I wish to ask these questions, steering clear of the factional
tussles in the church. Hope someone can answer these objectively.
Please do not use these questions to fling insults at each other.
The Patriarch of Antioch is the Spiritual Head of our Church, per
our constitution. We have not changed this constitution to date.
There were valid reasons for the people who drafted the constitution
to have it this way. We remember this shepherd in our Qurbana. So
what are the expectations from the Spiritual Head? What are our
duties towards him?
The spiritual matters in Malankara are decided by the Holy Synod in
Malankara. The Synod is presided over by the Catholicose of the
East. Is there a provision to have the Patriarch preside over the
Synod in a situation where the Patriarch is available, especially if
a spiritual matter is being deliberated on? If so, can we create an
ocassion for the Patriarch to come and preside over such a Synod? I
am sure there are several matters of spiritual concern to be
deliberated on by the church in the recent future.
Does the Patriarch consider himself as the Spiritual Head of the
Malankara Church?(what some may wish to call the "Metran faction")If
we send such an invitation as above will HH accept it and come to
India to preside over the Synod?
What other ways can the spiritual lordship over the Church be
exercised by the Patriarch? At a minimum, perhaps the Patriarch can
be invited over to celebrate the Holy Qurbana and lead the Qurbana
assisted by the Catholicose of the East once in a while?
When we say the Patriarch is the Spiritual Head -- what do we mean?
When we say HH is the First among equals -- what all can we do to
make HH and the church realise and understand that we mean it.
(I am not unaware of the ugly happenings due to the factional unrest
in Kerala and elsewhere. My only thought now is, whichever side you
are on does not matter, just ensure that you pray earnestly from
there, do not let these matters lose focus. My thought was if we
start atleast thinking in terms of the above, it may help heal some
of the wounds. We often think of what the Patriarch could have done
to help matters, maybe we can also think of what we can do)
Regards,
Mathew Samuel,
Albany, NY.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/12419
tussles in the church. Hope someone can answer these objectively.
Please do not use these questions to fling insults at each other.
The Patriarch of Antioch is the Spiritual Head of our Church, per
our constitution. We have not changed this constitution to date.
There were valid reasons for the people who drafted the constitution
to have it this way. We remember this shepherd in our Qurbana. So
what are the expectations from the Spiritual Head? What are our
duties towards him?
The spiritual matters in Malankara are decided by the Holy Synod in
Malankara. The Synod is presided over by the Catholicose of the
East. Is there a provision to have the Patriarch preside over the
Synod in a situation where the Patriarch is available, especially if
a spiritual matter is being deliberated on? If so, can we create an
ocassion for the Patriarch to come and preside over such a Synod? I
am sure there are several matters of spiritual concern to be
deliberated on by the church in the recent future.
Does the Patriarch consider himself as the Spiritual Head of the
Malankara Church?(what some may wish to call the "Metran faction")If
we send such an invitation as above will HH accept it and come to
India to preside over the Synod?
What other ways can the spiritual lordship over the Church be
exercised by the Patriarch? At a minimum, perhaps the Patriarch can
be invited over to celebrate the Holy Qurbana and lead the Qurbana
assisted by the Catholicose of the East once in a while?
When we say the Patriarch is the Spiritual Head -- what do we mean?
When we say HH is the First among equals -- what all can we do to
make HH and the church realise and understand that we mean it.
(I am not unaware of the ugly happenings due to the factional unrest
in Kerala and elsewhere. My only thought now is, whichever side you
are on does not matter, just ensure that you pray earnestly from
there, do not let these matters lose focus. My thought was if we
start atleast thinking in terms of the above, it may help heal some
of the wounds. We often think of what the Patriarch could have done
to help matters, maybe we can also think of what we can do)
Regards,
Mathew Samuel,
Albany, NY.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/12419
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