The Malankara Syrian Catholic Church THE EPHREMITE

Bulletin of the Eparchy of St Ephrem, -

VOL VII | NO. 4| August 2021

Eparchy of St. Ephrem 51 Bhau Patil Road Bopodi - 411 020 Pune, Maharashtra THE MALANKARA SYRIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

BULLETIN OF THE EPARCHY OF ST. EPHREM KHADKI - PUNE

VOL VII | NO. 4| August 2021

PATRON CONTENTS H.E. Thomas Mar Anthonios OIC Eparchial Bishop 1. Voice of the Bishop EDITOR Fr. Melwin Mathew OIC 2. Circular: Sunday School The Chancellor Day CIRCULATION Local Parish Priests 3. Seminary News DESIGN LAYOUT 4. MCYM News Anita Printers 5. MCA News PROOF Mrs Julie Phillip, Borivili & 6. Institutional News Ms Bincy Daniel, Vikhroli & Mr Binu Daniel, Vikhroli 7. Bishop's Diary DISTRIBUTION Shibin Mathew, 8. Notification from the Bishop’s House Office Finance office CORRESPONDENTS Tom, Angel, Sojisha, Binu, Sijo, Cibi, Jinu, 9. Birthdays & Feast Day Nithin, Aksa Rajan, Jerome, Jerin James, Lijo, Libin, Bincy, Shibu, Beena, Jacob, C E 10. Important Dates to Note Joy, Anish, John, Jeffi, Abraham, Preethy, Teeja, Joicy, Thomas, Shiju Thomas, Benson & Sabu

PRINTING Anita Printers, Wadgaonsheri, Pune

PUBLISHED BY The Chancellor Eparchy of St. Ephrem, 51 Bhau Patil Road, Bopodi, Pune Maharashtra, India

©Copyright With Eparchy of St. Ephrem

For private circulation only VOICE OF THE BISHOP Dear All, Greetings, love and blessings to you all as we enter the liturgical season of Transfiguration of Our Lord on 6 August! Hope all of us shared the blessings of the Holy Spirit during the Season of Pentecost. The month of July was a time of lot of blessings as we commemorated the Dukhrona of St Thomas the Apostle, our father in faith and the Dukhrona of the Servant of God Mar Ivanios, our second father in faith in Malankara. I was fortunate to participate in the Feast of Commemoration of Mar Ivanios Pithavu held at Pattom Cathedral, Trivandrum and to venerate his tomb once again. I did pray for all of you at the tomb of our Pithavu and entrusted our Eparchy to his heavenly intercession. May the intercession of Mar Ivanios be our stronghold! Feast of Transfiguration of our Lord On 6 August, we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord and thus enter a new liturgical season. The Feast of Transfiguration invites us to encounter Christ and be at his service. The ascent to the Mountain of Tabor and later the spiritual encounter invites us to be men of prayer having an intimate divine experience. The descent later is a call to serve the Lord. As Christians this theosis-experience must be deep-rooted helping us to live a life of selfless service or of diakonia. The maxim of Mar Ivanios Pithav, “the possession of God is nobler than service of God” is a reflection of this truth. True god experience alone can help us to be His missionaries. Let us strive to have this intimate God experience during this new liturgical season. Feast of the Assumption of Mary, the Mother of God As a Church we are entering in to the 15-days lent in preparation for the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, the Theotokos, the Mother of God. This feast tells us that we too share in the destiny of Mary, and like her, we too are called to be fervent disciples of Jesus. The

