Focus July 2017

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FOCUS July 2017 Vol. 5 No: 3

Beyond Interfaith Dialogue, Lal Varghese, Esq., Dallas - Page 15 Cover

Photo:

Beyond

Interfaith

Dialogue (Source Internet)

A Publication of Diaspora FOCUS

‘Hostility to Hospitality’ is the Very Essence of Spirituality, Dr. Zac Varghese, London - Page 17

Editorial, Beyond Interfaith Dialogue-Page 3

Principles of Interreligious Dialogue, Acharya Sachidananda Bharathi, Nagpur – Page 19 Pluralism, a Necessary Foundation for Progress, Prof. Dr. Fr. Mathew Chandrankunnel, CMI - Page 6

Islam- an Introduction, Miss. Nikhat Sattar, Karachi – Page 22 Future of Ecumenical Movement, Prof. Dr. Fr. Kuncherian Pathil, Kottayam - Page 8

Religious Resources for Social Amity, Rev. Dr. M. J. Joseph, Kottayam – Page 11

Basic Tenets of Hinduism, Dr. Titus Mathews, Calgary – Page 25

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Editorial Beyond Interfaith Dialogue “We are pilgrims on a journey, / fellow travellers on the road; / we are here to help each other, / walk the mile and bear the load.” New Zealand composer, Richard Gilliard, wrote the above lines in 1977 as a part of his hymn: ‘the Servant Song - Brother, sister, let me serve you’. The event described in St. John’s Gospel (13: 2-9) of Jesus washing the feet of disciples gave him the inspiration to write this song. It is indeed an ideal place to begin our reflections on interfaith dialogue. The 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions, held on the shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago, was the beginning of worldwide interest in interfaith dialogue. Since then there has been many such congresses for bringing people of different religions together.

and strengthen the forces which are adverse to a materialistic philosophy of the universe.

The organisers of the 1893 Congress were careful in avoiding the dominance of one religion over others.

However, the initiative for this congress came mainly from the Christian community in the United States. There were significant resenting voices from both the Evangelical and Conservative Christian leaderships; they thought of it as a threat to their missionary imperative and spreading the salvation plan as described in the Gospels. In spite of this protest, the Parliament was dominated by Englishspeaking Christian representatives, who delivered 152 of 194 papers. Fortunately, most of the churches gradually moved away from this position. The committee of the 1893 Parliament of Religions formulated the following ten objectives and which have become broadly the framework of all subsequent interfaith congresses over the last 100 years or so.

8. To set forth, for permanent record to be published to the world, an accurate and authoritative account of the present condition and outlook of religion among the leading nations of the earth.

6. To secure from leading scholars, representing the Hindu, Buddhist, Confucian, Parsee, Mohammedan, Jewish and other Faiths, and from representatives of the various Churches of Christendom, full and accurate statements of the spiritual and other effects of the religions which they hold upon the Literature, Art, Commerce, Government, Domestic and Social life of the peoples among whom these Faiths have prevailed.

7. To inquire what light each religion has afforded, or may afford, to the other religions of the world.

9. To discover, from competent persons, what light Religion has to throw on the great problems of the present age, especially the important questions connected with Temperance, Labour, Education, Wealth and Poverty.

10. To bring the nations of the earth into a more friendly fellowship, in the hope of securing permanent international peace.

1. To bring together in conference the leading representatives of the great historic religions of the world.

2. To show to people, in the most impressive way, what and how many important truths the various religions hold and teach in common.

3. To promote and deepen the spirit of humanity among religious people of diverse faiths, through friendly conference and mutual good understanding, while not seeking to foster the temper of indifferentism, and not striving to achieve any formal and outward unity.

4. To set forth, by those most competent to speak, what are deemed the important distinctive truths held and taught by each Religion, and by the various chief branches of Christendom.

5. To indicate the impregnable foundations of Theism, and the reasons for faith in Immortality, and thus to unite

Technological revolutions, globalisation, and amazing expansion in social media networking have brought faith communities, traditions and culture together to create a

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melting pot of ideas and initiatives all around the world during the last hundred years. Religious pluralism, multiethnicity and multi-culture encounters have become part of the daily living for most people. The world that we know today is shrinking into a global village and it is our hope that this new neighbourhood may be transformed into true brotherhood and sisterhood under the Fatherhood of one God. Jesus taught us, to pray: ‘Our Father, which art in heaven. . . .” His ministry was open to everyone and He brought healing to both Jews and Gentiles. He conferred upon us the honour of children of God. In the story of Melchizedeck, King of Salem, in the Old Testament we have a Canaanite priest-king bringing bread and wine to Abraham. Here we see the beauty and sacredness of the moving from hostility to hospitality. In the Christian tradition, this gives rise to reflection on the priesthood of Christ himself, which is seen as being “according to the order of Melchizedeck” (Hebrews 6 and 7). The Apostle Paul was very clear about bringing the good news of salvation and kingdom values to everyone.

National and international organisations such as the International Council of Christians and Jews and the parliament of world religion have encouraged a multitude of interfaith dialogues around the world and has even become an industry in itself. Christian-Jewish, ChristianHindu, Christian-Muslim, Christian-Buddhist, and Christian-Sikh dialogues have become one of the new styles of theological discussion. Interfaith dialogue is now an integral part of much of the theological education worldwide and is present in a variety of ways and forms in many of our communities. Now we see increasing numbers of Temples, Mosques, Gurdwaras and ethnic churches in British Isles. We have seen an increased emphasis on interfaith dialogue in many countries after 9/11 destruction of the world Trade Centre, Iraq war, refugee crisis, state-sponsored religious violence and terrorism in some part of the world, and the emergence of right wing and fundamentalist religious fervour. Even governmental agencies are now encouraging and financing interfaith dialogues to prevent radicalisation and terrorism.

The first world missionary Conference in 1910 at Edinburgh, Scotland paved the foundation for the Ecumenical movement and the formation of the world Council of Churches (WCC). Initially, this ecumenical movement was interested only in finding unity and understanding among different Christian denominations for a common mission. Wilfred Cantwell Smith was one the pioneers who argued against narrow ecumenism for straightening the division and doctrinal difficulties of the churches. He emphasised that ecumenism is about the “whole inhabited earth,” and it should indeed deal with the plurality of the world as such, including its religious plurality. As a result of this understanding, over the years, WCC got involved in wider-ecumenism and interfaith

dialogue. Now there is a common understanding that there are so many issues in this world about which major religions agree and which requires our combined effort.

We have come to the conclusion that various religions have more issues in common than those that divide and separate them. There is also a confidence that interfaith collaboration on human rights, poverty, racial and gender discrimination, justice and ecological concerns can generate a new and powerful source of social capital that can be invested for transforming communities in ways that working as individual religious communities could never be able to achieve.

In 1986, when Prince Philip invited five major faiths and representatives of the environmental movements to Assisi to explore how they could become partners in conservation, they just came up with a slogan: “Come, proud of what you bring of your own, but humble enough to listen.” The wealth and land ownership of faith communities are beyond imagination, they are major land owners in every country of the world. The mission statement of the International interfaith invest group (3iG) at Kathmandu in 2000 was simply that “each faith should assess its portfolios with due regards to its belief, values, the environment and human rights so that all life on earth can benefit.” To develop this potential we need to move from cosy interfaith conference rooms to the cutting edge of interfaith collaboration in our communities. It should become a grass root movement involving everyone. In its efforts to establish relationship and dialogue with nonChristians, the Church has to shed its superiority and be sincerely humble to acknowledge its own contributions to the rise of religious intolerance across the world.

Therefore, it is important acknowledge the contribution of the Catholic Church to interfaith dialogue through the landmark consultations of Vatican II initiated by ‘Good Pope’ John XXIII and continued under the patronage of Pope Paul VI; this resulted in the publication of ‘Nostra Aetate’ in 1965. It is considered by many as the most important interfaith document ever written. It opens with the following introduction: “In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger; the Church examines more closely her relationships to non- Christian religions. In her tasks of promoting what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship.”1 There are so many issues in our faith communities about which we agree and we need to find answers jointly for many questions such as: “What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good? What are death, judgement and retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate inexpressible mystery which surpasses our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going?”1

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Unfortunately, interfaith dialogue has become a speciality for experts; the dominant image of dialogue is a group of religious leaders and experts coming together to discuss their beliefs. Those who engage in it are often far removed from the real power bases of which they represent. As a result, delegates of these dialogues are not able to take the message back to their own communities in a meaningful way. They often do not represent their constituencies and they do not hold constitutional surgeries to hear the voice of the people they represent. Then dialogue becomes just meaningless exercises and talk for talk’s sake. Many religions now have specially appointed interfaith officers with impressive job descriptions and these people produce amazing reports. These sorts of behaviours and attitudes made Mar Chrysostom of the Mar Thoma Church to say that ecumenism for many are a holiday in Geneva.

Therefore, dialogue in itself is not enough, it is time to think beyond dialogue; civility, appreciation and tolerance are not enough anymore. These are just polite attitudes and postures. It is now time to move to interfaith collaboration, interfaith living and interfaith worship.

Therefore, we need to move beyond interfaith dialogue into interfaith partnership and action.

Professor Harvey Cox in his book,’ Many Mansions’ argues, “Dialogue must cease to be a secondary reflection about religion and become itself a religious quest. When this happens, he believes dialogue will also become an occasion for further revelation, a new disclosure of the divine.” He quotes Raimundo Panikkar, the Indian mystic, who said, “Most dialogue between religious persons go astray when the participants begin advocating, comparing, defending, participants conceding – like diplomats negotiating a treaty.” What Panikkar stands for is more respect for silence, more shared awe and ecstasy. He says, “One neither hides the differences nor trumpets the similarities but allows both to be what they are. One waits and listens. The procedure is a nonviolent one, reminiscent of Gandhi’s Ahimsa.”

It is our common understanding that religious traditions have contributed much to the fragmentation of the world at different levels. Religions devoid of essential spirituality play a significant role in violence and conflicts in the world. Hans Kung’s dictum is true: ”there can be no peace in the world until there is peace among religions, and that there can be no peace among religions until there is dialogue among them.” As Bonhoeffer pleaded for a ‘religion-less Christianity’, we need to pray for a ‘religion-less spirituality’. When religions become structured and organised, people cease to be free. We should make a distinction between spirit and spirituality of religion and the ceremonials, prescriptions, rituals, and rules. Fr. Thomas Punnapadam2 in ‘Expanses of Grace’ wrote: “Pharisees were apparently very religious people but Jesus only condemned them because they were not

authentically spiritual. In incredibly forthright language Jesus denounces their spiritual attitudes (Mt. 23: 1-37).

Spiritual growth leads us away from egoism and a sense of personal superiority to selflessness and humility.

Spirituality may be understood as an awareness of another level of existence; it is the experience and relationship with a power beyond the individual self, a transcendental experience. Then we will realise that “we are here to help each other, and walk the mile and bear the load.” We should strive for a spirituality that opens our hearts and mind to others rather than separate us from others to develop an ‘I-Thou’ relationship as suggested by Martin Buber. This should be the goal.

Interfaith dialogue should lead us to interfaith living and worship. This is no longer an option but a necessity for the survival of mankind. Interreligious cooperation has come to be seen as fundamental to world peace and maintaining the ecological balance of the earth.

The revelation of a God of unconditional love must embrace all nations, ages and religions. Love is not selective. Eckhart Tolle wrote, “Exclusivity is not the love of God, but the love of ego.” Therefore, it is difficult to comprehend how God restricts His revelations to selected few or a chosen nation. In the book of Revelation, St. John speaks of a New Jerusalem without a Temple because ‘God himself will be with His people and be their God’ (Revelation Chapter 21). It is in human relationships, without judging each other we find the presence of God. We should begin to see interfaith dialogue and action as a specific God-given Christian responsibility as part of God’s mission. This would help us to pray the universal prayer: “lead us from ignorance to truth; from darkness to light and from death to eternity.”

