tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90296351196518554322024-03-05T22:06:29.242-08:00WhitteringsThe Musings of a Rural ArchdeaconEdw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-158898040851064882016-10-24T13:30:00.001-07:002016-10-24T13:30:54.486-07:00Meditation in Hagia Sophia: The Throne of Humanity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3dyaLcCumxtmISOr7ANqnjf_zn2TL74md26GBm21QPMIiJAPd17nuUQQpJoB24Qm1da-60tml-jZaMCi6JFQtGkghGbYWuv6cyoZRd1I6HNkFpC_lrw12rwoLPH-i-DGW2cZ9nBZBAMC/s1600/Beautiful-Hagia-Sophia-Interior-Dome-Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3dyaLcCumxtmISOr7ANqnjf_zn2TL74md26GBm21QPMIiJAPd17nuUQQpJoB24Qm1da-60tml-jZaMCi6JFQtGkghGbYWuv6cyoZRd1I6HNkFpC_lrw12rwoLPH-i-DGW2cZ9nBZBAMC/s400/Beautiful-Hagia-Sophia-Interior-Dome-Photo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Christianity is a sneaky religion and can be surprisingly subversive - even in its triumphalism. Hagia Sophia is an extended meditation of the glory of thrones: the Omphalos ('navel of the world' although the 'real' one is, of course, in the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem) is here where the Emperors were crowned for centuries; </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKL3h35uFJnuMaoXEAxW0i2J5ygvkUqfC7P7ddwGrAs-Fg9Z9jnFW6uqP0l-zj8vC6F3JqoqXH4bLJ7kEzmIMnvpL_AvW5I66Wfew_WRWiqDmsmKLtbmLVKfGopSR33KMHTf84hZbe9om/s1600/11324375_793402317446323_1906818671_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKL3h35uFJnuMaoXEAxW0i2J5ygvkUqfC7P7ddwGrAs-Fg9Z9jnFW6uqP0l-zj8vC6F3JqoqXH4bLJ7kEzmIMnvpL_AvW5I66Wfew_WRWiqDmsmKLtbmLVKfGopSR33KMHTf84hZbe9om/s400/11324375_793402317446323_1906818671_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">the great dome represents the Throne flanked by seraphim; the mosaics are all of Christ enthroned either as child or as king. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYXM1-KXxTyl4bGET4_TdztuOZBjKfyOz6Jz-HV38vOt1GjHW23wVbSGWgFPJL9u605Mu0AgUBXTs5Vmy4P8AkLYFyaBdPA30amtH0b-B5yku19cd2-cgbVEotPZD1STfVv95kKd6UFBSX/s1600/Hagia-Sophia-Interior-Mosaic-Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYXM1-KXxTyl4bGET4_TdztuOZBjKfyOz6Jz-HV38vOt1GjHW23wVbSGWgFPJL9u605Mu0AgUBXTs5Vmy4P8AkLYFyaBdPA30amtH0b-B5yku19cd2-cgbVEotPZD1STfVv95kKd6UFBSX/s400/Hagia-Sophia-Interior-Mosaic-Photo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">However I apprehended something today in a new way. I was meditating on the mosaic of the Blessed Virgin and St John the Baptist interceding with Christ as judge (Pantocrator), in an upstairs gallery for the clergy, to have mercy on mankind. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkdYONpyVue9WW__qWmhJruyxMF8nRIGqpNxNhIF3hEBwi9jtVHgsBnvRJpFunKaE_ua6p8EW5XGaJTy0Zxzcb-pGwf5NxEPCW-iFw8uAq_EgrM2-Pv7Q_DuYLfTMQQcqmvs7k8sLqYZp7/s1600/verywide2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkdYONpyVue9WW__qWmhJruyxMF8nRIGqpNxNhIF3hEBwi9jtVHgsBnvRJpFunKaE_ua6p8EW5XGaJTy0Zxzcb-pGwf5NxEPCW-iFw8uAq_EgrM2-Pv7Q_DuYLfTMQQcqmvs7k8sLqYZp7/s400/verywide2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Several teenage girls wandered by stopping briefly to fix their hair, puff out their lips and take selfies with Him, a young man was jealously telling off his girlfriend for having allowed her photo to be taken with a male friend of his that had appeared on Facebook, a western woman was scowling self-righteously at a Turkish woman in a full body burka and niqab, while some intoxicated Russians wandered through laughing way too loudly. I was thinking about the sack of Constantinople by the Western crusaders, the fall of Byzantium and Christianity to Islam, the fate of the Syrian and Armenian Christians that followed under the Ottoman Empire, the conversion of Hagia Sophia from Patriarchal and Imperial Cathedral to a Mosque and then a government museum, the current persecution of the original Greek Christians in the city, and even the peril and tension being faced by His All Holiness following the recent coup and the government purges. Needless to say I was being a bit melancholic. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Then the Friday call for prayer began from the Blue Mosque and broke my reverie. I looked again and realised that the Virgin and the Baptist’s faces were both so sad and yet also so loving.- and it became peacefully and compassionately clear. The throne of Christ IS humanity in all its weakness and glory. The Blessed Virgin who holds Him as child in her lap is His Throne. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYM_6Wd1bMV3iQOvGtBoPiRI7KfjX7CrtrT25tGdNaRdGsjE4ngxufKQpq9074MjqSFV-EHh1S8MTxMweSO6brVqrgfOzL2LIpY7HUjDiDmn2qNza8z6jHyCfwmDNeMHzNSQj0bn31y_6N/s1600/Apse_mosaic_Hagia_Sophia_Virgin_and_Child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYM_6Wd1bMV3iQOvGtBoPiRI7KfjX7CrtrT25tGdNaRdGsjE4ngxufKQpq9074MjqSFV-EHh1S8MTxMweSO6brVqrgfOzL2LIpY7HUjDiDmn2qNza8z6jHyCfwmDNeMHzNSQj0bn31y_6N/s400/Apse_mosaic_Hagia_Sophia_Virgin_and_Child.jpg" width="281" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I have known this aspect of Christian iconography for years, but I suddenly experienced it in a subtle new way and the people around me no longer looked quite the same as they had a minute before. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Whilst I made my way outside I noticed that this message had been there all along in plain sight: the simple depiction of Christ as an enthroned Book of the Gospels </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW3jQx226NA4QwzRXl-OHcAnVMX-QEE6wjlbCBSyKcxZaXhAMBliabumYz_JGaq0jT2DKHxCeZlFgQlEmMWmdR4jm8diBRDk_4MCeVlNyPLe9y0BbHBCtNqKb_mKR8ed1j_IwXi7cgF3gM/s1600/Turkey-9994+72dpi+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW3jQx226NA4QwzRXl-OHcAnVMX-QEE6wjlbCBSyKcxZaXhAMBliabumYz_JGaq0jT2DKHxCeZlFgQlEmMWmdR4jm8diBRDk_4MCeVlNyPLe9y0BbHBCtNqKb_mKR8ed1j_IwXi7cgF3gM/s400/Turkey-9994+72dpi+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">above the grandiose Imperial Doors; </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8dd-5rGr7qGxr8kscHLLWaS6vXQbvIZELhY_-KEesFX5f1XzPeR3q1NDHiS4GjE1ZNKyvfGRE20Iq913lFxBOhUFOH5WkftgcHG7bsS8aTm22hppgwoumqQpfcZZiEfL4CnjUdxGAvb5/s1600/2048-AyaSofyaImperialGate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8dd-5rGr7qGxr8kscHLLWaS6vXQbvIZELhY_-KEesFX5f1XzPeR3q1NDHiS4GjE1ZNKyvfGRE20Iq913lFxBOhUFOH5WkftgcHG7bsS8aTm22hppgwoumqQpfcZZiEfL4CnjUdxGAvb5/s400/2048-AyaSofyaImperialGate.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">the humble image of the cross as an enthroned emperor opposite the place of the Emperor's coronation; </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNouff53DlflqyegQeSFwpGYmOUk7XuJrOQMYhtumMLo9dFJLAT8N1rKsLpkK8TCDGoYfnLPSp6K6jaV1CsYO-GoPUJY32bXEXQztoiN8UezCehdAO4GQhNX44XAzVGxOxNnpSmoU6L3k/s1600/2c13649b390186fc7b637cf4d087aec5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNouff53DlflqyegQeSFwpGYmOUk7XuJrOQMYhtumMLo9dFJLAT8N1rKsLpkK8TCDGoYfnLPSp6K6jaV1CsYO-GoPUJY32bXEXQztoiN8UezCehdAO4GQhNX44XAzVGxOxNnpSmoU6L3k/s400/2c13649b390186fc7b637cf4d087aec5.jpg" width="301" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">the use of the Blessed Virgin as the central throne motif in the apse instead of the usual Christ Pantocrator, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3pPBDTb-iz5wGYKAPbH8jjd4jOe1Tabrsj9kevNq1_wDiMjMTCS5pZYWRBRfa6MIt9LJwDKOwti9IOxfCw37PcGSeTLAVm4xGcuzxxzAEDwXCcIZ-NpSZJASGHfJ_5Up_PzFBIn3lbAX/s1600/Hagia-Sophia-Interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3pPBDTb-iz5wGYKAPbH8jjd4jOe1Tabrsj9kevNq1_wDiMjMTCS5pZYWRBRfa6MIt9LJwDKOwti9IOxfCw37PcGSeTLAVm4xGcuzxxzAEDwXCcIZ-NpSZJASGHfJ_5Up_PzFBIn3lbAX/s400/Hagia-Sophia-Interior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">thereby emphasising the humbling of Christ to become man in the Incarnation and thus imbuing all humanity with dignity; and the passage of the Gospel open in Christ' lap in the mosaic of the emperor prostrate at Christ's feet that he had to pass under to be enthroned and attend divine services. The passage? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEill69xLmQZeyzaldEorer6U7nPZD1e4kH8HymJZ8wg8Ru_wihxEvjeQMaathETR8LJmKh92_xAxrFH26sh26k6zCZT3S9WJz-l7XLuhP2TMAzxy83xQbEG-Rw18INsqutX2CUXtqm5iyp_/s1600/hagia-sophia-imperial-gate-mosaic-stephen-stookey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEill69xLmQZeyzaldEorer6U7nPZD1e4kH8HymJZ8wg8Ru_wihxEvjeQMaathETR8LJmKh92_xAxrFH26sh26k6zCZT3S9WJz-l7XLuhP2TMAzxy83xQbEG-Rw18INsqutX2CUXtqm5iyp_/s400/hagia-sophia-imperial-gate-mosaic-stephen-stookey.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">John 10:11 - "’I am the Good Shepherd’…and the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the life of the sheep’.</span></div>
Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-71944626859251322872015-05-29T10:39:00.002-07:002016-01-02T21:24:01.065-08:00Bishop's University, Lennoxville Quebec: A Manifestation of Anglican Christian Humanism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOW9P_EDZiPLMOz815GoG3x8GOmnl6J0c19atbTYnR4k5VOG8Qu2KJeGFwkmwVy9Q85ULVGc8CKS0ioJmMPgRpuOSMe2ijM7Ib4z2UosDj4WroTU1WejNQBk4rr1G1H6qP7CAIeS-SJJr5/s1600/Gator+with+Gaiters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOW9P_EDZiPLMOz815GoG3x8GOmnl6J0c19atbTYnR4k5VOG8Qu2KJeGFwkmwVy9Q85ULVGc8CKS0ioJmMPgRpuOSMe2ijM7Ib4z2UosDj4WroTU1WejNQBk4rr1G1H6qP7CAIeS-SJJr5/s320/Gator+with+Gaiters.jpg" width="314" /></span></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Fides
Quaerens Intellectum</span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Faith
Seeking Understanding<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: right;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">– St Anselm of Canterbury (c.1033-1109)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">GAITERS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Optima","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today I hope to enlighten you, if you are not already aware, of many of
the names and origins of things that surround your everyday life at Bishop’s
University: The University’s name; Doolittle’s; The Mitre; St Mark’s Chapel;
McGreer Hall; Bishop Williams Hall; the Nicholls Building; the portraits in the
Senate House; The Gait; the </span>University's<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Badge; the name of the football team; and The Gaiters. Actually some of these are
self-explanatory and the last four I can deal with right off the bat. The
ridiculous garb you now see me in is the distinctive dress of Anglican Bishops
and Archdeacons which we wore regularly up until the 1960s and even now, in
theory, on very formal occasions. One of my predecessors as Archdeacon of St
Andrews in the Diocese of Montreal, </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">John
Paterson Smyth, penned the following limerick just after the First World War </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Optima","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> There was an Archdeacon
who said, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">May I take off my gaiters in bed? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But the Bishop said, No,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Wherever you go<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">You must wear them until you are dead!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcLg3J-0LOJWcI7LL5v-mlff4BkCXdHbSP0D1CblI_ItdwGO42TXCYva4wfIFJgf9Po3IThwOXDNrRjUIB8aCnBAUbOGQNaPy0xINvQq5B6fhwivBU8AeB7FKBzOUgn_p4SZGKnKTmaUR/s1600/gaiter-boot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcLg3J-0LOJWcI7LL5v-mlff4BkCXdHbSP0D1CblI_ItdwGO42TXCYva4wfIFJgf9Po3IThwOXDNrRjUIB8aCnBAUbOGQNaPy0xINvQq5B6fhwivBU8AeB7FKBzOUgn_p4SZGKnKTmaUR/s1600/gaiter-boot.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Optima","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The apron I am wearing over my britches is a shortened form of a cassock
cut so as to allow easy access to a horse’s back. The strange ribbons on my hat
are the remnants of when a string would have been attached to my hat to the
collar of my frock coat so that I would not lose it when my horse was scared
into a mad gallop by a bear or a Presbyterian.
But the real sartorial coup de grace are the fetching calf protectors I am
wearing – gaiters. </span>Originally
meant to keep the Bishop or Archdeacon’s calf’s scar- less as he rode through the
underbrush during his visitations around the countryside, they have since become
ornate. <span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Optima","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">They even have whalebone sown into them along the calf
to make even the scrawniest archideconal calf look muscular and manly. Or at
least that is the idea. They have way too many buttons to my mind so I must say
that ‘macho’ is not really the first word that comes to mind when I look at
myself in the mirror. I feel sure I can guarantee you that this is the only
time when you will see a pair of gaiters in the gait. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">INTRODUCTION<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">At one time or another, most of us in our lives (usually whilst
undergoing the psychological process of differentiation during adolescence)
have experienced the acute embarrassment over the existence of our parents. We
see no connection with their strange out-dated values, shoddy dress sense, abominable
taste in music, hackneyed humour, and obscure pop cultural references. Who has
even heard of ‘the Love Boat’? Sean
Connery was 007? Planet of the Apes starred Charles Heston? There were Doctor
Who’s before Christopher Eccleston? Who knew? It is hard to remember that they
were once young and were raised in a different world. The people they have
become seem so different from anyone who could possibly be associated with our
way of life. Their very existence often made us cringe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In the strong, and increasingly so, secular context of Canadian and
especially Quebec culture the church finds herself in the parental position in
regards to many of the institutions and cultural realities to which she gave
birth. The church as we know it today, a private members group defined by
particular theological beliefs and worship practices is a very modern phenomenon.
In the age when institutions such as Bishop’s were founded the church community
was not just restricted to what they did on Sundays, if anything this was the
least of it, but rather by their wider
communal mission. Hospitals, orphanages, senior residences, schools,
universities, and the social welfare of the community was founded and run by
the church. The fact is that the importance of caring for the poor, looking after
the weak and infirm, and the education of children and youth was so
successfully integrated into society as core values that the government took
over all of these responsibilities. Excellent. However, with the lion’s share
of its work taken over by other institutions, it means that the church
increasingly became identified (and self-identified) almost solely with
religion and worship, a state of affairs that has led to a narrowing of its
life and vision. I mention this to remind us that the church of today is not
the same type of institution that formed the modern landscape of current
society or founded Bishop’s University. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It is easy to understand why people and institutions, if they make this
historical mistake, have a sense of disassociation with their religious origins
and even their unease or embarrassment about them. Yet as we become comfortable
in our own adult identities, and recognise that the genes of our parents and
their history is part of our own makeup, then we can take pride in them, or at
least honour them, even if we have developed away from them and taken a very
different road in our own lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The stream of culture and history cannot be easily parsed into before
and after periods. The Hegelian Dialectic shows that history is a continual
pendulum swing from thesis to antithesis to synthesis before the whole things
starts over again. Our culture and history is a continuation of a narrative
that is weakened if we pretend that only the current manifestation is of value.
It is like the tip of an iceberg pretending that what lies beneath the water is
not part of its makeup. By doing so we undercut something essential about our communal
identity. One tends to be suspicious of those who claim no connection to their
childhood and cultural formation. I will not go on about the Russian Revolution
or Mao. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Let me be perfectly clear here. I do not argue that denominational
religion should have a part to play in modern secular universities. Not at all.
What I do argue is that to minimise the fact that its origins and intellectual
culture are a product of a religious tradition is to not only be dishonest
about the past, but to actually misunderstand the continuity of history and
culture itself. When it comes to the historical treatment of religion in our
culture, the tendency is to try and isolate the religious tradition from the
culture of its day and pretend it can be separated out and judged accordingly.
I think it will become clear that the religious tradition that undergirds the
foundation of the university cannot be so easily separated and dismissed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">SCHOLASTICISM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">An anthropological argument can be made that the real beginnings of humanity’s
pursuit of knowledge began when the first human, who presumably showed a
special attention to detail, was given permission to sit out the hunt and
figure out why the caribou disappeared at different times of the year or why
the days grew shorter before becoming longer again. As a reward he or she would
have been given a share of meat. The earliest shamans (the original pseudo-priests,
professors, alchemists and/or scientists) first began our never ending quest to
figure out what the hell is going on. Early magic is just the first stab at the
scientific process. It is conceivable that if a particularly knarrled knot on some
stick you just found is the spitting image of your sister in law then perhaps
the two things are related. So you draw a connection, come up with a hypothesis
and then test it by shoving the said stick into hot tar. Even if it turns out
magic was a dead end, it was a ‘scientific’ pursuit. So these early pseudo-priests/
professors were the earliest profession. Or at least so we think. Rudyard
Kipling claimed that prostitution was the world’s oldest profession. Priests
and prostitutes have been arguing over the right to the title ever since. Not
that they have actually been having formal debates with one another, although I
would pay good money to watch my colleagues participate in one. Very good money
indeed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Now to jump ahead – way ahead. The real foundation of Bishop’s
university is owed to a former Archbishop of Canterbury, St Anselm, the father
of Scholasticism. You may think this a bit of a stretch considering he died in
1109 – but stay with me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Early European centres of learning were centered in monasteries and
cathedrals and were primarily for the education of monastic novices. In the 12<sup>th</sup>
century Aristotle was reintroduced into Europe through Arabic translations in
Islamic Spain. Through scholars such as the great Jewish Rabbi Maimonides, Aristotelian
thought led to a flowering of dialectic methodology in Europe and thus led to
the birth of Scholasticism: a logical methodological reasoning that relied on
inference for the extension of knowledge of the world. With this resurgence of Aristotelian
and Neo-Platonic (A synthesis of Plato and Aristotle) thought and the attempt
to reconcile Christian theology with classical philosophy came the birth of the
great medieval universities. And all of this from just 300 pages of Aristotle!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">These institutions kept much of their original monastic and clerical characteristics.
Some lasting even until modern times. For example all Fellows of Cambridge and
Oxford were ordained Anglican clerics and took a vow of celibacy until as late
as 1882, the same year that non-Anglican undergraduates could read for a
degree. They lived in their individual colleges as bachelor scholars – not that
far of a stretch from a monastery although much more comfortable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The medieval universities concentrated on: grammar; rhetoric; logic;
mathematics; geometry; music; and astronomy. The idea was to form minds that
could think logically and rationally, attend to the details of the world around
them, and then infer from the created order aspects of the one universal truth
they believed lay both behind it and permeated it. This emphasis on natural science in
scholasticism fostered the birth of modern science: Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler
and Newton were all trained in the Scholastic system. Fides quaerens
intellectum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">For Bishop’s, the particular manifestations of Scholasticism that are
important, are the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford. Even after the Church
of England’s break with Rome in the 16<sup>th</sup> century these institutions
retained their essential pre-reformation characteristics. The clergy were now
just Anglican priests instead of Roman priests. Still today, almost all
Oxbridge colleges are Anglican institutions with both a Dean, who teaches
theology, and a Chaplain, who looks after the welfare of the students and leads
the daily services in the chapel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Bishop’s University was founded in the Christian Humanist ideal of
Oxbridge with the first seven Principals, and Bishop Mountain, as ordained
Oxford or Cambridge men. Of the first 12 Principals (up until 1970 – or the
first 125 years) only one was not educated at Oxbridge. In Master’s history of
the early days of the University he says that almost all of the early
professors were also English educated with almost no American scholars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">THE IDEA OF A UNIVERSITY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">John Henry Newman was one of the great Anglican theologians of the 19<sup>th</sup>
century and one of the fathers of the Oxford Movement in the Church of England.
His subsequent conversion to the Church of Rome is still somewhat of a sensitive
issue for some Anglicans so we often just slide over this awkwardness. Of
course this is made much more difficult to do when the Roman Church first made
him a Cardinal, then beatified him, and then made him a saint. But I digress. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">His book <i>The Idea of a University</i>
lays out a modern philosophy of the purpose of a university education that
draws its inspiration from Scholasticism and Aristotle. He posits the idea of a
mind exposed to a wide breadth of knowledge with the purpose of not producing a
particularly knowledgeable mind but rather a balanced mind. The balance of mind
produced by exposure to vast sweeps of knowledge leads to freedom of thought,
awareness of philosophical and cultural presuppositions, is thus trained for
making good judgements in all aspects of life. He decried specialisation of
undergraduates and vocational studies and being the antithesis of the goal of a
university. Interestingly Newman did not see theology as having a place of
pre-eminence in a modern university but rather as playing 5<sup>th</sup> Business,
as Robertson Davies would put it, to the other faculties. His idea was that the
all-encompassing meta-narrative and theological world view of Divinity would
act as an observer to the rest of the Universities academic pursuits and by
engaging with them all would allow for cross fertilisation and constant
dialogue amongst the various disciplines. In some ways his idea was similar to
the role of an Anglican Chaplain in the British Navy whose rank was always just
one step above whoever he was addressing even if he was the Admiral. In this
way he could quickly disseminate information needed all over a ship without
being hampered by formal rank and the differences between the commissioned and
non-commissioned ranks. Regardless of what you think about his conclusions his
was one of the most powerful voices in educational philosophy of the Victorian
era. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Bishop’s first Principal, The Rev’d Jasper Hume Nicolls, (1845-1877),
was a graduate of Oriel College Oxford when John Henry Newman was its tutor and
treasurer. The influence of Newman of Fr Nicolls can easily been seen in his
Convocation Address of 1860:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“For it is
the business of a University to gather into itself all the branches of
learning, to adopt and interweave with the old and well-tried, what is new and modern;
to assist in its measure, and according to its capability in the work of
scientific discovery, but far more to sanctify scientific discovery. When man
searches and investigates, argues and proves, pronounces at his study-table,
that this or that field or rock, produces or does not produce a certain
precious metal, or indicates by calculations the existence of some hitherto
undiscovered heavenly body, and points out the very spot it occupies at the
moment; when the human mind thus strides onward, let it be the University’s
privilege to demonstrate that the excellency of all this, is not of man, but of
God; that while man discovers, he discovers what God has made, what God gives
him to understand.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">ANGLICANISM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Regardless of its size, Anglicanism is still a mystery to many people so
it is probably necessary to give a quick overview of what it is. To begin with
it is not a protestant church but rather a reformed catholic church. It is the third largest Christian
denomination in the world after Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy and, with the
Roman church, one of only two worldwide churches that exist in almost every
country and culture on earth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Although it is a western church it is structured like that of the Eastern
Orthodox Church. Each of the separate Provinces of the Anglican Communion (large
geographical areas sometimes coterminous with a country but often a region of
the world), of which there are 44 are autocephalous, which means they are
independent, but are all held together by their common communion with the
Archbishop of Canterbury. This is identical to the Orthodox churches that are
so called only if they are in communion with the Oecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The liturgical and sacramental rites of the Anglican Church, its hierarchy,
titles, and customs are very similar to those of the Roman Catholic Church,
sometimes to the point that you could not tell an Anglican Mass from a Roman
Catholic Mass unless you were paying very close attention to which bishops were
being prayed for during the intercessions. Like Roman Catholicism, however,
there is a wide range of cultural and linguistic variations in the rites from
country to country. Often you will find that Anglicanism has kept medieval
offices, usages, and vocabulary that the Roman church abandoned long ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The Reformation in England was very different to the Reformation on the
continent in that there was both a political Reformation and a theological one.
The main changes in the Church of England were political and are tied up with
England’s struggle to keep from becoming part of France or falling under the
Sway of Spain or the Holy Roman Empire. The Pope as a political player in these
European dynastic struggles led to the split with Rome. During this first
Reformation England did not change its services or its theology. The latter
reformation was theological. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Anglicanism’s theology is based on the Scriptures, the Seven Oecumenical
Councils of the undivided church, the Apostle’s and Nicene Creed, and the
teaching of the Apostolic Age and the Church Fathers (the theologian and
philosophers of the first four centuries). The Reformation challenged many presuppositions
of the Catholic faith in Great Britain that led, in England, to a long wrestle
over the nature of the Church of England – whether it would be catholic or
protestant. The Elizabethan settlement of 1559 under Elisabeth I chartered a
middle way which has often led to Anglicanism’s description as ‘reformed
catholic’ or the via media or middle way between the two. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The most influential theologian in the Anglican tradition is Richard
Hooker. In his eight volume Magnus opus <i>Of
the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie</i> (1590s) he, amongst other things, laid
out the role of reason in man’s search for truth. His emphasis on the balancing
of revealed truth, tradition, and reason has shaped Anglicanism’s academic approach
for which it is known. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The emphasis put on the role of reason within Anglicanism has made it
easier for the Church to adapt to new scientific views of the world as well as
the findings of historical criticism in Biblical hermeneutics and
ecclesiastical history. Thus the Anglican Church has become known in many parts
of the world as a theologically progressive church. In many Provinces of the
Communion women are ordained to the deaconate and priesthood and as Bishops. In
many Western Provinces, because of scientific findings on human sexual
orientation, there are not only openly gay clergy but partnered and/or married
same sex clergy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">However, one of the strongest characteristics of Anglicanism is
difficult to pin down. It is a combination of artistic and musical sensibility,
a traditional British flavour to our culture, and openness to long discussions
with people, and a distinctive pastoral style. A Roman Catholic and an Anglican
Priest may have exactly the same duties in the same town, do the same job, and
use almost identical services but you can easily tell the difference between
them based on how they do them. This is not saying one is better or worse but
that they are culturally different and recognisable even if difficult to put
into words. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Many people assume that Anglicanism is synonymous with the Church of
England and that the Queen is its head. These assumptions are not true. To dispel the last misconception first, the
Monarch in the Church of England alone holds the title of Supreme Defender of
the Faith – a title granted to Henry VIII by the Pope. She is not the head of
the church but its defender. In the other 43 provinces of the Anglican
Communion the Monarch holds no special place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Optima","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Anglicanism is also not solely English. </span>Some churches within the Anglican Communion are called
Episcopalian. These churches (such as the USA) derive from the Scottish
Episcopal Church. The Scottish Church is as old as the English Church but has a
very different history. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After the Reformation,
the Episcopal Church was the established Church of Scotland. The Church
remained Catholic in its theology and form and refused to subscribe to the Protestant
influenced Revised Prayer Book of 1552 and did not have the Reforming 39
Articles. The overwhelming majority of Protestant sympathisers led to its
disestablished and replacement by the Presbyterian Church in 1689. The English
brought harsh Penal statutes to bear from 1746 to 1792. These were meant to
further weaken the Church as punishment for the support for the Risings of 1715
and 1745 to restore the Royal House of Stuart to the Throne. Yet in spite of
the persecution and small numbers the Bishops maintained continuity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In 1794 in Aberdeen, the
Scottish Church consecrated the first Bishop of the American Church, Samuel
Seabury, whom the English Bishops had refused to consecrate after the
Revolutionary War. Thus the Scottish Church gave birth to what would become the
Anglican Communion. It also added a stream of Anglicanism that did not
subscribe to the 39 Articles, the reforms of the Second Prayer Book, was High
Church from the beginning, and independent and non-establishment in character.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The first Anglican clergy arrived in Canada as chaplains on John Cabot's
expedition in 1497. The first Anglican Eucharist on Canadian territory was
celebrated in 1578 by Robert Wolfall, who was chaplain to Martin Frobisher's
expedition to the Arctic. The Parish of St. John the Baptist in St. John's,
Newfoundland is the oldest Anglican parish in Canada, founded in 1699 in
response to a petition drafted by the Anglican townsfolk of St. John's and sent
to the Bishop of London, the Rt. Rev. Henry Compton. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Members of the Church of England established the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel in 1701 which provided missionaries to Canada until
1940. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The Anglican Church was a dominant feature of the compact governments that
dominated the colonies in British North America. Adherents to the Church of
England were also numerous amongst the United Empire Loyalists who fled to
Canada after the American Revolution. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN;">After the inclusion of Quebec and the American Revolution, many leading
Anglicans argued for the Church of England to become the established church in
the Canadian colonies. The Church of England was established by law in Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. In Lower Canada (now Quebec),
the presence of a Roman Catholic majority made establishment in that province
politically unwise. In Upper Canada (now Ontario), leading dissenters such as
Methodist minister Egerton Ryerson argued against establishment. Following the
Upper Canada Rebellion and the Durham Report and establishment of responsible
government in the 1840s, the unpopularity of the Anglican-dominated Family
Compact made establishment a moot point. The Church was disestablished in Nova
Scotia in 1850 and Upper Canada in 1854. By the time of Canadian confederation
in 1867, the Church of England was disestablished throughout British North
America. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The Clergy reserves, land that had been reserved for use by the clergy,
became a major issue in the mid-19th century. Anglicans argued that the land
was meant for their exclusive use, while Protestant denominations demanded that
it be divided among them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Until the 1830s, the Anglican Church in Canada was treated as the property
of the Church of England: bishops were appointed by the church in England, and
funding for the church came from the British Parliament. The first Canadian
synods were established in the 1850s, giving the Canadian church a degree of
self-government. As a result of a Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
decision in 1861 (Long v. Gray), all Anglican churches in colonies of the
British Empire became self-governing. Even so, the first General Synod for all
of Canada was not held until 1893. In that meeting, Robert Machray was chosen
as the Canadian church's first Primate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN;">DIOCESE OF QUEBEC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The Anglican Diocese of Quebec
was founded by Letters Patent in 1793 and is a part of the Ecclesiastical
Province of Canada of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is the second oldest
Diocese outside of Great Britain and has the oldest non British Cathedral which
is located in Quebec City.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The diocese comprises the 720,000 square kilometers and took it present
shape in 1850 with the carving off of what is now the Diocese of Montreal and
includes a territory of west to east from Magog to the Gaspe and the Magdalen
Islands, south to north from the United States border to Kawawachikamach and
the communities of the Lower North Shore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">BISHOP’S<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The particular example of university life we are concentrating on today
is your own. Bishop’s owes its direct foundation to Oxbridge and Newman as well
as one other indirect source – The Rev’d Lucius Doolittle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqj1EPXPMiAs9mAJvXTH8trE_cyLxVvWkq9uZiz3NKfvvMYqC3EM0HIFDLDJhtq4uHqT8zQvn8lasxFe7GYQLkVIyVN43Vno0r3DBEea0PF-J1BPACejzssV7QmS3jQh4g687MSC928-Hb/s1600/mountain-gaiters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqj1EPXPMiAs9mAJvXTH8trE_cyLxVvWkq9uZiz3NKfvvMYqC3EM0HIFDLDJhtq4uHqT8zQvn8lasxFe7GYQLkVIyVN43Vno0r3DBEea0PF-J1BPACejzssV7QmS3jQh4g687MSC928-Hb/s400/mountain-gaiters.jpg" width="278" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The University is named after George Jehoshaphat Mountain (1789-1863)
the third Lord Bishop of Quebec. Born in England he moved to Quebec after his
father, Jacob Mountain, was appointed the first Lord Bishop of Quebec by his
friend William Pitt the Younger. He returned to England at the age of sixteen
to study at Trinity College Cambridge before returning to Canada as a priest.
In 1821 he became the Archdeacon of Lower Canada and held the post until
becoming Bishop. From 1824-1835 he served as the first principal of McGill
University and Professor of Divinity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Although known as a learned theologian and administrator, he is equally
well known for his devotion to his vast diocese which entailed long and arduous
journeys. When visiting the Magdalene Islands or the shores of Labrador he was
known to regularly travel almost 3600 miles in a canoe. He is also famed as the co-founder of this
University. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The other co-founder of this University was my predecessor The Rev’d
Lucius Doolittle, the First Rector of Lennoxville. Fr Doolittle is also the
founder of Bishop’s College School which began life in his Rectory. Bishop
Mountain had already established a group of divinity students at Three Rivers
and wished to found an institution there. It was the tireless work of Fr
Doolittle that persuaded him to found it here. Actually is was quite canny of
him, as he secured the grounds on which the University stands today and gave
the Bishop a promissory note of contributions amounting to £1000, or $160,000
Canadian, in today’s currency, which he had subscribed to by leading Anglicans
of the Eastern Townships. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhItyUbmrHsn1JNWWB8Hn0kXr2Ccz99LWnMyBuqWuw7D7kQeNzaw3gomOUnvt5MnJYR2UdZ5l5hOlm_o7QdeAcDDUoZXL_mcaSqZ-2te9G8uDgIAtl6ha5gMFdDg4mGPgT4rgIge7wvsxk2/s1600/IMG_5383.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhItyUbmrHsn1JNWWB8Hn0kXr2Ccz99LWnMyBuqWuw7D7kQeNzaw3gomOUnvt5MnJYR2UdZ5l5hOlm_o7QdeAcDDUoZXL_mcaSqZ-2te9G8uDgIAtl6ha5gMFdDg4mGPgT4rgIge7wvsxk2/s400/IMG_5383.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In 1948, on the occasion of the centenary of the building of the second
church, the present St George’s on Queen Street, the Principal of this
university and Dean of Divinity, G. Basil Jones, said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“On the
occasion of the centenary of the consecration of St George’s church
Lennoxville, may I, in the name of the university, send cordial greetings to
the Rector, Churchwardens and Congregation and an expression of appreciation of
all that St George’s Church means, and has meant, to the community in general
and especially to this university. For one hundred years and more the Church
and the University have lived and grown side by side, helping one another as
need and opportunity arose, and with their fortunes always closely intertwined. This is due in no small measure to the fact
that they were both started on their respective careers of usefulness by one
and the same man. The Rev. Lucius Doolittle, the first Rector of Lennoxville
(1833-1862), who supervised the building of St George’s Church, was also one of
the co-founders of Bishop’s University. It was largely owing to his energy and
enthusiasm that Bishop’s College was set up in Lennoxville, despite the
apparent disadvantage (in those days) of so remote a position, and for the
first eleven or twelve years of its existence, not content with the general
oversight of its fortunes, he carried out the exacting duties of College
Bursar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">When it is
also born in mind that Lucius Doolittle founded and taught in the Lennoxville
Grammer School, which later became closely associated with the College, as
Bishop’s College School, it is clear that we owe our respective beginnings to a
man of great vision and power, whose ideals even after a hundred years still
continue to guide our destinies.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The first principal of the University and Dean of Divinity, The Rev’d
Jasper Hume Nicolls, (1845-1877), was a graduate of Oriel College Oxford when
John Henry Newman was tutor and treasurer of the college, as I have already
stated, and Fr Froude, the famous Tractarian historian, was a fellow. Not
surprisingly, Fr Nicolls was a Tractarian High Churchman whose churchmanship
was somewhat suspect, even by Bishop Mountain, although his abilities were
never questioned. He was a member of St George’s Church and attended services
there every Sunday from his arrival at Bishop’s in 1845 until his death, and
during many periods looked after the parish when Fr Doolittle was ill or away
from the parish. Until 1857, when St Mark’s Chapel was built, the entire
College community worshipped at St George’s with him. The second Principal, The
Rev’d J.A. Lobley, was also a regular member of the parish and took an active
interest in all aspects of ministry in the community. He was a beloved by the
congregation, who arranged for a memorial to him when they learned of his
sudden death in England. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I could go on for hours about the intimate connections between the
Anglican Church, the Parish of St George’s, Bishop’s College School, and
Bishop’s University. In many ways they were all just different aspects of one
cultural and educational reality that gave identity to this community. The
first nine Principals of the University, whose incumbencies spanned over a hundred
years, were all Anglican priests. The University began its life as a community
of Anglican Divinity Students to train for the priesthood and so counted over
110 Anglican priests amongst its graduates during the same period. The Rectors
and later Wardens and Headmasters of Bishops College School were also Anglican
priests, There were Professors who were also Rectors of St George’s (or were
they Rectors of St George’s who held professorships at the University – such as
Canon Scarth the second Rector of Lennoxville), Wardens of the School who held
professorships, as well as dignitaries such as the famous Archdeacon Roe (after
whom the Hall is named) who were both Dean of Divinity and Archdeacon of St
Francis. James William Williams, headmaster of Bishop’s College School from 1857-1863
succeeded Bishop Mountain as the fourth Lord Bishop of Quebec. The Rev’d Arthur
Huffman McGreer, principal from 1922-1947 was an active member of the Anglican
community and the Diocese of Quebec. With the hills of Lennoxville crawling
with Anglican clergymen and seminarians it was more like something from the <i>Barchester Chronicles</i> of Trollope or the
<i>Salterton Trilogy</i> of Robertson Davies
than anything else. The ties are too intricate and numerous for me to unravel
in detail. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">COMMEMORATION OF BENEFACTORS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Ever year at my Cambridge College we have a service of the Commemoration
of Benefactors in which we give thanks for all those who, over the years, have made
our existence possible. Unfortunately, as my college is almost 1000 years old,
the list does go on a bit. Fortunately the College puts on an elaborate feast afterwards
as a reward for sitting through a very long service which mostly consists of
the reading of a list of names. I take comfort in the fact that we do not
forget our friends even in death and despite the centuries rolling by. It makes
me feel part of the past and gives me a sense of continuity despite the tides
of historical upheavals, wars, changes in dynasties and cultures <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Unlike the father founders of many institutions the father founders of
Bishop’s are not laid to rest here on the grounds, such as McGill is in
Montreal. Bishop Mountain is in Quebec City. However Fr Doolittle is laid to
rest, with his wife, in an unobtrusive plot next to St George’s. As the current
custodian of one of the Founders of Lennoxville and its institutions it pains
me to know how little attention is given to him in this current age. The only
visitors I know of in the last year were two crack users who have found a spot
next to his grave to hide their drug paraphernalia. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This period of Anglican hegemony has ebbed away over the last few
decades and really came to an end with the closure of the seminary in 1976 and
the de-anglicanisation of the university in recent years culminating in the
internal abolition of the Lord Bishop of Quebec and the Lord Bishop of Montreal
as the University Visitors (A visitor is the legal representative of the
original donors). The world which was ours is ours no longer, as the Prayer
Book says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I do not dispute this or wish to encourage a backwards looking nostalgia
for another age and culture. However I do hope for honour to be given where
honour is due. The existence of this University, in this place, its endowments
and lands, buildings and history, has been bequeathed to it by a culture which
has now had its day. Forty two years ago when I was born St George’s Parish had
740 members on its rolls. We now count about fifty regular attenders. The forty
or so parishes of the Eastern Townships that existed just a few short years ago
will most likely be reduced to seven or eight in the next decade. It is not the
place, and I have not the time to go into the future of established liturgical
and sacramental churches such as mine in a rapidly secularised society such as
ours. What I hope is that what good we have done will be remembered with
respect and perhaps genteel gratitude. Remember Bishop Mountain, Fr Nicolls, and
the benefactors and alumni of this institution with kindness and, if you can
spare a minute or two at least once during your years of study here, stop off
at St George’s when you are walking down Queen Street, go halfway down the
right side of the church and visit Lucius Doolittle. It seems like the right
thing to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Oh, and if there is someone sitting on his grave smoking crack, you can
tell them I said to bog off and go smoke in the parking lot instead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-66210844450769504262015-05-29T10:23:00.002-07:002015-05-29T10:24:31.735-07:00Anglican Oriental-Orthodox Dialogue - Healing the Ages: so that all may be one<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygOH9mVqJADhfNbZp_KXhdIYLa1dqO1qflAD9vmMkkbFySAYzOoKGDw3AtlVeAVfbG6pnnmHcUETpXNvG6IuepawWhM2TViWhgagHIv_wiYi-srBBS0iCcRzNknVrht4xhj5NIOk_Y4_Q/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygOH9mVqJADhfNbZp_KXhdIYLa1dqO1qflAD9vmMkkbFySAYzOoKGDw3AtlVeAVfbG6pnnmHcUETpXNvG6IuepawWhM2TViWhgagHIv_wiYi-srBBS0iCcRzNknVrht4xhj5NIOk_Y4_Q/s320/Untitled-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #665950; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #665950; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Unlike many international ecumenical groups, the work of the Anglican
Oriental Orthodox International Dialogue may well be interesting to those other
than ecclesiastical nerds, of whom Miss Jean Brodie says “for those who like
that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing they like”. Its work is set
against a background of persecution, modern martyrdom, ancient division, Islam,
and the exotic music, dress, languages, liturgies and cultures of the Middle
East.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #665950; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Anglican Communion has international ecumenical commissions with six
global church families: Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran,
Reformed and Methodist. A small group of worldwide Anglicans are appointed by
the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Secretary General of the Anglican
Communion to serve on these dialogues. I was honoured to be appointed to the
Anglican Oriental Orthodox International Commission earlier this year and have
just returned from our first meeting in Cairo, Egypt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #665950; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Most of the International dialogues are about building relationships and
engaging in theological dialogue to find common ground and heal divisions. On
the face of it the Anglican Oriental Orthodox dialogue is the same. However,
unlike the other dialogues, there is a much deeper and more pressing rationale.
The International Commission is really an act of solidarity with an
increasingly persecuted Christian community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #665950; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">For those who are not familiar with Oriental Orthodoxy, it is the
communion of the ancient churches found primarily in the Middle East who
refused to subscribe to the Council of Chalcedon. The Oriental Orthodox
comprise: The Armenian Orthodox, the Coptic Orthodox, the Eritrean Orthodox,
the Ethiopian Orthodox, the Malankara Orthodox, and the Syrian Orthodox. These
churches represent the most ancient forms of Christianity found today with many
still speaking West Syrian, East Syrian, and even Aramaic – the language of
Christ Himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #665950; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Their music, religious liturgies and customs, dress and culture seem to
many western Christians alien and they are often confused with Islam. If you
observed black clad Syrian orthodox clerics chanting and prostrating themselves
during evening prayer you could be forgiven for first thinking they were a
group of Imams. The similarities are striking. However the reason they are
striking is not that the Christians are worshipping like the Muslims but rather
the other way around. There are some who even believe that early Islam was
strongly influenced by the Assyrian Orthodox communities in the Persian Empire
(modern day Iraq) who, holding to the Nestorian Heresy, deemphasised the
divinity of Christ and who tended to think of him as a Prophet like in the
Koran.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #665950; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">These communities flourished after the Edict of Milan established
tolerance of Christians in 313AD until the coming of Islam in 634AD when their
traditional territories were overrun. For the last 1400 years they have lived
in their homelands as a religious minority. Although there were periodic
persecutions under the Byzantine, Persian, Muslim and Ottomans it is the 20th
century that has seen one of the greatest threats to the survival of the
Oriental Orthodox: the attempted genocide of the Armenian Orthodox (1 and a
half million Armenian Orthodox were killed and 750,000 Assyrian Orthodox, and
750,000 Greek Orthodox) and a sustained persecution of the Syrian Orthodox the
by the Turks, as well as violent persecution of the Coptic Orthodox by militant
Islamists in Egypt (94 Copts have been killed in the last two years).
Palestinian Oriental Orthodox have been denied traditional human rights in
Israel and forced to flee the country (fifty years ago 15% of Palestinians in
Israel were Christian while today that percentage has dropped to only 1.5 and
most predict there will be no indigenous Christians in the Holy Land in twenty
years) and the indigenous Church of the East (Assyrian Orthodox) in Iraq has
been almost wiped out. The only traditionally stable country in the Middle East
for Christians, Syria, has been a refuge for them from persecution. The current
destabilisation of that country may well see another great exodus of these
communities from their homelands to new homes in Canada, Australia, and the
United States.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #665950; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Although it is a difficult thing to face up to, the reason so little
international attention has been paid to the plight of these Christian
communities is the widespread ignorance of these churches by Western Christians
and their instinctive Islamaphobia towards those from the Middle East. Part of
the Anglican Communion’s attempt to educate the rest of the world about the
urgent need of our sister churches has been to highlight, prioritise, and publicise
our dialogue with them and encourage the churches of our communion to learn
about their history, culture, predicament, and to foster local ecumenical
relationships with them. Although Montreal has the most Oriental Orthodox
communities in Quebec, there is a Coptic Orthodox community in Quebec City and
a Syrian Orthodox community in Sherbrooke. There are even a couple of Coptic
families in Magog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #665950; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As Anglicans, we look to the Scriptures, Tradition (the early church),
and Reason (the three legged stool of Richard Hooker) for authority. As such,
the Council of Nicaea (325AD), Constantinople (381AD), Ephesus (431AD),
Chalcedon (451AD), and the Creeds that came from them (The Nicene and the
Apostles Creed) hold doctrinal importance for us second only to Holy
Scripture. Anglicans have placed patristics (the writings and teachings
of the fathers of the undivided church such as St Augustine, St Ambrose, St
Jerome, and Pope St Gregory the Great) as part of Tradition. As Anglicans hold
to the teaching of the early church, the Council of Chalcedon, which defined
the human and divine nature of Christ, is central to our understanding of God
and his work in the creation. It is this Council and the nature of Christ that
the latest meeting addressed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #665950; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">For decades international dialogues between the Orthodox and the
Oriental Orthodox, between the Anglicans and the Orthodox and the Oriental
Orthodox, as well as the Church of Rome have led to a re-evaluation of the
significance of the refusal of the Oriental Orthodox to subscribe to the
Council of Chalcedon. This has primarily been attributed to the complexities of
several Greek words and their Syrian translations. To make a complicated
theological argument simplistic – we have agreed that the Oriental Orthodox in
speaking of the one nature of Christ do not thereby deny full humanity and full
divinity of Christ. Therefore, our historical condemnation of the Oriental
Orthodox as being Monophysite (those that believe that Christ has only one
nature which therefore must be either fully divine or fully human), was
incorrect and a misunderstanding of their true position as Miaphysites (those
that believe that Christ’s one nature is a unity of his humanity and divinity
and are united without separation, without confusion, and without alteration).
