is a return to the origins. He described Jesus as
the last Adam (1 Cor 15: 45).
Revd Sweet then asked, what is the symbol of our
faith? The answer is The Cross. Jesus became
one of us; he was both the lion and the lamb a
state of paradox. Dr. Sweet then touched on the
story of the Passover. He asked, Are our houses,
place of prayers? Do you love your lamb? Agape
Jesus asked Peter, Do you love the lamb? Palm
Sunday denotes the fullness of the lamb; the
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the
world. Jesus was crucified at 9 am and he died at
3 pm. Passover was over when the paschal lamb is
slain. It is finished and Jesus became blood and
bread.
19-2-16: Revd Sweet started Friday morning
study with reference to St. Paul. He went on to
describe semiotics; the word semiotic has come
from the Greek equivalent of semeion, which
means sign.
Jesus wants us to read the signs of the times.
Revd Sweet even referred to Semiotic tribe. The
speaker mentioned Philippians Chapter 4 as
prison literature. Rejoice in the Lord always. The
Lord is near. The peace of God that passes all
understanding will guard our hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus. He put particular emphasis on
Verse 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but
in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. This
is to achieve peace (shalom). Revd Sweet analysed
this verse in some detail and mentioned six
cardinal points: Anxious, nothing, be prayerful,
everything, be thankful and anything.
We should become a Lords Prayer. There is a
Jewish saying An hour of study is an hour of
prayer. To sing is to pray twice, goes another
Jewish saying. Revd Sweet also talked about
confidence and humility what he described as
humble confidence, the essence of the right Spirit.
At the end of this session, one brother from the
audience stood up and narrated his testimony. He
said that he was a very pushy, and over confident,
high flying executive in an IT company. He was

brought down to earth by the sudden loss of

vision in both eyes. He said in a calm voice how he
had come to terms with his condition and how
strongly he upholds his faith. Let us praise the
Lord for His faith.
20-2-16: Revd Sweet reminded us that the story
of Jesus begins in the book of Genesis. Then he
returned to St. Paul and 2nd Corinthians, Chapter
11. Verses 19 and 22 are dripping with sarcasm.
The sufferings that Paul endured are graphically
detailed in verses 23 to 26. Wherever Paul went,
there was either revival or riot. Paul was tortured
and his body was full of scars and broken bones.
Every scar had a story to tell. Jews had stoning as
their capital punishment. Acts 14 verse 19
narrates Pauls stoning. His body was dragged
along and left for dead. But God brought Paul to
life.
Revd Sweet concluded the session and this years
Bible study with a question Was Paul the 13th
disciple of Christ? Revd Dr. Sweet thought that
he was and it was his personal opinion
.
Reflections: Maramon Convention is generally
characterised by the big gatherings on the public
meeting held in mornings, afternoons and
evenings, addressed by our beloved Thirumenis
and International speakers of repute. But on the
fringes of the pavilion, many blessed and glorious
events take place.
The Bible study classes lasting around one hour
from 7.30 am to 8.30 am, Monday to Saturday
open our eyes to the story of the Bible, a story that
has still not been completely explored or told.
Human beings, as we are, can only make an effort
to understand the truth the truth that passes all
understandings.
The president of the Evangelistic Association, Rt.
Revd Thomas Mar Timotheos presided over all
sessions of the Bible study. Other bishops, Rt.
Revd Dr. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius, Rt. Revd
Joseph Mar Barnabas, and Rt. Revd Dr. Isaac Mar
Philoxenos attended some sessions and blessed
the attendees and praise the Lord.
* Dr. Ninan is a member of the Tabore Mar
Thoma Church, Manchester, and is a retired
GP. He was one of the conveners of the 2014
Family Conference.
17