References: 1. Nostra Aetate: Pope Paul VI, declaration on the relation of the Church to Non-Christian religions, 28 October 1965 2. Thomas Punnapadam, Authentic Spirituality, in Expanses of Grace, Published by FOCUS and CSS Books, Tiruvalla, 2017, p313-317 t,

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Pluralism, a Necessary Foundation for Progress Prof. Fr. Dr. Mathew Chandrankunnel CMI, Bangalore* The recent social, political and intellectual upheaval all over India induced by the ban issued by the ministry of Environment on the slaughter of animals is an example of a threat to pluralism. States like Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Bengal openly revolted against the ban and challenged the ban in courts and some organizations establishing beef fests. Arguments and counter arguments against the ban, quoting the scriptures like Vedas how in those times eating meat was a common practice including revered figures of Hinduism are pervaded in the communication media. This incident could be considered as an example of imposing the ideology of a particular community or an organization over all other communities and how such a decision could lead to the breakup of peace and harmony in the society and how in the long run such incidents can affect the development and progress of the wider humanity as a whole because of the unrest it generated and the trust it has violated. Imposing the will of a group of people could spread uneasiness and protests in the other groups stirring up conflicts and fragmentation in the society at large. This beef ban incident gives us enough fodder to reflect about the necessity of pluralism as a foundation for growth, harmony and development.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, it was Christianity that imposed its will. The leadership tried to govern the individual through the dictates of the does and don’ts.

Renaissance, enlightenment and reformation came out of challenging these dictates and it sow the flowering of humanity through the emergence of art, architecture, science, political processes and renewal of the Church itself. Instead of a single and particular ideology, different thoughts and processes were accepted and celebrated.

This appreciation and acceptance of critical reflection on the culture, paved the way for the human progress in the West. Pluralism, an acceptance of the existence of multiple ideologies transformed the European culture, though it took at times armed struggle in order to

establish this co-existence of the manifoldness of ideas.

This appreciation for the co-existence of multitudes of ideas is indeed celebrated in the Bhagavat Gita, the revered book in the Indian culture too. Bhagavan Krishna exhorted Arjuna to do Nishkama Karma. Arjuna was confused in the midst of numerous ideologies and was pondering which one should be right for him to follow!

Krishna did not deny any of them, but advised him to follow what he thinks the best and saved Arjuna from confusion and paralysis. It was said that in the Indian milieu, there were the different religious traditions, the philosophical ideologies and cultural patterns and in front of these multiplicity, one was truly confused to recognize which one is right and which one should, ought to follow.

In this context of the existence of the multifarious ideologies, Krishna is advising Arjuna symbolically, to make decisions without looking at the consequences.

This is one of the best interpretations of Bhagavat Gita, I have ever read. This co-existence and celebration of the many is the inner core of Indian culture. Indian culture always fostered and accepted the multiplicity and never imposed a steam rolling of one particular ideology. Even religions like Buddhism and Jainism without Gods are celebrated along with the denial of theistic thoughts proposed by the sage Charvaka. The imposition of a single ideology, leads to fascism, fundamentalism and nationalism, which ultimately would lead to conflicts with other ideologies leading to armed struggle. Thus it can create, fear, psychosis and open revolt or stiff resistance.

The annals of human history are full of with incidents of fighting against fascist, fundamentalist and nationalist forces. The fascist ideology of Nazism is defeated by the coming together of all humanity. Nazism was imposing its own racial purity and its will to conquer and rule over the world, almost behaving like the super-race and superman expressed in the philosophy of Nietzsche. There are other dictators who followed the Nazi like ideology and have been thrown into the dust bin of history though a few are still reigning in some corners of the 21st century with their archaic views and sadistic persecution tactics. The emergence of Islamic State and its inhuman imposition of ideology is again another example of the decadence of creative thinking and narrowed vision.

The emergence of Islam in the 7th and 8th century gave rise to the collection, translation, transmission and deposit of knowledge inaugurated by the establishment of House of Wisdom by Caliph al-Mansur. The mathematical treatises of the Indian astronomer and mathematician Bhaskaracharya, was translated into Arabic as Al-Jebar by Al-Quarismi which was later translated into Latin as Algebra and thus the meritorious

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evolution of this mathematical branch. The Islamic astronomers observed the sky and meticulously noted the movements of the planets and showed the flows in the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic cosmosophy, which led Copernicus to revamp the geostatic-geocentric system with heliocentrism. The acceptance and celebration of knowledge from all over the world and its translation and transmission led to the human progress in an unprecedented way. However, the critique of this rational process by the faith dominated ideologies of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali who considered that falsafa – rationality, logic, mathematics and physics were incompatible with Islam and proposed that it deviated the mind of the believer from God. This ideology was pursued by Ibn Timayyah, and this puritanical interpretation against acquisition of knowledge and its transmission was further extended by Ibn Wahhab and the Salafi traits that at present led to the violent exhibition of persecution of other communities and ideologies, creating terror and fear among the society at large. So when a single window or a narrowed vision is propagated and executed it is definitely detrimental to the peace, harmony and progress of humanity. Such ideologies need to be checked at the very beginning itself otherwise it can hamper the existence of even other communities not even ideologies.

Almost the same situation would have happened in the West if Galileo did not fight against the fundamentalists of his times. The literal interpretation of the Bible was steam rolled by the Aristotelians and theologians of the times as it is given in the book of Joshua of the Bible that Yahweh stopped the sun and the moon. Galileo through his telescope discovered the movements of the satellites of Jupiter and was certain of the heliocentrism of Copernicus was the real representation of the universe.

However, he was condemned and he was ready to fight against it by writing books, articles and speaking to intellectuals and the leadership. Though lately, his ideology was accepted and the literal interpretation of the Bible paved the way for the spiritual interpretation and he has been rehabilitated, he had to suffer and fight for truth and science heroically. So the danger of the imposition of an ideology can definitely hamper the human progress and development unless every human is aware about the dire consequences of blindly following an ideology without critical reflection. Critical reflection would challenge the false and narrowed interpretation and that is exactly that Lord Buddha endorsed when he said that even his own ideas were to be chewed and digested.

Pluralism comes along with liberalism. Only in the context of liberalism, pluralism could be sustained. However, unrestricted pluralism can also be a hamper to progress.

It has to be nurtured in the context of critical reflection.

Unless a critique is made on the dominating ideologies, paralysis could be the result as it happened to the powerful and talented Arjuna. Selecting the dominant ideology could only be pursued in the context of a liberal

and critical milieu. Instead of the acquisition of power, the common good is to be maintained in the context of pluralism. In the categorical imperative of Kant, the imposition of the individual will can happen as if it is promoted as the best for the common good. However, this imposition can lead to fascist dictatorships due to the false belief that the leader only knows the truth and therefore everyone else should blindly follow the dictates of the leader. Against this attitude of categorical imperative, Hegel proposes the participation in the social process. It is in and through the participation in the social activity one is becoming moral and ethical. The Kantian categorical imperative mentality can thus, lead to a messianic complex that this person alone can become the savior of the society. One can easily detect such messianic complexes in religious institutions and many other leadership forums.

Again another form of stagnation can be found in orientating the progress in modeling the future in terms of the past. The bygone days are interpreted as the Golden age and the future has to be molded in terms of the past rather than discovering new creative ways of galloping towards the future. India is often taking refuge in the golden past where it is assumed that all knowledge were already deposited and had the most advanced technology such as nuclear weapons and aero planes.

However, these deposits of knowledge have been lost because all these were destroyed by the occupiers. It is again taking a refuge in the golden past and finding solace in the lost tradition with the satisfaction that rediscovering the lost traditions would give rise to progress in quantum leaps. These are all ideological hemorrhages that can paralyze a culture or a civilization.

Too much of liberalism and its imposition can also lead to relativism that everybody is right which can also lead to confusion. The present day American culture to some extent led to this belief that led to a backlash and the unexpected triumph of Trump.

Pluralism, thus definitely is the foundation for development, progress and peace in the society. A restricted liberalism is needed to be a catalyst in this process of transformation. A critical reflection of the dominant ideologies is very essential in selecting the future course of action. Otherwise, pluralism alone can lead only to confusion and perplexity as if like a wagon led by the pull of the horses in different directions. A pluralist, liberal and critical attitude can sustain a civilization through perpetual renewal and transformation.

Isaiah Berlin, a well-known philosopher of the twentieth century, had been a dominant force in promoting and propagating the culture of pluralism as an effective foundation for the future of humanity that can sustain peace and harmony. *Director, Ecumenical Christian Centre (ECC), Whitefield, Bangalore, 560066. E-Mail: chandrankunnel@gmail.com

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FUTURE OF THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT Prof. Dr. Kuncherian Pathil*, Kottayam [In the opinion of this author, the ecumenical movement is facing today a deep crisis and the future of the movement cannot be predicted, though some emerging trajectories may be identified on the horizon. This author has recently published a book with the same title, Future of the Ecumenical Movement, published by ISPCK, Delhi, in March 2017.]

The ecumenical problem is crystalized today into two entirely different and contrasting approaches to ecumenism, one by the Roman Catholic Church and the other by the World Council of Churches. It is true that with the Second Vatican Council the Catholic Church has entered into a new era of ecumenism. From polemics, triumphalism and condemnation, the Church entered into a new era of dialogue and mutual relationship. However, the present author, who is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, holds the view that the Catholic Church has not really made any radical breakthrough in its traditional approach. The Catholic Church has maintained and continues to maintain that it alone possesses the ‘fullness’ of the ecclesial reality and the other Churches have only some ‘ecclesial elements’. For the fullness of the visible Church what is required is ‘fullness of faith, fullness of sacraments and fullness of ministerial structures including the Papal ministry’. The other Churches lack fullness as they lack some or any one of these three visible elements. This is the traditional view of the Catholic Church, which is still maintained.

This traditional view was first identified and formulated clearly by the scholastic theologian Robert Bellarmine against the attacks of the Protestants on Catholic doctrines, teachings and practices during the Reformation. The Council of Trent (1545-63) was the official and formal response to the Protestants. Although a response to the Protestants was timely and necessary, unfortunately it was a too strong reaction, which was very negative as the Council totally rejected all the views and teachings of the Reformers without evaluating them in an objective and balanced manner. This Bellarminian ecclesiology is the backbone of Catholic tradition as seen in all the documents and teachings of the Church thereafter. Vatican II also in a way repeats this teaching in Lumen. This Bellarminian ecclesiology is the backbone of Catholic tradition as seen in all the documents and teachings of the Church thereafter. Gentium Nos.14 – 16.

Those who know the history of Vatican II and its dynamics will agree that the Council documents do not have a perfect continuity and theological consistency.

The major defect of this approach is its overemphasis on the visibility of the Church, on the visible, institutional and juridical aspect of the Church. The mystery aspect of the Church is found missing in the Bellarminian approach.

The Ecumenical Movement is today officially represented by the ‘World Council of Churches’ (WCC), which is said to be ‘the Flagship of the Ecumenical Movement’.

Approach of the Roman Catholic Church to ecumenism starts from the centre, a centripetal approach, centering on the concepts like ‘fullness of faith’ and ‘unity centred on the Papacy’. The approach of the WCC, on the other hand, is the emphasis on plurality, plurality of Churches that continue to exist even from the NT times. The one and the only model of the Church never existed. There are today different types of Churches and all these types of Churches have their own legitimacy. One single type or pattern of the Church cannot be imposed on all in the name of unity, however, ancient or sacrosanct it is. In the WCC, its original missionary thrust is consistently present and there is still a strong conviction that common proclamation of the Gospel in the context of today alone can unite the Churches. Then historical and doctrinal issues of the past will appear to be in a way obsolete and irrelevant to a great extent. According to WCC, the success of the present stage of the ecumenical movement depends on the will and the courage of the Churches to live together, to grow together, and to accept each other as belonging to the One Church of Jesus Christ, which is the sign and sacrament of the salvation of the whole humankind. The Church is the sacrament of the salvation of the whole world and the unity of the Church is the sign of the coming unity of humankind. The unity of the Church proclaims, points to, and anticipates the final unity of all humankind, which is the ultimate goal of the ecumenical movement. Hence the goal of the ecumenical movement, the visible unity of the Churches, shall not be seen as an introverted, ecclesiocentric and sectarian concern. According to WCC, the Churches should by all means, and without any fear or scruples, dedicate themselves to the task of the restoration of the visible unity, of course, always by making the sign character of the Church visible and credible to the world through a common commitment to mission, witness, and service and by keeping in mind the ultimate goal of the unity of all humankind.

Both for the Roman Catholic Church and the WCC the basic method for reaching unity is by means of doctrinal consensus on the fundamentals of faith and ecclesial practice which is necessary for the mutual recognition of the churches, intercommunion or mutual sharing of Eucharist and subsequently to a conciliar fellowship with mutual support, consultation and collaboration for common witness and mission in the world today. I think that the ecumenical movement and its basic method of doctrinal consensus belong to the period of modernity.

Modernity was a radical questioning of the tenets of medieval times and culture, the centre of which was the

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institutional Church, its teachings, traditions and practices.

Rationality, mega/meta-narratives to explain everything under the sun, domination of the powerful and neglect of the other, especially the poor, the marginalized, the other cultures and religions have been the traits of modernity.