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15-days lent is connected with our desire to have a 'good death.' Good death is a death in the state of grace as we pray in the prayer Hail Mary; “pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” Pope Francis rightly reminds us that “Mary, a human creature, one of us, reaches eternity in body and soul. She is therefore the Gate of Heaven and that in paradise along with Christ, the New Adam, there is also Mary, the new Eve, giving us comfort in our pilgrimage here on earth.” (Pope Francis, Homily during the Angelus on the Solemnity of Assumption, 2019) This feast is a call to look upward and see the heaven and thus fill our lives with optimism and hope that goes far beyond what this world can offer. Heaven is no longer distant because at its threshold is Mary, the Mother of God, waiting for us. Let us receive the blessings of this feast by a meaningful observance of the 15-days lent. I invite you to SWARGAROPITHA II MARIAN REFLECTION from 1 to 15 August 2021 in our EPHREMITE YouTube Channel, organized by the Mathrusangham of our Eparchy in association with our Eparchial Commissions for Liturgy and Communication Media. These reflections will enkindle our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary who assumed into heaven body and soul and spur our longing to be united with Jesus our Lord and His Mother in heaven! Covid Situation The covid situation remains the same as I shared with you last time. The second wave of Covid seems to be declining in its severity and transmission. The lockdown norms have gradually paved the way for cautious unlocking. As a society we need to be additionally responsible that we adhere strictly to the Covid safety protocols. While the unlocking gives us a hope that soon things could be almost normal, the threat of the third wave urges us to be on our guards. Let us continue to persevere in our faith.

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Independence Day We celebrate our 74th Independence Day of our country on 15 August. Let us pledge ourselves to be committed citizens of this great nation. As a Church we are committed for the wellbeing of our fellow citizens. Our SEVA, the Social Service Wing, has been effectively carrying out the social cause of our Eparchy. Let us continue our efforts to help better our society especially those in the peripheries. God bless our nation! Feast of St John Maria Vianney On 4 August the Church celebrates the feast of St John Maria Vianney, the patron of all priests, especially the Diocesan Priests. Let us all pray for our priests. I wish them a HAPPY FEAST! It is your prayer for us that strengthens us during these tiring times of the pandemic. God bless all our priests. Bethany Ashram’s Foundation Day Bethany Ashram celebrates her foundation day on 15 August. Bethany has now a new leadership in General and Provincial levels. I entrust all Bethanians to the blessings of the almighty. Our Eparchy is blessed to have a permanent house constructed for Bethany Ashram at Titwala. I am invited to bless this Ashram on 06 August 2021. God bless Bethany Ashram! Remembering Fr Sam Puthuvelil and Pastor Vijay On 20 and 21 August 2020 our Eparchy lost two active and committed missionaries namely Fr Sam Philip Puthuvelil and Pastor Vijay respectively in two separate road accidents. It is one year now and still we are grappling with the loss of these two beloved sons of our Eparchy. I join with you all in praying for the repose of the souls of these two missionaries and once again entrust their families to the consoling power of the Holy Spirit. In pray for God's blessings on the bereaved families.

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Thanks for the Good Samaritan Drive I thank all our Rev Fathers, Rev Sisters and our beloved Lay Faithful for joining our hands to support the Eparchy of St John Chrysostom, Gurgaon. Despite the pandemic and the resultant financial constraints that we all face, our Eparchy has collected almost Rupees 18 lakhs. The details of the contributors are published in this issue of THE EPHREMITE. I thank you all for your generous and selfless contribution. May our prayers coupled with this contribution help the Eparchy of Gurgaon to carry forward the missionary work in the Northern part of our country. Thanks to our Outgoing Parish Priests All our Bethany Fathers serving our Eparchy as Parish Priests, Rev. Fathers Rev Fr George Ayyaneth OIC, Rev. Fr Shiju K Levy OIC, Rev. Fr Thomas Bijily OIC, Rev. Fr Varghese Manoj OIC, Rev. Fr Saiju Kurian OIC, Rev. Fr Francis Varghese Thekkepookalam OIC, Rev. Fr Gevarghese Panickeruveetill OIC and Rev. Fr Melwin Mathew Anthalil OIC are transferred to other Ashrams. They are to leave to their new destination by 15 August 2021. I thank them wholeheartedly for their service in our Eparchy. Their service also in other offices as Secretaries of Eparchial Commissions, Directors of Associations etc will be long remembered. I wish them all success in their next assignments. Thank you dear Fathers! Space is not sufficient enough to thank them individually. I will do that personally. The parishes will be according them a fitting farewell. God bless you dear Fathers! A Big Thanks to Fr Melwin OIC In addition to his office as Parish Priest of Malwadi, Rev. Fr Melwin was the Chancellor of our Eparchy, the Editor of the bulletin THE EPHREMITE, the Secretary of the Eparchial Commission for Family and the secretary of various other forums. We owe immense thanks to him for his three years of dedicated commitment to the life and progress of our Eparchy. He is an

