The Annual Delhi Malankara Catholic Association (DMCA) Christmas was conducted on Sunday 10th January 2016. All the parishes from Delhi participated the programme and performed individual presentation for 15 minutes each. This presentation included skit, mime, carol songs etc. The gathering concluded with the solemn meeting which was chaired by H.E. Jacob Mar Barnabas. The chief guest for the day was Jewish Rabbi Ezekiel, Isaac Malekar. The Honourable MLA of the constituency Shri. Kartar Singh also graced the occasion. The Vicar General Rt. Rev. Fr. John Kochuthundil, along with reverend priests, sisters and lay leaders were present for the occasion. Approximately 500 members from the parishes of Delhi gathered for the occasion which concluded with the dinner.
Pope Francis erects new Syro Malankara Eparchy in USA, Canada
Pope Francis on Monday erected the Syro-Malankara Eparchy of St. Mary, Queen of Peace, of the United States and Canada, nominating Bishop Thomas Mar Eusebius Naickamparambil as its first Bishop.
The Eparchy consists of 11,500 faithful, especially in the US states of Illinois, Texas, Michigan, Florida, New York, and Washington, D.C., served by 19 priests in 19 parishes or missions. Three women religious Institutes also operate within the Eparchy’s territory.
This new Ecclesiastical circumscription is created by the elevation of the Apostolic Exarchate for the Syro-Malankara faithful resident in the United States, including the extension of the boundaries to include Canada, where the pastoral care of the faithful has been coordinated most recently by His Excellency, Thomas Mar Eusebios Naickamparambil in his capacity as Apostolic Visitator.
The Eparchy’s seat will be at St. Vincent de Paul Malankara Catholic Cathedral in Elmont, New York.
Eparchies in the Eastern Church are equivalent to Dioceses in the Western Church, and Eparchs are equivalent to Bishops. The title Exarch is used to refer to an Eastern-rite Bishop who is responsible for the pastoral care of a territory where there is no formally established Eparchy, and an Apostolic Visitator is someone who is appointed by the Pope to officially visit with the faithful in a given territory where he himself is not resident.
The Papal Bull to this effect was read by Cleemis Bava about 2 hours ago in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Pattom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBtjcBzOxWY
Mar Eusebius makes the announcement in USA
In all, the Syro Malankara Catholic Church has 10 Eparchys and an Exarchate today. The Eparchy of USA is the first outside of India.
The installation ceremony of Bishop Thomas Mar Eusebius as the first Bishop of the Diocese will be held towards the end of this month.
Curriculum vitae
Bishop Thomas Mar Eusebius Naickamparambil was born in Mylapra in the Major Archieparchy of Trivandrum on 6 June 1961 and
- ordained a priest on 29 December 1986.
- After completing his studies in Philosophy and Theology at Jnanadeepa in Poona, Bishop Mar Eusebius obtained his Doctorate in Philosophy in Rome.
- He was entrusted with the following responsibilities:
- Associate Pastor and Pastor of various communities,
- Professor and then Dean of Philosophy at Saint Mary’s Malankara Major Seminary,
- Secretary General of the Major Archepiscopate of the Syro-Malankara Church,
- Public Relations Officer,
- Coordinator of inter-religious dialogue and Secretary of the Presbyteral Council,
- Director of the Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, a school in Trivandrum and treasurer for the Mar Baselios Engineering College.
- On 14 July 2010 Pope Benedict XVI nominated him Titular Bishop of Lares and the first Exarch of the Exarchate for the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in the USA and Apostolic Visitator to Canada and Europe.
Bishop Thomas Mar Eusebius speaks Malayalam, English, German, Italian, Hindi and he has a working knowledge of Syrian, Greek and French.
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, recently called the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church ‘a bridge to unity’.
