An Open Letter to the Sunday School Department of the Indian Orthodox Church by the OBL Forum
Orthodoxy Beyond Limits Forum members write an open Letter to the Sunday School Department of the Indian(Malankara) Orthodox Church
To
His. Grace. Dr Yacob Mar Iraneus Metropolitan
President
Orthodox Syrian Sunday School Association of the East (OSSAE)
OVBS 2010- Some Reflections
We take this opportunity to congratulate the team of OVBS (Orthodox Christian Vacation Bible School) 2010 in the improvement made over the previous year. Yet let me express certain constraints observed as I am curious over the future of Orthodoxy in India. These observations are not to undermine the pain, energy and hard work behind designing, creating and delivering a curriculum for OVBS 2010, but to emphasize that each point could have been far greater had team leadership been more professional.
Our immediate concern is over two topics
1.The Theme v/s drawing
2.Selection of people of greatness
The Theme v/s drawing
The drawing itself is mundane and ugly. Picture or a drawing is a comfortable media to explain an idea explicitly. The drawing drawn in accordance with the Biblical verse does not convey or reveal itself of the meaning. The ‘iconography’ is depicting a middle aged lady as the protagonist in a theme for children’s catechism mars the show. When the poster of OVBS 2010 was exhibited, we asked few adults and few children whether they could explain the meaning of the drawing. To our astonishment none could give the answer correctly.
A drawing is a representative of idea in life. A drawing should reveal and convey an idea effectively. We reserve our comment on the aesthetics.
Introducing Great People (Selection of people of Greatness)
There are eight lives given for senior students, one belongs to 4th century and rests are from modern age. Six lives are very familiar through text books or through supplementary readings. There are only two from Orthodox. While I take no prejudice against any of these great people, we could have spared this for Orthodox Greatness.
Among the general public Roman Catholic is Christianity, even above average knows only Roman Catholic and Protestant mainly and evangelists for their sound and fury, Orthodox Church comes nowhere. Should we not take an effort to alter this, teaching our children of our greatness, tradition and of our Saints and great men?
Unless the Church take initiative in imparting Orthodox Identity and introduce Orthodox faith and Patristic Traditions among our children, the future will definitely be at crossroads.
WILL ROMAN CATHOLIC CURRICULAM INTRODUCE ST GREGORIOUS OF PARUMALA OR EVEN ST MACRENA? WILL THE MARTHOMA CHURCH (REFORMED ORTHODOX CHURCH IN INDIA) TEACH THE MISSION WORK OF ST GREGORIOUS OF PARUMALA?
When Orthodox Church conduct a course for their children during summer vacation the attribute should focus to impart Orthodox faith among them keeping the Trinitarian Centrality and perception. We need not be secular. Hence selection of these great lives should have been from Orthodox world.
Incidentally American Orthodox Church is changing the name to Orthodox Church Vacation School to distance itself from others.
Now it is a suggestion that we introduce our great Laity who strived for strengthening Malankara Orthodox Church and our men of importance, past and present. Tradition is the sum total of the past strength of the past people carried over.
It is a fact that ten days OVBS experience of the children brings them nearer to Church than any other teaching. If the mode is made into a camp life it would have been still more effective.
It is a matter of inquiry and study how the parishioners take OVBS. My interaction reveals that families give much importance to OVBS and they take it seriously. Voluntary contributions to OVBS are a signal to this consideration. Even a small Parish generate around Rs20000/- for the exclusive use of OVBS.
If we are serious about OVBS, it is a research for 365 days. Each year a new team should prepare the courses. Our planning should be at least two years ahead.
But we need professionalism supported by pedagogical approach to subjects, quality books and teaching materials, imaginative drawings and innovative methods. We have resources, we have talents, FIND them, INVITE them, they are willing to be part of any programme or project.