News
Creative partnership with
the Sinai Mar Thoma Church
of North London
The Bishop of Willesden, Pete Broadbent, has
signed an agreement with the Right Revd Dr
Geevarghese Mar Theodosius, Bishop of the
Diocese of North America and Europe in the Mar
Thoma Church, to work in a creative partnership
with the Sinai Mar Thoma church of North
London.
The Mar Thoma Church is a Syrian Christian
church headquartered the state of Kerala, India,
with followers across the globe. Traditionally
believed to have been founded by Saint Thomas
(Mar Thoma), in the year AD52, the church is one
of the oldest denominations of Christianity.
The clergy of All Saints Harrow Weald, James
Mercer and Peter Ward and the Revd Dr Thomas
Philips of the Mar Thoma Church attended the
signing. As part of the partnership, the churches
have already held joint acts of worship and
continue to explore opportunities for shared
outreach and collaboration in mission action
planning.
Bishop Pete said We are already in full
communion with the Mar Thoma Church, but its
great to cement that relationship with them and
for one of our parishes to commit themselves to
work hard on even closer relationships. Thanks
to the people of All Saints Harrow Weald for
taking this seriously.

The Revd James Mercer, Vicar of All Saints,

Harrow Weald, commented It is a real blessing
for us at All Saints to be able to work and pray
with such a creative and committed fellowship.
Our shared acts of worship have been very
exciting and colourful and the post-service
curries are to die for!

exploring what it will mean for us to be a

recognised parish within the Diocese of London
and sharing in the adventure of mission.

All Saints work is a key example of the Diocese of

Londons Capital Vision 2020 of serving local
communities in a way that is confident,
compassionate and creative. The innovative
community work of the church was praised by the
thinktank Res Publication in its report Holistic
Mission: Social action and the Church of England
in 2013.
The church is currently undertaking a major
reordering of its iconic Butterfield church
building (the All Saints Serving Harrow or ASSH
project). Fundraising has begun to enable the
church to install a biofuel boiler and underfloor
heating and to replace the 1950s vestry block,
which has reached the end of its usable life, with
additional community accessible space and an
outdoor classroom to serve the on-site Forest
School. The project also seeks to enhance the
churchs built heritage and includes measures to
lessen the carbon footprint of the church campus,
in line with the diocesan Shrinking the Footprint
environmental campaign.
This article and picture was published in the
newsletter of All Saints church and also in the
CTE newsletter for May, 2016.

The Revd Dr Thomas Philip, Vicar of Sinai Mar

Thoma church, commented We welcome the
opportunity that our new partnership with All
Saints offers to build friendship and trust across
ethnic communities. We look forward to
18

34th Mar Thoma Family

conference-Europe
26th-28th August 2016
Hayes Conference Centre, Derbyshire,
DE55 1AU
Preserving the Timeless While Adapting
to the Times.

Lord, may your wonderful message of

salvation be fresh for us today and for
everyone in every age. Amen.
The Sinai, MT Church, North London together
with All Saints MT Church Peterborough have
accepted the responsibility to host the 34th family
Mar Thoma family conference.
Early registration will help to organise this
conference to bring out the maximum possible
effect and enjoyment. Please help with your
prayers and advice. Please direct your registration
queries to Mr. Dileep Cherian

loving God and our neighbour. How do we deal

with it today?
The Christian faith is timeless, God-given and
grace-driven, but its intellectual expressions must
change with the passage of time because our
thoughts forms change. The presuppositions and
suppositions of one age are different from those of
another. The practical aspect of Christian life is
not the same as that which was proposed and
practiced at the Pentecost, a thousand years ago,
even before the Second World War or at the
beginning of the 21st century. Care must be taken
to acculturate the essential Christian faith into the
language and thought forms of our present age
and younger generations without in anyway losing
its core beliefs and fundamental faith these
contain. In this effort, equally great care must be
taken not to dilute the Christian faith with the
passing fashions of a particular age, so that the
cutting edge the Christian faith is not lost. Is
something true because it is ancient and
traditional? Without doubt, great truths were
enunciated in the Bible, other Holy Scriptures,
and in ancient times in many places through
many holy people and traditions. But of course
great truths can also be revealed under the grace
of God now and in the future.
May the Holy Spirit help us to Preserve the
Timeless While Adapting to the Times.

