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11, Issue 2

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FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

Cover Photo: Design by Lal Varghese, Esq., Dallas

CONTENTS

1. Editorial: What Does God Require of the Kerala

Christian Diaspora Dr. Zac Varghese Page 04

2. O God, Help, Scatter My People Dr. John Samuel Page 07

3. My story-Part-2 Dr. Titus Mathew Page 09

4. Accompanied by the Spirit Revd Dr. Geomon George Page 11

5. Humility, an Ancient but most important value Dr. Chinnamma Baines Page 13

6. Malayalee Christian Diaspora in New Zealand: Mrs. Elizabeth Minoo Thomas Page 15

7. A Christian Diaspora Experience Dr. John K. Thomas Page 18

8. Beyond Diaspora: Integration or Disintegration Lal Varghese, Esq. Page 19

9. Who Are You? Part-2 Revd Dr. Valson Thampu Page 22

10. Obituary: Fr. Kuncheria Pathil Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph Page 24

11. Diaspora Community, … A Christian Paradigm Dr. George K. Zachariah Page 25

12. The Story of a U. S. Migrant: Dr. T. M. Thomas Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph Page 26

13. FOCUS Movement in 2003 For the International Committee Page 29

14. The Syrian Christian Diaspora Teachers in Africa Prof. Philip Koshi Page 32

15. Book Review Dr. Cherian Samuel Page 35

16. The man on the cross (Poem) Dr. Zac Varghese Pate 36

17. The Scattered Missionaries (Poem) Prof. Elias Abraham Page 37

18. Jesus asks: “Tell me, who do People say I am?” Rev. John T. Mathew Page 39

19. Kerala Christian Diaspora: A Stocktaking Dr. Cherian Samuel Page 41

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Editorial
What Does God Require of the Kerala Christian Diaspora?

The Israelites after their exodus from Egypt and wander- tions. But the core belief in Jesus Christ is the same, He
ing in the wilderness for 40 years finally reached the is our saviour and He sacrificed His life for our salvation.
banks of the river Jordan and looked across the Promised “Jesus Christ is same yesterday and today and forever”
Land. At that important moment in their covenantal rela- (Heb 13:8).
tionship with God and history, Moses put a question to
St. Peter speaks of the Church not as a building or a tra-
the Israelites: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your
dition but being made from ‘living stones’: “As you come
God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in
to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen
obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your
by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones,
God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to ob-
are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priest-
serve the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving
hood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
you today for your own good?” (Deut10: 12-13).
through Jesus Christ” 1Peter 2:4-5). St. Peter continues:
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy
Centuries later we hear, Micah asking a similar question
nation, a people to be his very own and to proclaim the
to the Israelites: "What does God require of you?"(Micah
wonderful deeds of the one who called you out of dark-
6:8). Micah asked this question to the Israelites when
ness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). The Christian
Assyrians destroyed Samaria in 722 BCE. This question is
Church is expected to be an at-one-ment community.
relevant to us today because the world is facing unsur-
The Church is also considered as a body of Christ (1 Cor
mountable problems, such as the COVID-19 pandemic,
12; 25; Eph1:22-23). Being part of a Church, a faith com-
war in Ukraine, ego-centric politicians, violent religious
munity, is an important part of the life of a Christian. It is
zealots, millions and millions of refugees, devastating
an opportunity to meet other believers (koinonia) and pray
poverty, and escalating inflation. Even for the G20 group
together and to praise and thank God, walk in obedience
of nations, the burden of debt is frightening. Climate
to God, to love God and serve him wholeheartedly. It is
change, the decline in bio-diversity, destruction flora and
also a place where Christians grow in their knowledge
fauna and their consequences threaten the homeostasis
and understanding of God and His love for humanity. But
(natural balance) and destabilise the natural order. Under
just going to Church or taking up membership of a
these circumstances, it is easy to fall into despair and
Church does not make anyone a Christian. We should
have a sense of hopelessness. However, when we grate-
never forget that the love of God in Christ Jesus is for the
fully remember in our quiet contemplation, what Lord has
whole world. Faith in Jesus Christ and having an ‘in
done for Kerala Christian community in our diasporic ex-
Christ’ abiding experience is the hallmark of a Christian.
istence, as we learnt from the testimonies of various au-
St. John describes this relationship beautifully: “I am the
thors in the January issue of this journal, we should be
vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in
able to draw comfort, encouragement and hope to face
you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
these difficulties under the grace of God. Therefore, it is
nothing” (Jn 15: 5). Here is a real experience of a poet,
indeed a time to think silently about the question of what
Frederick Buechner wrote: “A Christian is one who points
God require of us as a diaspora community. Before we
at Christ and says, ‘I cannot prove a thing, but there is
reflect on this question, let us think briefly about our iden-
something about His eyes and His voice. There is some-
tity as Christians.
thing about the way He carries His head, His hands, the
way He carries His cross – the way He carries me.”
Who is a Christian?
A Christian is a child of God, created in the image of God, What is that God require?
with an indomitable honour of being a child of God, and God expect us to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ
one who has the privilege to have a new life in Jesus because of His love for the Whole world in Christ Jesus.
Christ. St. Paul wrote: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, In St. John’s gospel we read: “For God so loved the world
the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
here! . . . We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). Je-
though God was making his appeal through us. We im- sus did not come to abolish the 613 laws prescribed by
plore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God Moses and the prophets of the Old Testaments (OT), but
made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him to fulfil them. In that process, He condensed them into
we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:17- two laws for us to obey: “Love the Lord your God with all
21). The Christian faith crosses all boundaries of culture, your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
ethnicity, class, and nationality. More than two billion This is the first and greatest commandment. And the se-
people across the world claim themselves as Christians. cond is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself. All the
People express their Christian faith in different ways, Law and the Prophets hang on these two command-
which is why there are over 40,000 different denomina- ments” (Mt 22:37-40). This does not require any intellec-

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tual explanation; it is simple, but hard to practice daily in us to examine our lives and see whether we are living ac-
the realities of our diasporic existence. We are also ex- cording to God’s expectations of us in these three areas.
pected to equip one another in our diasporic community
to do God’s work as His ambassadors. Representing our 1. What does it mean to act justly?
God of love to others is a very responsible activity be- God’s justice is universal and it is one of the kingdom
cause we are expected to be God’s letter to the world; values. It is not about writing and talking about justice or
we are letters of God that the people read. Therefore, liv- to make other people to act justly. We often tell other
ing as a Diaspora Christian, according to the will of God, people how to practice justice and act rightly in various
is not easy. life situations. Responsible governments have an inalien-
able duty to provide distributive and retributive justice.
As members of Kerala Christian diaspora, we should re- Jesus was not teaching about ‘an eye for an eye or a
member that our God is just, faithful, and loving; it is be- tooth for a tooth’ type of justice. Jesus asked us to put on
cause of God’s faithfulness and love and we were able to the attitude of the Beatitudes (Mt 5: 3:2-12) and love our
leave countries of our birth; God has brought us to new neighbours as ourselves. Jesus also added that it was not
places (countries) with a specific purpose. Seeking this good enough that we love our neighbours, but we must
God-given purpose should be the beginning of our life love our enemies as well: “But I tell you, love your ene-
mies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may
within the constraints of an alien community. In our new
be children of your Father in heaven” (Mt 5:43-48). Jesus’
diasporic life, we are expected to act justly, love others as
teachings call us to inspect our own lives to do what is
we love ourselves, and to live according to the will of God right. Sometimes, what is right is not what is easy or de-
for establishing God’s kingdom values. Dr. George Zach- sirable. Sometimes, to do the right thing we have to put
arias’ article in this issue, a voice from the past, is a re- aside our own desires and “think of others more highly
mainder of this truth. This fact is also reflected in the than ourselves” (Rom 12:3). This is love in action: doing
commentary of Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph on Late Professor good for others, giving them justice. An example of this
Dr. T. M. Thomas. can be found in the mission outreach of O. C. Abraham,
Nirmala Abraham and their fellow-workers in their en-
The Book of Micah is very relevant to our diasporic reali- gagements with Native American Indian Communities in
ties. In this book, we see the Israelites forgetting their loy- Alabama and in Dulac, Louisiana. The Mexican mission of
alties and duty to God. Instead of punishing them, God the Mar Thoma Church is also worthy of our considera-
showed them mercy and gave them the hope for expect- tion. Such acts of justice that Jesus spoke of will make a
ing a ‘Shepherd - King’ from Bethlehem to restore His positive influence on providing justice impartially
covenantal community. The Israelites had broken their throughout the world.
covenant with God at numerous times and Micah is ask-
ing them to defend themselves before God. In the end, 2. Loving God
there is absolutely no defence for the faithlessness of His People of all religions seek favours and benefits from God
people. Despite the unfaithful, rebellious nature of the and it is just seeking ‘benefit without a relationship,’ it is
Israelites, God remains faithful and just. I am sure that the need-love as mentioned before. Our relationship with
each of us has similar experiences of the faithfulness of a God should be rooted in our constant self-less love for
loving Fatherly God. Him. As children of God and as created in the image of
God, we must have that self-less unconditional love for
What God requires from us is not outward expressions of our creator within our being. We are expected to love
religiosity and piety. God desires holiness in our lives and God in every moment second of our lives; it is to express
our relationship with others. We often seek ‘benefit with- our loyalty and faithfulness to God. Jesus told His disci-
out relationship.’ C. S. Lewis1 thinks of this as need- love. ples that it is by their love for one another that we world
Most of the time we express our love for others in terms would know that they are his disciples (Jn 13:35).
of benefits that can be obtained from such interactions.
Even in our prayers we simply express our needs; our Love is not a walk in the park; Queen Ellizabeth II said,
worship, and other expressions of piety are for obtaining “Pain is the price we pay for love.” Sheldon Vanauken’s
various needs from God. This need-love should be con- book2 ‘A severe Mercy’ is an amazing true love story. In
trasted with the gif-love of God. God desires our self-less the end, it became a love triangle involving them and
love and not outward expressions of fake dramatic ex- God. It is the untimely death of Vanauken’s beloved wife,
pressions of faith with a’ born-again’ zeal stamped on the Davy, made C. S. Lewis tell him: “You have been treated
forehead. God desires a relationship with us, not a ‘white with a severe mercy (title of the book). You have been
washed’ hypocritic- expression of faith and obedience. brought to see that you have been jealous of God. So,
from US you have been brought to US and God; it re-
In the text I quoted in the beginning from Micah, and the mains to go on to US and God.” Davy’s death was God’s
question I raised about what God does require of our di- severe mercy and love, “a mercy as severe as death, a
aspora community, God gives three answers: act justly, severity as merciful as love.” They realized the triangle of
love mercy, and walk humbly with God. It is up to each of love and jealousy involving two of them and God. They in

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the end realized they cannot just live for themselves. They Conclusion
were made for God and in God for their neighbours. This Jesus is inviting us to walk with him in humility and to be
is the true need of our diasporic existence; it is only by part of a faith community without walls. Faith is friend-
unselfishly loving one another within our community and ship, and love is living within the life of ‘the other’, and
outside the restricted boundaries of culture and traditions ‘the other’ is a gift from God. Let us accept ourselves for
that the world will know that we are Christians and we are who we are, we are the children of God. Accept ‘others’
true disciples an ambassador of Jesus. This is the answer around us as God’s gift to us. Experience the joy of bring-
that Chrysostom Thirumeni was expecting to the question ing new friends into Kerala Christian diaspora community
that he put to the participants of the FOCUS seminar in and into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Let me
2003, “Will the diaspora community ever become the lo- conclude with George Mac Donald’s poem:
cal community?”
“What God may hereafter require of you,
3. Walking humbly with God you must not give yourself the least trouble about.
The third answer to Micah’s question is to walk humbly Everything He gives you to do,
with God. Humility is the most desirable quality of life. you must do as well as ever you can.
That is the best possible preparation
Pride destroys our God-given personhood. There is a
for what He may want you to do next.
Malayalam proverb: “Thana nillathe neeru odu, aviday If people would but do what they have to do,
Daivam Thuna cheyu.” It means, water follows from a they would always find themselves ready for what came next.”
higher to a lower level, God’s blessing reaches out to
humble people. In this issue of the FOCUS, we are Most importantly, the members of the editorial board of
blessed with an article from Mrs. Chinnamma Baines on the FOCUS are very grateful to Mrs. Nirmala Abraham for
the theme of humility. In the ‘Beatitudes’ we read: agreeing to join the editorial board of the FOCUS. Mrs.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Mt Nirmala Abraham and her husband Mr. O. C. Abraham
5:3). Humility is not virtue signalling; humility is not false and their family are early settlers in the USA and contrib-
piety or self-pitying. To be meek or humble means to uted much to various stages of the growth of the Mar
express goodwill toward other people; it means to show Thoma Church (MTC) Diocese of North America and
reverence to God; it means our total dependence on God Europe. Their contributions to various mission activities of
and admitting our vulnerabilities. William Barclay3 de- the Diocese are very significant, especially the ‘Native
scribes meekness as “the willingness to accept the guid- American Indian Mission and the Mexico Mission.’ She
ance of God and the providence of God, and never grow has given exemplary leadership to women’s causes,
resentful and bitter about anything which life may bring ecumenism, also by representing women in the Sabha
and have the certainty that God’s way is always the best Mandalam, the Sabha Council and the General Assembly
and that God is always working all things together for of the World Council of Churches, as a member of the
good.” St. Paul confirms this: “And we know in all things MTC. We thank God for her presence in the editorial
God works for the good of those who love him. Who have board of the FOCUS, which will be a blessing for the FO-
been called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). CUS family.

The former Archbishop of York, Stewart Blanch,4 quotes Finally, I sincerely thank all our contributors of the two
Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the following way about Beatitude: issues of the FOCUS on the theme ‘Kerala Christian Di-
“The meek renounce every right of their own and live for aspora’ on behalf of the editorial board. May God Contin-
the sake of Jesus Christ. When reproached they hold ue to bless everyone with the riches of God’s kingdom,
their peace, when treated with violence they endure it and keep you safe.
patiently, when men drive them from their presence, they
yield their ground. . . They are determined to leave their References:
right to God alone. . . But Jesus says ‘that they shall in- 1. C. S. Lewis, ‘The Four Loves,’ Fount paperbacks,
herit the earth.’ To those powerless and disenfranchised, 1977, ISBN 0 00 620799-5 page 19.
the very earth belongs. Those who now possess it by vio- 2. Sheldon Vanauken, ‘A Severe Mercy,’ Harper and
lence and injustice shall lose it and those who here have Row, New York,1977, ISBN 78 79 80 81 82 10 98
utterly renounced it, who are meek to the point of the 765, pages 209-210.
cross, shall rule the earth.” Jesus told His disciples that it 3. William Barclay. ‘The Beatitude and the Lord’s
is by their love for one another that we world would know prayer for Everyman,’ Harper Collins, 1975, ISBN
that they are his disciples (Jn 13:35). Many conflicts in 00 606 03933, page 38-39
our Churches are the result of people wanting what they 4. Lord Stewart Blanch, ‘The Way of Blessedness,’
want or trying to control the outcome of something for Hodder and Stoughton,1985, ISBN 0 340 34643
personal benefits. We must be very careful to live the way 4, page 117-118.
God wants us to live – to live humbly, to live faithfully, and
to live obediently to our Father in Heaven. Dr. Zac Varghese
For the Editorial Board

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O God, Help, Scatter My People
Dr. John Samuel*

The Mar Thoma Church germinated in the 19th century due course more and more people started arriving. Hence
revival in the Malankara Church of Kerala, is stamping its the facilities for worship had to be expanded and as part
presence in all the continents, as it approaches the bicen- of this one Mr. V.E. Joseph was ordained in 1947. There-
tenary year. Though the roots of revival could be traced by the activities of the Church progressed considerably
back to 17th century, it was an upsurge of our forefathers with the establishment of more communities. In 1952 a
who participated in the act of God incarnated in Jesus Church building with parsonage was constructed in Kaula
Christ as revealed in the Bible. Hence it was quite natural Lumpur and in 1953 at Singapore and later in Clang. By
and inevitable that they continued the mission entrusted 1958 a school with an auditorium was established in Sin-
with the Apostles and early disciples of Jesus to proclaim gapore and the Church flourished very well. But the gov-
the Gospel and witness unto the uttermost part of the ernment-imposed restrictions in 1970 on the renewal of
world. Abraham Mar Thoma who served the Church for work permits; and thus, many of the emigrants lost their
three decades (1917-47) as Episcopa and later as Metro- jobs. This resulted in an exodus of diaspora community
politan during the interim period between the two world and in the closure of small congregations in Malaysia.
wars, discerned with farsightedness the possibilities in Thus, today the Diocese of Singapore - Malayasia - Aus-
the midst of the perils and ruins of the wars. Thus, he of- tralia - New Zealand together comprises of only 26 par-
fered a prayer to God at the 1920 Maramon Convention: ishes. The present diaspora Marthomites are the fourth or
"O God help my people to scatter to different lands.'' It fifth generations.
was a genuine and honest prayer from his heart; and his
vision is being realized even today. Diaspora in North America

Mar Thoma emigrants The Mar Thoma Diaspora in the continent of North Ameri-
ca is different from that of other lands. The emigrants to
The emigrants of Mar Thoma Church worldwide can gen- this region were initially students. The first such student
erally be categorized into three classes. First, those who was Deacon N.M. Abraham, who sought admission dur-
moved from old Travancore-Cochin area to other parts of ing 1912-14 in Wycliff College in Canada for his master’s
India in search of living and employment. This group in- degree; and later he became Abraham Mar Thoma. The
cluded those who had migrated to British Malabar area next person to follow him was K.K. Kuruvilla who joined
and owned cultivable lands and became agriculturists. It Hartford seminary in 1920 for his post-graduate studies.
is believed that the first organized community of Mar- He was the first principal of Mar Thoma Theological Sem-
thomites was established at Madras in 1915. Second, inary, Kottayam.
those who migrated to Malaysia in search of jobs and for
citizenship particularly after the first World war; and later The next phase of emigrants was the educated people
in 1965 onwards to North America, Britain, and Australia. who arrived in North America for employment. This migra-
A third group was those who were to stay as immigrants tion was spurred up by the liberal changes in immigration
in countries like Arabian Gulf and Africa for employment, laws in 1956. Thus, the migration increased considerably
knowing that they will have to return to homeland one and diaspora communities sprang up in many cities. It is
day. worth noticing that the laymen in these cities took initia-
tive to organize themselves as groups for prayer and wor-
First diaspora community ship and which later was converted as parishes. In 1976,
It was in Malayan archipelago that the first Mar Thoma the first such parish was established at Greater New
community took shape outside India. The first founder York. The prayer group started by Rev. Abraham Lincoln
member was one Mr. K.C. George who arrived in 1911 in Trinity College chapel during his studies at Wycliff Col-
and later he became very popular as an expert in Planta- lege during 1972-'75 became a congregation in 1978 at
tion and Rubber industry. Followed by him, by 1935 more Toronto, Canada. The ordained persons who migrated for
Marthomites arrived and the number increased consider- higher studies were the vicars initially. Followed by these,
ably until the Malaysian government changed the laws in more and more congregations were established in various
1953. cities with unprecedented growth. And now the present
diaspora community comprises of second or third gener-
A formal worship service was started at Clang Jubilee ations. About three decades back, the North America-
School in 1927. A vicar could be appointed only by 1936 Europe diocese was set up to cover the present 86 par-
due to restrictions on Work permit. Very Rev. T. N. Koshy ishes and auxiliary institutions including a large centre at
arrived on Work permit as part-time teacher and he be- Atlanta.
came the first vicar. Within one year he organized worship
centres from Penang in north to Singapore in south. The
migration was slow during the Second World War. But in

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Middle East and Africa from enemies. The Word of God they heard in synagogues
became sentry to the soul, not to slip into the worldly rou-
There are over 18 parishes in the Middle Esat, including tines caused by allurements of illusion.
seven parishes in Kuwait. In Africa there are two congre-
gations and with all these the Mar Thoma Church has ac- This recalls to the memories of the primitive Mar Thoma
quired the image of a global church. Diaspora communities in various lands, that they assem-
bled frequently at regular intervals in groups for prayer,
Status of Mar Thoma Church worship, and fellowship; recollecting their memories of
the home land. But later, by the time these groups were
Thus, a small group of Malankara Syrian Christians who institutionalized ecclesiastically, it became a transplanta-
resided on either side of Pamba River got inspired with tion of the Syrian Christian community from the soils of
the revival movement spread at a rapid speed throughout Pamba riverside to the soils in various lands in the world;
the old Travancore - Cochin area during the 19th century and grew up, as that a Church in Kerala, sanitizing the
and by today all over the world. It was through its peculiar customs, manners, beliefs and practices of the home
style of evangelization and willingness of people to mi- land.
grate, the Church has acquired an urbanity, leaving away
the simplicity and rustic life- style. Though small numeri- But for the Israelites in exile, it was a radical shift in their
cally, it is a Church linguistically, culturally, racially and mode and nature of worship and prayer. The temple with
socially diverse in stature. Thus, the ancient Church of the traditional ceremonies and festivals centred around the
Syrian Christians conversed only in Malayalam has sacrifice was transformed into a centre for spiritual em-
evolved a cosmopolitan face- lift. powerment through the reading and interpreting the Word
of God with praise and worship in the synagogues. This
Luxury becomes the ''charisma'' variance in shift is an indicator and clue to the issues and
challenges in the present-day generation of Mar Thoma
The small and beautiful church buildings for worship con- diaspora community.
structed with the local funds mobilized from believers by
skipping meals and setting apart a pinch or handful of Conclusion
rice grains everyday at meals; and their hard physical la-
bour are replaced by huge structures of pomposity ex- In any case, any attempt to glorify the stale and irrelevant
pending millions of rupees. To a certain extent, the flow of past with its customs and practices will only generate
cash from diaspora community, particularly during the frustrations among the new generation diaspora commu-
second half of the twentieth century has changed the nity. Ruminating over the past glories and heritage of pro-
mindset and outlook of Mar Thoma community towards claiming Abraham as father and Abraham Malpan as the
luxury and undue comforts. Simultaneously during this founder of revival; and remaining indolent in the present is
period, the distorted value systems triggered with globali- fleeing away from Christian responsibilities; and attempt-
zation and individualism has trapped the society at large ing to hide the wrongs of the present. Hence a fresh ap-
and this in turn has drained away the essence and identi- praisal is inevitable on concepts like reformation, revival,
ty of the Mar Thoma Church. But conversely it has fat- eastern, Syrian and so on. It is through this exercise that
tened its structures. Thereby the Church is moving to- the essence of the past which presents itself in the pre-
wards a culture of pride and arrogance by blending the sent is handed over to generations traditionally; and
nobility and sanctity of the traditions to justify the new reformation is experienced as an unending process.
trends.
*Dr. John Samuel is a triple gold medalist
for his academic standing at the master’s
Song of Zion
level and a Commonwealth Scholar. He
earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Universi-
For the Israelites in exile, Zion was the symbol of spiritual- ty of Toronto in 1965. He worked for Cana-
ity that kept them evergreen amidst their afflictions. The da’s Immigration Dept. from 1969 to 1996
sharing of these exilic experiences is expressed in the and represented Canada at various meetings
Book of Lamentations and also in the lamentation songs and conferences. He was adjunct research
they chanted standing at the banks of rivers of Babel as professor at Carlton University for 26 years,
we read in Psalms No. 137. They lost their nation, the and was a consultant for the United Nations, International La-
king; and the City of God with temple and sacrifices; bour Organization, and the Australian Government.
Dr. Samuel has published extensively on immigration including
however, in this plight also, we sense their unbound pat-
invited chapters in many books as seen in Canadian Who’s Who.
riotism and trust in God; which for them was the support His 1994 publication, Separatism in Quebec is Dead: Demogra-
in captivity. This, in fact, paved the way for the rise of phy is Destiny received extensive national publicity on the eve of
synagogues in foreign lands in place of the temple. It cre- the second Quebec referendum in 1995. He published his
ated a sort of defensive mechanism against the attacks memoir, ‘Many Avatars: One Life’ in 2013.