‘Human mind mirrors reality or nature’. This absolute power of human subject and autonomous reason provided great confidence along with the concept of progress, development, human dominion over nature, progress in knowledge and human emancipation. Creation of metanarratives and mega-narratives and over-arching intellectual and conceptual systems claimed absolute certainty and universality of truth. For Postmodernity storytelling, myths, narratives, poetry, etc. are not fictions or secondary, or irrational and imaginary. For the postmodern thinkers, the so-called scientific-objective knowledge is also a narrative and not removed from fiction, story and poetry. Thus postmodern thinkers want to demolish the monopoly of scientific knowledge as the only true and valid knowledge.

They establish that there are different kinds and forms of knowledge, scientific, aesthetic, religious, political, historical, mythical, theological, and philosophical with their own different kinds of logic. The contemporary ecumenical movement and the approaches to it either by the Roman Catholic Church or WCC reflect the shades of earlier cultural worlds, both of Christendom and Modernity. The ecumenical movement seems to be a project of ‘meganarrative’ and it conceals the ambitions for constructing an overarching system with control from the centre.

authority, autonomy of church, admission of women to ordained ministries, abortion, same sex marriage etc. etc. Even within the Roman Catholic Church some of the issues are very serious and sometimes their internal differences are greater than those against other denominations. What I wanted to point out is that there is an increasing conflict today between denominational loyalty vis-à-vis and national, cultural and ecumenical consciousness, which challenges the historical identity of Christian denominations and of the ecumenical movement. This is what is often referred to as ‘Postdenominational Christianity’.

The emerging ecumenical trajectories indicate that in the ecumenical movement we are shifting from institutional unity to a prophetic and mystical approach. The ecumenical models of visible unity, mutual recognition among churches, intercommunion and common decisionmaking bodies seem to be no more appealing to most of the common Christian believers today, who aspire for authentic Christian spiritual experience and reject all forms of extreme legalism and ritualism. Secondly, any exercise of authority in the Churches and the ecumenical movement in a secular fashion is rejected by the believers today. Thirdly, any attempt for unity by doctrinal consensus under one formula or statement will be futile in our age of pluralism and diversity. After all, matters of faith is one of religious experience and ‘peak experience’ that point to the category of mystery, which can only be experienced and presented only by means of signs, symbols, stories, poetry and art forms. It calls into question the character and validity of several current consensus and convergence documents of the ecumenical movement. It demands new approaches and new methods for dialogue and mutual relationship and it challenges the relevance of the present approaches of the ecumenical movement and its objectives.

In the post-colonial and nationalistic cultural context numerous indigenous Christian communities are emerging and spreading very fast in various parts of Asia, Africa and South America. The common features of these indigenous churches may be described as follows: They are post-denominational in the sense that they do not have perfect continuity with the denominational churches, though they maintain some elements of the so-called ‘mother-churches’. They spread rapidly by the work of lay-people, both men and women who are preachers and healers. Most of these communities have a congregational set-up without having national or international denominational structures.

Such communities are nurtured by deep fellowship, prayer and common worship, social commitment, witness and service to the larger society, especially to the marginalized.

Today several traditional Christian denominations are in conflict and on the verge of break-up due to internal doctrinal and theological issues such as, question of

Many people suggest today that we have to move from the centre of the institutional church and its narrow ecumenical concern of the visible unity of the churches to the periphery where people live, struggle and search like the sheep without the shepherd. There is present today immense suffering, despair and agony outside the gates of the churches and their institutional boundaries, where people are struggling for their legitimate human rights, food, clothes and shelter, millions of poor, oppressed, orphans, migrants, refugees, dalits and those who are at the margins. In such situations Christ seems to be present not just within the churches, not at the centre, but at the peripheries identifying with those at the margins.

What should be the priority of the ecumenical movement, searching Christ at the centre within the institutional churches or at the peripheries of the society?

Common Eucharistic celebration or intercommunion has been always one of the main objectives of the ecumenical movement. The problem of intercommunion has been discussed since almost a century without any concrete solution. What is the way ahead in this matter for ecumenical movement? I would like to suggest two points. First of all, approaches to intercommunion and its practical negotiations must be shifted to the bi-lateral level. i.e. between the Orthodox and the Catholic, Catholic and Anglican, Anglican and Lutheran and so on.

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This is the only practical way to arrive at concrete solutions and to reach tangible results. I am aware that in many of the recent bi-lateral conversations this topic has been taken up and some progress has been made.

Secondly, practical solutions can be arrived at only on the local level where the picture and the problems are very concrete and therefore solutions can be more practical and not merely theological, academic and speculative.

Intercommunion at the universal level by a common statement or declaration by all the churches concerned seems to be practically an impossible ecumenical task.

I have argued here that the ecumenical movement has arrived at a point of stalemate or impasse in our Postcolonial and Postmodern cultural and religious context. The century long hard work undertaken by the churches in search of visible unity and the target of mutual recognition, intercommunion and a conciliar fellowship among the churches is still elusive and the future of the movement is clouded with a lot of ambiguities and uncertainties. Unless the Catholic and Orthodox Churches change their view that they alone possess the ‘fullness’ of the ecclesial reality and that the Protestant Churches have only some visible elements of the church, and ready to revise their traditional approach in the light of the new ecumenical experiences of today and grow accordingly, the ecumenical movement will not be able to overcome this impasse. All churches must move from the center to the peripheries and prophetically involved in the lives of the poor, oppressed and marginalized and thus become agents of transformation of society and instruments of unity among the whole humankind irrespective of religion, culture, caste and creed. The target should be not be limited simply to the visible unity of all churches, but the focus must be the emergence of the ‘Reign of God’, a ‘New Heaven and Earth’, which has radical implications for the whole humankind and the whole Cosmos.

Editor’s Note: *Professor (Dr.) Kuncheria Pathil is a Professor Emeritus of Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, Bangalore, who studied and specialized the subject of ecumenism and taught the subject for more than 30 years. He was the President, Dean of Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, and the President of the Indian Theological Association as well as the CoModerator of the Congress of Asian Theologians. He is the author of 15 books and more than 100 research articles.

Book Review: EXPANSES OF GRACE AN EXPOSURE IN TO THE THEOLOGY AND PHIOSOPHY OF PHILIPOSE MAR CHRYSOSTOM, VALIA METROPOLITAN This book throws fresh light on MALANKARA MAR THOMA SYRIAN CHURCH VALIA METROPOLITAN, Most Revd Dr. Philipose Mar Chrysostom’s philosophy, vision and theology; it carves out a fresh path of spirituality and vision for Malankara Church members and theologians to follow.

EDITORS: DR. ZAC VARGHESE, London, LAL VARGHESE, Esq., Dallas, DR. TITUS MATHEWS, Calgary, Revd.

DR. M. J. JOSEPH, Kottayam.

Publisher: Tiruvalla: Christava Sahithya Samithy and FOCUS, 2017. Price: Rs.300; $15 (outside India)

‘Expanses of Graces’ has fifty-three essays written by several reputed writers; it was published and officially released by the Metropolitan of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Dr. Joseph Mar Thoma, at the 100 birth centenary celebration meeting of Philipose Mar Chrysostom Valiya Metropolitan on April, 2017. It is based on the theology of a series of lectures and sermons that Philipose Mar Chrysostom Valiya Metropolitan delivered. This book is a tribute and to honour the unparalleled legacy and contributions of Philipose Mar Chrysostom Valiya Metropolitan, who celebrates his 100 birthday on April 27, 2017.

In these essays reputed writers discus different expressions of Philipose Mar Chrysostom Valiya Metropolitan’s theology and philosophy and offers a new theological pathway to move forward in a globalised world. This book undoubtedly presents him as one of the most important spiritual leaders and philosophers of this century and he presented a cosmic love approach in spirituality to the world. th

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In this book, writers also tries to explain brilliantly Philipose Mar Chrysostom Valiya Metropolitan’s historical legacy, pastoral style, sense of humour and the power of articulation in guiding the secular Indian nation and the Malankara church towards a common vision of cosmic love to celebrate life on earth. The book is divided into 8 parts and has an introduction at the beginning of each part about the theme covered in that particular part of the book. Each part of the book luminously explains the reflections on the themes that are relevant to the contemporary world philosophy and theology. (Contd. Page 14)

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In Search of Religious Resources for Social Amity (A Christian Response) Revd. Dr. M. J. Joseph, Kottayam* Introduction

Common threats and united religious response

The resources of the Common Humanity in Christ are found as intellectual, spiritual, cultural and social assets, which are neither recognized nor tapped by the Christian missiologists. They are to be pooled together with a common effort towards the well being of all. As religion is a connecting link, it is always a challenge to make use of its spiritual resources in achieving the goal. To live with a sense of universal responsibility implies a shared vision of basic spiritual values, which contribute to a firm ethical foundation for the future of the world. What matters in a borderless world is to affirm life for all in the name of One God who is the source of life. The primary role of religion is to create public space for togetherness. The time has come for us to celebrate the spirituality of religion for a better tomorrow.

It is heartening to know that there are signs of hope and frustration in a globalized world. The Economic Globalization has raised umpteen questions. The gulf between the rich and the poor is increasing in an alarming rate. It is said that the Richest Indian, Ambani, is adding Rs.40 lakhs in every minute to his wealth! The new soteriology of the Market philosophy deeply rooted in the ambit of the Economic Trinity-IMF, World and WTO should not be allowed to negate the concept of life for the poor. India being “an island of prosperity in the sea of poverty” (C. T. Kurien) has to make a critical and responsible response to the economic globalization. As economy is a matter of faith, the evil of fragmentation and marginalization have to be tackled by all across the religious divide. The Church alone will not be able to handle the crisis situations of today. The evils of fragmentation is seen not only in inter-religious sector but also in intra-religious, inter and intra communities, inter and intra families, inter and intra-countries. There is so much intolerance in the world today in the name of religion due to its disorientation. The negation of life in the form of violence of any sort is a common threat to the survival of humanity. What had happened in the Coptic Church of Egypt on Palm Sunday (2017) is indeed terrible and has to be tackled in a spirit of tolerance. There is a common responsibility across any divide to instill values of justice, peace and brotherhood in the minds of the people. The moral responsibility is to speak and act for truth, beauty and order in public life. The response of the civil society to various problems is a united attempt to act with one voice. “Doing God’s will” is the divine mandate for entry to God’s Kingdom. The Christian churches have to affirm without any note of discord that the way to the new heaven and the New Earth is the same route for all.

No boundary is to be set. What is required is to see that “nothing unclean” shall enter the Kingdom of God. This should be the only aim of the Churches, which work for the establishment of “Peace on earth” along with others.

Christian legacy: Let me quote a prayer of the WCC, which provides the Churches to search for a firm theological foundation towards social amity in a plural world.

“Almighty God as your Son, our Savior was born of a Hebrew Mother, but rejoiced in the faith of a Syrian woman, and of a Roman solider, Welcomed the Greeks who sought him, and suffered a man from Africa to carry his cross, so teach us to regard the members of all races as fellow heirs of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ our Lord”.

In the New Humanity of Christ, there is no religious, cultural or gender divides. M. M. Thomas writes, “The nature of the koinonia in Christ is that it transcends all human communities defined by nature, culture and even ideology and religion”. One has to remember the truth of the Kingdom of God preached by Jesus that it was not addressed to any religion, but to human beings. The boundary of the gospel is not between religions, but between love and hate, justice and injustice, truth and falsehood. The Lord’s Prayer makes it clear that the Fatherhood of God is intrinsically related to the brotherhood of all people. When we address God as Father, there is no space to hold that He is only the God of a particular community or religion. It is, therefore, quite legitimate for a re-reading of the Scriptures and traditions in the light of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. There is only One Word, Jesus Christ, but there are many versions! If Jesus Christ is the New Adam, all people on earth have to affirm their common humanity for the establishment of divine will on earth. “Peace on earth be on our lips”.

Speaking and acting for renewal and reconciliation The 21st Century is an era of convergence and comprehension. The time has come for people to speak more of renewal and reconciliation at the grass roots level and to seek for all the available spiritual resources for unity and social harmony. In such an attempt religious ethos has to search for its core-factor without any prejudice and pre-supposition. Let me quote a few lines from a Philippino song composed by Sawa Tome called –

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THE LINE: “…Where’s the line between love and hate, Where’s the line between the North and the South Where’s the line between man and woman Where’s is the line between you and me. …The song ends: “the line is me, the line is you, There’s no line, no line anymore, there’s no line.

The need of the hour warrants us to say together in a spirit of manava mythri (love for humanity) that “every one of us is part of a continent, a part of the mainland, not one of us an island”.