I assume the significance of the difference is self-apparent: if we believed
Christ had only one nature then our central Trinitarian theology of incarnation
and the atonement would be meaningless and we would not believe God is
encountered by us through his creation, one another, and the Sacraments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #665950; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">For almost thirty years the Anglican Communion and the Oriental Orthodox
have been trying to reach an agreed Statement on Christology. The Orthodox had
already come to the same agreement with the Oriental Orthodox which paved the
way for our agreed statement. On October 15th we finally achieved our goal and
the Joint Agreed Statement on Christology was signed. Thus an almost 1600 year
division was swept away. The next day the entire delegation was received in St
Mark’s Cathedral, the largest Cathedral on the African continent and filled
with thousands of Copts, by the Patriarch of Alexandria (one of the four
Ancient Patriarchs or Popes of the undivided church) where we presented His
Holiness with the fruit of thirty years of theological dialogue, ecumenical friendship,
mutual understanding, and a passion for unity in the spirit of Christ’s High
Priestly Prayer “that all may be one”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-14196149040656372242012-04-18T10:30:00.002-07:002012-04-18T20:06:24.024-07:00Expect the Unexpected: Post XXIV – Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-4L8g2XIgxMc/T475uGiOfwI/AAAAAAAAB84/N-lUoRYChzM/s1600-h/Sufi%252520Shrine%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Sufi Shrine" border="0" alt="Sufi Shrine" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-jEdHq6zfdjg/T475vpqj4WI/AAAAAAAAB9A/WhRiauGRavY/Sufi%252520Shrine_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="233" /></a> </p> <p>“Expect the unexpected” is the general catchphrase for India. Just when you think you have it figured out it goes and surprises you. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3mG9gOl_2iU/T475yKNHKgI/AAAAAAAAB9I/oPwGCxtvEkc/s1600-h/Madurai%25255B4%25255D%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Madurai" border="0" alt="Madurai" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lKFO7f47HC8/T475z8Ct6UI/AAAAAAAAB9Q/rhWkEuGTKOg/Madurai%25255B4%25255D_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>I have had two such experiences in the last couple of weeks. The first was the extraordinary experience of visiting the five great temple cities of Tamil Nadu in the south: Thanumalayan Temple in Suchindram; Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai; Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam part of Tiruchirapalli; Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur; and Thillai Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram (where the god Shiva received the title of Lord of the Dance); </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-SbdRcaxBRu0/T4751a4vVEI/AAAAAAAAB9Y/jvEx2ppWIlw/s1600-h/Shiva%252520Nataraja%252520at%252520Nataraj%252520Temple%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Shiva Nataraja at Nataraj Temple" border="0" alt="Shiva Nataraja at Nataraj Temple" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZCgbvNnh_ul4AgRmt2LOMnPGy0tJCryTE8Na2Ct3XpapfKWeHP7h6U-R7cV-fbSHBcCXBNMiwDsuoax3eTviQ0Td9TN16MaMF0HIibdKxiSKY8QMATpoAgmPRHw7sm678LLLHyfVzQqnJ/?imgmax=800" width="383" height="242" /></a> </p> <p>as well as  the giant Shivite fire phallus at the mountain Shrine of Tiruvannamalai (which I have not included a photo of). </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-JRm3Y7KdsIU/T4754SSZdrI/AAAAAAAAB9o/C7BkpWbUMao/s1600-h/Tamil%252520Temple%252520City%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Tamil Temple City" border="0" alt="Tamil Temple City" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8j66D28EWRA/T47550VLiKI/AAAAAAAAB9w/9fdUypWP3cE/Tamil%252520Temple%252520City_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="266" /></a> </p> <p>These vast complexes are actually cities in their own right with several gateways leading further and further into the inner sanctums. The throng of the markets in the outer circles, the constant prayers and processions of the Brahmin priests, and the mysterious vast columned labyrinthine hallways leading to obscure lonely shrines bathed only in the light of burning ghee all blend together to cast a powerful spell. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-L7Rb8rqa1B4/T4758lSPk9I/AAAAAAAAB94/NDybyMnYegI/s1600-h/Chidumbram%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Chidumbram" border="0" alt="Chidumbram" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-0TUxH_h5xmk/T475-fIGOjI/AAAAAAAAB-A/S-7339d1RKQ/Chidumbram_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>However what I found the most powerful was the realisation that I was looking straight into the past. Or at least our past as westerners. I have mentioned before that the Brahmetical Hinduism of Tamil Nadu is the last living classical religion on the planet. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-dNHkoOl_zvs/T475_vkzyEI/AAAAAAAAB-I/HuFx_7pY12w/s1600-h/Market%252520inside%252520the%252520Temple%252520Compound%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Market inside the Temple Compound" border="0" alt="Market inside the Temple Compound" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0o_mQo_hZtmCJrDnIUoKffLRdvhUkyg0mtktr6cPC1SNlUvNNPI1V9dmm96-iTab1n5jJI0B3PEqWMkE4-k7o5Ku4W6ssII_TcCdgSYxgLhq5MS0L2S0O4ma4B6CNCcHbZOpkV3P2bWoc/?imgmax=800" width="391" height="513" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-82MbUnk0Ka4/T476DGsUF3I/AAAAAAAAB-Y/xE0DTdmwF8o/s1600-h/Corridor%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Corridor" border="0" alt="Corridor" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-4JL7l5WTAK0/T476Ei3u7MI/AAAAAAAAB-g/9lEzT2BWZ7Q/Corridor_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="390" height="509" /></a> </p> <p>What one sees in these Temple cities is what life in ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and even the worship in the Temple in Jerusalem looked like. Yet here it is still going on. The businessman who stops to offer garlands of flowers or ghee and a donation to the temple priests for  a good outcome for his afternoon meeting is no different that an ancient Roman merchant offering sacrifices to the household gods before a particularly important transaction. Experiencing the life of these temples has brought the ancient world to life for me in a way that HBO’s Rome can never do, no matter how much gratuitous sex they throw in. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-HP1R0zZq8W8/T476F0RbOQI/AAAAAAAAB-o/Tnu0H3aj6YM/s1600-h/Sufi%252520Shrine%252520at%252520Ajmer%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Sufi Shrine at Ajmer" border="0" alt="Sufi Shrine at Ajmer" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-kMAaogvjVRk/T476HFI8ncI/AAAAAAAAB-w/I5lCJnk_VHs/Sufi%252520Shrine%252520at%252520Ajmer_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="316" /></a> </p> <p>The second unexpected thing to have happened occurred at the Dargah Sharif of the tomb of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (1143-1235), the great Sufi Saint who brought the Chishti Order from Persia to India. This Muslim Shrine, the most important in India, is still run by the order which emphasise love, tolerance, openness, and hospitality as their guiding spiritual disciplines.  To get to the Shrine you must walk a kilometre or so through a crowded bazaar filled with beggars who actually lie in your path so you have to step over them. The crowds and noise do not cease at the shrine but, if anything, only increase. In the chaos of the shrine a quiet spoken man kept saying “Excuse Me, Sir” over and over again. I have had this happen so often in India that I ignored him as is the normal best practice. He was so persistent that I did the second best thing which was to wave him away with some guttural Hindi (never mind that I was deep in Rajasthan in Urdu territory). When this didn’t work I just confronted him directly and asked what he wanted and when he said he wanted to share with me the spirit of the Saint and Order I scoffed (priests, unfortunately make a good bit of their money tricking tourists into ‘tours’ or thrusting something into their hands like flowers and then demanding payment). I was wise to this trick so I bluntly asked him how much he wanted. He smiled at me sweetly and said something along the lines of “I know what you think I am but I’m not. Trust me for just a minute and you’ll see.” Instead of walking away, which I came very close to doing, I hesitated and did trust him (for a minute). </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-LmOfXDULC-M/T476IrrmoGI/AAAAAAAAB-4/8GERGju-esk/s1600-h/Khwaja%252520Tomb%252520Ajmer%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Khwaja Tomb Ajmer" border="0" alt="Khwaja Tomb Ajmer" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-2TK4MUJKAiY/T476KG_H94I/AAAAAAAAB_A/_zFA8sQY-bQ/Khwaja%252520Tomb%252520Ajmer_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="398" height="314" /></a> </p> <p>I am glad I did. It turned out he was one of the Sufi brothers and actually a member of the governing council of the shrine. He really did want to talk with me about the nature of God. Not religion, not Islam, not Sufism, but just God. When he discovered I was a member of a religious community myself he spent a long time asking me many questions and we compared and contrasted the elements that make up our respective ‘orders’ before moving onto the dangers of religion in the modern world and our respective fundamentalisms and what we, as faithful men, could do about it. </p> <p>This man actually believed in openness, hospitality and generosity and put it into practice by welcoming people to the Shrine. As he had a university education and spoke a couple of foreign languages he made a point of greeting foreigners. During my entire time in India, he is is the only person who has spoken to me about God instead of religion, doctrine, or  sectarian or caste division. I guess I should not be surprised considering he was a Sufi. Still I was. He was a great blessing to me and I am grateful for his insistence. We ended the afternoon, after having tea in the shade of a banyan tree, praying at the tomb of the Saint that all human hearts would unclench and unfold into the ever present sun of the love of God. The overpowering scent of thousand upon thousand of rose petals piled high over the tomb so that it was lost to view has probably changed the smell of roses for me forever. When I smell roses I think I will remember the Sufi Shrine at Ajmer. </p> <p>“Expect the unexpected”. I should also point out, to be fair since I gripped so much before, that much of Tamil Nadu was sparsely populated and remarkably beautiful. The only crowds were in the cities. I have also found almost no trash in Rajasthan. It turns out this is partially because the poverty is so great here there is not so much to throw away as in other places but also because an army of street sweepers work around the clock. Still – to give it its due there is very little rubbish about, few stray dogs (pigs, goats, boar, water buffalo, chickens, monkeys etc.) although there are, as ever, many wandering sacred cows. The almost deserted deserts and arid southern mountains of Rajasthan are some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. There have been places where all you can hear are the numerous song-birds, the wind and the cry of peafowl. Just when you think you have it all figured out….</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7BH1GyggmYS44hhUs5MJ5eXu2yfj4eA8Xh9nfmth7QG5VTQTLSswpEYzQaPLm_g6mjOGOo6ptRhi8S7Rp0uAhnHWT634Tm_dJ6SPv3tw-zzQ5NQgdFkbRYAPMPkKa1HmDWWca_fp6Fdq/s1600-h/Thanjur%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Thanjur" border="0" alt="Thanjur" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-HwiO5plrHxg/T476NBx95GI/AAAAAAAAB_Q/j7IX8Wd4o_8/Thanjur_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>I now continue my hectic across the sub-continent tour of the great holy places of India. I have been to Himachal Pradesh in the Western Himalayas to the great Buddhist Monasteries of both the Dali Lama and the Karmapa Lama around Dharamsala, the ancient Hindu hill temples of the Chamba valley, as well as the Golden Temple of the Sikhs in Amritsar in the Punjab. I have also visited the Buddhist caves at Ajanta and the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain caves at Ellora. The Hindu tour of Tamil Nadu is finished (and I even managed to visit the headquarters of the Theosophical Society in Adyar). </p> <p>With my visits to the last two Saint Thomas founded churches and the places of his hermitage, his Martyrdom and his Burial in Mylapore in Madras (Chennai) I have finished the Christian pilgrimage of India in the footsteps of the Apostle. </p> <p>I have just come from Jaipur to visit the great Jain temples of Adinath at Ranakpur and Dilwara at Mount Abu before continuing onto the Sun Temple at Modhera in Gujarat. Then follows: the Great Stupa the Emperor Ashoka built to house the relics of the Lord Buddha at Sanchi; the great Hindu temple of Khajuraho; the ruined city of Fatepur Sikri of the Emperor Akbar where the first inter-religious conferences were established and the tomb of the Sufi saint Salim Chishti is found; Agra of the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort; the holy city and Ghats of Shiva at Varanasi - one of the oldest inhabited cities on earth; Sarnath where the Lord Buddha preached the first sermon thereby setting the ‘wheel of dharma (Dharmacakra) in motion’ and creating the Buddhist Sangha (Buddhist church or community) and where Emperor Ashoka built the Dhamek Stupa; the hill of the Lord Buddha’s Fire Sermon (the Ādittapariyāya Sutta of the Pali Canon) -</p> <blockquote> <p>"Sabbaṃ bhikkhave (the crowd of  1000 listening) ādittaṃ – Bhikkhus, all is burning.”; </p> </blockquote> <p>Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya the place of the Lord Buddha’s enlightenment underneath the Boddhi tree; and onto Darjeeling and Sikkim in the Eastern Himalayas where I will visit the ancient Tibetan monasteries of Rumtek, Pemayangtse, and Tashiding, as well as one of the few remaining Bon (indigenous Tibetan religion) monasteries, all which were once part of Tibet. Needless to say I will take the opportunity whilst in Darjeeling to visit some of my favourite estates (for those who do not know me I collect Darjeeling teas). </p> <p>When I have finished I will have visited the most important religious sites in India of Christianity, Islam (Sunni, Sufi & Shiite), Judaism, Hinduism (North and South), Jainism, Buddhism (Mahayana, Theravada and Tibetan), and Sikhism.</p> <p>I still have around ten or so Saint Basil Scholarship posts left to do, including the last few Saint Thomas churches, my summing up of my time with the East Syrians, as well as my time with the West Syrians and my audience with His Holiness. Many of these are already written but either not polished, edited or have no photos added. However these may not all get done until this summer. I will post a few more whilst I am travelling if I can find the time. I am taking a course with Charles Stang, Professor of Early Christian Thought at Harvard, this summer on the Oriental Orthodox Churches and have gained permission to write about the Saint Thomas Christians here in India. This means I will have some time to finish up in June as well as produce a professional paper at the end. </p> <p>Eventually, all going according to plan, I will return. Yet, as many of you know, I do not return home as I no longer have one. Instead I come back to move to a new city, a new diocese, and new parishes. The odd thing is that for most people I have already left or I have yet to arrive whereas I am trapped in limbo – neither gone nor arrived. </p> <p>I recognise that a period of distancing is necessary for those I am leaving and I hope that this period of my being completely ‘gone’ will help the necessary transition in the parish, archdeaconry and diocese I am leaving. Yet I am finding myself realising more and more that really my parish and my work was my life. I socialised with few outside of it and so I am going through a period of grieving as I know I will not return to the majority of those who made up my life for the last decade. </p> <p>I also am finding that being gone this long and in an alien land strangely – hazifying. I know that this is not a word. What I mean is that without my work, without speaking to anyone I know (I am not even in e-mail correspondence with anyone), without any of my normal comforts such as pizza, tea, and science fiction I seem to be becoming hazy around the edges. I am losing definition or some part of my identity. I think this might be a jolly good thing too. Time will tell. </p> <p>On a definitely positive (and vain) note I am also gaining some definition. I stayed at a hotel a few days ago that had a full length mirror in the bathroom. I have not seen myself in the mirror for almost three months (the other two places I stayed had tiny hand held mirrors which you could just about comb your hair with). I do not know how much weight I have lost but the combination of lots of exercise, little food, lots of exposure to the sun (which has made my hair and beard go blond and auburn), no alcohol, meat, or tobacco and few dairy products, and having not shaved has changed my ‘shape’ and appearance so much that I, at first, did not recognise myself in the mirror. So for the first time in probably fifteen years I have not been embarrassed to walk around without a shirt on (men must remove their shirts in many Hindu temples) or go swimming. I also have a waist again and so - new belts! The photo below is not of me.  Rather it is of a Shivite Temple priest and elephant – a common sight in the temple cities of Tamil Nadu. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-gCsUOUwRd-M/T476O0z4mmI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/go7EvvtcEkE/s1600-h/Shivite%252520Temple%252520Elephant%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Shivite Temple Elephant" border="0" alt="Shivite Temple Elephant" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-IuDuUSuIRKk/T476Qb_LaMI/AAAAAAAAB_g/cR_QdaxojXA/Shivite%252520Temple%252520Elephant_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="386" height="453" /></a></p>Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-40724656555923096202012-04-03T09:23:00.006-07:002014-10-14T16:43:11.513-07:00The Breaking Point: Post XXVIII – Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-JCPy9JRX7UY/T3sjfpBdXPI/AAAAAAAAB6Y/tC1bDEPUnNk/s1600-h/CrowdedCompartment3.jpg"><img alt="Crowded Compartment" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-131bD9tSQGw/T3sjhV6hVJI/AAAAAAAAB6g/rMgG_aHNitM/CrowdedCompartment_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="289" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Crowded Compartment" width="383" /></a> <br />
<br />
Let me tell you about a 2nd class Indian Rail coach. Indian trains have an elaborate and complicated class system; 1st AC (which most trains do not have), 2 Tired AC, 3 Tired AC, AC Chair, 1st Class, Sleeper, and finally 2nd class. Everything above 2nd class has to be booked ages in advance for reservation. I will not even begin to explain the complexity of the numerous types of tickets available and the different types of wait listing. There is no 3rd class. I found travelling 1st AC challenging but perhaps that was because it was an almost three day trip. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-9EHTSuU-7uM/T3sjjXT8z_I/AAAAAAAAB6o/Pc8QAk_I5bc/s1600-h/ReallyReallyCrowded3.jpg"><img alt="Really, Really Crowded" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-KX_ucJG9Kck/T3sjlqTY7sI/AAAAAAAAB6w/VEjekF0cQKc/ReallyReallyCrowded_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="261" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Really, Really Crowded" width="383" /></a> <br />
<br />
As a result of a a complicated set of events I will not go into, I found myself on a train in an isolated area with the choice to move to 2nd class or get off the train at the next stop and be stranded. And I really mean stranded. The system of hotels, taxis, buses, and airports a westerner takes for granted does not exist in most areas of India. Even a short distances of 30 kilometres outside of westernised areas like Bangalore is like stepping from the ‘1st world to the stone age’ as William Dalrymple puts it. I decided to move to 2nd class. Did I mention it was a 38 hour trip? <br />
<br />
It was a 38 hour trip. <br />
<br />
Simply put I have never experienced anything like it in my life. To say it was crowded is such an understatement as to be absurd. I was one of the lucky ones as I had a seat and for much of the trip, thanks to a kind Sikh, a window seat. Seats designed for four people held nine or even ten. The wire luggage racks overhead were also used by people for sitting or sleeping and parents would stick their small infants in them. Literally ever available space on the floor was also used to cram people into. There were even people crammed in under the seats.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2s_Cf0543c0/T3sjnYlKKAI/AAAAAAAAB64/ki1xcTZl5jA/s1600-h/CowdedCompartmentII3.jpg"><img alt="Cowded Compartment II" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-O0gb6LtH3YI/T3sjpM2l3XI/AAAAAAAAB7A/bynzYFB1OxQ/CowdedCompartmentII_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="197" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Cowded Compartment II" width="383" /></a> <br />
<br />
It soon became obvious that this was going to be an endurance test like no other. I could only drink small sips of water just to keep my mouth from cracking because to drink very much would mean eventually having to make my way off the train at a stop to urinate and then get back on (my seat would have then been taken). I saw some people somehow swinging down the aisle placing feet on people’s shoulders and heads whilst clutching luggage racks overhead. I knew I did not have the wherewithal to accomplish that monumental feat.<br />
<br />
At one point during the night I realised that I had at least six people using me as a sleeping aid: two on the seat opposite had their feet on me or shoved under me; one had his head on my leg whilst another slumped over him onto my shoulder; two were on the floor either on top of my feet or under my seat pressed against my heels. The count is seven if you count the man asleep above my head on my bag in the luggage rack drooling on me. There was no way to move even a little as if you sat forward in your seat you would then be unable to sit back again. <br />
<br />
I think the reality of the poverty really hit me when I watched a rat scurry in and out amongst the people on the floor and across the lap of an elderly woman. She did not move and no one else even blinked. Arundhati Roy, in her 1997 Booker Prize winning <em>The God of Small Things</em>, speaks of this quiet resignation. <br />
<blockquote>
“But when they made love he was offended by her eyes. They behaved as though they belonged to someone else. Someone watching. Looking out of the window at the sea. At a boat in the river. Or a passerby in the mist in a hat. He was exasperated because he didn’t know what that look meant. He put it somewhere between indifference and despair. He didn’t know that in some places, like the country that Rahel came from, various kinds of despair competed for primacy. And that personal despair could never be desperate enough. That something happened when personal turmoil dropped by at the wayside shrine of the vast, violent, circling, driving, ridiculous, insane, unfeasible, public turmoil of a nation. That Big God howled like a hot wind, and demanded obeisance. Then Small God (cozy and contained, private and limited) came away cauterized, laughing numbly at his own temerity. Inured by the confirmation of his own inconsequence, he became resilient and truly indifferent Nothing mattered much. Nothing much mattered. And the less it mattered, the less it mattered. It was never important enough. Because Worse Things had happened. In the country that she came from, poised forever between the terror of war and the horror of peace, Worse Things kept happening. So Small God laughed a hollow laugh, and skipped away cheerfully. Like a rich boy in shorts. He whistled, kicked stones. The source of his brittle elation was the relative smallness of his misfortune. He climbed into people’s eyes and became an exasperating expression. What Larry McCaslin saw in Rahel’s eyes was not despair at all, but a sort of enforced optimism.”</blockquote>
I have seen great poverty in different parts of the world but never at such close and intimate proximity for such a prolonged period. I began with an ‘escapist’ portal in the form of Kipling’s <em>Kim</em> which I still had four chapters left to read. However, a physically malformed young man was getting off at the next stop and was unable to reach his bag. He did not ask for help but kind of looked around hoping for help and when none came he just kind of stared up at it hopelessly. It was the hopelessness of the stare that made me jump up and push my way to where he was to get the bag for him. In so doing <em>Kim,</em> and my only escape<em>,</em> flew out of the window and into the night desert of Rajasthan. <br />
<br />
I was very patient and even calm and although I feared that claustrophobia, panic, irritation, anger, or an emotional empathy for the poverty I was immersed in might arise unabated in my breast nothing awoke. However, that hardly means I was unaffected. I became painfully aware that what separated me from those around me was not money, or privilege, or the country I either come from, was educated in, or live in. It was something born of all three and more. I have a voice. One that can be heard above the din. Another way of saying this is that I can expect to be noticed. Those with whom I was travelling had been silenced and not just metaphorically. The blank staring looks, the lack of interaction, the indifference to surroundings, the lack of expectation of any level of comfort or human dignity all silently spoke of it.<br />
<br />
At no time did I feel in the least bit threatened or unsafe. I guess I do not really mean me personally as it is unlikely that a male western tourist will be harassed on a train. What I mean is that, even with all the shoving and pushing to get on or off the train, or to climb over one another I did not feel or see any signs of hostility, anger or irritation. Everyone seemed calm – almost comatose. Yet at the same time I was more than aware that this seemingly ‘quiet’ or ‘resigned’ poverty can, when aroused from its sleep be capable of acts of extraordinary anger and violence of the kind that can change history. <br />
The thing that stuck out was a part of India that I think is mostly hidden from most tourists. Local beggars, cripples, musicians, hawkers of everything under the sun and holy men would get on at one stop and move along the carriage to get off at the next stop and start the process again. It was fascinating. Yet the most interesting was the Magic Transvestite.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ECxl1G_t2pg/T3sjq6J8-0I/AAAAAAAAB7I/xOPMv0P6Y7w/s1600-h/HijraI47.jpg"><img alt="Hijra I" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-5oip4Xm1G7E/T3sjsyR3x_I/AAAAAAAAB7Q/82V7ikqyQ1U/HijraI4_thumb6.jpg?imgmax=800" height="540" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Hijra I" width="382" /></a> <br />
<br />
To be fair to the culture, Indians refer to them by their Urdu (from an Arabic root) name Hijra. They are a traditional part of south Asian culture. They are men who dress and identify themselves as women who live in community under a guru and are usually considered and classified as a third gender. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-wZH2uXP0Gb0/T3sjvEL3rRI/AAAAAAAAB7Y/MLH4Z9Gz5X4/s1600-h/HijraIII3.jpg"><img alt="Hijra III" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-XKoQAkvVHWA/T3sjxYEIYQI/AAAAAAAAB7g/RPY3jKhg5qg/HijraIII_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="307" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Hijra III" width="383" /></a> <br />
<br />
They are mentioned in the <em>Karma Sutra</em> and in both the great Hindu epics. In the <em>Ramayana</em> Rama orders all the men and women that have followed him into the forest before his fourteen year exile to Ayodhya to cease to grieve for him and return home. When he returns fourteen years later he discovers that the Hijra, being neither male nor female, had stayed in the forest. So impressed was Rama by their faithfulness that he gave them the power to bestow blessings.<br />
<br />
In the <em>Mahabharata</em> Lord Aravan gives his life to the goddess Kali so that the next days battle may be won. His only wish is that he marry. As no women will marry a man who will die on the morrow the god Krishna disguises himself as a woman and marries him. An eight day feast at the Temple of Aravni in Tamil Nadu every year celebrates this marriage. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-GZnp6JYl9-4/T3sjzM_QLsI/AAAAAAAAB7o/yOtQMqKTv40/s1600-h/HijraII7.jpg"><img alt="Hijra II" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-fzMMRsCjfEQ/T3sj1d-RLLI/AAAAAAAAB7w/K1hvHBquYEY/HijraII_thumb5.jpg?imgmax=800" height="499" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Hijra II" width="384" /></a> <br />
<br />
Hijra are often encountered in the streets or on trains going around offering blessings and it is widely believed they have the power to do so by more than just Hindus. The Hijra that spent time in my train carriage was sought after for blessings by Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims (at least the three faith adherences I could identify by sight). They are a regular part of Indian wedding and birth rituals and parties. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-m3v1AnQEN3Y/T3sj3OaTreI/AAAAAAAAB74/g_02Efkj268/s1600-h/HarveyFierstein6.jpg"><img alt="Harvey Fierstein" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Cr760QvHPYo/T3sj5KW5e8I/AAAAAAAAB8A/jDLGFc7ph6M/HarveyFierstein_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" height="371" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Harvey Fierstein" width="378" /></a> <br />
<br />
What will forever stand out in my mind though is that this Hijra sounded EXACTLY like Harvey Fierstein only in Hindi! I know many of you will think I was imagining it because Mr Fierstein played a drag queen in both <em>La Cage aux Folles</em> and <em>Torch Song Trilogy</em> (both of which he wrote). But it was the coincidence that blew me away. First I heard the voice calling out for blessings. I thought something like “gee that sounds like Harvey Fierstein” and then a holy transvestite climbs into view. Once you have Mr Fierstein’s voice you cannot mistake it for anyone else’s. For those of you who do not know what he sounds like here is a random clip from the internet that is NOT of him receiving an award of some sort. The second a bizarre song sung on Sesame Street. I have a hard time figuring out how they managed to get him to sing it without anyone realising the possibility of anti-Semitism allegations. Really, a song about noses called<em> ‘Everything is Coming up Noses’</em> sung by an Ashkenazi New York Jew in which he shoves noses onto everyone? <br />
<br />
<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:76b59baa-0b4d-437d-bb06-e0d4718569df" style="display: inline; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="867aad18-39a4-4306-96d3-052c2b9aacbd" style="display: inline; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyVCSb419rk" target="_new"><img alt="" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YtRwDu6RDDQ/T3sj7KQUfQI/AAAAAAAAB8I/WdZ3HKWIyAU/videoc1c316877456%25255B13%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('867aad18-39a4-4306-96d3-052c2b9aacbd'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/OyVCSb419rk&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/OyVCSb419rk&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:2c012ce4-50df-4aff-85e5-456722b97fea" style="display: inline; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="2ec9c351-05e9-4d2c-8104-165165a0c800" style="display: inline; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6vEwp25cOM" target="_new"><img alt="" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6ieBhDGRTlw/T3sj80X8wxI/AAAAAAAAB8Q/wo9wsdxRAOE/videoa116349b62af%25255B13%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('2ec9c351-05e9-4d2c-8104-165165a0c800'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/O6vEwp25cOM&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/O6vEwp25cOM&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
Anyway, it just goes to show how different the world can be. A transvestite in Western culture would never be treated with religious awe let alone respect. I need not mention the history of persecution by western religions. I will also not get into Jungian concepts of the Sacred Hermaphrodite in pagan and classical religion but simple point out that the concept of a third gender is common to most cultures. Just not ours. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1Vrjnt1zycIJtjOsooy8vT8As_A4vS1ScTdSAGZWybbK2MFpCUqKLvsiRkK21Nho31uCDY4Vt11e5YcRNvvnXJNvRsigtZeL7A495sDy0W-yIanamwbdmGkk5E5dGXA-C6Jps1FsojIB/s1600-h/Priscilla%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Priscilla" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-r-3TyLHWhOM/T3skAA0TMnI/AAAAAAAAB8g/o9hWZH-GQ0A/Priscilla_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="218" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="Priscilla" width="383" /></a> <br />
<br />
Still wouldn’t it be a different church if instead of persecuting transvestites we hired them to give blessings on a Sunday? And, hey, no jokes about men already dressing up in coloured ‘dresses’ every week to do just this! I know that transvestites are not the same as drag queens (the later are entertainers) but my mind immediately jumps to finale of <em>Pricilla Queen of the Desert</em> (the depictions are of indigenous Australian animals and the Sydney opera house). There are few church services I have been to that could not have benefitted immensely from a drag queen blessing thrown in at some point (for those of you who lack a subtle sense of humour I would like to gently point out that I am being farcical here). <br />
<br />
<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:297650b8-417a-4751-a692-c009415d58be" style="display: inline; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="13579c24-f044-4995-a3b7-79ce6f87f418" style="display: inline; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQF5KEmvOB8&feature=related" target="_new"><img alt="" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-fitGJ3ege-4/T3skBaKKqII/AAAAAAAAB8o/QF0XIMvoEGU/video2a0f8cf7a8f9%25255B13%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('13579c24-f044-4995-a3b7-79ce6f87f418'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/YQF5KEmvOB8&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/YQF5KEmvOB8&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
To return to my main point, a couple of things became clear for me during that 38 hours in a second class Indian train carriage. One, is that I realised that the India I love is one typical of scholarly bookish types like myself. I Have always loved the ‘idea’ of India. The great sweeping epics, the Vedas, the ancient civilisation with its art and architecture. The philosophy and religious traditions that have so enriched the world. The treasures of mystical metaphysical poetry of the Sufis and Sikhs. That India I have not encountered. Only remnants of it. The left over shells of what once was. As a metaphor, Buddhism works well. The Lord Buddha was Indian and his entire ministry was within India. The great ancient monuments associated with him such as Bodh Gaya, Sanchi, Sarnath, the caves at Ajanta or Ellora are all in India. And yet Buddhism all but died out in India by the 13th century leaving nothing but remains and even these were forgotten until the modern era.<br />
<br />
The India I have harboured in my breast all these years no longer exists any more than the Israel of the Patriarchs and the Prophets or the Athens of Socrates. Then again neither does the Deep South of my childhood or the Scotland of my formative years. Yet at least these places today are still are somehow ‘mine’ and I can relate to them. India, like modern Israel and Palestine or modern Greece is simple foreign, maybe not intellectually, artistically, or historically but culturally. Yet still I feel that the India of the Upanishads or the Lord Buddha that ‘was’ is still part of me just like the Greece of Plato that ‘was’ and the Jerusalem of the Apostles that ‘was’ are also. Of course I am not surprised, and this is not something that I did not already know. What is different is the resignation to it that hung so heavily on me. <br />
<br />
I believe a few decisions were made for me then. The first is that I realised it is an illusion when I tell myself I want to minister for periods in India or Africa or Asia. Actually I don’t. I like the idea of it but the stark reality of multi-faith settings, poverty, the heat, the crowds, the lack of resources shows it up for a vision of self delusion. I am now quite sure that I would like to spend my remaining years not just in the West but also, as I have done for the last 27 years, in the north where the springs and autumns are crisp and the winters cold and the people few. <br />
<br />
The Christianity I have encountered in these places is also alien to me. It has a confidence and a missionary zeal that I find, frankly, frightening and somewhat repulsive in its arrogance. I have found myself on quite a few occasions in some of my more adventurous travels sitting in church or speaking to Christians and thinking that what I was hearing was not just wrong, but destructive and quite dangerous. A great deal of it I have simply found to be superstitious and really a type of folk magic. One service I attended here in India was the biggest bucket of crazy (the exact phrase I used when asked by the leader how I liked it) that I have every encountered. I will only say it is the only Christian service I have every attended where there was no reading from Holy Scripture and the Lord’s Prayer was not said. The theme, by the way, was about the signs in the news of the end of days and the demons in the people around us.<br />
<br />
Yes, evangelical Christianity is growing, yes it has huge numbers of people. Still, by and large, it is not something I want to be associated with. I also know I have nothing to say to it. I am a product of fallen West and have been trained as an apologist and as a laudator temporis acti (praiser of the things past). The Anglican Church that I love no more exists today than the India of the Lord Buddha. Yet there is a difference. I personally experienced the last of the old style High Church Anglicanism of the British Isles and have continued to try and carry what is best in that tradition into the present. The Anglicanism I witness too does still exist in the sense that I still exist and minister.<br />
<br />
My frequently used metaphor of the modern West is of us being a dazed group of people slowly picking our way out of the crater created by the fall of West after the second World War. I am part of the chain of people picking through the rubble seeking to save what can be saved and pass it on to future generations in the hope that it will be of help or at least add a bit of beauty to future generations. I am a product of the fall and the kind of faith and religion I adhere to only makes sense in a post medieval, post Christendom, and post-modern world. It is a ‘second tier’ type of religion if you like. It does not translate to an earlier stage, and I am almost certain, is also of little use for converting those who have lost a the basic Christian interpretive base and become wholly secular. I am well suited for this middle bit which is the time and culture in which I currently live. I am what I am - a Christian apologist during the the end days of the delusion of Christendom. So I am now almost positive the rest of my ministry will be spent in the West, if only because I would have no voice anywhere else.<br />
<br />
One last thing that became obvious to me, that again I already knew. I need time to myself and retreats at monasteries and living alone are quite alright for me. However, I think the time of travelling alone needs to come to an end. The world is fascinating. People are fascinating. But the joy of travelling is to share the experience. It is somehow empty without someone else around, even just at the end of the day to chat with over supper. I have seen enough of the world now that I could quite happily never go anywhere new again. Not that I will not. But I think from now on, if I can not get someone to travel with me, I shall try and join others where they might already be going (if they will have me) or travel to where I already know people. In the worst case scenario I shall save my money and travel ever three years with the University of Cambridge’s Alumni group. You get an actual Cambridge Fellow leading the trip wherever it is and whatever it its theme is - Architecture of the Lower Rhine Valley or Early Mayan Civilizations for example. So you get an academic course, a professorial tour guide, and presumably interesting (or mind numbingly boring) fellow tourists. <br />
<br />
I cannot do this again. I feel ok, but I can count the conversation I have had over the last three months on two hands. I have spoken to my father maybe three times, to an Englishman one afternoon over a cup of tea, a German for three days, a North Indian Bishop and his English wife over Sunday brunch, and another Englishman for a day out in Munnar. <br />
<br />
I was told by my Sanskrit professor at university about the famous Hindu scholar R.C. Zaenher’s first visit to India (although knowing Zaenher’s history as an MI6 Officer it seems likely that the story is apocryphal). His brilliance as a philologist enabled him to study not only Sanskrit but also Pali and thus read the ancient texts of India and become one the of the foremost experts on Hinduism in the world. However, he had never been to India. Finally when he was elderly he agreed to give a series of addresses in India. After his arrival the local dignitaries took him to a nearby hill cave temple of Lord Ganesha. So Professor Zaehner climbed the hill, walked into the shrine, took one look at the ghee and milk covered lingam, saw the rats drinking from the Yoni, smelled the curdled milk mixed with flowers and heavy incense, turned around walked out of the cave, and vomited. He never wrote about Hinduism again. I was worried about having a Zaenhner expereince and yet now that I have I feel freed by having my world be thrown back upon itself. Instead of the prospect of an ever increasingly syncratic and exapanding indentification with other cultures to the point of dissipation I feel I can begin to re-incarnate where I am. To put this in a less convoluted way, I have travelled far enough out to not feel the need to keep going but to be happy to return to where I started and be, with God's grace, more settled. <br />
<br />
I have always dreamed of coming to India. I am honoured to have spent time with the Saint Thomas Christians and feel privileged to have been able to see what I have and to be able to go on the ‘grand tour’ of ancient sites that I embark upon next week. Yet the reality is that it has, instead of being transformative in a new direction, rather been an exercise in exorcism. Many of the ghosts of uncertainty and doubt I had about my life and ministry have been laid to rest. I find myself much more confident of the decisions I have already made in my life, the path I have vowed myself to, and the lifestyle I have embraced. <br />
<br />
Now I really just want to go home. How nice it will be to: breathe fresh air without stench; or drink a clean, cool glass of water without worrying about getting sick; to brush my teeth using the tap; to sleep without earplugs; to be somewhere clean without rats and mice or roaches; and most of all to be able to talk to someone. <br />
<br />
Only seven more weeks. <br />
<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:75ac9634-6d67-490f-a0cc-766b7bf1014b" style="display: inline; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="8a989006-5a50-4a14-b0ec-f33cd6b34ad3" style="display: inline; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
POST SCRIPT: I did become ill after the 38 hour trip. I also, three days later, to avoid travelling 2nd class again spent almost $300 to travel 160 kilometres in a taxi to Mumbai to purchase a one way plane ticket to Kerala. So I do not discount the fact that having money is the same as having options. </div>
Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-46966241630265920772012-03-26T00:11:00.001-07:002019-09-19T11:08:35.242-07:00Kottakkayal or North Paravur of the Ezharrappallikal or The Cherubim and Seraphim: Post XXVII – Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-fEQqD9gAbhs/T3AT9vSZOmI/AAAAAAAAB1I/n1hq8uHNnIQ/s1600-h/AyasofyaSeraphim5.jpg"><img alt="Ayasofya Seraphim" border="0" src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/-sUo9V3-5d1o/T3AUCSuSY0I/AAAAAAAAB1Q/sb5x9i4TuuU/AyasofyaSeraphim_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" height="500" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Ayasofya Seraphim" width="386"></a> <br />
Kottakkayal or North Paravur/Paravoor is another location where Saint Thomas founded a church. There are two churches here. The Roman Catholic Syro-Malabar Church holds the ‘historic site’ whilst the Jacobite Church (The West Syrians under he authority of the Patriarch of Antioch) is a 16th century church with the tomb of an important Syrian Saint. <br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-sqmm7UZNP_s/T3AUGKtf47I/AAAAAAAAB1Y/a1WcLC_NcQo/s1600-h/Kottakkavu3.jpg"><img alt="Kottakkavu" border="0" src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/-A5J0VPqYgng/T3AUKD5nL9I/AAAAAAAAB1g/ljwSqhim5d8/Kottakkavu_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="252" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Kottakkavu" width="379"></a> <br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-yQp87tmGHqo/T3AUMwDiZwI/AAAAAAAAB1o/yUyBPAHAXpU/s1600-h/OutsideofLargerPortugueseChurch4.jpg"><img alt="Outside of Larger Portuguese Church" border="0" src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/-UYvLyGUWnyI/T3AUQNclyHI/AAAAAAAAB1w/mvaDUQ_UtUk/OutsideofLargerPortugueseChurch_thum.jpg?imgmax=800" height="510" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Outside of Larger Portuguese Church" width="386"></a> <br />
The Syro-Malabar church, shown above, is another example of an Eastern Syrian church that isn’t. It is Portuguese Latin with, as usual, Western Saints many of whom are Counter-Reformation. I was so upset by this church’s claim to be ‘Syro-Malabar’ I refused to take any photographs. It looked like many rural churches I have seen in Portugal and there was nothing inside that would have made me think I was in India. The East Syrian priest I was with was unable, when I asked him, to find anything in the church that was either East or West Syrian or even Indian. Yet at least it was a proper older church. The smaller, ‘original church’, around the back, was the site of the church founded by Saint Thomas. It is brand new and, as I pointed out in a previous column, was still built in a Portuguese style! <br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-YU5I2BW9Hn8/T3AUS1Yz-MI/AAAAAAAAB14/poGqbkEX2oY/s1600-h/OldnewChurch1.jpg"><img alt="Old new Church" border="0" src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/-K3W9B2wyKww/T3AUWpMbJ8I/AAAAAAAAB2A/Mw10Q86txRY/OldnewChurch_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="510" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Old new Church" width="386"></a><br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-lqOlyPWSimE/T3AUas3iHJI/AAAAAAAAB2I/EyeuuEN4KwM/s1600-h/Interior%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Interior" border="0" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/-ad_2X6kmEVQ/T3AUeHYazSI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/Pz7yfL0QO3k/Interior_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="294" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline;" title="Interior" width="386"></a> <br />
Notice the angels outside the door and inside the building (you can double-click on any photograph to enlarge it). I wish I had enough time at the moment to render one of my Michaelmass sermons into a proper column about the general trend in the church to reduce the nine Choirs (or Orders) of angels to vapid, insipid, powerless images. St Gregory the Great reminds us the angels are teleological. They are what they do and the church has identified them with the powers of creation. In other words the Orders of angels are the laws of nature – the church’s physics if you like. <br />
<strong><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-0JEVbomdUGw/T3AUrKJ8wGI/AAAAAAAAB2Y/_LVtmABg-t8/s1600-h/SeraphimbySamuraiXHiko%25255B5%25255D.png"><img alt="Seraphim by SamuraiX Hiko" border="0" src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/-PIxgPAkcLFE/T3AUyA330AI/AAAAAAAAB2g/AFEklwt7B9M/SeraphimbySamuraiXHiko_thumb%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="255" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" title="Seraphim by SamuraiX Hiko" width="383"></a> </strong><br />
More precisely the angels are the functions or patterns that ‘connect’ things together - including us. There is one pattern that holds the planetary bodies in motion (Newtonian Physics) and another that holds all things together at a base level (Quantum Mechanics) and another holds the various systems in the body together, another that connects us through thought and understanding or consciousness to the world around us, another that helps us discern how to properly interact with one another and the created order, yet another connects us through love etc., etc. So when we understand something it is a connection or an angel the same way that the electro-magnetic forces in nature are, not the work of an angel, but actually an angel. I will not go on at length about which of the nine orders does what as you get the drift by now. I will, however, remind you roughly of what they are. <br />
<strong>FIRST SPHERE -</strong>The first three are around the throne of God and are the primal forces of creation itself. <br />
<ul>
<li>Seraphim (the Burning Ones) – The lovers of God</li>
<li>Cherubim – The knowers of God</li>
<li>Thrones/Ophanim – The seers of God and His Justice</li>
</ul>
<strong>SECOND SPHERE - </strong>The next three deal with the laws of nature and power. <br />
<ul>
<li>Dominions – Laws of Nature</li>
<li>Virtues – Balance</li>
<li>Powers/Authorities - Conscience</li>
</ul>
<strong>THIRD SPHERE - </strong>The last three deal with life and men, primarily as messengers. <br />
<ul>
<li>Principalities – The pattern of life and Guiders of the nations</li>
<li>Archangels – The messengers and soldiers of the Great Will</li>
<li>Angels – Those that connect heart and mind to creation. </li>
</ul>
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-wExEGtH2elU/T3AU2PfoWZI/AAAAAAAAB2o/kyXIA9zWGLA/s1600-h/Doctor%252520Dee%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Doctor Dee" border="0" src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/-j-phuSzsP6c/T3AU5OphmnI/AAAAAAAAB2w/g-bgcdhKhrk/Doctor%252520Dee_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="462" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline;" title="Doctor Dee" width="387"></a> <br />
The Rev’d Doctor John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I’s court Astronomer called mathematics the language of the angels as did many of the other scientists/alchemists of his age. It is a way of talking about science that, by being poetic and emotive, captures the heart as well as the mind and thus can be discerned by those who are not professional scientists. The philosophical concept of the angels, especially in the understanding of the Church Fathers, was not sickly new-age sentiment.Yet it has been reduced to this. The Anglican Church of Canada’s book <em>For All the Saints</em> is even apologetic about the belief in Angels in its introduction to the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels and mentions believe if Angels as being similar to belief in unicorns! Arrrggg! <br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-4o1OrRbeFEY/T3AU9tQmF0I/AAAAAAAAB24/RkcIhKIYnAo/s1600-h/AngelicChoirsbyHildegaardofBingen4.gif"><img alt="Angelic Choirs by Hildegaard of Bingen" border="0" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/-HWnCbIOlv74/T3AVCMhaTTI/AAAAAAAAB3A/q2BBMwoWcKg/AngelicChoirsbyHildegaardofBingen_th.gif?imgmax=800" height="426" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Angelic Choirs by Hildegaard of Bingen" width="377"></a> <br />
Thus one of the most dynamic images or poetic languages the church has at her disposal to relate to the modern world is reduced to fat babies (cherubs or putto or putti plural come from Greek mythology as agents of Eros reinterpreted and distorted by Baroque and Rococo art and are profane images as opposed to the fierce awe-inspiring Cherubim of Ancient Near-Eastern mythology shared by the Jews, Christians and Muslims). The one thing all our Angels have in common is that they are all terrible or awful in the proper use of these words. The manifestation of the Angel played by Emma Thompson in <em>Angels in America</em> is not a bad example. An angelic manifestation should be like the detonation of an atomic bomb. <br />