In Malayalam
അമേരിക്കയിലെ മലങ്കര കത്തോലിക്കാ എക്സാർക്കേറ്റ് പുതിയ ഭദ്രാസനമായി ഉയർത്തി.നിലവിലെ എക്സാർക്കേറ്റ് അദ്ധ്യക്ഷൻ ബിഷപ്പ് ഡോ.തോമസ് മാർ യൗസേബിയോസിനെ പുതിയ ഭദ്രാസന അധ്യക്ഷനായീനിയമിച്ചു. ഫ്രാൻസിസ് മാർപാപ്പായുടെ നിയമന കല്പന തിരുവനന്തപുരത്ത് സഭയുടെ ആസ്ഥാനമായ കാതോലിക്കേറ്സെൻററിൽ കർദ്ദിനാൾ മാർ ബസേലിയോസ് ക്ലീമീസ് കാതോലിക്കാ ബാവയാണ് അറിയിച്ചത്.ഇതോടെ മലങ്കര കത്തോലിക്കാ സഭക്ക് 10 ഭദ്രാസനങ്ങളും ഒരു എക്സാർക്കേറ്റുമായി .ഇന്ത്യക്കു പുറത്തുള്ള സഭയുടെ പ്രഥമ ഭദ്രാസനമാണിത്.പുതിയ ഭദ്രാസനത്തിന്റെ ഉൽഘാടനം ജനുവരി അവസാനവാരത്തിൽ അമേരിക്കയിൽ വച്ച് നടക്കും
Malankara Social Service Society becomes a member of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) initiative
The United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) aligns academic and research institutions with the UN and encourages collaboration among such institutions. Nearly 80 Indian institutions, including IITs are members of UNAI. In a statement made in Kerala, Malankara Social Service Society (MSSS) director Fr Bovas Mathew said that MSSS is the first social service organisation from India to be made a member.
The membership will enable MSSS to collaborate and exchange ideas with organisations across the globe on poverty eradication and sustainable development. The 55th anniversary celebrations of MSSS and a ‘Karmolsav’ will be inaugurated on Tuesday. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien will inaugurate a public meeting in connection with the event on January 11.
Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholicos will preside over the function. Mayor V K Prasanth will be the chief guest on the occasion. The MSSS was started in 1960 by Archbishop Benedict Mar Gregorios. Over the decades, the organisation has undertaken various projects. At present, it is an official implementation agency for the National Rural Livelihood Mission under the Rural Development Ministry. More recently, it was through the MSSS that the Thiruvananthapuram Major Archdiocese sent water consignments to flood ravaged Chennai.
Cleemis Bava, the chief guest at the 139th Mannam Jayanthi celebrations said Hinduism has a rich heritage of protecting the minority communities
Indicating that intolerance is not part of Hinduism, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholicos, head of the Syro-Malankara Church, has said Hinduism has a rich heritage of protecting the minority communities even before its protection was documented in the Constitution.
Cardinal Cleemis was speaking after inaugurating the public meeting held as part of the 139th Mannam Jayanthi celebrations at NSS headquarters at Perunna on Saturday.
According to Mar Cleemis, Christians and minorities were protected by the Hindu Society even before the Constitution, police and military system were in place, which is the heritage of Hinduism. “When Constitution came into being, it was formally documented. It was the richness of this culture that helped our predecessors lead their lives in this soil since the first century. In today’s peculiar situation, society expects the continuation of the culture. The historically important visions of the NSS will give it a fresh life” said Cleemis Bava.
Mar Cleemis expressed concern over the growing factionalism and said it would jeopardise the country. “Pluralism is the culture and heritage of our country” said Bava.
Mar Cleemis hailed the NSS for the stance taken to protect secularism and democracy. “The strength of the NSS is that it moves ahead without deviating from the visions of its founder leader. It still keeps in mind the vision of Mannath Padmanabhan that the activities of its community should not harm other communities” he said. Though Mannam was not a full-time politician, he didn’t hesitate to intervene in politics whenever the situation warranted. “At the same time, he had never used his community for political whims and fancies” Mar Cleemis said.
In his speech, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the call against saffronisation by NSS general secretary G. Sukumaran Nair was received warmheartedly by the entire secular forces in the State. The nation was passing through a difficult period where the decision as to what to eat and wear was decided by others. The vision of Mannathu Padmanabhan was timeless and more relevant today, he said.
Archeparchy of Tiruvalla celebrated Christmas with praise for the stars
The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church has celebrated Christmas with a difference in Tiruvalla by honouring people from different walks of life who have been doing praiseworthy service to society for the past several years.
Presiding over the function, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Tiruvalla, Thomas Mar Koorilos, said the initiative of the Church came in the backdrop of the Pope declaring the year a special Jubilee Year of Mercy, The Hindu reported.
Pope Francis called on Catholics around the world to use the ongoing Jubilee Year of Mercy to open wide the doors of their hearts to forgive others and to work against social exclusion, even of those that may have caused them bother or upset, the Archbishop said.
A Jubilee year is a special year called by the Catholic church to receive blessing and pardon from God and remission of sins.
Problems of society
The problems of the society must be resolved with the oil of mercy and not with weapons and taking this into account, the Church thought of honouring people who have been contributing to the work of mercy in and around Tiruvalla as part of this year’s Christmas celebrations, the Archbishop said.