The secular spirituality of the globalized world also has to be viewed critically and creatively in a united voice. The so called-Tina syndrome and the philosophy of the homogenization of taste of the Market Economy are red signals. What is needed today as St. Paul puts it is “to test everything and hold fast to what is good”. So also Buddha once said. The teaching of Krishna in the Gita also takes us to the same direction. In such a situation, any attempt to pool all the God-given resources for the establishment of Peace on Earth is a bold attempt. The theme of the 9th assembly of the WCC, “God in your Grace, transform the world” is indeed an interfaith prayer urging people of all nations to live in humility and concern. So also the theme of the 10th assembly of the WCC in 2013(“God of life, lead us to justice and peace”).

The Youth and the theological educators of today have to do a lot for a better tomorrow. “The dream is not what you see in sleep. Dream is the thing which does not let you sleep” (A. P. J. Abdulkalam).

Bold interfaith initiatives There are signs of bold interfaith initiatives for building up bridges of peace and reconciliation. There is no future for any one without forgiveness. The conversion debate in India (Ghar Wapasi) and elsewhere has to be viewed in the light of human rights issues. The freedom of conscience is to be asserted for all. Hans Uucko of the WCC is of the opinion that the problem of conversion is “a matter of arrogance”.

“To induce someone to conversion is to proselytize”. What is required is not “Matham mattam, but manam mattam”(Malayalam rendering-Not change of religion but change of mind).

While delivering the Sixth (2007) S. J. Samartha Memorial Lecture organized by the Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue on “Right to convert and the Indian Constitution”, Padmabooshan Justice K. T. Thomas commented with a sarcastic note, “The Christians appear to believe that they can afford to ignore or disobey the rest of the teachings and commandments of Jesus Christ relating to social justice, but they should implicitly follow the mandate of conversion because it would result increase in the strength of Christian population”. The BIRD is an indigenous forum, which had already created

a few ripples for social amity in the field of inter-religious understanding. Inter-religious relations and dialogue are meant to help free religion from uncritical confessional solidarities and to present opportunities for religious people to serve together as channels of grace and agents of change.

Reconciliation is the restoration of rhythm and harmony in the world order in the heart of every human being. Forgiveness and reconciliation are God’s agenda of mission as He is primarily concerned with the healing of human brokenness and the scandal of disunity in the body of Christ. “Weaving communities of hope”, as the theme of ACISCA declares, is the divine mandate for all people on earth. The book under the title ‘Pilgrims on the Seashore of Endless Worlds’ by Albert Mabiaprambil cmi is “a spiritual protest against dividing people in the name of religion” with a view to dismantling the walls of separation. As S. J. Samartha observes, “In the past energies are spent in strengthening and guarding the fence, rather than deepening wells and tending the fruit trees”. In all interfaith discussions, there is a mutual acceptance of the reversal motif in establishing authentic relationship. The bricks once used for making walls are now being used for making bridges.

The recent experiment towards a mutual agreement on conversion between Christians and Muslims in Norway (Aug 22, 2007) is first of its kind in the world towards social harmony. The statement says, “By issuing this declaration we hope to contribute to the international process on this important matter”. The visit of the Saudi King to Vatican and his audience with the Pope Benedict XVI on November 6, 2007 is also a milestone in interfaith relationship. The informal interfaith dialogue between Hindus and Islamic scholars on “The Oneness of God”, initiated by The Art of Living Foundation in Bangalore comes out with the following public statement. “A Common Hindu believes that everything is God. But Muslims believe that everything is God’s. Solve the apostrophe ‘s’ and we will be united (said Dr. Zakir Naik, founder, Isalamic Research Foundation), The message goes on to state, “Let all human beings take all that is common; let us not try to change the other. Where there are differences, let us shake hands. Then, there will be harmony. Love should be supreme” (Sri Sir Ravi Shankar).

The initiative carries a message for the present times as it is quite evident in the recent communiqué issued by WCC-Muslim Council of Elders in Egypt (April-2017). The statement stressed the importance of “valuing diversity, assuring equal rights, and of being able to build mutual relationships with others”. In a special volume published by the Mangalam News paper in Kottayam dedicated to Mar Chrysostom Valiya Metropolitan on his 100th birthday, there are several write- ups and photographs of Thirumeni meeting personalities like Matha Amirthamai, BJP Leaders, Cinema stars, Christian and Hindu religious

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leaders as a mark of his interfaith relationships rooted in love.

There are several such interfaith grass roots initiatives in different parts of the world. The WCC /CCA units for interfaith dialogue are very keen to open new vistas in human relationships The United Religions Initiative in California, USA, is also deeply involved in building global interfaith cooperation. The purpose of URI is to promote enduring daily interfaith cooperation to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings The Interfaith Seminars and Consultations which are being held at ECC, Bangalore carry a message of wider ecumenism in thinking and life style with a universal challenge. The Kottarakara Dr. Alexander Mar Thoma Dialogue Center (Kerala) is keenly interested in organizing interfaith conversations based on the Holy books of different religions. This is a new field of investigation with mutual trust. To quote, “Methodologically, the Intertextual study of the Holy Books is the most contemporary form of the study of Holy Scriptures. The statement-different Holy Scriptures are components in a continuum with close links of intertextuality-is the fundamental theoretical and methodological proposition of the intertextual study of Holy Books” (One Word, Many versions. A Re-reading of the Holy Books, Ed. Ruwan and Abraham Karickam, 2007, Page 7).

Plurality is integral to Reality: Swami Agnivesh, delivering the 14th M. A. Thomas Memorial Lecture at ECC Bangalore (2007) said, “What we need is not a uniform, and regimented world but a united world, a global community that is spiritually strong enough to admit and transcend differences and turn them into means of enrichment rather than items of offence and mutual alienation”. For this power of love is to be set as the goal. Agnivesh has a point when he said about the evolutionary process of the institutionalization of religion.

To quote, “As a religious tradition gets increasingly institutionalized, the priestly begins to dominate and eventually outlaw the prophetic elements in its outlook and culture. The priest, especially when he rejects the prophetic breadth of vision, tends to be a fierce proponent and custodian of the interests of the religious establishment with which his own class interests are deemed identical.”

There are different ways to perceive religious pluralism in the contemporary society. V. F. Vineeth (CMI) who has contributed much too interfaith dialogue writes, “Religious pluralism asks us to approach other religions with deep respect in understanding the mysterious way God guides his people all over the world.” There are several Hindu Scholars like Sri Ramakrishna Parama hamsa who have accepted and propagated a pluralistic

approach in religion. He says, “The Sunlight is one and the same wherever it falls but only bright surfaces like water, mirrors and polished metals can reflect it. So is the divine light. It falls equally and impartially on all hearts, but only the pure and clean hearts of the good and holy can reflect it.” In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”.

The borders of the Kingdom of God are wide open to all who do the will of God. One and Many: The chord that connects the one and the many is quite visible before us. Let us examine a few examples. The sea that surrounds the earth is the abode of diverse life.

But the taste of the seawater is the same. The humans in the street speak hundreds of languages, but they all understand the same language of love. The worshipping places are made in diverse ways, yet prayers reach to the same place. The rainbow is made of several colors, but they reflect only one colour. The musical notes of an orchestra are different, but its beauty comes out of its plurality. Needless to say, that the Christian understanding of the Trinity – Three in One and One in Three – is a celebration of love in relationship.

We should never make an attempt to diminish the very idea of plurality. . How to hold the different strands together under the banner of love and truth is a matter of concern. Let us listen to the inner call to move from the periphery to the centre. A poem by Pu Pongling is worth recalling. The gooses’ legs are too short while the cranes are too long still, to lengthen the gooses’ legs or to cut short the cranes legs could only be the act of a villain or of a lunatic”. People are called upon to search for the ultimate and the real. Jalalluddin Rumi, a celebrated mystic of Islam wrote; “The lamps are different, but light is the same. If you keep looking at the lamps only, you are lost. There arises the number and plurality. Fix your gaze upon the light.” This is the need of the hour.

Search for the buckle that binds: It is indeed great to get rooted in one’s religious and cultural traditions. But we need to branch out like a tree.

The spirituality of trees reminds us that humans and other living beings on this planet belong to the web of life. Just as the branches of a tree cross its boundaries, so also we need to spread our wings of love and care for those who are outside. The spirituality of religion is the need of the contemporary society. A movement from religiosity to spirituality in the end is our common pursuit. The three major religions of the world – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – has a common parentage through Abraham this provides a platform for mutual appreciation and attraction. Islam being a religion of peace and harmony, equality and justice have much to contribute to human well being in the name of God. The 5 pillars of Islam are

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indeed ways to strengthen one’s relationship with God. Hinduism and Jainism speak of non-violence as the highest human virtue. Buddhism speaks of compassion and peace. The glory of love and service is at the heart of Christian faith. In all the religions of the world, the ethical note makes it spiritual as Rabindranath puts it; the divine call is to translate love into acts of service. This should happen at the grass roots well. The spirituality of the secular realms also aims at this goal. The inter-faith conversation should put its accent on life rather than doctrine. Creed, code and cult are meant to protect the inherent power of love, which is “the principle of cohesion

*Revd. Dr. M. J. Joseph is the former professor and principal of the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary, Kottayam and also the former Director of the Ecumenical Christian Centre, Bangalore. He was a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. Currently he is the convener of the Ecological Commission of the Mar Thoma Church.

Living in a global village, we interact with each other .In “pedagogy of encounter”, our identities are meant to assume larger identities. In a life of dialogical existence (not co-existence), and we need to uphold mutual appreciation. The message of St. Paul in Rom.15.7 requires the churches to remain in frankness and openness. “Accept/welcome one another as God has accepted us in Christ”. In 1 Peter 3.15-16, St. Peter asks the Christians to give an account of their hope in “gentleness and reverence” (Other renderings-gentleness and respect, courtesy and respect). The cultural slogans of India, Loka samastha Sukino Bhavantu (Let the whole world be happy and prosperous), the concept of Vasudaivakudumbakam (The whole world is one family) are indeed spiritual bonds, which tie people of all nations and races. The Rig Vedic slogan, “Let noble thoughts come to us from all quarters” has much in common with the vision of Isaiah in 19.23.So also Rev.21.1927.Mahatma Gandhi’s words of wisdom, “I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and Non-violence are as old as the hills” are mission mandates for a social vision.

Peace building, peace making and peacekeeping are the noble tasks before the people of good- will. For this, one has “to pursue the things that make for peace” as St. Paul writes (Rom.14.19).

Book Review: Expanses of Grace

In the post-modern period of today, secular spirituality assumes religious tones. After the Nuclear holocaust in 1945, a school was built in Nagasaki. At the time of its inauguration, the children of the school sang a song affirming their commitment to the basic pillars of religious faith for the survival of the future humanity. The English translation of the text is quoted below: “Let us build the northern side with love to block the wind of Fate Let us build the southern side with patience to destroy hatred Let us build the eastern side with daily rising of the ray of faith Let us build the western side with the beautiful and enchanting hope Let its roof be eternity and its floor be humility.”

It is a naked truth that we become dust on the day when we cease to be illumined by the radiance of forgiveness.

(Contd. From Page 10) Part I is an appreciation and compliment to Philipose Mar Chrysostom Valiya Metropolitan, and his involvement with the FOCUS movement, which is a lay-centred ecumenical movement that stands for Christian understanding and solidarity. Part II has six articles on various thoughts on the Biblical idea of the kingdom of God and how can it serve as a catalyst to transform God’s creation. Part III is about radical Christianity and has eleven articles covering many thoughts and concerns including ‘Church for the people rather than the church of the people’, ‘Church without walls’. In part IV with five articles, the book is addressing some of the issues relating to gospel and culture. Part V covers Human Right concerns.

Part VI covers gender equality issues. Part VII discusses postmodernity and its challenges to Christianity. Final Part, VIII, deals with multiple issues ranging from Christianity, authentic spirituality, Eucharistic spirituality, importance of the liturgical life, the need for a lay-centred church, legacy of apostolic faith, challenges of the Diaspora Mar Thoma (St. Thomas) Christians, and contemporary philosophy and theology.

Through these writings, this book opens up a new room for historical and theological vistas of research and discussion.

Readers can travel on a parallel track, capturing various frames of the Malankara church philosophy, theology and liturgical tradition clearly and well focused, as if through the lens of a movie camera, without neglecting any of its historical, theological, rational authenticity and research scope.

What we experience every day as the life force is the grace from God. Such considerations give these articles’ treatment of the different aspects of life in a world of rapid change guided by God’s grace, verve and vitality that are concrete and existential.

