Strides for Ecumenism

[Thomas48]

Have any of the Catholic Churches made significant strides for Ecumenism? Speaking for the Syro Malabar Church and the St. Thomas Christians, we actually have an Ecumenical Commitee spanning of all the ritual churches of the Thomasine Christians and other Christian Churches in India called the St. Thomas Ecumenical Trust along with the Nilackal Ecumenical Centre.

St. Thomas Ecumenical Church located in Nilackal Kerala, is believed to be one of the seven and a half ancient churches built by St. Thomas during his time in India. What makes Nilackal Church special is that it is one of the only purely ecumenical churches in the world. Nilackal Church is shared and regularly used by the Syro Malabar Catholics, Syro Malankara Catholics, Syrian Jacobite Orthodox, Syrian Malankara Orthodox, Marthoma Christians, Knanaya, and Church Of South India. There is a plaque in Nilackal Church with the names of the hierarchs of the previously mentioned churches imprinted upon it.

 

[Peter_J]

The Assyrian Church of the East also has a diocese in India, but it is very small. (I don’t remember for sure, but maybe 15,000 people.) Do you know anything about their relations with the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church (which is, of course, much much larger)?

 

[Thomas48]

Like the other Churches in Kerala the Assyrian Church is in close friendship with the others, I believe they are especially close to the Syro Malabar Church. They have high levels of respect for each other, Metropolitan Mar Aprem Mooken (Assyrian Bishop of India) and a choir of priests had even sung hymns during the funeral of Maran Mar Varkey Vithayathil (Past Major Archbishop of the Syro Malabar Church).

For the most part the churches in Kerala have remained in a constant peace as a whole, the only exception being the feuding Malankara Orthodox and Jacobite Syrian Orthodox, who are two churches who together, originally made up Keralas Syriac Orthodox.

 

[Peter_J]

Like the other Churches in Kerala the Assyrian Church is in close friendship with the others, I believe they are especially close to the Syro Malabar Church.

I wonder if we may someday see full communion …

 

[SyroMalankara]

It was very close at one point, when the hereditary hierarchy fell away in the Assyrian Church and again when the calendar controversy came up.

In regard to the Nilackall Church and other so-called Ecumenical activities - these are good when they have a purpose and people of good will come together to serve, but from what I’ve noticed, these get reduced to program after program after program, serving no one but themselves. Not only this, many parties pretend as if all are on equal theological and patristic ground because they don’t want to be rude; sadly, they only find out this is not the case when approaching communion or clergy attempting to stand in the altar (I say this in regard to the two protestant bodies, the Marthoma and Church of South India) of the Catholic or Orthodox Churches at various functions. One wedding I attended had a CSI minister go up to the altar in his choir robe/stole after the Consecration/Epiclesis and whisper to the Syro-Malabar Catholic priest that he could go ahead and distribute Communion, at least to his people - whereas, the Catholic Syro-Malabar priest sternly looked at him and asked him to go take a seat. Another occasion, I witnessed a group of CSI/Marthoma say they’d like to “create a liturgy” jointly for “Ecumenical purposes”, where as all the Catholics and Orthodox went from smirk to outright laughter. The protestants didn’t know, and I’m convinced many to this day don’t know, what was so funny. Another leader told a friend that his dream would be for getting all “the youth” together, in one church, as long as it is another version of the ‘non-denominational denomination’. When my friend said, what about the Divine Liturgy, and clergy and bishops, the “leader” replied, we don’t need any of that. This mentality is coming from the so-called “leaders” of the Ecumenical movement from the protestant side. They share nothing of the Truths of the Church, as Catholics and Orthodox share. I say forget these wastes of time and focus on the Apostolic faiths - Catholic and Orthodox - in the case of Kerala: the three Catholic Churches, the Syriac Orthodox, the Malankara Orthodox, and the Assyrian Church of the East. Let the Marthoma, CSI, Presbyterians, Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostals, non-denominationals et al united among themselves.

 

[Aramis]

Let the Marthoma, CSI, Presbyterians, Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostals, non-denominationals et al united among themselves.

THing is, protestantism is inherently divisory - without the grounding of apostolic succession and proper ordination, wrapped with the Divine Worship Services, they have no centralizing impulse. So when major disagreements happen, it’s often easier to split than to solve.

 

[SyroMalankara]

India was one of the first places this “united” churches experiment began, after the British left. The protestant ‘Church of South India’ and ‘Church of North India’ are unions of various protestant factions, based on something vague. They are constantly dividing within themselves and into other sects or infighting due to various interpretations. These are ‘in union’ with the Marthoma church.