Kanmani, a differently abled girl who does exquisite paintings with her legs; Jayaprakash who draws beautiful pictures with his artificial limbs; Maneesh Susan Philip who got this year’s Presidential Award for best self-employment undertaking; Suresh from Kottoor who took part in the Special Olympics held in Los Angeles; Dr Jayakumar, Cario-thoracic surgeon who has done the first successful heart transplant at the Kottayam Government Medical College; Lalan the saviour of destitutes in Central Travancore; Rev A.C. Kurien, Senior Vicar General of the Mar Thoma Chruch who has been doing praiseworthy palliative care service at the Pushpagiri Medical College; Fr Ignatius Thangalathil and Fr Philip Valiakavumkal who run a chain of care homes; Sr. Mercilit who runs a special school with over 100 students; and heads of the Red Cross Society, Satyam Ministries were among those who have been honoured at the function.
Joseph Marthoma, Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Church; Kuriakose Mar Gregorios, Bishop Thomas Samuel of the Church of South India, and Blessy, film-maker, were among those who addressed the function.
New General Administrative Body for Bethany Sisters (SIC)
The 11th Ordinary General Synaxis of the Congregation for the Sisters of Imitation of Christ (Bethany Sisters), held from 19 to 26 December 2015, elected the following members as the new General Administrative Body:
Rev. Mother Little Flower SIC Superior General
Rev. Sr. Ardra SIC Assistant General
Rev. Sr. Thejus SIC General Councillor
Rev. Sr. Shanthi SIC General Councillor
Rev. Sr. Vineetha SIC General Councillor & Secretary General
Rev. Sr. Ashish SIC Procurator General
BJP State president Kummanam Rajasekharan calls on Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholicos
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president Kummanam Rajasekharan called on Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholicos at his official residence here on Thursday.
Mr. Rajasekharan told Cardinal Cleemis that he called on him to seek his blessings before starting the organisational activities in full swing. They had closed door discussions and also had lunch. BJP leaders S. Suresh, Chempazanthy Udayan and Dany J. Paul accompanied the party’s State president.
Mr. Rajasekharan later told reporters that he shared a warm camaraderie with the Cardinal and it was he who played a pivotal role to set the stage for discussions between Hindu and Christian leaders in Kochi. The BJP president called for open discussions on all issues.
Syro Malankara Dallas celebrates Christmas and inauguration of year long Silver Jubilee
The Christmas celebration of the St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic Parish, Dallas was presided over by His Excellency Dr. Thomas Mar Eusebius during his pastoral visit to the parish. After the solemn liturgy of the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord at 7.00 pm on December 24, His Excellency inaugurated the year long celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the founding of the Malankara Catholic community in Dallas. During the occasion, some senior members of the parish, whose selfless service and contributions were instrumental in the founding and growth of community, were acknowledged by His Excellency. Rev. Fr. Joseph Nedumankuzhiyil, the Pastor of the parish, organized the events of the day.
Christmas Celebrations at Neb-Sarai, Delhi
The Christmas celebration for the Non-Formal Education program under the aegis of Prachodana Social Service Society on 24 December 2015. The gathering took place at the premises of the Bishop’s house Residence at Neb Sarai, New Delhi and included approximately 100 children who stay nearby and have no access to proper school education. Some of their parents also participated. The neighbors of the Bishop’s house joined the gathering. The program included Christmas cake cutting, Action songs and Dance by the Children and distribution of winter clothes and refreshments.
Saint Thomas Cakes for charity as X’mas bells ring
Yuletide spirit takes a full swing in city with decorations, baking special cakes, singing and dancing. But few have chosen to bake for charity and spread smiles on faces of many deprieved ones. St Thomas Malankara Syrian Catholic church, Arera Hills, have started a service “cake for charity” under their Prachodana Social Service Society, where they are providing traditional plum cakes for the community as well as other cake lovers in Bhopal. “We have got 700 kgs of traditional plum cakes made by the members of the church, which are available at reasonable prices in weights of 1kg and half kilograms. All the fund that will be raised from these cakes will be used for charity works like education of underprivileged students, and for homeless people,” told Father Daniel Kuzhithadathil Corepiscopo. This is for the first time any church in the city has started a service for cakes and using the funds for charity.
“We use to have this service for charity among traditional Christmas cake lovers in New Delhi. Since, I shifted to Bhopal this year, I decided to begin this service here too,” said Father Daniel. Along with the every year traditional celebrations of Christmas at St Thomas Church, this activity has added to the enthusiasm of members who are happily busy in packing and managing cakes for all. The cakes are known by the name of “St Thomas Cakes”.”This is for the first time that we are having this cake service and we are excited to reach as many people with our traditional, spiced plum cakes for Christmas.
Source: Times of India