Readers of this book will find a rich and subtle extension of Chrysostom Thirumeni’s theological, philosophical and logical articulations because this work is an edited work from various scholars, who made bold use of key insights from contemporary, ecclesiology, feminist and ecological theologies, post-modern and critical approaches and from charismatic movements. Newcomers will find a fascinating entrée into the heart of Chrysostom Thirumeni’s vision and theology, which has the transformative potential of the future. This book is a trendsetter, which hopefully will be followed up in the days to come.

Revd. Dr. Joseph Daniel, Kumbanad

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Beyond Inter Faith Dialogue Lal Varghese, Esq., Dallas What is faith? By faith Christians understand the Word and work of God—the faith of the ancients centered in Christ. According to Hebrews 11: 1 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”(NIV) This is the basic faith of Christianity consisting of shared transcendental beliefs that have been passed on from believers to believers and from believers to converts. Hebrews 11 shows that faith is so important because God’s people are beset with weakness, poverty, and difficulty. This is why verse one tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” The context for faith is a life in which things are hoped for but not yet seen or possessed. Faith grasps things that are promised by God but are so far unfulfilled in our experience. We hope for power in the midst of weakness; we hope for peace in the midst of conflict and for joy in the presence of sorrow. For all these reasons, God’s people require faith to persevere to live in a difficult world.

What is religion? The word religion is derived from Latin "religio" (what attaches or retains, moral bond, anxiety of self-consciousness, scruple) used by the Romans, before Jesus Christ, to indicate the worship of the demons. The origin of "religio" is debated since antiquity.

Cicero said it comes from "relegere" (to read again, to re-examine carefully, to gather) in the meaning "to carefully consider the things related to the worship of gods". Later, Lucretius, Lactancius and Tertullianus see its origin in "religare" (to connect) to refer "the bond of piety that binds to God".

The word religion initially used for Christianity, gradually extended to all forms of social demonstration in connection with sacred. Religion is the set of beliefs, feelings, dogmas and practices that define the relations between human being and sacred or divinity. It is the outer manifestation of one’s faith and belief of something sacred. A given religion is defined by specific elements of a community of believers: dogmas, sacred books, rites, worship, sacrament, moral prescription, interdicts, and organization. The majority of religions have developed starting from a revelation based on the exemplary history of a nation, of a prophet or a wise man who taught an ideal of life. Christianity originated on the preaching and teachings of Jesus Christ written by Apostles and contained in New Testament portion of the Bible.

What is interfaith and interfaith dialogue? Interfaith describes an interaction between people of different religions or faith traditions. But it is more than that and it

is about understanding our significant differences, but recognizing our similarities, and working together for peace, justice and healing in our world. Interfaith is not about renouncing religions, or combining all religions into one. Interfaith dialogue on the other hand is a pluralistic attempt to find common ground in the values and goals of various religions. Thus the movement of religious pluralism has originated and spreading across the world.

The term interfaith dialogue refers to “cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions or faiths and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is distinct from syncretism or alternative religion, in that dialogue often involves promoting understanding between different religions or beliefs to increase acceptance of others, rather than to synthesize new beliefs.”

It is to be remembered that three major religions in the world were originated from the ‘Abrahamic Faith’ as revealed through the Old Testament portions of the Bible. The Archdiocese of Chicago's Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs defines "the difference between ecumenical, interfaith, and interreligious relations," as follows: • • •

"Ecumenical" as "relations and prayer with other Christians," "Interfaith" as "relations with members of Jewish and Muslim traditions," and "Interreligious" as "relations with other religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism."

In the book titled “Beyond the Dysfunctional Family: Jews, Christians and Muslims in Dialogue With Each Other and With Britain” (August 2012) by Alan Race Ed and Tony Bayfield, the authors argue that differences in faith between religions should be recognized and respected without claiming superiority over each other. Yet superiority is ingrained in religious texts – consider the implication for Jews of the Christian doctrine of the New Covenant. The authors are convinced that the next phase of religious identity needs urgently to embrace the growing dialogue between religious traditions, both as a search for a fuller account of religious truth and in the cooperation needed for overcoming the impression of endemic violence which many associate with religious conviction. The three religions share a positive sense of the goodness of creation, moral purpose in history and believing as a dynamic enterprise of persons. The interfaith dialogue is inevitably a progressive exercise; scriptures should not be used in a simplistic way; they need careful

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interpretation bearing in mind their historical context and their relevance to present needs. The authors conclude that from now on it will not be possible for Judaism, Christianity and Islam to exist in isolation if the real truth of our human religious situation is to be grasped.

Jews, Christians and Muslims represent more than 50% of the world’s population. The above referenced book makes the case that if religion is not to be dismissed as the dying relic of a bygone age, but these three groups of religions must discover the secret of respectful coexistence. The writers share their dialogue in the knowledge that they are from sibling faiths, having a prophetic, ethical monotheism in common. Jews talk of repairing the world, Christians talk of building the kingdom of God, and Muslims talk of creating a just world. All three religions consider the Old Testament portion of the Bible as their sacred book on which they established their faith and belief.

“Nostra Aetate” is not only one of the foundational documents of the post Vatican II Catholic Church but of all interfaith relations. Nostra Aetate was a paradigm shift for the Catholic Church, which has become a paradigm shift for all of the religions because it paved the way for the past 50 years of interfaith dialogue. It opens with the following statement: “In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely her relationship to nonChristian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship.”

It appears that a multitude of interfaith dialogues had emerged around the world including Christian-Jewish, Christian-Buddhist, Christian-Muslim, Christian-Hindu, and most recently Christian-Confucian. Interfaith dialogue and understanding is now an integral part of much of the theological education worldwide and is present in a variety of ways and forms in many of our religious communities. Many universities and seminaries dedicate themselves in research to find out the common ground of all religious belief so that a common platform can be created from where they can work together for the betterment of the humanity.

As a faith community, we Christians need to understand that it is necessary that interfaith communities especially Abrahamic faith religions must begin to work together systemically to change the fragmented, dis-integrating fabric of the communities we live. It is critical that the faith communities work together to provide a new environment that binds us together and begin to shape a common good that challenges the forces of individualism, hyper-consumption, environmental degradation and social and economic inequity that

plague our communities. Most of the people consider Muslim religion as a source for terrorism, but in fact they are not. It is the evil forces in all religion, which creates violence and hatred between the Abrahamic faith communities. The majority of the religious violence and terrorism takes place in the Middle East where all three Abrahamic faith communities were originated.

Interfaith dialogue in itself is not sufficient to create harmony between different groups of religions especially between the three major religions of the world namely Jewish, Christianity and Muslim. Truly, no religion creates evil or spreads evil, but evil itself present within man is responsible for spoiling the faith of religions and religious people. These religions, which have common faith based on Abrahamic traditions, must need to find avenues where we can truly test the strength of interfaith dialogue and build upon it through the hard work of interfaith collaboration. Each religion must respect the faith of the other religions and must find a common ground where they can agree upon or collaborate in order to strengthen their relationship each other. Thus hatred and fear can be eliminated from the world and true love can be established between religions, community and people. Let me conclude with the following reflection on interfaith dialogue written by an unknown author: God is one, But God’s names are many.

Religion is one, but its ways are many.

Spirituality is one, But religions are many.

Humanity is one, but human beings are many.

All religions and spiritual paths originate from and lead to The same place Love.

Editor’s Note: Lal Varghese, Esq., is mainly practicing in U. S Immigration law for more than 25 years in Dallas. He is the legal counsel and member of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Diocese of North America & Europe of the Mar Thoma Church. He is also one of the co-editors of the book ‘Expanses of Grace’ He can be reached at E-Mail: attylal@aol.com, Telephone: (972) 788-0777 (O), (972) 788-1555 (Direct)

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‘Hostility to Hospitality’ is the Very Essence of Spirituality (Part-1) Dr. Zac Varghese, London, England ‘Hostility to hospitality’ is the very essence of interfaith dialogue and interfaith living. It is the very essence of a spiritual journey. This phrase has an amazing potential power to create a movement from enclosed corridors of limitations to expanding avenues of grace and unlimited possibilities. I have opted to write about just a few issues, which create hostility and their implications in our lives.

This probably would help us collectively to realise what we must do to create hospitality. In writing one should be able to express both subjective and objective understanding of others’ views as well to provide a beneficial influence in these matters for the common good of the community and to create a critical mass of people to take the right action. I write with the sure hope that one day we will move from the entrenched position of hostility to the expanding avenues of hospitality, accommodation, and civility in all human relationships; this should include very special care needed in understanding and accommodating people of other faith communities and people of no faith. We should never be tempted to use communication media for attacking people; we should be careful in using words which may help only in projecting our ego in showing up the skills with vocabulary; thoughtless words may hurt people and create hostility. Let us learn to use words or body language or even silence to help us to respect people, but not suspect.

I am writing this article, particularly, to challenge our young people to contribute to’ FOCUS Journal’ to create a living forum for providing hospitality for fresh thinking for a comprehensive inclusive Christian lifestyle. I do understand that changes that the young people are seeking in the light of their newer understanding and exposure to various cultural and other societal influences may take a very long time to achieve. This requires patience of a kind to wait till we can create a critical mass of people wanting these changes in their own time and pace. It needs self-discipline to be tolerant to others who do not like any deviation from the status quo. A feuding Church or faith community cannot heal a broken world; this again is a challenge for moving away from hostility and welcoming hospitality; ‘respect not suspect’ is a good motto to begin with.

Hostility is a major theme in the Old Testament, the division between the creature and the creator is the source of all conflict and all hostility. But we also see the hospitality there from the very beginning of the Old Testament faith beginning with Abraham. In nomadic existence hospitality was a matter of survival. When Lord appeared to Abraham by the terebinth trees of Mamre in the company of two others, Abraham welcomes them

according to the custom of the desert, he brings water for their feet and their thirst and Sarah prepares them a great feast without ever expecting anything in return. This hospitality has become one of the great blessings for Abraham and the inauguration of a great nation. The blessing comes by the way of a prediction that Sarah will give Abraham a son. Abraham was blessed so that he could become a blessing for the whole created world. At the other end of the spectrum, we also read the story of the kind of hospitality given to the two angels who appeared at Lot’s doorstep and how Lot’s hospitality ended up in hostility and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

In the New Testament Jesus has become the reason for hospitality and creates a season for hospitality through out Galilee. From the beginning of his ministry he became the medium for hospitality. At the wedding at Cana, at the feeding of five thousand, and numerous other occasions and finally at the Last Supper we see this theme in his ministry. His mere presence and personality created hospitality for the tax collectors and other socially unaccepted people. Jesus healed the centurion’s servant (Matt.8: 5-13) and the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman (Mk. 7:24-30). After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Peter, Paul and other Apostles extended this hospitality to Gentiles and the whole humanity. Therefore, one of the major emphases in Christianity is moving away from hostility and creating hospitality. The invitation to His great banquet is still open to all. Our task as Christians is to extend this hospitality to our pluralist neighbourhoods.

In this early part of the twenty–first century we continue to experience resurgence of ‘do-it- yourself religious groupings’ and polarisation, in rebellion against institutionalised main line churches. The main line churches have a responsibility to provide the right kind of pastoral care for this new demand in religious experiences and to prevent the propagation of wrong kind of emphasis and theology. To do this we need to be secure in our basic theological foundations. Mar Thoma Church over the years provided good leadership in India to bring out religious renewal, various social changes through education, social and cultural integration.

However, a period of stability and prosperity and complacency created pseudo superiority and fixation in our attitudes. There are new demands on us to provide basic human needs, friendship, warmth, empathy, healing, and an integrated collective spiritual experience through adequate pastoral care. Main line churches, generally, do not meet emotional and social needs of the majority in the society; other, ‘instant- do- it- yourself’

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religious groupings move in to exercise their influence. We should be aware of our motives under these circumstances; we should not allow ourselves to be sucked into a vacuum created by the breakdown of institutions and structures.

There are differences among us; but, more importantly, there is a world out there crying out for hospitality; a world broken by wars, religiously motivated terrorism, oppression, prejudice, power struggles and injustice.