8 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

My Story (Part-2)
Dr. Titus Mathews, Professor Emeritus, University of Calgary, Canada
[Dr. Titus Mathews may be very familiar to the readers of the
FOCUS Journal. He was one of the founding editors and only
given up the responsibility after ten years being an editor. He
lived and worked in India, Africa, England, and Canada. His con-
tributions to the Mar Thoma Diaspora communities and the aca-
demic life in these countries are enormous and hence it is worth
publishing it for the benefit of our readers. The following is the
second part of an autobiographical sketch written by Dr. Titus
Mathews and supplemented by his wife, Mrs. Sarah Mathews.
We are hoping to publish it in several parts over the next two
years. We are very grateful for the help and support of the family
for helping us with this. The first part of the story was pub-
lished in October 2022 (FOCUS Vol 10 (4) pages 22-26). For
the Editorial Board.]

Hyde Park was a favorite place to visit and listen to the

LONDON DAYS
soapbox orators. I developed a habit of walking to many
places during weekends.
My application for admission to Imperial College of Sci-
ence and Technology was approved during the year I was
I joined Imperial College as a student at a fortuitous time.
in UC College. I had to choose a field of specialization,
The college was growing and there were many famous
which was difficult as I had no counselor to help me. But I
people on the staff. The Physics Department Head was
remembered the excitement that students had when a
PMS Blackett, a Nobel laureate, who later became presi-
group of scientists from Tata Institute came to MCC and
dent of the Royal Society and a Lord. He was a strong
launched balloon flights to record tracks of cosmic ray
supporter of Labour government, and as such very friend-
particles. So, I choose cosmic rays for my further study.
ly towards India. He was an advisor to Jawaharlal Nehru,
But I knew very little about it, and it is important to learn
Prime Minister of India on defense matters and on sci-
as much as I can before I went to London. Tata Institute
ence policy. I had seen Professor Blackett with Homi J
in Bombay agreed to take me, if they did not have to pay
Bhabba, walking up and down discussing matters per-
me. So, I spent two months there and not only got some
taining to Indian science. I did not know the eminence of
reading done on cosmic rays, but a chance to meet and
any one of them at the time.
know about several very brilliant scientists associated
with the Institute.
I was assigned to Professor Harry Elliot, a rising star and
a favorite of Professor Blackett. I could not have asked
I went to East Africa first by ship to spend some time with
for a better person to work under, for he was always
my parents, and visited many interesting places to sight-
friendly and considerate. I remember one terrible incident
see, like Mt. Kilimanjaro. It is the tallest mountain in all of
in the lab. I had opened a box containing very expensive
Africa and its top is covered with snow, though it is very
photomultiplier tubes, which fell from my hand and shat-
close to the equator.
tered. Professor Elliot, realizing that it was an accident
and that I was terrified of the consequence, only smiled
At the beginning of August 1959, I said goodbye to my
when I reported it to him.
parents, and I board the Union Castle ship bound for
London. I got out at most of the ports where the ship
My primary responsibility at the time was to be a good
stopped and got a glimpse of the places. Finally, it
student. Though I found taking all the required courses in
docked in Tilbury. A train from there took the passengers
the first year difficult, I was able to do it successfully.
to London. Raju (Dr. John Thomas) met me at Liverpool
More difficult was to design and build instruments for my
Street station, and took me to William Temple House in
research work. My assigned problem was to study the
Earl’s Court, where I lived for the next four years. The
time variations of cosmic ray intensity deep underground.
weekly cost was only five pounds, and it was walking dis-
It required large counter telescopes and I made them with
tance to Imperial College. There was another graduate
plastic scintillators after several months of patient trial
student, Dr. KP Abraham from India and I walked with
and error. With the help of almost everyone in our lab and
him to college. It was only the end of August, and another
others, I took the large instrument on a train to the labora-
month before classes started. There was enough time to
tory at the Holborn underground station. That was a tedi-
go around and see London and buy suitable winter
ous task, but others helped. The counters ran without
clothes. I was thrilled to see Buckingham Palace, the
much problem by the end of 1960. While collecting the
changing of guards, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square,
data, I spent time on learning analysis of the data and
parliament house, and so on.
other topics related to cosmic rays. I also was able to

9 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

listen to lecturers, participate in seminars and discus- was an excellent cook and was a very good tennis player,
sions, which all enriched my interest and knowledge in and I was no match for him.
related subjects in physics and other matters. After the
lecturers and seminars, we used to go to a pub and con- I met many other Malayalees who came for study and short
tinue discussions on the topic of the seminars. Professor visits, passing through and so on in such gatherings on
Elliot’s whole group of research assistants and students weekends. Dr. K.T Varghese, uncle of Raju who was work-
would join in the visiting speakers. So, it became abso- ing in Bahrain and his wife Lilly came to upgrade his medical
lutely essential for me to drink beer with them, gradually I qualifications. They had an apartment where Raju and I
did that. Sometimes I think that I learned more physics in would go frequently to eat rice and curry. They were aware
the ‘Queens’! of my interest in the daughter of their friend Mr. Joseph in
Bahrain, and they used to tease me. They went back and
gave good remarks about me, and I think that helped.
After more than a year of collecting data, I analyzed them
and got enough data to write the thesis. I literally had to
I came to know about the basketball team in the college in
type the thesis, but I got help in that. I submitted my the-
only the second year, and I immediately joined. We used to
sis and answered all the questions for oral examination compete with the other college teams, and one year I was
satisfactorily. But I was puzzled by one question, ‘how the top player. I still remember how much I enjoyed playing
do I know air molecules were diatomic?’. Without hesita- in that team. One of my pleasant memories of London was
tion I answered that specific heat of air is 1.44, character- going to Wimbledon to watch the tennis matches, without
istic of diatomic gases. The question had nothing to do fail at least every other day. It was only half a crown for
with my project, but just a tricky question, but fair one to standing room tickets, and I could go court to court to
find out my basic physics. I anxiously waited in the other watch. I remember watching Ramanadan Krishnan, the Indi-
room to hear the verdict. A few minutes later, they came an tennis champion, playing in the centre court. Though he
and congratulated me. I sighed out of relief - at last I at- never became Wimbledon Champion, he played very well
tained my goal. and reached the semi-finals one year.

Church worship on Sundays was a regular practice. I Another good memory was going to Keswick Convention. I
went to Anglican Church first, but later went to City Tem- had a friend who was active in Campus Crusade, and he
ple, where Rev. Dr. Leslie Weatherhead was the regular helped me to go to Keswick. I had heard about it while still
preacher. Mar Thoma services were conducted by Revd in India and assumed it was a big affair like the Maramon
VV. Alexander at the YMCA for Indian students, where Mr. Convention. Actually, it was a much smaller affair meant
primarily for missionaries. It was cold and wet, and I was not
OV Alexander was the warden. He made it possible for
properly attired for the weather. Nevertheless, it was a good
all the Marthomites to come together for worship and
experience. From the Lake District I went to Edinburgh and
have some social interactions once a month. I assisted
Glasgow to meet some of my Scottish professors who
Revd Alexander during the service, which John Thomas taught me in Madras Christian college. I thought of going to
(Raju) was happy to pass on to me. His brother Mr. John the United States as a post-doctoral research fellow, or to
John (Joy) helped me with the preparations. Later I be- return to India and take up a faculty position. But when I
came the secretary to the congregation. Rev. Alexander came to know that a Lecturer position was available in Mak-
was also staying in William Temple house and became a erere University College in Kampala, East Africa, I applied
very good friend and mentor. He was a scholar and and got the position. The main attraction was that my par-
teacher of comparative religion, which I really benefitted ents were still there. That gave me a valuable excuse to take
and enjoyed. He taught me how to chant and how to use up that position.
the incense properly as an assistant during the Mar Tho-
ma service. This became very useful in the later years Looking back, my years in England were the most enjoyable
when I had to assist bishops and several of our priests in and wonderful years. I am immensely grateful to the many
Calgary and received their appreciative remarks. people who made it so. I was in London before the influx of
people from different countries and former colonies came. In
What I missed originally in London was Indian food. So, I my many visits to London since my student days, I felt that I
would go with some friends to the Indian High Commis- was indeed lucky to know the unspoiled London. From my
sion building, where they had canteen for its employees experience, I would put British people into two categories;
one, the colonists who felt superior to all their colonial sub-
and others. A plate of rice, mincemeat curry and a cup of
jects; and two, the liberal, friendly and the most-likable peo-
curd was only a crown in those days. Going to an Indian
ple. It was my privilege that I came across mostly the latter
or Pakistani restaurant was much more expensive. India
group in England. I enjoyed all the friendly debate with even
Club, patronized by Krishna Menon was another place.
those who were ardent supporters of the Conservative Party.
After Dr. K. P. Mathen and family came to London, we I was there at the time the sun set on the British Empire,
had a welcoming house available where a few of us gath- though I had little to do with it. I still follow British politics
ered Saturday evenings and cooked rice and curry and with a keen interest. No doubt, a British education had given
had a good time. Later on, Raju moved to a flat near his me a good beginning to my academic.
college, across the river Chelsea. We spent a lot of time
there playing chess and walking all over the place. Raju To be continued . . .

10 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

Accompanied by the Spirit:
A Brief History of Kerala Pentecostals in New York and United States
Revd Dr. Geomon George*
In 1962, Achoy O. Mathew attended Oyster Bay Bible
On a hot summer day in 1972, my aunt boarded an Air College in Oyster Bay, Long Island (later Long Island Bi-
France flight for the first time from Bombay, India to land ble Institute). He later married Tatana Marr, an American,
at John F. Kennedy airport in New York City. She offered on July 31, 1965. This was probably the first Kerala Pen-
a prayer and recited as many Bible verses as she could in tecostal marriage in the United States. T. G. Esau, George
Malayalam, beginning with Psalm 91. My aunty is part of Philip, M. S. Samuel, Joy P. Oommen, and many others
a larger economically, politically, and socially diverse attended the Long Island Bible Institute. It became a hub
community of Pentecostals from Kerala, India who have for many early Kerala Pentecostals for theological educa-
called the United States their new home. While we do not tion. After they completed theological education, they
have an exact count of the total number of Indian Chris- stayed back in the United States for ministry and work.
tian churches in the United States representing diverse
Christian traditions, there are more than 1,500 Indian im- By the 1960s, the lack of opportunities forced people in
migrant churches and over 400 of which are Kerala Pen- Kerala to look outside of their state for a job. Due to a
tecostals. Some of them include India Pentecostal shortage in the medical field in the United States, the
Church (IPC), Assemblies of God, Church of God, Sharon State Department started issuing exchange visas for
Fellowship, and various independent Pentecostal church- those that were qualified, with an understanding that up-
es. More than half of the Kerala Pentecostals live in New on the contract expiration they would return to India. Ker-
York, New Jersey, California, Oklahoma, and Texas. ala Pentecostal women saw this as an opportunity for
economic mobility. Immigration and Nationality Acts of
The first wave of Pentecostals from Kerala came to the 1965 enabled them to continue their residency in the
United States for theological studies or at the invitation of United States.
non–Indian Pentecostal churches in the United States. In
the 1940s, Pastor P. J. Thomas came to Wheaton College The role of women in the early formation of Pentecostal
for postgraduate studies after completing theological worship is undeniable. For example, many Kerala Pente-
studies in Australia. After his graduation, Thomas briefly costal nurses were staying at Beth Israel Hospital Nurse
taught at Wheaton College before leaving for India for Cottage, and pastor C. M. Varghese would gather them
ministry in 1952. The Assemblies of God pastors M. C. for worship in the late 1960s. Pastor Joy P. Oommen and
Samuel and C. Kunjumon visited different churches in the pastor A. C George were also very helpful to nurses who
United States in 1947. needed support. During the 1970s and 1980s, Kerala
Pentecostals began to take root especially when their
Pastor K. E. Abraham, one of the founding members of parents and siblings came to the United States under the
the Indian Pentecostal Church of God, and Pastor P. M. family unification provision in the law. Pastor Joy P.
Samuel came to the United States at the invitation of the Oommen and Grace Oommen bought their first house in
American Swedish Pentecostal church in 1948. When 1971 in Richmond Hill, Queens, which became a safe
they arrived in the New York port, pastors from the Nor- space for so many early immigrants.
wegian Pentecostal churches were there to welcome
them to the United States. By this time, K. C. Cherian had It must be stated that while there was a focus to support
also arrived in New York from the United Kingdom. Since the people of Kerala, there was an openness to share the
there were no Kerala congregations, they ministered Gospel with non-Keralites as well. For example, when
among the Italian, Spanish, Estonian, Finnish, Norwegian, pastor K. K. John arrived in 1962, he worked with the Chi-
and American Pentecostal churches. Alpha campus ministry at the University of Minnesota.
Pastor A. C. George was so passionate about evangelism
In August 1948, all these leaders met with the American that he went on a two-month mission trip to Puerto Rico.
Assemblies of God and Church of God leaders to discuss Both pastor Achoy Mathew and pastor M. S. Samuel left
a way to work together in Christian witness to the Gospel the Kerala community to pastor a multicultural church.
in India. While there was progress made in the early stag-
es, their plan failed to materialize due to a lack of consen- Early Indian church gatherings in the United States were
sus among local leaders in India. By the 1950s Dr. T. V. ecumenical and one could often find members belonging
Thomas (the first MA rank holder among Kerala Pente- to different denominations gather together for worship.
costals), T. S. Abraham and John Karthikapali came to However, as the Indian population grew in America, pas-
the United States for higher education and in 1952 the tors began to invite people along linguistic and denomi-
Church of God pastor T. M. Varghese came to the United national lines. On February 18, 1968, pastors Achoy O
States. Testimonies of their experiences encouraged oth- Mathews, M. S. Samuel, A. C. John, John C. Daniel, Abra-
ers to dream about going to the United States. ham Samuel, Mathew George, and Thomas Pushpamangalam
met at the residence of Mathew George for a discussion on

11 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

forming a Kerala Pentecostal church. As a result, the first Indian dialogue on offering a multi-state gathering of Kerala Pentecos-
Pentecostal Church in America is registered under the name tals. As a result, in 1983, the first conference was held in Okla-
India Christian Assembly. They Started to meet at All People’s homa under the banner “The Malayalee Conference” with 200
Church in NYC, and as the church grew, it moved to the Hun- people attending from Texas, Illinois, and Oklahoma. The follow-
garian Baptist church on East 80th Street in Manhattan and then ing year, another multi-state gathering was held in New Jersey.
later to the United Nations Church Center. The church contin- Residents from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas,
ued to find different locations to serve the Kerala Pentecostal Florida, and Canada came for this meeting. In 1985, a national
community. conference was held at Lee University in Tennessee with about
900 participants, during which the name Pentecostal Confer-
In the early 1970s, while pastor A. C. George was renting a ence of North American Keralites (PCNAK) was adopted and it
space at a Spanish Christian Church at 1644 Park Ave in New continues to serve as a common ground for all Kerala Pentecos-
York City, his pastors Frank Negron and Thomas Perez encour- tal denominations on the continent.
aged him to register a church. So, in January 1974, Pastor A. C.
George started a church with the name India Pentecostal Since the 1990s, there has been an intentionality in caring for
Church of God. The work of the Church of God was started at young people and churches began offering English worship ser-
the residence of Thankachan Joseph in Manhattan. Pastor P. vices to accommodate young people. A new generation of
Philip also offered early leadership to these gatherings. When younger pastors has taken pastoral leadership and pastors Ben-
pastor Mathai P. Mathai came from Mumbai in 1973, he orga- jamin Thomas, John Johnson, and Robert Johnson took the
nized a church with the name Brooklyn Church of God and mantle of serving a new generation of the Kerala Pentecostal
when the church was moved to Elmont, New York, the name diaspora.
was changed to First Church of God.
At the same time, there is a reimagining of the church to be-
The first Assembly of God church was established in 1971 in come more missional in the local community. Bridge Communi-
New Jersey. Pastor C. M. Varghese was instrumental in the for- ty Church in Floral Park, New York was formed in 2013 to reach
mation of this church. In 1971, pastor K. P. Titus started the first the local community and the Indian Pentecostal Assembly re-
Assembly of God church in New York called New York Bible cently changed its name to Cornerstone Church to reflect com-
Church. This was later changed to the New York Bible Assembly munity outreach. Pastor Cecil Mathew build on the foundation
of God. Pastors M. C. Jacob and V. S. George also served to- of the First Church of God and started a Community English
gether with K. P. Titus. Beyond the regular Sunday worship ser- Church. Though they had a wider community focus, the leader-
vices, Saturday evening cottage meetings, tarry meetings, con- ship remained in the hands of Kerala Pentecostals. More recent-
ventions, Sunday School, youth gatherings, and women's minis- ly a few churches including the International Gospel Church
try, many other ministry programs were also developed. Special NYC in the Bronx have emerged with multicultural leadership.
charitable and mission boards were also established to support
and start Gospel work in India. The Sunday School Network Members of the Kerala Pentecostal diaspora are also involved in
International (SSNI) was formed to offer a Sunday School sylla- mission work in India. Many new religious organizations and
bus that is contextually relevant for the diaspora Keralite Pente- non-profit organizations are registered both in the United States
costals. and in India. Individuals are also actively supporting pastors and
ministry leaders in India. In so doing, the Kerala Pentecostal
During the 1970s there were hardly any young people in the diaspora has played a paramount role in the expansion of Pen-
church. By 1977, there were about five teenagers in the New tecostal churches in India.
York Gospel Assembly. The Church formed Christ Ambassadors
led by Sunny Philip, an active youth in his twenties. At the same In conclusion, the church plays a vital role in the life of the Kera-
time under the leadership of Pastor A. C. George, Indian Pente- la Pentecostal diaspora. It offers a safe place to create com-
costal Church started a youth group for their handful of young munity, construct identity, transfer values and faith to the next
people. Another leading youth leader was Pothan Chacko. A generation, and be missional both locally and globally. Kerala
conversation among the churches began to happen, and it was diaspora Pentecostals continue to maintain cultural, religious,
suggested that a combined meeting should take place. As a and economic connections to India and are shaped by transna-
result, the first Indian Pentecostal Youth meeting took place at tional relationships. Furthermore, a new generation of leaders is
the Indian Pentecostal Church. Sunny Philip was appointed as reimagining the nature of the mission of the church amid new
the first coordinator by the pastors of these churches to form a realities. What we are witnessing is that the Kerala Pentecostal
youth organization. Subsequently, three meetings took place at churches are not static but are finding different ways to adapt to
the residences of M. A. George and the late Kuruvilla and Tom the new realities of our times. In so doing, shaping the religious,
Zachariah. In 1981, after months and years of conversations economic, and social landscape of the United States.
between pastors, parents, and youth, the Pentecostal Youth
Fellowship of America was created with a handful of smaller *Geomon K. George, PhD (University of Edinburgh, Scotland) is
churches. Since then, many other youth organizations have Dean at the City Seminary of New York.
been formed such as Pentecostal Youth Conference of Dallas, He has pastored a church in Connecti-
Pentecostal Youth Fellowship of Florida, Oklahoma Pentecostal cut and is currently planting a new mul-
Youth Fellowship, and Houston Youth Pentecostal Fellowship. tiethnic diaspora church in New York
City. He researches Indian diaspora
The India Christian Assembly also hosted the first Kerala Pente- Christianity in the United States and
costal convention held on April 11-14, 1968, with pastor K. E. Pentecostalism in India. He has contrib-
Abraham and pastor George Varghese as guest speakers. Since uted to many academic articles and is
then, many more conventions have been organized in different the author of Religious Pluralism: Chal-
states. During the 1980s, pastor Oommen Abraham began a lenges for Pentecostalism in India.