6 THE EPHREMITE efficient academician and organizer. Thank you Fr Melwin! Transfer of Parish Priests and Appointments to Various Offices With the transfer of the Bethany Fathers we have to have transfers and appointments in the offices of our Parish Priests of various parishes and our departments and Eparchial Commissions and other offices. This will be effected as early as possible with sufficient consultations and ingenuity. I solicit the understanding and cooperation of all. Let us be united in prayer and prompt to take up new assignments! Sunday School Day On Sunday, 1 August, we celebrate Sunday school Day. Our Sunday School Department has been working very efficiently despite the pandemic. I appreciate the Director, members of the eparchial commission for faith Formation, all HMs, teachers and students. God bless our Sunday school! Read the message of the day in the Circular of Most Rev. Thomas Mar Eusebios, the Secretary of the Synodal Commission for Faith Formation. It is published in this issue of the Ephremite. I conclude. I once again urge all of you to pray, pray more fervently. Let us pray for our Bishop, Priests, Seminarians, Religious, Associations, Sunday School, Suvisesha Sangham our families, parents, youth and children. Let us offer special prayers for our beloved Barnabas Thirumeni who is still in the hospital. Remain safe and follow all Covid safety protocol. I entrust all of you to the care of Mary, the Mother of God. God bless our nation and all of us! Yours loving Aboon,

X Thomas Mar Anthonios OIC Eparchial Bishop

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Academic Inauguration The Academic Inauguration was held on 12 July 2021 in the presence of H.E. Most. Rev. Dr Thomas Mar Anthonios OIC. A Solemn Holy Qurbono was concelebrated by Aboon with Fr Rector and Fr Justin Kuzhivilayil. After the Holy Qurbono a short meeting was organized during which Aboon officially inaugurated the new motto and theme for the academic year 2021-2022. The Directory and Seminary Manuscript were also released. The Seminary warmly welcomed two new regents namely Br. Nithin Thonuvelil and Br. Alan Thekkeparambil. Minor Orders Nine Major Seminarians were conferred with Minor Orders of Koruyo and Heupadiyakono by H.E. Most. Rev. Dr. Thomas Mar Anthonios OIC on 18 July 2021 at Catholicate Centre Pattom, Trivandrum. Koruyo (Readers) Br. Tonny Thomas Br. Jerry Joseph Br. Christudas Br. Asabin Heupadiyakono (Sub Deacons) Br. Thomas Keelathu Br. Vincent Mukulavilla Br. George Chandanasseril Br. Joseph Kanchavana Br. Jacob Matcha 15 THE EPHREMITE MCYM News

Gurudhvani Gurudhvani was an initiative by the Commission for Youth during the 68th commemoration of Servant of God Archbishop Geevarghese Mar Ivanios. A series of videos containing the reflections by various personalities on the life of Mar Ivanios. The videos were shared via The Ephremite YouTube channel from 1 to 15 July 2021. Tug of Words MCYM Mumbai organized the second season of debate competition named Tug - Of - Words on 27 June 2021. A total of 7 teams from Mumbai region participated in the event. The event was conducted on Zoom platform and was live streamed on other social media platforms. After few rounds of amazing debate, a joint team of Ulhasnagar - Dombivali was declared as the winners of the event and Sakinaka - BARC being the first runners up. Inauguration of Ivanian Vegetable Garden As a Go Green initiative, MCYM Dehuroad set up a Community Vegetable Garden at the Church premises, under the able guidance of MCA members. Rev. Fr. George Kadathiparambil and Rev. Vicar, Fr Samuel Thekkekavinal inaugurated this venture on 03 July 2021 and officially named it as 'Ivanian Garden'. Parish Trustee Mr Jose John and MCYM member Mr Roopen Wilson were felicitated for their remarkable efforts. Thereafter, Rev. Sr. Jephin SIC, Rev. Sr. Anett SIC, Rev. Sr. Merlin SIC along with the MCYM members and parishioners joined hands in planting the vegetables in the grow bags provided in the garden.