Do we need an Indian Christian Theology to move away from hostility to provide hospitality to other faith communities in the Indian context? Do we need a Diaspora theology to live with our neighbours in countries of our adoption? China’s absorption of Buddhism from India failed to propagate an Indian culture in China. The Chinese adapted Buddhism to Chinese purposes and needs, the new Hindu revivalist has a tendency to seen Indian Christians as agents of Western civilisation. The Western cultural baggage of Christianity is too easy for others to see and react against. The growing power of non- Western societies, Islamic nations, China, and India through modernisation is generating very special demands on established main line churches. Under these circumstance what should be theological understanding of Mar Thoma Christians? How do we go about establishing and Indian Christian theology or Diaspora spirituality? Most of our theological scholarship is a borrowed scholarship from the West and it is time to build on the work started by late M. M. Thomas, bishop Appasamy and others. In the fields of Mission and evangelism there is an urgent need for greater understanding of other faiths to move away from hostility to hospitality to create wider-ecumenism. We should search for a new vocabulary in creating this hospitality.

Although faith is the basis of all religious affiliations, yet in the present climate it is fear and hostility which is driving people to seek ‘do-it yourself religions’ which will meet their immediate needs and protect them. God is seldom in the lips

of the prosperous and the complacent. The 11 of September experience of panic, fear and desperation gave way for a strong need for spiritual healing and recuperation. As a jerk reaction, President Bush immediately allocated millions of dollars for faith-based projects in the community. But true religion should be able to provide a lasting solace and meaning for all eventualities of life including for the rebuilding of communities after devastating on going experiences in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, ISIS-controlled and neighbouring areas. One of the recurring themes in periods of violence and instability is religious revivalism. People search out and find safety in spiritual desert-oasis.

Spirituality and a spiritual life are the way of seeing the whole life in a new and fuller perspective. Sadly, we often speak of spiritual life as though it were an alternative life lived in alternative world. What is needed is a new understanding about ‘religion-less spirituality’. th

The Church always needs a sturdy and searching theology, and never more than when tides and waves of religious fundamentalism and violence are flowing, unquestioned and unchecked. Both Apartheid and Nazism sprang from wrong theology; the same thing is happening with ISIS. They are based on the belief that God is a sort of God who created some people with particular authority, commands, coloured skins or certain genetic make up in them. Theology begets belief and belief begets behaviour, and before long such beliefs beget bad behaviour. Many more evils in the world than we realise are derived from religious convictions based on bad theology. This is fully evident today in recruiting disciples for terrorism in the name of religion. Skilled autocrats forge signature of God as the ultimate infallible authority underwriting those wrong beliefs. They paint God as a projection of their own unfulfilled desires; they make God in their own image. They even convince us that God spoke to them in the early hours of the morning before or after a crisis. These are ways of closing down hospitality to create exclusive communities and interest groups.

The healthy environment of all religious conviction must be a living theology and in the best sense an everyday theology. It is an attempt to speak to a need and respond to an opportunity. There is a quest for faith and belief; we need to help ordinary people to have the tools, road maps, and guidebooks for their spiritual journey. We live in an expanding market of faith and we really do need to know some theology and to be able to articulate our faith. Cardinal Newman realised these years ago and said, “I want an articulated and well educated laity.” Studying about other people’s faith and tradition should be part of our theological education. The need for an articulate, theologically sound Church is far greater than ever. Today’s world is a world of buzzwords, sound bites, instant opinions, and packaged discussions, manufactured for a global market.

Unfortunately, religions are in the hands of a chosen few or of a group of priests and practitioners; it is in the temples, churches, mosques, gurdwaras dogmas, ceremonial and rituals. Mass manipulation is increasingly the agenda of our times, which is a prescription for hostility.

(To be continued)

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Foundational Principles of Interreligious Dialogue Acharya Sachidananda Bharathi, Nagpur*

a. Rootedness

“Interreligious dialogue is a necessary condition for peace in the world, and so it is a duty of Christians as well as other religious communities.” - Pope Francis

‘Rootedness’ implies being rooted where God has planted us. A tree can grow big and strong and bear abundant fruits only when it is rooted deep in the soil where it is planted. Likewise, every one of us can grow strong and bear much fruit only if we are rooted firmly where we are planted by an ever-loving and eternally merciful and compassionate God.

Introduction Peace in the world is impossible without peace among religions in the world. Without peace, there cannot be sustainable development. The G20 has identified ‘Interreligious Harmony’ as an essential requirement for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) adopted by the nations of the world in the UN Summit held in September 2015.

I have been involved in a mission to promote interreligious dialogue and cooperative action for a culture of peace and sustainable development in India ever since my encounter with death in an air accident and the subsequent encounter with the living Spirit of Christ in 1982. I was a serving Squadron Leader of the Indian Air Force at the time of the air accident. The encounter with death at a least expected moment in my life and the subsequent encounter with the living Spirit of Christ changed my life and worldview radically. Life has not been the same for me ever since.

The unprecedented communal violence in Muzaffarnagar in western UP in 2013 took me there for three months from 1st December 2013 to 1st March 2014 with a ‘Reconciliation & Peace Project’. The pain and agony of the devastating communal violence and my own experience of working for reconciliation and peace among the victims inspired me to initiate the ‘Tyagarchana Shanti Mission’ (TSM) as an interreligious mission for peace and communal harmony in India. I am presently involved in this mission.

Foundational Principles of Interreligious Dialogue Experiments and experiences over the years have helped me to develop five ‘foundational principles’ of interreligious dialogue and cooperative action for a culture of peace. I have found them to be quite effective in the multi-religious context of India. These five foundational principles are: a. b. c. d. e.

Rootedness Openness Simplicity Prayerfulness Non-violence

These foundational principles are briefly explained below.

‘A rolling stone gathers no moss’ is an old proverb. It means unfocussed life-missions and compromising value systems and changing attitudes will not help us to grow and bear abundant fruits in our lives.

As Indians we need to be rooted in our Constitutional and spiritual values. Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are the Constitutional values of India. Satya, Ahimsa, Tyaga & Seva (Truth, Nonviolence, and Renunciation & Service) are the eternal spiritual values that ever inspired the Indian mind. By inculcating these Constitutional and spiritual values of India in our lives and making them our own we can become deep-rooted in our own legacy as blessed children of Mother India. b. Openness ‘Openness’ implies being open to the truth, goodness and beauty in other religions and scriptures, in other cultures and traditions, and in other individuals and communities.

We need to look at other religions, scriptures, cultures and traditions with respect and appreciation. Only an individual who has developed a unitive divine consciousness through the truth, goodness and beauty of his/her own religion and scripture can be truly open to the truth, goodness and beauty of other religions and scriptures as well as of other cultures and traditions without being insecure or being threatened in any manner. The more we are open to others, the more we ourselves will be enriched.

Human minds like parachutes function best when fully open. Small and closed minds create divisions and conflicts. Like the Billiard balls, they will be always clashing against each other. Spiritual growth leads to expansion of consciousness. Only people with open minds and expanded consciousness can accept, appreciate and respect others.

Much of the violence in the world today is caused by the clashes of small egocentric minds. Continuous growth and expansion of consciousness alone can help us manifest our divine potentials. Selfishness, greed, pride and jealousy are attributes of small minds. Smallness of mind is an offence against God who has endowed us with great divine potentials for growth and development.

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What we see depend on where we stand. The level to which our consciousness has expanded and evolved will determine the level of our openness to the truth, goodness and beauty within and around us, and also in others.

Our religious faith, code, creed and cult are often influenced by our fears and prejudices. Religious leaders oftentimes try to keep their followers under their control by inducing in them fear of damnation, rebirth, eternal hell etc. or by offering them the allurements of heaven, paradise, moksha, mukti, nirvana etc., before and/or after death.

Human life is a pilgrimage on earth. It is a journey from a small womb to a larger womb, from the small womb of one’s human mother to the larger womb of Mother Earth.

Our consciousness also has to expand from a mothercentred divisive ego consciousness to an earth-centred unitive divine consciousness. This calls for total openness to God and fellow beings, inspired by ‘love of God and love of the neighbour’. True love should also include love of enemies and praying for those who persecute us as taught by Sadguru Jesus Christ.

Openness to love and grace is very essential for peace and happiness. A loving heart will be a grace-filled heart.

Love leads to openness. The more loving we are the more open and peaceful we will become. The extent of our spiritual growth can be measured in terms of our capacity to love and our capacity to be open to the needs and difficulties of others. The more rooted we are in love and grace, the more open and peaceful we become.

Openness is a fruit of rootedness. c. Simplicity ‘Simplicity’ implies keeping our needs and wants to the optimum. Mahatma Gandhi was a very simple man.

Simplicity of life is the most effective antidote for consumerism.

Simplicity means ‘an ethics of enough’, to be satisfied with what we have. This does not mean laziness and less wok. Simplicity is also not simply sitting. We should work hard and produce more, but keep our own needs to the optimum so that we can share more with others. Of course, we should love and take care of ourselves, but never to the extent of pampering ourselves or depriving others of their rightful needs and aspirations.

Simple living and high thinking have been the shared values of great people all over the world, especially of the great men and women of India. ‘Less luggage, more comfort’ is an old axiom with great wisdom. Greed and acquisitiveness are the root causes of much of the violence in the world today. We need to simplify our lives in order to multiply the divine grace active in our lives.

Most religions stress on the need of simplicity and humility for spiritual growth.

The more loving we are, the more open we become to the needs and difficulties of others. The more open we are to the needs and difficulties of others, the simpler our own lives will become. The simpler our lives are, the more we can share with others who are in need. Thus, simplicity is an outcome of openness. d. Prayerfulness ‘Prayerfulness’ implies being open to the living presence of God in one’s own life, in others and in the whole creation at all times. Prayerfulness is an antidote for the dangers of consumerism and materialism. It is not saying many prayers. It is an expression of happiness and gratitude for the gift of life. It is living from the depths of one’s being. This is a common goal of all religions. Prayer establishes a conscious connectivity with God, in whom we live, move and have our being.

Prayer in the beginning stages takes the forms of appeals and petitions, requesting God for favours for oneself and for one’s own dear and near ones. From this level, we grow to a level of praying for wisdom, strength and discernment to face and overcome the trials and tribulations of life. Further on, prayer becomes an attitude of gratitude to God for all that we are and for all that we have. Thereafter it becomes praise and adoration of the majesty of God. And further, prayer leads us to ever-deeper levels of silent and joyful communion with God the Supreme Spirit.

Mahatma Gandhi was a man of prayer. He drew his strength for his non-violent political movement, the greatest of its kind in human history, from a deep prayer life. According to him prayer is the longing of the soul.

“Prayer is not asking. It is the longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart”, he had pointed out. The Peace prayer of St. Francis of Assisi starting with “Lord, Make me an instrument of your peace…..” is very famous. People from all religious backgrounds love and use it.

Prayerfulness brings peace and happiness into one’s life.

It is an expression of one’s total dependence on God and divine providence. Everyone and everything in life is a gift and grace from God because life itself is His gift and grace. None had asked for it and none has total control over it.

A truly prayerful person lives life with happiness and gratitude. Economics, politics, business, industry, education, healthcare, science and technology are important areas of human life and endeavour that urgently need the healing touch of prayerfulness today.

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Only a person of simplicity and humility can truly pray with faith and hope. The more simple and humble a person is, the more prayerful he/she can be.

Prayerfulness is also an outcome of simplicity of life. e. Non-violence ‘Non-violence’ according to Mahatma Gandhi is love in action. It comes from a harmonious and prayerful life.

‘Ahimsa Paramo Dharma’ (Non-violence is the supreme virtue) is a dictum representing India’s deep faith in nonviolence. Truth and non-violence (satya & ahimsa) are the two constituents of the spiritual weapon of ‘Satyagraha’ that Mahatma Gandhi had developed to fight the ‘enemy’ non-violently. St. Francis of Assisi was an embodiment of non-violence. The wild and ferocious wolf was also a ‘brother’ to him. He was in total harmony with all life and whole creation.

A culture of peace can emerge on earth only when we are awakened to the interdependence and interrelatedness of all human beings and all living beings. By harming others we are also harming ourselves. By destroying the nature we are also destroying ourselves. Non-violence is harmonious coexistence.

It is an important virtue promoted by the different enlightened religious traditions of humankind.

Non-violence is not the mere absence of physical violence. Thoughts and words can also be equally violent.

Psychological violence sometimes can be more damaging than physical violence. Betrayal of trust by one’s spouse can be a very painful experience, often leading to great violence. Violent thoughts lead to violent words, which in turn will lead to violent actions. True nonviolence means non-violence in thought, word and deed.

Faith in an eternally loving omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent God can help us to develop such nonviolence.

The power of non-violence depends on the power of the self-giving love behind it. Mahatma Gandhi had pointed out that non-violence is not for scoundrels. It is for the courageous and the strong. Violence is often the sign of weakness, fear and insecurity. A weak, fearful or insecure person can never be an instrument of peace in the world.

India’s strength lies in her philosophy of non-violence.