12 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

Humility: An Ancient but Most Important Virtue
My Journey of Striving to Practice Humility Within Postmodern Culture
Dr. Chinnamma Baines*

Why it is time to bring back this most important yet for- To be humble, I am to practice silence and refrain
gotten virtue humility? from judging and ridiculing others. When I listen
with total attention, I display empathy and mag-
How do I live a humble life within the current postmodern nanimity. Having the confidence that my identity
culture? in Christ is the basis of my self-worth gives me
assurance.
On reflection I had viewed myself as a humble person. • Humility compels me to stay within my own do-
Once I began to learn more about humility, I realized that main of competence. In my role as a nurse edu-
practising humility daily requires Godly wisdom and cator and an administrator, it is important to stay
grace. Humility has been interpreted in many ways. competent within the constantly changing tech-
nology and social media-driven culture. Whereas
What is humility? asking questions displays humility and provides
opportunity to learn.
• Humility is the mother of all virtues including puri-
ty, charity, and obedience and practised in most The practice of humility varies in various cultures based
cultures since ancient times. Humility is not lack- on their perspective of humility. In my early years I ob-
ing low self-esteem or self confidence but seeing served the practice of humility within the caste system in
oneself as an individual with strengths as well as India.
flaws. Humility is being spiritually modest, yet it
could be misunderstood as self-deprecation or Humility within Caste System
being excessively modest. Nelson Mandela
acknowledged himself as a humble person Caste system is an integral part of Hindu religion and is
claimed that humility is the most important virtue. deeply rooted in Indian culture. The Caste system divides
• Humility is recognizing one’s own ignorance people into hierarchical groups based on the work they
about who you are as a person. This leads to self do. There is a group called ‘Dalits’ or ‘untouchables’ who
awareness which is fundamental in acknowledg- are the street sweepers and the latrine cleaners. They are
ing one’s own strengths and weaknesses. A the lowliest in the caste culture. Those who are higher in
humble person is open to feedback and learning the caste system expect the Dalits to display ‘humility’.
something new everyday. When one is open to For an untouchable, ‘dharma’ (duty) of caste is a menial
learning from others it fosters trust, a key ingredi- one and one has no desire to oppose it. “It is good to ig-
ent in forming loving and trusting relationships. nore a street sweeper because it humbles her, she wears
• Love is an integral part of humility. Loving rela- a faded sari, and moves as she does because that too, is
tionships bring joy to life and looks at even mea- humbling. Her status is a humble one, and in her life is to
ger blessings as joyful. A humble person is not a live down to it” (Keay 1999. p.131). Such display of hum-
threat to others but builds loving relationships. bling oneself as inferior to another would be in contrast to
Genuine humility can build relationships and unity my belief which emphasises that God created us in His
as opposed to selfish ambition or conceit which own image (Imago Dei). Moreover, humility is interpreted
brings discord. Humility enables one to be au- as being weak and inferior in a caste culture. Whereas
thentic, genuine, and honest in relationships. It is within a postmodern culture power is more amicable in
also thinking of oneself less, an antidote to nar- influencing others.
cissism. A self-centered person can become nar-
cissistic lacking empathy. Moreover, selfish ambi- How can I practise humility within the current post-
tion can ruin relationships while genuine humility modern culture?
can build it.
• For example, in an academic culture, I wanted to The virtue of humility is forgotten and not valued in post-
be assertive to get ahead within the organization- modern culture. But if you are not humble you could easi-
al hierarchy. My ambition for promotion and ly become proud, self-conceited, and arrogant. According
achievement often clashed with my desire to be to C.S. Lewis, pride is the ‘big sin’. A proud person enjoys
humble. I had to compete with my own col- having power. Pride and power are hallmarks of post-
leagues. I had to be assertive and humble at the modern culture which tends to suppress the practice of
same time and that was difficult. humility. On the contrary, Jesus has taught us to humble
• Humility is also being an attentive listener. I have ourselves before God and others. Pride is also enmity
struggled with this attribute as I needed to look with God. If one is proud, one cannot know God. A proud
for virtues in others rather than dwelling on faults. person is always looking down on others. Pride can even

13 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

be diabolical (utmost evil) a spiritual cancer that kills the also begin to understand people around me. How am I
proclivity to love and to be truthful. “God resists the reacting emotionally with my family members daily. Am I
proud but giveth grace to the humble” (James 4:6). challenging myself? Who am I comparing myself with?
Jordan Peterson has recommended that one should
The complex and vague ideology inherent in postmodern compare oneself with who he/she was yesterday. This
culture has been challenging to my beliefs. For example, I would open opportunity to make improvement and grow.
believe in objective (unchanging) truth. However, in post- I humbly look up to Jesus and pray for His guidance
modern culture subjective truth (relative truth) replaces when I face challenges within the current postmodern
objective truth. Postmodernists claim that there is no ob- culture.
jective truth. Instead, they construct based on lived expe-
rience. Thus, the truth becomes relative to the experience Overcome Pride with Humility. It is time to bring back
of each individual. In sharp contrast, Jesus claimed, ‘I am humility with lives that are gracious, unassuming, and
the Truth’. The scripture I have read with reverence is de- character driven. Presumably I have reached the last
constructed with new meaning. Jacques Derrida, the decade of my life. Therefore, each day is precious and a
French philosopher, took a lead role in deconstructing gift from God. I want to live the best life possible to serve
grand narratives. God and others. In doing so I must pray for humility, grati-
tude, and wisdom each day.
Humility involves an honest assessment of one’s
strengths, abilities, and gifts and recognizing that these I conclude with my prayer: Jesus my Lord, you exalted me
are God-given. Consistent with the postmodern culture, I from my humble beginnings. I am saved by your grace
recall having the desire to promote myself within my or- and grateful for all that You have done for me. Keep me
ganization to get ahead in my career. Is this a selfish am- humble, let me not think I am better than anyone else, for
bition? Valuing others above myself and sacrificing my dust I am and unto dust I shall return. Thank you for giving
own interest for others’ sake is contradicting the post- me hope in my life.
modern value of self promotion. This desire to self pro-
motion is in stark contradiction to what Jesus has taught:
“Humble yourself in God’s mighty hands, He will lift you References (The following sources were helpful for
up in His own good time” (1 Peter 5:6). this reflection)

With humility you gain Godly wisdom to humble yourself 1. Baines, Chinnama. Kerala to Kamloops: One Nurse’s
rather than to exalt yourself. There is no hatred and re- Journey of Gratitude. KDP Amazon, 2020.
venge in humility. It suppresses one’s intellectual ego and 2. C.S. Lewis. Mere Christianity. Harper Collins, 1980.
learn to appreciate opportunities available to expand own 3. Keay, John. Into India. Cambridge: University Press,
potential but use that potential to serve others. Jesus 1999.
Christ humbled himself in obeying his Father’s will. 4. Mother Teresa, No Greater Love. Servant Publications,
Inc. 1995.
Christ, who modelled a life of humility 5. Peterson, Jordan. 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to
Chaos. Random House Canada, 2018.
Humility is a core value in Christianity and the foundation 6. Schaffner, Anna Katharina. The Art of Humility: Why it is
for living a Christian life. “God resists the proud, but time for an urgent spiritual modesty. Psychology Today.
giveth grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Jesus is the best June 8, 2020. pp. 1-5
example for practising humility. He humbly followed
God’s plan for His life. Jesus Christ, the most powerful *Dr. Chinnamma Baines has been
man ever walked on the face of the earth chose to be a leader in nursing education, and
obedient to his Father unto his death on the cross. Jesus a diaspora pioneer in Canada
gave up his rights and obeyed God. In his humility, he (Kamloops, British Columbia)
revealed to us God’s character in human terms. He since the early 1960s. Her 2020
showed us the example of putting others first. He told us memoir ‘Kerala to Kamloops: One
true greatness comes from serving others. The highest Nurse's Journey of Gratitude’
position in the Kingdom of God is servant (to serve). God provides a fascinating and inspir-
loves the humble servant. Jesus came to serve. Mother ing life story. Chinnama served on
Teresa was known as a humble servant of God. She the RNABC Board in Canada for
claimed that God needs our poverty not our abundance. two terms and assumed a leader-
She found joy in serving others. “Humble yourself in the ship role in promoting baccalaureate education in nursing
sight of the Lord and He will lift you up” (James 4:10). as a requirement for RN practice. She chaired the RNABC
Entry to Practice Committee while on the Board. She was
In my pursuit of serving God, I must discover who I am. a founding member of the Collaborative Nursing Pro-
What is my vision for myself at this phase in my life? Am I grams in BC.
courageous or a coward? If I understand myself, I can

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Malayalee Christian Diaspora in New Zealand
Mrs. Elizabeth Minoo Verghese*
nations came in ships with crew of different nationalities
“Kia Ora te Whanau!” It is the Māori greeting meaning some of whom stayed back to live with the Māori. There
“Hello family.” From the land of the long white cloud Ao- were people from Australia, Britain, the USA and France,
tearoa (New Zealand) I offer my global Malayalee Chris- the Philippines, India, and Africa, before James Cook
tian diaspora a piece of paradise. claimed New Zealand for Britain on his arrival in 1769.

As a community of migrants living outside of the state of The settlement process and struggles carried on as per
Kerala it would be appropriate to label ourselves as the the then prevalent wheels of motion leading to the omi-
“Malayalee Christian Diaspora.” To better understand my nous “indigenous” and “non- native” struggle followed by
origins and be understood by my fellow brethren globally. the “Treaty of Waitangi” which is much discussed even
I choose to drop the word “Kerala” and instead use “Mal- today. Nancy Swarbrick (2005), in her story “Indians –
ayalee” – why? Early immigration,” states that Indians have come to New
Zealand since the late 18th century. At that time British
I am a Malayalee but not a Keralite and how would one East India Company ships brought supplies to Australian
understand that? Well! I was born and reared outside of convict settlements, and often stopped in New Zealand to
Kerala, to chaste hardcore Malayalee parents from Kerala pick up homeward cargoes. Their crews included Lascars
who followed the great migration pattern of the early to (Indian seamen) and Sepoys (Indian soldiers), some of
mid-1900’s. The “Kerala Christian Diaspora” began from whom deserted the ship in New Zealand.
within-India (internal) to outside-India (external) to Ceylon
(Sri Lanka), Malaysia and Singapore in 1930s, to the Mid- A Bengali man is said to have jumped ship in 1810 to
dle East in the 1950s, and later to North America, Europe, marry a Māori woman. Fortunately, or unfortunately, at
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. this time there was no Malayalee in his legendary “Thattu
kadda” to greet Bengali Babu with a cup of “Chai.” Be-
Migration is in the DNA of the Malayalee Christian, and it fore the 1880s Indians were not identified in census rec-
started out in AD 52 with reverse migration of St. Thomas ords, but their presence was noted. One, Edward Peter
the Apostle’s arrival into Malabar to fulfil Jesus’ Great (also known as ‘Black Peter’), arrived around 1853. Alt-
Commission to share the good news, “Gospel”, of salva- hough Gabriel Read (an Australian) is credited with dis-
tion (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15). The Mar Thoma covering gold at Tuapeka in Otago, it was Edward Peter
Christian community has its history linked to St. Thomas, who told him where it could be found. The earliest in-
the disciple of Jesus Christ; so also does English lan- stances where the 1881 census recorded six Indian men,
guage, which has a significant link to St. Thomas, by way three of whom lived in Canterbury and were probably
of the phrase “doubting Thomas,” coined for his lack of servants of wealthy English settlers who had lived in In-
faith (more reference to this later). dia. The early immigrants were sojourners more than set-
tlers. Although The Immigration Restriction Act was
The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Chris- passed in 1899, the “white supremacy” movement pro-
tians of India, Mar Thoma Suriyani Nasrani, Malankara longed immigration to New Zealand for Asians and Indi-
Nasrani, or Nasrani Mappila - Nasrani or Nazarene is a ans.
Syriac term for Christians who were among the first con-
verts to Christianity in the Near East now referred to as As per the 1951 census, there were 2,425 Indians in New
West Asia - and we trace our origins to the Evangelistic Zealand. In 1981, they numbered 11,244. But by 2001,
activity of St. Thomas, the Apostle. Saint Thomas Chris- the Indian population had surged to 62,646. Until 1981,
tians had been historically a part of the hierarchy of the steady growth was due to several factors, including a
Church of the East or the East Syriac church and that is marked post-war diaspora of Indian people, and the arri-
how we have Syriac or Syrian chants incorporated into val of the wives of the first Indian immigrants. During the
our liturgy. The Original community is now divided into 1980s, changes in immigration policy, along with political
several different groups Eastern Catholic, Oriental Ortho- instability in other countries, brought many more Indians
dox, Protestant, and independent bodies, each with their to New Zealand.
own liturgies and traditions. They are Malayalees and
speak Malayalam. After this brief introduction on New In and around 1980’s a few qualified Indian Doctors and
Zealand and Malayalees, let me get to the purpose of this Lawyers came to New Zealand with families on the Invita-
article and deep dive into emigration into New Zealand. tion of the Crown while most returned, a few stayed back
and there were a couple of Syrian Christian’s among
New Zealand is a country of immigrants with early settlers them. mainly doctors who chose to stay on and retire in
being the Polynesian Explorers who had settled in New picturesque regions outside of the metro cities like Auck-
Zealand by approximately the thirteenth century. Their land, Wellington, and Christchurch. These professionals
arrival gave rise to the Māori culture and the Māori lan- were followed by Educationists a few were again Malaya-
guage both unique to New Zealand. Visitors from various lee professors and teachers from Zambia, Nigeria, Ethio-

15 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

pia who had completed their teaching contracts in these to get into. The pursuit to survive left families to share the
nations and never wanted to go back to India so that their load with both husband and wife pitching in, to keep the
children were given the opportunity to be educated over- home running. The luxury of having “home help” was a far
seas. cry. One parent inevitably stayed home to cater to the
children’s needs as children below the age of 14 are not
Parliament passed a new Immigration Act into law in 1987 allowed to stay home alone. Therefore, job sharing be-
that ended the preference for migrants from Britain, Eu- came part and parcel of settling in with parents’ working
rope or Northern America based on their race, and in- shifts. Religious activity took a back seat in the process
stead classify migrants on their skills, personal qualities, and there being no temples or mosques, the communities
and potential contribution to New Zealand economy and had to find ways and means to worship. Of course, the
society. The introduction of a points-based system re- Christians were on a better footing as churches were a
sembling that of Canada came into effect in 1991. The plenty and attendance of locals was poor. This gave the
shift towards a skills-based immigration system resulted Christian community a foot in the door to blend in with
in a wide variety of ethnicities in New Zealand, since then the locals and build relationships quicker. Discussing reli-
the trickle changed to a flow and the Malayalee diaspora gion was politically incorrect and made it difficult to really
increased, however the opportunity to identify themselves find one’s feet and get into a comfort zone.
as a community took a wee while more. Initial settling
into the land was a massive effort as acceptance into the The demography of the church goers has slowly changed
society and gaining jobs were a matter of survival be- with congregations in most churches now being immi-
cause despite the country opening their doors to qualified grant dominant. The awareness to maintain community
immigrants getting jobs in the desired fields were a links and stay close to our cultural heritage in this far off
nightmare. Indians still found it hard to be recognized to land with diverse practices and thinking kindled the urge
take up positions for which they qualified for, and the set- to stick together, even though our numbers may have
tlement process meant re-establishing their identities. been few and far between. Each time one heard Hindi in
Manning gas stations, doing the graveyard shift at Mc the background a backward glance with a smile was inev-
Donald’s, warehousing labor fruit picking and driving taxis itable and that was a cue to strike up an instant friendship
and buses were the jobs available to majority of immi- and exchange addresses and phone numbers. The late
grants. 1990’s and early 2000’s saw a very few Malayalee Chris-
tian families reaching out to one another with the sole
intention of keeping traditional links alive even though
most of us spoke broken Malayalam with a slight angli-
cized tweak to the accent having come from various met-
ropolitan cities of India and Middle East with a splash of
flavors from Malaysia, Indonesia, Africa, and the UK.
Some of whom could not even read Malayalam.

As the children of these families built bonds through

school and church activities, these families got closer and
met more often on weekends at prayer meetings, over
BBQ’s experimenting our new learnings from the country
of residence and blending the Mallu Meen curry or fried
fish with a dosa off the BBQ too. This BBQ culture en-
ticed the Mallu Syrian Christian men to get out of his
The disturbing part was the need for qualified doctors, chauvinistic skin and start displaying their culinary skills.
engineers and IIT/IMM graduates having to requalify for A big relief for the lady of the house! But would the moth-
re-establishing their skill levels. This paradox to the entry er like it? Well! until then the parents of the immigrant
criteria left many to pursue some form of study and earn families were still not purview to these changes in their
entry level jobs, swallowing their pride and framing their mamma’s boys. While the cooking skills were being
degrees! The enterprising Gujaratis ventured into busi- honed in NZ (thanks to paucity of Indian restaurants).
ness setting up local corner utility shops (Dairies), cater- There was something divine cooking across the ditch in
ing for the quick buy of forgotten bread and finished milk Australia, to be precise Perth. A benevolent “uncle” (many
and a quick cigarette. As most shopping areas and malls years our senior hence the title) along with one amongst
were open only between the hours of 8am and 5pm giv- us was designing His Masters plan.
ing the dairy owners a wee bit of chance to sell their
wares at a markup between the additional hour they The late Rt. Rev. Dr. Zacharias Mar Theophilus Suffragan
squeezed in during the day from 7:30am - 5:30pm. These Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma church in 2002 visited
dairy owners and their cigarette stocks have been a tar- Aotearoa along with “Uncle” and celebrated the first Syri-
an Christian Holy Communion service in Auckland on 14th No-
get to vandalism then and even today, it is a risky venture
vember 2002, which was well attended by all denominations of

16 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

the Syrian Malankara churches. - Catholics, Orthodox, Jacobite,
Marthomite, Chaldean, Evangelical, etc. In all, we were around Thoughts for the Lent
200+ adults and children who attended along with some dedi-
cated Malayalees from other metro cities of NZ including Wel-
lington and Christ church. This historic moment was the start of
the Syrian Christian movement in New Zealand. The Mar Thoma
worshipping community of Auckland took shape and the 10
Marthomite families continued their worship while Thirumeni’s
visit was an inspiration to other Syrian Christian groups to get-
ting their respective churches in the country.

By 2004, we were acknowledged as a congregation meeting at

one of the Anglican Church buildings every week following the
traditional Mar Thoma Syrian order of service and liturgy. 2005
saw us the worshiping congregation be instated and approved
as a parish as St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church, Auckland, as a
parish under the New Zealand diocese, shepherded by the then
parish priest of Sydney Mar Thoma church, Revd Dr. Varghese
Mathai, who today is a Bishop, The Rt. Revd Dr. Mathews Mar
Makarios. He visited his flock once in 3 months and conducted
Communion services at Auckland, Wellington, and Christ
church. Other visiting priests from Melbourne and Singapore The Lenten season for the year 2023 starts on Ash
also pitched in to spiritually feed the growing community who Wednesday, February 22nd, and ends on either Maundy
continued to trickle in and be lured by the land of milk and hon- Thursday, April 6, or carries on to the Easter Sunday in
ey down under, the need of a full-time priest was inevitable and some traditions. The Mar Thoma Church and Orthodox
the first resident vicar of the church with his young family as- Church traditions have 50 days of Lent. Palm Sunday is
sumed office in November 2006. While The wheels of establish- the last Sunday of the Lent, 2nd April in 2023.
ing a parish continued to move in the background and was offi-
cially incorporated with the Ministry of Economic Development
in New Zealand on 7th of September 2005 and later registered Lent has a great biblical precedent, “Jesus was led by the
with the Charities Commission New Zealand on 30th June 2008. Spirit into the wilderness . . . He fasted forty days and
With the arrival of an “Achen,” activities attributed to various forty nights” (Mt 4:1-2). We also think of the forty years
functional groups of the mainstream church kicked into gear that the people of Israel wandered in the desert on their
with responsibilities to reach out to youth, children, women etc. way to the Promised Land. The path for our own medita-
With history of the Mar Thoma Syrian diaspora having taken its tion lies in the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilder-
first steps in new “God Zone” (New Zealand) the focus was now ness before he undertook His public ministry. Satan was
on the immigrants from “God’s Own Country” (Kerala) whose
recommending shortcuts for success, but Jesus chose
struggles to establish themselves and rear the kids contin-
ued. In the process of finding their feet and merging with the the long and narrow road to Golgotha and to His cross.
society they have spread themselves thin and dispersed into the A time of discipline and preparation is important before
background. any important event or decision in life. Prayer, fasting,
and abstinence are the three tools available as we pre-
In conclusion, I refer to Kevin Kenny's conversation to pare to celebrate the great mystery of the Easter, the
Owens where he states - Diaspora In its Greek origins passion, the death, and the resurrection of our Lord, Je-
simply means to scatter or disperse. I leave you with you sus Christ. Lent enables us to step back from the usual
this thought and stir up the “doubting Thomas” in each of habits, routines, distractions and give particular attention
us. to God. An outward restraint can be a sign and symbol of
an inner attention, and a help towards it. This is the
*Mrs. Elizabeth Minoo meaning of ashes given on Ash Wednesday, the first day
Verghese is based in Auck- of Lent. This is also the basis of fasting and praying,
land, New Zealand. Minoo is which lies at the heart of Lent (Mt 6:16-18). Reminding
an accomplished supply ourselves to give time to God so that God may speak to
chain professional with ex- us in the silence of our heart. Psalmist says: “Be still, and
tensive international experi- know that I am God” (Ps 46:10). Let us also pray with the
ence. Minoo is also in- tax collector of the Lukes’ Gospel: “God, have mercy on
volved in the local communi- me, a sinner” (Lk18:13). May the words of our mouth and
ty and the Church. She com- the meditations of our heart be pleasing in the sight of
pleted her studies at Auck- Lord Jesus, our rock, and our redeemer (Ps 19.14). May
land University of Technolo- the forthcoming Easter be a blessed time for all of us. We
gy, Auckland, New Zealand, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of very much hope that you will use this time to think of the
Management Studies, Bombay, Medical biochemistry at question, "What does God require of you?"(Micah 6:8).
Grant Medical College, Bombay, India, Wilson College,
Bombay, India. For the Editorial Board

17 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

Christian Diaspora Experience
Dr. John K. Thomas*
Kerala Christians are in the political arena or in the public posi-
A diaspora is a population that is scattered across regions tions. Most of the Kerala Christians, even when they are afflu-
which are separated from its geographic place of origin. Histori- ent, would like to remain
cally, the word was first used in reference to the dispersion of
Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after their Babylo- attached to their families, looking after their own interests in-
nian exile. People scatter themselves from their homeland to stead of getting into political fields. Only area they may be in-
places across the globe looking for better future, job opportuni- terested is in Church politics.
ties, higher education, and in that shifting (exile) many spread
their cultures to places where they get settled. Most of the congregants from over 25 Indian churches in the
New York area came from Kerala, a state nestled in the south-
The United States is the home to the highest number of immi- ern tip of India of which 18% are only Christians. These families
grants in the world. An estimated 50.6 million people are immi- speak Malayalam as their mother tongue and English as their
grants from various countries around the globe, which amounts second language, which most often turned their communicative
to little more than 15% of the native population. However, his- language as Manglish which a combination of Malayalam and
torically, it is a country of immigrants and the natives were English. However, the second-generation from the Kerala Chrisi-
American Indians. Number of immigrants, who came to the tan families accepted English as their first language and are
United States (US) from India especially Kerala dates back to trying hard to assimilate into the native culture and community.
almost 1950's, as we can recollect. Among Keralites, most of
them were Christians who migrated to the US, primarily for They are unique in their food habits, from back home, as well as
higher education in the early 50's and 60's. In the latter years, their dressing style, which make Kerala Christians very culture-
lot of medical and paramedical professionals started to migrate specific. Fortunately, many of them are church goers, who es-
to the US for a better future and to support a long list of family tablished small churches with denominations that followed
members whom they left in India. same liturgical practices of Kerala. Many Kerala churches have
their own priests and even Bishops from Kerala to cater for their
Most recent accelerated process of migration especially to Mid- religious needs. Unfortunately, their interests are in instilling
dle Eastern countries, N. America and parts of Europe had an rules, regulations, cultures and values of their ancestral church-
impact on every facet of Kerala's economy and society. It is es in Kerala to the foreign parishes and they are not being able
estimated that at least one person from every household from to cater for the needs of the second generation. This will cause
Kerala – Christians and others included – migrated to Gulf coun- a catastrophic gap and the present-day churches when the first
tries, primarily, for job opportunities or for that matter anywhere generation fades away. Then the future of these churches may
in the world. The economy of Kerala is mainly based on the re- have a big survival problem. However, the religious veracity
mittance sent by Kerala diaspora, contributing to a higher pro- among the Kerala settlers is worth of our appreciation because
portion of the State's income. Kerala settlers also moved to Ma- wherever they are placed as diaspora communities, their inter-
laysia and Singapore, and they were an affluent population in est in staying together as a worshipping community is unique.
60's through 80's.
Many of the first-generation Christian diaspora parents as well
In Middle East for example, things were different. People who as pastors feel that the second-generation young people do not
moved into those countries with medical or paramedical qualifi- feel the kind of attachment to their own congregations and are
cations were on a better lifestyle and living conditions, which hesitant to go their parents’ churches. They like to have pastors
were primarily due to better wages and other perks that they who can deal with their current needs, communicate to them in
received. But semiskilled or unskilled workers which contribute their tone which make it necessary to have English speaking
to a majority of migrants including Christians from all parts of churches with a new set of pastors and worship style, to cater
Kerala, struggled hard for a living because of poor salary and for their needs.
living conditions.
In summary, it is time for the Kerala diaspora community to re-
The large Indian immigrant community in the US, which includes think and establish new avenues/churches to keep the second-
a good number of Kerala Christians, has suddenly arrived at a generation together as a useful and purposeful Kerala communi-
major cross road. Having reached an extraordinarily high level of ty, primarily by catering their needs to worship in an atmosphere
affluence and achievement, they find themselves as one of the with English speaking pastors, a new worship style suitable to
most significant ethnic groups in the US. They are ruminating their needs, even when following the same liturgical practices
the question, should they assimilate into American mainstream from Kerala. Migration of Kerala settlers are still on the go, either
culture or maintain a separate identity? Many would like to be as IT professionals, students, or as group of people joining on
part of the mainstream white society, but the fact of the matter family visas. The cycle of events repeats with their struggles to
is not very settle themselves into a new culture, climate, and values. We
can only wish good luck to all of the aspiring immigrants and
thrilling because the Asian Americans or Indian Americans as non-immigrant (temporary-residents/expatriates) diaspora
they are classified may find it tough enough to be totally ac- communities in the US and elsewhere.
cepted into the mainstream “American white community.” It is
good and nice to see lot of Indian Americans are emerging out *Dr. John K. Thomas holds, B. Sc. Hons, MS and Ph D in Allied
into the American politics and a few at least succeeded in be- Health Sciences. He is a member of Tabor Mar Thoma Church,
coming members of the Congress, and one at least reached to New York. He is currently serving as Tabor MTC church secre-
the position of surgeon General of the US; some have become tary, and diocesan assembly member of the Diocese of North
commissioners of state governments. Unfortunately, not many America and Europe of the Mar Thoma Church.