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St. Thomas Day As part of the St Thomas Day Celebration, MCA Spiritual Adviser conducted a Holy Qurbono which was telecasted live through the Ephremite YouTube Channel on 03 July 2021. Mar Ivanios Day Eparchial MCA under the banner of the Laity Commission conducted Mar Ivanios Prayer Service on 15 July 2021. 200 people participated in it. Konionia Eparchial MCA Executive Members had a meeting called “Konionia” with all Association Executive members on 25 July 2021.

Institutional News MGC, Chennai Kargil War Memorial Day The victory of Kargil war and homage to kargil heros was celebrated in the name of Vijai Diwas by NCC unit of Mar Gregorios College on 26 July 2021, from 11.30 am to 12.30 pm. It is a tribute for our soldiers who lost their lives in Kargil war. The stage was decorated in a grand way. The Secretary, The Principal, Vice principal of Shift 1 & 2, NCC care taker and Co-caretakers initiated the program by lightning a lamp.

Bishop's Diary August 2021

01-31 Sun-Tue : Pune

17 THE EPHREMITE Notification from the Finance Office Contributions Received for the Good Samaritan Drive Sr. Name Amount No I) PARISHES 1 St. Mary's Khadki Cathedral 200000 3 St. George MSCC, Ayyappakam 43000 4 St. Thomas MSCC, Padi 100000 5 Mission Stations, Chennai 10000 6 Mother Mary MSCC, Secunderabad 10000 7 St. Joseph's MSCC, Jeedimetla 10000 8 St. Mary's MSCC, BARC IC 9 St. Thomas MSCC, Borivili IC 10 St. Mary's MSCC, Dombivli 15000 11 St. Mary's MSCC, Kharghar IC 12 St. Mary's MSCC, Malad IC 13 St. Thomas MSCC, Nashik 5000 14 St. Thomas MSCC, Nagpur 13000 15 St. Mary's MSCC, Sakinaka 60000 16 St. Thomas MSCC, Thane 75000 17 St. Joseph's MSCC, Ulhasnagar 10000 18 St. John The Baptist MSCC, Vasai 10000 19 Holy Family MSCC, Vikroli 44500 20 St. Mary's MSCC, Aurangabad 35000 21 St. Thomas MSCC, Chinchwad 17000 22 St. Joseph's MSCC, Road 30000 23 Holy Redeemers MSCC, Kalewadi 151950 24 St. Mary's MSCC,Warje IC 25 St. Antony's MSCC, Vishranthwadi 25000 26 St. Ephrem MSCC, Goa 20000

II) ASSOCIATIONS/ ORGANIZATIONS/ DEPARTMENTS 27 Mathrusangam 34850 28 MCYM 15000

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29 Family Apostolate 10000 30 MCA 5000

III) INSTITUTIONS 31 MGC, Chennai 100000 32 St. Mary's Malankara School, Sakinaka 100000 33 Sacred Heart HSS, Chennai 50000 34 St. Joseph’s Bethany Convent School, 40000 35 Mar Gregorios CBSE Public School, Chennai 25000 36 St. Thomas Bethany Convent School, Nashik 25000 37 St. Thomas Malankara School, Nashik 10000 38 St. Thomas Malankara School, Borivili 10000 39 St. Joseph’s Bethany Convent School, Ulhasnagar 10000 40 Mar Ivanios Convent Higher Secondary, Pimple Guruv 10000 41 St. Mary’s Bethany Convent School, Keesara, Hyderabad 10000 42 St. Mary's School, Khopoli 3000 43 Nirmal Bethany High School, Kalewadi 44 St. Joseph Bethany Navajeevan Vidyalaya, Hyderabad 45 Navjyothi Bethany Vidyapeeth, Titwala

IV) INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PARISHES St. Mary's MSCC, Kharghar 46 Zacharia Antony Pawath, Khargar 100000 47 Babu George, Khargar 50000 48 Xavier Antony Pawath, Khargar 50000 49 Johnykutty Yoohanan, Khargar 5000 50 Gracy Zachriah, Khargar 5000 St. Thomas MSCC, Borivili 51 Mani Kurikose, Borivili 50000 52 Jim Philip, Borivili 10000 53 Rosamma Rajan, Borivili 10000

