Celebration of feast of St. Thomas

23/12/2011
St Thomas Orthodox Theological Seminary- Indian Orthodox Church

STOTS celebrated the annual feast of St. Thomas, the patron saint of the seminary on 20th and 21st of December. The chief celebrant was H. G. Dr. Mathews Mar Severios, Metropolitan of Kandanad west diocese and Synod secretary.
On December 18, Rev. Fr. John Mathews hoisted the perunal flag to mark the beginning of the feast. The feast celebrations commenced on 20th, Tuesday with evening prayer and perunal raasa from the seminary campus to the Prerana school. Following the procession, His Grace led the devotional address and benediction of the faithful. On Wednesday 21st, the Holy Qurbana was celebrated by His Grace. His Grace also gave a very inspiring message about the life and contribution of St. Thomas to the establishment of Church in India.

Rev. Fr. Bijesh Philip, Principal, thanked the students and faculty who worked hard for the success of the feast celebrations. He also thanked the well-wishers of the seminary who spent their time and energy to be part of the feast celebrations.

Unity & Autonomy of the Malankara Orthodox Church

The first session of thje Satsangh of the second semester was held on December 14th. The chief resource person was H. G. Dr. Mathews Mar Severios, , Metropolitan of Kandanad west diocese and Synod secretary. The theme for the Satsangh was “Unity & Autonomy of the Malankara Orthodox Church”

H. G. Mar Severios had accompanied H. H. The Catholicose in the satyagraha against the failure in September by going on a fast for a week. The satyagraha was against the failure of the judiciary to implement the court orders in Kollenchery Church which was in the favour of the Malankara church. His Grace shared first hand experiences regarding the happenings related to the kollenchery issue and also explained the history of the various trails of the church in the past 2000 years.

The satsangh was very effective as the whole issue related to the Kollenchery Church was better understood in light of His Grace’s explanation.

Xmas celebration

The Annual Christmas celebrations of STOTS were held on 21st December. H. G. Mathews Mar Severios was the special Guest of Honour. H. G. Mar Severios delivered the Christmas message and also wished the whole seminary family a blessed Christmas. The celebrations included cultural events performed by the students of STOTS. Following the cultural programme the students and faculty exchanged gifts to their Christmas friend.

Source:
STOTS PRO