I especially find the Syrian use of insipid angel imagery deeply depressing as they have the most powerful use of angelic imagery in the world. Both East and West Syrian worship have dynamic angelic themes as one of their main threads running through all their liturgies. For example here are a couple of the prayers used at services of Holy Qurbana in the East Syrian rite of Mar Addai and Mari. <br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--jVhSIjQp6k/T3AVGmXE6qI/AAAAAAAAB3I/rHV6LBg1RUk/s1600-h/CherubimBlake4.jpg"><img alt="Cherubim-Blake" border="0" src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/-j95w7AK4ukk/T3AVKZT3HgI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/CEecgzE9hD8/CherubimBlake_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" height="507" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Cherubim-Blake" width="382"></a> <br />
<strong>Prayer before the Chancel and Sanctuary for Sundays: </strong><br />
<blockquote>
Before the glorious throne of your majesty, O My God, the high and exulted chair of your honour and the fearful judgement seat of your love’s severity and the absolving Altar which was established at your direction and the place of the habitation of your glory, We your people, the sheep of your pasture, with thousands of Cherubim who glorify you and ten thousands of Seraphs, Seraphim, Archangels who minister to you, bow down, worship, confess, and glorify you at every hour, O Lord of all Father, Son and Holy Spirit for ever. Amen. </blockquote>
<strong><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-pU938-pvXbQ/T3AVNe127WI/AAAAAAAAB3Y/55ipRlosOLw/s1600-h/AngelsofFirebyVivianaPuello3.jpg"><img alt="Angels of Fire by Viviana Puello" border="0" src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/-waMRd0m7iD4/T3AVQteeBlI/AAAAAAAAB3g/RQDAw8t1PN4/AngelsofFirebyVivianaPuello_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="289" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Angels of Fire by Viviana Puello" width="383"></a> </strong><br />
<strong>The Beginning of the Anaphora of Mar Addai and Mari: </strong><br />
<blockquote>
Worthy of praise from every mouth and confession from every tongue and adoration, exultation from every creature is the worshipful and glorious name of your glorious Trinity - O Father, Son and Holy Spirit. For you created the world in your grace and it’s inhabitants in your mercifulness, you saved men in your compassion, and shown great grace unto mortals. Thousand upon thousands of those on high bow down and worship your majesty, O My Lord, and ten thousand times ten thousand holy angels and spiritual hosts, the ministers of fire and spirit glorify your name and with holy Cherubim and spiritual Seraphim offer worship to your lordship. </blockquote>
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-xzNnlk_M-KY/T3AVUxHBfAI/AAAAAAAAB3o/BfVoaBci9JE/s1600-h/DoreAngelicHost5.jpg"><img alt="Dore-Angelic Host" border="0" src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/-G8jbVcJp6kg/T3AVdGongqI/AAAAAAAAB3w/NBQNvq8WjUQ/DoreAngelicHost_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" height="466" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Dore-Angelic Host" width="374"></a> <br />
You would think they would use images that the ones I have included from great Byzantine church of Haggai Sophia, Hildegard von Bingen, Dore, Blake or even modern artists like the two I have included in this column. Instead most of the angels in most of the churches here look like this (the East Syrians are, of course, free from this taint as they do not use images). I did not take that many photographs of them simply because they were unattractive and I do not as a rule take photos of unattractive things unless I find them amusing. The angels I have encountered here have just been depressing. To be more precise, many of the angels depicted in the churches here are not angels but putti and thus pagan sexual images and not Christian angelic ones. Somehow I do not think they understand this – but then again this also goes for churches throughout the world. Still, I find it a fascinating juxtaposition that the Syrian Christians can sing the great angelic hymns of St Ephraim of Edessa and use powerful, evocative angelic imagery daily and not see the disconnect between what they are singing or saying and the images they have decorated their churches with and thus see with their eyes. <br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-03EPV15iO60/T3AVfgEf4-I/AAAAAAAAB34/uVeepmr45wA/s1600-h/IMG_19225.jpg"><img alt="IMG_1922" border="0" src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/-Vvnc-fojtdo/T3AVigqt8iI/AAAAAAAAB4A/3wWvWmhOAX0/IMG_1922_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" height="491" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="IMG_1922" width="375"></a> <br />
Back to the point, at least the Syro-Malabar church had one old thing. A Persian cross. Then again no one was quite sure how old it was just that it was really, really old!<br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-c26NevuGLko/T3AVlpEPeBI/AAAAAAAAB4I/0pmjnDkq2fY/s1600-h/OldPersianCross4.jpg"><img alt="Old Persian Cross" border="0" src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/-fjOD0LkKQNY/T3AVp9b1Z4I/AAAAAAAAB4Q/f5Ihaz51-28/OldPersianCross_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" height="496" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Old Persian Cross" width="376"></a> <br />
I loved the juxtaposition of these schoolboys in uniforms leaving their private Roman Catholic school and wandering past a Theyyam poster advertising ritual possession by pre Hindu deities (see Post II). Ah, India. <br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-vmfjSs5WBOg/T3AVuS83SuI/AAAAAAAAB4Y/EocTDXDywo4/s1600-h/SchoolBoyswithTheyyamPoster3.jpg"><img alt="School Boys with Theyyam Poster" border="0" src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/-LjleejY-XYU/T3AVxW2EMtI/AAAAAAAAB4g/o-2-lWGUbbQ/SchoolBoyswithTheyyamPoster_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="285" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="School Boys with Theyyam Poster" width="379"></a> <br />
The other church in North Paravur, Saint Thomas Cheriapally, was founded in 1566 and is a lovely church if a little dark and dingy inside. <br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-UMcJWlHqw6Q/T3AV0ws_OSI/AAAAAAAAB4o/yqkfqmO-KO8/s1600-h/NorthParavur3.jpg"><img alt="North Paravur" border="0" src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/-6YDxk4VE9e4/T3AV4mgj7yI/AAAAAAAAB4w/ykO-jGZVFcM/NorthParavur_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="206" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="North Paravur" width="379"></a> <br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-NR3bFFqxGlU/T3AV7vHNajI/AAAAAAAAB44/s4SVkdSnGZY/s1600-h/TheBackoftheChurch3.jpg"><img alt="The Back of the Church" border="0" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/--OS2jgeyvHk/T3AV-9YfYZI/AAAAAAAAB5A/fefmEcTNzhc/TheBackoftheChurch_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="285" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="The Back of the Church" width="379"></a> <br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-aXAeBptV8vc/T3AWBpzKPpI/AAAAAAAAB5I/m2jGfdKTolQ/s1600-h/MultitieredOilLamp4.jpg"><img alt="Multi-tiered Oil Lamp" border="0" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/-Gus1GiAbE6I/T3AWFfztbpI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/5_naOWELOBo/MultitieredOilLamp_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" height="495" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Multi-tiered Oil Lamp" width="375"></a> <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtralZe8bbmWkuJsxT_btSPfq9QyOCQ2LlBojgRywIw3PXvU1dpTtDMdGPJTCNXTQVm7Xs1ItFvdMQCy1vp85sAK8rA0aDYMlS3wnkG6T80hE8vov-3XIe2Sdk9_al3pa_Gyu-9uzESGPE/s1600-h/JacobiteInterior3.jpg"><img alt="Jacobite Interior" border="0" src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/-4XF6aD6FZsI/T3AWMdmXXwI/AAAAAAAAB5g/GbyCyz2neLA/JacobiteInterior_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="285" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Jacobite Interior" width="379"></a> <br />
The church contains the tomb of a historically very important man in the history of the Church in Kerala – the Syrian Orthodox Archbishop of Jerusalem St.Gregorios Abdul' Galeel. This was the West Syrian bishop who came to India in after the Koonen Cross oath was taken. It is said he ‘regularised’ Archdeacon Thomas’s consecration as the first Mar Thoma Metropolitan. Regardless, one can date the continued influence of the West Syrians on the Nasrani Christians from his arrival in India. The strain of West Syrian Christianity associated with the Mar Thoma Metropolitans and the Mor Gregorios is usually referred to as ‘Malankara’, even though all Saint Thomas Christians are technically ‘Malankara’. Mor Gregorios died in 1681 and was declared a Saint by Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I on 4th April 2000. <br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-UNZ6NMqzZFU/T3AWPF_W7cI/AAAAAAAAB5o/WZVNnJEE4ac/s1600-h/LampnexttoSaintsTomb4.jpg"><img alt="Lamp next to Saint's Tomb" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHtybTMrALf9V_lJwWsCt_gp39IQTj2lQU4_XaxhSv8riXjPFn8FrGD97PkWnueugO6PGL3WgIaTVnVosXN5-tzzvapcSeeyHfsZempeF9xuIH13F8O_5LdLXmy0CCgIuTaSK_y7Htla5/?imgmax=800" height="506" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Lamp next to Saint's Tomb" width="383"></a> <br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-W4Wq3hYYoxM/T3AWYheU3uI/AAAAAAAAB54/6SmxkYiTOrI/s1600-h/TombofStGregorious3.jpg"><img alt="Tomb of St Gregorious" border="0" src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/-fyNnkYGOz8Y/T3AWeBMpftI/AAAAAAAAB6A/8NSW8sXW9XE/TombofStGregorious_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="282" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Tomb of St Gregorious" width="379"></a><br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-8cK1nl0oTLk/T3AWiMbNmUI/AAAAAAAAB6I/m91NUJg0t3g/s1600-h/SeraphimfromHaggaiSophia11.jpg"><img alt="Seraphim from Haggai Sophia" border="0" src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/-eSLzbJYzc34/T3AWpYbEx2I/AAAAAAAAB6Q/a2qpsTN2uz4/SeraphimfromHaggaiSophia_thumb5.jpg?imgmax=800" height="257" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Seraphim from Haggai Sophia" width="383"></a></div>
Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-6718731169211990672012-03-25T04:26:00.002-07:002012-03-25T05:49:51.979-07:00The Second Oldest Mosque in the World and a Temple Elephant Sanctuary: Post XXVI - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-uPIvnOUzvPg/T2786yUI1wI/AAAAAAAABx4/i_blZ38jwqM/s1600-h/Cheraman%252520Juma%252520Masjid%252520-%252520Old%252520Photo%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Cheraman Juma Masjid - Old Photo" border="0" alt="Cheraman Juma Masjid - Old Photo" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-spwVHnfcfU8/T279HCpVC4I/AAAAAAAAByA/SeCNoyFxV2Y/Cheraman%252520Juma%252520Masjid%252520-%252520Old%252520Photo_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="269" /></a> </p> <p>A few kilometres away from the repulsive Christian site at Cranganore is the delightful Cheraman Juma Masjid Mosque. It was constructed by Malik Bin Deenar, a disciple of the Prophet, during Prophet’s lifetime. It is claimed (depending on how you make your list) to be the second oldest Mosque in the world being founded in the year 629AD. It is the oldest Mosque in India. </p> <p>Arab traders settled in the area around the old port of Muzeris before the spread of Islam so one would expect that one of the earliest settlements of Muslims outside Arabia to be established here. This same trade route logic reinforces the earlier claims that the area saw settlements of Christians during the Apostolic Age and Jews during the Diaspora. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-qKFHTTXIZ-I/T279WhpKAoI/AAAAAAAAByI/W-kAokcVYzE/s1600-h/Mosque%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Mosque" border="0" alt="Mosque" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-NwA92LoEKk8/T279eq1beJI/AAAAAAAAByQ/cZ5DzG1khCo/Mosque_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>There is a legend that a Chera King,  Rama Varma Kulashekhara, witnessed the miraculous splitting of the moon (the famous miracle of the Prophet). Upon enquiring about its meaning he was told of the coming of a new messenger of God from Arabia. He travelled to Mecca, converted to Islam and was given the name Thajudeen, and upon his deathbed at Salalah in the Sultanate of Oman requested that his homeland be evangelised. Malik Bin Deenar was supposedly one of those sent to India to carry out the dying king’s request. </p> <p>The current building has an extension on the front that is going to be removed and an underground prayer area built so the entirety of the old building can be seen. </p> <p></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--wb0jTpQVnM/T279oQ9zCmI/AAAAAAAAByY/5PadthtQ9og/s1600-h/ModeloftheorigionalDesign%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Model of the origional Design" border="0" alt="Model of the origional Design" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-KerlKL3LUQ8/T279spXmZYI/AAAAAAAAByg/7PSg3Ro0vLA/ModeloftheorigionalDesign_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>I was given an extensive tour and I can only say that I was most impressed by both the site, the erudition of the Imam and the conservation efforts for the future. I might also mention that, although I was in cassock, I could not have been treated with more respect, even being taken into the very heart of the structure to the holiest area. This is where the thousand year old oil lamp is kept burning. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-vQD2XDfReBk/T2792SDCvdI/AAAAAAAAByo/yHYPl2nThn0/s1600-h/InsidetheOldestSection%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Inside the Oldest Section" border="0" alt="Inside the Oldest Section" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-HAnX7VGGCLk/T2799Z33ohI/AAAAAAAAByw/KfewSHs4054/InsidetheOldestSection_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-GQKCo-clTBU/T27-CsUr12I/AAAAAAAABy4/inQVQOx89ow/s1600-h/InsidetheOldestSectionII%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Inside the Oldest Section II" border="0" alt="Inside the Oldest Section II" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-QBsSF_FiaGc/T27-Iqd0nDI/AAAAAAAABzA/Vq0o6H9KE6Q/InsidetheOldestSectionII_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0f3V-3hqg3k/T27-Oz4uXCI/AAAAAAAABzI/eBA26xwlgLg/s1600-h/InsidetheMosque%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Inside the Mosque" border="0" alt="Inside the Mosque" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-t784aZMGCKY/T27_4dBan0I/AAAAAAAABzY/Qd_TeSwqJEw/InsidetheMosque_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>The Temple Elephant sanctuary down the road is delightful. This is where the Hindu temple keeps all of its elephants and where the old elephants go to retire. There are over a hundred elephants here and, I believe, they each have their own mahout who looks after them. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-8U285vWgHc0/T27_9EVkt1I/AAAAAAAABzg/EVMhoIFsXiI/s1600-h/ElephantSactuaryI3%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Elephant Sactuary I" border="0" alt="Elephant Sactuary I" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4qd5wvDhYOIxsIDq9XQ0SM94t9WGh33iNLMBpZ_3nplqW6n5irDdjp2IqsYASYyFKH8jVuRAnjqvdN3gefWIo4MM8I7ixXVIzEwDDXuXalAesPOugy3g9Jg-yEv_eZkj9YA_m4j_EmUDk/?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-TuTv9fVULS8/T28AJtXpYQI/AAAAAAAABzw/w4d-XyFKouw/s1600-h/ElephantSactuaryII%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Elephant Sactuary II" border="0" alt="Elephant Sactuary II" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-MSbjrFVLFpM/T28AOKasrNI/AAAAAAAABz4/1EBvW6nUuHc/ElephantSactuaryII_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="500" /></a> </p> <p>One of the regular activities is getting a bath. I can’t say I really ever tried to imagine how you would bathe an elephant but now I know how. There were at least a dozen getting a bath whilst I was visiting. I am not sure I have ever seen an animal look so contented. </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:76583b02-c172-441c-82a0-466d7c73cd88" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="3260cf16-616b-455e-88e5-daaa9ac62438" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9lcwbIScdg&feature=youtu.be" target="_new"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-n0y04qWgLsg/T28AQ1tpxXI/AAAAAAAAB0A/X6q370wVdXg/video671995d94ebc%25255B10%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('3260cf16-616b-455e-88e5-daaa9ac62438'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/e9lcwbIScdg&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/e9lcwbIScdg&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-kT0UxpKVi7k/T28AUDje03I/AAAAAAAAB0I/eMD1G5pb97E/s1600-h/ElephantSactuaryIV%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Elephant Sactuary IV" border="0" alt="Elephant Sactuary IV" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-9Zu-CprfWEs/T28AYgjn7GI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/cca3sBXrgrY/ElephantSactuaryIV_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="499" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJjCp14gI1Zv40yJDHqk7-odYMagWzfmAEnNNn7184m3rirZMV3EBYNQqqZclkpIBn8Dk_Yq_O1nNGrfXW09ZWqt-uCyPkUYGQTtQnDxr8HKFfx5jW6OFVBM5TSlEVfzOj9czNecQQrWTb/s1600-h/ElephantSactuaryV%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Elephant Sactuary V" border="0" alt="Elephant Sactuary V" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-o_1DjyShWDA/T28Ai25uDAI/AAAAAAAAB0g/blU_3Hom6VI/ElephantSactuaryV_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>I also learned something new about elephants. It turns out if you condition them strongly enough when they are young it really sticks. For example if you chain their legs so they can only take short strides, you can remove the chains after a couple of years and they will always take the same strides as if they were still chained. In the next two photographs you will notice that with both this male and female they have a iron rod placed behind their ear. When they were young they were conditioned (read severely scolded) to not let this rod or stick fall to the ground. Thus the mahouts do not need a fence to keep the elephants in with. All they need is a long stick or rod to place behind the elephants ear and it will not move from the spot where it has been left. </p> <p></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Pj2hMn9HSBg/T28ApmovuTI/AAAAAAAAB0o/rhLTgtPVPOo/s1600-h/ElephantSactuaryVI%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Elephant Sactuary VI" border="0" alt="Elephant Sactuary VI" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-L8mOk3Nu2OE/T28Axl2EwoI/AAAAAAAAB0w/1voPa7_dX2k/ElephantSactuaryVI_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="378" height="497" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-FyUNtkBQB-U/T28A1JrC6II/AAAAAAAAB04/yV0j7fm6AuA/s1600-h/ElephantSactuaryVII%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Elephant Sactuary VII" border="0" alt="Elephant Sactuary VII" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-V-S_aTm_IQM/T28A60rUnzI/AAAAAAAAB1A/gLMpLcXNwXM/ElephantSactuaryVII_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="376" height="496" /></a></p>Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-17464346225605503092012-03-24T08:29:00.001-07:002012-03-24T08:29:38.283-07:00Some Sources for the Study of the Early Christian Communities on the Malabar Coast: Post XXV – Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-WjzkVoh5PL0/T23kqSETqcI/AAAAAAAABwQ/tfwchabj4W0/s1600-h/AncientNasraniCross4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Ancient Nasrani Cross" border="0" alt="Ancient Nasrani Cross" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2VU3HsAM2hY/T23kwLkfAmI/AAAAAAAABwY/J0sQdDk0-fA/AncientNasraniCross_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="396" height="412" /></a> </p> <p>The ancient Saint Thomas Christians of  Kerala are known as ‘Nasranis’ or ‘Nasrai Mappilla’. ‘Nasrani’ is a term meaning ‘Christian’ and appears to be derived from Nazareth. Mappilla is an honorific applied to members of non-Indian faiths, including Muslims. Some Christians of the former Kingdom of Travancore still continue to use this honorific title. The Saint Thomas Christians are often called Syrian Christians because of their ancient connection to the Church of the East and thus the use Syriac as their liturgical language. Syriac is a derivative of Aramaic, the language of Christ, and is, for my purposes, divided here between East Syriac and West Syriac (example pronunciation: East - mAr, West – mOr). This will become more important later in my travels when I go and live in a West Syriac community. Yet another term for them is Malabar or Malankara Mar Thoma Nasranis, as Kerala was also known as Malabar or Malankara. Their indigenous language is Malayalam. </p> <p>The earliest known source connecting the Apostle to India is<em> </em>the apocryphal book <em>The Acts of Thomas</em>, written in Edessa in the 2nd century, a copy of which still survives in Saint Catherine’s monastery on Mount Sinai. The text describes Thomas's adventures evangelising India, a tradition later expanded upon in early Indian sources such as the ‘Thomma Parvam’ ("Song of Thomas"). <em>The Acts of Thomas</em> hints that Saint Thomas came to India with a Jewish trader. Scottish historian William Dalrymple travelled across the Arabian Sea to Kerala in a boat similar to those mentioned in Roman texts to show how the traders had travelled from the Middle East to Kodungulloor. He followed the same course as mentioned in <em>The Acts of Thomas.</em> At the time the area from Syria to Patria was under Roman rule and so traveling through this region was relatively easy. The Jew’s name is given as Haban and it is believed that they both reached Kodungalloor (Cranganore) in 52AD. Once in India Saint Thomas first stayed with the Jewish community where he is believed to have converted many of them to Christianity.  </p> <p>These communities would have been multi-ethnic and included native Indians of Aryan, Dravidian and Naga ethnicity who could have been baptized by Saint Thomas as well as members of the different trading diasporas of Jews as well as Christian settlers who came later. They may also have included groups such as the Knanaya people (an early Jewish group of converts to Christianity who still retain their Jewish ethnicity and customs which I will write about at a later point). </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-umSxLxnyjmI/T23k0sUua1I/AAAAAAAABwg/YbbQV5wxTaU/s1600-h/TheLifeofSaintPantaenus5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="The Life of Saint Pantaenus" border="0" alt="The Life of Saint Pantaenus" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-PwNhWYaEoJg/T23k6fLrdGI/AAAAAAAABwo/_zGr8Q_BvnM/TheLifeofSaintPantaenus_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="369" height="553" /></a> </p> <p>In  190AD, Pantaenus from Alexandria visited these Christians and found that they were using the Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew. Eusebius of Caesarea reports that Pantaenus, his teacher, had been told that this Gospel book had been brought to them by the Apostle Bartholomew. St Jerome reported that Demetrius of Alexandria had sent Pantaenus to India where he </p> <blockquote> <p><em>“found that Bartholomew, one of the twelve Apostles, had preached the Advent of the Lord Jesus according to the Gospel of Mathew, and on his return to Alexandria he brought this with him written in Hebrew characters.”</em></p> </blockquote> <p>The Tamil epic of Manimekkalai written between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD mentions the Saint Thomas Christian people by the name Essanis referring to one of the early Jewish-Christian sects within the Nasranis called Essenes. A number of 3rd- and 4th-century Roman writers mention Thomas's  trip to India including St Ambrose of Milan - </p> <blockquote> <p><em>“When the Lord Jesus said to the Apostles, go and teach all nations, even the kingdoms that had been shut off by the barbaric mountains lay open to them as India to Thomas, as Persia to Mathew.”</em>, </p> </blockquote> <p>St Gregory of Nazianzus -</p> <blockquote> <p><em>“What! were not the Apostles foreigners? Granting that Judea was the country of Peter, what had Saul to do with the Gentiles, Luke with Achaia, Andrew with Epirus, Thomas with India, Mark with Italy?</em>, </p> </blockquote> <p>St Jerome, and St Ephraim the Syrian - </p> <blockquote> <p><em>“It was to a land of dark people he was sent, to clothe them by Baptism in white robes. His grateful dawn dispelled India's painful darkness. It was his mission to espouse India to the One-Begotten. The merchant is blessed for having so great a treasure. Edessa thus became the blessed city by possessing the greatest pearl India could yield. Thomas works miracles in India, and at Edessa Thomas is destined to baptize peoples perverse and steeped in darkness, and that in the land of India." </em></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><em>— Hymns of St. Ephraem, edited by Lamy (Ephr. Hymni et Sermones, IV).</em></p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ucekVTA161g/T23lAP-zXmI/AAAAAAAABww/Y8dVljk_v40/s1600-h/StEphraemtheSyrian5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="St Ephraem the Syrian" border="0" alt="St Ephraem the Syrian" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-mztW6D5gPwQ/T23lFb-GkQI/AAAAAAAABw4/6K_1zkKTLFQ/StEphraemtheSyrian_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="392" height="463" /></a> </p> <p>These all demonstrate that the tradition of the evangelisation of India by Saint Thomas the Apostle was a well known. </p> <p>According to the 7th century Chronicle of Seert Bishop David of Basra under Patriarch Mar Papa of Seleucia-Ctesiphon evangelised India in the tear 295. However we only have this one source for this information. So whatever its earlier origins, an organised Christian presence in India dates at least to the arrival of East Syrian settlers and missionaries from Edessa or Iraq under the leadership of Thomas of Cana, members of the Church of the East, in 345AD.  King Charaman Perumal gave permission for these Christians to settle in Kerala. Around AD 522, an Egyptian Monk, Cosmas Indicopleustes visited the Malabar Coast and mentions the Christians of Malabar in his book <em>Christian Topography – Book Three</em>. </p> <blockquote> <p><em>“The Gospel has been preached throughout the world. This I state to be definite fact from what I have seen and heard in the many places i have visited…in the country called Male (Malabar) where pepper grows, there is also a church, and at another place called Kalliana (Kalyan, Mumbai) there is moreover a bishop, who is appointed from Persia.”</em></p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-yIEqQD3sjmA/T23lIxvhP_I/AAAAAAAABxA/vkLpb_ecdFc/s1600-h/FromChristianTopographyCodexSinaitic%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="From Christian Topography Codex Sinaiticus graecus 1186" border="0" alt="From Christian Topography Codex Sinaiticus graecus 1186" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JT2LSABQ2Pg/T23lNAtAOII/AAAAAAAABxI/T_1zfdlAYr8/FromChristianTopographyCodexSinaitic%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>Saint Thomas Christians trace the further growth of their community to the arrival of more Nestorian traders from the Middle East in 825AD. They had their own bishops visiting them from Persia and these were welcomed by the Saint Thomas Christians as these bishops made no effort to subjugate them. The subgroup of the Saint Thomas Christians known as the Southists trace their lineage to Thomas of Cana’s Assyrian Christians, while the group known as the Northists claim descent from Saint Thomas the Apostle's indigenous converts.</p> <p>As the community grew and immigration by East Syrians increased, the connection with the Church of the East, centred in the Persian capital of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, strengthened. From the early 4th century the Patriarch of the Church of the East provided India with clergy, holy texts, and an ecclesiastical infrastructure. It is documented that Mar John, the Bishop of Great India, attended the council of Nicaea in 325 and signed himself as ‘John the Persian presiding over the Churches in the whole of Persia and Great India.’ In 350AD Mar Aprem the Syrian wrote hymns about St Thomas’s evangelisation of India:</p> <blockquote> <p><em>“Blessed art Thou, like unto the solar ray from the great orb; thy grateful dawn India's painful darkness doth dispel. Thou the great lamp, one among the Twelve, with oil from the cross-replenished, India’s dark night flooded with light.</em></p> <p><em>Blessed art Thou whom the great King has sent, that India is to his One-Begotten thou shouldest espouse; above snow and linen white, thou the dark bride didst make fair</em></p> <p><em>Blessed art Thou, O thrice-blessed city; Thou hast acquired this pearl, none greater doth India yield</em></p> <p><em>Blessed art Thou, worthy to possess the precious gem! Praise to Thee O gracious Son, Who does thee adore does enrich.”</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Around 650 Patriarch Ishoyahb III solidified the Church of the East's jurisdiction over the Saint Thomas Christian community. In the 8th century Patriarch Timothy I organised the community as the Ecclesiastical Province of India, one of the church’s ‘illustrious Provinces of the Exterior’. After this point the Province of India was headed by a metropolitan bishop, provided from Persia, the "Metropolitan-Bishop of the Seat of Saint Thomas and the Whole Christian Church of India". His Metropolitical see was probably in Cranganore, or (perhaps nominally) in Mylapore, the traditional place of Saint Thomas’s martyrdom and where his shrine was located. Under him were a varying number of Assyrian bishops, as well as a native hereditary Archdeacon, who not only had authority over the clergy and who wielded a great amount of secular power but also acted as the indigenous cultural ‘head’ of the church as far as the caste system went. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Mima-ESoJnU/T23lSlAbROI/AAAAAAAABxQ/V43hZiJVj4I/s1600-h/TharisappalliCopperPlates6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Tharisappalli Copper Plates" border="0" alt="Tharisappalli Copper Plates" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0BEgcIsU-KE/T23lWXGFltI/AAAAAAAABxY/1AfIsiWL61w/TharisappalliCopperPlates_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="402" height="313" /></a> </p> <p>The Rulers of Kerala gave the Nasranis various rights and privileges written on copper plates. These are known as Cheppeds, Royal Grants, or Sasanam. There are a number of such documents: Thazhekad Sasanam; The Quilon Plates (Tharisappalli Cheppeds); Mampally Sasanam; and Iraviikothan Chepped (Copper Plate). Some of these plates date to 774 AD.  The language used is Tamil in Tamil letters with some Grantha script intermingled . The Quilon Copper Plates which were given to Mar Sapor and Mar Prodh, brothers (referred to as Kaddisangal or Saints by the Church of the East) who immigrated to Quilon from Persia in 823 AD, also include some Pahlavi, Kufic and Hebrew signatures. The plates show that the ruler of Venad (Travancore) granted Syrian Christians seventy two rights and privileges usually granted only to high dignitaries, including exemption from import duties, sales tax and the slave tax. Yet another copper plate from 1225 further enhanced the rights and privileges of the Nasranis. These copper plates are considered some of the most important historical legal documents in Kerala.</p> <p>There are many accounts of foreign visitors from the West and Western missionary activity in India before the arrival of Portuguese. In 883AD, Alfred the Great, King of Wessex reportedly sent gifts to Mar Thoma Christians of India through Sighelm, Bishop of Sherborne. Around 1292AD, Marco Polo on his return journey from China visited Kerala, mentions that, "<em>The people are idolaters, though there are some Christians and Jews among them</em>". John of Monte Corvino was a Franciscan sent to China and became prelate of Peking in 1307. From Persia he travelled by sea to south India, or ‘The Country of St. Thomas’, in 1291. He stayed to preach and baptise for thirteen months. Monte Corvino wrote home in December 1291 (or 1292) leaving us one of the earliest noteworthy accounts of the Malabar coast written by a Western European. </p> <p>Odoric of Pordenone arrived in India in 1321. He visited Malabar landing at Pandarani, Cranganore, and Quilon before sailing to Ceylon and then onto the shrine of Saint Thomas at Mailapur. He exitededly reported that he had found the place where Saint Thomas was buried. Father Jordanus, a Dominican, followed in 1321–22. He reported to Rome, apparently from somewhere on the west coast of India, that he had given a Christian burial to four martyred monks. Between 1324 and 1328 he seems to have visited Quilon and selected it as his ecclesiastical centre. He was appointed a bishop in 1328 and nominated by Pope John XXII in his bull <em>Venerabili Fratri</em> Jordano to the see of Columbum or Quilon on 21 August 1329. This was the first Roman Catholic diocese  in the whole of the Indies, with jurisdiction over modern India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, and Sri Lanka. Either before going out to Malabar as bishop, or during a later visit to the west, Jordanus probably wrote his <em>Mirabilia</em>. This work is the best  account of the regions of India and its: products; climate; manners; customs; and fauna and flora given by any European in the Middle Ages – surpassing even Marco Polo's. </p> <p>In 1347, Giovanni de' Marignolli visited the shrine of St Thomas in South India, and then proceeded to what he calls the kingdom of Saba, which he identifies with the Sheba of Scripture, but which actually seems to have been Java. Another prominent Indian traveler was Joseph, a priest from Cranganore. He journeyed to Babylon in 1490 and then sailed to Europe and visited Portugal, Rome, and Venice before returning to India. He helped to write a book about his travels titled<em> The Travels of Joseph the Indian</em> which was widely disseminated across Europe.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-MVJsQmGtXQY/T23oRgvRw3I/AAAAAAAABxo/gOTEcV2Dh2c/s1600-h/TravelsofanIndianPriestGorgiasPressL%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Travels of an Indian Priest, Gorgias Press LLC, Page 304, India in 1500AD." border="0" alt="Travels of an Indian Priest, Gorgias Press LLC, Page 304, India in 1500AD." src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSsQJdHYA3ysTJAqd_Wp-bzwRivggV3o3nLenaNGKOU73ncKfhwc58Wdn0_6BZRlTtld3nRnLoEz2Jj8_hvZ_BDX8d6WbFy-7P-jglrG_BixJLQ5SXYtjy1hIse0JTpenuy9-L1Z0oiV72/?imgmax=800" width="374" height="486" /></a> </p> <p>ROUGH TIMELINE</p> <p>1st CENTURY <br />•  40 Apostle Thomas in the service of King Gondophares in <br />Takshasila in Pakistan. <br />• 52 Apostle Thomas landed at Muziris near Paravur, an ancient port city of Malabar (Present-day Kerala). <br />• 52–72 The Apostle founded the 7 churches.</p> <p>• 72 Apostle Thomas martyred at St. Thomas Mount in <br />Chennai and is buried on the site of San Thome Cathedral.  <br /></p> <p>2nd CENTURY <br />• 190 Pantaenus, the founder of the famous Catechetical School of <br />Alexandria, visited India and the Nasrani. He found that the <br />local people were using the Gospel according to Matthew in <br />Hebrew language. He took this Hebrew text back to his library at <br />the School in Alexandria.</p> <p>4th CENTURY  <br />• 325 Archbishop John of Persia and Great India at the first <br />Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. <br />• 345 First migration from Persia – Thomas of Cana landed at <br />Cranganore with 72 families. <br />• 340–360 Thazhekad Sasanam written in Pali the language <br />the canonical language of Buddhists, the Nasrani granted special rights and privileges. <br />• 345 Kuravilangad Church (Now Martha Mariam Catholic church) built by the first settlers who came from Kodungalloor. <br />• Arrival of Mar Joseph of Edessa.</p> <p>5th CENTURY <br />• 510 Udayamperoor (Diamper) church built by St.Thomas <br />Christians. <br />• 522 Cosmas Indicopleustes visited South India. </p> <p>8th CENTURY <br />• 774 Emperor Veera Raghava gives copperplate to Iravikorthan. </p> <p>9th CENTURY <br />• 824 Beginning of Kollavarsham (Malayalam Era). First Tharissapalli sasanam (Copper plate) by Stanu Ravi Gupta Perumaal to Nazranies. <br />• 824 Mar Sabor and Mar Afroth from Persia at Quilon. <br />• 849 Deed given by King Ayann Adikal Thiruvadikal of Venad, to <br />Easow-data-veeran (Tharisapalli plates) that grants 72 royal <br />privileges of the Nazranies in which the Nasranis signed in three <br />languages: Hebrew Pahlavi and Kufic.</p> <p>11th CENTURY <br />• 1123 Arakuzha church founded, now known as St <br />Mary's Forane Church. </p> <p>13th CENTURY <br />• 1225 North Pudukkad church founded. <br />• 1293 Marco Polo visited the tomb of St. <br />Thomas (at Mylapore). </p> <p>14th CENTURY <br />• 1305 St. Hormis church, Angamaly founded. <br />• 1325 Enammavu church founded. <br />• 1328 St. George church, Edappally founded. </p> <p>15th CENTURY <br />• 1490 Two Nestorian bishops Mars John and Thomas in Kerala. <br />• 1494 June 7 - Treaty of Tordesillas. Division of the world and <br />mission lands between Spain and Portugal. <br />• 1498 May 20 - Vasco de Gama lands at Kappad near Kozhikode. <br />• 1499 Cabral’s fleet carried a vicar, eight secular priests, and eight Franciscans to Kozhikode. <br />• 1499. In Calicut, the friars reputedly converted a Brahman and some leading Nayars.</p> Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-12593057445744506452012-03-24T07:29:00.002-07:002014-10-14T17:38:15.132-07:00The Low Down: Post XXIV – Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-_j2OrSVZRio/T23Zrz1eC0I/AAAAAAAABvA/05CUn_XH4mI/s1600-h/Frustrated%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Frustrated" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-FR_cUhPsV9Q/T23Zxj0sxoI/AAAAAAAABvI/bFt2Sb7sxpc/Frustrated_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="384" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline;" title="Frustrated" width="394" /></a> <br />
My experience in India thus far has been either of the sublime of the ridiculous. Thus far I have mostly written about the sublime. Now lets try the ridiculous. This is all pure venting but my experience nevertheless.<br />
<br />
India is without a doubt the most frustrating place I have ever been. Perhaps the way I should put this is that I <strong>find</strong> it the most frustrating place I have ever been. It is almost as though everything has been setup just to push me over the edge. Funnily enough, I am thankful for this. If I can stay calm here I do not think there is anything I can not handle serenely (except family dynamics but that is always a given exception). <br />
<br />
To begin with there is noise almost all the time. A great deal of work seems to be done by ‘day labourers’ who, contrary to name, work through the night. At the Old Seminary in Kottayam workers were cutting tiles with power tools all through the night right outside the guesthouse doors. One evening painters even painted the outside of my door. Even the nuns are noisy, staying up late laughing, laughing, laughing. I am pleased they are enjoying themselves, but still. Religious services tend to start blaring their music at about half past five every morning and you get to hear the nuns again. <br />
<br />
I have lived by myself for almost seventeen years and for most of that period I have lived in silence with no background noise of any kind. The last thirteen years have been in quiet rural settings where often the only sound was that of the wind, the crackling of the fire, or my fat cat plopping down from the bed or a chair and padding along to the kitchen to stuff herself again. For excitement there is a fur ball episode every couple of months that lasts for a few minutes. I often drive in silence as well and spend the travelling time thinking. I avoid restaurants with piped music and complain like an old man when I go to the cinema once a year because it is “too loud”. I have become addicted to silence. I even spend at least two weeks a year on silent retreat with the Anglican Benedictines at Holy Cross Monastery because where I live is not 'silent enough’.<br />
<br />
Then this! The indigenous population seem to be oblivious to it. The constant blare of the church and temple loud speaker systems, the trucks driving around town announcing upcoming political or social events on loudspeaker systems, the constant non-stop beeping and blaring seems to have no affect on them. At the Maramon Convention I could hardly slept a wink for at least two days because the watchdog at the retreat house would not stop its high pitched, high volume barking through the night. The first morning at breakfast I asked the bishops how they slept with the barking going on all night right outside their windows. They all said “What barking?”. I could only stammer “That barking!” and have them stop talking and listen to the self same barking echoing though the refectory from, you guessed it, the dog sitting just outside the window! “Oh!” they said. I could have sworn that until I pointed out the deafening presence of the noise they were truly oblivious. I could write volumes about the constant screaming at excruciating volume of people into their cell-phones. Still, surprisingly, I seem to be adapting fairly quickly and have even started sleeping some nights all the way through without earplugs.<br />
<br />
Little seems to work here (or at least not in my budget range) or is so complicated that by the time you get it to work the will to use it has been sucked right out of your soul. Yet there is nothing so complicated that it cannot be made more complicated by five people trying to get something to work at the same time. Really you have to experience it to believe it. I feel bad pointing this out primarily because the issues are often caused by people trying to be helpful. Yet I have learned that to be ‘travel wise’ in India is to expect whatever it is to not work. I found myself smiling to myself over breakfast whilst listening to a French woman trying to explain to the manager that the electricity was not working on her side of the building. The manger just kept repeating “It IS working”. It wasn’t. What I was thinking was “newbie, how naive to expect the electricity to be working!”<br />
<br />
One group of West Syrian monks tried so hard to be hospitable it made me want to flee the monastery. At one meal I casually glanced at the ceiling which produced the effect of a monk literally dashing over to turn on the ceiling fan. When I looked at anything on the table some monk would jump up and refill the dish, move it two inches closer to me, or try and put some of it on my plate. When I asked, trying to make conversation, whether the pepper on the table came from the pepper vines I had seen outside on all the trees this produced a flutter of activity and the promise that the monastery would provide me with pepper to take home with me and to give to the Oratory Superior. I felt like Queen Mary on one of here almost clepto-maniacal royal visitations. I did have one genuine request and made the mistake of asking one of the priests if I could be shown the library sometime that afternoon. This resulted in the librarian being sent for immediately who, as he had been milking the cows, was just sitting down for his meal. No matter how I tried they insisted I be shown the library then and there. So the poor brother librarian had no lunch. <br />
<br />
To make matters worse, when I asked if there were any books on West Syrian liturgy in the library, he almost manically told me to “please wait” at which point he literally took off running down the corridor, the steps, and I could here him running at full speed across the monastery courtyard and a few minutes later back again. Anglicans should get a kick out of this – he arrived back dripping with sweat and panting “here Father, an excellent book on our liturgy” at which point he handed me a familiar looking thick green bound tome. Thus in a West Syrian monastery in an isolated part of the foothills of the Western Ghats I found myself holding in my hands the life work of that great Anglican Benedictine liturgical master Dom Gregory Dix OSB <br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-6bVV0poMPj4/T23Z2Mib3_I/AAAAAAAABvQ/RbKoDmVhNuY/s1600-h/Dom%252520Gregory%252520Dix%252520OSB%252520at%252520Nashdom%252520Abbey%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Dom Gregory Dix OSB at Nashdom Abbey" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Qq2p8QO1cws/T23Z5X4IfPI/AAAAAAAABvY/BHSlovlX5O0/Dom%252520Gregory%252520Dix%252520OSB%252520at%252520Nashdom%252520Abbey_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="281" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline;" title="Dom Gregory Dix OSB at Nashdom Abbey" width="383" /></a> <br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-oUUN0Ttittc/T23Z8vibWJI/AAAAAAAABvg/QtOv_5hsFxY/s1600-h/Dom%252520Gregory%252520Dix%252520OSB%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Dom Gregory Dix OSB" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-vlfOGkhO-_I/T23aAvCqlxI/AAAAAAAABvo/7PmdnYKaHvs/Dom%252520Gregory%252520Dix%252520OSB_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="543" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline;" title="Dom Gregory Dix OSB" width="382" /></a> <br />
<br />
– <em>The Shape of the Liturgy</em>! <br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-q7O1pMKH_fo/T23aC4TMcTI/AAAAAAAABvw/SBDKMZpoXAE/s1600-h/The%252520Shape%252520of%252520the%252520Liturgy%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="The Shape of the Liturgy" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-S8fSFLhtolE/T23aFpVjYTI/AAAAAAAABv4/HxGyWARIV4s/The%252520Shape%252520of%252520the%252520Liturgy_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="300" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline;" title="The Shape of the Liturgy" width="300" /></a> <br />
<br />
I was also offered a smaller book on liturgical theology by that other famous Anglo-Catholic Anglican monk Father Frere CR (who received the first professions of the Father Founders of the Oratory of the Good Shepherd). It turns out that, once again, the Anglican church has had a huge impact of the West Syrian Church here although not as much as the East Syrians. The founder of the monastery of Bethany, HG Alexious Mar Theodosius OIC, lived with the Cowley Fathers in Oxford and founded the first Indian orthodox order, The Order of the Imitation of Christ, based on the Rule of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist. The second Superior had been a student at Mirfield and made some changes based on his experience with the Community of the Resurrection. So, as far as I can tell, the impetus for the order is Anglo-Catholic and stems from the Cowley Fathers and the Mirfield Fathers. They also used the office book of translated Syriac produced by the English Benedictine monk Dom Bede Griffith OSB, who was a convert from Anglicanism. To top it all off, the first convent of the West Syrian church in India, The Sisters of the Imitation of Christ, did not come from Antioch, Alexandria, Armenia, or even an Eastern Orthodox church. Rather it came through the auspices of our own Sisters of Saint Margaret (whom I remember with fondness from my years in Scotland) in Sri Lanka. <br />
<br />
Anyway, to return to the original thread, I find the ‘honorary’ treatment excruciating. I do not blame them, I am sure that it has been drummed into them that I am a guest of His Holiness. But still I had hoped that at least in a monastery I could at least try to ‘blend in’. No such luck, they even displaced the Abbott from the high table so that I could sit there resplendent in isolation at the head of the refectory. Everyone else eats from buffet style while I alone am surrounded by dishes and even, as I noticed only today, given some foods that no one else is given. Luckily it is Lent so I am only eating one meal a day and only have to endure this treatment at lunchtime and the brothers do not have to faff about when they eat dinner after a long days work.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, as far as I can see and as I have been told numerous times, this fawning behaviour is expected by many of the Bishops in Kerala and the lack of it would be interpreted as rudeness by them. The prevalence of the class (read ‘caste’) and rank system in the church here seems to my post colonial Western eyes dehumanising. There is no questions of egalitarianism and it brings out a fairly radical socialist streak in me. <br />
<br />
I must also say that I had not realised how controlling this treatment is for the person of the receiving end. It effectively isolates you from others, and takes away your freedom of movement and autonomy by making you reliant on others all the time. The perfect example of this was when I asked the senior monk where the refectory was so that I would know where to go for the first meal. He refused to tell me but simply insisted that junior monks would come to escort me. I tried to wrestle the information out of him but it only resulted in him escorting me immediately, leading me to the head table and tried to get start eating before the dinner bell and thus before any of the other brothers or even the Abbot had arrived. I really liked this older monk and felt awful refusing to start eating until everyone had come. I know he only wanted to make me happy and he almost pleaded with me to not be worried about anything. Yet at the same time I only needed to wait about five minutes more for the bell to ring and for the other brothers to come to eat.The point is asking where the refectory was turned into a major drama (you had to be there) that involved at least six people. I had hoped someone would just point to which of the four buildings it had to have been and say “lunch is served there when the bell rings”. <br />
<br />
I can hear you now, wondering why I am whining about not being treated the way I want to be. I am where I am why not just go with it? Well, there is wisdom in that and for shorter stays it is probably the best option. However there is also an ethical and religious principle at work here. I do not believe that any Christian should expect to be ‘served’ in the way that exists here. As the Baptised there is an equality that even if it does not extend to function, does extend to human dignity. No one, including the most junior monk, should feel he has to run flat out for anyone unless it is an emergency. I know that the concept of western autonomy is somewhat alien and can be taken too far yet there still needs to be a line. Do the monks here really want me to feel this uncomfortable? Of course not. Yet as far as I know there is no simple way to tell people that what you want is for them to just be themselves, to act normally and get a result. Just ask a photographer. Do not get me wrong I like the brothers here and have enjoyed the recreation hour with them in the evening. Interestingly it is here that some of the very first questions about Canada, the Canadian Church or Anglicanism have been asked. <br />
<br />
The next thing that I feel I must say (and one younger priest begged me to put in print), but that may be slightly undiplomatic, is that way too many of the Bishops I have met thus far have displayed an aloofness that is remarkable to a modern westerner (or at least to me). Although there have been many exceptions, they do not seem particularly friendly and seem to actually try to not seem interested in anything happening around them. I think it is something cultural I have yet to grasp. Yet their dress, mode of transport, decorum, and treatment of those not of the same rank for the most part has left me nonplussed. I have on more than one occasion heard casual episcopal talk about poverty stricken priests and their families that would lead many people to suspect there may be a strand of sadism lurking underneath their apparent lack of compassion. I tried to hint at this extraordinary behaviour with some of the younger priests and deacons to see what sort of reaction I would get. I did not have to try very hard as many opened up to me immediately and shared their deeply jaded view of the Keralite episcopal culture as a whole. The fact that everyone I spoke to thought the typical Episcopal behaviour was profoundly out of sync with the Christian values of humility makes me wonder if a small reformation is coming. <br />
<br />
Then again I doubt it. The British tried to stamp out the caste system and the Government of India has followed the British ruling and kept it illegal. Yet my reaction 150 years on is the same as the first British missionaries. For those of you who find it ironic that the British, with a class system that includes aristocracy and nobles as well as a Monarch, would react so badly to another rigid caste system I ask you to take one step back. Although Britain has a class system it has always been the most fluid of all the European systems and has allowed much more freedom of movement through its ranks than other countries. It also has a noted stand of democracy that has run through it since the Magna Carta. I also wonder if seeing the caste system so starkly in India made the Raj see itself in the mirror in a typically Jungian way. <br />
<br />