mfc2016_ registration@sinaimarthoma.org
Web site: http://www.sinaimarthomachurch.org
A reflection on the Theme:
Under the theme of the conference we will be
exploring the timeless truth, our Mar Thoma faith
formulations, and the challenges facing Mar
Thoma Diaspora Christians in pluralist societies,
in various post-modern life situations, and
continuing the reformation under the guidance of
the Holy Spirit.
Imagine that you are about to read a letter with
the full text of the 800 year old Magna Carta,
which has already changed the world and is now
addressed to you directly! How do you make it
fresh for you today? Jesus reduced the Ten
Commandments all the laws of Moses, regulations
of the Sabbath and other stipulations into two of
19

Speakers-Family Conference
OUR DIOCESAN BISHOP

Griffiths completed a PhD from the School of

Oriental and African Studies, University of
London. He served as President of the Methodist
Conference from 1994 to 1995. Since 1996 he has
been Superintendent Minister at Wesleys Chapel,
London
ROD AND RUTHIE GILBERT

The Rt. Revd Dr. Isaac Mar Philoxenos, our

Diocesan Bishop, has been bishop since October
1993. Thirumeni served as Diocesan Bishop at
Bombay-Delhi Diocese (1993-2001), KottayamKochi Diocese (2001-2008) and ChennaiBangalore Diocese (2009 - 2016). Please see the
previous article on the bishop.

LORD LESLIE GRIFFITHS

Rod and Ruthie Gilbert or Steve & Christie

Rod and Ruthie Gilbert have a wealth of
experiences and adventures in mission for over 30
years. In 1995 they established Scripture Union
Family Life Centre- Cornerstone House, at
Mahabalipuram, South India, and the Avalanche
Adventure Camp Centre. They brought up their 5
children in India, now ranging in age from 32 to
16. They have four lively grandchildren.
Rod was Principal of Hebron School, Ooty, India,
and latterly Trinity College in Sri Lanka. Ruthie is
a qualified counsellor and together they worked
with Bethany Ministries, Hong Kong, as the
Pastoral Couple for Mission Life Coaching
REV DR JOHN PERUMBALATH

Lord Leslie Griffiths, Baron Griffiths of Burry

Port, (born 15 February 1942) is a Methodist
minister and life peer in the House of Lords,
where he sits with the Labour Party. Griffiths
became a local preacher in the Methodist Church
of Great Britain in 1963. He completed a Master
of Arts in Theology at Fitzwilliam College,
Cambridge in 1969, while training for the ministry
at Wesley House. He spent most of the 1970s
serving the Methodist Church of Haiti, where he
was ordained, before returning to Britain to serve
in ministries in Essex and Golders Green. In 1987

Rev Dr. John Perumbalath has been appointed as

the first Archdeacon of Barking, Covering,
Havering, and Dagenham. He also has been Vicar
of All Saints Church, Perry Street, Northfleet,
20

Gravesend, and the Diocese of Rochester's Urban

Officer. He comes from the ancient Syrian
Christian community in Kerala, South India, but
was ordained in the Church of North India (CNI)
after training at Union Biblical Seminary, Pune.
He began his career as a lecturer but then left
university teaching to take up the post of Vicar of
St James' Church, Calcutta. He served on the
General Synod and various commissions of CNI
before he moved to the UK in 2001. He is
currently, a tutor for the College of Preachers and
a trustee of USPG. His PhD dissertation was in
the field of biblical interpretation. He is married
to Jessy and they have one teenage daughter.

Visiting those in prison

GARY GRANT

Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown

again into instant flame by an encounter with
another human being. Albert Schweitzer

The Entertainer's Gary Grant: the

Christian Toyshop Entrepreneur
Gary Grant is a very busy and a successful
business person (his company, The Entertainer,
is the biggest independent toy retailer in the UK) .
What is more, The Entertainers growth
was achieved without trading on Sunday
now the busiest day of the week on some
high streets in line with Grants Christian
ethics. His story is interesting as he started with
just 1000.00 in 1981, grew rich and found life
did not match up to the wealth he possessed and
then became a Christian with strict principles.