18 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

Beyond Diaspora – Integration or Disintegration?
Lal Varghese, Esq., Dallas

To think about ‘Beyond Diaspora’ is not to forget about condly, issues between the first-generation immigrants
the present, which is not yet happily settled, and still and subsequent generations, and thirdly, issues between
trying to figure out what to do under the present circum- Diaspora Christians from Kerala and local community
stances of Kerala Christian Diaspora and other Christians around them. The four groups of people involved in these
from India including the Marthomites. Actually, there are issues are the earlier first-generation immigrants, parent
no studies conducted by any of the main denominations denominations, subsequent generations, and community
in Kerala into the future of Diaspora Christians from Kera- around them. Hence, when we discuss ‘Beyond Diaspo-
la and it is a still a grey area to begin with. It is a reality ra,’ we should be thinking about bridging the gap
that Diaspora Christians from Kerala are all over the world between these four groups of peoples by sorting out the
and they have established parishes in many countries and issues between them and finding the ways to address
they are provided with pastoral care from their respective them in meaningful ways so that each group can live wit-
parent denominations. In very limited cases, priests born hout any conflicts and in harmony with the other groups.
and brought up in a Diaspora context also serve these
Diaspora communities including few congregations dedi- The issues between the earlier immigrants and their pa-
cated to English speaking generations of these Diaspora rent Churches are alienating several of first-generation
Christians from Kerala. But the question is how far the immigrants from their respective Churches. It is to be
facilities provided to Diaspora Christians and their youn- noted that the earlier immigrants are the one who strugg-
ger generations by their mother denominations enable led hard to establish parishes in these regions, among the
them to continue their loyalty to their denominations and difficult life situations and adjusting to an entirely different
at the same time continue in the faith and practices of culture. They kept their faith and loyalty to their Churches
their respective denominations. Without defining or stu- and established parishes and finally established dioceses
dying the issues of Diaspora Christians facing now, it is of various denominations. Now after almost 50 years of
futile to think about the concept of ‘Beyond Diaspora.’ Let establishing congregations and parishes, these earlier
me try to define the issues faced by Diaspora Christians immigrants and parent Churches still find it difficult to
from Kerala, especially the Marthomites and how they accommodate each other, especially with their younger
can move together and then look ‘Beyond Diaspora’ and generations by understanding the needs and means to
into the future of Diaspora Christians from Kerala. address them. This is resulting in tensions between the
earlier immigrants and their parent Churches, which is
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius, Rev. K. E. reflected in parishes on a daily basis.
Geevarghese, and Dr. Mathew T. Thomas, wrote an artic-
le ‘Where Do We Go from Here?’ It was published in the One of the main issues that led to the misunderstanding
Mar Thoma Messenger in January 2014 (Page 27); it has is that the earlier immigrants believe that they established
discussed how we can bring back the younger generation the congregations and parishes without much blessings
who left the Mar Thoma Church in the Diocese of North from parental Churches, and now once they are establis-
America and Europe. It is noteworthy to mention the im- hed, parental churches are controlling their affairs without
portant things, which need to be done on an urgent basis giving any importance to laity, especially those earlier
to stop the exodus of younger generation from the immigrants. Most of the earlier immigrants think that pa-
Church, as stated in the article. rental Churches are using them and their parishes as a
source of income for parental Churches to spent in India
1. Preserving timeless traditions while adapting to for building structures, without doing anything effectively
changes; for them or for their new generations. They also believe
2. Easing tensions between the earlier and new gen- that they are not given any adequate representations in
erations; the different central decision-making bodies of parental
3. Initiating adequate counseling facilities for new Churches. Parent denominations and the earlier immig-
generations;
rants must engage in meaningful studies and conversati-
4. Enhancing communication between the parent
church, diocese, and parishes; ons with each other and sort out their differences or
5. Negating identity crisis from within and without by misunderstandings and how they can move together into
educating our community and community around the future.
us about what we are and who we are;
6. Identifying mission in the neighborhood; The issues between the earlier immigrants and subse-
quent generations are mainly based on the cultural diffe-
I believe the above issues can be categorized into mainly rences under which they lived or are living now. Parents
three areas and involving four distinct groups of people. lived in an entirely different culture especially in their
motherland, in India, and still struggling to adapt to the
Firstly, the main issues are between the earlier first- culture in which they are living now. The subsequent ge-
generation immigrants and their parent Churches; se nerations either grown up in the new countries or born

19 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

and raised in the countries in which they now live, but do our newly adopted countries as Diaspora Christians from
not have any loyalty or understanding or affinity towards Kerala.
the culture of their parents. This distinct attitude of each
group resulted in a cultural conflict between the two, The concept of mission beyond diaspora refers to the
which led majority of the subsequent generation to walk notion that diasporic believers are not only called to reach
out of the doors of parishes of Diaspora Kerala Christians. their own peoples but are also to be involved in cross-
The earlier immigrants believe that parental churches are cultural mission. I believe this is the great calling of
not doing anything to stop the exodus of subsequent ge- Diaspora Kerala Christians to reach out to our own gene-
neration from these parishes. These new generations rations and also to reach out to communities and neigh-
blame it on the ill-equipped pastors, who are sent from borhoods in which we are living and where our parishes
India to minister parishes here, especially the English only are established. Reaching out should be our focus and
speaking generations, the lengthy monotonous liturgy mission for the future and also important to attract our
repeated every Sunday, language of worship, and sermon younger generations to the fold of Kerala Christian
etc. The earlier immigrants thought that if young people Diaspora. It is encouraging to note that various denomi-
among them came forward to be trained and join the fold nations are actively involved in various local missions in
of ordained ministry, it might solve these problems. Even collaboration with other faith-based organizations. But it
though several Diaspora Christians from Kerala have y- seems that parishes and its members especially the ear-
ouths ministering in their parishes as pastors or as Youth lier generations are not inclined to get deeply involved in
Chaplains, but they failed to meet expectations of the these missional activities. This is equally true of our sub-
earlier immigrants and the subsequent generations are sequent generations, since only a very few percentages
not completely happy about it too. of our younger generations are actively involved in local
mission activities of their parishes or Dioceses.
According to many second and third generation Kerala
Diaspora Christians, our reputation as Diaspora Christians As stated above, out of the 43 million foreign-born people
living in Western countries is that of uncompassionate living in the United States, an estimated 32 million (74%)
culture warriors, quick to shout about LGBT community are Christians. What about the Christians who were born
or abortion or political issues and ideologies, but slow to and brought up here? According to studies conducted,
show grace and mercy in our everyday lives to others. the attendance of mainline denominational churches in
These ungraceful acts of the earlier generation have far United States are declining rapidly. As a Diasporic com-
more power to damage the reputation and influence munity, it is the responsibility of Kerala Christian Diaspora
among future generations, than anything, which can da- to reach out to other communities in which we live and be
mage them from outside. How we can be a true witnes- the witnesses of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are trying to
sing community to our younger generations and also to remain within our own cultural boundary, neither go out of
the community in which we are living? The concept of it or let others to enter in to it. We live and work in a mul-
missions beyond the diaspora refers to the notion that ticultural society on a daily basis and interact with people
diasporic believers are not only called to reach their own of different cultures and religion from around the world,
generations and peoples but are also to be involved in who have migrated here like us. But look at our parishes,
cross-cultural missionary work. Many Westerners are not do we allow Christian believers from other cultures to at-
aware of the fact that there are a large number of follo- tend our services? We need to cross the cultural bounda-
wers of Jesus who are migrating to the West from other ry to be the true witnesses of our Lord and that is what
countries especially from Asian countries including India, really expected from a Diasporic community like us. We
with some understanding of themselves to be on a missi- need to move from the center to the periphery.
on in their new homelands. ‘Mission is from everywhere
to everywhere’, according to Jesus when he asked us to The Institute of Faith and Life of the Catholic Church, an
be the missionaries to the end of the world. organization based in California, published a study titled,
‘Ministry in Multicultural, National/Ethnic Parishes.’ It is by
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life recently re- Ken Johnson Montragon; he sheds light on how to minis-
leased an important report on the religious affiliations of ter to multicultural, national, and ethnic people. Kerala
migrants in the United States. Of the 43 million foreign- Christian Diaspora Denominations had never done any
born people living in the United States, an estimated 32 such studies and it is high time that we address the issue
million (74%) are Christians. The U.S leads all other of ministering to our own younger generations and also to
countries as a destination for international migrants. This the multicultural, national, and ethnic Christians by
is an opportunity for Kerala Diaspora Christians to reach conducting our own research studies. In the above study,
the unreached who have migrated into our neigh- it is stated that in an effort to foster ministry that is
borhoods. Many of the world’s unreached people have responsive to the new cultural landscape of immigrants
migrated to the West, which is a God-given opportunity from various cultures forming about 20% of Catholic
to do God’s mission among such people. Many strangers Churches (not counting their children), they have articula-
next door are mission fields for evangelism. It seems that ted pastoral ministry that includes provision of ministry
our parishes lost this opportunity or not yet fully used it in and services in the native languages of the people and

20 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

also to be attentive to the needs of the younger generati- centers, and places of worship established by diaspora
ons who have the challenge of maturing in the midst of communities are part of the American social fabric.”
two cultures – neither of which are entirely their own –
can make it difficult for them to feel at home in a Church. Religious beliefs, practices, and institutions play im-
portant roles in many diaspora communities including
Culture creates a shared identity and establishes bounda- Kerala Christian Diaspora. Immigrants have long played
ries of a human group by defining behavior patterns that an important role in shaping the religious landscape in the
allow individuals to feel confident when relating to other United States. The Hart-Cellar Immigration Act of 1965
members of a group. It is both learned and in a constant notably diversified the racial and ethnic background of
process of being created as it is passed from generation immigrants in the United States. Coming largely from Lat-
to generation. As manifestation of culture, language cuts in America and Asia, these immigrants also transplanted
across all levels of culture. Each group must develop a their home country’s religions into new neighborhoods;
cultural competency and also a language that is under- they either integrated into native congregations or estab-
standable to each other, which will enable them to inter- lished new churches, temples, and mosques.
act with other groups comfortably and confidently. Unfor-
tunately, the cultural heritage, the language and culture of Professor Helen Rose Ebaugh, a sociologist and founder
the ancestors of the earlier immigrants do not find any of the Religion, Ethnicity, New Immigrants Research pro-
place in the subsequent generations. They are living in ject in Houston, Texas, succinctly summarizes central
between two cultures – one of their parents and the other issues of Diaspora communities: (a) the central role reli-
one of the societies in which they are living, which is often gious institutions play in the reproduction of ethnic identi-
described as a melting pot of different cultures. This cau- ty; (b) the role of religion as an agent in the incorporation
ses an acculturative stress in the younger generation of of immigrants into American society; (c) congregational-
Diaspora Christians both within the family and church ism as the primary form of organization; (d) conflict and
context. This tension leads to several unhealthy trends segregation within multiethnic congregations; (e) the rela-
among us both in family and in our faith life. tionship between the second generation and immigrant
religious institutions; (f) the role and status of immigrant
In order to keep their Christian identity, the younger gene- women as impacted by their religious congregations; and
ration is struggling hard in a society they are living. At the (g) transnational religious ties between immigrants in the
same time, they are facing cultural conflicts from their United States and their home communities.
parents. There should be earnest efforts for cultural tran-
sition and cultural assimilation for these two distinctive The above study also points out the fact that “Religion
groups in our parishes, namely the earlier immigrants and and congregations have played a role helping immigrants
the subsequent generations. Melvin L. Varghese, in his settle and adapt, but immigrants have also transformed
research study titled, ‘The Relationship Between Religi- religion in the United States. Christianity provides the
ous Support and Acculturative Stress in Second Genera- easiest route to assimilation; however, increasing diversi-
tion Asian American Christians,’ published in August ty within and outside religious communities in the United
2011, points out the conflict between this cultural transiti- States allow immigrants, in many cases, to revitalize
on and cultural assimilation and the consequent stress and/or transform religious institutions and even theology.
occurring in second generation Asian Christians. His stu- Rather than simply transplanting religious structures they
dy concluded that religious support plays a prominent bring with them; immigrants adapt to social conditions.”
part in reducing the acculturative stress among second
generation Asian Christians. Hence, the role of Kerala All of the above studies points to the future of Diaspora
Christian Diaspora believers is to play a significant part, Christians and their integration into Western culture and
when they think about ‘Beyond Diaspora’ and how to in- adapting to it without losing the rich heritage and faith of
tegrate, assimilate, and transition into the culture of our their ancestors who immigrated to other countries for var-
subsequent generations. ious reasons.

Katherine Marshall – the executive director of the World To conclude, where we go from here as Diaspora Chris-
Faiths Development Dialogue, in a paper titled “Religion, tians from Kerala living around the world? Are we going to
Refugees, and Diaspora Communities in the United integrate with the local community at the same time
States,” in partnership with the Pluralism Project at Har- keeping our rich heritage, faith and practices or we are
vard University – in May 2016 observed: “The United going to disintegrate and vanish into the local community
States is often described as a nation of immigrants, but around us? Are we going to be like the 10 lost tribes of
certain groups, often because they have arrived relatively Israel? The ten tribes of Israel and Judea occupied by the
recently, maintain particularly strong ties with their place two tribes assimilated into the local community and lost in
of origin; they are commonly referred to as diaspora the history. This is the question we need to ponder upon
communities. All arrive with cultural and religious heritage as we move forward and to watch our generations in the
and practices that shape American culture continuously. years to come.
Familiar services like grocery stores, restaurants, health

21 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

Who Are You? Part-2
Revd Dr. Valson Thampu

[Part-1 of this article appeared in FOCUS– October, 2022, as-growth. Confinement to certain delimited parcels of
FOCUS Vol. 10. (4) Page 18-20.] religiosity or demography mocks the very essence of be-
ing human.
The Self: The Atom of the Spiritual Universe
Else, Jesus would not have enunciated the Kingdom of
To Jesus, the self is the crux of the matter. It is the opera- God. Judaism had come to be, by way of the distortion
tive point of contact with reality. The degeneration or ill- resulting from the ‘hiding orientation’ of the Jews, as Isai-
health of the self-distorts everything that human beings ah suggests, ethnocentric and geographically confined.
do, individually and collectively. The fact that something This aberration was projected to the Person of God. So,
is advocated and perpetrated in earnestness is, hence, no God’s interests were deemed identical to the interests of
guarantee that it is true or real. In certain mental states the Jews. It is a recurrent theme in the prophetic books
individuals hallucinate, which they take for reality. Individ- that this prejudice untenable. It runs counter to truth. God
uals indoctrinated through propaganda adopt attitudes cannot be partial to anyone or any group, as Peter is
and agendas that run counter to truth. Many in the days taught through the vision given to him in the Acts of the
of Hitler mistook the Nazi propaganda for truth and were Apostles.
willing to die or kill for the implementation of it. It is for
this reason that T. S. Eliot agonized over the perilous na- The liberation that Jesus offers involves ‘opening the eyes
ture of martyrdom. One could well be committing suicide, of the blind’ (Lk.4:18). It is primarily to the state of the self
believing oneself to be a martyr for a cause. that one's eyes are to be opened. When one’s eyes are
so opened, the need for repentance becomes real. It is in
If the aforesaid is a reality and it matters to us, we would relation to the self that the need for repentance arises.
also be persuaded that there is a need to re-examine the Hence, a basic need and it applies to all. Repentance in-
denominational-nurture imparted to generation after gen- volves a radical reorientation of the self. Jesus denotes
eration of Christians, especially in relation to the divisive this also by being ‘born again’.
and exclusivist emphases that lurk in it. As a rule, what is
exclusive to a sect or denomination is emphasized not Self-denial, which happens through repentance, is a pro-
necessarily out of concern for, or commitment to, truth, found spiritual discipline. What is denied is the self-in-
but out of the eagerness to keep the flock fenced in. Is aberration. More precisely, it is the conditioned ego,
this a necessary thing? Well, it is necessary to the extent which is anything but the self, though it is widely mistaken
that one needs to know where one stands. But where one for the self. The goal of self-denial is, therefore, to be-
stands cannot be disconnected from the wider context of come the new creation ‘in Christ Jesus’. That new crea-
the Way of Jesus. This is true of the world as a whole. tion is distinguished by the ‘mind of Christ’ (Phil.2:5). That
You may be standing on an obscure, tiny spot of the mind, the light of the world (Jn.9:5), is free from walls and
globe, but you are connected to the whole of the cosmos, labels of discrimination and alienation.
howsoever indirectly. Your life will be imperilled, if the
Sun refuses to shine for a day or two. The illusion that To understand this a bit more clearly, consider the Incar-
one can live in incubators is at once false and dangerous. nation. In Incarnation, the ‘Word’ became ‘flesh’. Note
It's as silly as insisting that the moon shines only on my that it is not some scriptural tradition or church dogma
house. that became flesh. It is the Word. Note further that it is the
‘flesh’ that the Word became. Both ‘Word’ and ‘flesh’ are
The spiritual re-orientation that Jesus sought to impart all-embracing, universal categories, not parochial labels
pertained to truth. Truth is a function of wholeness. of exclusivity and separation. If Jesus is indeed the Word-
Whatever is taken or read in part is sure to fall short of the become-flesh then, surely, Incarnation embraces the
truth. All man-made walls and labels are tantamount to whole of the created order. We mock the scope of Incar-
denials of truth. nation by making it religiously exclusive; unless, of
course, we argue that flesh is only denominationally
The starting point in spirituality is the realization that one Christian, which we can’t do without inviting ridicule upon
is not what one has come to be. What we mean by the ourselves.
self is no more than the sum total of the conditioning we
have received through the accidents of birth, time and Now let us consider practicalities.
place. Sure enough, we need to be local. We are born in a
place. We are nurtured in a slightly larger context. But it is Man and woman, the book of Genesis tells us, become
manifestly unhealthy to stay stuck exclusively to the same ‘one flesh’ through marriage. The female is the sexual
spot. Growth implies liberation. The mustard seed, as other of the male, and vice versa. Should this otherness
Jesus said, must send its branches to the end of the constitute a theatre of mutual antagonism? Or, should it
earth. That universal reach is the outcome of liberation- be the resources for harmonious complementarity? If we

22 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

extrapolate the mindset that governs parochial Christiani- tact with the ‘woman with an issue of blood’, conversed
ty, man and woman have to be caught in interminable with the woman of Samaria, had fellowship with ‘sinners
gender wars for the reason that they are different from and tax collectors’, accepted the ministrations of the ‘fall-
each other. In that case we have to admit that same-sex en woman’, and so on. In two thousand years, we ha-
relationships should be the norm, and deem heterosexual ven’t gathered the moral courage or spiritual authenticity
relationships as aberrations. In matters of sexuality, we to even remotely approach that liberating and transforma-
assume the commingling of differences to be the norm, tive freedom.
but in relation to inter-denominational differences we be-
lieve ardently that differences are, and must be, a hin- The outcome? Well, we have become the salt that has
drance. This is quite astonishing, to say the least. lost its saltiness. What does this mean? Habituated as we
are to homogeneity as a norm, we adopt conformity as
An obvious by-product of the allergy to differences and the sole mode of relating to the world. The salt sans its
the dogmatic insistence on homogeneity is intolerance. saltiness is the salt that is indistinguishable from the
Intolerance runs like a red thread through the tapestry of world. It has nothing to impart and make a difference.
church history. Whatever is different from the set tradition How can we impact the world by conformity to it? So,
or notion is damned either as non-conformity or as here- even as we preach passionately on the need to be differ-
sy. Not surprisingly, Jesus was tried as a heretic and ent from the world, and we exploit these notional differ-
blasphemer. ences to our advantage, when our convenience or exi-
gencies so demand, we happily adopt conformity to the
This allergy to whatever is different from what we are ways of the world. Instances abound. They don’t have to
used to and the corresponding craze to re-fashion every- be cited.
thing after our own image – likes and dislikes – vitiate our
idea of mission, especially the practice of conversion. In In all this, the operative truth is that we don’t know who
this we lose sight of the difference between being fishers we are. So, in practice, we become glorified chameleons.
of fish and fishers of human beings. The former can be We run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. Where
undertaken as a selfish activity. In the latter, no one is to this could end up is clearly indicated by Jesus. On that
be ‘caught’, but everyone is to be ‘gained’ for God, which day, he said, many will come to me saying, ‘Lord, Lord, in
rules out altogether the prospect of shaping them after your name we did many wonderful things . . . But I will
ourselves either individually or parochially. The C.S.I mis- say to them, ‘Depart from me, you evil doers. I KNOW
sion that results in the conversion of non-Christians the YOU NOT.’
scope of which is limited to their becoming only members
of the C.S.I church is inherently suspect. This is a mock- It is only natural that Jesus knows us not, if we do not
ery of the idea of conversion-as-trans information. Every know ourselves and are averse to knowing ourselves oth-
church community is distinguished by homogeneity. Be- er than what the world tells us we are.
longing to what mandates homogeneity can never be a
transforming or liberating experience. It can only be a
change in the mode of conformity and enslavement. Till
yesterday a person was in a Hindu prison. Today he has
been shifted to a Christian prison. The obsession with
homogeneity, conformity to which is deemed the fore-
most expression of faithfulness, is inherently and blatantly
unspiritual. Jesus never enjoined conformity of any kind
on anyone. The New Creation, like the Old Creation prior
to the Fall, can have no labels. All labels denote fallen-
ness. Labels, not God, demand homogeneity. We need to
distinguish between wearing labels of Christian identity
on the one hand, and being the disciples of Jesus Christ
on the other.