She can be only as strong as her faith in non-violence is.

Non-violence is an outcome of a deeply prayerful life.

Only a prayerful person can be truly non-violent.

The five foundational principles of Interreligious dialogue outlined above are interdependent and interrelated. From rootedness comes openness, from openness comes simplicity, from simplicity comes prayerfulness and from prayerfulness comes true non-violence. A culture of peace in the world is impossible without true nonviolence. Interreligious dialogue constitutes an urgent and

important task of the millennium. Promoting the above five foundational principles of interreligious dialogue and cooperation will be a very valuable contribution one can make towards peace and sustainable development on earth in the present era. “Blessed are the peacemakers, they shall be called the children of God” (Mt. 5. 9) taught Sadguru Jesus Christ, the Prince of peace and Lord of love. It is by working for peace that we can become true sons and daughters of God. Disciples of Sadguru Jesus Christ in the present era are called and commissioned by their Divine Master to be peacemakers in a peace-less world. “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so do I send you” (Jn. 20. 21). This was the mission mandate for the disciples from their Divine Master.

Editor’s Note: *Acharya Sachidananda Bharathi (alias ‘Air Force Baba’) is a former Indian Air Force Squadron Leader turned promoter of peace, spirituality and sustainable development.

An encounter with death in an air accident in 1982 and subsequent spiritual experiences with the living Spirit of Christ changed radically the life of the 35year-old Squadron Leader. He has travelled widely and has authored a number of books. ‘He was one of the delegates who represented India in the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders organized by the United Nations at New York in August 2000. He is the Founder & Acharya-guru of Navasrushti International Trust and all the organizations, institutions and Ashrams under the legal ownership of this Trust. He had undertaken a yearlong ‘Desh Vandana-2007’ across India during 2007 for a ‘Hunger-free, Caste-free and Corruption-free India’. He had also undertaken a monthlong ‘Dharma Rajya Sandesha Yatra’ across Kerala in 2010 to promote ‘Liquor-free Family & Panchayati Raj Democracy’. During 2015 he undertook a five and half months long ‘Tyagarchana Shanti Yatra’ across UP to promote ‘Peace and Communal Harmony’. His latest initiative is ‘Khushaal Bachpan Abhiyaan – Bihar Mission’ to promote happy and healthy childhood in Bihar through interreligious cooperation, with focus on poor children.

Acharya’s Contact Information: Navasrushti Ashram ‘Shantivanam’, Rama Village, Nagpur, M S – 441 108, India Mobile: 07709796805 & 07721861863 E-mail: swamisachidananda@gmail.com

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Islam- an Introduction Miss. Nikhat Sattar, Karachi* Muslims, adherents of Islam, number around 1.8 billion globally, thus making up 24 per cent of the world’s population. All fundamentals of Islam are found in the Quran, the Holy Book which was revealed over a period of 23 years to the Prophet Mohammed (sws) by God through Angel Gabriel.

According to the Quran, chosen messengers of God, the first being Abraham (asm) had brought the religion of Islam, which means man’s submission to the One and Only God. People went astray over years and God continued to send prophets to set them right. These prophets included, among others, Lot, Noah, David, Solomon, Jacob, Ishaq, Ismael, Moses, Jesus (asms) and finally, Mohammed (sws), who came to remove any deviations and to complete the religion.

The Quran is the primary and the most reliable source of religious information. It is complemented by the essential practices of the Prophet (Sunnah) and authentic Hadith (sayings of the Prophet). Islam requires people to live with piety, understanding and love in the world. It has no concept of organised clergy or monasticism. There may be scholars who are supposed to be well versed with religious knowledge and who may provide teaching to other Muslims, but the ordinary Muslim is encouraged to deliberate upon the Quran and strengthen belief based on reasoning and intellect.

Islam is comprised of two elements: guidance and rules.

Guidance includes beliefs and morality. The basic beliefs are five: Oneness of God; Holy Books; prophets; angels and the Day of Judgement, followed by eternal life in Paradise or Hell. Monotheism or tauhid is an absolute necessity for anyone to be a Muslim. Shirk, or association of any deity with God is the greatest sin which is unforgiveable. All other beliefs follow from this. God has certain attributes in their highest form (99, according to Hadith) and these include Mercy, Compassion, Justice and Power. This world is full of trials and tribulations for humans and is also unjust. Thus, God must bring about a

Day when He will reward those who persevered, did righteous deeds, worshipped Him and asked for forgiveness when they erred, and He must punish those who created anarchy, harmed others and other Creations and behaved with arrogance. The existence of this world is a proof of the After Life in order to strike a balance. The trials must be seen as challenges that enable humans to develop their inner strength and patience.

Morality springs from the purpose of human life, which is to purify oneself. This consists of doing good and refraining from evil deeds. God has built a mechanism of differentiation within the human spirit to enable it to recognise what is good and what is bad. It is only when this mechanism gets rusty or corrupted through continuous misuse that people become habitual sinners or criminals. There are three components of good: fulfilling one’s obligations and being just in all matters, to others; demonstrating love, compassion and generosity towards others, even if it means loss to oneself and sacrificing one’s interests and, finally, spending one’s resources for and giving to relatives, friends, neighbours, travellers, the poor and the weak.

The evil which Muslims must protect themselves from are also in three main groups: any sort of obscenity, such as adultery and related activities; unethical, dishonest practices which are well recognised as such by human societies, such as bribery, corruption, profiteering, oppression, brutality, charging interest, in short, any action that suppresses a right of others, and the third is violent rebellion aimed at creating anarchy in the land, in which people commit offences against the property, life and honour of others. This may include looting and robbery, killings and acts of terrorism and rape.

These categories can be further explained through ten rules, similar to those in the Torah. These are worship of God, with total submission. He is the One humans should ask from, pray to, ask forgiveness from, turn to in times of trouble, thank for His blessings and for delivery from evil in this world and the next. No one else should be considered. The second is love for and obedience to parents. Obligations to them are only second to that for God. The only point in which they must not be obeyed is if they try to move one away from Islam. Even in this case, one must be kind to them. The third is to spend generously and share one’s resources, because one’s possessions are being held in custody for God. The sharing should be such that people should not be made to feel ashamed of being on the receiving end. Lavish spending, for the sake of showing off is forbidden but it is also not required to be clothed poorly if one can afford clean and good clothes. In all matters, the “middle way” is the right way.

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Fourthly, keeping one’s honour and modesty is required, both for women and men. Since it is easy to be tempted, one is asked to try to avoid any activity, which may lead to obscenity. Modesty in dress, keeping one’s eyes lowered in respect of the opposite sex is part of the Islamic morals. The fifth is sanctity of human life. Life can be taken only in two cases by the state: when someone has murdered another and when one has caused anarchy in the land. Both must be proved beyond doubt in a valid and accepted court of law. The sixth is never to usurp the wealth of an orphan, the seventh to keep a promise, however difficult it might be; the eighth to weigh properly and never to cheat; the ninth never to believe in superstitions and false stories about which one may not have full knowledge and the tenth to never be arrogant, proud and show off one’s abilities, possessions or beauty.

Beliefs and morality necessarily call for certain forms of worship and meeting obligations towards other humans.

These are the five pillars of Islam. The first is to verbally recite the Shahadah, witnessing upon the Oneness of God and the messenger ship of the Prophet Mohammed.

Worship of God is conducted (along with ensuring that the correct attitude towards God and humans is developed) through five daily prayers: early morning; afternoon; late afternoon; late evening and at night. The prayer is considered to be the single form of worship that brings the human closer to his Creator. The third is to pay zakah, a compulsory tax for all Muslims who possess wealth whether in cash, property or jewelry. This zakah can be either given to the poor, sick, or for society welfare individually or collected by a Muslim state and distributed. The fourth is to fast for 30 days during the month of Ramadan, which is when the Quran was revealed. This fast, which begins before daybreak and ends at sunset, and, during which, Muslims must not eat,

drink or engage in sexual activity, is as strong on cleansing and purifying the soul as it is upon the body. It is also the month when generosity is at its peak and community spirit is encouraged. The idea is that if one can remain true to God, be kind, control one’s natural desires, curb one’s temper, spend time in soul searching, silence, reading and understanding the Quran and realising that death and the Day of Judgement is not far off, one can take this experience to the rest of the year also. The final pillar is to perform the Hajj, which is the pilgrimage to Makkah, where the Ka’ba, the first and only House of God, constructed by Abraham and his son, Ismael, is located. The Hajj is to be performed once in life, provided one can afford it.

The day after Ramadan is a day of celebration and is called the Eid ul Fitr. People visit each other, make special dishes and greet and embrace each other. The second celebration is the Eid ul Adha that is the day of Hajj and marks the incident in which Prophet Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son when he saw that he was being instructed to do so by God in a dream. God was so pleased with his total dedication to Himself that he replaced his son, Ismael with a ram.

The above may seem a lot of worship requirements to non-Muslims. Yet, if one realises that for Muslims, this world is only a fleeting time in the larger span of an eternal life, a time in which to sow their deeds and reap benefits afterwards, it may not seem all that difficult. Also, the Quran says that God has made religion easy for humans. If people are old, sick, unable to walk, travel, they may say their prayers just sitting, or even lying down, they may not fast during Ramadan or they may feed the poor instead of fasting. There are, thus many a leeway given to those who are genuinely unable to perform any of these acts. The requirement is always to possess an attitude of submission to God and of compassion to His creatures on earth.

Editor’s Note; *Miss Nikhat Sattar is a journalist of ‘Dawn’, which is the oldest Newspaper in Pakistan, published from Karachi. She is a prolific freelance writer and has written several articles especially about the Muslim women and their quest for freedom and social justice.

Her articles were published in Deccan Chronicle also in addition to Dawn.

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Buddhism Editorial Reflection Buddhism is one of the oldest religions of the World.

Siddharta Gautama was born a prince of Sakya dynasty, in Nepal in 5th Century BCE. There were miracle stories about his birth and prophecies that he would either become an emperor or a holy man. His father protected him in every way and educated him to be a very good king. In his early childhood, while walking with his father on a morning, he noticed a bird descending to the ground and carrying of a small worm. This affected him very much; he sat down under a tree and whispered to himself: “Alas! Do all living creatures kill each other?” He changed his attitude totally. The prince, who had lost his mother soon after his birth, was deeply affected by the tragedy of the little creatures and others in the world. His father tried to change him and to make a real king by teaching him state-crafts. He was surrounded by luxury and had a beautiful wife and a son. However, at the age of 29, he discovered the ‘Four Signs’: He saw an old man, a sick man, a dead body and this taught him that age, sickness and death were normal aspects of everyone’s life. He fourthly saw a holy man and realised that this man was searching for a way to understand and overcome these common fates in life.

This made him leave the palace to explore truth, wisdom and peace. He wandered around as a mendicant for six years. After six years of exploration and years of yoga and other ascetic practices, he finally sat down under a tree and meditated. There, he had a revelation into the nature of life, death, human suffering, and what is needed to overcome this. This experience made him a Buddha, which means one who is ‘Enlightened’ or awake. The tree underneath he meditated became known as the tree of ‘Enlightenment or Bodhi tree’. He then travelled widely in

India for 45 years and preached that the root of human suffering lies in enslavement to greed, hatred and delusion. Buddha taught the ‘Four Noble Truths: The reality of suffering; the cause of suffering as self-centred desire; the possibility of overcoming this suffering; and the means of achieving Enlightenment though the ‘Noble Eight Fold Paths’, which are right views, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. This is also known as ‘the middle way’ of moderation, between the extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification.

Enlightenment is the ultimate goal of Buddhist teaching. A human being who becomes enlightened understands life in the deepest way possible.

Gautama Buddha became ill at the age of eighty and rested underneath two large Sala trees, but he continued his teaching until his last moment. He entered Nirvana, perfect tranquillity, after he had completed his work as one of the world’s greatest teachers. His last words to his disciples were: “Make of yourself a light. Rely upon yourself; do not depend upon anyone else; do not depend upon any other teaching… A man’s mind may make him a Buddha, or it may make him a beast. Misled by error, one becomes a demon; enlightened one becomes a Buddha. Therefore, control your mind and do not let it deviate from the right path. . . My disciples, my last moment has come, but do not forget that death is only the end of the physical body. . . But true Buddha is not a human body; it is Enlightenment. A human body must die, but the wisdom of Enlightenment will exist forever in the truth of the Dharma and in the practice of Dharma. . . After my death, the Dharma shall be your teacher. Follow the Dharma and you will be true to me. . .

