About Us
ABOUT US
Indian Orthodox Christians
The Indian Orthodox Church, also known as Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, is a Church founded by St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, who came to India in A.D. 52.
The Malankara Orthodox Church, as part of the Oriental Orthodox family of Churches, is in communion with the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Church. But we also warmly welcome all who wish to worship and learn with us.
It can only be a gift of grace that the faith and tradition of a small community of early Christians in India have remained alive and vibrant for nearly two thousand years. Even amidst periodic storms, from one source or another, across these centuries of change, the community has maintained an inner calm in the safety of the spiritual anchor, cast in the original concept of the word Orthodox, which is the right glorification of God.
The early Christians of India (mainly on the southern coast) were known as St. Thomas Christians and indeed by no other name - until the advent of the Portuguese in the 16th century, followed closely by the British, whom St. Thomas founded the Church in India the Apostle is attested by West Asian writings since the 2nd century.
Indian Orthodox Church in the UK
As per the re-bifurcation of the geographical area in 2009, the Diocese of UK-Europe and Africa was formed to include all Parishes, Congregations and Spiritual Organisations of the Malankara (INDIAN) Orthodox Syrian Church within the geographical extents of the continents of Europe and Africa.
The Diocese of UK-Europe and Africa is one of the 30 Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church dioceses founded by the Apostle St. Thomas, headquartered at Devalokam, Kottayam, Kerala, India. It has its diocese administration headquarters at Malankara House, 35 Hennman Close, Swindon, SN25 4ZW, UK.
The Diocese today constitutes 57 Parishes (and Congregations) in 10 countries over the two continents of Europe and Africa.
Our Mission
Witness and Proclamation
"If our words are inconsistent with our actions, our evangelism is inauthentic. The combination of verbal declaration and visible action witnesses God's revelation in Jesus Christ and his purposes." The two go together.
Liturgy, Prayer and Contemplation
In contemporary worship, the rubrics of the church call for times of sacred silence. And this rubric is often ignored because parishioners are unaware of it or do not understand it. We noted that there are various reasons for silence. At the lowest level, we keep silent when we need to
concentrate on a difficult task. At a higher level, we are silent when we meditate on a profound truth, such as why Jesus died for us or how we are to live a Christian life.
Commitment to Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation
Its communities and individuals build peace, uphold justice, and maintain the integrity of God's Creation. The Orthodox Family in Britain and worldwide seeks to preach Christ's Good News and build up God's kingdom by living in solidarity with the planet and its people.
The practice of inter-religious dialogue
The shrinkage of space in the 21st century has made actual the fact that a significant number of human beings of diverse religious affiliations exist. The various religious traditions practised there can no longer be suppressed or exterminated by the sword. Thus, interreligious dialogue is placed on the front burner of contemporary discourse. The paper offers an ecumenical approach to understanding and practising interfaith dialogue within a pluralistic society. The discourse applies historical and analytical methods and argues that interreligious dialogue is a sure path that promotes respect among members of different religions. The paper suggests practical ways of engaging in dialogue with adherents of other religions and concludes that exclusivist and inclusivity positions have no grounds for genuine religious acceptance.
Efforts of inculturation
Pope John Paul II first defined the process of inculturation as "the intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in Christianity and the insertion of Christianity in the various human cultures." In other words, inculturation is the ongoing process of mutual influence and transference between one culture and another.
The ministry of reconciliation
The ministry of reconciliation involves the proclamation of the gospel and assuring that forgiveness of sin is available in Christ. Sin prevents us from having a relationship with God, but Jesus' perfect sacrifice on the cross made atonement for sin and brought harmony to humankind's relationship with Him. Jesus reconciled us to God. Now we can proclaim that people can repent their sins and be right with God again through faith in Jesus.
Our Vision
To be freed
Christ has conquered the turbulent forces of Creation, the principalities and powers. He is the man who has been freed. We need no longer be afraid of those forces, whether demonic powers which hold many primitive societies in fear and thraldom or the more subtle power of death, guilt and the fear of punishment which holds modern man in their power. Neither do we need to be afraid of the forces and powers of Secularism. Communism, Atheism, other religions, political totalitarianism, or other threatening powers. Man has no ground to stand on in the created order 'where he can be secure. He cannot find a place to stand in his powers or wisdom. But we must first have a place to stand before we can deal confidently with these tremendous forces we are to control. - And that place to stand is the Body of our Risen Lord. There is no place in Creation that is not subject to death and decay. To be freed, then, is to have a place to stand and join the company of eternity, standing in the presence of God.
To be Wise
In this stand in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, the word of wisdom is spoken to us in the Scriptures. Bible study takes place primarily and fundamentally in this heavenly eucharistic context. But this context is not divorced from the ordinary life of the incredible process of creative evolution. We bring this process with us when we come to eucharistic adoration, and the word of power directly related to the life of the cosmos is spoken to us. In the eucharistic context of standing, listening to the scriptures: before God is the way to wisdom.
To be Empowered
As we offer ourselves in the eucharist as the first fruits of the whole process of creative evolution in identification with the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit to God the Father, He who sits on the throne gives himself to us in His Body and his Blood. That is a new life, the new power, which goes back into the process of creative evolution and transmutes it.
To Live with Joy
We come back into the process of creative evolution to live and love and work, in joy and peace, in suffering, with humility, to fulfil that which God has given us to do—whether it be in politics, in administration, in evangelism, or scavenging.
To Live with Eyes Open
We see the world now in a new perspective, as the arena where God's purposes are being worked out. We act according to our latest insights and help others gain these new insights. This means that all human knowledge is to be painstakingly acquired by Christian men and transmuted in this new perspective.
To Live in Grace
By the joy of forgiveness, we transmit the joy of grace to others, not simply by the proclamation of forgiveness, but by ourselves living as a community of openness, not in deceit and sham and' false piety, but in the truth of openness in the loving acceptance which is open to all men. The grace of God often overflows into society without drawing men into the Church, but this is also part of God's mercy to man.
To Study and Work
We enter into science and technology, into historical activity, also with the same boldness with which we enter the presence o God, for He is now master of this process and has sent us to master it. We work alongside others who do not believe, and we cannot offer life in the world to God without participating in that world’s hard work.
To Pray with Groaning and Agony
As we see 'God's purposes being thwarted by the wilfulness and ignorance of man, as we see our openness and love rejected by men, as we experience our sinfulness and incapacity to do what we know to be good, we pray all the more earnestly. We agonise over discovering the best in each situation. With full awareness of our incapacity to do much about it, we pray sincerely, groaningly, with all the strength of our aspiration, that we see to be best in that situation may be fulfilled.
Values
Faith, The goal and grounding of all that we do,
is our shared faith in Jesus Christ; we seek to be faithful to God and committed to our journey together
Holiness
Willing to be opened and changed by God as we connect and meet together in the Lord; Experiencing God's holiness as we spend time together in prayer and seeking to be reconciled in Christ;
Respect
Respecting and seeking to understand each other's beliefs; we are aware of our diversity while recognising the presence of Christ in each other as we seek to understand the fulness of God's revelation for the world;
Hope
Hoping in Christ and living in the power of the Holy Spirit sustaining us and fuelling our courage; We are courageous in our vision and mission, having the strength to fulfil our reason to be.
Witnessing God's kingdom of justice, peace and reconciliation through word and action; and to our everyday discipleship in how we live and work together; and as we listen to the world in which we live and serve.