Labelling or branding human beings, classifying them in

different groups and categories, treating them entirely by
the labels slapped on them, and not by the individual and
human realities they embody is the way of the world.
Even a cursory glance at the public ministry of Jesus
Christ makes us aware that labelling people was utterly
unacceptable to him. Not only that. He removed labels of
discrimination and rejection from those who were obliged
to carry them. He touched the leper, visited the Roman
Centurion’s house, acknowledged his coming into con-
‘I am who I am’ - Jesus

23 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

 book on his Priestly Golden Jubilee under the title Church on
Obituary Pilgrimage-Trajectories of intercultural Encounter (2016) pub-
lished by Dharmaram Publication, Bengaluru with 587 pages. It
Fr. Dr. Kuncheria Pathil: An Ecumenical is now well read among the theological fraternity. As requested
Theologian Par Excellence by Fr. Pathil, I wrote a brief review of the book and published in
Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph, Kottayam the Malankara Sabha Tharaka. One may come across a biblio-
graphical detail of his published books (15), articles (83) and
Let me record a few words of obi- titles of his editorials in the Jeevadhara. In its foreword, Aloysius
tuary tributes in honour of an ecu- Pieris of Sri Lanka commented that it is an anthology of article
menical friend, Fr. Dr. Kuncheria which take us to backward and forward. The thesis of the book
Pathil (83), who has been called to as remarked by Fr. Pieris is this: “The Church needs to be chal-
his eternal rest on Oct. 6, 2022. lenged by its own history. The book is ecclesiastically challeng-
Revd Dr. Joseph Daniel and I visit- ing, theologically stimulating and catechistically beneficial”
ed the CMI Thiruhrithaya Ashram,
Changanacherry and offered our The FOCUS Journal, published from Texas, is grateful to Fr.
memorial tributes to him before Pathil as he contributed a very thought-provoking article under
his funeral rites on Oct. 8. Our as- the title “Future of the Ecumenical Movement” (Focus July
sociation with Fr. Pathil goes back 2027). As a critic, he concludes his article with a comment:
to a few decades. Fr. Pathil was “The centaury long hard work undertaken by the churches in
born on Sept.25,1939 and ordained as a CMI priest in the year search of visible unity and the target of mutual recognition, in-
1967. He was professor of Systematic Theology and Ecumenics tercommunion and a conciliar fellowship among the churches is
at Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram (1979-2008). still elusive and the future of the movement is clouded with a lot
of ambiguities and uncertainties.” He makes a prophetic request
For me, his death is a silent grief and a pleasant memory. to the Church. “All churches must move from the center to the
Someone has rightly said: “What matters in life is not being ap- peripheries and prophetically involved in the lives of the poor,
plauded when you arrive, but being missed when you leave.” oppressed and marginalized and thus become agents of trans-
Yes, “the remembrance of the righteous is a blessing.” Let me formation of society and instruments of unity among the whole
flash back on my memory, Fr. Pathil has left a legacy of excel- humankind irrespective of religion, culture, caste and creed.”
lence in all the places he served. As a true ecumenist, he was
deeply rooted in his own Church tradition (Syro-Malabar). He Revd Dr. G. Varghese a retired priest of the Mar Thoma
was always ready to branch out like a tree giving its shelter to Church, wrote his doctoral dissertation under the guidance of
across Church denominations. During my tenure as the Principal Fr. Dr. Kuncheria Pathil at DVK, Bengaluru. I am including a few
of ISET-ECC and then its director (1995-2006), I had the op- words of appreciation from him to highlight the obituary notes:
portunity to meet Fr. Pathil several times at Dharmaram College, “Fr. Dr. Kuncheria Pathil was my guru, research guide, mentor
Bengaluru. We had opportunities to travel together outside the and above all a well-known ecumenical theologian. I thank God
country for attending international conferences. As the Director Almighty for the gift of such a man to community at large. His
of ECC, I regarded Dharmaram Vidya Keshtram (DVK) as an ex- vision and passion for the study of Ecumenism is expressed
tended family of ECC. Fr. Pathil and late Fr. Pathrampankal through his teachings and writings of numerous articles and
books. I am indeed privileged to be the first non-Roman Catho-
were instrumental in establishing a close link with ECC through
the establishment of ISET (Indian School of Ecumenical Theolo- lic researcher in the DVK during 1993-’97. I was staying at ECC
gy), a theological wing of ECC. They extended their helping with my family while Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph was the principal of
hand to the late Revd Dr. M.A. Thomas, the founder director of the Indian School of Ecumenical Theology and Dr. Mithra G.
Augustine, the Director.
ECC, in Whitefield. M. A. Thomas achen and the directors
followed always remember with gratitude to their service to
ECC. DVK and ECC had initiated a joint doctoral programme in “I remember with gratitude to God for the care and love he had
Ecumenical Theology. Fr. Dr. Mathew Chandrankunnel and oth- shown to me as a research student. Whenever I visited him at
er faculty members there were always ready to help in its theo- DVK, he used to receive me at the door and take me directly to
logical pursuits. I had the rare privilege to offer words of felicita- the dining hall for refreshment. This was his routine habit His
tion to Fr. Pathil when he was installed as the Director of DVK dealings were gentile, but was always strict with his academic
(2003). I should record my thanks to Fr. Pathil as he wrote a requirements. Since my thesis topic was related to the concerns
brief article under the caption “M. J. Josph: A man with an ecu- of the Sub-unit of WCC on “Dialogue with People of Living
menical heart” in my Golden Jubilee Priestly Ordination Fest- Faiths and Ideologies,” he asked me to meet Prof. Dr. S. J. Sa-
schrift Vol. under the title The Golden Beam (CSS,2015), I have martha, a former Director of the WCC sub- unit, and gather all
the useful information for my thesis. He also expressed his de-
written a lengthy on article on the Mar Thoma Church in the
prestigious International Journal Jeevadhara, edited by him. He sire that I should make use of the library resources of the WCC
had the great desire to make known the heritage of other Chris- at Geneva. Following his directions and suggestions, I could
tian Churches to the wider Christian community and particularly complete my doctoral work successfully. As an accomplished
ecumenical theologian, I am proud to say that he has left his
to his own church.
footprints on the sands of time for the glory of God“.
We used to meet at Kottayam after his retirement from DVK. He
is a combination of several noble pastoral qualities: scholarship “Lives of great men all remind us
and articulation, ecumenical commitment and allegiance to his We can make our lives sublime.
And, departing, leave behind us
own tradition, pastoral and theological acumen. He proved him-
Footprints on the sands of time.”
self to be an asset to the Christian communality all over Asia
through his theological articulation and presence. He edited a (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow).

24 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

Diaspora Community: A Christian Paradigm:
Its identity, mission, and integration with the local community, Community
without walls
The Gospel delivers us not from our distinctions, but from
Late Professor Dr. George K. Zachariah* our idolatrous worship of them. Urbanisation, industrialisa-
tion, and bureaucratisation have contributed to the withering
[This article is a transcript of a talk given by late Professor of community. There is a big gap between the community
George K. Zachariah in August 2003 at the 3 and final FOCUS
rd we have and the community we want. It is important to re-
Seminar at Santhigiri Ashram, Alwaye, Kerala. He passed away member that Christian community is not an epiphenomenon.
at the age of 90 on 31 Dec, 2020, at Vienna, Virginia, USA.]
st Let us be hones to ourselves. We have certain deals, noble
goals we preach. What we need is not talk but power. We
As I was thinking about the upcoming FOCUS meeting and are accustomed to double-think, double-talk, and double-
reading the communications, many questions connected act. We know that our selfishness and sinfulness will not get
with the theme presented themselves. Some of these ques- us there. Therefore, we are content with what is convenient
tions need clarification. It is easy to consider some of these and what appeals to self-interest and are satisfied taking a
abstractions. But what we need is more pragmatic delibera- position – limited to our experience – contending that is all
tions with a view to how we can move in the direction of a what is possible.
dream of a ‘beloved community’ that we may share. It
seems to me that our focus must be on the limits and the The local Church community can serve as a veritable labora-
possibilities of how we as a diaspora community can identify tory for experiencing new ways community living and prac-
and integrate with the local community. tice. Almost all the experiments in community I know have
been either short-lived or shallow. The word community is
There ought to be different levels of discussion. First, the valueless as a sociological concept unless it is defined in
biblical vision of a Christian community and the reality that terms of observable behaviour. It is true that we have to go
we face based on the faith and practices of the Mar Thoma a long way before we can arrive at an operational definition.
Church. Second, our relationship with other Christian com- We are essentially a community of ‘atonement’., a communi-
munities. Third, what our relationship ought to be with local ty of faith, the faith which undertakes to become flesh in a
community which is relatively non-Christian. In all these dis- people. Genuine mutuality will never more than wishful think-
cussions we must concentrate on practical ways of dealing ing as long as our imaginations are dominated by symbols of
with the challenge we face. My own personal temptation is control and competition rather than lived by those of care
to discuss is to discuss these from a purely practical frame and cooperation.
of reference. But we should resist that temptation as far as
possible. The discussion must definitely bear on he willing- Diaspora community is as far as I can see is a closed one, a
ness of each of us to follow the guidance our Lord and sav- sort of a ghetto community. Apart from the fact many per-
iour Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit no matter how revo- sons participate in local community affairs on an individual
lutionary they might be. The task is a daunting one, the chal- basis without any substantial systematic collective effort
lenge formidable, and the stakes are enormous. I would en- being made for such a participation leaving the whole out-
joy the fellowship and philosophical discussion we will have, come to chance. There is a need for more active, concerted
but we have to ask ourselves what good it does in our voca- effort to bring our community to be a more visible part of the
tion to follow Jesus. A talk is easy and cheap. Can we con- local community. Perhaps our problem today is not that we
sider our meeting as a serious business as children one Fa- lack articulators of dreams but the livers of dreams. Suc-
ther, all of us, both Christians and non-Christians? We are cessful community demands charismatic leaders. Diaspora
good people, but that is not enough. communities historically have been communities at risk. Be-
cause of its very nature the diaspora community is a com-
Understanding the nature of the community, the need for munity of sympathy as well. The question is how we can
community and the concern of God that we work at being sharpen our sense of sharing and see the building up of the
open to experience community as the concern of Good that community as a living community of prayer? Christian prayer
we work at being open to experience community are some is God made present. A community that that shares a sense
of the elemental thoughts behind the ruminations that will be of presence is a community that prays. We must rethink our
presented. It has become a fashionable cliché that it is the images of community in the light of scriptures and our Chris-
chief business that is the chief business of the Church to tian experience.
build community. If we are to escape solitary prisons our
individual egos or the group prison of our collective ego *Professor George K. Zachariah was a very early Mar Thoma
(both based on will-to-power), we must exert consider will- settler in the USA, a pioneer, and had a very distinguished aca-
to-love. Paul’s vision of a community in the letter to Ephe- demic career. He taught psychology, philosophy, education,
sians is a community without wall of hostility. That is the religion, and ethics, and was a professor at Canisius College, the
University of the District of Columbia. He was an active member
quality of the communal life which God through Christ
of the Mar Thoma Church his entire life, serving in various lead-
makes possible in the Church.
ership positions and activities, including the Diocesan Council of
North America & Europe and the Editorial Board of the Mar
Thoma Messenger

25 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

 The Story of a US Migrant: Late Prof. Dr. T. M. Thomas
Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph, Kottayam*

[Based on Dr. T. M. Thomas’ Autobiographical book, ‘Joy- points; we spend more but have less; we buy more but
ful Vocation of a Teacher,’ CSS, Thiruvalla, 2011, pages enjoy less.” In a consumerist culture with its philosophy of
276] exploitation, manipulation and competition, Dr. Thomas
holds a flag of his own with the sayings, “simplify your life,
I am immensely pleased in introducing the story of Late choose less and buy truth.” Our lives are to be like rivers,
Professor T. M. Thomas as described in the book, Joyful not reservoirs, like channels and not cisterns if one has to
Vocation of a Teacher, under another caption “, The feast of celebrate the feast of life. As his friend Dr. David R. Conrad
life.” Life is meant to be celebrated at the grassroots level. remarks in the book, “service to students, colleagues, and
A life well-lived for God and for humankind makes it beauti- his Mar Thoma Church has brought dividends in his life.”
ful. This is a God-given mandate for everybody. We should
not live to die, but we should die to live. This is possible, if Dr. Thomas knew that “service is the rent we pay for our
we are rooted in age old values such as satyam (truth), room on earth.” The credibility of the book lies in the obedi-
sivam (order) and sundaram (beauty). Spiritual values like ence of the author as found in Psalm 102:18: “Let this be
dedication, passion, courage, commitment, ethics, humility, written for a future generation, that a people not yet created
excellence, gratitude, love, God-awareness etc. make life may praise the Lord.” He has tuned the Fest of life with the
something beautiful for God. In a nutshell, this is the mes- vibrations of his head and heart. As Rev. Joseph Johny
sage of the autobiographical book, ‘Joyful Vacation of a puts it, in this treasury of Memoirs, “ . . . there is a beautiful
Teacher,’ by Dr. T.M. Thomas. blending of autobiographical sketches, educational princi-
ples and a philosophy of life” (p.273).
Let me begin the scanning of the book with the story of the
visit of a King to the great Zen Master, Lin Chi. He was The book consists of 6 parts dealing with the author’s
astonished to learn that more than 10,000 monks were creative engagement in the wider spectrum of life. Part I,
there. Wanting to know the exact number of the monks, the “Stage of my life,” part II, “High School Teaching,” part III,
King asked, “How many disciples do you have?” The Lin “Preparation for College Teaching,” part IV, “Fulltime Col-
Chi replied: “4 or 5” at the very most!” This is the case in all lege Teaching,” part V, “College Work in Four Categories,”
professions whether secular or religious. After reading the and part VI, “Reflecting on Teaching in Retirement.” Some
book, and the comments of his colleagues, friends and Central Questions carry several sub-titles and critical com-
well-wishers such as Dr. Allen Cook, Dr. Geevarghese Mar ments on the professional pursuits of the author.
Theodosius, Dr. Zacharias Mar Theophilus, Dr. Richard C.
Harper and his longtime associates or friends – Dr. Thomas In the early part of the book, the author sails in the ‘Pe-
Joseph, Dr. Abraham Thomas, Dr. Thomas Koshy, Dr. rumbavoor-ship’ and then find his lodge in the Bridgeport
David R. Conrad, Dr. Nelson Ngoh, Dr. Cathy Rice, Mathew ship for 35 years! The author always carries a nostalgic
P. George, Revd Joseph John, Revd Biju P. Simon, Revd feeling as an immigrant from the land of coconuts! It is
Ninu Chandy and Merlyn Rajan, and Dr. V.T. Samuel, I indeed great that the man behind the book remembers and
conclude without a ray of doubt that Dr. T.M. Thomas is a visits his first grade teacher in Kuriannor, Saramma, when-
teacher with a “difference” and there is no copy for him in ever he came to his native village. In his job search, there is
the professional field. a period of joy, and sorrow. Untimely death of his mother
and the death of his father at the age of 62 have cast deep
The Philosophy of life, as written in the book, shows such wounds in his psyche. But he took courage in the words of
as commitment to knowledge and wisdom, care and con- St. Paul: "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making
cern for others, and the goal to become part of life beyond many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything”
(p.32) makes this work the crown of his creative works, as (2Cor.610).
rightly said by Mar Zacharias (p18), “Winners do not do
different things. They do things differently.” His movement "The purpose driven life" of a veteran teacher will be written
from Perumbavoor to Bridgeport (rather from the East to on the sands of time in innumerable ways. "A good deed
the West) is an act of grace which equipped him to handle done is never lost" and it becomes the universal property of
real-life situations. It was really an educational pilgrimage humankind. A unique world view is evident in the writings of
which enabled Dr. Thomas to make a bridge between his memoirs, comments Dr. Cathy Rice. As Dr. V. T. Samu-
Athens and Jerusalem. The three months trip undertaken by el, a longtime friend of Dr. Thomas, has rightly remarked,
the author to the length and the breadth of the USA had the author has immensely helped the growth of his mother
indeed widened his knowledge. No life ever grows until it is Church, the Mar Thoma Church in the USA with the pro-
focused, dedicated, and disciplined. The life and teaching duction of teaching materials for Sunday School children
of Dr. Thomas drive us to make a right assessment of there. His successful teaching methods depended on his
modern life as said in an anonymous message I read, “The knowledge of the subject, pedagogical skills and his peo-
paradox of our time in history is that we have taller build- ple-oriented approach. A brilliant book, under the title, In
ings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways but narrower view the Beginning, edited by Dr. Thomas and Abraham Mat-

26 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

tackal speak of the formative years of the Mar Thoma par- seems to be a versatile genius! It is indeed noteworthy that
ishes in North America. Mar Chrysostom Commented: “As he had donated most of his books to the Indian libraries
a Church history resource material the book is a valuable where he had contacts. This is indeed a noble gesture of a
contribution in creating records for the Mar Thoma Church good professor, which could be imitated by others.
in North America."
I am indeed happy to note that Dr. Thomas gives credit to
In a chronological setting, the author takes us to the differ- his life-partner, Annamma (Sarhadharmini), for her support-
ent phases of his teaching career right from Ashram High ive role in his mission. In Chapter 19, the author creates a
school at Perumbavoor to America. Wherever possible he lasting impression on us as a researcher and author of
makes a comparative study of learning in Kerala and in books. His Church- related publications are indeed sources
America. In a spirit of humility, the author gives credit to his of information for the origin of the Mar Thoma Church in the
seniors and mentors with praise and thanksgiving. In his USA. I congratulate the author for his keeping a record of
early part of teaching. Dr. Thomas was not just a biology his early writings (p.202). Chapter 20, carries a covetable
teacher. He also taught English language. He writes, "I was title, Sabbatical leaves and visiting professor (pp.203-215).
holding on to the principle of "equal treatment" of all stu- His Sabbatical pilgrimage did not receive much apprecia-
dents giving due consideration to the needy or ignored" tion in his family circles including his pet Dog “Duke Thom-
(p.75). At an early period of his teaching career, the author as" (p.214).! Chapter 21. entitled" Services to the University:
started writing and publishing articles which he continued Duties during UB Strike, should have found a place else-
throughout his life (1953-2010). The publications of the where. The social commitment of the author is vividly
author are listed on pages 262-264 under Academic publi- brought in chapter 22.
cations. Church related materials and selected general
articles and book reviews, bear testimony to his scribal skill. The contribution of the author to the on-going ministry of
the Mar Thoma Church in the USA is laudable. Chapter 23,
The author speaks of his progressive growth in academic ‘Retired Life and Aging in America,’ is a good analysis of his
life and other pursuits due to the abiding presence of God reflections on certain fundamental questions of life in indi-
in his life. He coins a word. "God incidence" to explain the vidual and corporate categories. The author writes: "Re-
guidance of God throughout his former and later years. I am tirement is the time when we raise questions about mean-
sure the author will subscribe to the prophetic truth of life ing and significance by relating to God for which we need
as found in Jer. 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you. more time for meditation and prayer"(p.241). Chapter 24,
. . plans for welfare and not for evil. to give you a future and dealing with ‘Religion and Education in America: Becoming
hope". Chapter 11 & 12 do not have the flow which I have a Christian Teacher’, does not truly belong to an autobio-
noted in the earlier sections. The author's travelogue will be graphical narrative. Instead, the author could very well
a mine of information for one who goes on a “See America classify chapters 24&25 under his general concerns in a
Ticket.” I wonder why the author has not given a brief separate Category. Dr. Thomas writes, "Both chapters 24
sketch of his travels outside India and the USA. Chapters &25 are connected because they represented my two life
13 &14 give us an account of his “Boston experience”. Both commitments, one to Christian education and the other to
the chapters are too descriptive in which he had discussed general education, especially my dedication to the profes-
two spheres of his life: family concerns and academic sion or calling of teaching (p.260).” The section dealing with
pursuits. ‘Awards and Recognition for Service Activities ‘are indeed
monuments of his Feast of life (pp.262-264). Words of
Chapter 15 is a recollection of his social bonding. The appreciation under the section, Comments and Opinions,
author writes: "The circle of close friends was widened after have been referred to earlier. The photos, 31 in number,
we moved from Springfield to the greater New York area". I also tell volumes to us and they form an integral part of the
do admire the capacity of Dr. Thomas and Mrs. Thomas to autobiography of a person. In the photo album, Dr. Thomas
win friends around the globe. I have had my first experience leaves a legacy for the future generation.
of staying with Dr. Thomas and family in 1974 and 2006.
The social bonding taking place through the extension of The book is a true account of a scholar who has contribut-
hospitality to his friends and strangers. I have kept my ed much to the Church in general. In the treasury of books,
friendshipwith Dr. Thomas all through these years in close the autobiographical sketch of
quarters. In my autobiography (Malayalam, Ormakalude Dr. Thomas under the title ‘Joyful Vocation of a Teacher,’
Theruveedhiyil, CSS,2011), I have also mentioned about will add its fragrance to other books. "Every good and
300 persons in the book by name. Dr. Thomas and I move perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of
in the same direction in this regard. Chapter 16 deals with the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting
an overview of teaching at the University of Bridgeport for shadows"(James 1:17).
35 years. He qualifies this period as "the best of times" and
“the worst of times". In Chapter 17, he accepted the ecu- *Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph, Formerly, Principal & Professor of New
menical axiom: "think globally and act locally" in communi- Testament Mar Thoma Theological Seminary, Kottayam; Director,
cating his perspectives on education. He thus speaks of his Ecumenical Christian Centre, Bangalore; Secretary, Board of
college work in Four Categories. In chapter 18, the author Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore University.

27 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

World Christianity Summer Institute Welcome New Member to FOCUS
SUNDAY–FRIDAY, 2-7 JULY 2023 WEST- Editorial Board –
MINSTER COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, UK
Mrs. Nirmala Abraham
www.cccw.cam.ac.uk Mrs. Nirmala Abraham lives in the
State of Delaware with her hus-
CCCW runs an annual residential Summer Institute on band, O. C. Abraham, for over half
‘World Christianity and Global Challenges’ in Cambridge. a century. She is blessed with two
It is a wonderful opportunity for Christians to gather to- daughters and five grandchildren.
gether to learn about Christianity in other parts of the She is a member of the Philadel-
world. It is also an opportunity to build relationships as phia Mar Thoma Church for the
global Christians. Each year the Institute will deal with a past 46 years. Nirmala received
challenge generally focusing on the following questions: BSc degree from Woman’s Chris-
Impacts: How does the chosen challenge affect Chris- tian College, Chennai, India and
tians locally and globally? How does it impact societies? MS degree from University of Del-
Responses: The various ways in which Christians and aware in Nutrition.
Christian communities respond to it; the strengths and
shortcomings of the responses. She worked as State Nutritionist and Program Adminis-
trator for Division of Aging of the State of Delaware for 32
Actions: What insights can Christians from different parts years. Currently, after retirement, she is active in many
of the world learn from each other? How can these shape ministries, such as coordinating World Day of Prayer ser-
Christian mission, ministry and education in each one’s vice for the Diocese, Native American Mission and sup-
local context? In what ways can Christians as a global porting various mission programs in India.
community, with our neighbours from other faiths and
traditions, work together to create better societies? We
She was a member of the first Zonal Assembly and also
will explore the joys of Bible engagement in everyday
of the first Diocesan Council of the Mar Thoma Church.
lifechallengesges whilst applying the Bible message in
She was actively involved in the establishment of the first
day-to-day contexts responses to different interpretations
Diocesan Center in Richboro, Pennsylvania. She served
of the Bible reading the Bible in relation to other scrip-
Diocese of North America of the Mar Thoma Church in
tures and literature Our Summer Institute 2023 will ex-
various capacities such as the first Conven-
plore how the Bible is read contextually throughout the
er of the Mexico and Native American Missions, the
world – in church, in politics, in the home, with children, in
first Secretary of the Diocesan Sevika Sanghom. She was
work and much more.
the Convener of the National Sevika Sanghom conference
held in Philadelphia. She provided leadership in the Mar
We will welcome theological students, educators, re- Thoma Church as the first Chairperson of Ecumenical
searchers and any Christian interested in learning about Relations committee and also served as a member of Le-
Christianity in other parts of the world. We will focus on gal Affairs Committee of the Diocese.
how the Bible is understood, engaged and lived in differ-
ent parts of the world and how this helps churches and She represented her parish as a Mandalam member and
their communities to face the many ongoing challenges in also served as a member of Sabha Council of the Mar
the world. We will explore, we will listen attentively to God Thoma Church during the period 2017-2021. She was a
and to each other while we consider working together to delegate of the Mar Thoma church in the Eighth World
create better societies built on the biblical values of care, Council of Churches (WCC) Assembly in Zimbabwe, Afri-
courage, compassion and justice. We will worship and ca in 1998. Additionally, she was an NGO delegate to the
eat together daily, have opportunities to see the Centre’s United Nations (UN) Fourth World Conference on Women,
renowned library and archives, and have time to discover in Beijing in 1995. She has served as a Board member at
the delights of Cambridge. both local and national levels in many religious and secu-
lar organizations including World Day of Prayer
Contact Information: USA, Church Women United, Partners of the Americas,
Cambridge Centre for Christianity Meals on Wheels of Delaware and the Indo American As-
Worldwide Westminster College, sociation of Delaware. Rcently, she attended the WCC
Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 conference held in Karlsruhe, Germany as an observer.
0AA, United Kingdom
Email: [email protected] As a Christian, she believes firmly that our mission in this
[email protected] world is to serve the less fortunate and the marginalized
Phone: +44 1223 330640 | WhatsApp: +44 7711500532 and equip the younger generations to continue on the
faith journey of the Mar Thoma Church.