In Christ
Members of the OBL Forum (Orthodoxy Beyond Limits Forum)
Email: ocpsociety.org@gmail.com
Copy to
Rev Fr O Thomas
Director General
Orthodox Syrian Sunday School Association of the East (OSSAE)
Thanks Thirumeni for the focus where we go beyond. This is what we lagged.The roots we have to fertilised and the orthodoxy will bloom with mor shine.Yes we have great fathers on our front line to guide us to a greater path
In a Catholic school (in Kochi), they have catechism only for their community of Catholic children and the rest are bundled together as Non-Catholics who are given lessons in value Education. They don’t treat others as Christians at all.
When my son was a beginner I enrolled him in Catechism so that he could get some Christian values. Next year they found out my son is a non-catholic and asked to join value education stream. The trick they played was that he would be forced to learn all catholic faith and prayers by heart. Fine. I told him it was good for him.
I try to read book on Orthodox faith and try my best to teach Orthodoxy slowly. I think that works.
What Sunday School Association should do is to publish books for parents and help them to educate their children on faith.
We Orthodox Christians are broadminded because we are Orthodox. Therefore let us
train our children in Orthodox so that they develop the love of Christ in their hearts and love others as themselves.
In our church speeches and writings, we liberally hear about Mother Teresa, Fr Damien and Sr Alphonsa. Will the Catholics say a word about any one of our saints?
A few years back Pope declared that Catholics are the only Christians in the world. Not one of our leaders said anything about it and comforted our believers about the true church’s qualities. Recently Pope welcomed Anglicans into the Catholic fold. What does that mean? You believe anything, if you treat pope as your leader, you ‘re a good Christian. This is just idolatry and dishonoring for GOOD. The Roman Catholic Church has stooped to the level of a political or business organization. They have raised a few good people who serve humanity. But officially the Catholic Church is out to destroy other churches. We should be very careful when we deal with them. They’ll praise our bishops in order to silence them from speaking the true faith.
That I why we should give emphasis on Orthodox learning in Sunday School and OVBS. If we don’t teach them Orthodoxy who will teach them.
As per the usual pracise and perceptions, we belive that the brides are adopted to the church of bride groom and belive that the wife will start to think and pray and live as same as some one born in the husbands church. But in many cases it is not happening.
After the marriage, wives are supposed to accept the faith and belief of the church of the husband as commonly seen (also vice versa happens as per the understanding between both families)
I have seen the children of Marthomite father and mother from Jacobite/Orthodox churches (before the marriage) are following as what orthodox/Jacobite follows such as Praying Hail Mary, Visiting Parumala and Manarcadu churches.
Also I come across, Orthodox families where the wife is from a marthomite family feels difficult to adjust the customs of Orthodox church such as the prayer to departed, Prayer Hail Mary, Visiting of Parumala or Manarcadu or even confession to priest. In such cases the next generation of such couples may be Orthodox by birth but without any loyality to the church and mixed faith of both churches.
There are many people now itself who in their Middle age still don’t know how to confess to priest. Also many dont even interested to confess to priest now a days people come in the middle of worship and stand in queue while priest ask to come forward those who prepared for “hoosoyo” but it seems many don’t know how to prepare for hoosoyo. What are the differences of holy confession and hoosoyo?
Many members of our churches are members just only because they born in orthodox Christian family. Some are Marthodox (children out of orthodox and marthoma couple.)
So I think some thing to be done by the church if the church is interested that its people have pure orthodox faith, as church cannot stop the marriages between people from different faith as I don’t think church will not think it need people just as members who is paying all the amounts in various names for the church. Church also should do some thing to stop the flow of our people to other churches, as Pentecost people in various names are active to increase their member ship. In the past many people (closely associated with all church activities) left to Pentecost churches.
In many Pentecost congregations, they are utilizing some portion of the time only to speak and blame the Marthoma and Orthodox Church as many are from these two churches as propaganda to attract more people from this church, slowly due to this brainwash and due to the sweet words, by various types of help many people will join with them