Very Revd V. T. John, Vicar of the Sinai

MTC

Roy Abraham, Sinai MTC, London

It's hard to imagine how visiting a prison could be

an uplifting experience apart from it being a very
personal one. It was while reading Nelson
Mandelas book The Long Walk to Freedom that
brought the basic cells on Robben Island alive and
managed to deliver just that - a very personal
experience. For it was in this sparse environment
that Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 of
the 27 years of his detention. To emerge from
such confinement almost three decades later and
lead South Africa to its proudly multicultural
modern state is testament to the power and drive
of both the man and the human spirit.
A day on the inside
Having joined this new parish just over 3 years
ago, I was very keen that we establish a new way
of engagement with a community who are
normally forgotten behind bars in prison. My first
encounter of visiting a prison was in 1995 after I
was elected as a Councillor and being given an
official guided tour. People that are incarcerated,
regardless of the circumstance, are typically
lonely and hopefully searching for a meaning in
their lives. I had no interaction with any prisoner
during the visit, however it left a clear impression
on my mind as to the meaning of being in prison
and those of us on the outside being imprisoned
in ones mind by virtue of our limitations. Moving
around the prison grounds in "lockdown" mode
made me think about my own freedom and the
strict detention in which the prisoners live. We
had entered a world with its own culture and
rules, where order and chaos, fear and beauty,
21

kindness and brutality, can exist all in the same

moment.
Visit by the Sinai Mission
"Come to me you who are blessed by my father,
take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for
you since the creation of the world. For... I was in
prison and you came to visit me"(Matthew 25:34,
36).

As a member of the Mar Thoma community I

have been concerned for some time that we
appear to be an exclusive club, very much an
introvert community and insular from our
surroundings and insensitive to others needs or
suffering. This is not to exclude the many mission
outreach programmes that go on in India, but
those of us in the diaspora live, to some extent, a
very secluded life and appear to associate only
with like minded people. The objective of the visit
was to provide some joy to prisoners who
normally have little cause for celebration, and
perhaps to alleviate some of the stress and
depression that typically accompany prolonged
confinement. I was keen that our visit was to the
HMP Bovingdon, the prison I first visited as a
Councillor. As a group we were not going to
preach to the sinners, but rather to share time
with them and by this approach, rather than
thinking of the offence and passing another
judgment on the prisoners, we see people -people
who need light. There was a slight trepidation in
me as to how the inmates would see and react to
us particularly as we were not the typical Anglo
Saxon Church of England group. Moreover, as we
had a mixed group of female and male members
in a very male institution, reactions from
prisoners could have been somewhat
unpredictable.
The reception from the prisoners at our first
encounter was overwhelmingly positive. Many of
the prisoners knew hymns without the need for
song books and in fact taught us a hymn Walk in
the Light on our first visit. The prison Vicar said
that the prisoners had not encountered such a
visitation before and they cheered us

enthusiastically! There was an instant demand

from the prisoners that we repeat these visits in
future, and as a result we try to engage with the
inmates at least twice a year.
The inmates participated with us by reading the
Bible and at end of the session came forward and
shook hands in true generosity and spirit. "We are
so happy, since we have never seen or experienced
anything like this program whilst we have been in
prison," said one prisoner. There were a few tears
at the end and this really reinforced that one can
be blown again into instant flame by an
encounter with another human being.
Some of the inmates fit the stereotypical image of
a prisoner, but many appeared no different from
people you may see on a city street and yet just
beneath the surface a deep sadness was revealed,
filled with the prisoners' unlived hopes and
dreams. Jesus said that it wasnt the healthy that
needed a doctor, but rather the sick (Mark 2:17).
In the same way, those in prison need to hear
about the freedom found in Christ perhaps more
than anyone else.

At the end of our day in prison, I left with many

questions: What is inner freedom? Are criminals
born or made? Can people change? Is there room
for forgiveness in our society? I may never find
the answers, but the experience has given me a
unique insight into the complexity of human
relations and the immense suffering we inflict on
others and ourselves. Visiting prison was a
glimpse into another world, where I met face-toface with the very people our society wants to lock
away and forget. Their faith and courage are
inspiring to me, and I wonder if I would have the
same resolve if faced with similar circumstances.
Visiting prisoners is a simple yet highly effective
way to let the persecuted know they are not alone
and not forgotten. In this way we can minister to
their needs, if not physically, then at least
spiritually.
22

Meeting up with prisoners gives them the

opportunity to confront their guilt, remorse, grief,
and anger; it also opens up the possibilities of
making positive choices, no matter how small. We
can only make a contribution but for a very brief
moment leaving through the heavy metal doors of
the prison grounds remembering the words from
Matthew 25:31-45, And the King shall answer
and say unto them, verily I say unto you, In as
much as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of
these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me.