28 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

The FOCUS Movement in 2003
(For the Generosity to Give and the Humility to Receive)
young people through our Christian lifestyles and the way
[The following is a summary report of the 3rd FOCUS we conduct ourselves in all activities. We should also be
Seminar held at the Santhigiri Ashram, Aluva, Kerala, Au- sensitive to the needs of suffering neighbouring commu-
gust 27-30, 2003, circulated to participants in October, nities around us.
2003. We are publishing it now because it resonates with
the theme for the January 2023 and April 2023 FOCUS At the FOCUS-2003 seminar we had 35 registered dele-
issues, the Kerala Christian Diaspora. The motto of the gates, about 30 local guests and 20 other leaders from
FOCUS Movement is ‘For the generosity to give and the the Mar Thoma Church: Most Revd Dr. Philipose Mar
humility to receive.’ It is good to look back and see what Chrysostom Metropolitan, Rt. Revd Dr. Joseph Mar Ire-
has happened over the last 20 years to the FOCUS naeus Suffragan Metropolitan, Rt. Revd Dr. Geevarghese
Movement, which began as a lay movement within the Mar Theodosius, Rt. Revd Dr. Euyakim Mar Coorilos and
Mar Thoma Church in the late 1990s. We thank God for Rt. Revd Dr. Isaac Mar Philoxenos, Revd Dr. Valson
the continued growth of the Movement through the FO- Thampu, Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph, Revd Dr. M. V. Abraham
CUS Journal.] Revd K.G. Joseph. Lay leaders, including Professor
Sukumar Azhikode, Dr. T. M. Thomas, Dr. George Zacha-
"It is still nowhere of its true scope", Revd Dr. Valson riah, Mrs. Elzi Zac-Varghese, Mr. Mathew Kallumpram,
Thampu commented, following his excellent leadership of Mrs. Susan Kallumpram, Dr. Roy Joseph, Dr. Sam
the third FOCUS seminar at Santhigiri Ashram, Aluva, Chacko, Dr. Abraham Thomas, Dr. Mariamma Thomas,
Kerala, August 27-30, 2003. We thank everyone for trav- Mr. George John and Mr. Abraham Mattackal provided
elling together over the last eight years for attending the leadership and contributed to the success of the seminar.
earlier two seminars in 1999 and 2001, to reach where we The conference theme, "Will the Diaspora community ev-
are now in 2003, looking forward to the future under the er become a local community?", guided the discussions
grace of God. on the territorial and spiritual dimensions of the Mar Tho-
ma diasporic existence.
What should we do now? Should we stand and stare,
admire all the things we have done, mourn about the lost We also used the opportunity to felicitate the Mar Thoma
opportunities or go forward for more and more spiritually Metropolitan on his Golden Jubilee and 28 years of
oriented diasporic experiences. "By the rivers of Episcopal ministry of the Suffragan Metropolitan. We
the Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. honoured colleagues, by presenting them with traditional
There on the poplars we hung our harps, . . . " (Ps 137:1- 'Ponnada' and bouquet, who had played a major role in
4). When those Israelites sat down, they also hung their getting FOCUS of the ground. These included: Dr. T. M.
harps and they could not sing. Sitting down or standing Thomas, Mrs. Leelamma Thomas; Professor George K.
still was one of their problems. As a diaspora community, Zachariah; Dr. Thomas Abraham and Dr. Mariamma
we need to go forward. We started this journey together Thomas, Dr. P. O. Thomas and Mrs. Mary Thomas; Mr.
and we are bound to find obstacles or comfortable de- Abraham Mattackal and Mrs Kunjamma Mattackal; Dr. P.
tours or other issues which may distract our pilgrimage. It J. Alexander, Mr. George John, Mr. Philip Mathew; Mrs.
is up to all of us to stay together, pray together and work Sara K. A. Mathew, Dr. Zac Varghese and Mrs. Elzi Zac-
together to reach out and find the true potential of our Varghese. We had honoured Mr. Mathew Kallumpram
dynamic Movement. and Mrs. Susan Kallumpram at the previous FOCUS sem-
inar. Chrysostom Thirumeni blessed them and congratu-
We should not forget that it was in the course of the jour- lated them on their contributions.
ney from Egypt to Canaan that a Jewish nation was born;
it was in the dispersion of the members of our Church Chrysostom Thirumeni emphasized that the diasporic
that the Mar Thoma Church has become a global Church. existence is through God's action. Thirumeni noted that
God has blessed us abundantly to be a part of this trans- Jacob's journey was a pilgrim march. The Mar Thoma
formation. In utter humility we must continue to receive Diaspora community was not driven out of Kerala, but
and recognise these amazing opportunities and in limit- people had left voluntarily. Thirumeni spoke about di-
less generosity we should open ourselves to give until it asporic adjustments involving transformation which re-
hurts; to create opportunities for others as far as we can sults from not creating islands of isolation but creating
reach out. We also have immense responsibilities in nur- communities without walls and initiating productive dis-
turing the faith of our younger generation. We should not cussions. He talked about childhood marriages of the
be afraid in sharing the 'life management skills' that we past where girl-brides grew up with bridegroom's family
learnt so painstakingly from our experiences and God's and in the process inherited the heritage of the adopted
ever caring and loving blessings with our youngsters. family. In identifying, one does not lose one's identity, but
They are perhaps searching for role models and it is really recover one’s identity. Incarnation is all about sharing and
up to us to realise this and provide a means for providing identifying. Jesus shared all the religious rites of the Jews

29 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

but challenged them as well and lived as a human being. not 10 lakhs but about five lakhs. In part, the decline has
Likewise, we should incarnate into our diasporic situa- been due to shortfalls in pastoral care for families and
tions. Thirumeni stated that isolation is not good, since it communities. We emphasised the need for continuing
only creates a ghetto mentality. He talked about salvation diocesan programs, notwithstanding the periodic Episco-
and 'moksha': salvation is state of becoming full and pal transfers and the three-year transfer of clergy, noting
'moksha' is merging with God. the need for more coordination through the Episcopal
Synod.
Revd Valson Thampu stressed the importance of 'sent-
ness' of the diaspora, both territorially and spiritually. Another topic of discussion was the challenges faced by
From a spiritual perspective, truth is the sword of the spir- Mar Thoma young people when they leave home for Col-
it, spirituality, the ability to respond to the world outside, lege, and lose interest in home parish activities. Dr. T.M.
and creativity, the purity of spirituality. Perhaps it is time Thomas, who has done much work for the Sunday
for a revisionist view of Babylon as a place of creativity schools in the United States, assured us that it is similar
rather than oppression. The benefit of integration with to the experience of other Christian denominations, albeit
diverse alien cultures should provide the possibilities of a a concern.
powerful creative energy in a challenging pluralistic con-
text away from the motherland comforts. We have to be- There were also concerns regarding the diminishing roles
come an authentic Christian diaspora to become a local of laity in our parishes, especially in diaspora settings,
community. As a diaspora Christian community, we can where the Church seems to have moved from being a
indwell the local community like the 'leaven in the lump' 'church of the people' to a 'Church for the people', and
(Mt 6:11-12; Gal 5:9). If not, over a period of time, the more clergy-centred. We discussed the need for alterna
Christian diaspora will get assimilated into the local tive forms of worship and more lay participation in spiritu
community and lose its distinctiveness forever and would al matters of the parish.
be remembered, if at all, as an aborted diasporic enter-
prise. In this context, it is good to see the establishment The theme for the next FOCUS seminar in August 2005
of the ‘Diaspora Sunday’ annually on the 4th Sunday in was agreed as “Renewal of the Church." It was also de-
November in the Diocese of North America and Europe cided to have regional seminars, in addition to FOCUS-
from 2020. We are grateful to Zacharias Thirumeni’s 2005.
blessings and leadership for establishing this thanksgiv-
ing Sunday, and we hope and pray that it would become The FOCUS movement is unique. It has emerged in re-
a world-wide event in all the diaspora regions of our sponse to a clear and pressing need: to manage the chal-
Church. lenges and opportunities of a diaspora community with a
spiritual commitment, remaining faithful to a cherished
We discussed at length questions regarding identity, mis- Kerala Christian heritage. As we move forward, we thank
sion and integration with the local community in two the Lord Almighty for what He has done through FOCUS,
workshops, including a unified concept of diaspora. In a and ponder the following.
special session, we also discussed various issues with
Chrysostom Thirumeni and Theodosius Thirumeni. In par- 1. Has FOCUS truly become a movement? What
ticular, the need for continuity in pastoral ministry was more must we do? Is there an internalisation of
discussed, given the three-year terms of clergy and sev- the original vision and mission, leading to unity
en-year appointments of bishops. One solution may be and participation?
lay leadership training and involvement in all aspects of 2. Is there a danger of FOCUS being drawn into
parish life and the community. Other topics discussed the tensions between individuals and groups? It
include: Mar Thoma Church’s response to gay ordination; is imperative for members to embrace FOCUS as
centre-periphery relationships, balance between Episco- a Spirit-directed movement and incarnate a
pal nature of the Church and its democratic organisation- shared vision, without which efforts and re-
al structure. sources may be directed to the familiar and the
comfortable. It is important to remember that a
We also discussed with our Metropolitan and Theodosius movement is not the sum of good intentions, but
Thirumeni about the independent nature of the FOCUS a focused pursuit of its stated purpose. We must
movement and the general consensus was that we are a guard against the danger of the FOCUS move-
very helpful supporting Movement for the Church in gen- ment becoming only a series of projects and
erating ideas and supporting its pastoral activities. It was events, different from the original aspirations.
felt that its usefulness will always be as an independent 3. As a movement, FOCUS is juxtaposed be-
lay Movement with a much wider perspective and partici- tween the diaspora community and
pation. the Mother Church. Historically, the Church has
been self-enclosed institution, lacking objectivity.
We discussed the topic of declining membership of The diaspora experience, underpinned by cross-
the Mar Thoma Church, noting that our membership is cultural insights, can therefore bring an element

30 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

 of objectivity into the Church. The Mar Thoma di- The Theme for FOCUS – July 2023
aspora must value their spiritual perspectives as
well as financial contributions to various projects Vol. 11, Issue 3: ‘Living in Harmony’
in India. While funding the activities of the Church
must be deemed as a desirable response of the
Mar Thoma diaspora, that is not the most valua-
ble contribution it can make to the Church, from a
spiritual perspective. These considerations sug-
gest that creating a Diaspora centre in Kerala for
the future diaspora community, perhaps at the
Santhigiri Ashram, will be vital for maintaining the
historical links with the mother Church.

4. The foremost missional concern of the FOCUS

movement must be the predicament of the se-
cond-generation diaspora. The Mar Thoma
Church does not have the experience or expertise
to minister to them. FOCUS must become a part-
ner with the Church to develop spiritual resources
for this ministry, including a Diaspora Centre in
Kerala.
5. Therefore, FOCUS is still not a movement. Go-
ing forward, the emphasis should be on the fol-
lowing:
(a) A wider and more active participation of the
diaspora in FOCUS is vital. The Psalmist says: “How good and pleasant it is when
(b) A clear definition of the vision and mission of God’s people live together in unity” (Ps 133:1). Jesus de-
FOCUS is essential. sired unity for the whole world in His high priestly prayer:
(c) Enable members to internalize and incarnate “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me
the mission and vision of FOCUS in their own and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world
contexts. may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17:21). We see
(d) Reinforce the research and communication el- this theme of harmony repeated several times by St. Paul
ements of the FOCUS movement, through a peri- in his letters to various Churches, to the Church in Rome
odic newsletter. he wrote: “Be in harmony with one another. Do not have a
(e) Publish a book to chronicle he saga of diaspo- high opinion of yourselves, but be in agreement with
ra pioneers. common people. Do not give yourselves an air of wis-
(f) Provide objective diaspora experience feed- dom” (Rom 12:16); to Corinthians he wrote: “ I appeal to
back to the mother church. you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus
For the International committee: Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you
Dr. Sam Chacko (Philadelphia) say and that there be no divisions among you, but that
Dr. Roy Joseph (Singapore) you be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Cor 1:10);
Dr. Zac Varghese (London) to Ephesians, “Make every effort to keep unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3); to Philippians,
October 3, 2003 “Then make my joy complete by being like-minded , hav-
ing the same love, being one in spirit and one of mind (Phi
2:2). St. Peter repeats the call for harmony: “Finally, all of
you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another,
be compassionate and humble” (1 Peter 3:8). Therefore,
living for God under His love means living in harmony with
others. Truth, love, justice, and compassion are rooted in
Jesus. These are the values that we are expected to culti-
vate in our diasporic existence.

May your continued contributions and prayers help our

readers to live in harmony.

For the Editorial Board

Participants of FOCUS Seminar 2003 at Santhigiri, Al-
waye

31 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

The Syrian Christian Diaspora Teachers in Africa
Prof. Philip Koshi

Fifty-five years ago, when I first entered the portals of St. Ethiopia
Thomas Residential School, Trivandrum, as a student, I Malayali teachers started moving to Ethiopia in the 1940s,
was given the customary handbook on which was found thanks to Robert N. Thompson, a Canadian academician
the motto of the institution- ‘Thamaso maa jyotir gamaya who was impressed with the quality of the education sys-
(Upanishad).’ It translates to ‘from darkness lead me to tem in Kerala and the English language skills of those
light.’ who completed their matriculation in Kerala.

Even Now, this immortal one-liner continues to inspire me In 1944, Thompson was sent to Ethiopia to serve as the
as a citizen, parent, teacher, and member of the global founding commander of the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force
community. All through my twenty three years as a col- and Head of the nation’s Air Force Academy. He became
lege teacher, this celestial line gave me the strength and a confidant of Emperor Haile Selassie and after the war,
power to fulfill my duties as a teacher. became Deputy Minister of Education and helped to re-
build the nation’s public school system.
Kerala has produced many unsung teacher heroes, with a
sense of adventure, who looked to different parts of the Emperor Haile Selassie had initiated a scheme by which
world, not just to earn a living but also to provide quality thousands of Indian teachers, mainly from Kerala, were to
education, with their expertise and talent, based on Chris- teach in almost every school in Ethiopia. One in three
tian values, scientific temper as well as love and compas- teachers in Ethiopia’s secondary schools were Indians,
sion for one’s fellow men. These teachers were blessed with a large number of them being Malayalees. Today,
with faith in God and in themselves and exuded self- many dignitaries in Ethiopia recall their Malayali science
confidence and a sense of dignity. and mathematics teachers in school. During the era of
Emperor Haile Selassie, no Ethiopian who studied in sec-
Teaching, or as we call it, the ‘Guru-Shishya Parampara’ ondary school would graduate without being taught by
has deep roots in the culture and heritage of India. In In- Indian teachers.
dian tradition, teaching and learning are regarded as the
noblest of all pursuits. Afsa-Wossen Acerate, great nephew and biographer of
the emperor, says: “I think our relationship with India
The former President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, said: started because the Indian teachers had the two compo-
“Teachers are the backbone of any country, the pillar up- nents that were needed at that time. On the one hand,
on which all aspirations are converted into realities.” they had a good English education and many of them,
though not all, also had the plus point that they were
To quote the words of the late Pope Emeritus, Benedict Christian Orthodox teachers.”
XVI: “Life is not just a succession of events or experienc-
es. It is a search for the truth, the good and the beautiful. The fact that the Malayalees and Ethiopians shared the
It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that same faith influenced the emperor.
we exercise our freedom.”
In November 1956, Emperor Haile Selassie came for a
One of the more interesting places to teach, is Africa. Its three-week state visit to India. Personally received by
cultural heritage and unique landscape seem to be more President Rajendra Prasad and Prime Minister, Jawahar-
than enough to spark an interest to experience it first- lal Nehru, the Ethiopian monarch had a soft corner for
hand. Working in Africa could give a chance which would Malayalees and was eager to visit different parts of Kera-
be hard to come by anywhere else – to make a difference la.
to people’s lives in a significant way.
Paul Varghese
The intent and purpose of this article is to dispassionately
examine the role of the Syrian Christian Diaspora teach- By that time, he had developed a particular fondness for
ers in the continent of Africa, beginning from the late a teacher from Kerala whom he met in 1949 at the Agri-
1940s. The lives and experiences of a few teachers will cultural College in Ambo, a town in west-central Ethiopia,
be examined at some length. These teachers showed west of Addis Ababa – Paul Varghese. The Tripunithara-
grace and resilience in even the most difficult of situa- born English and Math teacher impressed the emperor
tions. We are constantly challenged by the world and when he acted as Mark Antony in the school’s production
though we may fail, we all have the capacity to be excep- of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Following the
tional. play, Varghese made a speech in flawless Amharic. Haile
Selassie was shocked that an Indian who had been in

32 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

Ethiopia for little over a year could be so fluent in the descendants, the Syrian Christians, are the community to
country’s language. which my parents belong. The emperor wanted to see
those first churches and his motorcade happened to drive
After this meeting, the emperor called for the teacher to through Kerala at the hour when the roads were thronged
be transferred from Ambo to the prestigious Haile Selas- with legions of schoolkids in uniform. That sight, so my
sie I Secondary School outside Addis Ababa. He was parents say, so impressed Haile Selassie that he recruited
asked to teach Amharic, despite not being a native
400 of his first batch of teachers for the new schools he
speaker.
was building, from this one state in India.
During his 1956 state visit to India, the Emperor request- To this day, almost every Ethiopian you meet abroad who
ed Nehru to persuade Paul Varghese, who left Ethiopia in is over 40 years of age will tell you of an Indian teacher in
1950, for the United States for further studies and re- their school, someone with an Old Testament name as
turned to India, to go back to Ethiopia. When a repre- Thomas or Jacob or Zachariah or Varghese. A change in
sentative of Nehru asked him to consider the Emperor’s their geography allowed Mariam Abraham and George
request, the humble teacher replied in a manner that Varghese to meet a few weeks after they arrived in Ethio-
shocked the Indian official: “I am deeply honored by His pia and they eventually married. But it all began with what
Majesty’s offer. And I thank the government of India for the emperor saw on a morning drive. The world turns on
communicating it to me. I regret I am not able to accept the smallest of things.”
it. I am a simple worker of the Christian Church. I am get-
ting a salary of Rs. 75 per month. And I am quite happy Teachers are arguably the most important members of
with my salary and my work.” our society. They give children purpose, set them up for
success as citizens of our world and inspire in them a
It was his dedication to his job as a teacher and under- desire to do well and succeed in life. The children of to-
standing the language and culture of the Ethiopians in the day are the leaders of tomorrow, and teachers are that
1940s that brought him to the attention of the emperor. critical point that makes a child ready for the future. In
This paved the way for several Malayalees and other Indi- reality, teachers have the most important job in the world.
ans to move to Ethiopia as teachers. After many distin- “Teachers, who educate children, deserve more honor
guished theological and philosophical achievements and than parents, who merely gave them birth; for the latter
appointments, Revd Dr. Paul Varghese was consecrated provided mere life, while the former ensured a good life” –
as Bishop Paulos Mar Gregorios of the Orthodox Church Aristotle.
and was in charge of the Delhi Diocese.
Kochukaleekal John Kurian
Dr. Genet Zewide, Ph.D., former Ambassador of Ethiopia
to India (2005- 2015), remembers her fifth-grade teacher No account of the Malayali teachers in Ethiopia will be
with a smile: a man with a booming voice and a knack for complete without the mention of an extraordinary man
making the naughtiest students in class pay attention. It from Kottayam – K. John Kurian. A man with a B.A.B.T
was the 1960s in Ethiopia, and her teacher had come a degree, he had moved from Chengannur to Kottayam as
long way to teach there – in fact, from the southern Indian he secured a job as a teacher in the CMS High School
state of Kerala. Kottayam. In 1949, he left for Asmara, Eritrea which was
then part of Ethiopia. A man of great faith in God, he la-
Zewide, who is also the former federal education minister, bored hard to teach the subtleties and nuances of the
estimates that between 1960 and 2012, more than English language to his Ethiopian students. He was a
200,000 Indians taught in her country. Through the 1960s hard taskmaster and spared no efforts to teach grammat-
and 70s, more than 6000 Indians were teaching in the ically correct English.
country at any given time. Some came and left within
weeks, while others stayed on for years. “It was a flood,” In all, he spent eleven years in Ethiopia, first as a teacher,
she says. then a headmaster and later in charge of a teacher’s
training college. He returned to Kottayam in 1962 to
In an article, Once Upon a Life, that appeared in The spend the rest of his life as an evangelist, water diviner
Guardian (10, April 2010), Dr. Abraham Varghese, Ameri- and social worker. At the age of 96, the Kottayam Munic-
can physician and author, had this to say: “Whenever I ipality honored him with the title – Grand Old Man of
hear the phrase ‘geography is destiny’, I think of my par- Kottayam.
ents, George and Mariam, schoolteachers from India ar-
riving in the misty mountain empire of Ethiopia in 1951, Nigeria
within two weeks of each other and not knowing a soul.”
Haile Selassie knew of the legend of Saint Thomas’s arri- George Kurian and Susie George reached Nigeria in
val in South India, on Kerala’s shores. Saint Thomas 1960. They taught Biology and Chemistry respectively.
made converts of the Brahmins he encountered. Their Mr. George was also given the responsibility of being the

33 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

Physical Instructor and football coach on account of his
accomplishment as football captain of St. John’s College,
Agra.