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54 John K Varghese, Borivili 10000 55 P.M Francis, Borivili 5000 56 M T Mathew, Borivili 5000 St. Mary's MSCC, Malad 57 Abraham P Samuel, Malad 10000 58 Annamma Jocob, Malad 3000 59 NE Jose, Malad 2000 60 Thomas Samuel, Malad 2000 61 MO Chacko, Malad 1000 62 James Samuel, Malad 1000 Holy Family MSCC, Vikroli 63 George Jose, Vikhroli 10000 64 Jinu Cherian, Vikhroli 5000 St. Mary's MSCC,Warje 65 Albin Thomas, Warje 10000 66 KG Thomas, Warje 6000 67 George Mathew, Warje 5000 68 Sathiaraj, Warje 5000 69 Joykutty, Warje 5000 70 Jijo Joy, Warje 3000 71 Reji Kurian, Warje 3000 72 D Thomas, Warje 2000 73 Stephen Varghese, Warje 1000 74 Jose Samuel, Warje 1000 75 MO Raju, Warje 1000 76 Joy George, Warje 500 77 Jose Thomas, Warje 500 St. Antony's MSCC, Vishranthwadi 78 Anoop Joseph Anthony, Vishrantwadi 25000 79 P V Thomas, Vishrantwadi 10000 80 Varghese T Ninan, Vishrantwadi 5000 81 Susheel K Punnoose, Vishrantwadi 5000 82 Jiju TK, Vishrantwadi 5000 83 KC Punnoose, Vishranthawadi 5000 84 Susamma Babu Mathai, Vishrantwadi 5000

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85 Rosamma Mathew, Vishrantwadi 2000 86 John Jacob, Vishrantwadi 2000 87 KG Babu, Vishrantwadi 2000 88 Smitha Babin, Vishrantwadi 2000 89 Beena Raju Mathews, Vishrantwadi 1500 90 Rex Mathew, Vishrantwadi 1000 91 Annama Francis, Vishrantwadi 1000 St. Thomas MSCC, Padi 92 Zacharia George, Chennai 25000 93 Kurian Zacharia, Chennai 25000 94 Varghese George, Chennai 15000 St. Thomas MSCC, Chinchwad 95 Jose Mathew, Chinchwad 10000 St. Mary's MSCC, BARC 96 Preethy Daniel, BARC 5000 St. Joseph's MSCC, Ulhasnagar 97 James John, Ulhasnagar 5000 Mother Mary MSCC, Secunderabad 98 Sebastian, Secuderabad 20000 Holy Redeemers MSCC, Kalewadi 99 Vinu A C, Kalewadi 3000 St. Mary's Khadki Cathedral 100 Mark Varghese, Khadki 3000 101 Msgr. Varghese Angadiyil 3000 102 Rev. Fr Justin Kuzhivilayil 2000 103 John, Khadki 3000 104 Sujoy Buildcon, Nashik 25000 105 Susy 10000 106 Tesy/George Mathew 5000 107 Shaji Abraham, 5000 108 Chinchwad Unknow 4000 109 Abrham Joshua 3000 110 Tomson Kannanthara James 2000 111 Sam Mathew 2000 N.B: Regret errors or omissions if any. Kindly inform the same to the Finance Office. * IC- Individual Contribution 21 THE EPHREMITE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FATHERS… 1. Rev.Fr. Gevarghese Panickeruveetill OIC - (Aug 04) 2. Rev.Fr. Dara Michael- (Aug 10) 3. Rev.Fr. Mathew Varikkat- (Aug 17) HAPPY FEAST DEAR FATHER... 1. Rev. Fr John Maruthoor- (Aug 04)

Important Dates to Note 01 : Beginning of 15 Days Lent The Syro-Malankara Catholic Sunday School Day 04 : St. John Maria Vianney, Patron of Parish Priests 06 : Transfiguration of Our Lord (M'thala) 15 : Independence Day of India Assumption of Mary, the Mother of God (Shunoyo) 22 : Social Justice Sunday 27 : St. Monica 28 : St. Augustine

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