One Bishop, a CSI (Church of South India) one this time and thus part of the Anglican Communion, when I stooped by to give my card to his secretary to ‘pay my respects’ happened to be in. He chatted away nicely in English for awhile and spoke about his visits from Canadian bishops and Archbishops before inviting me to join him the next day at a gathering of Christian leaders at an ecumenical centre a couple of hours to the north east. I agreed and his Chaplin picked me up the next morning at 7:20am to take me to the Bishop’s Palace to leave from there. The Bishop was not ready and so to kill half an hour I wondered around his beautiful garden. I was standing about fourteen feet from the car when I became aware of someone calling out rapidly “hey! hey! hey! hey! hey!” I though someone was calling a dog until I realised it was the Bishop and he was trying to get my attention! It all went downhill from there. Somehow overnight he had almost completely lost the ability to speak English, or at least the will. He insisted I sit next to the driver in the front seat, and proceeded to pick up another priest with whom he spoke with loudly (when he was not screaming into his cell phone) the entire way there. No one spoke to me, told me where we were going or even what the meeting was about. I was asked if I had had breakfast and when I replied that they did not serve it at the seminary during Lent this resulted in a long drawn out conversation in Malayalam by the rest of the passengers. Finally I was dropped off for breakfast (even though I did not want breakfast) although the Bishop had already eaten, presumably what he was doing while I was wandering around waiting for him, and so spoke on his cell phone outside the restaurant. When we did arrive at our destination I was taken to the meeting room where the Bishop promptly told me that it was a private meeting and I could not be there and asked me to leave immediately after I was introduced. Another Christian leader in Kerala (who I happened to have shared several meals with earlier in my trip and was also in communion with Anglicans) decided he wanted to be the one to introduce me. So this Archbishop struggled to his feet and announced to the assembled heads of the churches in Kerala that a distinguished guest “Canon Slymal from Sweden” was visiting. Yep, I had made a big impression. What made it worse was that my card was sitting right in front of him on the table. Oh well, I only wish I had those Swedish looks. I might be able to pull off blond. <br />
<br />
I then had to head out for a couple of hours to entertain myself. As the centre was in the middle of the jungle with nothing at all around it the only option was to wander the jungle roads until lunch was served. This I did and, although blistering hot in the middle of the day, it was lovely. At the meal they placed me at the head table but at the far end with at least two empty places between me and the Bishop on my left. No one spoke to me the entire meal. Finally before getting into the car I told a few priests what I had been up to and they were horrified. Supposedly there are herds of wild elephant in that area of the jungle that are not only a nuisance but also very dangerous. More frightening was the panther that had been attacking people in the area. This turned out to be ok though because they had, after months of trying, finally shot it that morning. So I narrowly avoided wandering exiled by a CSI bishop into a jungle inhabited by a man eating panther by only a few hours! All I can say is at least it was not a tiger. For the two hour trip back to Kottayam no one said a word to me. Upon arriving at the Bishop’s Palace he got out opened my door to say to me “You’ll have enjoyed yourself then and I hope to see you again” or something to that effect before disappearing inside. I really do not think he will do. <br />
<br />
Sooo, the gist is either way, way too much attention, or none at all. Feast or famine and through it all - noise. What is clear is that neither church really knew what to do with me. I do not mean this as a complaint or a criticism but as an observation. It may even be that one or both churches really did not have the resources or understanding of the purpose of the scholarship to make a plan for someone staying any length of time. In both cases I have had to figure a huge amount out on my own and take much more initiative than I ever expected. In the end this has turned out to be quite difficult but has provided me with a quick learning curve that has got me into the swing of things much more quickly than would have otherwise been the case. A veteran Indian traveler of many years from England said to me last week “Is this really your first visit to India? It seems as if you know the place awfully well.” I would not necessarily agree, but certainly more than would have been the case if the churches had provided a more comprehensive or integrated approach to my ecumenical visit.<br />
<br />
What has also been made clear is that most of the bishops have little interest in the Anglican Communion or the Anglican Church of Canada (to be fair most Canadian bishops probably would not be interested in Kerelite Christianity but I expect they would at least pretend). Or at least no one asked about it and when I volunteered information they showed little enthusiasm. One Bishop actually fell asleep when a deacon asked me a question about the Canadian church in his presence and it was not because I had spoken too long, I had barley got one sentence out of my mouth before he closed his eyes and let his head fall to his chest. I have done most of all the question asking and it has all been about the host churches. The bishop responsibly for the ecumenical affairs office of one of the churches asked me no relevant questions at all. It was also fairly clear from the prompting of his secretary that he only had a vague clue as to who I was or why I was there. When I asked him questions about his approach to ecumenism and his particular ecclesiological views he seemed totally nonplussed. When I asked more general things like how he became interested in other churches I received the same response. At times he seemed almost comatose, although he seemed to perk up when his cell phone would go off and he went outside to speak on it. It turns out, as I later found out, that he had been given the post because he had worked as a registrar at an institution that accepted students from other denominations and so had had some limited exposure to other types of Christians. He did offer one bit of fascinating insight into the workings of the Anglican Communion when he said that the 1998 Lambeth Conference (at which I worked and was assigned to the group that drafted Motion 110 on Human Sexuality as so was there for most of the meetings) had something to do with Lesbian Bishops! I though we only just got that with Bishop Glasspoole less than a year ago. Who knew!<br />
<br />
What is also clear is that, even if the bishops are not, many of the younger clergy and especially the seminarians and novices ARE interested in learning about us. Or at least they ask questions when you get them into a relaxed atmosphere. They do not seem willing to do so around senior priests or bishops. They also seem more willing to answer my questions honestly instead of giving pat answers. So that is where I must put my efforts. <br />
<br />
Everyone talks about the extraordinary amount of trash and waste in India, the dirt and the smells. All I will add is that I have found this perfectly true. I have never seen so much litter in my life – and it seems to be everywhere. The air quality is bad and thus there is a great deal of throat clearing and spitting. Or at least that is why I think people seem to spit constantly. Body functions are simply not treated with any sort of modesty here. How could you with such a vast population. It is all rather new to me, belching, passing gas, spitting and urinating all seem to be perfectly acceptable activities just about anywhere. I must admit it took me a while to get used to seeing people publically defecating next to road or railway tracks or even just off the pavement (sidewalk). I think I am used to it now. What I have not been able to adapt to is the knowledge that, although people use their left hand with water to wipe themselves after defecation, it is obvious that there is no set up for most people to use any sort of sanitary measures as there are almost no public conveniences and people do not seem to carry water bottles or ‘wipe’ rags with them. The conclusion which I have reached, which makes me very very uneasy, is that many of the people around have one part of them that is unclean. It may make me prudish that this disturbs me but I have not adjusted to it yet. What has become abundantly clear is why Indians never touch food or make contact with other people with their left hand. I am not sure I will ever see the left hand the same way again. I am not joking, but seriously indicating the impression this basic difference in hygiene has made in me. <br />
<br />
On last gripe, it is extraordinarily wearing on me to know that so many people are trying to charge me more than they should. Anywhere that does not have posted prices is dangerous for someone who looks like me. They do not even try to hide it. You ask the price, for example for a auto rickshaw trip somewhere they go several times a day, and they sit looking at you in silence while thinking how much extra they think they can charge you. Mind you it is not the cost, often it is nothing, it is the fact that you know they are trying to cheat you and by a great deal. usually an extra third is added or the price is even doubled. There are meters that are supposed to be used but no one does and most have not worked for years if they ever did. I tried an experiment a few days ago. I went down to hire a taxi and after gathering around and laughing and jostling me the gang of taxi drivers insisted that 2000 rupees was the set fare. I haggled it down to 1500 which they whined (I mean the word) was a hardship to them, then left without hiring a driver. Half an hour later I asked one of the Indians working at the small hotel I was staying at to go and hire me a taxi without saying it was for a ferengi (foreigner). He came back with one of the same cars and a price of 600 rupees for the trip. When you know people are lying straight to your face and trying to cheat you, regardless of if it is because they think all westerners are millionaires and thus fair game, it makes you feel threatened, untrusting and angry. I find that it just makes me quite resentful and the gleeful way it is handled has left a sour taste in my mouth. <br />
<br />
Enough griping and lets hope it is now out of my system. I just want to be on record that this is not just a bed of roses and that for all of the sublime there has been a fair share of ridiculous. <br />
<br />
POST SCRIPT: The Photograph of the ape has nothing to do with anything except how I have felt at times. I just like it. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-X-cfLiER19s/T23aK-icJtI/AAAAAAAABwA/_5sbv1sBrqQ/s1600-h/Really%252520Frustrated%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Really Frustrated" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-454IdGhDW30/T23aOX7eOOI/AAAAAAAABwI/Dme7QVWRsp4/Really%252520Frustrated_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="416" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline;" title="Really Frustrated" width="387" /></a></div>
Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-43711001860277661432012-03-24T05:39:00.001-07:002012-03-24T05:39:06.190-07:00Palayoor of the Ezharrappallikal: Post XXIII - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-4lM_kJqJVoQ/T22-dcSQXNI/AAAAAAAABrA/MlZgR7kaBiI/s1600-h/ParishChurch3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Parish Church" border="0" alt="Parish Church" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-AJlR9qZq59c/T22-gQMm5rI/AAAAAAAABrI/JHQXwWy6rSM/ParishChurch_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>The church at Palayoor, or Palayur, is also in the hands of the Roman Catholic Syro-Malabar Church, yet this church is at least an older church of Portuguese design. The inside is pure Latin but there is a hole in the floor through which you can see an earlier foundation. It is said that there was an Altar dedicated by Saint Thomas kept at the original church and subsequently in each additional church built on the site. However in the 18th century, it and everything else, was destroyed when Tipu Sultan torched the place. </p> <p>As far as I can discern through the mist of legend and pseudo-history, this site, North Parvur and Niranam all seem to be original ancient  Christian sites with historical continuity if not the same buildings. As with Cranganore, this Syro-Malabar church has not one trace of East Syrian influence only Western European Latin (and Iberian at that). </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-CdzoaNnEYgA/T22-kTwZFrI/AAAAAAAABrQ/UTtF-P5lNh4/s1600-h/Palayoor%252520Interior%252520Altar%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Palayoor Interior Altar" border="0" alt="Palayoor Interior Altar" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-57_evG13ehU/T22-pTyedtI/AAAAAAAABrY/U5UNemEAUPE/Palayoor%252520Interior%252520Altar_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="377" height="554" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4uSMY0r1-BE/T22-tKswCwI/AAAAAAAABrg/mMqn26_PhAw/s1600-h/Palayoor%252520Interior%252520Ceiling%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Palayoor Interior Ceiling" border="0" alt="Palayoor Interior Ceiling" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-QwNUD6uM29c/T22-yCBP6uI/AAAAAAAABro/BN33FF_wJSI/Palayoor%252520Interior%252520Ceiling_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="376" height="545" /></a> </p> <p>The church possesses one of the ancient crosses that they claim was placed here by Saint Thomas. One West Syrian monk , in a conspiratorial whisper, confided in me one day that he did not believe in the ancient crosses of Saint Thomas because the cross did not become a Christian symbol until the post Apostolic age. He believes it was the 5th century East Syrians who brought the first crosses. Of course he is right, just make sure you do not point out this historical buzz-killing insight in anything above a whisper. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-GBRY73IFLYQ/T22-1cdpACI/AAAAAAAABrw/daqT3j_ANY0/s1600-h/StoneCrossinExtendedNarthex4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Stone Cross in Extended Narthex" border="0" alt="Stone Cross in Extended Narthex" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-cEV10f7YD8o/T22-5-0BbTI/AAAAAAAABr4/2_nvtvB2GgI/StoneCrossinExtendedNarthex_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>There is another legend here associated with Saint Thomas confronting a group of Brahmin. The Apostle, on his way to convert the local Jews on ‘Jew Hill’, saw the local Brahmins throwing water in the air whilst saying mantras after their morning ablutions in the temple tank.  Saint Thomas goaded and mocked them by claiming that their God (the god of the sun) did not accept their offerings. He claims that his god will accept his water (a version of my god is bigger than your god game). He makes a deal with them, and some of the local Jews, that if he can do this they must be Baptised (I allow people’s agreement to be Baptised as real tender in high stake poker games - but how I make converts is another story). Of course, the water miraculously stays in the air when tossed there by the Apostle. The Brahmin, suitably impressed (and legally bound), were Baptised. Yeah! The other Brahmins, cursed the place, and ran away leaving their temple, temple tanks, and lands abandoned for the new converts to take over. Yeah!</p> <p>You must admit however, that it is a bit cheeky. If I could make water magically whirl around in the air as long as I wanted I bet I could get a lot, and I mean a lot, more people Baptised. Instead I have the hard work of having to talk to them, and get to know them to bring them to the faith. How tedious. I could really get things done much more quickly with magic powers. Perhaps that will be what I will ask Saint Nicholas to bring me next 6th of December. </p> <p>Anyway, this is the place of the magic flying water and the Brahmetical baptism. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-YWz8D4_N2Q0/T22--ORnnSI/AAAAAAAABsA/usVql3Zw6pI/s1600-h/BaptismalPool3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Baptismal Pool" border="0" alt="Baptismal Pool" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-EntzZCG30xk/T22_BdBVmcI/AAAAAAAABsI/WMWuKZffEEc/BaptismalPool_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>This is a nice touch. I do not know if this image, which I have seen elsewhere, is called Our Lady of the Elephants but it should be. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-U-4lkZgwatU/T22_FJxlyTI/AAAAAAAABsQ/Nsmnk0mnlVo/s1600-h/OurLadyoftheElephants3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Our Lady of the Elephants" border="0" alt="Our Lady of the Elephants" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-i027RV86ksM/T22_IhS8KzI/AAAAAAAABsY/QnyYWr0eW_k/OurLadyoftheElephants_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="260" /></a> </p> <p>Outside the church are many small statues extolling the virtues and powers of the Apostle. </p> <p>More ferocious than a wild tiger! </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Lnx6r4hm0hM/T22_MwURf3I/AAAAAAAABsg/SrburltSVDc/s1600-h/SaintThomasisStrongerthanaTiger4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Saint Thomas is Stronger than a Tiger" border="0" alt="Saint Thomas is Stronger than a Tiger" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-YzpNrIgcN0Y/T22_R1TsZsI/AAAAAAAABso/OKl7eKpSPq0/SaintThomasisStrongerthanaTiger_thum.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>Stronger than a rampaging elephant! </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-2dy16VK1jeI/T22_WKaGDuI/AAAAAAAABsw/KN_bUjse6-0/s1600-h/StThomasisalsoStrongerthananElephant%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="St Thomas is also Stronger than an Elephant" border="0" alt="St Thomas is also Stronger than an Elephant" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/--4D1DxaxNGY/T22_chAEjkI/AAAAAAAABs4/QKtujcUuhiM/StThomasisalsoStrongerthananElephant.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-eeiYeHWZ7mw/T22_fXYYsUI/AAAAAAAABtA/CFsfAJMFmY0/s1600-h/StonenasraniMenorah4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Stone nasrani Menorah" border="0" alt="Stone nasrani Menorah" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-6pZxEYDxneQ/T22_jV-N1AI/AAAAAAAABtI/B1XbeFj3pzw/StonenasraniMenorah_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>On the other side of the compound there is a tank that acts as a reminder that Saint Thomas arrived at Paravoor by boat. You are certainly reminded. Yet of what I am not exactly sure. I get the boat on the water bit, but the giant angry Apostle thing?</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-NcIkmo-O5do/T22_pE0PMxI/AAAAAAAABtQ/-o0eLPa3Pgw/s1600-h/AttheBoatJetty3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="At the Boat Jetty" border="0" alt="At the Boat Jetty" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-cvmMuuV6XKA/T22_tdUECeI/AAAAAAAABtY/LyP6qtFINw4/AttheBoatJetty_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="253" /></a> </p> <p>And I mean really angry, and with a spear! Before anyone accuses me of ignorance, I know that the spear is the sign of his Martyrdom. Still, with that look on his face, I would prefer him to be holding a kitten. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-RLbqdLdko7o/T22_whgaEPI/AAAAAAAABtg/oumJ9Fs74e8/s1600-h/BigSaintThomas4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Big Saint Thomas" border="0" alt="Big Saint Thomas" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-rDhhJUlKfu0/T22_0Yg1xWI/AAAAAAAABto/TBKJopZLr9g/BigSaintThomas_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>The museum was interesting. It was all Portuguese of course but lovely old Portuguese artefacts, well mostly. There was that one giant armed Saviour thing……..</p> <p>Lovely old carved doors with biblical scenes, </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-NfDQ_ojYMiU/T22_3bkYWkI/AAAAAAAABtw/0YiXOsOYjkk/s1600-h/DoorofMuseum4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Door of Museum" border="0" alt="Door of Museum" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-QGwNTKM9srU/T22_8BCqhEI/AAAAAAAABt4/jE1NVD7bEL4/DoorofMuseum_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>an carved Agnus Dei with seals, </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-g5fE_eKg4M4/T23AABHU2dI/AAAAAAAABuA/C4gUHmLuffI/s1600-h/PortugueseAgnusDei3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Portuguese Agnus Dei" border="0" alt="Portuguese Agnus Dei" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-JdxM66BIIEY/T23ADaswk8I/AAAAAAAABuI/ufHwb6M8HQA/PortugueseAgnusDei_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>a statue of  the Good Shepherd, </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-7b8IZCsMewE/T23AHJnF41I/AAAAAAAABuQ/LCg6skpl67c/s1600-h/PortugueseGoodShepherd4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Portuguese Good Shepherd" border="0" alt="Portuguese Good Shepherd" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-IS5LkKC38JE/T23AMK0G0BI/AAAAAAAABuY/bT1JgJTwMo4/PortugueseGoodShepherd_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>An Ivory Crucifix and original copper plates giving the local Christians privileges from the king, </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-mJ_JE68RqYI/T23APDqakfI/AAAAAAAABug/rFzHWRtf5kc/s1600-h/OrigionalCopperPlates3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Origional Copper Plates" border="0" alt="Origional Copper Plates" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-BZWYcWKsyiA/T23ATW5nQ_I/AAAAAAAABuo/WaYMN7dKXq0/OrigionalCopperPlates_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>and…. dear me, a Saviour who has been doing way, way too much blessing. The other arm grew so heavy from over blessing I guess it just fell off. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-turREpAD8rA/T23AVqRA69I/AAAAAAAABuw/OYSPN6RygFg/s1600-h/IWillIWillBLESSYOU4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="I Will I Will BLESS YOU" border="0" alt="I Will I Will BLESS YOU" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-_vq1xc_zo9s/T23AY0iNsEI/AAAAAAAABu4/xChciYFg84M/IWillIWillBLESSYOU_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a></p> Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-92158716199599385652012-03-24T04:08:00.001-07:002012-03-24T04:08:47.438-07:00An Awkward Thing to Mention or Omnia muntantur nos et mutamur in illus: Post XXII – Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians in India<p>Scholarship of Saint Basil the Great 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-38Z5CJ462R0/T22p_dSe2jI/AAAAAAAABog/pv28D2aH2nc/s1600-h/SirJamesPrincepBrahmiPhilologist6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Sir James Princep - Brahmi Philologist" border="0" alt="Sir James Princep - Brahmi Philologist" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-bl4C9TEJqBM/T22qDLpNnbI/AAAAAAAABoo/I9M0L9vw0jg/SirJamesPrincepBrahmiPhilologist_thu.jpg?imgmax=800" width="387" height="387" /></a> </p> <p>For the few of you who have been wading through this travel blog you will by now have realised that most of the stories associated with the Nasrani Christians lies more in the realm of legend than history. One West Syrian bishop (whose see was is in North America put it bluntly - “You need to realise that all of it is made up!” He meant that almost none of the ‘history’ of the church is actually historical because we have almost no documentation before the coming of the Portuguese. Roughly (as I have spent a great deal of time in other posts outlining the history of the Nasrani), we know that there were Christians here, that they had cultural and ecclesiastical ties to the East Syrian church, were over time given caste privileges and a few other bits of concrete information.  </p> <p>Well at least he said it first. The fact is that almost all the documentation about the ancient church in India comes from the records of visitors such as Greeks and Romans or the ecclesiastical records of the Catholicos in Babylon (and these are few in number). There are the copper plates given by the Maharajas to the Nasrani which list the special privileges the ‘caste’ enjoyed, but besides this is little internal documentation. One of the professors at the Old Seminary in Kottayam makes this a central foundational point when teaching the history of the church on the Malabar coast. </p> <p>The churches in Kerala were built of teak and bamboo that at best last 300 years and not of stone. They thus disappeared. There are no ancient Christian church buildings in India! For some reason no one wants to say this out loud. The guidebooks, and the faithful refer to churches, like the seven churches of Saint Thomas for example, using the foundation date. It is only after you finally arrive and see the building that you realise that it is at best Portuguese and at worst a few years old. The oldest church foundation in India, for example, was just ‘Redone’ (read ‘Brand New’) within the last year. Even whilst standing there looking straight at it with the parish priest and a couple of the trustees, they tell you straight to your face that it dates from the 1st century. Yet nothing remains of the Portuguese structure of just 500 years ago let alone before that. And yet even though it is new it is designed in an European Portuguese style! </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-LWd07F8ntWI/T22qFyiD_9I/AAAAAAAABow/l7uk3OwLME0/s1600-h/NorthParvurorKottakavuExterior6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="North Parvur or Kottakavu -Exterior" border="0" alt="North Parvur or Kottakavu -Exterior" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-vTGX4ttk5ug/T22qKau91nI/AAAAAAAABo4/vWs6wN-wn9U/NorthParvurorKottakavuExterior_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="377" height="493" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-vLKbEgmdUbs/T22qOALOYSI/AAAAAAAABpA/D6wSv4izax0/s1600-h/NorthParvurorKottakavuInterior5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="North Parvur or Kottakavu - Interior" border="0" alt="North Parvur or Kottakavu - Interior" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-KjBIcfTRazU/T22qTWYJ32I/AAAAAAAABpI/PxORlO2TsMA/NorthParvurorKottakavuInterior_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="498" /></a> </p> <p>To put it more plainly – when you ask for supporting evidence for the claims that are put forth only anecdotal or belief statements are produced. If you dig deeper there is nothing there. It is all, of course, deeply disappointing. I had hoped to find an ancient church. Instead I have found churches that stem from a post Portuguese period. The coming of the Portuguese, as I have and will outline further, destabilised the indigenous church to such an extent that almost nothing remains of the pre Portuguese tradition except a few fragments and what we can at best, discern. We can not, for example, compare the East Syriac liturgy and customs of the pre Portuguese church to the liturgy and customs of the Church of the East at the same time to see how similar or dissimilar they were. As there are no documents, we are also unable to know exactly how the church was managed or ruled. </p> <p>Many, many churches claim decent from the Saint Thomas Christian tradition and yet none of them can support their claim beyond that of tradition or more recent developments. I have wondered several times if that is one of the reasons that these churches place so much emphasis on the outcome of secular court cases. It is extraordinary how often the judgment of a lawsuit is given to backup an ecclesiastical position.  </p> <p>Very, very briefly, here is the outline. The East Syrian tradition is claimed by the Chaldean Syrian Church and yet it is clear, as I have already shown, that its re-found allegiance with the Persian Patriarchate is 19th century and they had already been Latinised to some extent before re-inventing themselves. The Roman Catholic Syro-Malabar church also claims East Syrian decent and yet it is clear that they lost almost all traces of it as they were systematically Latinised. Many of their churches are not only Portuguese in Architecture and decoration but also are filled with statues of Western European Saints – many of them counter-reformation (remember images are anathema to East Syrian Christians)! There is no veil across the sanctuary or any physical sign whatsoever of Syrian influence. Many Syro-Malabar churches are also reinventing themselves and adding curtains, removing images, and in some places turning back to face East for the Querbana. Their claim seems to lie primarily in their use of liturgy which, as I have been led to believe, has also been heavily Latinised. For example they keep the feast of the Immaculate Conception which, if you have even a rough understanding of East Syrian Mariology, is simply bizarre. </p> <p>The West Syrian tradition dates from the coming of a West Syrian bishop in the 18th century. This Malankara tradition in Southern India is alien regardless of the fact that it now consists of most of those churches that descend from the Koonen Cross Oath. Even the Mar Thoma  Metropolitans only date from the 17th century. To an ecclesiastical historian this is all very recent.  </p> <p>However, the question as to why the Indians did not keep records is a mystery – the point is simply that they didn’t and never have, as the professor from Kottayam states, been inclined to do so. It explains why so much of Indian history that is considered ‘central’ today did not come from the Indians themselves. Michael Woods in his <em>The Story of India,</em> delicately explore this phenomenon without asking the difficult question of why. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ANcsUFPn65o/T22qVZJjxSI/AAAAAAAABpQ/JhzdzxObNYc/s1600-h/PasupatiHarrappanSeal4.gif"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Pasupati Harrappan Seal" border="0" alt="Pasupati Harrappan Seal" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-pjVxl2kL5rQ/T22qbOzRdUI/AAAAAAAABpY/BD5DSJy6pa8/PasupatiHarrappanSeal_thumb2.gif?imgmax=800" width="388" height="385" /></a> </p> <p>For example the great Harappan civilisation, one of the greatest ancient civilisation in the world with some cities of  perhaps a quarter of a million people dotted all along the Indus Valley, was discovered by the British soldier and explorer of the East India Company, James Lewis (pseudonym - Charles Masson) in 1827. It was not until the latter part of the Raj in the 1920s that excavation began. No one knew that there was a vast ancient civilisation in India before let alone one of the most ancient. </p> <p>The caves of Ajanta, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, were ‘discovered’ on the 28th of April 1819 by the British officer John Smith of the 28th Cavalry whilst tiger hunting. He looked up and wondered what the carvings he could see were and went to investigate. </p> <p>The ancient lost script of the Maurian Empire was translated in Calcutta at the Asiatic Society by the English philologist Sir James Princepts (whose image you can find at the beginning of this blog)who was intrigued by the numerous carved pillars around India such as the one in Delhi and wanted to know what they said. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-7wfV_Ct_LOw/T22qho_t44I/AAAAAAAABpg/h3ZXtFFr-kU/s1600-h/AshokaPillarinDelhi5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Ashoka Pillar in Delhi" border="0" alt="Ashoka Pillar in Delhi" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-7beL-s6c_yA/T22qlocT1wI/AAAAAAAABpo/nfUpf9GDYEQ/AshokaPillarinDelhi_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="376" height="552" /></a> </p> <p>Using a carved boulder and the intuition that it contained some version of Sanskrit he deciphered the Brahmi language, translated the pillars and revealed one of the most illustrious reigns of all of human history – that of the Emperor Ashoka. The Dharmachakra (Wheel of the Law) of Asoka, as he was a Buddhist, is the central emblem in the middle of the flag of India. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JBlFE_EYW6Y/T22qoJXYeMI/AAAAAAAABpw/bVkikvXiel4/s1600-h/IndianFlag3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Indian Flag" border="0" alt="Indian Flag" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-NF5sEFBsUnc/T22qq8u5mFI/AAAAAAAABp4/NluxTKJr8_4/IndianFlag_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="302" /></a> </p> <p>The Indian Army uses the three lions that adorn the top of Ashoka’s pillar at Sarnath. Ashoka’s Wheel at Konark and the Pillar at Sarnath are located in UNESCO World Heritage Sites. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-8uaKxzPBXxc/T22qtAih9lI/AAAAAAAABqA/B1hldwl47Ls/s1600-h/AshokasSarnathPillar6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Ashoka's Sarnath Pillar" border="0" alt="Ashoka's Sarnath Pillar" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-O7j339x4ONQ/T22qwhno_JI/AAAAAAAABqI/0NQTexQ4Bj4/AshokasSarnathPillar_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="381" height="520" /></a> </p> <p>Another great chunk of Indian history, the rule of the Kushan Empire, was only fully uncovered through the work of a French philologist Andre Maricq in 1957 who began work to decipher the Bactrian text. </p> <p>The origins of both the southern and the northern Indians (as well as the peoples of Europe) was also revealed by a Welshman. The migration of the Aryan peoples out of central Asia through the Khyber pass was first illuminated by the origins of Sanskrit itself. A Welsh judge, Sir William Jones (the father of Indology), so admired the Indian civilisation that in 1784 he founded the Asiatic Society in Calcutta to its history. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3iOx3HPgFpo/T22qzBhorCI/AAAAAAAABqQ/q6rabEScfdI/s1600-h/SirWilliamJonesFatherofIndology5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Sir William Jones Father of Indology" border="0" alt="Sir William Jones Father of Indology" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-qh7tPJP6SM4/T22q2aaCr0I/AAAAAAAABqY/yNY1QHuBhMQ/SirWilliamJonesFatherofIndology_thum.jpg?imgmax=800" width="373" height="442" /></a> </p> <p>He convinced a Brahmin scholar to teach him Sanskrit and his discovery changed the entire way that Indians and Europeans view their history. He gave a lecture to the learned society on February 2nd 1786 when he pointed out the vast similarities between Sanskrit, Greek, Latin and even non romantic European languages such as Lithuanian (the romantic languages descended from Latin would of course bear marked similarities).  He suggested that all had to have a common origin. This idea of a common origin of all ‘Indo-European’ languages, peoples, and history proved to be right.    <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-X9j_cHw_F24/T22q9WfIkzI/AAAAAAAABqg/c6Es3A2V1m8/s1600-h/FounderoftheAsiaticSociety4.png"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Founder of the Asiatic Society" border="0" alt="Founder of the Asiatic Society" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-dIi6aqFtYak/T22rFyh3a2I/AAAAAAAABqo/Y7nzvbekBuI/FounderoftheAsiaticSociety_thumb2.png?imgmax=800" width="416" height="510" /></a>It is modern genetics that has pointed to the probability that the South Indian Dravidian peoples are the descendants of the first wave out of Africa. Thus all non Sub-Saharan Africans, are descended from the Dravidian Indians. This can be called the ‘Out of India’ or ‘Mother India’ theory. This was hinted at through linguistic research, taking it for granted that speech was a later development in man, that revealed that the only analogous pattern to the ancient Brahmanical non linguistic chants of the South Indian priests is not a language but rather birdsong. </p> <p>The holiest site of the Buddhist religion, the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya (the place of the Lord Buddha’s enlightenment), was rescued from dereliction and abandonment and restored not by Buddhists by rather the British Government. General Sir Alexander Cunningham, KCIE, CSI  was so appalled by the local ignorance about and the state of the ancient Buddhist sites that he not only restored the the temple at Bodh Gaya but also excavated and protected the great Buddhist sites of Sarnath (where the Dharmachakra was set in motion in the Deer Park by the Lord Buddha’s first sermon), Barhut (now in the museum at Calcutta), and the Great Stupa of the Emperor Ashoka at Sanchi built to house the Lord Buddha’s relics. Mahabodhi, Sarnath and Sanchi are all UNESCO World Heritage Sites. </p> <p>The building of the Indian Railway system by the British allowed, for the first time, easy travel across the sub-continent. More important, the unification of all the almost 200 princely states and the area of the entire sub-continent into one political unity by the Raj created the very concept of India as one land, people, and country. </p> <p>You take all of this together, and you come to the very unsettling conclusion that a large part of the modern understanding of ‘Indian’ in term of language, origin, great chunks of her history, and the concept of her territorial boundaries is a recent development heavily engendered by European, notably British, contributions. Of course this is only disturbing in term of  political correctness and not historically. England’s language, religion, and infrastructure, for example, comes from its conquest by the Roman Empire and, unlike India, little if any of her original languages, cultures or religions remains. Anyone who studies history knows that this is how the concept of a nation and a people develops and changes. Still you tend to get into trouble when you say it out loud. For example, it is playing with fire to make reference to the anthropological theory of and research into original Dravidian inhabitants of the Americas that existed before the Native Americans crossed the Bering Strait ice bridge. </p> <p>To point out the historical fact that the English or the Scots (or the Germans or the French, etc, etc) are a modern ‘made up’ people tends to annoy people. And yet each of these peoples are made up of numerous other tribes of different linguistic and racial origin that only after much time coalesced into something that resembles the culture and people we know today. Another way of saying this is that there are no ‘pure breeds’ in humanity. The fact that these groups continue to ‘reinvent’ themselves (a Devolved Scotland for example is certainly a different Scotland than the one created by Sir Walter Scott) is to be expected. </p> <p>Yet the desire to find a fixed point of identification is extraordinarily strong in people. Pointing out that everything is always in flux tends to make people insecure and frightened (see column “<em>RCMP Sergeant Baltej Singh Dhillon a Proper Symbol of Canada or The Epiphany Continues to Illumine the Wasteland</em>” - February 2011 ). However some find this insight liberating and it pleases me these people find the constant change and flow of life and culture, although difficult to adapt to, ultimately something to be thankful for. This concept is a central tenant in the Buddhist doctrine of the impermanence of things and is basic to many Eastern cultures such as Japanese (see column “<em>All Flesh is Grass or Wabi-sabi</em>” – March 2007). </p> <p>A Japanese haiku, by Basho (1644-1694) puts it like this: </p> <blockquote> <p>Even in Kyoto -</p> <p>hearing the cuckoo’s cry -</p> <p>I long for Kyoto</p> <p><em>(translation by Robert Hass)</em> OR</p> <p> </p> <p>Bird of time - </p> <p>In Kyoto, pines</p> <p>for Kyoto</p> <p><em>(translation Lucien Stryk)</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Heraclitus of Ephesus (535-475 BC) remind us: </p> <blockquote> <p>“Everything changes and nothing remains still... and... you cannot step twice into the same stream" or as it is more commonly quoted “you can’t step in the same river twice.”</p> </blockquote> <p>The Kamakura short story <em>An Account of My Hut</em> by Kamo no Chomei (1185-1333) famously begins:</p> <blockquote> <p>“The current of the flowing river does not cease, and yet the water is not the same water as before. The foam that floats on stagnant pools, now vanishing, now forming, never stays the same for long. So, too, it is with the people and dwellings of the world.” <em>(Translation - Chambers)</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Ovid (43BC – 17AD) in the Metamorphosis reminds us: </p> <blockquote> <p>“Omnia muntantur, nihil interit” or “Everything changes, nothing perishes” </p> </blockquote> <p>“Omnia muntantur nos et mutamur in illus” is the more common expression. “Everything changes and we change with them.”</p> <p>Halleluiah. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-JvYzxdq3ARw/T22rKFu3dCI/AAAAAAAABqw/wDF0r856o6s/s1600-h/AshokaChakraatKonark6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Ashoka Chakra at Konark" border="0" alt="Ashoka Chakra at Konark" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8TPLsEDYLAs/T22rOIa_QDI/AAAAAAAABq4/df03eqEuuvk/AshokaChakraatKonark_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="385" height="358" /></a></p> Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-86986519039391566642012-03-24T03:55:00.004-07:002012-03-24T09:56:07.170-07:00Kundugallur or Cranganore of the Ezharappallikal (7 1/2 Churches of St Thomas): Post XXI -Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Ru8dk-K_Jec/T22nZJJKj0I/AAAAAAAABmw/x0JL39CdMm4/s1600-h/Muzirisasshowninthe4thcenturyTabulaP%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Muziris, as shown in the 4th century Tabula Peutingeriana." border="0" alt="Muziris, as shown in the 4th century Tabula Peutingeriana." src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCN6k6z21_5krrNT2_jbnA2JPJAXzoKNY9_BAf-i2zfQOpvCKYAtnGWRHtJqrZKVlTOcTt6mG9xxsH5fge8lYy3HJET_8EB1pE59-5u2wUD7eudT9LSqWFxCE0dozlCsxT92IRGFKyroE/?imgmax=800" width="383" height="314" /></a> The ancient Greek trading port of Muzeris at the mouth of the Periyar river is the traditional place associated with the landing of Saint Thomas the Apostle on the Malabar coast. The town of Kondugaloor, anglicised as Cranganore, is where the church claims he landed. The two places were close and it was recently discovered that the old port of Muzeris is only a few kilometres away. It was abandoned and lost after massive flooding in 1341 that made it unusable as a port and led to the opening of the new port at Cochin.  </p> <p>Ancient tradition has it that Saint Thomas founded seven and a half churches, called the Ezharappallikal, in Malabar (the half church is the southern Tamil Nadu). The names are very confusing because almost no two lists are the same. Some use original spelling, some use anglicised names and others Malayalam and yet none consistently.</p> <p>The traditional list is:</p> <ol> <li>Kundugallur or Cranganore, sometimes Muzeris </li> <li>Kottakkayal or North Parvoor (Parvur) </li> <li>Chattukulangara or Palayoor </li> <li>Kokkamangalam </li> <li>Nilackal or Chayal </li> <li>Niranam </li> <li>Kollam or Quilon </li> </ol> <p>Thiruvithancode Arappally is the ‘half church’ in southern Tamil Nadu. I have already visited six and by the time I leave the south I plan to have visited all of them. I have visited the town of Quilon/Kollam but there is no Christian site associated with the original Apostolic church left there to visit.  </p> <p>So Cranganor is where is all began. The site is in the possession of the Roman Catholic Syro-Malabar Church. There is simply no way around it – this place is hideous! I will not even have to use very many words but just let the place tell its own story. </p> <p>To begin with there is no old church. The new church is based on some sort of vision of St Peters in Rome seen through a carnival hawkers eyes.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Tlnu0w-YGW8/T22nhs7BJLI/AAAAAAAABnA/2sF1AfXmBSk/s1600-h/Church5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Church" border="0" alt="Church" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-HPMx5bcaNVQ/T22nk_JmTOI/AAAAAAAABnI/ogzf3T9Ecpw/Church_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>The Tabernacles is, well, uh………………different?</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-vYxFY5MXgqQ/T22nniGmWxI/AAAAAAAABnQ/EWFFuK7kLTc/s1600-h/TheTabernacle4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="The Tabernacle" border="0" alt="The Tabernacle" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Wr1J3avtWCA/T22nrSc8tXI/AAAAAAAABnY/t0RpihAv0Ss/TheTabernacle_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>The church contains a relic of the Holy Apostle’s thigh bone sent from Rome. If you ask to see it a nun will come and place a large key in lock and when she turns it - PRESTO! A recording of church bells begins, the walls swing back, the reliquaries doors open and taped Gregorian Chant fills the sanctuary. Kitsch is not really a strong enough word. </p> <p>What really made it brilliant was the Assyrian Orthodox priest who was with me, Father Michael, asking me what kind of music was playing. Remember, the Syro-Malabar are supposed to be descended from the East Syrian tradition. Here was a ‘real’ East Syrian who was simple befuddled by Western European Gregorian chant, relics (the East Syrians do not keep relics), reservation in a Tabernacle (which they also do not do), the numerous statues and pictures (they do not allow any ‘graven images’ in their churches)or the architecture. The whole thing was so completely out of touch with what the church claims to be that the farce was simply painful……Oh, hold on, I said I would not use so many words. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-kmRq8lMMT3w/T22ntsuFilI/AAAAAAAABng/M6kg--ClUfc/s1600-h/ReliquaryforLeftArm4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Reliquary for Left Arm" border="0" alt="Reliquary for Left Arm" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-mmNT78O1u7s/T22nw9jxZtI/AAAAAAAABno/txHsGfplX68/ReliquaryforLeftArm_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="258" /></a> </p> <p>This is what you encounter immediately after leaving the church having prayed feverishly is the presence of the Apostolic relic. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-f6Guqzztmw8/T22n0NvIUwI/AAAAAAAABnw/n41uBh3oAlo/s1600-h/WhatYouSeeImmediatelyafterReverencin.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="What You See Immediately after Reverencing the Holy Relic" border="0" alt="What You See Immediately after Reverencing the Holy Relic" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-kFbFohXqsk8/T22n598ISzI/AAAAAAAABn4/ki_W_H7rTuY/WhatYouSeeImmediatelyafterReverencin%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>Yep, If you have been weeping over your sins, there is a friendly waste receptacle cheerfully waiting to be of service and receive your used tissues. He has friends all around the sanctuary grounds too. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-bjK6RhB0eyw/T22n9PcNC2I/AAAAAAAABoA/eI4zAyjMbKw/s1600-h/WhenyougoArounftheCorner4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="When you go Arounf the Corner" border="0" alt="When you go Arounf the Corner" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Atj6dXs-YS8/T22oBHGoYHI/AAAAAAAABoI/ny-eP5J7Wyk/WhenyougoArounftheCorner_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>Needless to say I did not find the experience spiritually edifying. What is much more interesting in the area is India’s oldest Mosque (the second oldest Mosque in the world) and the temple elephant sanctuary, which I will deal with in another post. </p> <p>To end on a positive note, at least the site was on the water. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--DkMTM7UV6A/T22oFGflXbI/AAAAAAAABoQ/gkTEm8tONEU/s1600-h/ANiceBoatontheWater3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="A Nice Boat on the Water" border="0" alt="A Nice Boat on the Water" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-wzoDQS9G8bk/T22oIGl6TBI/AAAAAAAABoY/49jbX20B9Wg/ANiceBoatontheWater_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a></p>Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-63374419975331818222012-03-23T22:47:00.001-07:002012-03-23T22:47:46.253-07:00Malayattoor: Post XX - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-QBTGeqEENWw/T21eB-Q0mRI/AAAAAAAABiw/jRm-atwqt44/s1600-h/HolyOilLampinfrontoftheChurch4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Holy Oil Lamp in front of the Church" border="0" alt="Holy Oil Lamp in front of the Church" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoS0fiLh9g3SJhh0fXvBvXY95xFQdTsso7lJpiQWf58XNGfghljbQJKmltTsCsWDA5owQBGUw-ThD56SywQW2PCOAmXyFQPa2rPRdeJ-xO1cjWNib9yJucJYGOpnPqJ1pte6PhLwjOCqsg/?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>Malayattoor is one of the more important pilgrimage destinations of Saint Thomas Christians. Legend has it that Saint Thomas whilst walking through the area met hostile locals and was forced to flee to the mountain nearby to pray. Deep in prayer he touched a rock which caused blood to pour forth (whose blood I cannot figure out – the rock’s?) and he left his footprints behind in the stone. </p> <p>There is a similar legend that whilst praying and making the sign of the cross a miraculous golden cross appeared on the mountain. Thus pilgrims today use a mantra whilst climbing that runs: </p> <blockquote> <p>“O Patriarch of the Golden Cross! Climb we shall, this golden hill!” </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-aVBd1iKsdAE/T21eId54vzI/AAAAAAAABjA/NtyL6IAV-DU/s1600-h/MalayattoorChurch3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Malayattoor Church" border="0" alt="Malayattoor Church" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-AN_dB2VFnSA/T21eLjPc41I/AAAAAAAABjI/41bkqJ-cb3k/MalayattoorChurch_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="244" /></a> </p> <p>The old shrine acted as the parish church before the brand new church was built last year. Although the claim is that it dates to the year 900 the architecture and design is clearly Portuguese. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-mGFSWmQJoWg/T21eSoEWNnI/AAAAAAAABjQ/GyqavkCuiNA/s1600-h/InsidetheChurch3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Inside the Church" border="0" alt="Inside the Church" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-uXAKAjmVybI/T21eVzUmlhI/AAAAAAAABjY/FphVQH0ugdk/InsidetheChurch_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-t6dMNNCMF6k/T21eZUVAD2I/AAAAAAAABjg/DyyL1opHgYw/s1600-h/AltarataFestival4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Altar at a Festival" border="0" alt="Altar at a Festival" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ybosEUWSTV4/T21ed4BPsyI/AAAAAAAABjo/PZM5Ot4d9kA/AltarataFestival_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="568" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorgHnrDi3K6K0ffqCaUnR1EPzboXaTyDoeCxCMc6Jdz3l4OeshAj6lU9plhKleArAubRghJ99XCi-22eVf-vuR2z_Hkk8ROW5aj9Z0V8_TFTAfD50CCFSWlYnd7A0Y5lDiUfDyKeOxEG0/s1600-h/SouthTransept3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="South Transept" border="0" alt="South Transept" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-_U_mXkhFzQQ/T21elZNw__I/AAAAAAAABj4/j-3b24hP_wQ/SouthTransept_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-m-RWL14Jc7A/T21epktuHqI/AAAAAAAABkA/A0HuAFykyzU/s1600-h/SaintThomas4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Saint Thomas" border="0" alt="Saint Thomas" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-usjacbgR9-I/T21euqDKruI/AAAAAAAABkI/-ICdWvj3gNc/SaintThomas_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-uDalb4fKq2M/T21exJSYjJI/AAAAAAAABkQ/E0wSc8dVDeM/s1600-h/OldDoor4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Old Door" border="0" alt="Old Door" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-GgZMcULEOjQ/T21e1GADYpI/AAAAAAAABkY/Ht3FVTavNo0/OldDoor_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>The Nasrani menorah that stands outside the door is not of the usual design. I also noticed that many Saint Thomas Christians use the coconut oil in the lamp the same way water from holy water stoops is used – to cross oneself. </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-HLk9IBtNIVw/T21e3z1GJFI/AAAAAAAABkg/fMMdgFonCrw/s1600-h/MakingtheSignoftheCross4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Making the Sign of the Cross" border="0" alt="Making the Sign of the Cross" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-tQzipDFUyHs/T21e8xJGn3I/AAAAAAAABko/ISBMT1zcMNU/MakingtheSignoftheCross_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>There is a free standing cross, again dated to the time of the Portuguese (you can tell by the design of the cherubs – and yes I mean cherubs and not cherubim, which is the whole point), although is is claimed to be ancient.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-L57A4p6SuDc/T21fAGS5n3I/AAAAAAAABkw/SuCTbaNUmc4/s1600-h/OutsideCross4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Outside Cross" border="0" alt="Outside Cross" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-AnaDizNKG2c/T21fEvgRoBI/AAAAAAAABk4/WbQSCSNx11E/OutsideCross_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>The church sits on the banks of one of India’s holy rivers, the Periyar, and has ghats leading down to it. I wondered if Baptisms were performed there but I could find no one to ask. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-03blFyXObAk/T21fI4baQdI/AAAAAAAABlA/_8JvbDYXhFQ/s1600-h/TheRiverPerivar4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="The River Perivar" border="0" alt="The River Perivar" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Y_U02_xgMe4/T21fMQgQbAI/AAAAAAAABlI/7gPg4K5dfSU/TheRiverPerivar_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-HiEFknG69d0/T21fTTV6MaI/AAAAAAAABlQ/soVgqP081GA/s1600-h/StepsfromtheRivertotheChurch3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Steps from the River to the Church" border="0" alt="Steps from the River to the Church" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-AqYLdMQLZn0/T21fXEiFDDI/AAAAAAAABlY/77-eLbzpk5A/StepsfromtheRivertotheChurch_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-zR1bmARanak/T21fapIgaNI/AAAAAAAABlg/GtwaarINLp8/s1600-h/TheHolyRiver3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="The Holy River" border="0" alt="The Holy River" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-yaUctRQRokI/T21fdpcvzlI/AAAAAAAABlo/2eOlg3cYGos/TheHolyRiver_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-W8UWQ9Pc-P8/T21fh614xFI/AAAAAAAABlw/Nyv3zW1XwS8/s1600-h/FromtheRiverBank4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="From the River Bank" border="0" alt="From the River Bank" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-f0GqcPBiboI/T21fljKM5RI/AAAAAAAABl4/GzmbJa4Lnjg/FromtheRiverBank_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>The mountain itself is a couple of kilometres away. On the first Sunday after Easter thousands of  Saint Thomas Christians climb the hill, often bearing crosses, to seek the blessing of Saint Thomas. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-2h091vRBX7w/T21fqc0DdAI/AAAAAAAABmA/bQRUuOUVS64/s1600-h/MalayatoorPilgrimsI3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Malayatoor Pilgrims I" border="0" alt="Malayatoor Pilgrims I" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-czRAonXokXE/T21ft7qlfhI/AAAAAAAABmI/75jMrMgT1g4/MalayatoorPilgrimsI_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="246" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-43W6fCv7tNA/T21fzOMk6KI/AAAAAAAABmQ/1iuJPPafRzA/s1600-h/MalayatoorPilgrimsII3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Malayatoor Pilgrims II" border="0" alt="Malayatoor Pilgrims II" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-tyjX4pQsFyA/T21f3i0jM5I/AAAAAAAABmY/tYSjAx_vzSg/MalayatoorPilgrimsII_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="253" /></a> </p> <p>A small chapel of the Saint’s holy footprints sits at the top. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-JP71IH7zdFA/T21f7NWl8RI/AAAAAAAABmg/Z64FoveoXqo/s1600-h/ChapelattheTopoftheHill3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Chapel at the Top of the Hill" border="0" alt="Chapel at the Top of the Hill" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-4S44YGvN1NE/T21f-32EsKI/AAAAAAAABmo/ql-m-dQDkcU/ChapelattheTopoftheHill_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="253" /></a></p> Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-65446414453459872522012-03-23T22:26:00.001-07:002012-03-23T22:26:21.546-07:00A Nestorian Miscellanea II: Post XIX - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-_gmwNbo_cQU/T21ZDOcsmqI/AAAAAAAABe4/o-rEdWVICzU/s1600-h/Graveyard3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Graveyard" border="0" alt="Graveyard" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-LQDairFoq3c/T21ZIbMhRSI/AAAAAAAABfA/Kde0D4IsVzI/Graveyard_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>This post is a further collection of images from my time with the Church of the East. You will see below an example of enculturation with the traditional South Indian flower decorating art, especially used at the Keralite festival of Puram, used by Christians to decorate graves on the anniversaries of the occupant’s death. The Church of the East keeps the traditional days of prayer for the dead: 3rd day, 8th day, 41st day, and one year I believe. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-1yWtWUyhwdc/T21ZNgzLMEI/AAAAAAAABfI/AWtLrZP75EE/s1600-h/GraveDecoration3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Grave Decoration" border="0" alt="Grave Decoration" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/--YQqfqiiEGo/T21ZRIOE5pI/AAAAAAAABfQ/GYvKhE755zg/GraveDecoration_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>The following two ivory carvings of the Metropolitans are in the Palace’s upstairs sitting room and I forgot to include them when I discussed the history of the Church of the East in Thrissur. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ptYzvOLMp-g/T21ZTxlj0sI/AAAAAAAABfY/smFzGRgwtg8/s1600-h/MarTimotheusIvory4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Mar Timotheus Ivory" border="0" alt="Mar Timotheus Ivory" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-0gdg6qfeGhs/T21ZXXqIsFI/AAAAAAAABfg/ADDrE-_XaII/MarTimotheusIvory_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="502" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-EIPklDmWcQo/T21ZZnau1xI/AAAAAAAABfo/CuMM-dufH6o/s1600-h/MarThomaDarmoIvory5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Mar Thoma Darmo Ivory" border="0" alt="Mar Thoma Darmo Ivory" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-KGHD5JHYwiU/T21ZciOuKWI/AAAAAAAABfw/xy-5F2Pg6mA/MarThomaDarmoIvory_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="382" height="505" /></a> </p> <p>I also did not include the exceptionally strange music that would wake me at 5:30am coming from the Latin Rite Catholic Church across the road. For your edification here is an example: </p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884p8z0ftmg&title=RC+Priest%27s+Voice+and+Strain+of+Eerie+Music"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884p8z0ftmg&title=RC+Priest%27s+Voice+and+Strain+of+Eerie+Music" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/884p8z0ftmg-rc-priest-s-voice-and-strain-of-eerie-music" target="_top">RC Priest's Voice and Strain of Eerie Music</a> </p> <p>A great deal of what I did with Mar Aprem was to accompany him wherever he went. Sometimes these trips were for religious services but often they were more civic occasions or even, like the one shown below, celebrations of ecclesiastical institutions. This was the Prize Day of one of the local Church of the East’s schools. The man on the Metropolitan’s right is the Mayor of Thrissur whilst on his left is the local member of the State Parliament. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-BfaQ-yl9XgA/T21Zg1JeLzI/AAAAAAAABf4/jPHCyqyxnhs/s1600-h/SchoolAnnualDay3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="School Annual Day" border="0" alt="School Annual Day" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-O4B7ZQ1ndq8/T21ZlFQTgNI/AAAAAAAABgA/kFhWRQjTtd0/SchoolAnnualDay_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>When we arrived Mar Aprem swooshed away into a crowd of dignitaries and I was left sitting with one of the bishops. I thought I would sit in the front row. But no, after a lengthy introduction I was placed to the right of the mayor as a dignitary. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/--uYDJoDxocc/T21ZpCI6zkI/AAAAAAAABgI/mS4nXA_IDDk/s1600-h/SchoolAssembly3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="School Assembly" border="0" alt="School Assembly" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-L54aEB9Efp8/T21Zt1sMaBI/AAAAAAAABgQ/ySlWmdL4wEQ/SchoolAssembly_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a></p> <p>Oh well. At least I was able to get a few shots of the opening dance before being placed on the dais. </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:afbbd721-4f4d-4dbf-a942-07a383b4fefb" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="ce747819-48fd-4d00-9d6d-126b7886287c" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3CMHzeptoM" target="_new"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-M3q76NmHkhE/T21ZwdCGG0I/AAAAAAAABgY/N1Ag5YOspqY/videoceacf82cfec6%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('ce747819-48fd-4d00-9d6d-126b7886287c'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/t3CMHzeptoM&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/t3CMHzeptoM&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <p>Can anyone guess what animal this dance represents? I wonder? </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:aaced1df-b189-4e6d-82f1-de2d3f20b7b2" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="50d24721-f8dd-4251-80bc-a4cdc460b324" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaWy5gmZIe8" target="_new"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-MSGhEytM54o/T21ZyiapTGI/AAAAAAAABgg/5B66w9hSzlk/video264eadae01c5%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('50d24721-f8dd-4251-80bc-a4cdc460b324'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/RaWy5gmZIe8&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/RaWy5gmZIe8&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <p>On the Sunday we went to the best run of all the Nestorian churches I had seen. It was newly built, the liturgy was well done and there was an excellent choir. I had a sense that someone had been paying very close attention whilst it was being built and decorated not to mention the way the services were organised. It turns out there was. Unfortunately, although this particular priest offered to meet with me several times (he was a retired professional who was then ordained) time was not made available for this to occur regardless of my expressed desire to make time. I never discovered why. However, as I was not encouraged to speak with anyone other than the Metropolitan and, upon my request, the two bishops and as nothing was facilitated I do not think that this priest had been specifically discouraged from making contact.  </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-GXoprtsur_c/T21Z2F2UtXI/AAAAAAAABgo/DpKGsbTdqQ4/s1600-h/MarApremParishChurch4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Mar Aprem Parish Church" border="0" alt="Mar Aprem Parish Church" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-D8088A8sHcw/T21Z5p3Oz6I/AAAAAAAABgw/ud8dhlJSLUo/MarApremParishChurch_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="378" height="499" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-3q48GPFDUDQ/T21Z8Ziw1MI/AAAAAAAABg4/yS7Ldz1xHWk/s1600-h/MarApremChurch5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Mar Aprem Church" border="0" alt="Mar Aprem Church" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-OJ3wFcXmGGQ/T21Z_xYJgJI/AAAAAAAABhA/zU1qEqfj7rA/MarApremChurch_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="499" /></a> </p> <p>Another church I had attended the previous week was the only one that had a professional ‘traditional’ choir with instruments. It was my only experience of hearing this type of music and Syrian sung. </p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884k7bq2fz4&title=Syrian+Opening+Tune"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884k7bq2fz4&title=Syrian+Opening+Tune" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/884k7bq2fz4-syrian-opening-tune" target="_top">Syrian Opening Tune</a></p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884jg1ciags&title=Syrian+Liturgical+Song"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884jg1ciags&title=Syrian+Liturgical+Song" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/884jg1ciags-syrian-liturgical-song" target="_top">Syrian Liturgical Song</a> </p> <p>They even requested the Metropolitan sing a Gospel sequence in Syriac. Then again it was because they knew he was one of the few who could. Although the Church of the East (including the Church in India) continually emphasises that their liturgical language is that of Christ and it was pointed out that the seminarians study Syriac, it turns out that one you ask a couple of questions the whole story falls apart. They have not used Syriac in fifty years and the few students in the seminary do not do very much language work. The entire liturgy in an Malayalam. </p> <p></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:279fb8de-ac6c-48c0-a2e9-0c3d6fe00a7e" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="8bed3c06-b357-476f-bfff-b6841a6d59a3" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoXOw7lj1ZE" target="_new"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-stt4AyJuICo/T21aCIMy_lI/AAAAAAAABhI/n39UHOBCTWk/video52981e5e7235%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('8bed3c06-b357-476f-bfff-b6841a6d59a3'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/OoXOw7lj1ZE&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/OoXOw7lj1ZE&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <p></p> <p>Below is an example of the ‘walk aboot’, as I call it, that occurs two or three times during Holy Qurbana. I have never seen anything like it and the West Syrians do not do it. I also could find no description of it in the liturgical books I studied. When I asked about it I was given a vague answer that it was about reverencing different ‘holy’ areas of the sanctuary. When I pressed further I discovered that only the Indian Church does this and not the rest of the Church of the East. This seemed to be the position with a lot of the customs I asked about, but it was definitely not ‘on’  to suggest that the Indian Liturgy was different from the rest of the church although it certainly seemed to be. One session that I asked for specifically to explore liturgical queries I had, seemed to consist of only one answer: “We don’t do that in India” or “It is only done that way in India”. My obvious question as to whether the considerable differences in the Indian Rite could be considered a separate ‘Malabar Rite’ of the Church of the East was met with almost apoplectic back peddling. I got the distinct impression that I had stumbled across an issue that was a sore point between the Catholicos-Patriarch and the Church in India.  I can only guess at the tension produced by Assyrians trying to get Indians to conform rigidly to liturgical norms. </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:e927efe0-0c18-48f6-9fae-3429e9761e30" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="116bc9af-8004-4469-9d4c-c09bdaf8ad5d" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo9o5M8cu8c" target="_new"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-P0436qbEt-Y/T21aEahmbvI/AAAAAAAABhQ/co50ZLoNf1o/video9f95f024d283%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('116bc9af-8004-4469-9d4c-c09bdaf8ad5d'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/jo9o5M8cu8c&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/jo9o5M8cu8c&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-IZ7UawYREPI/T21aIfUbA6I/AAAAAAAABhY/YHeruXL7fv8/s1600-h/AfterMass3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="After Mass" border="0" alt="After Mass" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Ry0KEagqbVI/T21aMGlR9CI/AAAAAAAABhg/wGwOvmQVZpI/AfterMass_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>After the morning festival the same day we went to Fr Jacks' small rural church for their festival. His mother had died earlier in the week  and he had to arrange for the transport of her body, her funeral, bury her (usually done within 24 hours) and then prepare for his annual parish festival. I really felt for him. He was expected back at work at the Palace on Monday morning, less than a week after her death and the day after the parish feast. When I asked about compassionate leave I realised that the concept was completely foreign.  </p> <p></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-s_JwXtHWc3s/T21aeH5aPtI/AAAAAAAABho/1xD1ELk42PA/s1600-h/StJosephs3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="St Joseph's" border="0" alt="St Joseph's" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-v6p3FjZ7-jk/T21ajTxdnZI/AAAAAAAABhw/kD4RXkcUrqI/StJosephs_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JV3OcR04rtQ/T21aozAFyuI/AAAAAAAABh4/0q_Qen9eSwk/s1600-h/FrJacksatStJosephs3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Fr Jacks at St Joseph's" border="0" alt="Fr Jacks at St Joseph's" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-898ti8FdNRs/T21ar1vgrAI/AAAAAAAABiA/GwpI5cSNPB0/FrJacksatStJosephs_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-yOr2RqTUfrU/T21au7iELAI/AAAAAAAABiI/aLpwlAaOhAM/s1600-h/StJosephsProcessionalCross4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="St Joseph's Processional Cross" border="0" alt="St Joseph's Processional Cross" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-UmlqcB6xs2M/T21ayThjNkI/AAAAAAAABiQ/TS1NR3YWXqU/StJosephsProcessionalCross_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="378" height="499" /></a> </p> <p>In the parish hall afterwards a small boy sung an exceptionally long hymn in Syriac for the Metropolitan and congregation which he had, presumably, spent ages memorising. </p> <p></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:819abd72-692d-4924-a0ec-1b34886cd8fd" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="0f226f98-eeb1-4f8c-b1b2-2b0b7efcde53" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy-b5ZFgT18" target="_new"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ZCbUI_O7zPw/T21a1ISgc4I/AAAAAAAABiY/bqFEljxkvLA/videoaf4ad8a0687b%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('0f226f98-eeb1-4f8c-b1b2-2b0b7efcde53'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/zy-b5ZFgT18&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/zy-b5ZFgT18&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <p></p> <p>We ate in the sacristy and here you can see a typical traditional south Indian breakfast of idli (served on a banana leaf), sambar, vada and small sweet bananas. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-5INDoWbzqQ0/T21a5BieD0I/AAAAAAAABig/C4nRP8kJ5JI/s1600-h/BreakfastintheSacristy4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Breakfast in the Sacristy" border="0" alt="Breakfast in the Sacristy" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-SDWAL1U6v68/T21a9PUuHhI/AAAAAAAABio/k4eJCLOwPIA/BreakfastintheSacristy_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="376" height="496" /></a></p> Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-60225024830713986602012-03-22T08:34:00.001-07:002012-03-22T08:34:05.287-07:00Into the Realm of the Monkey God: Post XVIII – Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-dbHZAPj3VJU/T2s7x3fCMfI/AAAAAAAABRg/OL_JkIDcO8A/s1600-h/Gracious%252520Lord%252520Hanuman%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Gracious Lord Hanuman" border="0" alt="Gracious Lord Hanuman" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-gbXQyaf0o2I/T2s72NU2njI/AAAAAAAABRo/bOiP_hlkJ2Y/Gracious%252520Lord%252520Hanuman_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="416" height="416" /></a> </p> <p>Shimla is the quintessential town of the British Raj. In 1822 a Scottish Civil servant by the name of Charles Kennedy built a summer house here. Just forty years later the town had become the official summer residence of the Indian Empire, with its own Scottish baronial Viceregal Lodge, and it remained so until 1939.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-i-QSAbUsDS0/T2s76Yr-W_I/AAAAAAAABRw/5PHnzXGDIDg/s1600-h/Viceregal%252520Lodge%252520I%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Viceregal Lodge I" border="0" alt="Viceregal Lodge I" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-BHoBcVRzDIo/T2s79_i9EeI/AAAAAAAABR4/_KSYZs_16ug/Viceregal%252520Lodge%252520I_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-t1a4kzm0fdY/T2s8EEISF8I/AAAAAAAABSA/hyb5kiUIQvw/s1600-h/Viceregal%252520Lodge%252520II%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Viceregal Lodge II" border="0" alt="Viceregal Lodge II" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-B5016H0e4-A/T2s8INod9vI/AAAAAAAABSI/nCHiOnAnakQ/Viceregal%252520Lodge%252520II_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-CbDivwBLOOc/T2s8RMecLdI/AAAAAAAABSQ/0VRzpjjCYU8/s1600-h/Viceregal%252520Lodge%252520III%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Viceregal Lodge III" border="0" alt="Viceregal Lodge III" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-WV19zQu1ZcQ/T2s8YjGaM0I/AAAAAAAABSY/0LzIKTTBMLw/Viceregal%252520Lodge%252520III_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="382" height="502" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Q4DCfPWGsEs/T2s8jJJabUI/AAAAAAAABSg/y88ZdwH1P2w/s1600-h/Royal%252520Arms%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Royal Arms" border="0" alt="Royal Arms" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-QriH3eqCWx8/T2s8oup2TEI/AAAAAAAABSo/4eWkAektV0E/Royal%252520Arms_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-SKFcPCMjZrk/T2s82b86xbI/AAAAAAAABSw/RNLwt6PIBzw/s1600-h/Viceregal%252520Lodge%252520IV%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Viceregal Lodge IV" border="0" alt="Viceregal Lodge IV" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-EexGjVnhq58/T2s87c2RANI/AAAAAAAABS4/lZNIPmfcpYs/Viceregal%252520Lodge%252520IV_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>As an aside, I would point out that both independence and partition were worked out here. The first – good, the second - one of the worst human tragedies in history. Below is the table where the first draft of the line of demarcation was shown to the Viceroy.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-brP91Cl-WO4/T2s9Bmo1mBI/AAAAAAAABTA/2iE31OCixm4/s1600-h/Table%252520Used%252520for%252520First%252520Draft%252520of%252520Partition%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Table Used for First Draft of Partition" border="0" alt="Table Used for First Draft of Partition" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-GzlLxzimE9Q/T2s9HoWJCkI/AAAAAAAABTI/BoLG0nnyrOI/Table%252520Used%252520for%252520First%252520Draft%252520of%252520Partition_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="369" height="485" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-bZD458_BS2M/T2s9QG49YQI/AAAAAAAABTQ/SzLrS1c3n6o/s1600-h/Room%252520where%252520Independance%252520was%252520Agreed%252520Upon%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Room where Independance was Agreed Upon" border="0" alt="Room where Independance was Agreed Upon" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-WCbgC-_-pLo/T2s9VH1JFEI/AAAAAAAABTY/MYQXfmlf4us/Room%252520where%252520Independance%252520was%252520Agreed%252520Upon_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="370" height="486" /></a> </p> <p>The town is built with two malls for strolling: the upper one, the Ridge, and the lower, the Mall. It still looks like British India today with: mock Tudor public building;</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-j4tKbazPVu8/T2s9ZZ_lZoI/AAAAAAAABTg/MygWkPFi5jU/s1600-h/Shimla%252520Town%252520Hall%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Shimla Town Hall" border="0" alt="Shimla Town Hall" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-3cHFvlkb1_k/T2s9fAaTdKI/AAAAAAAABTo/h1WSLArYq-o/Shimla%252520Town%252520Hall_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-84_2TZrQGL4/T2s9i8A9IgI/AAAAAAAABTw/Y_VJO4_ecaQ/s1600-h/Mayor%252520of%252520Shimla%252527s%252520Office%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Mayor of Shimla's Office" border="0" alt="Mayor of Shimla's Office" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-QVq0pI9vpAM/T2s9mGUucbI/AAAAAAAABT4/PA9tNLs9WzE/Mayor%252520of%252520Shimla%252527s%252520Office_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>A theatre with a museum highlighting the old plays and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas that were performed there;   </p> <p> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-rN5Y9UI-rr0/T2s9tD3SM0I/AAAAAAAABUA/pt_MLPmLIak/s1600-h/Gaity%252520Theatre%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Gaity Theatre" border="0" alt="Gaity Theatre" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-E8TgUmeDINY/T2s9wxRqFaI/AAAAAAAABUI/BS94gHKpbzE/Gaity%252520Theatre_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-EJdo126S6GU/T2s90qyE6JI/AAAAAAAABUQ/7OgB2tQ1Q3A/s1600-h/Gilbert%252520and%252520Sullivan%252527s%252520Iolanthe%2525201901%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe 1901" border="0" alt="Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe 1901" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-EenUFXRCkpA/T2s938z1BYI/AAAAAAAABUY/VMA9j9ma30U/Gilbert%252520and%252520Sullivan%252527s%252520Iolanthe%2525201901_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>tweed merchants (where I purchased some delightful cheviot tweed from the Scottish Borders for a suit at only a fraction of the cost I would have had to pay in the mother country); numerous British style elitist schools; and an Anglican Church (now the Church of North India) dominating the main square (please note the youth in British school uniforms milling about).</p> <p> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-CmjDaPbhv4M/T2s9-JB8lgI/AAAAAAAABUg/Hn3MarrzPFk/s1600-h/Christ%252520Church%252520with%252520British%252520%252528almost%252529%252520Schoolboys%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Christ Church with British (almost) Schoolboys" border="0" alt="Christ Church with British (almost) Schoolboys" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-nxbI2yDVkzQ/T2s-HGMV7QI/AAAAAAAABUo/UylPpQ0IM3I/Christ%252520Church%252520with%252520British%252520%252528almost%252529%252520Schoolboys_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>Yet there was one thing already in existence when Charles Kennedy came here in the early 19th century.  A relic of something much older, and much more primal than tea and tweed and the Book of Common Prayer lurks in the mists on the mountain top above the town. Look carefully into the distance behind the church tower in the photograph above and the one below.</p> <p> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-JQmagQfDQT0/T2s-KcZGtpI/AAAAAAAABUw/TQTUjhfx7iQ/s1600-h/Christ%252520Church%252520with%252520Lord%252520Hanuman%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Christ Church with Lord Hanuman" border="0" alt="Christ Church with Lord Hanuman" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-78mmbKnafV4/T2s-NcAQZaI/AAAAAAAABU4/LDWAn65deIY/Christ%252520Church%252520with%252520Lord%252520Hanuman_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="385" height="508" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-o91FdNjia0E/T2s-QPpRnSI/AAAAAAAABVA/a2x-LjDLYec/s1600-h/Above%252520the%252520Trees%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Above the Trees" border="0" alt="Above the Trees" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-UpSfs-rbgT0/T2s-TZ-YGKI/AAAAAAAABVI/T34wCeXaECQ/Above%252520the%252520Trees_thumb%25255B8%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="390" height="501" /></a> </p> <p>On Shimla 's highest peak of Mount Jaku, 8000 feet above sea level, is the ancient Hindu Sanctuary and Temple of Jaku (also spelled Jakoo and Jakku). No one seems to know how long it has been there but the faithful claim it has been there since the time of the Ramayana (the 3rd century BC). </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Ktju3KZhpds/T2s-Xt1z1mI/AAAAAAAABVQ/KfJmTXByUD8/s1600-h/Jakku%252520Temple%252520in%25252019th%252520Century%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Jakku Temple in 19th Century" border="0" alt="Jakku Temple in 19th Century" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-S7yKCMLS1Yg/T2s-bmwf5NI/AAAAAAAABVY/SzpLkhNOzKk/Jakku%252520Temple%252520in%25252019th%252520Century_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="395" height="554" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-bY8EZcmEE3o/T2s-htlDEnI/AAAAAAAABVg/LGYjowna99w/s1600-h/19th%252520Century%252520Postcard%252520of%252520Jakhoo%252520Temple%25255B11%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="19th Century Postcard of Jakhoo Temple" border="0" alt="19th Century Postcard of Jakhoo Temple" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-tThBikyWBy0/T2s-l0-TldI/AAAAAAAABVo/K1mT3mo_Yg0/19th%252520Century%252520Postcard%252520of%252520Jakhoo%252520Temple_thumb%25255B9%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="401" height="280" /></a> </p> <p>To reach the sanctuary one takes a steep path that leads from the right hand side of Christ Church at the east end of the Ridge and winds its way almost two miles up the mountain. About halfway up you enter through the gate of the sanctuary itself and into a calm cool forest of oak and deodar (a sacred cedar tree of the north Indian sub-continent). </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-A8yfLXcC1fw/T2s-p6AjJwI/AAAAAAAABVw/TjYQgv6E3kE/s1600-h/Forest%252520of%252520Hanuman%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Forest of Hanuman" border="0" alt="Forest of Hanuman" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-4jtkg143COU/T2s-s-94WcI/AAAAAAAABV4/arIDhWLGTxo/Forest%252520of%252520Hanuman_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="319" /></a> </p> <p>Often mists creep along the ground and the wind in the treetops is seldom silent. It is a hypnotically beautiful, peaceful place and you can easy feel that you have entered onto sacred ground. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-_H3HR-OzY2g/T2s-zjM8q2I/AAAAAAAABWA/yZix-I8k9DU/s1600-h/Oak%252520and%252520Deodor%252520Forest%252520of%252520Hanuman%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Oak and Deodor Forest of Hanuman" border="0" alt="Oak and Deodor Forest of Hanuman" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-LvHdENZQQVk/T2s-4EcZUPI/AAAAAAAABWI/Dd-aLRIkW6Q/Oak%252520and%252520Deodor%252520Forest%252520of%252520Hanuman_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>Yet what really makes the place feel magical, at least to a Westerner, is the perpetual presence of the denizens of the sanctuary who watch you from ever tree, rock, and from around every corner. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-EcDvgOTAaRA/T2s-_0EQErI/AAAAAAAABWQ/vXTLFcI6VLY/s1600-h/Denizens%252520of%252520the%252520Forest%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Denizens of the Forest" border="0" alt="Denizens of the Forest" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/--wSt7JyZ8wA/T2s_DUl4kXI/AAAAAAAABWY/JxAKmLIY7A8/Denizens%252520of%252520the%252520Forest_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>Although they are clam and sedate they watch every move you make, sometimes following along behind you at a dignified distance. It is quite obvious that you have entered their territory and that you are there only on suffrage. </p> <p> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6wE3Rz2Kz_4/T2s_HWhqZ9I/AAAAAAAABWg/qgfLlHTM5sk/s1600-h/Vanara%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Vanara" border="0" alt="Vanara" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-R8CDswsmW8c/T2s_MfBzc4I/AAAAAAAABWo/Uhj-aUZO3cA/Vanara_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="504" /></a> </p> <p>Interestingly enough, only one kind of monkey, Rhesus macaque, seems to live on this mountain whist a totally different type, Hanuman langurs, share the rest of the town with the macaque. These langurs, for example, live at the Viceregal Lodge.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ZL4g67NhNGg/T2s_SoE8QKI/AAAAAAAABWw/Y-6FslViC_o/s1600-h/Hanuman%252520Langurs%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Hanuman Langurs" border="0" alt="Hanuman Langurs" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-FPzp9cwAeZc/T2s_WtQ5-pI/AAAAAAAABW4/ssjEteO7WGA/Hanuman%252520Langurs_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-2RypfLwU-jE/T2s_lNi8OII/AAAAAAAABXA/DNX3MxmohNw/s1600-h/Hanuamn%252520Langurs%252520at%252520Viceregal%252520Lodge%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Hanuamn Langurs at Viceregal Lodge" border="0" alt="Hanuamn Langurs at Viceregal Lodge" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-22J9YjdOImY/T2tCODxgubI/AAAAAAAABXQ/sEMhxWHafL8/HanuamnLangursatViceregalLodge_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>Eventually you come to a second, more ornate, gate which leads to the temple precincts on the very top of the mountain (note the monkey sitting on the head of the right hand guard).</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-EYc2ARYzhes/T2tCT9oaRSI/AAAAAAAABXY/En4-GOpx9vE/s1600-h/TempleGate3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Temple Gate" border="0" alt="Temple Gate" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Pt12I5S0DxM/T2tCZjtIsgI/AAAAAAAABXg/chG2zcKl-98/TempleGate_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="254" /></a> </p> <p>Another long flight of steps leads you past the simian residents and into the temple courtyard</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-osnSuRio8Xs/T2tCd223X7I/AAAAAAAABXo/eaEgHMMCNcM/s1600-h/TemplePrecincts3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Temple Precincts" border="0" alt="Temple Precincts" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ECnGUi7w4gA/T2tCiUzdOeI/AAAAAAAABXw/X0sZV5TDdDM/TemplePrecincts_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>to the very feet of the 108 foot statue of the God that the mountain is sacred to and whose people reside there – Lord Hanuman, the Monkey God. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-VDFM_P8amL8/T2tClcdhJJI/AAAAAAAABX4/6upysFYEduk/s1600-h/StatueII4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Statue II" border="0" alt="Statue II" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-3c1hO4WZPV0/T2tCo83ORmI/AAAAAAAABYA/bF2rZURyUS8/StatueII_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="376" height="499" /></a>  <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-BMIuzJUurSY/T2tCrNsVgKI/AAAAAAAABYI/G7K8ZJBaEGY/s1600-h/StatueofLordHanuman5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Statue of Lord Hanuman" border="0" alt="Statue of Lord Hanuman" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-xcv0tDQ0_DA/T2tCuikcfmI/AAAAAAAABYQ/fd0Vf_r5FNc/StatueofLordHanuman_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="377" height="495" /></a> </p> <p>To me the mountain of Jaku seems like Narnia come to life. A mysterious other worldly place inhabited by a non human ‘people’ (the Vanara are the monkey people of the Ramayana) presided over by a magical monkey God whose inner sanctum lies through a misty gate at the top of a mountain. It could easily be, without any changes, a setting in one of the Chronicles of Narnia.  <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-o-t8tsoxPy0/T2tCz4oaVpI/AAAAAAAABYY/fp9gJ1wrILE/s1600-h/OldCharm7.png"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Old Charm" border="0" alt="Old Charm" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-57ZEhkAi1xg/T2tC8kb4S4I/AAAAAAAABYg/LlbjCz5CF4c/OldCharm_thumb5.png?imgmax=800" width="381" height="354" /></a> </p> <p>Lord Hanuman, as you probably are aware, is one of the most beloved of all Hindu deities. He is said to be an avatara of Shiva, was a student of the all knowing and all wise Surya the sun god. He is gifted with all boons and is one of the few Hindu Immortals who is said to be present whenever the Ramayana is read. </p> <p>He plays a main role in the grand religious epic of the Ramayana and the legend associated with the mountain in Shimla comes from this epic. When Lord Rama’s brother Lord Lakshmana lay dying from a poisoned arrow on a battle field, Lord Hanuman used his powers of flight and strength to fly to the Himalayas to bring back the sacred herb, sanjivani, needed to heal him. Lord Hanuman, unable to indentify the plant and knowing he was running out of time, took the entire mountain with him back to the south so the Brahmin Sage could identify the sanjivani and save Rama’s brother. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-7kMSo6jKg-w/T2tC_le5mCI/AAAAAAAABYo/v7Ir1lRfLYA/s1600-h/MoutainCarrier6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Moutain Carrier" border="0" alt="Moutain Carrier" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-QgdSWF3Om6Y/T2tDE3SNzqI/AAAAAAAABYw/NwxRQjRs1Uk/MoutainCarrier_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="385" height="557" /></a> </p> <p>Jaku temple is located on the spot where Lord Hanuman rested on his way back from the battle to return the mountain to its rightful place. The top of the mountain is said to be flattened by the weight of the god and the mountain. Another version says that he stopped here on the way to find the herb to ask a wise  sage directions and in his haste to depart left his people behind. It is believed it is the descendants of these Vanara who still roam the mountain. A special shrine marks the holy place of the his footprints.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-xO9rhcB595s/T2tDJMGAuhI/AAAAAAAABY4/Qwv-r98bm_E/s1600-h/FootprintsofaGod5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Footprints of a God" border="0" alt="Footprints of a God" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-T1H9bzlOUqA/T2tDM-bm_0I/AAAAAAAABZA/4c98C7TAiDw/FootprintsofaGod_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="389" height="510" /></a> </p> <p>Lord Hanuman is one of the most powerful of the Hindu deities empowered with almost every power conceivable. This makes him the ultimate sonic screwdriver (a bone for those of you who are Doctor Who fans) as he can be used to solve almost all problems. As a child, he was endlessly teasing the local sadhus by hiding their prayer books, and stealing or rearranging their rosaries and sacred priestly tools. His curiosity was also dangerous as he once confused the sun for a ripe mango fruit and caused great problems for the world when he tried to tug it from its orbit, requiring Lord Indra to strike him in the head with a thunderbolt which explains the cleft in Hanuman’s jaw.  Thus the sadhus cursed Hanuman so that although he had more p0wers than almost any other god, he was not able to remember that he possessed these powers or attributes unless reminded of the fact first. Thus one of the great Hindu ‘plot holes’ was filled. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8W92gs2tKxI/T2tDP3TCK5I/AAAAAAAABZI/NzbmQO3BDuE/s1600-h/HanumanMistakestheSunforaFruit5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Hanuman Mistakes the Sun for a Fruit" border="0" alt="Hanuman Mistakes the Sun for a Fruit" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-SoQ4ztucURo/T2tDUnXnHsI/AAAAAAAABZQ/CXrAv7yq7xA/HanumanMistakestheSunforaFruit_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="388" height="502" /></a> </p> <p>The temple of Jaku as it is presently constructed in located inside the sacred temple courtyard above the towering statue of the Monkey God. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-geCCzh7ShFM/T2tDYyifBKI/AAAAAAAABZY/Zd01SjtQrF0/s1600-h/JakhuTemple4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Jakhu Temple" border="0" alt="Jakhu Temple" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-CFf1oBDlRT0/T2tDdjIujMI/AAAAAAAABZg/UcMt8qvOTkg/JakhuTemple_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="502" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-KvTtRnyMLWg/T2tDhl2Ze_I/AAAAAAAABZo/656fepOVv5o/s1600-h/Temple3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Temple" border="0" alt="Temple" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-cgitIZnC75M/T2tDljt-alI/AAAAAAAABZw/iQwA_cCSfck/Temple_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-KM6SuJa-xTc/T2tDpHqiasI/AAAAAAAABZ4/8TKjms9dlNU/s1600-h/MonkeyattheDoorsoftheTemple3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Monkey at the Doors of the Temple" border="0" alt="Monkey at the Doors of the Temple" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Jl5jy3kn43w/T2tDsC9EcpI/AAAAAAAABaA/ArM5mNBxHME/MonkeyattheDoorsoftheTemple_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-PTVp-zlq5fc/T2tDwmGd2NI/AAAAAAAABaI/hyJQje_9k2s/s1600-h/MonkeyTemple3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Monkey Temple" border="0" alt="Monkey Temple" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-nT8pYDblVoQ/T2tD0EO2cEI/AAAAAAAABaQ/P3649tqO3nU/MonkeyTemple_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="253" /></a> </p> <p>I think I surprised and pleased the priest inside by knowing the correct ritual needed to pay my respects and I received the customary mark, prasad and a blessing. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-aAYzeAbqENk/T2tD4U1tn_I/AAAAAAAABaY/uc12n_K0HjA/s1600-h/TheTemplePriest3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="The Temple Priest" border="0" alt="The Temple Priest" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-NiCuEOr_tHE/T2tD7A1ZGeI/AAAAAAAABag/H6Ag_9d_mK4/TheTemplePriest_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>I rang the bell and wandered out to visit one of the smaller shrines, and then things took a strange turn. </p> <p> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-jfdRFDLUTR8/T2tD_RJtO0I/AAAAAAAABao/eb_vaIwXigs/s1600-h/SmallerShrine6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Smaller Shrine" border="0" alt="Smaller Shrine" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-HERwoAfbQ1I/T2tEDdwcBUI/AAAAAAAABaw/BXrXuVDoJGA/SmallerShrine_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="381" height="498" /></a> </p> <p>One of Lord Hanuman’s servants mugged me. To be more precise this shifty looking brute on the ground</p> <p> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-dnhphJK9Jp8/T2tEIV4PRUI/AAAAAAAABa4/cPuiNOeNODg/s1600-h/ServantoftheLord3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Servant of the Lord" border="0" alt="Servant of the Lord" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ANycoDX1R2Q/T2tELs0ZkFI/AAAAAAAABbA/v7ZrjjCW9B8/ServantoftheLord_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>waited until my I turned around, pounced on my back, and ripped my spectacles from my face (luckily the scratches, five little scratches like the fingers of a miniature Freddy Kruger, were not deep and did not become infected). So there I was, barefoot (as you remove your shoes before entering Hindu Temple complexes), blind, and bent double to peer at a large group of monkeys trying to figure out which of them had my specs. Rhesus macaque do not like being peered at. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-6i691_knqBA/T2tEPPruCCI/AAAAAAAABbI/sn-EKcabsNk/s1600-h/ThisMonkeyisnotHappy3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="This Monkey is not Happy" border="0" alt="This Monkey is not Happy" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-SoFyNd58zmg/T2tER0WERdI/AAAAAAAABbQ/YzVA2yR8k8s/ThisMonkeyisnotHappy_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="249" /></a> </p> <p>Nope, not one bit. So they all yelled their arses off which attracted the attention of every other monkey on the mountain. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/--X8tm6Fbq4k/T2tEX47C42I/AAAAAAAABbY/TylzXQlA490/s1600-h/AlwaysWatching5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Always Watching" border="0" alt="Always Watching" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-KTeS6cCieMY/T2tEcSzmGoI/AAAAAAAABbg/_VCmh8S61Bs/AlwaysWatching_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="385" height="505" /></a> </p> <p>It was all a little creepy, just like this monkey’s unsettling stare.</p> <p>It also attracted the attention of the local Hindu devotees. Needless to say, It seems I made their day. They laughed, and laughed, and laughed. As a matter of fact, two days later when I visited the Viceregal Palace at the opposite end of town and asked for special permission to see the old chapel (which is shamefully falling into ruins), </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-YtwndZNJBmA/T2tEmJjCToI/AAAAAAAABbo/qK0USY-IQKM/s1600-h/ViceregalChapel4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Viceregal Chapel" border="0" alt="Viceregal Chapel" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-yGXkcKcqEHY/T2tEtc1NR_I/AAAAAAAABbw/ynmkoJOmzkU/ViceregalChapel_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="376" height="498" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-KH0GkIameFw/T2tEzjEGuxI/AAAAAAAABb4/ziShxy4H08M/s1600-h/ViceregalChapelII3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Viceregal Chapel II" border="0" alt="Viceregal Chapel II" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-rKbf9bBJkbA/T2tE56q1BiI/AAAAAAAABcA/31A73lZEQJw/ViceregalChapelII_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>the official took one look at me, smiled and then enquired if my spectacles had been damaged! Eventually the two poor and ragged prasad sellers began to peruse the guilty culprit (who had my specs clamped IN his mouth chewing on them) showering him with food. It took twenty minutes before he grew tired with his new possession and spit them out to eat. Normally the exchange of your stolen possession for food is rather straightforward. Not this time. I spent the next hour cleaning monkey salvia off my specs as I wondered back down the mountain.</p> <p>On the way down there is a playground which I think is for the monkeys and not children. If I were a kid I certainly would not want to fight a gang of possessive monkeys to get to play on it, especially after seeing how the monkeys use it.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-U8AUDhq5TiQ/T2tE9MPJjMI/AAAAAAAABcI/z_bkg05Es1I/s1600-h/TheyEvenHaveaPlayground9.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="They Even Have a Playground" border="0" alt="They Even Have a Playground" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-unAX5I8EO54/T2tFB9D864I/AAAAAAAABcQ/_wzGxg5Xgp0/TheyEvenHaveaPlayground_thumb7.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="490" /></a> </p> <p>On arriving back in town I bumped into a young German who had also been up at the temple a bit earlier and we began chatting as one does when their are very few foreigners about and you start to grow a bit lonesome. This led to a several hour intensive chat fest before he caught his evening bus. He charmed me by his self effacing humour about Germans and his honest curious nature. It caught me totally off guard, and so I forgot to be prejudiced. </p> <p>Anyone who knows me well is aware that I, shamefully, harbour some very negative views about the role that the German nation has played in he formation of the modern world and this often spills over into a prejudice against German people. Simply put - the fact that a civilisation at the height of learning in: medicine, science, mathematics, architecture, art, music, poetry, literature, philosophy and theology was able to commit the crimes against human decency and compassion that the Third Reich did, killed the concept and hope of human progress. Or at least as the world born of the enlightenment had understood and strove for it. I claim that, symbolically speaking, the modern world ended when the Russian footage of the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27th 1945 was first shown at the Nuremburg trials. That first skeletal, almost unidentifiably human, figure to walk out of the early morning mist and smoke destroyed the West’s claim to superiority, decency, or the right to lead or teach. We lost our right to speak or at least the expectation that we should be listened to. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-iatxvk64Vow/T2tFFbP__1I/AAAAAAAABcY/kgO6gCEQtZI/s1600-h/DachautheSameIncriptionasOvertheGate%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Dachau - the Same Incription as Over the Gates at Auschwitz" border="0" alt="Dachau - the Same Incription as Over the Gates at Auschwitz" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-r-Pwg-oZBHI/T2tFJR4pzqI/AAAAAAAABcg/I9ESGyzpmz0/DachautheSameIncriptionasOvertheGate.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="261" /></a> </p> <p>Most horrifically for me as a Christian priest, it also, as The Rev’d Dr. Diarmaid McCullough the Professor of the history of the Church at Oxford says, “fatally implicated the Church”. The faith of the Christian West did not stop the horrors of  European Imperialism, or the two World Wars. It did not stop the Holocaust, which was perpetrated by baptised Christians. One of the most unimaginable and abominable acts of humanity happened on the Church’s watch. This marked the beginning of the end for the confidence and moral certitude of Western Christianity. How could we ever expect to have the postmodern world take us seriously again, listen to us, or trust us. Post modernity and the world we live in is not a philosophical or theological evolution from modernity but rather the charred remains of the collapsed old world. We are in a crater creeping through the rubble trying to find the rim and thus a way out. </p> <p>Mind you, I am usually honest enough to admit that the real difficulty with the Germans is that they are the same people as the English (I will not claim exception by my Celtic blood). Or even more to the point - the problem with the Germans is that they were, they are, the West. Perhaps the fact that they were the ones holding the dynamite when it went off does not make them different in kind, or even in degree, but just timing in the imperial game of musical chairs. No matter how much the British and the Allies tell themselves that they would never have been implicated in the atrocities perpetrated by the Axis powers, history and a wise understanding of human nature suggests that it is more probably a case of ‘there but for the grace of God…..’</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-cacZ4gKymF0/T2tFNYjL6MI/AAAAAAAABco/h9ERfiQBOlM/s1600-h/Grischawithadogwhofollowedusallday8.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Grischa with a dog who followed us all day" border="0" alt="Grischa with a dog who followed us all day" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4DikULaaUUQ/T2tFS2K33wI/AAAAAAAABcw/gdHT8Xo0580/Grischawithadogwhofollowedusallday_t.jpg?imgmax=800" width="385" height="498" /></a> </p> <p>This chap, whose name is Grischa, is not only German but from Berlin! I had hoped he may at least have been Bavarian (the Bavarians have an ‘out’ in my weird prejudice book because the head of their Royal House, Wittlesbach, is also the Head of the Royal House of Stuart not to mention the fact that the Bavarian Royal family was imprisoned by the Third Reich for their opposition to Herr Hitler). The point of all this whittering is that, although I remembered that I had a prejudice against Germans, when I reached for it it was simple gone. I am not trying to say I wanted to be prejudiced, as a mater of fact it is something  I always felt ashamed of (although perhaps not enough), but simply that I was surprised to find that it was no longer there. A couple of days later we bumped into one another again in Mcleodganj at the gates of the residence of the Dali Lama. We resumed where we had left off and spent three days hiking and exploring the Eastern Himalayas.  Who would have thought?</p> <p>It was only upon reflection that I realised I had stumbled into one of the primal religious experientially  interpretive frames of mind. Let me try and explain. I believe many, if not most, religious people do not experience the world through an interpretive abstract filter which creates meaning like we are more used to in the educated areas of the West (especially Anglicanism!). Rather, like in dreams, experiences are linked together narratively to form meaning when they are seen and interpreted as part of the ‘sacred’. </p> <p>Let’s use my experience as an example. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Eju5ACTm4JU/T2tFW6b2YXI/AAAAAAAABc4/Mj_xsnLoPWU/s1600-h/LordHanuman3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Lord Hanuman" border="0" alt="Lord Hanuman" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--vJ2o1kw89k/T2tFcBXDy7I/AAAAAAAABdA/AmbFwMQ6mbA/LordHanuman_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="275" /></a> </p> <p>I enter the Realm of the great Monkey God who is all wise and teaches us how to break free from all the shackles that hold us down, and grants protection and peace. I am anointed by one of his priests and immediately after ringing the sacred bell (a sort of an Amen) my eyesight is ripped away by one of this god’s  servants. Blinded and unable to navigate by my own strength I am reduced to having to rely on the two humblest people on the mountain.  Having been rebuked and reminded that I can think, see, and discern only through the grace of God and by my reliance on other people my sight is restored. Yet it is a changed sight, a clearer sight. I discover this immediately after descending from the holy mountain as the first thing I encounter is a German, my traditional ‘other’, who has been transformed by grace into a ‘friend’.  </p> <p>This is the way, I believe, many experience their faith. Sometimes I wish I could enter into it more freely than I am able to do so. Still I find the subjective meaning system rather frightening and very dangerous. Yet I must admit it is also rather exciting. Perhaps I should not admit that it is somehow easier to believe in obviously symbolic mythological gods such as an elephant god that removes all obstacles or a monkey god who gives new sight than it is to believe in a St Anthony, a real historical saint,  who helps me find my car keys. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-u4v2XYwctdk/T2tFgAYw2QI/AAAAAAAABdI/nP2D3gLESEw/s1600-h/HanumanShowingLoveforRamaandSita6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Hanuman Showing Love for Rama and Sita" border="0" alt="Hanuman Showing Love for Rama and Sita" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-0bKarwvmf4s/T2tFkpY4fGI/AAAAAAAABdQ/t6ASOHxH58I/HanumanShowingLoveforRamaandSita_thu.jpg?imgmax=800" width="384" height="502" /></a> </p> <p>Even the Saints such as St George, a Middle Eastern fertility god, or St Brigit (St Bride in Scotland) a Celtic pagan goddess, who were transformed into Christian Saints still are too ‘normal’ or maybe too ‘human’ to evoke the whole childlike Narnia reaction in me. </p> <p>Oh well, we can’t have everything we want but it would be cool if Christians had at least one ‘holy’ animal like the Hindu’s have cobras, elephants, monkeys, and cows. I would suggest something sedate and cuddly like a wombat or a marmot. They could live in our churchyards and wander freely in and out of our churches. The children could play with them when they grow restless (or adults when they grow bored with sermons). I am sure church would be much more fun. I can hear it now: “Dad, can we go to Mass so I can play with the wombats/marmots?”. If only the reversal of the decline of the western church were so simple. </p> <p>Seriously though, animals are always fun to have around especially in holy places. Imagine how fun vestry would be with this wombat wandering around the hall acting as an ice breaker? Could you really look at him and still complain bitterly and loudly about what date the Anglican Church Women had chosen for the spring bake sale? </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-rcgQSbWMjYo/T2tFnoSGi5I/AAAAAAAABdY/BrM7WjLbuCM/s1600-h/FatWombat5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Fat Wombat" border="0" alt="Fat Wombat" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-4ctShUIab0Y/T2tFrLP3hwI/AAAAAAAABdg/tVR2jwyYhD4/FatWombat_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="498" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-c5SrNwAy-xQ/T2tFv5ppOdI/AAAAAAAABdo/mGPKHPkNWjs/s1600-h/NotsofatWombat6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Not so fat Wombat" border="0" alt="Not so fat Wombat" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-BXOsSkAROvc/T2tF0dsmJUI/AAAAAAAABdw/kzHYm-mpuLs/NotsofatWombat_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="375" height="277" /></a> </p> <p>If we do not want to import wombats from Australia we can use our own home grown Canadian yellow bellied marmots. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ngF09xHRBjg/T2tF3L75CWI/AAAAAAAABd4/wyLmXlVt7R4/s1600-h/YellowBelliedNorthAmericanMarmot3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Yellow Bellied North American Marmot" border="0" alt="Yellow Bellied North American Marmot" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-6m019QAprUE/T2tF6J3dPzI/AAAAAAAABeA/7QElvO02yDk/YellowBelliedNorthAmericanMarmot_thu.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="283" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-SzscEjBQbiw/T2tF8gI42MI/AAAAAAAABeI/CHe5ZapTGj0/s1600-h/EcclesiasticalMascot3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Ecclesiastical Mascot" border="0" alt="Ecclesiastical Mascot" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-apER4U17gAI/T2tGCR1seYI/AAAAAAAABeQ/8_hxeKbR1eU/EcclesiasticalMascot_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>POST SCRIPT:</p> <p>I was suckered into visiting the Himalayan Bird Sanctuary in Shimla. It is a rip off. Himalayan birds, seemingly,consist of only geese and chickens. Regardless of the fact that there is a man who ‘guards’ these geese and chickens all day it is still, really really not worth the long trek to get there.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-gevSj2qCbsM/T2tGNSZdpNI/AAAAAAAABeY/IfMRBUtALxU/s1600-h/HimalayanBirdSanctuary3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Himalayan Bird Sanctuary" border="0" alt="Himalayan Bird Sanctuary" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Wgk7EWN6-yI/T2tGQiYlTeI/AAAAAAAABeg/zHBfka5Zq2c/HimalayanBirdSanctuary_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>The following photo captures the highlight of the visit.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-4__EzwwmYl8/T2tGToRWhjI/AAAAAAAABeo/-AwVQGLbURE/s1600-h/HighlightofBirdSanctuary5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Highlight of Bird Sanctuary" border="0" alt="Highlight of Bird Sanctuary" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--1gXIymXIqY/T2tGYmPFFVI/AAAAAAAABew/CJnsO5ty1zw/HighlightofBirdSanctuary_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="377" height="496" /></a></p> Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-57764028818371129542012-02-27T21:50:00.004-08:002012-02-27T22:41:46.495-08:00A Nestorian Miscellanea I: Post XVII - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-MLd6zsopf4E/T0u27aNkUeI/AAAAAAAABMo/3udWazMhBOw/s1600-h/MarYohannanwithSeminarian14.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Mar Yohannan with Seminarian" border="0" alt="Mar Yohannan with Seminarian" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-NuTLgQc6GjA/T0u28zAndUI/AAAAAAAABMw/dlKme9xHB9I/MarYohannanwithSeminarian_thumb10.jpg?imgmax=800" width="396" height="521" /></a> </p> <p>Those of you who have been following this travel-blog will have realised by now that the posts are not happening in chronological order. I have had to post what I could when I could. I have now finished my time with the Chaldean Syrian Church and moved to the Old Seminary in Kottayam as a guest of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Yet before I can begin writing about the West Syrian tradition I need to finish covering my time with the East Syrians.</p> <p>So in a rapid summary here are some of the things I have been up to. I went with one of the two Bishops of the Church of the East, Mar Yohannan Yoseph, to visit their seminary. Although the seminary had been founded by Mar Thoma Dharmo my understanding is that nothing had happened after his departure from India until quite recently when Mar Yohannan began the process of trying to make it functional again. In many ways it is similar to Rhondo seminary in Tanzania with its local reliance on food and cash crops grown on the seminary grounds. The seminary has also planted a rubber tree plantation which in two to three years should produce enough income to fund the ongoing work and to allow the seminary to become an accredited school. At the moment the seminary comprises one priest/ teacher and seven students that live there whilst commuting into school in Thrissur fifteen kilometres away. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-RzHpNUDw2vc/T0u2-Xzf_DI/AAAAAAAABM4/FoGbfB9bi_c/s1600-h/SeminaryoftheChurchoftheEast3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Seminary of the Church of the East" border="0" alt="Seminary of the Church of the East" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-U4SQAd1fpnI/T0u2_04RwTI/AAAAAAAABNA/jmVtpU1jf4c/SeminaryoftheChurchoftheEast_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-htoT78drFzI/T0u3A9YjkRI/AAAAAAAABNE/_m-te0pJQVQ/s1600-h/CoconutTreePlantedbyHisHolinessmarDi.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Coconut Tree Planted by His Holiness mar Dinkha IV" border="0" alt="Coconut Tree Planted by His Holiness mar Dinkha IV" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-s4uvMqJOaPs/T0u3CjYL_bI/AAAAAAAABNQ/QxTjEm8B6fo/CoconutTreePlantedbyHisHolinessmarDi%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="384" height="506" /></a> </p> <p>I enjoyed my time there as it was nice and quiet after the noise of the city and I had my first taste of coconut water since being in India, and this from a coconut tree planted by the Catholicos-Patriarch himself!</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhENB9TDizvp0RKy-R3kAcgj3cFC8y-8Lne1S-uLFAK2jxQZqejZPCVTb2GnNN943cjGs-vlkqEOmFpi8LeRqJxdjtnKTT9zYzVm1tqwAQYpzF5v83es_20zPfsMCb0mcXsrmqYy7mlXPl/s1600-h/TheofferingofFreshCoconutsfromthePat%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="The offering of Fresh Coconuts from the Patriarchal Tree" border="0" alt="The offering of Fresh Coconuts from the Patriarchal Tree" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-uPC9N5kw9lA/T0u3FzXo3SI/AAAAAAAABNg/cAKupuUhvqA/TheofferingofFreshCoconutsfromthePat.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>The student above, who will be ordained a deacon later this year, is going on nineteen years old. To me he looks about fourteen. I can never tell the ages of the men in Kerala. Most adults have the build of adolescents and it is only when you look at the head on that you realise they are in their fifties. However it is also awkward in that many of the teenagers in Kerala have full moustaches and so you assume they are in their mid twenties or older when actually they are only fifteen. Three local youths were killed in a car accident last weekend and when I saw their photos I though they were all in their thirties. It was only reading the captions underneath that I learned not one of them had made it out of their sixteenth year. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-fCGvevsfNpw/T0u3HZsEGAI/AAAAAAAABNk/g-KSGsiUqnU/s1600-h/SeminaryFishPondforRecreation12.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Seminary Fish Pond for Recreation" border="0" alt="Seminary Fish Pond for Recreation" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-nxPBn76IwNY/T0u3JNn0jjI/AAAAAAAABNs/qDfrGMLgYjM/SeminaryFishPondforRecreation_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="381" height="496" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-BlQ1Oi-PVZQ/T0u3L6zkQnI/AAAAAAAABN4/urxMeHVzz-Q/s1600-h/IntheSeminaryForest3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="In the Seminary Forest" border="0" alt="In the Seminary Forest" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-C8Qa7bR_CLM/T0u3NPp3f4I/AAAAAAAABOA/DS4lb0Et4B8/IntheSeminaryForest_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>The following is a short clip from my first Sunday Qurbana (Qurbana is the Syrian word for the Holy Eucharist) at the Cathedral. Mar Aprem was celebrant but he allowed a younger priest to do the sursum corda and the prostrations before he went back to the altar to continue the consecration. </p> <p></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:e2275b71-482d-4d69-93ad-e615dadb646b" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="20a174e0-e299-4a47-8110-ac991cc26e8d" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkcQiM6b7hM" target="_new"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-U8V6PLxyMxA/T0x3Jw7amWI/AAAAAAAABRY/VVU3vDZdwyw/videobe84dc19f8e0%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('20a174e0-e299-4a47-8110-ac991cc26e8d'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/tkcQiM6b7hM&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/tkcQiM6b7hM&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <p></p> <p>I thought I noticed from the very beginning a strong Anglican influence. It turns out I was correct. The Church of the East and the Anglicans have had a very close and very strange relationship that goes back to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s non proselytising Mission to the Assyrian Church. This mission built schools and seminaries for the Church of the East and provided theological, liturgical and most of all printing support to the beleaguered church. It was also the Anglicans that pushed the name ‘Assyrian’ which eventually was added to the name of the church by the Catholicos-Patriarch. The clergy wear Anglican style cassocks, sing the Querbana in the vernacular, have a typically Anglican church governance system, and they even employ the use of certain beloved Anglican hymns. </p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884hbto4y60&title=O+Lord+My+God"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884hbto4y60&title=O+Lord+My+God" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/884hbto4y60-o-lord-my-god" target="_top">O Lord My God</a></p> <p>The rest of their music is defiantly not Anglican.</p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884cjqhhuqs&title=Eucharistic+Song"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884cjqhhuqs&title=Eucharistic+Song" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/884cjqhhuqs-eucharistic-song" target="_top">Eucharistic Song</a></p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884dpwoubc8&title=Blessing+Liturgical+Song"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884dpwoubc8&title=Blessing+Liturgical+Song" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/884dpwoubc8-blessing-liturgical-song" target="_top">Blessing Liturgical Song</a></p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884evrb7n34&title=Dismissal"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884evrb7n34&title=Dismissal" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/884evrb7n34-dismissal" target="_top">Dismissal</a></p> <p>On Thursday evenings (both the East and West Syrians count every day as beginning with sunset the evening before – so Thursday evening is Friday Vespers whilst Friday evening Vespers is for Saturday) they hold an interesting service similar to a service for the Exultation of the Holy Cross. When I asked what its origins were I was informed that it was created recently to compete with the neighbouring Latin Roman Catholic parishes successful charismatic Tuesday services. It was not the romantic answer from antiquity I had expected. Still it was lovely to see the Nasrani Menorah all lit up and the cross decorated with flowers. The Church of England’s Common Worship has an evening service for Fridays for the Commemoration of the Holy Cross which is based on the same idea.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-sXFjsOULXwQ/T0u3P2TGkFI/AAAAAAAABOQ/fZjPAFK9G_M/s1600-h/ThursdayEveningHolyCrossService8.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Thursday Evening Holy Cross Service" border="0" alt="Thursday Evening Holy Cross Service" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-YJ207OrA1yU/T0xqyeVQmFI/AAAAAAAABOg/hTRg4wVoDDQ/ThursdayEveningHolyCrossService_thum.jpg?imgmax=800" width="385" height="508" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Y-J2hS4P2j8/T0xqz-dhs6I/AAAAAAAABOo/oQ38arP5j7k/s1600-h/CrossDecoratedwithFlowers5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Cross Decorated with Flowers" border="0" alt="Cross Decorated with Flowers" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-rJ_poE1dSPc/T0xq1OpaKdI/AAAAAAAABOw/iG5FM43XCHw/CrossDecoratedwithFlowers_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="386" height="506" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-pWscn_8BiXI/T0xq2YvOxkI/AAAAAAAABO4/kMvbgUSrPPQ/s1600-h/HolyCrossStoneVotiveLamp5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Holy Cross Stone Votive Lamp" border="0" alt="Holy Cross Stone Votive Lamp" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-qCL8Ld382TY/T0xq3zY1L_I/AAAAAAAABPA/3wgjg0-w99A/HolyCrossStoneVotiveLamp_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="387" height="507" /></a> </p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=880ezbbc7q8&title=Holy+Cross+Chant"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=880ezbbc7q8&title=Holy+Cross+Chant" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/880ezbbc7q8-holy-cross-chant" target="_top">Holy Cross Chant</a></p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=880gve9q5vc&title=Holy+Cross+Litany"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=880gve9q5vc&title=Holy+Cross+Litany" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/880gve9q5vc-holy-cross-litany" target="_top">Holy Cross Litany</a></p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884rd50ojvg&title=Priest+and+Deacon+Litany"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=884rd50ojvg&title=Priest+and+Deacon+Litany" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/884rd50ojvg-priest-and-deacon-litany" target="_top">Priest and Deacon Litany</a></p> <p>It was interesting to see the cultural interaction of the Metropolitan. After forty-three years as the Archbishop it was clear he was seen as a part of the city’s makeup – a cultural fixture that was not based on his particular denomination or even, it seems, religion. One morning he was asked by a group of Brahmin Hindu scholars to bless them in preparation for leading a gathering at the Hindu Temple. They came by the Metropolitical Palace, crushed a coconut and some other auspicious nut/gourd thing and received His Beatitude's blessing for their work. If only all religions everywhere worked together like this. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoeTn5j8YhG0aQ7v1DfyQ2j9tAy6fDqtwPytlDi0uO8yxAhpooSsZj6fBML3112bTKTqJkTwynolxO6Zg2Szjn_HmiZPsVSEytPaevJg1OQEOLlUpPaR-4iZqw0AU2_6epVIFX-ym8mbL-/s1600-h/MarApremwaitingtoBlessHinduScholars4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Mar Aprem waiting to Bless Hindu Scholars" border="0" alt="Mar Aprem waiting to Bless Hindu Scholars" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gkLKUisG1zI/T0xq6p36eTI/AAAAAAAABPQ/Xk55u_1oDl0/MarApremwaitingtoBlessHinduScholars_.jpg?imgmax=800" width="390" height="513" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCfWSsASFFzDaV33aYjwGh1mTSgkD5SlhVl-E1sj-hHXINVqW6PnLuTbogs7pS5gFTNk3KHVfURevUbEN3ARMNdALJzR7QOVYhWdfkEM4QHg8dRevaVD4ikkldgRo__oPa6JW3J2gA3_Q/s1600-h/HinduBlessingII3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Hindu Blessing II" border="0" alt="Hindu Blessing II" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-3JiumqPITBM/T0xq9eyTRFI/AAAAAAAABPg/tCcj8chdmKw/HinduBlessingII_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>On a few occasions I was brought along to weddings or engagement parties. Often I was forced to sit right in the middle of the front row where the bride’s parents were sitting. It did not seem to bother them (everyone seems to take clerical privilege here for granted – especially the clergy) but I certainly felt awkward. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-mdqBZPrUiws/T0xq-tJIwhI/AAAAAAAABPo/XdZf7i0OfCM/s1600-h/ChurchDecoratedwithWeddingArch5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Church Decorated with Wedding Arch" border="0" alt="Church Decorated with Wedding Arch" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-BgKwtrzLBz8/T0xrAQdEBfI/AAAAAAAABPw/KcXEmfvkP4w/ChurchDecoratedwithWeddingArch_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="384" height="504" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-UVRF-P2DkNg/T0xrBP_DgkI/AAAAAAAABP4/fZKBM6xzp3c/s1600-h/SacristybeforeWedding5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Sacristy before Wedding" border="0" alt="Sacristy before Wedding" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-_D9x6myZb38/T0xrCQy3wXI/AAAAAAAABQA/QkfPo_t6JyE/SacristybeforeWedding_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="381" height="499" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-o--_qVeDuVE/T0xrDtMbBAI/AAAAAAAABQI/iicm2aROPHs/s1600-h/WeddingGathering3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Wedding Gathering" border="0" alt="Wedding Gathering" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-RzuiSFhiov8/T0xrE1ZivUI/AAAAAAAABQQ/MhkcaQJSzag/WeddingGathering_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-H0iCA8tou40/T0xrGdldmKI/AAAAAAAABQY/4AR6Ynj_qoY/s1600-h/TheBride5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="The Bride" border="0" alt="The Bride" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-g1S0f6bgEWc/T0xrHyIiYOI/AAAAAAAABQg/CV_nGi0Chz8/TheBride_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="501" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-TAl08RG8Deo/T0xrJJS1qWI/AAAAAAAABQk/okNUqADYoEc/s1600-h/MarApremsurroundedbyPhotographers5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Mar Aprem surrounded by Photographers" border="0" alt="Mar Aprem surrounded by Photographers" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-97VqYVbrFPE/T0xrKaSs7xI/AAAAAAAABQw/HNqUdOL_U0E/MarApremsurroundedbyPhotographers_th.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="502" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-DP5HTigSknE/T0xrLv2pDhI/AAAAAAAABQ4/9WmSqU-WQoA/s1600-h/TyingtheWeddingString3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Tying the Wedding String" border="0" alt="Tying the Wedding String" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-cn8JflBDja8/T0xrMx5cbSI/AAAAAAAABRA/bnlHZkaeIwA/TyingtheWeddingString_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>This Keralite couple actually now lives in New York City and came home to get married. It was quite unusual for the bride to wear a western style bridal gown. This is one of the few photographs in the church that did not have me plonked right in the middle. I had never even met the couple (and never was introduced) but for the rest of their lives they will have to look at their wedding photographs with me standing to one side of them whilst His Beatitude stands on the other. I can here their children now: </p> <blockquote> <p>“Mummy who is that strange looking white man in all the wedding photos?’. </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ZJGDBvR2Tfc/T0xrOPaxgrI/AAAAAAAABRI/F3g2kaiuUEk/s1600-h/UnknownMarriedCouplewithHisBeatitude%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Unknown Married Couple with His Beatitude" border="0" alt="Unknown Married Couple with His Beatitude" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ImNrrSm_EPQ/T0xrPPy7dQI/AAAAAAAABRQ/8gLqUsLuD3E/UnknownMarriedCouplewithHisBeatitude.jpg?imgmax=800" width="384" height="499" /></a></p> <p>Another Anglican hymn made an appearance as the opening music. Somehow I do not think that anyone understood that it is usually associated with the ending of things (i.e. DEATH) and not the beginning of things. Rather surreal to hear this at the beginning of their happy day. </p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=880luvo1yxk&title=Wedding++-+Abide+with+Me"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=880luvo1yxk&title=Wedding++-+Abide+with+Me" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/880luvo1yxk-wedding-abide-with-me" target="_top">Wedding - Abide with Me</a></p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=880no7gaxjc&title=Wedding+Weird"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=880no7gaxjc&title=Wedding+Weird" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/880no7gaxjc-wedding-weird" target="_top">Wedding Weird</a></p> <p>This wedding marks the first time I had to eat with my fingers. Eating with your fingers is one of the four or five ‘hurdles’ that one must overcome before one feels comfortable in India. You know it is coming but when they arrive you are never ready. So it was here. For some reason the Grace and then the eating of the first food by the priests seems to hold some significance at weddings here. So when I went to eat and realised I would have to use my fingers I just braced myself and hoped for the best. This would have been mildly embarrassing at the best of times as I was in the middle of a crown and surrounded by other clergy. Yet this was much worse as the significance of the moment meant that about six big video cameras were trained on me the entire time I was trying to eat. I tried to watch what other were doing and mimic them. Still it was a bit of a disaster. </p> <blockquote> <p>“Mummy, what is that strange white man doing to his food in all your wedding videos?’</p></blockquote> Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-2926683119084054922012-02-27T00:58:00.004-08:002012-02-27T08:26:08.623-08:00A Day out in Munnar: Post XVI - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-5HP4vH60ykk/T0tEelvEjZI/AAAAAAAABFo/5qGKARhQGxA/s1600-h/Nagakal11.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Nagakal" border="0" alt="Nagakal" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-D_6J60yTAx8/T0tEf81jLmI/AAAAAAAABFw/KFQUzLNHHsU/Nagakal_thumb9.jpg?imgmax=800" width="377" height="495" /></a> </p> <p>After having written many ‘long’ articles I will now need to post in rapid succession some brief overviews of a large number of activities so that I can catch up to the present moment. You will have realised by now that my posts are not happening in chronological order. This post was started the day after my first post on Munnar a few weeks back. Here is part two. </p> <p>I had dinner with another guest of the High Range Club, Nicholas Drayson, last evening. It turns out Nicholas is a noted naturalist author (not naturist)and novelist. I would like to add my own commendation to what i have read but I have only just begun one of his earlier novels he gifted me and thus cannot comment yet. He is currently living on a houseboat in the UK and has decided to do some of the writing for his new novel in India during the English winter. I invited him for a day out further up the mountains which he accepted.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-TrlVT8XscW4/T0tEhSK4AGI/AAAAAAAABF4/s3VjHueJ35A/s1600-h/Munnar3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Munnar" border="0" alt="Munnar" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-CQHAEAUq1lA/T0tEi5Ko3KI/AAAAAAAABGA/TvZ6tq17qcA/Munnar_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>Our morning goal was Top Station on the Kerala/ Tamil Nadu border. It is the highest point, 1600m, on the interstate road. The road up to Top Point switchbacks and winds its way through extraordinarily beautiful scenery,  lakes, temples, forests, and the the every present tea bushes. The very rare Neelakurunji flower grows here. When it flowers it covers the mountain slopes with violet blossoms. Unfortunately it only flowers every twelve years and the next time is not until 2018.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-M3KEJjgPQyE/T0tEkFkcHDI/AAAAAAAABGI/JW8NpJwbF_I/s1600-h/MunnarDayOutI3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Munnar Day Out I" border="0" alt="Munnar Day Out I" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-qh9BN6yhXtI/T0tElfWHNcI/AAAAAAAABGQ/l1pinjL5Guw/MunnarDayOutI_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-_ftqNUixJNI/T0tEnL3apWI/AAAAAAAABGY/Ue1DcW6Glmo/s1600-h/MunnarDayOutII3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Munnar Day Out II" border="0" alt="Munnar Day Out II" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3sNxCO3aA9E/T0tEoYCx9PI/AAAAAAAABGg/HSb-5CQdD14/MunnarDayOutII_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3OWkv9sx7TM/T0tEp3qvqzI/AAAAAAAABGo/7y13LY5XaXc/s1600-h/MunnarDayOutIII3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Munnar Day Out III" border="0" alt="Munnar Day Out III" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-xrnCRXMrhJo/T0tErVsrSdI/AAAAAAAABGw/vEMIwNovwxY/MunnarDayOutIII_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-MBx2RCcdb8Y/T0tEta9vnQI/AAAAAAAABG4/z4uMZ6ZWH4I/s1600-h/MunnarDayOutIV3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Munnar Day Out IV" border="0" alt="Munnar Day Out IV" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-gxUEOL2DT2I/T0tEu6sLzVI/AAAAAAAABHA/Md_cbaRdjOY/MunnarDayOutIV_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYv8Ety9olh8gxas1JO1n36h2RI63pFauN1vYxmLU_BHK6xJCayufizbd8YgRQbQZNCeqEyww72BnLVX3LZZat5lIs7ZO6yG6dlWM9564x4BjderlaYnNovDjailjoNCsYdYPAs5t023ya/s1600-h/MunnarDayOutV3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Munnar Day Out V" border="0" alt="Munnar Day Out V" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-u71FUKQ0SxY/T0tExTgd_0I/AAAAAAAABHQ/gbSG4NvRJdY/MunnarDayOutV_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>The high mountains are sparsely populated being mostly covered by the tea plantation itself. I imagine most of the small hamlets are composed of tea  pickers and their families. There are a few small Hindu temples and the occasional tiny church along the way, usually seen off in the distance. Yet there exists in profusion small roadside Hindu shrines. I love these. Every one we visited turned out to be Shivite (worshippers of the god Shiva). Shiva is a pre Vedic god of the Dravidians who became associated with Rudra of the Rig-Veda to become the great Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer God of India. The Shiva lingam (phallic symbol of fertility and creation)as well as his son, Lord Ganesha, were found in a number of shrines. Lord Ganesha is the remover of all obstacles and the god of Wisdom. In the photograph below you can just see the nose of his rat mount Mooshika poking out from the bottom frame. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-gn-Uvl70Th0/T0tEyjG80tI/AAAAAAAABHY/aVjqLBf59d8/s1600-h/LordGanesha4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Lord Ganesha" border="0" alt="Lord Ganesha" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-KTs5VHf3sgQ/T0tE0NbXs7I/AAAAAAAABHg/6DunLyvMMyo/LordGanesha_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="375" height="495" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ucxN27_dKHg/T0tE1e4E2GI/AAAAAAAABHo/KvPUyTfBrsw/s1600-h/MunnarDayOutVI6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Munnar Day Out VI" border="0" alt="Munnar Day Out VI" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-bLEQs-N_5FI/T0tE2UoO43I/AAAAAAAABHw/-O3iAr-4sh8/MunnarDayOutVI_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-K3xErGxT8Fk/T0tE4HgthyI/AAAAAAAABH4/OZe7acERRPs/s1600-h/RoadsideHinduShrine3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Roadside Hindu Shrine" border="0" alt="Roadside Hindu Shrine" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-9YmZeQ6cnPI/T0tE5cem_fI/AAAAAAAABIA/HIV78oKzsd8/RoadsideHinduShrine_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-cHiM-roflIU/T0tE7UgAWwI/AAAAAAAABII/rDgiQPkcb8A/s1600-h/AttheRoadsideShrine3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="At the Roadside Shrine" border="0" alt="At the Roadside Shrine" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-X5CK5j4rtJs/T0tE8xQygBI/AAAAAAAABIQ/frRPP5FXhlU/AttheRoadsideShrine_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-6dYjZNSoKWU/T0tE-d_sYuI/AAAAAAAABIY/ieAiGObxS3s/s1600-h/MunnarDayOutVII3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Munnar Day Out VII" border="0" alt="Munnar Day Out VII" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-weypqS2ffb8/T0tE__F5AVI/AAAAAAAABIg/WU_bMLhN740/MunnarDayOutVII_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-PmizjnAkvXg/T0tFBEA0jrI/AAAAAAAABIo/Fos7QgpPKPc/s1600-h/LordGaneshaAgain5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Lord Ganesha Again" border="0" alt="Lord Ganesha Again" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-LpNKWpv-gCU/T0tFEOcNglI/AAAAAAAABIw/8h9BSB6iU68/LordGaneshaAgain_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="381" height="500" /></a> </p> <p>Next to this image of Lord Ganesha are two Nagakal, images of the snake gods the Naga. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-mzKQqS2fMEI/T0tFFZrfTWI/AAAAAAAABI4/8FuyZ6pvYGQ/s1600-h/NicholasDraysonandLordGanesha5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Nicholas Drayson and Lord Ganesha" border="0" alt="Nicholas Drayson and Lord Ganesha" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Vxc3R8LqFEo/T0tFGaZvlYI/AAAAAAAABJA/jZFOrVnbvFY/NicholasDraysonandLordGanesha_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="498" /></a> </p> <p>Of course at the end of the morning after reaching Top Point the clouds rolled in spoiling any chance of a view. The driver was thrilled, as he had never seen the clouds that thick. I was not so excited. I must admit, however, that it was rather eerie wandering past huddled groups of Indians selling coconuts or snacks or simply resting in the mists while listening to the wind and exotic bird song. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-39ZRp7Dfim4/T0tFHbS86HI/AAAAAAAABJI/E_fw9yRx1AY/s1600-h/MunnarDayOutVIII3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Munnar Day Out VIII" border="0" alt="Munnar Day Out VIII" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-H72uEKrgkls/T0tFIhBUniI/AAAAAAAABJQ/XXeFKVDwygI/MunnarDayOutVIII_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="387" height="293" /></a>  </p> <p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:72cc385f-663c-4268-a2ee-09a0b675a103" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="819aa887-4e99-4941-af07-9d0b8714ac57" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-HwlNLnps0" target="_new"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-_0cTqVs8euY/T0tFJ1QLZZI/AAAAAAAABJY/QM8XD6oSSps/video7afbcc322488%25255B10%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('819aa887-4e99-4941-af07-9d0b8714ac57'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/T-HwlNLnps0&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/T-HwlNLnps0&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> </p> <p>For our afternoon trip we had to come back to Munnar and take another range up the mountains. This range is much less used and much therefore had fewer people, cars, or dwellings. Our goal this time was Eravikulum National Park, the last stronghold of the world's rarest goat – the Nilgiri tahr. Their natural friendliness to humans brought them to the brink of extinction during the colonial era when everyone went crazy about hunting everything that moved. The future Duke of Wellington, when on leave from fighting Tipu Sultan, remarked on the pathetic nature of the creature’s self preservation instinct. They continued to gormlessly wander through the British camp even though the soldiers would shoot them, often without even having to leave their tents. Since Independence they have been brought back from the brink of extinction and there are herds of them here. This was accomplished partially through the extensive conservation work of the American biologist Clifford Rice. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-5vjgk4x294g/T0tFMxXUd_I/AAAAAAAABJg/10VnW2hT5ac/s1600-h/NilgiriTahr3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Nilgiri Tahr" border="0" alt="Nilgiri Tahr" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-0KLipY8Fnmo/T0tFOw5qI6I/AAAAAAAABJo/2Emi3DD1MIo/NilgiriTahr_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>Of course when we got there we found the park was closed for six weeks as it was breeding season for the goats. The fact that we has asked several officials in Munnar about the park and were given instruction on how to get there not a one mentioned it was closed. I have begun to get used to this remarkable trait of only responding to what is asked and not entering into the ‘spirit’ of why the question is being asked in the first place. I am consistently being reminded of the Inspector Clouseau scene about the dog: “Does your dog Bite?”. </p> <iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2kEUxaQ3c7M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <p>Nicholas and I then agreed to drive even further up the mountain to try our luck at the remote Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-9rgeejvUQ2o/T0tFRbTGccI/AAAAAAAABJ4/ch_RNFIv5Oc/s1600-h/Nagakals3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Nagakals" border="0" alt="Nagakals" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-08UYEwgy75A/T0tFSgf7TYI/AAAAAAAABKA/iJwCBl5DtXw/Nagakals_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-D8ZreqSdaEg/T0tFT5z5pUI/AAAAAAAABKI/UeFseFak1Ns/s1600-h/Naga4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Naga" border="0" alt="Naga" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-GEAPVKSng1Y/T0tFVpPjW3I/AAAAAAAABKQ/S7hMZariSH4/Naga_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="377" height="497" /></a> </p> <p>Along the way we passed more and more roadside shrines that had increasing numbers of Nagakals (Naga Idols). The Nagas  (snake gods) of Kerala were the original rulers who were made to give up the land to the Brahmins by Parasurama One of the Avataras of the god Vishnu). As a result Brahmins (and Nairs) are supposed to keep Sarppakkavu, serpent groves, for the snakes to live in. If a family cannot maintain their grove it is a dishonour and they must atone for it and pass maintenance over to the temple. </p> <p>It is odd to see an increasing number of shrines to cobra gods as we get further and further away from an urban center. Of course, if you think about it, it makes perfect sense even if it does give you an uneasy felling that you must keep suppressed until back in a town with an ample supply of anti-venom. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqsxubXKcPQ30AunUJB8rzHrxq5SGCPiuCY1vTRmeU67ikIXVsvO3TRBB_d7ggc_nCYjJgYzxtZOPcfvaXqe0uAeMVY-0j8z6QNW0on5oUQjGtCoVzwEii8fSomrlmgUmM_nuzTLIFjNGw/s1600-h/NagaLingumIThink4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Naga Lingum I Think" border="0" alt="Naga Lingum I Think" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-WHIsbrn9cuI/T0tFYRVFqUI/AAAAAAAABKg/QKdVeux3_Es/NagaLingumIThink_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="500" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-B5Wb8UzmXgU/T0tFZ7SSXwI/AAAAAAAABKo/79XUG69-kN0/s1600-h/MunnarDayOutIX3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Munnar Day Out IX" border="0" alt="Munnar Day Out IX" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-hR4f96zy26k/T0tFbb5ny_I/AAAAAAAABKw/-TAJilUTN4g/MunnarDayOutIX_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-PG0n0gRVWQM/T0tFcyCHGjI/AAAAAAAABK4/HjC3Gig0S9k/s1600-h/MunnarDayOutX3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Munnar Day Out X" border="0" alt="Munnar Day Out X" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYuaYjQlhGbm3LRFBCpthwXSNGplw-z5jqLfKRvTk22L_p19BMGME4NH3_SfWBD54wtPVC7L8WmGicVd3dJ5Iff_bjHxRekmYdB2rVTA6U7frzsX3iohckQQlK-fDaxwk4IYRwLGUSHZ_A/?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-7-HhjJaFlSA/T0tFfw6-7RI/AAAAAAAABLI/MMe2kvxAG9s/s1600-h/AnotherRoadsideShrine5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Another Roadside Shrine" border="0" alt="Another Roadside Shrine" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-yipOC34Y2Gw/T0tFheRqpiI/AAAAAAAABLQ/ujv0lnD5zD8/AnotherRoadsideShrine_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="498" /></a> </p> <p>Along the way we passed through the famous sandalwood grove outside of the bazaar town of Marayoor, the only town between Munnar and the Tamil Nadu border. It is the only sandalwood forest in Kerala and covers almost 92 square kilometres and contains 60,000 trees. The forest is fenced off and has constant survelance by guards but still the trees get felled by poachers on a regular basis. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-MG6UDsbbrxI/T0tFjHd_2rI/AAAAAAAABLY/Ply5HllYX8M/s1600-h/Sandlewood%252520Tree%252520in%252520Marayoor%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Sandlewood Tree in Marayoor" border="0" alt="Sandlewood Tree in Marayoor" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-2tDKIkbiKwQ/T0tFmJX6A6I/AAAAAAAABLg/_CF1l8JLp2Y/Sandlewood%252520Tree%252520in%252520Marayoor_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="379" /></a> </p> <p>When we finally reached the wildlife sanctuary we were told that it had stopped its walks some two hours ago and because of panthers, wild elephants and the possible tiger we could not get out of the car a walk anywhere at all. So back we went without even the chance of a glimpse of the almost mythical White Bison of Manjampatti (probably an albino Indian gaur). Although there were two forlorn looking monkeys sitting on the wall somehow channelling my feelings with their drooped depressed faces. This monkey, for those really paying attention, you have already seen.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-uJ8H6mbtp0o/T0tFnsC0RdI/AAAAAAAABLo/8_YqNLqgTLI/s1600-h/Forlorn%252520Monkey%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Forlorn Monkey" border="0" alt="Forlorn Monkey" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-xl2_8uHdm6k/T0tFppd1xrI/AAAAAAAABLw/4F97NVSvm9s/Forlorn%252520Monkey_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p>They were right about the wild elephants. I saw them first and told the driver calmly to slow down as there were wild elephants on the road up ahead. He ignored me while listening to his Michael Jackson Thriller CD for the 23rd time. I tried again with no luck so I had to resort to yelling “Elephants! Stop!”. That worked but resulted in the slamming on of the breaks and him being momentarily overcome by his shock of seeing them (although we had been warned there were wild elephants along the roadside). Wild elephants can be very dangerous especially if you meet a lone bull elephant on the road. These were females. I thought we would wait until they moved off the road. Instead it was like we were in Scotland with a herd of sheep we kind of drove 'through' them. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-hszqCFMRFrI/T0tFrGkpYII/AAAAAAAABL4/qIG6RbXoI7o/s1600-h/NicholasataWaterfall%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Nicholas at a Waterfall" border="0" alt="Nicholas at a Waterfall" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-iTatMKuJCCE/T0tFsvbXASI/AAAAAAAABMA/G5C1qxRG8kE/NicholasataWaterfall_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="501" /></a> </p> <p>So although technically, none of the things we tried to do ended up working out it was a wonderful day out. Nicholas was a delightful conversationalists and we talked in depth about life, the universe and everything in the way that strangers are often able to do much more easily than friends. He also taught me an important grammatical lesson: poisonous is the word used when something you eat poisons you, while venomous describes a creature that has poison in its bite or claws (or any character played by Betty Davis). </p> <p>The landscape was beautiful and we had the leisure to see it. We stopped and saw idols of snake gods, drank fresh coconut water straight from the coconut, went for walks, talked and basked in the coolness and the beauty of this delightful piece of India.It was a treat for me to spend some time with a well educated, friendly, and down to earth man for a few hours in the midst of this whirlwind of a trip. I often find this is the case when travelling - sometimes you overlap with someone for a day or two and it somehow acts as a point of focus that allows new pattern or directions for thoughts and feelings to meander allong.  </p> <p>I especially loved coming across this football (soccer) field in the middle of nowhere and watching the boys from God knows where playing away the late afternoon light.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-B2tKQJIy1Z0/T0tFuAgZZSI/AAAAAAAABMI/AJ4tmhLRq-g/s1600-h/BoysPlayingFootballsoccer3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Boys Playing Football (soccer)" border="0" alt="Boys Playing Football (soccer)" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-0P_vG7UA3x0/T0tFvCpDtXI/AAAAAAAABMQ/dOzmw1XWR1k/BoysPlayingFootballsoccer_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-UEYdHnKROAY/T0tFweJoqII/AAAAAAAABMY/LDFu2YjA2gw/s1600-h/MunnarDayOutXII3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Munnar Day Out XII" border="0" alt="Munnar Day Out XII" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-cIktyf4eD-U/T0tFxmuNb3I/AAAAAAAABMg/wX4lilomw_c/MunnarDayOutXII_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="285" /></a></p> <p>Did you notice the waterfall is the photograph above?</p>Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-64320181600194024712012-02-21T09:18:00.006-08:002012-02-27T05:02:42.555-08:00The Swarm of Humongous Pteropus giganteus! oh, and the 117th Annual Maramon Convention: Post XV - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ezXbILA8Q7I/T0PRL3m-P2I/AAAAAAAABBY/Hrw7eCxjiXc/s1600-h/MaramonConventionI3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Maramon Convention I" border="0" alt="Maramon Convention I" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-hYDnDqdwNS8/T0PRNocR3qI/AAAAAAAABBg/B9V-CdIkM-w/MaramonConventionI_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="252" /></a> </p> <p>I have arrived at Maramon in Pathanamthitta for the 117th annual Maramon Convention held, as usual, on the vast sand bed of the Pampa River near the Kozhencherry Bridge. The Convention is held each year on the eight days before Lent. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ABF8_LzP6Ic/T0PRO_RTt7I/AAAAAAAABBo/mXjzvBLy4Zc/s1600-h/MaramonSideoftheRiver3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Maramon Side of the River" border="0" alt="Maramon Side of the River" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-KngB0kCJMTM/T0PRQORpyzI/AAAAAAAABBw/tq7ChAu3VD4/MaramonSideoftheRiver_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>The convention is run by the missionary arm of the Malankara Mar Thoma Church Syrian Church, the Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association. It has been held here since 1895 and its origins can be traced back to the vision of Mar Abraham Malpan the great reformer of the Mar Thoma West Syrian tradition in Kerala. It is based on the idea of the great evangelical tent revival meetings I think. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-5v0eAWPTavk/T0PRRlw8HPI/AAAAAAAABB4/dU3gDvAc8ns/s1600-h/MainPanthal3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Main Panthal" border="0" alt="Main Panthal" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Bg0lb5qhDEE/T0PRS6Ruw6I/AAAAAAAABCA/_f05k25yFbA/MainPanthal_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>This convention is known for being one of the largest gatherings of Christians in the world. The main panthal (tent enclosure made from bamboo and thatched with palm leaves) holds over 160,000. Usually the daily attendance is over 1/4 million people with an average attendance over the course of the week of over two million. When you stand at one side of the panthal it is difficult to even see the people at the other end.   </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-oRb_c-8e1Ng/T0PRULHuBRI/AAAAAAAABCI/Ap6u3PEql60/s1600-h/MaramonII3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Maramon II" border="0" alt="Maramon II" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-MkDFNxY_ZOA/T0PRVanMskI/AAAAAAAABCQ/W0Nk4aEIYjY/MaramonII_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="258" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-evuQ6YGcEkY/T0PRW8Cz4bI/AAAAAAAABCY/74QC3g8UHP8/s1600-h/MaramonIII23.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Maramon III (2)" border="0" alt="Maramon III (2)" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-NDeKzr5ZA9A/T0PRYlyZWQI/AAAAAAAABCg/MerBHw2GjAU/MaramonIII2_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>The convention draws international speakers of the very highest quality, usually from Episcopal traditions. The Archbishop of Canterbury usually comes to Maramon once during his incumbency. The main speakers besides the Mar Thoma Metropolitan and other Mar Thoma Bishops are the Malaysian born Chinese Missiologist of the CMS (Church Missionary Society) based in Oxford UK, Doctor Kang San Tan, the Tamil-Nadu born US Methodist Minster the Rev’d Martin Alphons, and the Anglican South African Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana. There are days devoted to ecumenism, evangelism, as well as social issues that effect the peoples of Kerala and the world. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-7MvMyrlTEzA/T0PRZ_mQwNI/AAAAAAAABCo/R7PVOahC06s/s1600-h/InsidemainPanthalThreeBishopsofThree%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Inside main Panthal - Three Bishops of Three Denominations Anglican, Mar Thoma, Church of the East" border="0" alt="Inside main Panthal - Three Bishops of Three Denominations Anglican, Mar Thoma, Church of the East" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-1cIgt4x_m7g/T0PRbYp1BYI/AAAAAAAABCw/C2yJDDf4Seg/InsidemainPanthalThreeBishopsofThree.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>The Day begins with Bible study with children, youth, women and men each having their own sections. Then there are three main gatherings at 10am, 2pm, and 7pm. Half an hour before each section as well as interspersed throughout the day there is live music performed by a huge choir. They sing hymns and have a custom of introducing sixteen new hymns every year that they sing throughout the week so that people get used to them.  </p> <p>Here are three of the more popular hymns this year. The first one is my favourite.</p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=8260dzrmld8&title=Maramon+Hymn+I"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=8260dzrmld8&title=Maramon+Hymn+I" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/8260dzrmld8-maramon-hymn-i" target="_top">Maramon Hymn I</a></p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=8261b7iyc24&title=Maramon+Hymn+II"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=8261b7iyc24&title=Maramon+Hymn+II" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/8261b7iyc24-maramon-hymn-ii" target="_top">Maramon Hymn II</a></p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=826215xfaks&title=Maramon+Hymn+III"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=826215xfaks&title=Maramon+Hymn+III" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/826215xfaks-maramon-hymn-iii" target="_top">Maramon Hymn III</a></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-A-xjNtZqtzE/T0PRcwoLo8I/AAAAAAAABC0/7f17Lc42f7Q/s1600-h/HisBeatitudeandBishopMaulsi3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="His Beatitude and Bishop Maulsi" border="0" alt="His Beatitude and Bishop Maulsi" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-3yaM5VOtOw0/T0PRed0_2nI/AAAAAAAABDA/HiDXF0DwfQI/HisBeatitudeandBishopMaulsi_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>Two of the things that are bragged about by those associated with the convention is the fact that the main enclosure and all the other buildings as well as the music is donated and supplied by the local parishes.  The other is that the members police themselves as no security is present and the police are not allowed into the gathering. The discipline and decent behaviour of the participants is legendary. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-HE82Ar0FGsw/T0PRf8CIR4I/AAAAAAAABDI/xqsCL_C873o/s1600-h/HisBeatitudeofftotheConventionforthe%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="His Beatitude off to the Convention for the 49th year in a Row" border="0" alt="His Beatitude off to the Convention for the 49th year in a Row" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0Gw5eEQlZ9M/T0PRhpZqJYI/AAAAAAAABDQ/ZZqTcrns4uA/HisBeatitudeofftotheConventionforthe%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="508" /></a> </p> <p>His Beatitude brought me as he came just for one evening and one day. He has been coming every year for forty-nine years. I hope they remember his Golden Jubilee of attendance next year. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-iwCEkw6lJkE/T0PRjYCBA5I/AAAAAAAABDY/IoUH3MW-O9o/s1600-h/HisGraceTheMostRevDrJosephMarThomaMe.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="His Grace The Most Rev Dr Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan" border="0" alt="His Grace The Most Rev Dr Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-3DDx7HBzPOU/T0PRlQ_nISI/AAAAAAAABDg/PZtzCGZnlVg/HisGraceTheMostRevDrJosephMarThomaMe%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="508" /></a> </p> <p>I will remember several things about this week. One is meeting His Grace The Most Rev’d Doctor Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan. What an extraordinary man. He has a presence that few prelates I have met can match. During one of the speeches he somehow spotted in the crowd of a quarter of a million people a solitary man selling some sort of publication – perhaps a political tract or a newspaper. Using his stick, he somehow clambered up onto the podium before his Secretary could realise what was happening and help him. He politely stopped the speaker, pointed to the man who seemed about half a mile away and addressed him in a voice that immediately silenced the whole valley. He forbad the selling or distribution of anything at the convention and tersely told everyone that they were not to encourage this parasitic behaviours by purchasing anything. There was no question in his mind, or theirs I am sure, that anyone would. What an extraordinary power to command the allegiance of so many with just the power of your voice. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Er3J86MIRwM/T0PRn9kjutI/AAAAAAAABDo/5N9rC6IEVWs/s1600-h/MarThomaMetropolitan1.png"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Mar Thoma Metropolitan" border="0" alt="Mar Thoma Metropolitan" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-87H9IsZ5ur4/T0PRpoYEjXI/AAAAAAAABDw/X7XM1sHbz-I/MarThomaMetropolitan_thumb1.png?imgmax=800" width="383" height="217" /></a> </p> <p>I felt privileged to share several meals with him during my time there. Although I must admit to feeling rather odd about the way I just arrive places and am immediately placed at the head table, the main platform or in some other position of prestige. In the case of Maramon I arrived just before a meal and found myself placed at the head table of the Mar Thoma Metropolitan where I remained for every meal until I left. At first I was not even sure anyone knew who I was but it turns out the Metropolitan had not only received my e-mail saying I was coming but seems to have read it himself, remembered the contents, and informed everyone. All this in the middle of one of the busiest weeks of the year. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-WjlboURtldc/T0PRrD4YSmI/AAAAAAAABD4/KsS6hgdqIFw/s1600-h/TheMarThomaMetropolitanII4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="The Mar Thoma Metropolitan II" border="0" alt="The Mar Thoma Metropolitan II" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-5v7fJ2ZipBo/T0PRsZPe2UI/AAAAAAAABEA/dsGltvZ2n8A/TheMarThomaMetropolitanII_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="572" /></a> </p> <p>The other thing that will remain with me is the experience of being the only white person here.  The speakers are Indian, African and Chinese. No westerners this year. I have not seen another white face for over a week. When I walk along the river bed I am stared at by literally tens of thousands of people. It is not my comely physique or my episcopal fuchsia sash they are looking at either. I am a foreigner, the lone member of my race here. I stand out, or I should say I stand out more than usual. Children especially are fascinated by me. They come around the corner or emerge from a crowd holding a parents hand, see me, and sort of go into paralysis as their mouth drop open and they stare googly eyed at me while their parents drag their rigid bodies away bumping along in the dust. </p> <p>It is a fascinating experience that helps put humanity into its proper global perspective. I wish everyone could, at least once in their life, know what it fells like to be a clear and visible minority lost in a vest sea of another culture and race. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-BLxLxChx7ZE/T0PRtRZByiI/AAAAAAAABEI/LB8tLpqVLzU/s1600-h/MaramonatDusk3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Maramon at Dusk" border="0" alt="Maramon at Dusk" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-quIPatM1SxU/T0PRugE4M4I/AAAAAAAABEM/UCANvwSSh8M/MaramonatDusk_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>However there is one experience which will mark Maramon as a turning point in my life. I stood outside the main tent this evening at dusk listening to the music and watching the cattle egrets fly down the river to roost, the men bathe in the river, and the first stars begin to come out. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rt-UqwHOZpTzFZ1mrtWp5_6_h-QuSkxr-_JdvHyQw4QS3oSXPKfm_Or91hMsHJABzby6fx5bXLdaNwGlIwfOzJJ1awpaFyf38o8CWdAsFX8OcdnwXJvwdPk995Gztv8T7biPoI2xh4vx/s1600-h/CattleEgretsFlyingHometoRoost3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Cattle Egrets Flying Home to Roost" border="0" alt="Cattle Egrets Flying Home to Roost" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-r_DwvkVp2FA/T0PRxqDUtdI/AAAAAAAABEg/9L0LZc_Ii1k/CattleEgretsFlyingHometoRoost_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="257" /></a> </p> <p>Then I began to realise that the white cattle egrets that I had been watching just a minute before had been replaced by a couple of much bigger, black birds lazily flapping their huge wings as they also flew downriver presumably to roost. The couple then became four or five. Then ten then twenty. The numbers just kept growing. I knew they were too big to be crows, way too big as their wings were about five feet across. I was wracking my mind trying to remember what kind of gigantic black birds were indigenous to the area. Then as a cloud of them flapped over my head it suddenly hit me like an electric shock – BATS! </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-YOWN6d6kQ9k/T0PRyt1wIQI/AAAAAAAABEo/p6FfAf8KL7I/s1600-h/FlyingFoxesintheEvening3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="ARKive image GES021994 - Black flying fox" border="0" alt="ARKive image GES021994 - Black flying fox" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-n77rlOfgdf0/T0PR0NoOoaI/AAAAAAAABEw/OZ2epAdGdjc/FlyingFoxesintheEvening_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="254" /></a> </p> <p>Enormous, mind confusingly giant bats -  Greater Indian Fruit Bats or Indian Flying Foxes to be precise, <em>Pteropus giganteus</em> to be even more precise (please note the second Latin word in the scientific name). I was transfixed, something I had seen on nature documentaries a hundred times was happening right above my head and no one around even bothered to look up. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo091Tzh009w2e8hs4Fuvzv65TKgb1uwNgp6Z6-me8lF1yZn7vhBHowEUeHWngDL5Iwj3sH9cl74KkazLMuNC8i2RXuzuNsVvG8uQ9oHzUNB5BusExGTsiN3aYoviu7atM9YtmRJS7qzdY/s1600-h/IndianFlyingFox3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Indian Flying Fox" border="0" alt="Indian Flying Fox" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-8AnhTi-Fcws/T0PR3C3PFJI/AAAAAAAABFA/0GmSznYeFHw/IndianFlyingFox_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="248" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtaZpK4nr8Ss9h3W032F4zufOa33HRft0KhQnXQDX-O5KTBGZ-4Y4lpyWqQj_LPpb1V0h7JxrU87RaKf7kJfPHnhAdtyIf-cK57486lB1FTPrVLCWvsotL_Bi1Ukbzh5vmT8v3yTg3zplJ/s1600-h/IndianFlyingFoxII8.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Indian Flying Fox II" border="0" alt="Indian Flying Fox II" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-nZnb0-hrQo4/T0PR58BxaTI/AAAAAAAABFQ/tGnzi4od4wI/IndianFlyingFoxII_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="301" /></a> </p> <p>Maramon marks a line in the sand for me. Before Maramon I lived in a world where such things existed only on television. After Maramon I live in a world inhabited by wonderful, hauntingly beautiful, gigantic bats!   </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-EN2AkZV8Plo/T0PR60_qY3I/AAAAAAAABFU/NGAKluOvOh0/s1600-h/FlyingFoxI4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Flying Fox I" border="0" alt="Flying Fox I" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ANFPI4NDbqc/T0PR73e-O8I/AAAAAAAABFg/3zW5jamHnUM/FlyingFoxI_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="431" /></a></p>Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-86648508465395407902012-02-17T00:26:00.002-08:002012-02-27T05:01:50.035-08:00Kurisumala, The Noisiest Trappists in the World? or How to be a Western Plonke: Post XIV - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of Indiar<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8N4S6jS2TDs/Tz4O8Pkee1I/AAAAAAAAA_4/E5hvcaukK0E/s1600-h/LoudMonkey6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Loud Monkey" border="0" alt="Loud Monkey" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-P2LlGqekk3I/Tz4O9zkx65I/AAAAAAAABAA/UZ2Jn-NC-WY/LoudMonkey_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="261" /></a> </p> <p>Alas, the spell is broken.</p> <p>Kurisumala is known the world over for its silence and tranquility. So it is just my luck that the Catholic parish church at the bottom of the mountain has started what, some brothers have told me, will be a week-long festival. What this means is that starting at 5am I am subjected to extraordinarily annoying singing by nuns. I mean really, really annoying. If you don’t believe me - </p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yva7rdx9e0&title=5am+Annoying+Nun+Song"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yva7rdx9e0&title=5am+Annoying+Nun+Song" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/7yva7rdx9e0-5am-annoying-nun-song" target="_top">5am Annoying Nun Song</a></p> <p>Did you really listen? Then as the day progresses they blare ‘devotional’ music at volumes that would make any self respecting Heavy Metal band bleed from the ears. The sound travels straight up the valley and when the wind is in the right direction shakes the hermitage I am staying in. </p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yvcqt8m1ws&title=Parish+Festival"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yvcqt8m1ws&title=Parish+Festival" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/7yvcqt8m1ws-parish-festival" target="_top">Parish Festival</a></p> <p>Yesterday I walked four miles to the other side of the next mountain over to escape the noise. Today I went to the other side of the mountain the ashram is on to get away from it. Still, I have to come back eventually.</p> <p>Whilst I am in the hermitage I have taken to using earplugs. Still the noise is so persistent and excruciatingly irritating that I find myself close to tears and paralysed with frustration. </p> <p>I have tried to explain the situation to the monks who, because they are located between two hills that somewhat block the noise, do not get the complete blast and so do not seem to understand the full magnitude (literally) of the situation. They make vague sounds about other places on the mountain, ask you to wait, and then just wander off and do not come back (probably the best way to deal with agitated Westerners). I am never really quite sure I understand what they are saying or if they understand what I am saying. What I do know is that they do not seem to understand that the noise is a problem. The guest brother said to me when I tried to explain the problem “you like the music, yes?”</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-08P8fOrspoQ/Tz4O_NaQNGI/AAAAAAAABAI/858Of5WESEM/s1600-h/ReallyLoudCow4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Really Loud Cow" border="0" alt="Really Loud Cow" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6leelAkri5OotqhyHsJkg1wZkXt11eN4HxBYM1d1F66d7G7hKlWTCHJ_poRMRTIQZfGmbp8h1b_oJv6GPDq2yZ7pIAJ82OahU-t0AegLkP2HrzzftjYkSbDKwrMvH8iCoocwvkP7NRjFX/?imgmax=800" width="407" height="606" /></a> </p> <p>At the moment the whole  universe seems to have taken against me. To add to the irritating catholic music I think the milking is behind schedule this evening as the cows will not stop bellowing. </p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yvavf2vstc&title=Cows+Bellowing"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yvavf2vstc&title=Cows+Bellowing" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/7yvavf2vstc-cows-bellowing" target="_top">Cows Bellowing</a></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JVE_W66Fcgk/Tz4PCA2j9eI/AAAAAAAABAY/K13lgU33nKE/s1600-h/LouderBird3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Louder Bird" border="0" alt="Louder Bird" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ymP3dPdidcw/Tz4PDcz5LBI/AAAAAAAABAg/Q66qGh1WVEk/LouderBird_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="294" /></a> </p> <p>Now some ungodly piece of machinery, hitherto unheard, has been fired up to compete with the cows, not to mention an absurdly loud bird that has just decided to sit on the hermitage and join in the acoustic chaos. </p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yvbixv2b5c&title=Dairy+Machine"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yvbixv2b5c&title=Dairy+Machine" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/7yvbixv2b5c-dairy-machine" target="_top">Dairy Machine</a></p> <p>I also think that the cow herds might be going to the church festival in town tonight as they are now blaring their radio and shouting incessantly down their cell phones at all their stone deaf friends. Wait, no -  now they are yelling to their friends down the valley like monkeys. And they’re getting a response! Heaven knows what is being communicated that cannot be achieve by yelling into their cell phones. Then again I might very well be completely wrong and there are actual monkeys in the trees beneath me. </p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yvujaqlj4o&title=Farm+Hands+or+Monkeys"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yvujaqlj4o&title=Farm+Hands+or+Monkeys" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/7yvujaqlj4o-farm-hands-or-monkeys" target="_top">Farm Hands or Monkeys</a></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-9xngpj_yYzk/Tz4PEizm4vI/AAAAAAAABAo/Wj4pLUZnWlo/s1600-h/LouderMonkey4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="ARKive image GES063266 - Red-handed howler monkey" border="0" alt="ARKive image GES063266 - Red-handed howler monkey" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-kz_xlaNG9z8/Tz4PGJM-1qI/AAAAAAAABAw/rQohTHItw9E/LouderMonkey_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="415" /></a> </p> <p>Just when I though it could not get any worse one of the young Syro-Malabar priests has decided to pour out his love for Christ in song just beneath the hermitage – no doubt in total ignorance that it is here (or that there might be obnoxious monkeys in the branches above him). It would be rather sweet if it were no so loud, went on so long, and weren't somehow a bit embarrassing for a westerner. It is like hearing the people in the room next to you engaged in sexual relations. You just feel you shouldn’t be hearing something so private. He starts low and then gets really worked up! </p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yvdqvhkxj4&title=Alleluia"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yvdqvhkxj4&title=Alleluia" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/7yvdqvhkxj4-alleluia" target="_top">Alleluia</a></p> <p>This evening I would rate Kurisumala as the noisiest monastery I have ever been in (and I have spent more than half my life visiting monasteries). This is painfully frustrating when you see how beautiful and quiet is it once you get just a short distance away from the ashram. However it is now dusk and I really cannot go out walking the mountain at night (in case you are wondering why I can answer very easily - King Cobras live on this mountain!).</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-zQzTuJBeu0U/Tz4PHvCIwfI/AAAAAAAABA4/FWTXKaYvFBE/s1600-h/KingCobra4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="King Cobra" border="0" alt="King Cobra" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-r6mlq1ViSwk/Tz4PJTyUBJI/AAAAAAAABBA/zwslqdWoq4g/KingCobra_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="473" /></a> </p> <p>In the monasteries' welcome booklet they quote Ghandi’s admiration for Trappists:</p> <blockquote> <p>“I once stayed with Cistercian monks. They are votaries of divine love, of poverty and chastity. Their monastery was a veritable garden. There was a sweet silence pervading the whole atmosphere. I still live under eh charm of their cells. It would be my ideal to found such an institution.”</p> </blockquote> <p>More importantly in the guest rooms and hermitages the welcome card contains the following:</p> <blockquote> <p>“IN SILENCE AND QUIET WITH WORDS OF LIFE: Experience has taught me, wrote Mahatma Gandhi that silence is part of the discipline of the votary of truth. Our sadhakas keep perpetual silence. …Then ashram life is all peace, and quiet. These are both the source and the fulfillment of the inner growth and spiritual realisation.”</p> </blockquote> <p>Yeah. Right. </p> <p>How can you have a community whose spirituality is so deeply rooted in profound silence tolerate this amount of noise without a fuss? If it is one of their spiritual priorities why do they seem so unconcerned when their silence is so violently broken (especially by a neighbouring Catholic community)? I would have taken up arms against the parish church by now, marched upon it, and assailed its towers to rip the offending loud speakers from their poisoned nests of chaos. </p> <p>As an aside it seems to be part of the religious culture in Kerala to try and drown out rival services with excessively loud sound systems. Sometimes you will find three of four different services directly trying to drown each other out. His Beatitude has told me there have often been riots when rival denominational or religious communities hold festivals at the same time and use the loud speakers like sound canons to blast each others services to smithereens. </p> <p>I am only here for a short time and do not have the time to discover if my impressions are valid or not.  However, in charity, I will give the brothers the benefit of the doubt and assume that  the noise this evening is out of the ordinary and the exception rather than the rule. </p> <p>However, like St Theresa of Avila and the nun who sat next to her in choir loudly clacked her rosary beads, the way we deal with these frustrations are the very fodder of the spiritual life. The mountains are still beautiful and peaceful and quiet, so if the ashram is not quiet tomorrow I shall wander out onto the mountains by day and treasure the times of quiet in the late evening and early morning when all at the hermitage is peace and quiet. I shall not flee from the mountain. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-KAz2PPMNev8/Tz4PK76TjtI/AAAAAAAABBI/-ik1kpSA7ss/s1600-h/Ashram%252520Tea%252520Bushes%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Ashram Tea Bushes" border="0" alt="Ashram Tea Bushes" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-fc1NxoGgAl0/Tz4PMMecEJI/AAAAAAAABBQ/hEzaLttAzZo/Ashram%252520Tea%252520Bushes_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>POST SCRIPT (The Following Day): </p> <p>The festival is over. The cows are happy. The cow herds have had their excitement for the week, the blasted machine has not been heard again, and the young priest has successfully contained his exuberant devotion in prayer. Peace and quiet resumes. I thought I should probably not post this as it shown me as a typical Westerner frustrated in failing to impose order and control over their environment. Well…what can I say? That’s correct. I sometimes wonder why I have to keep learning the same lesson over and over again to be patient and give things time before making judgements. I guess it is because I still have not learned it. Oh well, back into the silence to try again. </p> <p><object style="vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle" width="200" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yvvio6ksqk&title=Silence"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://static.boomp3.com/player2.swf?id=7yvvio6ksqk&title=Silence" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" width="200" height="20" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://boomp3.com/mp3/7yvvio6ksqk-silence" target="_top">Silence</a></p> <p>Shanti, Shanti Shanti. </p>Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-17201184724479515582012-02-16T00:17:00.002-08:002012-02-27T05:00:43.961-08:00“Though I Sang in My Chains Like the Sea” Part II: Post XIII - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-K7bvMqa32sE/Tzy7RPNe3hI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/y8L1j8UrifU/s1600-h/RoadtoEmmanusbyDucciodiBuoninsegna13%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Road to Emmanus by Duccio di Buoninsegna 1308-1311" border="0" alt="Road to Emmanus by Duccio di Buoninsegna 1308-1311" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Pv8BVWTas8E/Tzy7Svt4TLI/AAAAAAAAA-g/8zehkpeOpGM/RoadtoEmmanusbyDucciodiBuoninsegna13.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="335" /></a> </p> <p>It all goes deeper than just walking and sitting though. Being in the ashram and watching the monks go about their round of work and prayer, I have also become very aware of things that I can only say I find slightly embarrassing.  Actually a better word would be ashamed. I am aware here of how much of my life has become wrapped up in itself - a self referring feedback loop (one of the curses of single priests, or that at least is the excuse I give myself to feel better about it). It is not that I did not know this before, I even try and make fun of it so as to weaken the negative impact on others, but somehow here it has been thrown into bas-relief. I feel like a harlot who has spent ages fussing about with tacky jewellery and vulgar makeup and clothes to go stalking proudly through the streets only to turns a corner to find herself suddenly face to face with the Empress in all her finery. It is this dressing up of the poverty of the ego to masquerade as vain pomp and glory that makes me feel shame.  </p> <p>Face to face with – something: the sheer mass of humanity here; the ancientness of India; the minority position of the church here; the overwhelming religiosity of the Indian people; their generosity; their naturalness; their poverty? Perhaps it is just the ‘otherness’ of a different culture. I do not know what ‘it’ is, but I know it makes me feel small and that the life I have been living in Canada is a little less real than I would like to admit. It makes me suspect like I have been winging it, and badly, like a high school thespian. </p> <p>‘It’ is exerting an influence on me like gravity and calling to another part of me long neglected. My self awareness is increasing, thoughts I have not though for years, sometimes decades, are rising like bubbles loosed from the peat to the surface of a bog. In the last two weeks names I had long since forgotten are being retuned to me one after another like gifts of my own past. The Professor of Sanskrit from the University of Krakow in Poland came to pay his respects to His Beatitude. When I told him I had spent four years in the Sanskrit department at Edinburgh he began to wax eloquently about Professor Brockington (who is still Professor of Sanskrit there), a man I have not seen in 16 years, and his books which I had read several times over as a university student. The name of Raimundo Pannikkar, the name of the man my aborted half arsed Doctoral Thesis at Cambridge was on, has come up in conversations or in my reading several times. The draft title of my Doctoral Thesis was “The Cosmotheandric Principle in the Thought of Raimundo Pannikkar”. I am sure I have not heard the word ‘cosmotheandric’ since I went down from Cambridge thirteen years ago. To my amazement, it came up this morning.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-CaDNrIPliGo/Tzy7ULyGZII/AAAAAAAAA-o/D5CmFuL39Lk/s1600-h/AdiSankaraKeerthiSthampaMandapam4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Adi Sankara Keerthi Sthampa Mandapam" border="0" alt="Adi Sankara Keerthi Sthampa Mandapam" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-PmXhwfMZc7g/Tzy7VxIx1WI/AAAAAAAAA-w/XypCUPH9wv8/AdiSankaraKeerthiSthampaMandapam_thu.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="575" /></a> </p> <p>Last week I found myself, quite by accident, (my driver wanted to stop to eat lunch and so left for half an hour) on the side of the road. When I turned around I was standing in front of the Shrine to Shankara in the town where he was born over 1200 years ago. Shankara, as the father of Advaita Vedanta, is one of the most important and influential philosophers to have ever lived. He is the equal to Plato if not his better. He is also the man whom I spent at least two years of my life studying eighteen years ago. What are the chances my driver would randomly drop me off there to kill half an hour? Is someone trying to tell me something?</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-S-IWwSMqfKk/Tzy7X8bjgXI/AAAAAAAAA-4/izbKDmz0XlE/s1600-h/IsaUpanishad3.gif"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Isa Upanishad" border="0" alt="Isa Upanishad" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-0zOB6N3xbEE/Tzy7ZYuhugI/AAAAAAAAA_A/5n3AQeGUiCY/IsaUpanishad_thumb1.gif?imgmax=800" width="377" height="169" /></a> </p> <p>My memory is also playing along. Passages from the Upanishads are slowly coming back to me (Tat Tvam Asi). I find bits of Sanskrit loosening themselves free in some dark recess of my mind and coming suddenly into the light. There are vistas of thought and grace that stretch out to an horizon that, somehow even after years of study, I had forgot existed. The remnant  knowledge of some of this may have remained in me but the soul went out of it ages ago. I cannot remember why.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-0rRISfBboXc/Tzy7alS0CBI/AAAAAAAAA_I/ZdTq1GD7IlA/s1600-h/TatTvamAsi3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Tat Tvam Asi" border="0" alt="Tat Tvam Asi" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Rn5c6cEMQQY/Tzy7cXhEOZI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/AsbveypSkEk/TatTvamAsi_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="257" /></a> </p> <p>Of course the obvious thing to say is ‘what did you to expect to happen?’ After all I spent the years from sixteen to twenty-nine actively studying either the philosophy, religion or history of India. It is, as again Swami Dayanada (Fr Bede Griffiths OSB) called it, “the other half of my soul'”.</p> <p>Feelings of excitement, eagerness, and hope that I had when I was first beginning in the ashram and with the Franciscans are starting to circulate again. It is almost as if the passions of my youth seemed to die away when face to face with the imminent decision about my future began to take hold when I was at Cambridge. The fear and avoidance that began then, I though was stopped when I pursued my vocation and then later joined my religious community. Yet now, I am not so sure. I also wonder if  I ever picked up this significant thread again of where my life, up until then, had been headed. </p> <p>Do not get me wrong, I do not think that what I have pursued, my ministry, is not equally part of the thread of my life. I am simply saying that it seems to me today that two parts of me became divorced and I lost touch with a part of myself that equally made me who I was. By dividing the thread I may have lost something essential. Looking at my mind and thought over the last ten or twelve years it seems a bit like watching a battery lose its charge slowly run down. Or like a rat taking the wrong turn in the maze and drifting to the point that he forgets there is even maze let alone a way out of it. </p> <p>I feel this today because what I have considered proper, nourishing spiritual food for journey suddenly seems insubstantial. My theology and my spiritual practices have become routine, mundane and very small. I do not even think I believe that the round of offices and sacraments are even leading me to transfiguration anymore. I do them simply out of duty because I am a priest and a brother. It is not that I deny the efficacious quality of them it is just that that is no longer why I do them. I read the scriptures but have become more interested in the historical and theological study of them than trying to hear the Word of God. </p> <p>By the grace of God, today I heard the clinking of my chains for the first time in many years and when I looked down I saw them in focus and not just out of the corner of my eye or by just guessing they were there by some sinking suspicion or intuition. I saw them again clearly and remembered exactly what they were.</p> <p>I know all of this for one simple reason. When I said evensong this evening I actually heard His words clearly and plainly. No, that is not quite right. I should say I heard Him in His words. It came suddenly in the middle of the Gospel lesson appointed for the day, plodding along as usual and then, like stepping unexpectedly over an unseen precipice - hot tears and the swift transfiguration of the landscape into something vast, mysterious and glorious. How apt are the Scriptures: </p> <p>“Did not our hearts burn within us when he opened to us the scriptures?” </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-tfQa4Pefw9A/Tzy7dt4gy9I/AAAAAAAAA_Y/4P3hyk_wy6M/s1600-h/RoadtoEmmausbyJohnDunne3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Road to Emmaus, by John Dunne" border="0" alt="Road to Emmaus, by John Dunne" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-UHSfAddNIIQ/Tzy7f7dB39I/AAAAAAAAA_g/CYusGMFlTz8/RoadtoEmmausbyJohnDunne_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="190" /></a> </p> <p>I do not know how or why but the words burned – exactly the right word – burned within me.  I have felt the possibility of it for days now smoking just beneath the surface - a crystalline insight here, the spark of an old idea there. So, in hindsight, I am not overly surprised. In comparison to that brief moment of clarity: of the smallness of what I actually am; the vastness of who He is in the complexity of His creation; the great pain and need of the world; and through grace the promise of what we are called to be; I can only say of my life that I have been sleep walking for years. God grant me the grace to ‘wake now from sleep’ and begin the struggle for freedom and joy for myself and all of God’s creatures once again.</p> <blockquote> <p>“O as I was young and easy</p> <p>In the mercy of his means</p> <p>Time held me green and dying</p> <p>though I sang in my chains like the sea.” </p> </blockquote> <p align="right">From <em>Fern Hill</em> by Dylan Thomas</p> <p align="left"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-hgFU6MblgXM/Tzy7h-J6UqI/AAAAAAAAA_o/utnq2ACUQqg/s1600-h/TheSea3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="The Sea" border="0" alt="The Sea" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-qeh7FnOSqFs/Tzy7jUyelcI/AAAAAAAAA_w/2m4JZowiemQ/TheSea_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a></p>Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-3739300196046705982012-02-14T17:47:00.002-08:002012-02-27T04:59:55.600-08:00“Though I Sang in my Chains like the Sea” Part I: Post XII - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-j0PWXjyCdOs/TzsNie8aHwI/AAAAAAAAA8s/-Uza1psUwLU/s1600-h/MountainoftheCross.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Mountain of the Cross" border="0" alt="Mountain of the Cross" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/--XnMwjUfx5c/TzsNjxvS2eI/AAAAAAAAA80/fHoAVwX6Ok8/MountainoftheCross_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a></p> <p>The last three days have been unexpectedly poignant for me. I do not know why some places instantly ‘feel right’. I cannot tell if it is the community itself except to say that when a tall thin monk named Brother Jose came out to welcome me wearing the rough cut wrap of a sannyasin and smiled innocently in welcome I immediately felt at home. I was transported back to my youthful days when I lived with the Franciscans, or rather, transported back to the wonder and excitement I had as a teenager when first exposed to the Poor Brothers of Christ. I recognised another of His poor brethren, a genuine one, in the monk who stood before me. Despite my jaded knowledge of Franciscanism, it was my first spiritual love and it can still manage to call down to me through the years and move me. I should point out, by the way, that the entire community is Indian. The white man in the photograph below is the Abbott General of the worldwide Trappists who was making one of his visitations when it was taken.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-CpJSqAoxEtQ/TzsNm7Fb7nI/AAAAAAAAA88/plHW2MGmIjk/s1600-h/KurisumalaCommunity1.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Kurisumala Community" border="0" alt="Kurisumala Community" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-8Y_bGc4CS3A/TzsNo9HrBnI/AAAAAAAAA9E/mvEaTAPAPzc/KurisumalaCommunity_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="259" /></a> </p> <p>The mountain itself is extraordinary. It is peaceful in a way that only a few places I have experienced can rival. What is different about the peace and tranquility here is that it is so alive. I have been used to the cold, windswept silence of the far north of Scotland or Canada that stems from desolation and barrenness. Here there are trees and flowers everywhere and birds sing continually and either flit from tree to tree in a riot of colour or soar silently above the mountain in lazy circles. The wind regularly blows down from the the higher mountains of the Ghats down towards the Arabian Sea. There are tea bushes,  streams and ponds, holy banyan trees growing out of the boulder strew hillsides, and the ashram cats sitting majestically on stone walls looking down on the valleys. Whole clouds of dragonflies will come sweeping through the hill tops and once I was disorientated by an overpowering buzzing which I could not place until a huge  swarm of bees appeared above the treetops making its way up the mountainside. There are huge turtles sunning on rocks in the ponds and brightly coloured lizards basking on the stone walls and crickets lazily chirping away the afternoon. The smells seem almost alive in their diversity and the way they appear and disappear so suddenly like invisible versions of the vast variety of birds. </p> <p>What there isn't here are mosquitoes (they only come out at night and we are too high for there to be very many of them), midges, or any other kind of annoying insect that makes you wan to be indoors. There are no dogs barking, no traffic noise, no airplanes, and few people. The people you do see are usually off in the distance working in the ashram’s rice paddies, tea plantation, or cutting the long grass on the hillsides with hand sickles to feed to the cattle. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-xDw7JUhNUFk/TzsNtyi9C4I/AAAAAAAAA9M/PdlHNPSXk_8/s1600-h/ReadingSpotnearHermitage6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Reading Spot near Hermitage" border="0" alt="Reading Spot near Hermitage" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-httzWPmr9cg/TzsNwIJy10I/AAAAAAAAA9U/9Ca-ElyInM0/ReadingSpotnearHermitage_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>Somehow I feel more alive here. I am aware of my body in a way that I do not think I have been since I was last in an ashram when I was eighteen. It is most likely a psychological trick of the mind that I have become conscious in this way again after so long. Only this time, instead of being aware of how much energy I have and how flexible I am like when I was a teenager it is, unfortunately, the complete opposite this time. I find myself consistently realising that my jaw is clinched in tension, that my toes are curled, or that my back is hunched and I have to take a deep breath and relax. Sitting on the ground makes me aware of how inflexible I have become and, like my fat cat, how many ways I can no longer turn. I am aware of how quickly my body protests when sitting reading in an half lotus, or half reclining upon the slopes or a rock whilst reading. It is hard to sleep on a the pallet, sit on the floor to meditate and eat, hard to use the Asian loo, as well as hard to sit on the hard stool/table (even with my padding). I feel like I am rigid and inflexible and will never be comfortable. Yet, at the same time it feels good, even if it is embarrassing to involuntarily let out a loud “ooomph!” when trying to casually drop from a standing position onto the floor to meditate or do prostrations (which Syrian Christians simple love doing). </p> <p>For almost a month I have ingested no alcohol, tobacco (smoking of any kind in illegal in Kerala), meat, cheese, or (I think) wheat. My caffeine consumption has been restricted to two or three cups of tea a day (and I mean cups – not mugs), two of these early in the morning and one at three o’clock. I have been in bed by 10pm and up by 7am almost every day. I have watched no TV, listened to no radio and read no news except the morning papers. I have spoken to no friends or family and corresponded with no one. I have walked everyday and in sandals (although indoors I go barefoot). So perhaps I am simply becoming healthier and so becoming more aware of myself. But I do not think this is the main reason. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-19VHcuLQDS8/TzsNzPZMZmI/AAAAAAAAA9c/v47uZv_oEqc/s1600-h/FrBedeGriffithsOSB5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Fr Bede Griffiths OSB" border="0" alt="Fr Bede Griffiths OSB" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-etTuF3iFPUs/TzsN068hQgI/AAAAAAAAA9k/MpeWilEEWUM/FrBedeGriffithsOSB_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="433" /></a> </p> <p>I think it has to do with the Indian people themselves. They move so freely and in an almost femininely gracefully way. I think they are making me feel stiff and awkward and self conscious by the fact that they lack these traits. Bede Griffiths wrote in <em>The Marriage of East and West:</em></p> <blockquote> <p>“My discovery began even before I reached India. I travelled by boat and I remember how at my first encounter with the east, at Port Said and Aden, I was fascinated with the spectacle of this world of immeasurable beauty and vitality. It was not the beauty of nature which stuck me now, but the beauty of human nature, of what Blake called the ‘human form divine’. It was the same when I reached Bombay. It was not the poverty and the misery which struck me so much as the sheer beauty and vitality of the people. On all sides was a swarming mass of humanity, children running about quite naked, women in saris, men with turbans, everywhere displaying the beauty of the human form. Whether sitting or standing or walking there was a grace in all their movements and I felt that I was in the presence of a hidden power of nature. I explained it to myself by saying that these people were living from the ‘unconscious’ . People in the West are dominated by the conscious mind; they go about their business each shut up in his own ego. There is a kind of fixed determination in their minds, which makes their movements and gestures stiff and awkward, and they all tend to wear the same drab clothes. But in the East people live not from the conscious mind but from the unconscious, from the body not from the mind. As a result they have the natural spontaneous beauty of flowers and animals, and their dress is as varied and colourful as that of any flower garden.”</p> </blockquote> <p>Since my arrival in India I have been struck by the elegance of the women in their saris, every one different in wildly diverse range of colours and yet all beautiful. I have yet to see one ugly or tasteless sari. Watching them go up for communion is hypnotic. Like Father Bede I too am struck by their natural beauty. </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:27af25d3-1444-428b-8a3b-0aca0c7dec50" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="c3eb9bc8-1149-4646-a3ed-9ddee9a9fbc0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lEkd4a1rtA&feature=youtube_gdata" target="_new"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-1dHIzQyS4ZM/TzsN2FfqTeI/AAAAAAAAA90/-r6Cx3JVydA/video97a4be9dab4f%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('c3eb9bc8-1149-4646-a3ed-9ddee9a9fbc0'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/-lEkd4a1rtA&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/-lEkd4a1rtA&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <p>This is also true for most of the men although the more educated older men do seem to lack the fluid natural movement of the other males. What has struck me the most is the relaxed affectionateness showed by the younger men. They will often walk together with arms over each other’s shoulders, sometimes three in a row. Others will hold hands, or a finger, or walk arm in arm. It is unselfconscious and lovely to see. I only regret that this freedom to show affection does not extend to the girls. You never see females showing any affection in public at all. I know that one runs the risk of sounding racist if you make any analogy to a monkey and a person with dark skin. However, this is exactly what it reminds me of - the natural affectionateness of monkeys who seem to always be touching or holding onto one another. I hope you the reader will believe that If I had observed this behaviour in even the the most bleached white human beings  nature could provide they too would have reminded me of monkeys! Speaking of monkeys here is one I saw in Munnar! Its quite ugly I’m afraid (as well as Caucasoid).</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-VeBqznaIGoA/TzsOK0OxB2I/AAAAAAAAA94/yzf9MqtfMj4/s1600-h/UnaffectionateMonkey1.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Unaffectionate Monkey" border="0" alt="Unaffectionate Monkey" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-__DjNI1UCfw/TzsOgth5EeI/AAAAAAAAA-A/9SvM6of7s0k/UnaffectionateMonkey_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>The other thing I have noticed is that people seem happy most of the time, especially the young. There is a group of young men, eighteen to twenty years old,  from a junior seminary staying at the ashram this week awaiting the results of their senior seminary entrance exams which will decide which of them will continue their training for the priesthood. They cannot marry, will earn little money, and should be at least a bit nervous about their future. Instead they seem much happier and full of life than a similar group in the West would be. What is most striking is what Fr Bede calls the unselfconsciousness of their movement. The way they sit in chapel, eat, interact, smile, or walk or hold themselves is simply different. Better. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-u8a5j_Ddbj4/TzsOis9vlLI/AAAAAAAAA-I/urwj5JwIaIY/s1600-h/SyroMalabarJuniorSeminarians1.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Syro-Malabar Junior Seminarians" border="0" alt="Syro-Malabar Junior Seminarians" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-SLLBq0t_53s/TzsOlQckQcI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/0SOiKikz6TA/SyroMalabarJuniorSeminarians_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>So I am becoming very conscious of the way I walk with my hands clasped behind my back, head slightly down and have begun to try and relax into a ‘normal’ way of walking although I have no idea what that is for me anymore. It is fascinating to me that when other people around you are unselfconscious it is catching. I have caught myself two or three times striding along quite unaware that I was walking with my head up and my arms swinging along at my sides in a totally different way than I usually walk. A better way.</p> <p>When people sit on the floor regularly they often will fold both legs to one side of themselves and support themselves with the opposite arm. It is very natural but somehow for a westerner it seems undignified or womanish. After a few weeks watching everyone doing this I found myself in this position whilst reading in one of the higher meadows. I did not consciously decide to try this position and only became aware I was in it because a Franciscan Friar and a friend came walking up one of the mountain paths. I immediately became aware of how I was sitting and almost simultaneously realised that it was perfectly natural here and relaxed again before I could even get uptight.  </p>Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-29234097383228485442012-02-14T00:45:00.002-08:002012-02-27T04:58:43.767-08:00Abbott Francis Acharya OCSO: Post XI - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARISHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-y7uCkSjjQRE/Tzoeux8K6WI/AAAAAAAAA68/dkU8or8gZxw/s1600-h/FatherFrancisAcharya4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Father Francis Acharya" border="0" alt="Father Francis Acharya" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE7ZQ-e_oRjLXqiSRbl5F0UxQ6Zl1jP_OoQheu62LvWLIDPVhfxk39idch9kWycI-uiIer-1iMuQIBlWoh4S20k103lfaVEIerYCRGJb62bkpUcLBBeG53c8_02kQZ2PPIGRSQPU_VADW3/?imgmax=800" width="383" height="509" /></a> </p> <p>Father Francis Acharya OCSO was one of the forerunners of the Christian Ashram movement in India. He was a Belgian who was schooled and studied business in Brussels. By chance he was in London when Mahatma Ghandi was there for the Round Table Talks and he became captivated by this ‘half-naked fakir’ who, though poor, commanded the attention of Kings and Prime Minsters. After serving in the Belgian army he entered the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Scourmont at Chimay, Belgium. He chose this particular monastery because the reforming Abbott was planning to establish a house in India. After serving as Novice-Master he went on to be the Prior of Caldy Island in Wales. </p> <p>For Anglican readers with long memories you might recall that Caldy island was an Anglican Benedictine Abbey which split, with one group converting to Rome and eventually becoming Prinish Abbey whilst the other group founded Nashdom Abbey which in time became Elton Abbey. Prinish Abbey was the mother house to the Benedictine Abbey of Pluscarden near Elgin in the north of Scotland where I used to go to on annual retreat. The Benedictines there, as at Prinish, wear white as that was the colour of the Habits of the Anglican Order. Fr Bede Griffith, the other famous guru of the Christian Ashram Movement in India, was once Prior of Pluscarden Abbey. </p> <p>After his Abbott abandoned his plans to form a house in India and twenty years as a Trappist had gone by, Fr Francis travelled alone to India to join two Frenchmen with the same interests: Dom Henri le Saux OSB (Swami Abhishiktananda) and Father Jules Monchanin (Swami Paramarubi Ananda). These two had founded Saccidananda Ashram (Shantivanum) near Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu. Staying with them for over a year, Fr Francis began to travel all over India studying the monastic culture and traditions of the sub-continent. Finally, at the invitation of the Syro-Malankara Bishop of Tiruvalla, Zacharias Mar Athanasius, he established Kurisumala Ashram near Vagamon in the mountains of Kerala. Soon afterwards Dom Bede Griffiths OSB, after having failed at his attempt to start an Ashram at Kenkeri, joined Father Francis at Kurisumala as Co-Founder. On eighty-eight acres of land donated for the purpose and with two aspirants the four of them began the backbreaking effort of building a community from scratch. </p> <p>The early days were rough and the thatched huts they had for shelter did not suffice for the summer Monsoons. Supposedly, a visiting Bishop was so moved by the austerity of their lifestyle he wept with humility and blurted out “If I were free, I’d immediately join you”. In under three years the community had grown to over fifteen members and the herculean task of transforming the beautiful but infertile soil into pastures, flower beds, vegetable gardens, and pastures was well underway. Of the natural beauty of the place Fr Francis wrote:</p> <blockquote> <p>“This joyous site of rocks and hills,</p> <p>The sparkling jewels of the highlands of Kerala, </p> <p>A land of grassy slopes with flowers of many hues,</p> <p>With glades where fair trees dance in the wind…”</p> </blockquote> <p>They built stone walls everywhere to prevent erosion and irrigation ponds, </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-LuXdw_VHFt8/Tzoeyu078cI/AAAAAAAAA7M/ofCDBoSyHVU/s1600-h/AshramPond4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Ashram Pond" border="0" alt="Ashram Pond" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ECc5Lw8_5_U/Tzoe0QzTpLI/AAAAAAAAA7U/7-7rY2dfp88/AshramPond_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>a monastery, </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-UugZ3iVJ8tk/Tzoe2gB7x4I/AAAAAAAAA7c/GPMnB7wQaN8/s1600-h/Monastery4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Monastery" border="0" alt="Monastery" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-11zMhGmqRrk/Tzoe4szetVI/AAAAAAAAA7k/cNpB34iKtLE/Monastery_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>and a chapel.   </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-VilRemp4o60/Tzoe6cXWQrI/AAAAAAAAA7s/NDICQtuI2wE/s1600-h/Chapel4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Chapel" border="0" alt="Chapel" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-DkbCQZ9XjDI/Tzoe8VZhWBI/AAAAAAAAA70/_IZZegY9o00/Chapel_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="289" /></a> </p> <p>Finally, out of concern for the local poor community and a search for a livlihood, the community decided to build a dairy farm and they raised their own herd from few Jersey calves. </p> <p>What makes Kurisumala unique is the three streams which make up its life. Fr Francis and Fr Bede early on decided that although the Western Church excelled in precise theological doctrine, brevity in worship, and rational imagery it was unsuited to the East. They felt that the ancient Syrian tradition of St Ephraim of Edessa was far better suited. Its liturgical language springs from the same eastern source as the Old and New Testaments and is a language of poetry and mythological imagery. As a result they founded the ashram in the Syro-Malankara rite of the Roman church. This small church consisted of the Western Syrians from the church of Antioch in Kerala who wished to be in communion with the Bishop of Rome. After collecting Western Syriac Liturgical books in the middle east, Fr Francis spent the next twenty years translating them into four volumes of liturgical books for the community called <em>Prayer with the Harp of the Spirit</em> (Harp of the Spirit was the name given to Saint Ephraim). </p> <p>The second stream that made up the ashram’s common life was the Benedictine tradition, in which both the founders had been steeped, with the Rule’s emphasis on community living and prayer, manual labour, and Lectio Divina. Fr Francis’s Trappist background led to the establishment of the hermitages that are dotted around the ashram property. </p> <p>The third stream is the most radical – a complete enculturation into the Indian monastic tradition. The community members took Indian Sanskrit names, wore the pink/orange robes of a sannyassin (an Indian renouncer of the world), wore no shoes, and lived the same way as other Indian sadhus – in poverty. It went further than this though and the offices were interspersed with the spiritual wisdom of the Vedas and Upanishads. In time Father Francis, who had now taken the name Acharya (which means teacher), introduced the Bharatiya Pooja – an Indian Mass using traditional Indian imagery and rituals. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-sAbnamzfSWA/Tzoe-LOLFVI/AAAAAAAAA78/nFKDC2ShdlU/s1600-h/SaintThomasCrosswithTaditionalHinduF%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Saint Thomas Cross with Taditional Hindu Flower Arrangement" border="0" alt="Saint Thomas Cross with Taditional Hindu Flower Arrangement" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Yzl0oXov5v0/TzofAJtwsGI/AAAAAAAAA8E/mS5oNd5MInU/SaintThomasCrosswithTaditionalHinduF.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="510" /></a> </p> <p>I attended the Bharatiya Pooja this morning. Actually I attended the night vigil that begins at 3:45am, followed by the morning Office, followed by an hour of meditation that was then finally followed by the Mass at 6am. It really is quite extraordinary. I watched the server arrange flower blossoms around the central Saint Thomas menorah and low Altar platform in the traditional Indian way for over forty minutes before Mass. The priests are seated on small stools behind the low altar while the deacons sit on the floor. All the liturgical gestures and symbols are Hindu. As all the monks are Indian and  the liturgy done perfectly it actually works. It seem solid and stately, well balanced and has not a hint of ‘self-consciousness’ or flakiness. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-T7DALhb28rY/TzofBtd62ZI/AAAAAAAAA8M/xMkXmh1XZsk/s1600-h/BharatiyaPooja6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Bharatiya Pooja" border="0" alt="Bharatiya Pooja" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-7lGJqMuP4tQ/TzofDvdw-4I/AAAAAAAAA8U/XCcxczVinfU/BharatiyaPooja_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="269" /></a> </p> <p>The only thing that struck a jarring, discordant note was the adherence of the Monastery’s instruction not to give Anglicans the Sacrament. Considering that the Ashram is the meeting point between East and West, between Christianity and Hinduism, and has been a place of pushing the boundaries of what it means to be religious and know Christ – the adherence to the papal ban seems, bluntly, contrary to the vision and spirit of the place. Still, I should not judge too much as I do not know what sort of trouble they would have with their Bishop is they were found to be disobedient. I must say that it becomes harder and harder for me to attend the Eucharist in churches where I am not allowed to receive. I am even wondering if I can slip off to the Mar Thoma, the Church of South India, or even the Anglican Church of India (The What?! I hear knowledgeable Anglicans exclaim! Well it is a long story I will answer some other time!) on some of the Sunday when I am with the West Syrians in Kottayam. </p> <p>Anyway, eventually Fr Bede departed as the new Superior of Shantivanum and Kurisumala was received into the Cistercian Order of Strict Observance with Acharya becoming the first Abbott. </p> <p>What I find charming about the community is that they seem to make no bones about the fact that the founder was a bit of a pain sometimes. They say quite openly that he was strict, unyielding and had a quick temper and tended to rub people the wrong way. However they take pride in the fact that these traits declined as he became older and further immersed in the life of the Ashram so that he became more and more patient, gentle and tolerant, as one brother put it</p> <blockquote> <p>“Father Francis yesterday and Father Francis today are as far apart as night and day.”</p> </blockquote> <p>There could be no better testament to the power of this place than that they can be honest about who their beloved founder really was, and more importantly that this place became a place of transfiguration for him. It gives us all hope (or at least a strict, unyielding man with a quick temper that tends to rub people the wrong way like me) that Christ can be merciful to us in this life and allow us to become vehicles of grace for other people before the end of our allotted days. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ujksg-yY3BQ/TzofFNTuEBI/AAAAAAAAA8c/WX7MC8ENbCM/s1600-h/AbbottFrancisAcharyasTomb5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Abbott Francis Acharya's Tomb" border="0" alt="Abbott Francis Acharya's Tomb" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-8x_a1dWBZQM/TzofHSxyo6I/AAAAAAAAA8k/n_HjgViF0rA/AbbottFrancisAcharyasTomb_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="510" /></a></p>Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-88255402785011616692012-02-13T02:56:00.002-08:002012-02-27T04:57:53.338-08:00I Can’t Believe I’m Doing This! or Kurisumala Ashram the Trappists of India: Post X - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-rbI6c4LKVeE/TzjnrYzDUeI/AAAAAAAAAys/hcR1pFpzFQ8/s1600-h/MyHermitageLookintheLowerRighthandCo.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="My Hermitage - Look in the Lower Righthand Corner" border="0" alt="My Hermitage - Look in the Lower Righthand Corner" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-2MEs_qlCIB8/TzjntpktcBI/AAAAAAAAAy0/0WtHGCLfH60/MyHermitageLookintheLowerRighthandCo%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="332" /></a> </p> <p>I am staying for a week at Kurisumala Ashram, a Trappist Monastery of the Syro-Malankara rite which has inculturated to reflect a traditional Indian monastic way of living. I will explain what all that means in a later post. Sufficient for now is that the famous priests and monks Father Francis Acharya OCSO and Father Bede Griffith OSB (Swami Dayananda) co-founded the ashram. Swami Dayananda went on to become superior of the Christian ashram Shantivanum in Tamil Nadu. Of the two, this is the Ashram that gets most of the foreign visitors. The clue lies in the letters after their names: OSB is the abbreviation of the Order of Saint Benedict; OSCO is the abbreviation of the Order of Cistercians Strict Observance. In the early middle ages the Cistercian sought a more strict observance of the Rule of Saint Benedict while later on the brothers of the Strict Observance  sought an even stricter observance than the Cistercians. Brothers of the Strict Observance are better known by their more famous name - Trappists. They are often referred to as the storm troupers of the monastic life, although I am afraid they run a very far second to the Carthusians – but then I digress. The Trappists are known for their hermitages which tend to be built in isolated areas near their monasteries which are also built in very isolated areas. Thomas Merton, perhaps the most famous monk of the 20th century, was a Trappist. </p> <p>I am currently in the less visited of the two ashrams – the only Trappists monastery on the Indian subcontinent. I am also not staying in the guest house but rather, as I had written to ask permission beforehand, in an hermitage. The photograph above is of my hermitage. Did you not see it? Look again. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-S2tYzLFAu5g/TzjrFM7u9MI/AAAAAAAAA28/1t66H8Fvj_I/s1600-h/TrappistAshramHermitage13.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Trappist Ashram Hermitage" border="0" alt="Trappist Ashram Hermitage" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-pfrs18zVIc0/TzjrH4PniZI/AAAAAAAAA3E/5gOHdEUZuIA/TrappistAshramHermitage_thumb11.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>Do you see it now?