COMPE Meeting 2016

The Council of Mar Thoma Parishes in
Europe (COMPE) welcomes
the new Diocesan Bishop,
Rt. Rev Dr. Isaac Mar Philoxenos
Episcopa.
The new Diocesan Bishop of North America and
Europe of the Mar Thoma Church, Rt. Rev Dr.
Isaac Mar Philoxenos Episcopa took charge as the
fourth resident Diocesan Bishop on 1st April
2016. Philoxenos Thirumeni arrived in the UK on
the 17th June for the first formal visit since taking
charge, and was warmly received by the COMPE
Secretary, Mr. P M Mathew, along with the Vicar,
Rev Shibu Kurian, and the office bearers of St
Johns Mar Thoma Church, Hounslow.
Philoxenos Thirumeni presided over the Seventh
Annual General Body Meeting of the COMPE,
which was held at St. Johns Mar Thoma Church,
Hounslow on the 18th June, 2016, at 10 am.
Europe Region currently has 11 Parishes and 5
Congregations with 10 full time clergies. This was
a well-attended meeting with 42 participants,
including a representative from Germany.
Meeting started with a Hymn, followed by
Worship led by Philoxenos Thirumeni and a
prayer by the Vicar General, Very Rev V T John.
Welcome address was given by the COMPE
Secretary, Mr. P M Mathew, he highlighted the
achievements of the new Diocesan Bishop over
the last 23 years of ministry to the three Dioceses
that was entrusted to Thirumeni. He said that
Thirumeni is a man with a great vision. Mr.
Mathew then welcomed the Vicar General, Very
Rev V T John, Rev Dr Jacob Abraham and Rev
Shibu Kurian who have arrived in the UK in
the recent weeks. He also extended a hearty
welcome to all other clergies and representatives
from various parishes and congregations. The
presence of a representative from Germany for
the first time at a COMPE meeting was greatly
appreciated.
Very Rev V T John gave an inspirational
devotional talk, which was based on Matthew 11:
29&30. He highlighted the need to work with cooperation wherever our Lord Jesus requires our
service. He also challenged all those present to be
prepared to walk with Christ, and have the quality
of Christ, who was gentle and lowly in hearta
23

character of the Cross. The devotional talk ended

with a prayer by Rev Alexander Tharakan.
Philoxenos Thirumeni, in his presidential
address, praised and thanked God for the
achievements of the region over the last seven
years under the gracious leadership of Rt. Rev Dr
Geevarghese Mar Theodosius Episcopa. He
emphasized on the realities of the Diaspora
community, and particularly various problems
and challenges confronting the second and third
generations in the region. Thirumeni shared the
concerns of many members who have great
expectation about Europe region becoming a Zone
or a Diocese, but challenged the community to
think about having a common place or a centre
for meetings and conducting activities. COMPE
was recognized by Thirumeni to be an effective
instrument to make the functioning of the Mar
Thoma Community in Europe smooth, and make
it more relevant to the current needs of the
members. He encouraged us to move forward as
parishes and congregations by supporting each
other with God-centred vision and objectives for
the common good the whole Mar Thoma
Community in Europe. Thirumeni recognized the
power of the Holy Spirit, helping us to work in
unity and concord. Thirumeni appreciated the
efforts of the Office Bearers of COMPE and
thanked all those present at the meeting.

Secretary, Mr. P M Mathew, presented the

Seventh Annual Report; Treasurer, Mr. Jaffey
Chacko, presented the Annual Accounts & Annual
Budget for the new financial year.
A key resolution was passed to request the
Metropolitan and the Episcopal Synod of
the Mar Thoma Church, for the approval of
the COMPE Constitution towards the
registration of COMPE as a registered
charity for the Europe Region. Some key
appointments made because of the arrival of the
new Clergy. Very Rev V T John was appointed as
the Vice-President of the COMPE, Rev Shibu
Kurian will be representing the Churches
Together in England (CTE) and Rev Abraham P
Mathew will be our representative for the
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI).
As Mar Thoma Church will be celebrating its
Diamond Jubilee in April 2017, a sub-committee
was appointed to plan the event. The committee
consists of the Executive Committee of the
COMPE: Philoxenos Thirumeni (President), Very
Rev V T John (Vice-President), Mr. P M
Mathew (Secretary), Mr. Jaffey
Chacko (Treasurer), and the co-opted members
are Rev Shibu Kurian ( Vicar St Johns
MTC), Dr. Zac Varghese (Sinai MTC), Mr. Noble
Mathew( St James MTC).
24