During the last forty-five years of my life, I have withheld nothing from my teachings. There is no secret teaching, no hidden meaning; everything has been taught openly and clearly. My dear disciples, this is the end. In a moment, I shall be passing into Nirvana. This is my instruction.”

Buddha is not considered to be a god, but he was truly a great teacher who lived a simple ascetic life. Gautama Buddha is respected as one of a series of enlightened human beings, Buddhas, to appear on the earth time to time. Buddha is not worshipped as a god. Buddhists are deeply spiritual and peace loving people, and not atheists. Buddhists follow the teaching of Buddha; there are various Buddhist traditions in different countries such as Mahayana in China, Korea and Japan; Theravada in Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma) and Cambodia; and Vajrayana in Tibet.

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Basic Tenets of Hinduism Dr. Titus Mathews, Calgary Eighty-five percent of the people of India are Hindus. In Kerala, their percentage is sixty. For anyone who grew up in India, it is impossible not to have come across some Hindus, as neighbours, classmates or just acquaintances.

Yet most of us Christians, irrespective of the particular denomination we belong to, do not know much about the basic beliefs of Hindus. Some years ago (2007) the National Council of the YMCAs of India published a small book edited by the late Prof. K.V. Varghese, who was a leading layman of Mar Thoma Church. We were friends from our college days and he gave me a copy of his book. The contents of this article are based on the chapters in this little book.

The book contains six chapters each written by an eminent scholar. Prof. D.S. Sharma, wrote on the Nature and History of Hinduism, Prof. J.N. Banerjee on the Hindu Concept of God, Prof. R. Basak on the Hindu Concept of the Natural World, Prof. R.N. Dankekar on the Role of Man in Hinduism, Prof. S.C. Chatterjee on Hindu Religious thought and finally Prof. K.V. Varghese on Hindutva and the Rise of Cultural Nationalism. The book was originally published by the Ronald Press Co., under the title The Religion of the Hindus in 1953. It is an excellent introduction to Hinduism.

Upanishads. Teachings based on Upanishads are called Vedanta. Vedas are revealed and hence called Shruthis (heard). Other scriptures such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata are secondary and are called Smrithis (remembered) and they reiterate the truths revealed in the Vedas. Bhagavad Gita (conversation between Krishna and Arjuna) is called layman’s Upanishad. The Vedic hymns are addressed to many gods who are partial manifestations of one Supreme Spirit. Three aspects of Supreme Spirit find expressions in the Hindu Trinity; Brahma, the god of creation, Vishnu, the god of protection (preservation) and Shiva, the god of destruction. Parvathi is the wife to Shiva and their daughters are Saraswati and Lakshmi and sons, Ganesha and Karthikeya. Consort of Brahama is Saraswati, that of Vishnu is Lakshmi and that of Shiva is Sakhti. People who worship Vishnu primarily are called Vishnavites; Shiva, the Shivites.

Cardinal virtues of Hinduism are purity, self-control, detachment, truth and non-violence. Purity means both ceremonial and moral. Self-control implies both control of the flesh and the mind. The higher phase of selfcontrol is detachment. Truth as a cardinal virtue means eternal reality. To Mahatma Gandhi, Hinduism is a quest for truth through non-violence.

The common beliefs of Hinduism concern (a) the evolution of the world; (b) the organization of the society; (c) the progress of the individual; (d) four-fold end of human life; and, (e) the law of Karma and rebirth. The evolution of the world came about through successive stages starting with matter and going through consciousness and intelligence to spiritual bliss (perfection). In an ideal society men should be ranked according to spiritual progress. The social system, which manifests this ideal, is called varna-dharma. The four castes are the Bhrahmins (the priestly class), the Kshatriyas (the warrior class) the Vaisyas (the mercantile/agricultural class) and the Sudras (the labour class). There are thousands of sub-castes.

The ideal life of a Hindu is divided into four stages: Brahmacharya (the student), Grihasta (the house-holder), Vanaprasta (the recluse) and Sanayasa (religious mendicant). The goal of life for a person is four fold: dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kama (enjoyment) and moksha (liberation). Moksha means becoming a perfect spirit like the Supreme Spirit.

The most important scriptures of the Hindus are the Vedas, which are four in number: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. Each Veda has four parts, the Manthras, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and

The fifth common belief is the law of Karma, the law of moral causation. According the law of Karma every individual goes through a series of lives before he obtains Moksha.

Every religious Hindu has his own Ishtadevatha whose image he or she worships at home. The

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deity is only a means of realizing the Supreme Spirit. So are rituals. Worship consists of offerings, prayer and meditation. There is no congregational worship, but people may go to a temple and worship the deity enshrined there. There are temple festivals where large crowds gather together to celebrate.

The history of Hinduism goes back to 2000 BC when the migration of Aryans into the Indo-Gangetic plains began.

We can break down the history into various periods and discuss the major developments during the period. The Vedic period (BC 2000 -BC 500) will cover ancient Hinduism.

During this time the Manthras, the Bhrahmanas and the Aranyakas together with Upanishads were recorded. In the Manthra the half personified forces of nature such as fire, wind, rain etc., give way to the concept of the Absolute, the One (monism), which was later developed in Upanishads.

Another important development during the Vedic period was the concept of ‘rita’, the cosmic order, from which came ideas of dharma and the laws of Karma. The gods were guardians of both and they had to be propitiated by sacrifices. This led to the period of Brahmanas during the course of which the priestly class became very powerful and the cast system developed. It was the age of prophets; but it was during the age of Upanishads that Vedic thoughts fully developed and the foundations of Hinduism were fully laid. Brahman, the universal spirit was identified with the atman, the self, and imprisoned in human body, mind and understanding. Moksha is the release of atman from the prison of individuality and jnana or knowledge is the means for Moksha or salvation.

During the following three hundred years, the manuals of ritualism such as the Kalpa Sutra were written. The practises of rigid ritualism of Brhamnic period became paramount. It was in this circumstance that Buddhism and Jainism arose and flourished. Though this was a setback for Hinduism a strong cult, the Bhagavata cult, was developing in the city of Mathura and whose object was the worship of Krishna, who emerged as an avathara (incarnation) of Vishnu.

During the next five hundred years (BC 200 – AD300) the epics of Ramayana and the Mahabharata together with Bhagavath Gita were put in final form. The laws of Manu, the code of Yajnavalkya, some Upanishads and the earliest Puranas were written during this period. The epics became the Vedas of the ordinary people and this led to a great revival of Hinduism. Regional gods were incorporated into Hindu pantheon and presented as different aspect of the Supreme Spirit. The three most important functions of the Spirit - creation, preservation and destruction of the world - became associated with Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva respectively. The doctrine of the avathara, first formulated in Bhagavath Gita, was also established during this time.

During the next five hundred years the Puranas with full of fantastic legends were written, the worship of Mother Goddess (Sakthism) started and Tantras, the sectarian scripture of the Sakthas (worshippers of Sakthi) were written.

The religion of the learned class was systematized into the six philosophical schools of Hindu thought. They were Nyasa, Vaiseshika, Sankya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta, each a different view of life. Of these the first two are non-theistic and the others theistic.

The medieval period was dominated by the Bhakti movements and the teachings of philosophers. The mystical poets known as Alvars were devoted followers of Vishnu and the Nayanars of Shiva. They sang Buddhism and Jainism out of South India. Sankara, who was born in Kaladi in 788 AD was the exponent of Advaida Vedanta, became a mendicant at an early age and travelled throughout India and established four ‘mutts’ or monasteries.

During the modern times, some attempts were made to modernize Hinduism by Ram Mohun Roy who founded the Brahmo Samaj. He fought against cruel practices such as sati (the immolation of young brides with their dead husbands) and encouraged scientific education, denounced idol worship and the caste system. Arya Samaj was founded by Swami Dayananda, which takes the Vedas seriously, ignoring later developments. The true renaissance of Hinduism begins with the teachings of Ramakrishna (1836-1886) whose favourite disciple was Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), the founder of the Ramakrishna Mission. Others like Aurobindo Ghose, Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi should be mentioned as well-known Hindus.

Editor’s Note: Dr. Titus Mathews is Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Educated in U.C. College and Madras Christian College, he received his Ph.D. degree from University of London (Imperial College) in 1962.

He joined the University of Calgary in 1966 and has served as Professor and Head of Physics Department and also as Associate Vice-President (Academic). He has been awarded the Good Servant Medal by Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, Out Standing Service Award by India-Canada Association and Alberta Government. He is also the recipient of Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee medal for service to the University of Calgary.

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Book Review: The Orthodox Dilemma by George Alexander

Eastern Orthodox Churches. It is high time, the author believes, that official communion should be acknowledged and proclaimed on the hierarchal level.

Review by John G. Panagiotou* The Orthodox Dilemma – Personal Reflections on global PanOrthodox Christian Conciliar Unity (Second Edition).

LULU BOOKS ($9.50) http://www.lulu.com/shop/http://www.lulu.com/shop/georgealexander/the-orthodox-dilemma/paperback/product23127727.html AMAZON ($ 12.19) https://www.amazon.com/Orthodox-Dilemma-GeorgeAlexander/dp/1329629787 KINDLE (£2.41) https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Orthodox-Dilemma-ReflectionsPan-Orthodox-ebook/dp/B017P1RFBS For more reviews and comments http://ocpbooks.simplesite.com/421272283

In George Alexander's "The Orthodox Dilemma" the reader is given a highly accessible overview of the history, current situation, and possible future of Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy. Through personal vignettes and historical illustrations, the writer, himself Oriental Orthodox, seeks to explain and address how the Orthodox Churches have found themselves in their present circumstances.

To those with a relatively undeveloped knowledge of Eastern Christianity, many examples that Alexander cites regarding these churches in both Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox expression may seem esoteric and obscure, but his central reason for writing the book is plain—to issue a plea for greater Pan-Orthodox unity of witness on a global platform.

He begins by asserting that before any sort of coordinated form of Orthodox Christian witness can be made, the official estrangement and sacramental division between the Eastern Orthodox (Greek, Russian, Serbian, Antiochian, Romanian, and Bulgarian) and the Oriental Orthodox (Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopian, Syriac, and Indian Malankara) needs to be addressed. He makes very compelling arguments that this “Eastern Schism” is the result of linguistic misunderstandings in Christology that have long since been theologically resolved, and he notes that it has been the long-standing pastoral practice that Oriental Orthodox receive the sacraments in

Nowhere is this point more pointedly made than where he observes that both Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox bishops and theologians have made great efforts to dialogue and ecumenically interact with the Western Church in both its Roman Catholic and Protestant expressions (in the World Council of Churches and elsewhere) while the Eastern Church has yet to get its own house in order, for which he provides multiple examples from the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) on down to our own time. In the words of the famed Greek Orthodox theologian John S. Romanides, whom he quotes in the book, “The two traditions (Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox) survived the complexities of history, while always maintaining essentially the same Orthodox Faith.”

The official declaration of reunion of the Eastern Churches would aid much in dealing with the cultural estrangements, prejudices, and suspicions of its members for one another. The irony Alexander notes, however, is that ultimately this needs to be a “grass roots” movement from the bottom to the top, issuing from the laity and the clergy, and facilitated by the hierarchy through better communication and public acknowledgment that the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches are sisters.

This, coupled with greater opportunities for interaction between the members of both churches, should be happening throughout Orthodoxy. Concerted efforts along these lines would serve to mitigate prejudices, of which the author provides copious examples. Among the paradigms for reunion that the author cites to demonstrate the achievability of this are the reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (aka ROCOR) with the Patriarchate of Moscow in 2007, the Patriarchate of Moscow’s recent outreach to the Old Believers’ Church, and the Pan-Orthodox pioneering work of the Oriental Orthodox theologians Metropolitan Gregorios Paulose and Fr. V. C. Samuel.

It is important to note that Alexander is not calling for a one world administrative hierarchical bureaucracy, but rather for an integrated Orthodox Christian witness, which will serve as a platform compatible with the concilliar nature of the Church’s episcopacy. This platform would be an expression of sacramental unity in all of its spiritual aspects of love and shared faith. It is not a call for a single form of worship or administration based on ecclesial jurisdiction, but an incorporation of St. Irenaeus of Lyon’s theme of “unity in diversity.”

The author provides numerous suggestions for realizing a unified Orthodox platform through better theological education for clergy, better use of the modern means of communication and media, and work in social justice ministries. To my knowledge, this is the first published book to provide thoughtful detail on the execution of this vital project. In many ways, it is a seminal work.

Editor’s Note: *John G. Panagiotou is a Greek Orthodox theologian and writer, a graduate of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and Wheeling Jesuit University.

He can be reached at johnpan777@gmail.com.

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