Pray for us, Catholicos

With every passing day, my loyalty, belief and love for the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church continues to grow.  The struggle and persecution of the Orthodox Church in India from the days St. Thomas reached the shores of South India is truly a testimony to the faithfulness and strength of the One Triune God and the power of the Holy Spirit. 

The MGOCSM Diaspora published an article about the history and tribulations of the Church, and even this wonderful write-up is just a small sampling of the full story.  Sadly, many of the incidents and events are lost to us today and may we always remember and pray for those Saints who were martyred so we can have the blessings of our Faith today.

H.H. Baselius Marthoma Paulose II

The head of the Malankara Orthodox Church is H.H. Baselius Marthoma Paulose II, who is the 8th Catholicos of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Orthodox Church.  Our Bava Thirumeni is the Supreme Head and the Malankara Metropolitan of The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.  There is a great misunderstanding and ignorance of the role of the Bishop and Priest in a Church ... in a nutshell, in the Orthodox Church the Bishop is not like the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church.  Rather, every member who is Baptized into the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church becomes One in Christ and a member of the Church which is His Body.  We are one with the Bishop, and all of us are children of God.  And yet, just like with the human body, different parts have different functions and the Bishop is the head of the Church.  This is a mystery (Ephesians 5:32) and yet is the foundation of the Church - it is only through Christ and Him alone that all things in our Church are centered and function, but we do have different roles and functions (as an aside, we should remember that "His Holiness" is the title we the faithful use to honor and venerates Bava Thirumeni, but the Holiness is from Christ that is within him).

This role of Catholicos is not one of entitlement or pride, but rather one of deep and great responsibility that requires an even greater level of support and prayers by the faithful given the state of the world today.

Having written all this ... I absolutely dread the upcoming Catholicate Day "celebration" that happens annually in our Church on the 6th Sunday of the Great Lent.  Especially in the Lenten season ... the cries of "Jai Jai Catholicos" and flag-waving is awkward and unsettling.  For those unfamiliar, the cry of "Jai Jai" is done by the victorious party usually in a battle or other struggle.

For our Church, this "victory cry" is a remnant of the struggles this past century that saw the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church fight with each other in courts and the streets of India.  This is the remnant of a lot of emotions from members on both sides of the schism that are justified ... in the secular world.  More sadly, these emotions have often resulted in unholiness and acts that are neither pious or humble.

As Orthodox Christians, we must always remember we are not of this world (John 15:18-19).  Our measure for our actions is using the ruler that the Faith has given us, and as we read in the Book of Isaiah and the Book of Psalms any action or offering not done with humility is one that God despises.

The schisms and divisions in His Body must be healed.  Our Catholicate Day should not be a cause for celebration or happiness, but rather serve as the reminder of the ever-pressing need for forgiveness and healing.  Our Catholicate Day should be a call for more intense prayer for our beloved Bava Thirumeni and our Bishops, priests and clergy .. it should be a call for increased acts of mercy, forgiveness and charity that should be the mark of any Orthodox Christian during the Great Lent.

Please pray for us, Bava Thirumeni ... and may we the faithful together pray that our Church moves forward to a new beginning where we can bring the love of Christ to all.  Let us pray for our beloved Bava Thirumeni and all the Bishops to have the strength and courage to shepherd the Holy Church towards an unprecedented era of peace and unity.

Rather than shout "victory", let us cry "Kurielieson" ... Lord have mercy.

As a closing thought - a very good friend of mine made a suggestion that all members of the different Malankara Orthodox Churches in America should hold a silent vigil in front of our Bishop's Houses in Houston and New York, as well as in front of the Bishop's residence of the Syrian Orthodox Church.  It's such an incredible and exciting thought - a show of unity and love that signals to all what the Gospel is truly about.  May this unity come true in our lifetime.