</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-HZJYidHpfqc/TzjrLDvnP7I/AAAAAAAAA3M/ebkxm7mfOqA/s1600-h/TrappistHermitage4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Trappist Hermitage" border="0" alt="Trappist Hermitage" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-AF-8Ur8sF2Q/TzjrNw7i3rI/AAAAAAAAA3U/i2TukZZ0rmU/TrappistHermitage_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>So this is where I will be living this week. To say it is basic is an understatement. When Father Michael, a priest  of the Church of the East who dropped me off at the ashram,  sought out the Guest Brother to tell him I had arrived the poor Guest Brother took one look at me and nervously insisted that I was in the wrong place and that the living conditions in the ashram were way too basic for me and that Fr Michael would need to take me to some other type of monastery. When I insisted that I knew where exactly where I was and that there was no mistake he relented. When I reminded him that I had been told I could have an hermitage the whole routine began again. Did I have any idea what I was doing?! Although I may just be being paranoid, I can`t help but wonder if I were a little less overweight would have protested so vigorously? </p> <p>Finally, when all had been arranged a group of three brothers happily bundled up a basic mat for me to sleep on, a blanket (it is cold at night in the mountains), a plastic desk (I think other visitors sit on the floor and use a small table as a desk but after one look at my posterior they though I could use the small table as a stool and they would provide another ‘Western’ table for me to act as a desk), some candles, and (as a luxury for me as a spoiled, soft Westerner) a couple of burlap sacks to act as rugs! Before I knew it I was alone in a real Trappist hermitage on the side of a mountain in the wilderness of the Western Ghats. </p> <p>Contrary to what the monks feared (I learned later from the Guest Brother that many Westerns flee the monastery when they see the guest rooms which are simply decadent compared with the hermitages) I took to it like a fish to water. The simplicity, or more plainly put, the poverty of the place immediately reduced life to the basics. For a mind like mine which is constantly arranging, sorting, classifying, cataloguing and filing having nothing to sort out except the monumental decision of which of my two cassocks to hang on which of the two nails in the wall was liberating. </p> <p>The hermitage has a set layout. When you come in the door there is a hall that runs the length of the building. It acts like an extended entry hall. In northern climes you could hang coats on pegs and stack firewood along the wall. In this hermitage there is a sink, a plastic hose to attach to the faucet to fill the shower bucket, a hole at the bottom of one corner for the water to run out and a nylon rope running the length of the room to act as as a clothes line. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-XxRNTO9Mhv0/TzjrQQ0QxyI/AAAAAAAAA3c/8B_dwLRemvs/s1600-h/HermitageShower6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Hermitage Shower" border="0" alt="Hermitage Shower" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-R8uBadfTMZc/TzjrTPWjEzI/AAAAAAAAA3k/A2amCmTltlA/HermitageShower_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="541" /></a> </p> <p>Then there is the main room consisting of a pallet and mat for sleeping (you cannot really call it a bed), a desk for writing, shelves for a few books, a small wooden crate for storage, and an alcove with an icon of the Blessed Mother (which has been mostly eaten away by insects) for praying. Nothing more, although I did bring my own mosquito net which I think adds a certain flare to the room. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--gU5bLDQLm8/TzjrVhIA0pI/AAAAAAAAA3s/SWggtR1VU8I/s1600-h/HermitageMainRoom4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Hermitage Main Room" border="0" alt="Hermitage Main Room" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-yMdYFiaYw5k/TzjrYMXdrzI/AAAAAAAAA30/vX6r3NyLFso/HermitageMainRoom_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="307" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-_4ORrnau5BY/Tzjranmhs8I/AAAAAAAAA38/kQ5MKkN33ag/s1600-h/HermitageDesk4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Hermitage Desk" border="0" alt="Hermitage Desk" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-JCUzTrGjhng/TzjrdUhNY3I/AAAAAAAAA4E/0XECqMV0ka8/HermitageDesk_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="307" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-kM7gdaXBEAs/TzjrfsOrjuI/AAAAAAAAA4M/SYxu9Im3M1U/s1600-h/BurlapHermitageRugs4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Burlap Hermitage Rugs" border="0" alt="Burlap Hermitage Rugs" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-1lVbS0IUeZY/TzjriJOvaoI/AAAAAAAAA4U/K2uJDOj0VFA/BurlapHermitageRugs_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="307" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Vwe5GK5BNjs/TzjrkpY5E4I/AAAAAAAAA4c/c1UwRlxVaMo/s1600-h/HermitageRug17.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Hermitage Rug" border="0" alt="Hermitage Rug" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-0zlZdyF3Rxo/TzjrnURsGPI/AAAAAAAAA4k/6AlE-LN7X2I/HermitageRug_thumb15.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="534" /></a> </p> <p>For full disclosure, there is one other small room off the main one which has an Asian toilet at one end and at the other end, I’m afraid, is a small place to prepare food, or do handy work.   </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-zOu0950gIO8/Tzjrpu7GdCI/AAAAAAAAA4s/MtXIimT6dGY/s1600-h/HermitageToilet4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Hermitage Toilet" border="0" alt="Hermitage Toilet" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-LWbX4ksnlu4/TzjrsTnz2aI/AAAAAAAAA40/A95zm-aqi_s/HermitageToilet_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="541" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-zuP7CHOkuGI/TzjrutYNQTI/AAAAAAAAA48/HtirNh6PLZA/s1600-h/Kitchen3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Kitchen" border="0" alt="Kitchen" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-H6UW0WukC9c/TzjrxiJuw0I/AAAAAAAAA5E/kWUrNO4EEkk/Kitchen_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>I actually love the hermitage and have no problem with the ‘basic’ facilities. What is humbling is that, as Fr Bede Griffiths pointed out in his book <em>The Marriage of East and West</em>, when he arrived in India he though that he was living simply as a Benedictine until he visited local residents. He then discovered that funature of any type was a luxury, and stone walls were beyond most people’s means. The only reason that the hermitage has a pallet to place the bed roll on is that during the monsoon season the floor becomes too damp. So the fact that the hermitage is made out of stone, has a tin roof, has running water, a toilet and has a pallet and desk makes it rather luxurious. So simplicity  it is culturally relative. I wonder what Japanese simplicity would be? Perhaps just sitting down on the side of a hill. </p> <p>Yet even if i did find the standards difficult it would still be worth staying here because when I look out of my window I see these flowers,</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP0nPFBBkn6JSvwjpmKqDuDdhbV0aHJCLXmnUIX4dT4xaCHLj8D3gVAbdxTs68eRZYP1_FuWGxRSDGwp6JMsicT13BxmW5xnQeyikrcby2h1BgNsIYqrBNWLX31HbnhTgVASRePgvzM6aY/s1600-h/TheFlowersOutsideMyWindow3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="The Flowers Outside My Window" border="0" alt="The Flowers Outside My Window" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ZVPv_QP28Ac/Tzjr3S48NSI/AAAAAAAAA5U/0J547QAyiQk/TheFlowersOutsideMyWindow_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>and this view!</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-m0xBYZRGXg0/Tzjr5gHmoEI/AAAAAAAAA5c/V0LrAqeh3Kc/s1600-h/ViewfromHermitageI4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="View from Hermitage I" border="0" alt="View from Hermitage I" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-x-WSKOjSEm8/Tzjr8PAdpDI/AAAAAAAAA5k/tshCbJjlYOQ/ViewfromHermitageI_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>Standing outside my front door I can turn one way and see this</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Gx5KS-S6Jj4/Tzjr_XI0isI/AAAAAAAAA5s/9dOgnqpNhhg/s1600-h/ViewFromHermitageII8.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="View From Hermitage II" border="0" alt="View From Hermitage II" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-VbmDJqNbQPk/TzjsCCuM0cI/AAAAAAAAA50/Mschk9hR0RI/ViewFromHermitageII_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>and another way and look down on a small tea plantation. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-BKgZUh3S-xM/TzjsFrdDlSI/AAAAAAAAA58/G8fvlErJ3oc/s1600-h/ViewFromHermitageIII4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="View From Hermitage III" border="0" alt="View From Hermitage III" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-fQ4TaJI_2Es/TzjsIEIQdjI/AAAAAAAAA6E/pMTQHxto4O8/ViewFromHermitageIII_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>Although I have been attending chapel in the ashram I have also been saying my own offices outside in the grounds around the hermitage. This was my view from the rock I sat on to say the evening office tonight. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-SCCmxSDl4pU/TzjsLOxcjEI/AAAAAAAAA6M/xqoFOCI6SuQ/s1600-h/ViewfromtheRockwhereIsaidTuesdaysEve%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="View from the Rock where I said Tuesday 's Evenening Office" border="0" alt="View from the Rock where I said Tuesday 's Evenening Office" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-GZf_zF4HG3U/TzjsON6S4-I/AAAAAAAAA6U/ZR5KV-zzAeU/ViewfromtheRockwhereIsaidTuesdaysEve.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>As I was finishing the sun began to go down in the West while a full moon rose in the East. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JY2Rl0g0bo0/TzjsQVYgrxI/AAAAAAAAA6c/iIS0gnIahKs/s1600-h/ViewasIfinishedEvensong4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="View as I finished Evensong" border="0" alt="View as I finished Evensong" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWXNv-YUnJ4LCcR6S5dRFV2eZlAKuPpb2QZkPQTCsYocvBO474Bu3hH-ewz_bJgVEwcN569F7oECAUAf4-WIP5vvWXIso3oLrsBhrZaByFOcD5idkSk8mI0Ku49nhm2jbLVdk6jlStrYJt/?imgmax=800" width="407" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>So by moonlight pouring in the windows and by candlelight I sung compline tonight in a little hermitage made for just that purpose.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-OmM-YJ0tfeU/TzjsVfXtSoI/AAAAAAAAA6s/Lbcb-0swgb0/s1600-h/HermitageIcon4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Hermitage Icon" border="0" alt="Hermitage Icon" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Uaf9l1t4QaU/TzjsXyTZViI/AAAAAAAAA60/DCTLLuipCug/HermitageIcon_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="307" /></a></p>Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-50238139955964478352012-02-05T12:42:00.002-08:002012-02-27T04:57:00.604-08:00The Chaldean Syrian Church: Post IX - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012 </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-rsAElrE8Wuc/Ty7pMCp759I/AAAAAAAAAv8/u8AD2agumAg/s1600-h/Chaldean%252520Patriarch%252520Joseph%252520Audo%252520VI%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Chaldean Patriarch Joseph Audo VI" border="0" alt="Chaldean Patriarch Joseph Audo VI" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-aSl1o--sqTY/Ty7pNyvPlUI/AAAAAAAAAwE/LUIsvn4i8rA/Chaldean%252520Patriarch%252520Joseph%252520Audo%252520VI_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="385" height="503" /></a> </p> <p>The metropolitical jurisdiction of the Church of the East in India is officially named the Chaldean Syrian Church. It primarily exists in the city and surroundings of Thrissur. It’s present origins begin in 1796 when the Maharaja of Cochin, Shakthan Thampuran, brought fifty two Christian families from around the State to settle in Thrissur. The church for them was built in 1814 and consecrated the following year by Father Abraham Palai who, as directed by a Royal Charter of the Maharaja, used the “Chaldean Syrian Rite”. This is the origin of the name of the church.</p> <p>Until the coming of the first bishop in 1861 there seems to have been no continuity of ministry in Thrissur. There are records of a Chaldean priest, Father Denha Beriona, visiting and conducting services in 1849  but besides this it is surmised that the Christians in Thrissur visited the neighbouring churches in Ollur and Aranattukara for services and borrowed priests to come to Thrissur to conduct services. </p> <p align="left">The Chaldean Patriarch Joseph Audo VI played a significant role in the history of the East Syrian community in Thrissur. He had a long and bitter feud with the Vatican and at various times during his Patriarchate was threatened with excommunication and other ecclesiastical sanctions. More often than not it was hard to tell whether he was ‘in revolt’ and thus renegade or ‘in good standing’. The Most famous acts of disobedience being: in 1860 his  agreement to send a Bishop to India in spite of the protest of the Apostolic Delegate Henri Amanton; in 1870 his passionate opposition to the doctrine of Papal Infallibility, his refusal to accept it and his political machinations with the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire against the Vatican over it; and in 1874 when he sent Mar Mellus to India without permission from the Vatican which resulted in Mar Mellus’s excommunication. Each of these acts of disobedience was eventually resolved by forcing his submission using fierce pressure from the Vatican. When he died he was, once again, reconciled with Rome. </p> <p>His first influence on the church in India began with the arrival of Mar Roccos in 1861 whom he sent to India at the request of East Syrian lay leaders who wanted a bishop. Mar Roccos was opposed by Father Kuriakose Elias Chavara, the founder of the Syrian Romanist congregation Third Order of Discalced Carmelites which later became CMI - the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-1ABf7Ds0yeI/Ty7pPHWIOTI/AAAAAAAAAwM/YTrbe5vUJM4/s1600-h/Father%252520Kuriakose%252520Elias%252520Chavara%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Father Kuriakose Elias Chavara" border="0" alt="Father Kuriakose Elias Chavara" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-KGsrK-nlzHo/Ty7pQ1AA-uI/AAAAAAAAAwU/2sQMQVoAaGI/Father%252520Kuriakose%252520Elias%252520Chavara_thumb%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="391" height="463" /></a> </p> <p>He had ascertained that Mar Roccos had not been sent by Rome but rather by the renegade Chaldean Patriarch. The Vatican successfully brought enough pressure to bear on the Patriarch for him to agree to withdraw him. Mar Roccos was forcibly put on a boat at Cochin and sent back to Mesopotamia. With him went a young priest Father Anthony Thondanata, who jumped on the boat as it was settling sale. He was encouraged to sail with Mar Roccos by resentful laity who still desired an East Syrian bishop. They hoped he could help ensure the survival of East Syrian Christianity in India by lobbying for another East Syrian bishop to be sent to them. When the Patriarch declined to consecrate Father Thondanata or anyone else as a bishop for India out of fear of further antagonising the Pope, Father Thomdatta sought out the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East, Mar Rewil Shimun, who consented to consecrate him as Metropolitan of Malabar and India. </p> <p align="left"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-bZhXk4PTUSE/Ty7pSMwO4QI/AAAAAAAAAwc/anuUtKbc5jU/s1600-h/MarAbdisho6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Mar Abdisho" border="0" alt="Mar Abdisho" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-N0Z68CG38oQ/Ty7pT6FFL8I/AAAAAAAAAwk/liQC6QBxbHA/MarAbdisho_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="498" /></a> </p> <p align="left">Anthony Thondanata, now Mar Abdisho, returned to Cochin in 1863 but the community who had encouraged him to go with Mar Roccos now refused to accept him as he had been consecrated by the Nestorian Catholicos-Patriarch instead of the Chaldean Patriarch. They forced him to shave his beard, the sign of his elevation, and he return to work as a parish priest in the State of Travancore. The community in Thrissur, ignorant of Mar Abdisho’s return, continued to seek an East Syrian bishop. </p> <p align="left"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-N59a8n1Zp7c/Ty7pVCrAu9I/AAAAAAAAAws/3HQfJyXrcaM/s1600-h/Mar%252520Elia%252520Mellus.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Mar Elia Mellus" border="0" alt="Mar Elia Mellus" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-xbsB40afmEc/Ty7pW1DKO8I/AAAAAAAAAw0/FAKBRq6y774/Mar%252520Elia%252520Mellus_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="376" height="453" /></a> Meanwhile, in 1870, the Chaldean Patriarch and his scholarly archbishop Mar Elia Mellus were attending the First Vatican Council in Rome. There the Patriarch and Mar Mellus publically protested the adoption of the doctrine of the Infallibility of the Pope and walked out of the Council. Mar Mellus was subsequently sent by the Patriarch as Metropolitan of Malabar and India. He arrived in Thrissur with his aide, Cor-episcopus Michael Augustine, in 1874. </p> <p align="left">Upon his arrival he enquired into the whereabouts of Mar Abdisho and found the people ignorant of both his existence and whereabouts. Eventually he was found working in his parish in Travancore and brought before the new Metropolitan where his priestly dress and lack of any episcopal accoutrements  deeply distressed him. The Metropolitan recognised Mar Abdisho’s rank of Metropolitan by placing his own pectoral cross around his neck. It is important to realise that, although Mar Abdisho had been consecrated by the Nestorian Catholicos-Patriarch, Mar Mellus (under the renegade Chaldean Patriarch) not only recognised his consecration and rank but also his jurisdiction. Mar Abdisho then worked with Mar Mellus until the later was recalled to Mesopotamia eight years later after the death of the Patriarch by his successor. He was eventually reconciled with Pope Leo XIII in 1899 and died as Bishop of Mardin in 1908.   </p> <p align="left">In 1875 Mar Philip Jacob Abraham was also sent to join Mellus by the Catholicos-Patriarch. He worked in Kuruvilangat and then in Thrissur until he was kidnapped in 1877 by the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay, Monsignor Meurin. When the laity sought out the Vicar Apostolic he engaged them in a debate about the term Theotokos, and then left with their bishop who returned home. </p> <p align="left">With neither Mar Mellus or Mar Jacob left in India Cor-episcopa Michael Augustine administered the East Syriac Rite Church while Mar Abdisho continued to look after his parish in Travancore. He only travelled to Thrissur for major feasts when the community had need of a Metropolitan or bishop. Mar Abdisho was engaged in a lengthy legal battle with the Roman Catholics over ownership of his parish. He lost the case in 1897 and without a parish or home he was invited to come and live in Thrissur. He accepted the offer and lived in Thrissur for three years until his death in 1900. His body was buried in the Altar of the Cathedral church where it remained until it’s translation in 1954.</p> <p align="left">Upon his death Cor-episcopus Michael Anthony proceeded to rule the church for eight years until, after his request to have a bishop consecrated for India was granted by the Catholicos-Patriarch of the East Mar Benjamin Shimun, and Mar Abimalek Timotheus arrived as Metropolitan in 1908. The Syriac letter answering Cor-episopus Michael Anthony’s request for a Metropolitan was drafted by the Catholicos-Patriarch’s Archdeacon who, as it happened, would be the very man sent to fill that post. The framed letter hangs in the entry hall of the Metropolitical Palace.</p> <p align="left"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-xrbnNP3bWNs/Ty7pYTuyCvI/AAAAAAAAAw8/hPF62nXN1QY/s1600-h/Syriac%252520Letter%252520from%252520the%252520Catholicos-Patriarch%2525201904%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Syriac Letter from the Catholicos-Patriarch 1904" border="0" alt="Syriac Letter from the Catholicos-Patriarch 1904" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-JTSmjmkfrjU/Ty7paEWwcbI/AAAAAAAAAxE/jvavre5FaD0/Syriac%252520Letter%252520from%252520the%252520Catholicos-Patriarch%2525201904_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="395" height="303" /></a> </p> <p align="left">Mar Abimalek Timotheus was educated by the Church of England under the auspices of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Assyrian Mission, his tutors being The Rev’d A.J. Maclean (Later Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness in Scotland) and The Rev’d Dr W.H. Browne who was sent in 1907 by the Archbishop of Canterbury to Thrissur to ensure the suitability of the posting. </p> <p align="left"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-YX6t3eEUCH4/Ty7pbWKOMhI/AAAAAAAAAxM/bMa230yTTTo/s1600-h/MarAbimalekTimotheus5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Mar Abimalek Timotheus" border="0" alt="Mar Abimalek Timotheus" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-k9z_VdfyMzY/Ty7pdDtvaII/AAAAAAAAAxU/i1AfKg1F3mE/MarAbimalekTimotheus_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="384" height="502" /></a> </p> <p align="left">Mar Timotheus’s arrival as Metropolitan, though the realisation of a long held hope, was the cause of further tensions. He was enthusiastically welcomed by the laity but although Cor-episcopa Michael Augustine has requested the appointment of a Metropolitan for India he was unable to find it in himself to give up leadership. He thus insisted that Mar Timotheus was sent to succeed him and that he had no authority until he died. This strange view led the Cor-episcopa to issue a legal suit against the new metropolitan (suing one another seems to be one of the chief recreational activity of the Nasrani) just two weeks before he died. </p> <p align="left">The suit brought in 1911 lasted until 1925. The suit claimed: 1) that Mar Timotheus could only exercise authority after the death of Cor-episcopa Michael Augustine (rather a moot point as the latter was now dead) and; 2) that the new Metropolitan must conform to the current customs of the now ‘Independent Chaldean’ community and not change anything. This was significant because the worship in the cathedral, Mart Mariam Valiapally, did not conform with all of the Church of the East’s practices. For example, the cathedral had statues and crucifixes whereas members of the Church of the East abhor images and only display a plain Persian cross with no corpus upon it. They possess no statues and no icons. Although Mar Timotheus won the case in 1919 there was an appeal and so it was still dragging through the courts. The Anglican Principal of Saint Stephen’s College in Delhi suggested that Mar Timotheus approach the Maharaja of Cochin to issue a Royal Proclamation, if both parties agreed, appointing a Sole Arbitrator for settling the case. Both parties did agree and the Maharaja appointed the British Resident C.W.E. Cotton. In 1925 the British Resident awarded all property to Mar Timotheus. The ‘Independent Chaldeans’ gathered as a congregation looked after by the assistant priest of the Syro-Malabar Cathedral. Eventually they would go on to build a Basilica, named after the Cathedral they had lost, that has the highest church tower in south-east Asia.  </p> <p align="left"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-buRcL2YshpQ/Ty7peds2HiI/AAAAAAAAAxc/qD0hfNA3FFo/s1600-h/Mar%252520Abimalek%252520Timotheus%252520with%252520His%252520Cats.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Mar Abimalek Timotheus with His Cats" border="0" alt="Mar Abimalek Timotheus with His Cats" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3sfJAVh_D9M/Ty7pgPn3TVI/AAAAAAAAAxk/pGDCOti2zeY/Mar%252520Abimalek%252520Timotheus%252520with%252520His%252520Cats_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="386" height="502" /></a> </p> <p align="left">Mar Timotheus served as Metropolitan of All India for over 37 years. He died in 1945 and was buried in the Prelates Mausoleum in Thrissur. </p> <p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLcTI6EuqNVGQ-jl4nfsekz_T_AKTYsF4as3XHNOP9S2VpHhdRoyfZx6cux8gA-_o4XHcs2rbQnVEpvCRf74CefSstsaFIaaJUDQohCIDxeu2EVBTbNLDzLjVeC6J8-7yPGnp1l8VNOrB/s1600-h/Tomb%252520of%252520Mar%252520Timotheus.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Tomb of Mar Timotheus" border="0" alt="Tomb of Mar Timotheus" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-L9RNWOaaGJc/Ty7pjMmh2sI/AAAAAAAAAx0/vwAq-Vd7aqQ/Tomb%252520of%252520Mar%252520Timotheus_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="390" height="508" /></a> </p> <p align="left">From 1945 until 1952 there was no bishop for the Church of the East in India. Finally after seven years the Catholicose-Patriarch Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII sent Mar Thoma Darmo as the new Metropolitan of Malabar and India. He had served in North Syria and was chosen by Mar Yosip Khananisho Metropolitan of Iraq as a suitable candidate for India. </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-FZI3vrrkMaA/Ty7pkYBlLZI/AAAAAAAAAx8/3337dmLak-g/s1600-h/Mar%252520Eshai%252520Shimon%252520XXIII%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Mar Eshai Shimon XXIII" border="0" alt="Mar Eshai Shimon XXIII" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-FR9JSsiyAro/Ty7pmA3giCI/AAAAAAAAAyE/ilXKEBI2aJU/Mar%252520Eshai%252520Shimon%252520XXIII_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="393" height="415" /></a> </p> <p>In time Mar Thoma Darmo developed strong differing opinions to the Catholicos- Patriarch. The Patriarchal visit to India in 1961 only succeeded in increasingly the difficulties between them. In January 1962 Mar Shimun wrote to Mar Thoma Darmo appointing an advisory board for the administration of the Indian church. When it was explained that the Church in India already had elected Central Trustees established in law for the administration of the church the request was simply repeated. The Metropolitan refused to comply and the Catholicos-Patriarch suspended him in on the 10th of January 1964. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-giu321TuWEo/Ty7pnnje-nI/AAAAAAAAAyM/8CuJHlzJWYM/s1600-h/Mar%252520Thoma%252520Darmo%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Mar Thoma Darmo" border="0" alt="Mar Thoma Darmo" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-jTIrYkeDseY/Ty7ppqgOccI/AAAAAAAAAyU/63fIaOFz-Uk/Mar%252520Thoma%252520Darmo_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="389" height="504" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p>The major difference of opinion between the Catholicos-Patriarch and the Metropolitan centered on the issue of hereditary succession for the Patriarchate and the Episcopate. The Patriarchate had been held by the Shimun family since the middle of the 15th century passing from uncle to nephew in unbroken succession. This was also the case for the bishops and at this time mar Thoma Darmo was the only non hereditary bishop in the Church of he East.</p> <p>When The Catholicose-Patriarch issued a universal order for the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in March of 1964 the strain was too great and the Church of the East split between the Old Calendarists and the New Calendarists. In September of 1968 the Old Calendarists elected Mar Darmo their Catholicos-Patriarch and he left India permanently. After arriving in Baghdad he consecrated Mar Poulose episcopa and Mar Aprem Metropolitan for India. Mar Darmo died in 1969. </p> <p>Of course the split in India led to further lawsuits. The Old Calendarists were represented by Mar Aprem, who had returned to India after his consecration, while the New Calendarists only received a bishop in 1971 when a laymen was ordained to all orders and made Metropolitan. He arrived in Thrissur in 1972. Both the new Metropolitans were natives of Thrissur and Indians.  </p> <p>Attempts to reconcile the two groups was further confused when the New Calendarists patriarch abolished episcopal celibacy and then promptly married and thus was deposed. After his reinstatement he was assassinated by an aggrieved family member. In 1976 Mar Dinkha IV was chosen by the Holy Synod of the New Calendarists as the first non hereditary Catholicos-Patriarch for almost five hundred years. Interestingly for Anglicans, the Holy Synod for the election took place in Alton Abbey whilst the consecration took place in Saint Barnabas Ealing. </p> <p>One of Mar Dinkha IV’s first actions was an attempt to end the schism in India. After failed attempts at arbitration he visited Thrissur himself in 1991 and was again unsuccessful. Finally after years of dialogue, litigation and negotiation the two groups were united in 1995 headed by Mar Aprem as Metropolitan while Mar Timotheus was made Apostolic Delegate to India, a post he held until he died in 2001. Mar Poulose had died in 1998. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-XI3e3bkLW_g/Ty7prOHbeDI/AAAAAAAAAyc/MfjXJ6hPRPI/s1600-h/Mar%252520Timotheus.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Mar Timotheus" border="0" alt="Mar Timotheus" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Hgb7JafzX2A/Ty7ps3nVxXI/AAAAAAAAAyk/VmexXpW2bkI/Mar%252520Timotheus_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="395" height="519" /></a> </p> <p>This is a brief history of the Church of the East in Thrissur that brings us up to the present day. Like many excerpts from ecclesiastical history it is not very: romantic or edifying; seems to have little to do with theological or spiritual values but rather liturgical and ecclesiastical cultural differences; has much to do with power, property and authority; features many big egos and few humble servants; and is liberally salted with fights, litigation, and schisms. </p> <p>For those of you disappointed by the mundanity of these details, all I can say is that the more and more widely I read about the history of the church throughout the world the more I find that this history of the Church of the East here in Thrissur is just a microcosm of much of the history of the church. The question of the problem of power and authority in the church stemming from an ordained hierarchy has been wrestled with from time immemorial. I need only point out that the problem has yet to be resolved and it affects all of us in episcopal systems.  It is sometimes depressing to realise how much ecclesiastical history can simply be chalked up to ‘Bishop verses Bishop’. </p> <p>The sociological and moral question of the widespread use of litigation amongst the Saint Thomas Christians is fascinating. Although Holy Scripture forbids Christians to take one another to court and provides an alternative dispute resolution process there does not seem to be much contrition or embarrassment that this is ignored and the secular courts are often one of the very first recourses. Please do not get me wrong, I am not claiming Anglican superiority on this issue just that most Anglicans are mortified by the present court cases over property and cringe ever time they are mentioned. Many believe that the episcopal and primatial leadership in the USA that has lost its moral authority because of its recent litigious behaviour. Still, it must be pointed out that litigation is a definite improvement on kidnapping and deportation. </p> <p>I have asked about this issue directly and it is clear that the prevalence of court cases is not considered particularly shameful and I even believe I detect a note of pride when being told about the winning of certain historic cases. I do not have the knowledge or resources to deal with this question yet and if I do it will need its own post. </p> <p>I am fully aware that one of the cultural stereotypes of Indians is their love of litigation. In no way do I accept or deny the factual basis for this stereotype and my comments here are solely based on what I have read about the Saint Thomas Christian community in India. To be more direct, don’t get annoyed with me for repeating a stereotype out of ignorance or without cause. Definitely don’t sue me.   </p>Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029635119651855432.post-21069640033758538252012-02-05T04:44:00.002-08:002012-02-27T04:56:17.679-08:00A Lost Corner of the Raj: Post VIII - Travels Amongst the Saint Thomas Christians of India<p>SCHOLARSHIP OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT 2012</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-prkUBBLrjbc/Ty54SYHqhtI/AAAAAAAAAs0/0aYHLAvjhzg/s1600-h/The%252520High%252520Range%252520Estate%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="The High Range Estate" border="0" alt="The High Range Estate" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-uZBjOG_vBXo/Ty54UJG9qgI/AAAAAAAAAs4/UvI-CtpBuj0/The%252520High%252520Range%252520Estate_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="396" height="264" /></a> </p> <p>After the first day of the Feast of Nineveh the Metropolitan and I decided that it would probably be a good time for me to get away for a couple of days as he will be busy all day for the next two days fasting and chanting the Psalms (I am am contrite that I cannot chant nonstop for eight or nine hours without food or water for three days in a row when a 73 year old like His Beatitude can). For those of you who were concerned that the fast necessitated not eating of drinking for three days I should clarify that they can have a small meal and drink in the evenings. Still it is an ordeal (one man, the same age as His Beatitude, had to be taken to ICU after he could not be roused after the third day of chanting in the church came to an end).</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-tX2X7bMG5GA/Ty54V1NRwxI/AAAAAAAAAs8/Ngfn5stYWgg/s1600-h/High%252520Range%252520Club%252520Main%252520Door%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="High Range Club Main Door" border="0" alt="High Range Club Main Door" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-i1J7LyJIkx4/Ty54X_sP3_I/AAAAAAAAAtA/-vhE7gQY2_s/High%252520Range%252520Club%252520Main%252520Door_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="390" height="499" /></a> </p> <p>So I have traveled 150 km into the Western Ghats to a hill station called Munnar. Munnar was a series of British tea estates high in the mountains called the High Range. I have booked in for two evenings at the old British planter’s club called, not surprisingly, The High Range Club. By so doing I have accidently stumbled on a faded remnant of the Raj. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbvqZCuuVy3WeuSdPO0sIpaCqxUar1hTZv_n9g5-g8EKlUyDj8FEIHNHPOE_hNOU2sAE2iO1BjYligpk_Wwc_k-8zpOaKzR6KO7KO_6ZpEmoBB62MLEH7eTxta933-NNDl4ssfkxXHkgi/s1600-h/HighRangeClubII4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="High Range Club II" border="0" alt="High Range Club II" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ITgpSYKkQdk/Ty54bUw3TWI/AAAAAAAAAm8/V8JcluNkR5g/HighRangeClubII_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="388" height="296" /></a> The club has seen better days, to put it mildly, but the infrastructure remains the same even thought the last British planter is long gone. There are card rooms for bridge, two billiard rooms, a squash court, and a library. There is also a smoking bar complete with a wall of pith helmets of the tea estate managers who served the estates for more than thirty years with the dates of their time in office written on the brims as well as plagues with the arms or crests of various British schools, universities (including my almae matres), and military regiments. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-QV7jCmG0aWA/Ty54cuR4ruI/AAAAAAAAAtE/mRU_3E6BJqw/s1600-h/The%252520Gentlemen%252527s%252520Smoking%252520Bar%252520at%252520the%252520High%252520Range%252520Club%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="The Gentlemen's Smoking Bar at the High Range Club" border="0" alt="The Gentlemen's Smoking Bar at the High Range Club" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-jRPDNDLrQao/Ty54e0En5kI/AAAAAAAAAtI/_Dms7T2Gp04/The%252520Gentlemen%252527s%252520Smoking%252520Bar%252520at%252520the%252520High%252520Range%252520Club_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="399" height="399" /></a> </p> <p>That the customs seem to have stayed the same becomes clear almost immediately. You are not expected to carry anything, even a tea tray, from one side of the room to the other as a liveried waiter will do it for you. Ties and jackets are to be worn after 7pm, no sandals, only western trousers,  women are not allowed in the gentleman’s bar etc, etc.</p> <p>As far as I can tell, hardly anyone uses the club regularly anymore and the main trade seems to comes from allowing guests to stay, weekend golf games and the occasional club function. The library looks completely unused, the billiard tables are covered and seems to have been so for some time, and I doubt there are very many left to make up a foursome for bridge. Basically I think it died when the Raj came to an end but it has just kept ticking away all these years like the club that time forgot.  It is like finding a functioning fully staffed railway station complete with tea room on a line that was discontinued over sixty years ago. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-cjfWgtLAOKc/Ty54ge_ZZlI/AAAAAAAAAtM/BgT8OkQSUSA/s1600-h/Billard%252520Room%252520at%252520the%252520High%252520Range%252520Club.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Billard Room at the High Range Club" border="0" alt="Billard Room at the High Range Club" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Qk-krQi-KW8/Ty54h8EZ5jI/AAAAAAAAAtQ/0z7ikx8LKPA/Billard%252520Room%252520at%252520the%252520High%252520Range%252520Club_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="405" height="312" /></a> </p> <p>I went into the gentleman’s bar this evening to read (well actually to look at all the dead animal heads on the walls) before dinner and found it not only well lighted, freshly aired out, the bar newly wiped down but also with its own member of staff to stand and look after guests. This would be reasonable if the bar were functioning. However they do not have liquor licence and cannot serve alcohol. They also do not serve tea or coffee there (tea and coffee are served two rooms over in the lounge) or anything else although I think you can get a glass of water if you do not want to get it in either the longue or the dining room. I am also one of only eight guests this evening, three of whom are women and cannot even enter the bar and another three are their husbands (and presumably would not leave them alone in the lounge so they could sit alone in the bar). The Gentlemen’s Bar waiter’s job this evening, as far as I can tell, was to stand for three hours in an empty bar (I was only there for twenty minutes) in case one of two men decided they wanted a glass of water from that room instead of one of the other two adjoining rooms.  Curiouser and curiouser as Alice said. </p> <p>As for the guests, almost all of them are British (three are academics with doctorates). One woman who stayed yesterday with her husband was born here during the Raj and says the club has not changed one bit since she remembered it as a young woman. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-vnGvDr0Gf1A/Ty54jQC5w4I/AAAAAAAAAtU/Pz6y1TJW5mc/s1600-h/High%252520Range%252520Club%252520Main%252520Room%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="High Range Club Main Room" border="0" alt="High Range Club Main Room" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-kefbyj1ac9k/Ty54lOvosEI/AAAAAAAAAtY/L_4ym8zvIPI/High%252520Range%252520Club%252520Main%252520Room_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="402" height="305" /></a> </p> <p>The grounds contain an English garden which is well laid out and has several gardeners looking after it. Tables are set up for afternoon tea so you can look out over the tea plantations of the Western Ghats at 4pm. Interestingly enough the tea served is CTC (cut, tear and curl method) instead of leaf! The huge tea estate of Kannan Devan Hills which now owns most of the tea estates (and the High Range Club) is the Tetley Tea of India. So although I am surrounded by tea bushes what I am drinking is the same as what is sold in every grocery store throughout India (only I suppose the tea in my pot might be fresher).  </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-PqxUMa4zIg0/Ty54pHVDVeI/AAAAAAAAAtc/cXTWFCwxMMY/s1600-h/High%252520Range%252520Club%252520III.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="High Range Club III" border="0" alt="High Range Club III" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-10jrgZGAlv4/Ty54rECNE3I/AAAAAAAAAtg/CV8-Nk4y80E/High%252520Range%252520Club%252520III_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="399" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>There are also clay tennis courts and a small golf course which one of the staff informed me was occupied yesterday morning by a wild elephant and her calf. He showed me the damage done to the green and the banana trees they destroyed before they wandered off. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-QH4v3lXVwlE/Ty54s0d2FAI/AAAAAAAAAtk/a0lWiroatNE/s1600-h/Munnar%252520Wild%252520Elephants%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Munnar Wild Elephants" border="0" alt="Munnar Wild Elephants" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-h3BY5ILUCsY/Ty54uZ0nvOI/AAAAAAAAAto/XphnALuwhlM/Munnar%252520Wild%252520Elephants_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="397" height="308" /></a> </p> <p>Covering the walls inside are faded portraits of long ago sporting events at the club including this strange photo of the ‘Masons verses Non-Masons Cricked Match. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-0ihx0eu_514/Ty54v2VPjFI/AAAAAAAAAts/CKH3yKx3tJ0/s1600-h/masons%252520vs%252520Non-Masons%252520Cricket%252520Match.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Masons vs Non-Masons Cricket Match" border="0" alt="Masons vs Non-Masons Cricket Match" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-bV9riRK5mmE/Ty54xaQ644I/AAAAAAAAAtw/RFN-jIRnfLc/masons%252520vs%252520Non-Masons%252520Cricket%252520Match_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="394" height="302" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-MAvTk52pdX4/Ty54y0bfUTI/AAAAAAAAAt0/dVTBFr4HS7I/s1600-h/English%252520Ruggers.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="English Ruggers" border="0" alt="English Ruggers" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2sKNQ0J5ByQ/Ty540dub7JI/AAAAAAAAAt4/05t4sOjdqNM/English%252520Ruggers_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="394" height="302" /></a> </p> <p>I thought the club would be a hard act to beat for Raj nostalgia. Little did I know about the parish church. When one of the managers asked what I did and found out I was an Anglican cleric he began to wax eloquently about the old Anglican parish church, now part of the Church of South India, and his membership there. He called the vicar who informed him he was leaving in ten minutes to go off somewhere. So the manager hurried me outside jumped on a small motorcycle and told me to climb on. The off we went whipping through the tea plantation as though there was a fire to get to, raced across the pedestrian bridge over the river (beeping at poor plantation workers with bundles of tea on their heads who had to jump out of our way) and up the side of a neighbouring mountain to Christ Church. Thus I made it just in time to shake hands with the Vicar, and say how nice it was to meet him before he had to cycle off.  The manager proudly showed off what was a truly atmospheric relic of the Raj – a neo-gothic English parish church set right in the middle of the Western Ghats! </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2Ivo0k2D1DE/Ty542Rup8aI/AAAAAAAAAt8/5mBkPV5qyA0/s1600-h/Christ%252520Church%25252C%252520Church%252520of%252520South%252520India.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Christ Church, Church of South India" border="0" alt="Christ Church, Church of South India" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-TGSMGBCcRTI/Ty5432TLtkI/AAAAAAAAAuA/JgmF0VUhTrw/Christ%252520Church%25252C%252520Church%252520of%252520South%252520India_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="395" height="306" /></a></p> <p>The church is filled with plaques dedicated to British tea planters </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-umVG0T9CpBA/Ty545d7s14I/AAAAAAAAAuE/EAnbkT0nSNA/s1600-h/British%252520Plaque%252520I%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="British Plaque I" border="0" alt="British Plaque I" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-u43IAAMxq94/Ty547GcrQNI/AAAAAAAAAuI/RcIrAZcKTdY/British%252520Plaque%252520I_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="394" height="304" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0N0u3PfID3w/Ty548792WEI/AAAAAAAAAuM/StJ0LfCkT4w/s1600-h/High%252520Range%252520Planter%252520Plaque.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="High Range Planter Plaque" border="0" alt="High Range Planter Plaque" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmclAVfYADDQlQKYrlzzS6-jfnCGpo1bO0H5BjcKYBYfA1wrnvC1CBrNYKHKj2_WD6VMtKOP7C-nlh-GE4X7-m6vZf5_6B6dsPSn5N8MI8YqIpvW4zuf3ZNASf6g3NlHsCwSflN5d-LoF/?imgmax=800" width="392" height="510" /></a> </p> <p>as well as the British clergy who served them. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-fVHvcG9_1WM/Ty55AObzhVI/AAAAAAAAAuU/M8DJdkBrwmw/s1600-h/High%252520Range%252520Priest.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="High Range Priest" border="0" alt="High Range Priest" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7wC_QKD1Hec/Ty55Bfoq3iI/AAAAAAAAAuY/ZLuOPTDCzSc/High%252520Range%252520Priest_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="395" height="303" /></a> </p> <p>There was one aspect of the Church that I was not used to – a group of four or five women in saris crouched on the Epistle side of the aisle on the floor or leaning onto chairs praying loudly and rhythmically in what I believe was Tamil.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/--J8G-q3KyLc/Ty55DMkPrDI/AAAAAAAAAuc/swV4pLzUxGI/s1600-h/Old%252520Photograph%252520of%252520the%252520Anglican%252520Parish%252520-%252520Note%252520the%252520Writing%252520on%252520the%252520Water%252520Filter%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Old Photograph of the Anglican Parish - Note the Writing on the Water Filter" border="0" alt="Old Photograph of the Anglican Parish - Note the Writing on the Water Filter" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-feg-DG519LQ/Ty55E3Iu0uI/AAAAAAAAAug/P_zbF1n3xkM/Old%252520Photograph%252520of%252520the%252520Anglican%252520Parish%252520-%252520Note%252520the%252520Writing%252520on%252520the%252520Water%252520Filter_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="396" height="307" /></a></p> <p>I was quite impressed by the addition of a clever full immersion tank onto the east side of the narthex to accommodate full immersion adult Baptism for those members of other denominations that formed the Church of South India.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ltdvIsHNY88/Ty55GzC5q_I/AAAAAAAAAuk/EyJDY-itjlM/s1600-h/Ingenious%252520Outdoor%252520Full%252520Immersion%252520Font%252520Attached%252520to%252520the%252520Outside%252520narthex%252520Wall.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Ingenious Outdoor Full Immersion Font Attached to the Outside narthex Wall" border="0" alt="Ingenious Outdoor Full Immersion Font Attached to the Outside narthex Wall" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8rqMTvfEuB8/Ty55Ik9QPoI/AAAAAAAAAuo/anC16HVbDJI/Ingenious%252520Outdoor%252520Full%252520Immersion%252520Font%252520Attached%252520to%252520the%252520Outside%252520narthex%252520Wall_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="395" height="302" /></a> </p> <p>The club and the church were still only prequels. I had yet to see the cemetery.   </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-erQAcj0V1aI/Ty55J6OLosI/AAAAAAAAAus/xCezV9jTme4/s1600-h/View%252520from%252520Cemetery.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="View from Cemetery" border="0" alt="View from Cemetery" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-HWdZF7PsdNE/Ty55LvFfVtI/AAAAAAAAAuw/ZYuM1o3X3nw/View%252520from%252520Cemetery_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="390" height="507" /></a> </p> <p>On the side of a steep mountain was a maze of paths that turned out to be the British cemetery. I was led up the labyrinthine paths to the very top where the English woman who gave the land for the church was buried. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-NiedCD0bP4w/Ty55NQ0o0EI/AAAAAAAAAu0/o2wr3wQpozI/s1600-h/Donar%252527s%252520Tomb%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Donar's Tomb" border="0" alt="Donar's Tomb" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-WfaC45woLAY/Ty55PA_5M8I/AAAAAAAAAu4/3DGtpBOnQ_Q/Donar%252527s%252520Tomb_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="389" height="300" /></a> </p> <p>Along the way we passed some of the most romantically placed graves I have ever seen against an absolutely magnificent background of mountains and lush ferns and forests. Although everything was dilapidated and many of the graves of the non-Europeans seemed to be sinking beneath a sea of ferns, I cannot imagine a more beautiful place to be laid to rest.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-VItJbaOuPdc/Ty55Qu-5kOI/AAAAAAAAAu8/kx7JYcccL0c/s1600-h/Cemetery%252520I%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Cemetery I" border="0" alt="Cemetery I" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-zEqmL380MUE/Ty55SfjIi7I/AAAAAAAAAvA/yHwgegSZPXs/Cemetery%252520I_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="387" height="298" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-iDMNxgoLV8I/Ty55UNj7PyI/AAAAAAAAAvE/HcqkvL0DP54/s1600-h/Cemetery%252520II%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Cemetery II" border="0" alt="Cemetery II" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-egbPgGVCp-k/Ty55Vy2o-4I/AAAAAAAAAvI/96S1uIXV3hg/Cemetery%252520II_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="388" height="304" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-cJMmhUALe9s/Ty55Xo5AAjI/AAAAAAAAAvM/lh7I_4nUt_k/s1600-h/Cemetery%252520III%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Cemetery III" border="0" alt="Cemetery III" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-d98ZxqjP7QE/Ty55Z1dHIfI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/WpegYFLhvtY/Cemetery%252520III_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="389" height="499" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-_XSgKEzX1yY/Ty55bjzIg4I/AAAAAAAAAvU/vRkUXZdKgRw/s1600-h/Cemetery%252520IV.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Cemetery IV" border="0" alt="Cemetery IV" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-baH3-1I13PA/Ty55d-_LW2I/AAAAAAAAAvY/TEahrGSVifw/Cemetery%252520IV_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="389" height="503" /></a> </p> <p>Thanks to my friend with the motorbike, I was back in time for afternoon tea where I was sheepishly approached by a members of staff (no doubt lured in by my O so British looking silk pocket handkerchief peeking out over the edge of my linen jacket pocket). Once he got going though there was no stopping him. He talked of the old days when the estate was run by the British and how well everything had been run then. He spoke of the ‘glory days’ of the club and then a chap was sent to fetch old photographs showing his father and uncles when they worked as managers on the estate. He seemed to still be angry about the last Englishman returning to England in 1976. </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-00nOldWD7-o/Ty55gHqVvpI/AAAAAAAAAvc/pwMRN_B-1oY/s1600-h/High%252520Range%252520Club%252520Employee.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="High Range Club Employee" border="0" alt="High Range Club Employee" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-KHzaO66tcLc/Ty55ht4PD2I/AAAAAAAAAvg/dh7KwFVBzs4/High%252520Range%252520Club%252520Employee_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="396" height="303" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Fg2HyjTRJkw/Ty55jg76fdI/AAAAAAAAAvk/VNvV-INtsXI/s1600-h/Tea%252520Estate%252520Managers%252520at%252520the%252520end%252520of%252520the%252520Raj.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Tea Estate Managers at the end of the Raj" border="0" alt="Tea Estate Managers at the end of the Raj" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-35pcXjIr9GI/Ty55lnZgXBI/AAAAAAAAAvo/IhAKd3vwtGU/Tea%252520Estate%252520Managers%252520at%252520the%252520end%252520of%252520the%252520Raj_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="397" height="304" /></a></p> <p></p> <p>My waiter was more interested in Anglicanism and different forms of Christianity. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Rp75nEoD-tQ/Ty55nHJHpII/AAAAAAAAAvs/B394n--aA88/s1600-h/High%252520Range%252520Club%252520Waiting%252520Staff.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="High Range Club Waiting Staff" border="0" alt="High Range Club Waiting Staff" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-J3npi7teS7Y/Ty55o2vohHI/AAAAAAAAAvw/jlR6NSQ3QyU/High%252520Range%252520Club%252520Waiting%252520Staff_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="392" height="506" /></a> </p> <p>At the end of the day I was unsure what to make of it all. I was touched by the loyalty to the past by those who still honoured it but felt awkward that what they were lamenting was actually the end of colonialism. </p> <p>I guess as far as the tea estates here go, the region was built up and the populace given an ongoing industry because the British brought tea plants and planted estates. Without them none of this would have existed. Perhaps I can tell myself that this is what they honour and pretend that colonialism and the lost Empire of the Raj have nothing to do with it. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-RyJH0hH7q74/Ty55qQEoKsI/AAAAAAAAAv0/pEDS4uMI0w8/s1600-h/British%252520Raj%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="British Raj" border="0" alt="British Raj" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Cf08oYKjB5s/Ty55sf9zDcI/AAAAAAAAAv4/gG9IGuC7_4w/British%252520Raj_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="523" /></a></p>Edw: vic. gen. et archid. Quebechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09203227088404690423noreply@blogger.com