When the Nigerian civil war broke out in 1967 for a sepa-
rate country called Biafra, the couple moved on to the
western region, Ondo. In 1981, as a token of appreciation
and excellence as expatriate teachers, they were both
conferred the title of Chief. They were thereby addressed
as Chief George Kurian and Chief Susie George! The in-
stallation ceremony was an elaborate and grand affair. To
the best of one’s knowledge, no other Malayali teacher
has had this rare honor.

Subsequently, there was a large influx of Malayali teach-

ers in Nigeria during the 70s and early 80s. Most of them
held graduate and post-graduate degrees in Science,
Math, and English. Their contribution helped to boost the
educational standard in Nigeria.

In the like manner, Malayali teachers, especially the Syri-

an Christians, took up teaching positions in Kenya, Tan-
zania, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana etc. Wherever Father Paul Varghese
they went they approached their tasks with great respon-
sibility and quickly earned the confidence of the native
officers. Many of them recall how they went without
proper electricity and drinking water and lived through
adverse climatic conditions. In Romans 8:25, Paul en-
courages us that “we should look forward to something
we don’t have yet and to do so with patience and confi-
dence.”

Most of the Syrian Christian Diaspora teachers in Africa

have called it a day and have returned to their homeland.
Many of them are now community leaders and continue
to impart their knowledge and recall their experiences.
This has served to kindle hope and encouragement in the
present community.

“For man, unlike anything organic or inorganic in the uni-

verse, grows beyond his work, walk up the stairs of his
concepts and emerges ahead of his accomplishment” –
The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck.
H. G. Dr. Paulos Mar Gregorios
Chief George Kurian and
Chief Susie George Mr. Paul Varghse

Prof. John Kurian

34 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

 argues persuasively that COVID-19 is a serious warning
Book Review to the nations of the world—based on a careful examina-
tion of biblical prophesies—with the attendant call for
(1) “Christ Over Virus, Iniquities, and Death”, by Plam- self-examination and repentance before the Lord. Chap-
moottil Cherian (MDiv, PhD), Covenant Books, Murrells ter 6 shows that God is the source of all blessings, in the
Inlet, South Carolina, 2020, Pp 226, ASIN: B09515TQMP, lives of peoples (Proverbs 10:22) and nations (Deuteron-
$28.95 (Hard cover), $16.95 (paperback) omy 28:11-13). Chapter 7 makes the case for the Church
to be fully obedient to the rules and regulations of the
(2) “Distress of Nations, A Sign of End”, Plammoottil V. State, as per the commands of Christ and the Apostles
Cherian (MDiv, PhD), Covenant Books, Murrells Inlet, (Romans 13:4). Chapters 7 and 8 teach that as Christians,
South Carolina, 2022, Pp 322, ASIN: B0B4CB3VHB, we must not fear the Coronavirus pandemic, since the
$32.95 (Hard cover), $6.20 (paperback) Lord can heal any disease and sickness, as He is Jehova
Rapha (Exodus 15:26) and the Balm of Gilead (Jeremiah
Plammoottil V Cherian (MDiv, PhD) is well known to FO- 8:22). Chapter 10 introduces the new acronym for COVID,
CUS readers from various contributions, including the Christ Over Virus, Iniquities, and Death (COVID-0030),
recent January 2023 essay on the Kerala Christian Dias- recalling the AD30 crucifixion of Christ that marked the
pora. However, FOCUS readers may be less familiar with good news—the Gospel—of the reconciliation between
his writings that integrate science and theology, based on Holy God and sinful humanity (2 Corinthians 5:18). Chap-
50+ years of scientific research and academic writing. ter 11 proclaims that COVID-19 is an end-times sign, as
The 2020 book on the COVID-19 pandemic—"Christ Over elucidated by Jesus in His Olivet discourse (Matthew 24,
Virus, Iniquities, and Death”—and the 2022 book on the Mark 13, Luke 21), with a plea to yield to the rule and
End-Time—“Distress of Nations, A Sign of End”—provide reign of God in our lives. Further, Chapter 12 suggests
good examples. that the COVID pandemic is also a plumb line deployed
by the Lord Almighty for measuring the scale and scope
The 2020 book was written at the of the faith of Christians. Last, but not least, Chapter 13
height of the pandemic, with a describes the realities of heaven and hell, based on scien-
new name given to the acronym tific and theological evidence. The overarching conclusion
COVID-19—Christ Over Virus, of the book is that COVID-19 is a wake-up call to nations
Iniquities, and Death (COVID- and peoples to seek the Lord Almighty and obey Him,
0030)—signifying the atoning exhorting leaders to rule in righteousness, and prepare for
death of Jesus Christ on the end-times by trusting God as our only refuge and
cross in AD 30, as a substitute for strength (Psalm 46:1).
sinful humanity. As noted in the
“About The Book” section, the The 2022 book, ‘Distress of Na-
book is unique in terms of provid- tions, A Sign of End’ builds on
ing a biblical explanation for the the 2020 COVID-19 assessment,
scientific facts related to pesti- using it as a key element in the
lence, connecting the science and theology of pandem- broader analysis and evidence
ics. Further, the book is written in the tradition of great regarding the “distress of na-
scientists like Nicolas Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Gali- tions”, the biblical reference to
leo Galilei and Robert Boyle, who believed in God’s ma- the end-time signs. The book is
jestic creation of the universe. a tour de force on eschatology,
with excellent evidence provided
The book is divided into thirteen chapters. Chapter 1 pro- regarding governments around
vides an overview of Emerging Infectious Diseases the world becoming ungodly,
(EID)—with increasing incidence in humans during the last including countries like the Unit-
four decades and could increase in the near future— ed Kingdom and the United States, which were founded
consisting of: HIV/AIDS (1981), Lyme disease (1982), on Judeo-Christian principles.
West Nile virus (1999), Severe Acute Respiratory Syn-
drome (SARS, 2003), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome The book is divided into fifteen chapters, with five chap-
(MERS, 2015), Zika virus (2007-2016), and COVID-19 ters each presented in three parts. The first five chapters
(2019-present). Chapter 2 details the outbreak of the in Part 1 present evidence regarding the emergence and
COVID-19 pandemic, including its origins, biology, repli- continuance of compounding and multiple crises: Chaos
cation and pathology, as well as the broader microbiology in the World (Chapter 1); Moral Crises (Chapter 2); Moral
and adaptive features of microbes and viruses. Chapters Compass deficits (Chapter 3); Human Conscience dulling
3 and 4 describe how God has divided the animal species (Chapter 4); Democracy erosion (Chapter 5). The second
into clean and unclean animals (Deuteronomy 14: 6-7) for five chapters in Part 2 details the sources of the crises
human consumption and ecological purposes. Chapter 5 discussed in Part 1: Darkness in the World (Chapter 6);
Source of Darkness (Chapter 7); World in Tears (Chapter

35 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

8); COVID-19 pestilence (Chapter 9); Molecules and Mi-
crobes (Chapter 10). The final three chapters in Part 3 The Man on the Cross
document the end-time prophesies fulfilled and being Dr. Zac Varghese
fulfilled: Being-fulfilled prophesies (Chapter 11); State of
the Church (Chapter 12); Siege on US Democracy (Chap- I was baptised into a faith in a son of man, the man on the
ter 13); Lake of Fire (Chapter 14); God and America cross.
(Chapter 15). I sucked the faith from my mother’s breast, and the family
tree.
Overall, the 2022 ‘Distress of Nations’ book provides A Good Friday preacher made me cry about a man on the
broad vindication of Salvation Army founder William cross,
My role in his death was clear to me in that passionate ser-
Booth’s (1829-1912), prophesy regarding the 1900s (“The
mon.
chief danger that confronts the coming century will be
religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without The Good Friday story is within my life – the man on the
Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without cross.
regeneration, politics without God, heaven without hell.”), Once, I felt that I shouted for “Barabbas” as part of a crowd.
that has continued to hold true into the present. The book But to think of my guilt, as part of a fall, is a comical excuse;
summarizes well the growing cosmological evidence that The sign of the cross is part of my gesture for public display.
point the end of the universe, though many Christians are
He died for mankind on Good Friday – the man on the cross.
ignorant of the facts, unable to discern the times and
He did not die an ordinary death-the man on the cross.
events, under a strong delusion—as prophesied in the To make certain of his death, his side was pierced.
Bible (2 Thessalonians 2:3-10)—leading to the dulling of “Eloi, Eloi, lama Sabathani,” he cried – the son of God.
human conscience. At the same time, there has been a
withering decay of the moral compass in politics, given The agonising cry of this son of man is impossible to forget.
the removal of God from nations and Christ from church- Jesus was condemned to a shameful death on the cross.
es. In particular, the siege of the US Capitol on January 6, He was humiliated and scourged- the man on the cross.
How do I learn the incomprehensible mystery of the cross?
2021, is presented as an example of the distress of the
nations, with a fervent call to America as a watchman of Two planks of wood and three nails did not make the cross.
the times. The book concludes that the world crises stem At the heart of the cross was a suffering, but loving God.
from humanity’s rejection of God; that we are at the The ignominy of the cross poses innumerable questions,
threshold of cosmological events taking place during the Questions about the design and heartlessness of the event.
final days of the universe.
Abraham was asked to take the same road, but stopped.
Both books provide riveting accounts of the omnipotence But “God so loved the world and he gave his only son,”
and omniscience of the Lord Almighty over His creation— “Jesus was put under a wine press and crushed like a
as illustrated by the two examples noted below—and grape,”
demonstrate the scholarship and expertise of the author. “Father into your hands I commend my spirits,” he prayed.
The Christ Over Virus, Inequities, and Death chapter
(Chapter 10, p.158-175) from the 2020 book offers an Jesus’ arms are spread wide on the wooden cross,
extended discussion—recorded in the gospel accounts of As if to embrace the whole world in a gesture of love.
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—of Christ over: (i) Viruses His heart, his mind, all is open, open for all mankind.
and other microbes (e.g., Healing the lepers (Matthew The cross is the costliest gesture of faith, hope and love.
8:1-4, Mark 1:40-49, Luke 5:12-15); (ii) Inequities (Isaiah
Calvary is not simply a scandal story from the past.
53:5, 1 peter 2:24); and (iii) Death (Luke 7:1-18, Matthew
The loving sacrifice of Jesus is a reality in the present.
9:18-26, John 11:1-46, Mark 16:1-14). Likewise, the Rust- And is destined to point to the future, to very eternity.
ing Human Moral Compass chapter (Chapter 3, p.42-66) The cross is our ‘V’ sign and on the Easter day parade.
from the 2022 book provides an extensive discussion of
the Armor of God (Ephesians 6: 10-18) as the antidote for He loved his own and everyone – the man on the cross.
the dwindling moral compass of humanity: (i) Belt of truth; And would share his love to the end – the man on the cross.
(ii) Breastplate of righteousness; (iii) Gospel of peace; (iv) He paid a costly price for our salvation – the man on the
Shield of faith; (v) Helmet of salvation; and (vi) Sword of cross.
the spirit. I wholeheartedly recommend both the books to The man on the cross was the son of God – the paschal
FOCUS readers, especially those interested in the unify- lamb.
ing and complementary approaches between science and
religion, for understanding the plans and purposes of God At the end of the day, when all is said and done,
and His creation, including humanity. There can be but one explanation for the cross, the love
A love, which destroys all ‘ego boundaries’ for friendship
Dr. Cherian Samuel On Calvary everything speaks of this love and friendship.

36 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

The Scattered Missionaries
Prof. Elias Abraham
Prof. Elias Abraham, formerly of
Chengannur Christian College, Faculty of The mind slowly said, ' We are in a sojourn,
English, currently serves as a member of the the day will come for us to get healed.'
Editorial Board of The Messenger, a publica-
Weeping, yet calming down by force of will,
tion of the Diocese of North America and
we lived in the alien land while sun shines
Europe of the Mar Thoma Church. He writes
poetry and is a recipient of Editor's Choice made meaningful marks on our lifestyles.
Award by the National Library of Poetry, USA. Like Naomi, with nostalgic pains asking
questions to the worried self with doubts
Wake up my friends, and praise the Lord of lords! that never end and stabs that never heal,
For we are nothing, and from nothingness we come we stood in the unknown land in moods
It's our God, who is the God, who gave us life, of mystery entwined in stories strange.
and salvation from the bondage from eons.
Being healthy, one is akin to progress, Many with dreams come and exist,
and under the wings of the mightiest be protected. becoming part of the great design,
The music of the bugles makes the flowers smile, battling with courage to seek faith
the weeping clouds slowly settle for their sleep, in a heartless world that in flippancy,
while men hastily engage in their daily work, and dire competition finds satiation.
thinking their tidings to be true. Because this world is a commonwealth,
don't we have the right to relocate,
In this alien land, our tears our tomorrows strengthen, and establish existence anywhere
soothe our hearts and minds to settle in peace. with willingness to love and be the part
I see a rainbow at the far end of the firmament, of a universal truth of brotherhood?
splendor and charm adorn the hearts and minds, Backbreaking work charioted by motivation
to be the valiant victors in an ethereal existence. made us what we are today.
Here's Oh! God, our savior, for You we proffer Our churches do tell us stories of
the grandest gifts we carried from our native lands, our rise in the general plan
for while our sweats did soak the earth we tilled, with the divine wisdom guiding us.
and in dismay our eyes blinded in anguish, New identities were carved in us
You heard our cries and said in unequivocal tone, to better serve ourselves and society.
“Fear not, I am with you.” New horizons every day we embark,
This voice from above built our dreams, remapping the faith life, we cherish.
empowered our visions, Traditions we do need, to carry on,
and made our hearts resolute and strong, without doubt, the divine truth.
in hope's golden wings we flew, Why do we argue and quarrel
and dreamed of unknown conquests day by day. while shutting our eardrums in haste,
and without reason play the false tunes?
Where do we come from? Isn't it true that one will be known
With tearful hearts that softly sob, we say, not by what wealth one amassed,
we come from a land of dreams, not the power, or position, or rise,
where they sleep and sometimes wake, but by the love and compassion
where we often hear the singing rivers, one expressed to the fellow humans?
and the chirping birds, and guests of night,
where in midnight rains many dreams are born, Even today, like our forefathers did,
God-blessed land where Jesus' disciple lived, many, ' sitting by the rivers of Babylon,'
and sowed the seeds of Christendom, are 'weeping and remembering their Zions.'
to flower, and spread glory's fragrance. Millions, to utter frankly, do happily conquer
But alas! Things are changed, their golden horizons day by day!
it's drag race, o'er there! Dispersion has occurred, we're Diasporas.
We are 'scattered missionaries.'
We were homesick, and thirsted for a return, Are we steadfast in the Lord we serve
but days passed by to reach nowhere! like the warriors standing their ground
Had Columbus felt this and gone through in the midnight peril of the darkest gloom
the pang of the soul in the nightly sleeps?

37 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

Obituary Mrs. Thankamma Mathews
Mrs Thankamma Mathews, age 93, wife
of Late Mr. John Mathews, was born on
Dr. Anisha Abra-
2nd January 1930, to Kaithavana Abra- ham, M.D., M.P.H.
ham and Sosamma Abraham, Ranni
Kerala, India called to eternity on 13th
February 2023, in Kumbanad. After her Anisha Abraham, M.D.,
schooling she went to St Therasa’s Col- M.P.H., has been selected to
lege Ernakulam, Kerala for her pre de- serve as division chief of Ado-
gree and Women’s College Trivandrum lescent and Young Adult Med-
where she obtained a degree in Philos- icine. She has served as act-
ophy (BA). ing division chief for the past year and is also the pro-
gram director of the Adolescent Medicine’s Fellowship
Soon after her graduation, she was married to John Mathews and medical director of the Donald Delaney Eating Dis-
(Mathukutty) in 1955, and joined him in Singapore. She was a
orders Clinic.
very active member of the Mar Thoma Church and played a
supportive role to her husband Mathukutty who was a lay
leader/reader and Sunday school teacher. Dr. Abraham came to Children’s National as a fellow
after receiving her medical degree at Boston Universi-
In the early 1960s, she moved to Kumbanad, Kerala with her ty’s School of Medicine and completing her internship
children for their schooling. Whilst in Kumbanad, she was very and residency at Walter Reed’s National Military Medi-
active in the church, especially the Suvishesha Sevika San- cal Center. As She completed her fellowship at the Mili-
gam at the local and central level. Alongside a few other wom- tary Medical Center, she earned her Master’s degree in
en, she also started the YWCA in Kumbanad and served as its public health at George Washington University.
secretary multiple times.

In 1974 she moved to London, UK, with her husband and chil- Prior to joining Children’s National, Dr. Abraham spent
dren. She, along with her husband, joined the worshiping many years overseas in Hong Kong and the Nether-
community based in the Indian YMCA and took an interest in lands, serving as a faculty member at the School of
the formation of the Mar Thoma Congregation, which later Public Health at Chinese University as well as at the
became the Mar Thoma Church UK. She also took the initia- University of Amsterdam. She also has experience as an
tive, together with a dedicated group of women, to start a adolescent health consultant to international schools
chapter of the Mar Thoma Suvishesha Sevika Sangam in the and organizations and has won several faculty teaching
UK and served as its 1st Secretary. Through various initiatives awards throughout her career.
they collected significant funds supporting the charitable ac-
tivities of the Central organization in Kerala, India. She was a
sister, mother and grandmother to the diaspora community in In the U.S., Dr. Abraham has led the Adolescent Medi-
London, especially to new migrants and students who were in cine departments at both Georgetown University Hospi-
London away from their families. Many people fondly retell tal and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
stories of her hospitality and warmth when they were newly and served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army.
arrived in London.
Dr. Abraham is a trusted voice in adolescent medicine
On retirement, Mrs. Mathews together with her husband re- with a particular focus on teen mental health and resili-
turned to their roots in Kumbanad, Kerala, India, and spent ence, often contributing to national and international
their retirement happily among the extended family and
media. She has written a book on raising cross-cultural
church community. She dedicated her life in her later years to
taking care of her husband till his passing away in 2003. She adolescents and published numerous research papers
remained strong and independent as she aged gracefully. in peer-reviewed journals. She recently co-produced a
short film which was an Oscar contender based on her
Mrs. Mathews is survived by her children Mr. Noble Mathew, family’s immigration experience, retelling their visit to
London UK, Mrs. Mary George (Sissy) Chennai, India, Dr. Su- Neil Armstrong’s house in 1969. Dr. Abraham currently
san Kuruvilla, Liverpool, UK, Mr Anil Mathew, London, UK and serves on the Board of the Society of Adolescent and
grandchildren, Mr. Reuben George, Mrs. Ruth George, Mr. Young Adult Medicine. In her free time, she enjoys run-
Ben Mathew, Dr. Naomi Mathew, Dr. Rebecca Kuruvilla, Dr. ning and traveling. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Nathan Kuruvilla, Dr. Rianka Mathew and Great grandchildren,
O. C. Abraham, Philadelphia.
John, Josh and Anika.

On behalf of the worldwide FOCUS family, the editorial board FOCUS editorial board congratulates Dr. Anisha Abra-
of the FOCUS extends their deep felt condolences to the fami- ham on her new appointment. May her career develop-
ly and friends of Late Mrs. Thankamma Mathews’ family and ment be an example and encouragemnet for young
her friends. May her soul rest in peace and rise in glory. people every where.

38 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

Jesus asks: “Tell me, who do People say I am?”
Revd John T. Mathew

These days of Lenten reflections, many may recall one of our paths towards the Holy One can be audacious, ardu-
last events in the life of Jesus. St. Luke says: One of the ous and at the same time sustaining in order to keep
criminals hanging there on the cross hurled insults at Je- on going in life.
sus: “Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”. The
other one, we know him as St. Demas, known also as the Most people around Jesus did not know him. So, in order
“Good Thief” rebuked him. . . “we are getting what we to make sure that his followers knew what and who he
deserve for what we did; but he has done no was all about, he grilled his disciples. The Gospel narra-
wrong.” And he said to Jesus, “Remember me, Jesus, tives underscore the identity of a new healer. Two millen-
when you come as King!”. Jesus said to him, “I promise nia ago, many people believed him while others did not.
you that today you will be in Paradise with me. That scenario is no different today.

The season of Lent in the church calendar lasts for a for- Lent, for the faithful, is an opportunity to examine their
ty-day period; it is lengthening of daylight in the northern enthusiasm and integrity to their calling as servants. Many
hemisphere before the advent of summer. Jesus spent prefer a breezy and syrupy spirituality. Take ’em with a
forty days in the wilderness - the wordless place. Ani- grain of salt. Three decades ago, the late Paulos Mar
mals - lizards, geckos, toads, jackrabbits, camels, Gregorios reminded a global Inter-faith gathering to ‘cut
snakes, spiders and meerkats live in deserts they didn't down your commercials and improve the product’. The
create. But we humans create our own ' incommunicado' most difficult thing in life for the disciples was to follow
deserts to hunker down! Jesus who did not flinch from the foe in fear of the Roman
cross. Maybe that’s why Mahatma Gandhi lamented: ‘I
Millions of followers of Jesus mark these days as the fes- like your Christ, but not your Christianity. If it weren’t for
tival of Lent. Sundays are not included in the rigorous Christians, I’d be a Christian.’
self-flagellation of giving up something they love such as
smoking, sweets or fixation of using emails and similar It is mortifying time after time to hear the word ‘Christ’,
social media from Ash Wednesday till the Sunday of Res- which is not a name but a title. Jesus knew his title -
urrection. Some may engage in new tasks at home, or in Messiah. The four Gospels do not use the Greek term! An
the community, such as helping elderly with shopping or angel instructs Mary (Luke) and Joseph (Matthew) to
shoveling snow. name the child Jesus. The only other name for Jesus is
Emmanuel. The very first Gospel of Mark begins: ‘The
Following my first year in Edinburgh, since it was prohibi- beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the
tively pricey to return home for summer holidays, I found Son of God.’
myself at the Cretegny Farm in the beautiful village of
Bussy-Chardonney near Morges, Switzerland. My initial Religions always caved in to a weak-kneed thralldom to a
intention was to learn French and my chore included few languages. The Holy One communicates solely in
managing about two dozen labourers from bordering na- Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Sanskrit, Pali, Latin and even
tions. After dinner a native French worker helped learn the Greek! Translations of the Scriptures into local vernacu-
language. Most of the workers would go to Lausanne for lars greatly help people to get the message of the faith. It
the weekend and as houseguest I attended the local is absolutely not deific for the clergy to show off their
church with the family. slapdash panache in an abandoned, uninspiring lan-
guage. God did not speak in 17th century King James
On my first Sunday service, we sang Edmond Budry’s Version – one of the poorest translations! Nor did Jesus.
celebrated hymn, ‘Thine Is the Glory’. What an uplifting
hymn! I came across this hymn for the first time during an For better, for worse, Jesus was promoted as ‘Christos’,
Easter weekend retreat in Troon, a small town in Ayrshire. in a flashy Hellenistic designation of Messiah. Are the
A few years later, this thunderous song of acclamation, Greek term ‘Christ’ and the Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ one
‘Thine Is the Glory’ was sung at my Ordination Service and the same? No. Jesus, the Abhishek
held at Oxford Mills United Church of Canada in the Ot- (from Sanskrit word abhiṣeka - consecration, anointing of
tawa Valley! We all carry similar songs and memo- a king) might be more orthodox than Jesus, the Christ.
ries deeply in our hearts that make us mindful of refresh-
ing as well as empowering emotions in our journey of The first Gospel introduces a well-defined identity of Je-
spiritual life. sus as ‘the Messiah, Son of God’. There are other helpful
identities for Jesus such as Son of Man, Son of God, Son
It is modish to market new versions of theologies. All the- of David, etc. Jesus was a care-giver: caring for the ex-
ologies are crafted by people for the public. No matter ploited, women, children, the poor and those thrown on
what community of faith we belong to, the trajectory of

39 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

the margins to fend for themselves. He also asserted to just imagination by clueless European medieval artists.
be the true light, the way, the truth and the life. Most people in Southwest Asia had brown or dark brown
curly hair, brown eyes and brown skin. One of the most
At a local grocery store checkout line, it is not easy to household images of Jesus originates from the fourth
brush-off a magazine cover with a reputed drawing of century Byzantine period with indisputably no historical
Jesus – an upshot of medieval Italian imagination, which connection.
has little to do with the real image of Jesus of Nazareth. I
asked the store manager for his permission to go in and Imagine an image in the wackiness of a young Palestinian
double check an alleged portrait of Jesus. Year after year unorthodox Jewish man menacingly murdered by the Roman
between Christmas and Easter the print media business soldiers now in the image of an enthroned Roman emperor?
decoy “Jesus: Who Do You Say That I Am?” A disheveled, unshaven young man similar to Olympian Zeus
dressed in a gold toga- a sloppy outer garment worn by
Mark, an assistant to Peter, who did not know Jesus, was townsfolk in ancient Rome!
the very first gospel writer. Once when Jesus and his dis-
In hindsight, all I learned about Jesus was from my purebred
ciples were in the villages near Caesarea Philippi, he
pedigree of Apostle Thomas heritage. Was Jesus a hero like
posed the question: “Tell me, who people say I am?”
Rama? Was Jesus a teacher like Valmiki? Maybe someone
They answered: Some say you are John the Baptist; oth-
like Muhammad? A husky Greek thinker? Jesus for me was
ers say that you are Elijah, while others that you are one a constant friend who promised to be with me always. The
of the prophets. Many scholars have written expansively more I read and learned about Jesus, my desire to know
on the life of Jesus. Each generation highlights a critical more became a life-long fascination to soak up the mysteries
examination of the life of Jesus. The only written source of God.
of the life of Jesus is Gospel of Mark - an incomplete se-
cond-hand narrative that ends ith the words ‘they were Suddenly during my formative years, I inferred that scholars,
afraid, for’. especially theologians, might know more about Jesus. I read
Several years ago, I was invited to speak at a Full Gos- Presbyterian theology for three years in Scotland, three more
pel gathering; the prerequisite to be invited to this task years with the United Church of Canada and Roman Catho-
was that a guest should be one who believes the Gospel lic schools in Canada, one year in England and four years in
is “full”; full of what? – I never believed that the ‘Gospel’ the US…. my mustard seed-like faith in God through Jesus
was full. Reading, studying and living the Good News, the remained very much the same as I grasped it at home. Ap-
followers of Jesus are ‘the full Gospel’ for today. I turned pallingly, I abhor admitting that I lost my ability to read the
down the invitation. Scriptures the benign way my parents did!