The 34th Family Conference will be held at the

Hayes Conference Centre from 26 to 28 of August,
2016. Philoxenos Thirumeni is the Patron of the
Conference. The Convenor of the conference, Mr.
Abraham Mathews, updated the COMPE with the
progress made so far.
The meeting ended graciously following the vote
of thanks by COMPE Treasurer, Mr. Jaffey
Chacko, and a concluding prayer by Rev Abraham
P Mathew, and benediction by Philoxenos
Thirumeni. As part of Thirumenis first visit to
this Region, a Holy Communion Service
was also conducted at the St Johns Mar Thoma
Church, Hounslow, on Sunday, 19th June, with
more than 200 members attending the service
from various parishes.
On Behalf of the COMPE Executive Committee
P M Mathew, Secretary
Jaffey Chacko, Treasurer
20th June 2016

Obituary
Mr. Jacob Ninan (1931- 2016)
Mr. Jacob Ninan,
who has died aged
85, on Wednesday
18th May 2016, was
born
in
the
Sankaramanglam
family
of
Eraviparoor, Kerala,
on 11th June 1931.
Jacob
left
for
Singapore in June
1953
after
completing university studies. He first worked in
Malaysia with Prudential Insurance Company;
then he pursued his legal studies in London and
returned to Singapore as the regional manager of
an American reinsurance company.
During his early years in Singapore he was a very
active member of the St. Thomas Mar Thoma
Syrian Church and in particular with the Youth
Fellowship,
holding
various
offices
of
responsibility. He was also a Sunday school
teacher and also its principal till the family
immigrated to the UK in August 1980. He was a
keen sportsman from his student days, especially
football and athletics. His greatest passion was
badminton, which he continued to play till almost
to the age of 83.
In the midst of his hectic life he found time to get
married to Dr. Elizabeth Jacob and was blessed
with two sons. On arrival in England, the family
initially settled in South Yorkshire and, later after
retirement, in November 2002, moved to Bedford
to await the arrival of the first grandchild, Rohan.
Jacobs joy knew no bounds and Rohan was the
apple of his eye. Later with the addition of two
more grandchildren, Ruben and Serena, he
completely indulged in loving them; in the
process he became a child in their company.
Jacob slipped very peacefully from deep sleep into
eternity to be with the Lord the loved and
worshipped. He was a gentleman and a highly
respected member of the community. People who
knew him always commented on his gentle
qualities and amazing generosity. He was also a
member of the Sinai Mar Thoma Church, North
London. The funeral service was on Friday, 3rd
June at the St. James Anglican Church in the
25

beautiful village of Biddenham in the presence of

a large number of relatives and friends from all
parts of the UK.
Jacob Ninan is survivedand sorely missedby
his wife, Lucy, two sonsSaju and Sajeev,
daughter-laws, and three grandchildren. The
members of the Mar Thoma Community in
Europe offer their condolences to the bereaved
families and friends. May his soul rest in peace
and resurrect in Gods glory.

