Yes! A simple question, I plead of you to ask yourself ?
For a Church which boasts of 2000 years of history - it might have been a very easy question to answer. But ask the average marthomite youth and you will find conflicting answers.
Is it because there is nothing called a marthomite identity? What can the Mar Thoma Church claim other than its so called link to St. Thomas - not to forget which is also claimed by every other Christian faction in Kerala (Syrian Christians) .
There was a time when the Mar Thoma Church had great leaders, who made an impact on society and took the Word of God to the outside world. There were leaders which inspired the society at large and dictated how the community lived. Marthomites became synonymous with honest hardworking people.
This community rose in social hierarchy, educated their women, entered positions of power for their honesty, led reforms, and became shining examples to a larger society which was to learn and respect this tiny yet foresighted minority. The marthomites went to foreign shores as teachers, civil servants, agriculturists, nurses and several 'service based professions'.
Today with more than 65% of marthomites settled outside Kerala, there is a clash of the generations. For the new generations who have been born and raised outside Kerala, the obstinate and unaccommodating stance of the Church in addressing several issues is beyond understanding.
The Church maintains it is a Kerala and Malayalam based church. Yet a rising number of young members do fall under this bracket and are neither affiliated to Kerala or speak the native language of the church - Malayalam. Then again in a feeble attempt, over the last few years a priest was assigned for the youths outside kerala - as a Outside Kerala Youth League Secretary. This however is limited to working in Bangalore and inside India. The Middle East or other Europe or Northern American parishes are thought of nothing more than money banks to fill the coffers of the Kerala Institutions and the Church.
The real issue here is that the Church or its leadership do not have a clear vision on what the future of the community is. There is no official stance of the Church on homosexuality, genetic cloning, war in Iraq, political situation in India (anything outside Kerala will be welcome), acceptance of other churches and faiths.
There is a general feeling that the Church is a train running in full speed without a driver. There is danger of derailing if there is no serious attempt to do something and turn the tide of this downslide.
More in the next post....... Comments welcome!
For a Church which boasts of 2000 years of history - it might have been a very easy question to answer. But ask the average marthomite youth and you will find conflicting answers.
Is it because there is nothing called a marthomite identity? What can the Mar Thoma Church claim other than its so called link to St. Thomas - not to forget which is also claimed by every other Christian faction in Kerala (Syrian Christians) .
There was a time when the Mar Thoma Church had great leaders, who made an impact on society and took the Word of God to the outside world. There were leaders which inspired the society at large and dictated how the community lived. Marthomites became synonymous with honest hardworking people.
This community rose in social hierarchy, educated their women, entered positions of power for their honesty, led reforms, and became shining examples to a larger society which was to learn and respect this tiny yet foresighted minority. The marthomites went to foreign shores as teachers, civil servants, agriculturists, nurses and several 'service based professions'.
Today with more than 65% of marthomites settled outside Kerala, there is a clash of the generations. For the new generations who have been born and raised outside Kerala, the obstinate and unaccommodating stance of the Church in addressing several issues is beyond understanding.
The Church maintains it is a Kerala and Malayalam based church. Yet a rising number of young members do fall under this bracket and are neither affiliated to Kerala or speak the native language of the church - Malayalam. Then again in a feeble attempt, over the last few years a priest was assigned for the youths outside kerala - as a Outside Kerala Youth League Secretary. This however is limited to working in Bangalore and inside India. The Middle East or other Europe or Northern American parishes are thought of nothing more than money banks to fill the coffers of the Kerala Institutions and the Church.
The real issue here is that the Church or its leadership do not have a clear vision on what the future of the community is. There is no official stance of the Church on homosexuality, genetic cloning, war in Iraq, political situation in India (anything outside Kerala will be welcome), acceptance of other churches and faiths.
There is a general feeling that the Church is a train running in full speed without a driver. There is danger of derailing if there is no serious attempt to do something and turn the tide of this downslide.
More in the next post....... Comments welcome!