Mark 1:1 reads: (The) beginning, a lead-in, of the gospel Also, I spent a few months at Sdot Yam Kibbutz, Caesarea,
Israel, in order to take in more about the place Jesus
of Jesus Christ, Son of God. In fact, the compilation of
lived. Christianity Today magazine asked me to write about
exposé about Jesus received from Peter is not the inclu-
how my time helped me deepen my faith. It didn’t. In the
sive gospel; John Mark insists that whatever he replicates
ancient Palestine where Jesus was born, brought up, served
about Jesus and his experiences and everything is just an his community, crucified on a Roman cross, resurrected and
initial approach. ascended, Jews say ‘Shalom’ (peace) for hello and goodbye
and Muslims greet expressing ‘As-salamu alaikum (peace be
An offspring of the first century heritage of Apostle Thom- upon you). It is hurtful to hear that ‘The only good Muslim is
as who gained a few pointers on religious experiences a dead Muslim’ or ‘People love dead Jews’.
from the European experiments on the imported faith, my
impressions of Jesus are in all imaginable respects differ- The most famous person in history, with no last name, is
ent from those of almost everyone I have met. I still love known by his first name Jesus. Messiah is his celebrated last
the way Jesus came into my life through my parents, sib- time; greatly triggered by global migration and unkempt cul-
lings, friends, family and local community of faith. tural hegemony, for many, his last name is a Hellenized
name. Martin Buber, a Jewish philosopher once said, “Belief
William Blake shared his idea of Jesus; far more than an of Jesus unites us, belief in Christ divides us”!
idea, - Jesus was a person who became one of us and
lived among us. When Jesus asked his disciples: “What Every generation, in fact every faithful follower, scoffer, cynic
about you?” “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, and naysayer has raised the query: Who is Jesus? The an-
“You are the Messiah.” swers keep evolving to satisfy the inquisitive minds of all
persuasions. Each spiritual explorer on a journey of self-
What Mark, Matthew, Luke and John attempted to inform discovery must learn to receive, take in and live the uplifting
us of Jesus is helpful to know who Jesus was. And yet, values of critical thinking of life we have inherited. The life of
no one knows for sure what Jesus looked like except a faith is an interminable process for all. A faithful follower in
Jesus is neither evangelical nor liberal, neither left nor
fictional portrait by a medieval European artist of a hand-
right! Jesus, the Abhishek asks: ‘Who do you say I am?’
some Palestinian young man. A young healthy man with
long hair and beard in a long beige robe – but that is also

40 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

Kerala Christian Diaspora: A Stocktaking
Dr. Cherian Samuel

Introduction. Kerala Christian Diaspora (KCD) has Dispersion of Syrian Christians. Evidence suggests that
emerged as a dynamic and dominant force over time. the Syrian Christians have also become a more dispersed
This essay provides a statistical outline of the KSD at the community than before, and has become an integral part
Macro level, complementing the Micro contributions that of the Kerala Christian Diaspora. During the 19th century
have been featured in the January 2023 and the current and much of the early 20th century, Syrian Christians
April 2023 FOCUS issues. The essay is divided into two lived in contiguous taluks (districts) of the Travancore and
sections. The first section provides a statistical outline of the Cochin States with a high degree of concentrationvii,
the KCS, drawing on the large body of work on Kerala engaged in their traditional occupations of agriculture and
migrationi. The second section concludes the essay and petty commerce, which did not force them to leave home.
offers some reflections. The essay draws extensively on However, with increasing urbanization and globalization,
the pathbreaking research regarding demographic pursuit of higher education and employment opportuni-
changes and migration patterns of Kerala Christians by Dr ties, migration has become a necessity. As a result, the
K C Zachariah (1925-2023)ii. Syrian Christians are currently dispersed all over the
I State, India, and the Worldviii.
Kerala Christian Population. Scholars have estimated
the total Christian population of Kerala at the beginning of Outcomes. K C Zachariah (2001) concludes that, not-
the 19th century to be about 117,000iii. On an average, withstanding the small size and the declining proportion
the Christian population of Kerala grew by 2% per annum of the Syrian Christian community, they had reached the
during the 19th century. As per the 1875 census, there top of the socio-economic ladder in Kerala. Christians
were 590,000 Christians within the current Kerala State had forged ahead of Kerala’s Hindu and Muslim commu-
boundariesiv, which increased to 891,676 in 1901. nities w.r.t demographic transition, education, possession
of land, housing, and consumer durables.
At the start of 2001, the Kerala Christian population was
estimated ~ 6 million, ~18.6% of the total State popula- The current achievements of the Syrian Christian com-
tion. During the one hundred years from 1901 to 2001, munity may be juxtaposed to their condition about a hun-
the Kerala Christian Population increased nearly 6.6 dred years ago, when they were a relatively backward
times, more than the 5 times the total State population community. As per the 1881 Cochin State census report,
grew by. During the 20th century, the Kerala Christian about 42% of the adult men of the community were la-
population growth rate was higher than the overall State borers, 32% were cultivators, and 18% traders. Only
population growth in every decade until about 1961.
about 0.33% of the Syrian Christian men were in Gov-
However, the Kerala Christian population has grown at a
ernment service, with less than 0.50% of Syrian Christian
rate lower than the State population average after 1971,
due to their rapid decline in fertility rates, as well as the men employed in the major professions of the time. Like-
high levels of out-migration and emigration. wise, the 1891 Census Report for Travancore referred to
the Syrian Christian community of the time as poor, with
Migration. While Census data do not provide information the churches in dilapidated conditions, and the priests
on migration by community, estimates suggest that Chris- receiving no regular salaries.
tians have the highest net out-migration rate among Kera-
la communities. The average net migration for the State The key driver behind the success of the Syrian Christians
was –2.8 persons per 1000 between 1991 and 2001. community has been their educational achievements.
However, the net migration rate among Christians was as Their close association with the Europeans, especially the
high as –5.2 persons per 1,000 populationv. British during the colonial period, has been a contributory
factorix. However, the Syrian Christian community could
Evidence also shows that the out-migration rate was the not have achieved the level of education without their
highest for the Syrian Christian Community vi . Though own perseverance and efforts. The differential speed of
large-scale emigration is a relatively new phenomenon for demographic transition x and the higher rate of migra-
Kerala, out-migration to other states in India has a much tionxi—both linked to educational achievements—in the
longer history, with the Syrian Christians leading the way Syrian Christian community have played a role as well.
with the highest share among all Kerala communities.
Syrian Christians are also in the forefront with respect to Evidence from Kerala Migration Surveys. Since 1998,
emigration to the US, making up about two-thirds of the the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) has undertak-
State total. en eight Kerala Migration Surveysxii. Over the years, the
KMS has provided estimates of emigration, return emi-
gration, out-migration, return out-migration, remittances,
and the average costs of migration. The estimated emi-

41 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

grants from Kerala from the different KMSs xiii are: 1.36 allocated for the consumption of non-food durable goods.
million in 1998, 1.84 million in 2003, 2.19 million in 2008, Remittance also enabled households to save and invest
2.40 million in 2014, 2.28 million in 2016, and 2.12 million more in assets, land and buildings, and human capital
in 2018xiv. through increased spending on education and health.
The analysis also found that the households which spent
In their February 2010 analysisxv, Irudaya Rajan and K C relatively more on educationxviii and health reported a rela-
Zachariah provided a useful analysis of the KMS findings tively higher share of skilled emigration to the Global
during the first decade, 1998-2008. The analysis showed North or Oceania regions xix , rather than the traditional
that emigration from Kerala increased rapidly at the start low-skilled Gulf emigrationxx. Therefore, policies that sup-
of the 1970s, with the Gulf countries as the principal des- port the new emigration patterns are likely to sustain the
tination. At the end of the first KMS decade in 2008, the growth of remittances and support sustainable economic
principal destination of Kerala emigration remained the development in Kerala.
Gulf countries. In 1998, the Gulf countries were the desti- II
nation for 93.9% of Kerala emigrants, which declined to Conclusions
88.5% in 2008. The evidence presented in this essay suggests that emi-
gration and remittances may not play the same pivotal in
However, the KMS analysis also revealed important Kerala’s economic development going forward, as they
changes within the Gulf region as destinations for Kerala did earlier. Given the ongoing demographic transition,
emigrants. While Saudi Arabia was the principal destina- Kerala may not regain the erstwhile dominance in migra-
tion in 1998—accounting for 37.5% of Kerala emigrants— tion to the Gulf either. There has also been a diversifica-
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) emerged as the top des- tion of the labor force in the Gulf countries from other
tination in 2008 with 41.9% of Kerala emigrants, rising Asian countries. However, skilled migration to the Global
from 31% in 1998. As a result, the proportion of Kerala North and Oceania remains a distinct possibility for Kera-
emigrants to Saudi Arabia declined to 26.7% in 2003 and la emigrants. However, growth and development of the
23% in 2008, though the total number of Kerala emi- domestic Kerala economy remains vital for sustainable
grants in Saudi Arabia remained stable. development in the long-term. Currently, remittances ac-
count for ~20% of Kerala’s Net State Domestic Product
In their January 2019 analysisxvi, Irudaya Rajan and K C (NSDP), as per the 2018 KMS.
Zachariah analyzed the findings of the 2018 KMSxvii that
marked the 20th anniversary of KMS migration survey Separately, the issue of in-migration into Kerala from oth-
research at CDS (1998-2018). The Survey found that er Indian States need to be reckoned with. It is estimated
there were 2.12 million emigrants from Kerala across the that there are ~3 million internal migrants in Kerala, from
world, 0.15 million lower than the 2016 KMS and 0.28 the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Bihar and Ut-
million lower than the 2013 KMS data. tar Pradesh. In-migration has been spurred by Kerala’s
highest wage rates in the country for the unorganized
The 2018 KMS also showed that top destination for Kera- sector.
la emigrants continued to be the Gulf region with
89.2%—slightly above the 88.5% share in 2008, albeit As emphasized by Irudaya Rajan and K C Zachariah in
below the 93.9% share in 1998—with the remaining 10% their analysis of the 2018 Kerala Migration Survey, there
concentrated in other countries like the USA, the UK, and are also issues stemming from migration-related changes
Australia. Within the Gulf region, the UAE remained as the to the State’s social fabric that must be contemplated.
top destination for Kerala emigrants. While the evidence showed that migration reduced in-
come, wealth and socio-economic inequalities in Kerala
Overall, KMS 2018 confirmed the trend of the last ten earlier, and levelled class structures, social hierarchies
years that emigration from Kerala is falling and return mi- and religion and caste differences, there is an emerging
gration is on the rise. The long history of migration from sense that that migration is widening these differences
Kerala to the Gulf seems to be entering its final phase. now.
However, remittances had increased, since Kerala’s Gulf
emigrants were earning higher wages and salaries, as Given these outstanding issues related to migration and
well as due to the weakening of the Indian Rupee. remittances, the Government of Kerala’s decision to es-
tablish an endowment program on International Migration
In their June 2020 paper—referenced in footnote #12
from Kerala at the CDS in 2019xxi, has been an important
above—Justin Sunny and others also used the evidence
initiative. The research program will allow CDS to build on
from the eight Kerala Migration Surveys (1998-2018) to
the pioneering work of Dr K C Zachariah and others
explore the interlinkages among remittance receipts,
through the Kerala Migration Surveys.
household-level investment and the changing emigration
patterns in Kerala. The analysis found that remittances
Another important initiative regarding migration research
improved household per capita incomes and changed
is the International Institute of Migration and Development
spending patterns, with a larger share of monthly income
(IIMAD), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, where Dr. K. C.

42 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

Zachariah served as the Founder President (2019-2023),
and his long-time collaborator, Professor Irudaya Rajan
as the Founder Chair, following his retirement from
CDSxxii.

From the standpoint of the Kerala Christian Diaspora,

there are no dedicated academic and research institu-
tions working on Diaspora issues, based on information
available at the time of this essay. However, based on the
estimates from the Kerala Migration Surveys for the 1998-
2018 period, the share of Christians among the Kerala
emigrants was 23.8% in 2018, nearly the same as the
23.6% in 2013. In terms of absolute numbers, there were
500, 236 Christian Kerala emigrants, compared to the
2013 figure of 571,799 in 1998. In turn, these figures may
be regarded as estimates of the Kerala Christian Diaspo-
ra. KMS promises to be a useful database for undertaking
more granular research on the Kerala Christian Diaspora
in the future.
_____________________________

References Paper No. 322, Centre for Development Studies, Thiru-

vananthapuram, 2001).
[1] Since 1998, the Kerala Migration Survey (KMS)— [4] The Kerala State was established in 1956, combining
undertaken by the Centre for Development Studies the three distinct administrative areas of Travancore and
(CDS), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala—has become the Cochin States, and the Malabar district of the former
definitive source of information for migration from Kera- Madras Presidency.
la, with updates undertaken every five years. KMS is [5] As a result, the net population growth for Kerala
based on a sample survey that collects information from Christians during 1991-2001 was 5.4 per 1000 popula-
over 10,000 randomly selected households from all dis- tion, given the birth rate of 16.7, death rate 6.1, and the
tricts and taluks of the state. See Irudaya Rajan and K C net migration rate of –5.2. See Zachariah (2001), refer-
Zachariah (2020) for a detailed discussion of the 2018 enced in fn#2, for more details.
KMS (Irudaya Rajan and K C Zachariah, “New Evidenc- [6] K C Zachariah (2001) included following denomina-
es from the Kerala Migration Survey, 2018”, Economic tions in the Syrian Christian community: the Romo-
and Political Weekly, Vol. 55, Issue No. 4, 25 January, Syrians (the Jacobite or Orthodox Christians who be-
2020). came Roman Catholics under Portuguese influence), the
[2] Dr K C Zachariah is the architect and visionary Jacobite Syrians (the original Syrian Christians), the Re-
founder of the Kerala Migration Survey—noted in fn#1 formed Syrians (Mar Thoma), and Protestant Syrians,
above—which has attracted international attention and etc.
approval as the gold standard for migration surveys [7] As per K C Zachariah (2001), based on the KMS evi-
(https://blogs.worldbank.org/peoplemove/data- dence, more than 85% of the Syrian Christian popula-
migration-governance-kerala-model). Dr Zachariah tion lived in the six central Kerala districts, from
worked for the World Bank Group (1971-1989), United Pathanthitta to Thrissur.
Nations (1966-1970), and the International Institute of [8] K C Zachariah (2001) estimated that nearly a quarter
Population Studies (IIPS, 1956-66), Mumbai; he has of the members of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church
been recognized globally for suggesting July 11 as the (https://marthoma.in/) lived outside Kerala; other Syrian
World Population Day. Following his retirement from the Christian denominations were likely to have similar Di-
World Bank Group, Dr Zachariah served as an Honorary aspora presence outside the State.
Professor at the Centre for Development Studies (1989- [9] Christian Missionary Society (CMS) missionaries
2023), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Dr Zachariah also from Great Britain during the 19th century played a sig-
served as the founding first Vice President of the Mar nificant role in the reformation of the Syrian Christian
Thoma Church of Greater Washington, Takoma Park, Church at the time, which led to the formation of the
Maryland (https://www.marthomawashington.com/our- Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in 1889
parish-history.html). (https://marthoma.in/the-church/heritage/).
[3] [10] The Syrians Christians were quick to avail of the
http://14.139.171.199:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/21 opportunities for birth control; as a result, fertility and
9 (“THE SYRIAN CHRISTIANS OF KERALA: DEMO- mortality transition among them was more rapid than
GRAPHIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC TRANSITION IN among the other communities. From a regime of the
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY”, KC Zachariah, Working highest birth rate and the highest mortality rate at the

43 | Page FOCUS, April 2023, Vol. 11, Issue 2

beginning of the 19th century, the Syrian Christians velopment Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Janu-
reached a regime of the lowest birth and death rates ary 2019)
among the Kerala communities at the turn of the 20th [17] The 2018 KMS noted that due to the unprecedent-
century. Their fertility had become below the replace- ed deluge of August 2018 in Kerala, climate change-
ment level. induced migration had come to the forefront of public
[11] The Syrian Christians were not much of a migrating discourse.
community before World War II. But after the Second [18] The distribution of emigrants by level of education
World War, they became the major migrating communi- shows that the share of emigrants with “up to second-
ty in Kerala. With their level of education and the limited ary level of education” has been declining since 1998,
employment opportunities within the state, migration from ~70% in 1998 to ~37% in 2018. In contrast, the
became an opportunity for the cohort of young men and share of emigrants with higher secondary or graduate-
women born during the regime of high fertility. Other level education increased during this period, from ~16%
than the Muslims who migrated to the Islamic countries to ~60 per cent. The significant increase in educational
of the Middle East, no other community has had a mi- achievement has been an outcome of Kerala’s Human
gration rate higher than that of the Syrian Christians (the Capital Investments over the years.
Muslims have a very low rate of migration to other [19] The share of emigration towards Europe and the
states within India). The remittances and other benefits United States increased from 2.3% in 1998 to 7.2% in
from the migration have played a major role in the eco- 2018. In addition, emigration to all other countries—
nomic progress of the Syrian Christian community. including Oceania and the African subcontinent—
[12] increased from ~1% in 1998 to ~3.5% in 2018. The
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/97 changing patterns in emigration destinations are also
81351188753-18/kerala-migration-survey-2016-irudaya- reflective of the upward mobility of the Kerala emigrants
rajan-zachariah (S. Irudaya Rajan and K. C. Zachariah, from low-skilled labor to skilled labor.
“Kerala Migration Survey 2016: New Evidences” in India [20] The changing pattern of emigration is also reflected
Migration Report 2017: Forced Migration, Edited By S. in the employment status of emigrants. While the share
Irudaya Rajan, Routledge India) of emigrants engaged in casual labor activities—
[13] including low-skilled technicians, drafters, salespersons,
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0972266 masons, plumbers, carpenters, waiters, cooks and other
120932484 (“Remittances, Investment and New Emigra- helpers—has been declining since 1998, the share of
tion Trends in Kerala”, Justin Sunny, Jajati K. Parida and regular official jobs—including government employees
Mohammed Azurudeen, Review of Development and and private professionals such as doctors, engineers,
Change 25(1) 5–29, 2020). As stated in the article, the scientists, professors, lecturers, teachers, accountants,
Kerala Migration Surveys details are as follows: 1998, lawyers, architects and designers—has been increasing.
KMS 1, sample size of 9,995 households; 2003, KMS 2, The percentage of emigrants engaged in casual labor
sample size of 10,012 households; 2007, KMS 3, sam- has declined from ~44% in 1998 to ~12% in 2018. On
ple size of 11,428 households; 2008, KMS 4, sample the other hand, the percentage of emigrants working as
size of 14,000 households; 2011, KMS 5, sample size of nurses increased from 3% in 1998 to ~9% in 2018.
1,536 households; 2013, KMS 6, sample size of 14,577 Likewise, the percentage of emigrants engaged in high-
households; 2016, KMS 7, sample size of 15,000 paid occupations increased from ~40% in 1998 to
households; 2018, KMS 8, sample size of 15,000 ~52% in 2018.
households. [21] https://cds.edu/endowments/international-
[14] The KMS estimates are made on the basis of an- mogration-from-kerala/. Four kinds of activities have
swers to the following question: Has any person who been envisaged: (i) Conduct of research studies on top-
was a usual resident of this household (HH) migrated ics that are required by the government; (ii) Organization
out of Kerala and is still living outside India? Those who of an annual training program on migration research; (iii)
are still living outside India are called emigrants. Similar- Creation and maintenance of a database on internation-
ly, those who worked abroad and returned to Kerala are al migration; and (iv) An annual conference on “Kerala
called return emigrants. and the World Economy”
[15] https://www.mei.edu/publications/kerala- [22] https://iimad.org/about/. IIMAD is a Center for aca-
emigrants-gulf (“Kerala Emigrants in the Gulf”, S. Iru- demic research devoted to all aspects of international
daya Rajan and K. C. Zachariah, Middle East Institute, migration, aspiring to create a platform for debate, re-
February 2, 2010) search, policy analysis and community engagement on
[16]http://14.139.171.199:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789 global, national and local scales.
/488 (“Emigration and remittances: New evidences from
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