Dr.Thomas Abraham (1933-2016)

Dr. Thomas Abraham (affectionately known as

Kunju by family and friends), age 83, of Boynton
Beach, Florida and Washington Township, NJ
passed away on Wednesday, May 18th, 2016 at
Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee, Florida.
Born in Kerala, India on February 23, 1933 to Mr.
M.T. Abraham and Mariamma Abraham, he was
raised in a deeply devout Mar Thoma Syrian
Christian family.
Kunju attended Asram Higher Secondary School
in Perumbavoor, Kerala and completed his college
education from Mysore University. Afterwards, he
achieved his MBBS degree from Kasturba Medical
College, Manipal, India and later received the
Distinguished Alumni Award in 1984. He taught
pathology at Bangalore Medical College,
Bangalore, India. Kunju married Mariamma
Mathai in 1963 and moved to the United Kingdom

where he worked for the National Health Service

for 11 years as an Orthopedic Surgeon. In 1973,
they moved to New York City, where he
completed a residency in Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation at the State University of New
York, Downstate in Brooklyn, NY. He was Board
Certified in his specialty and worked at Harlem
Hospital Center in NY, where he was also a faculty
member of the Columbia University, College of
Physicians and Surgeons. He also taught at City
College of New York, CUNY.
Dr. Abraham is survived by his wife of 53 years,
Dr. Mariamma (Marykutty) Thomas, son Dr.
Abraham Thomas and his wife Sera and their
daughter Marissa of Bloomfield, MI, son Mathew
Thomas of New York, daughter Marina Thomas of
New York and his three sisters Annie Idicula of
Edmonton, Canada, Saramma John and Mary
Sachariah of Teaneck, NJ. He was a loving and
giving husband, father, grandfather, brother,
uncle, cousin and friend.
Dr. Abraham was a gentle and humble man of
God. His life was driven by the purpose of
creating and doing something beautiful in the
eyes of God and man. He constantly felt that there
was a growing lack of love and charity for our
neighbors who lived in poverty and disease
around the world. As one not to complain, but
rather to act, he believed it was his purpose in life
to serve his Lord and Savior with the goal of
helping those less fortunate than himself.
As a highly respected physician and humanitarian
in the US, UK and India, Dr. Abraham decided it
was time to join with others to help those in need.
Soon after, he co-founded and became the
founding president of the Association of Mar
Thoma Physicians and Dentists (APDM). At a
public gathering held in August, 1991 the
organization was inaugurated in the presence and
with the blessings of the Most Rev. Dr. Alexander
Mar Thoma Metropolitan and the Most Rev. Dr.
Philipose Mar Chrysostom Mar Thoma
Metropolitan. The APDM was founded to foster
Christian fellowship and to promote international
medical and dental missionary work with the
major focus on special needs in India.
Dr. Abraham was also associated with the
formation of the Mar Thoma Church Diocese of
North America and Europe and was an active
member of many of its committees and
commissions. He represented the diocese in the
Mandalam (House of Representatives) and the
26

Mar Thoma Sabha Council (The Executive

Committee of the Mandalam). He was closely
associated with the late Dr. Zacharias Mar
Theophilus Suffragan Metropolitan and the
development of Santhigiri Ashram and the
medical clinic there. He also participated in the
formation of the FOCUS movement for bringing
together the Mar Thoma Diaspora across the
world.

Vadakkedathu Thomas Abraham

(1935-216)
Mr. Vadakkedathu Thomas Abraham (Tom), who
has died aged 81, on 15th March, 2016, was a
Christian, a missionary, and a chartered
management accountant.
He was a member of the St. James Mar Thoma
Church in Central London. In 1988, Tom and his
wife Annamma founded the St. Thomas Mission
to help those in need. They spent four to six
months in India working on projects supporting
the poor and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This missionary work took them to all over the
world where they have been able to give witness
the love of God they enjoyed and in turn they have
been blessed by the witnesses of many others.
In 2003 the family suffered a devastating blow
when their young son, Stan died. Annamma also
passed away in 2006 whilst in India. Tom
suffered a stroke in 2011, but never failed to
demonstrate his faith in Jesus Christ. He was an
amazing gentleman who loved, cared for others
even in his debilitating illness. He loved the Lord
Jesus Christ and his fellow brothers and sisters.
He is survived by his daughter June, son-in-law
Berley, and grandchildren Thomas and James.
Those who attended his funeral service paid
tribute to him and thanked God for his ministry at
St. Barnabas Centre, Bishops Stortford on 30th
March 2016. It was a most fitting and touching
farewell for a child of God. Many of us will reflect
on things that Tom said, preached and did and
recall them with great affection.
The Mar Thoma Community in the UK offer their
condolences to the family. May his soul rest in
peace and resurrect in Gods glory.

27