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Walk The Way Refelections on the life & Faith of the Orthodox Church Fr. C. C. Cherian ◆WALK THE WAY ◆ 2 ◆ WALK THE WAY ◆ WALK THE WAY Reflections on the life & Faith of the Orthodox church FR C C Cherian C C BOOKS Kottayam 2020 3 ◆WALK THE WAY ◆ 4 ◆ WALK THE WAY ◆ CONTENTS PREFACE 7 FOREWORD 11 I ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY- AN OVERVIEW 15 II THE ORTHODOX FAITH - AT A GLANCE. 23 III ORTHODOX EMPHASES AND PRIORITIES 33 IV CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY – 41 AN EASTERN ORTHODOX PERSPECTIVE V AUTHORITY AND SCRIPTURES 49 VI AUTOCEPHALY AND AUTONOMY OF THE CHURCH 59 VII DIVISIONS IN THE CHURCH: A HISTORICAL SURVEY 67 VIII ORIENTAL AND EASTERN CHURCHES: 75 ON THE ROAD OF ECUMENISM IX ORIENTAL ORTHODOX & ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES 81 X THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES (W.C.C) 89 AND THE PARTICIPATION OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHES XI THE ORTHODOX CHCURCH AND THE OTHER 95 CHRISTIAN CHURCHES IN INDIA XII INDIAN CHURCHES ON THE ROAD TO ECUMENISM 103 5 ◆WALK THE WAY ◆ 6 ◆ WALK THE WAY ◆ PREFACE It is with great gratitude to God almighty that I write this few words of introduction on Orthodox faith and practices. I humble myself before God Almighty for making me instrumental in taking up this journey. It is the grace of God that equipped me in embarking this voyage which is otherwise an impossible task for me. What I have prepared here is only a tangential presentation of Orthodoxy hence not an in-depth one. But I hope that this will produce some aroma to arouse the "taste buds"of Christians seeking the true faith. Malankara Orthodox Church certainly bears the undoubtable linage of the Apostolic faith. Even though the Church was not physically associated with the Ecumenical Councils of the early centuries, uninterruptedly the Church maintained the qualities of the Apostolic faith while subsequently accepting the inter- pretations and definitions of the three Ecumenical Councils of Nicea, Constantinople and Ephesus. The Orthodox Churches hold their autonomous leadership and independent administration at national, provincial and parochial levels. They also have to cope with the cultural background of their locality without breaking the Christian principles, and give emphasis to communal harmony. While engaging and interpreting other religious related issues, Christian Church has to be familiar with the Indian cultural scenario as well. It is true that many foreign missionaries had 7 ◆WALK THE WAY ◆ contributed towards the nurturing of Christianity in India but it is equally true that, their attempts had the damaging outcome of the diluting of the true faith. Christians in general should be enabled to carry out Christian mission effectively within the Indian cultural background through their life and practices in the society. This brief study is a humble attempt to enlighten the readers in this direction. May The Holy Spirit lead us in the "Right Path" as shown by our Lord Jesus Christ to accomplish His Great Commission: "Go and make Disciples and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” "(St. Matthew 28:20). So let us obey His teachings first and then make the attempt of teaching and preaching to others. Jesus first "did"and then only preached (Acts 1:1). Our witnessing becomes a failure because we do not "do" what we believe, but only preach like the religious leaders at the time of our Lord. We have to face this challenge and correct our methods of witnessing Christ among other people around us. I hope and pray that this study will give us some light to walk in the right path by "being a witness" not merely "bearing witness" discarding the pain of Christian discipleship. The Christian message spread all over the world in the early centuries, because true believers were ready to sacrifice their lives to protect Christian faith which they practised in their day to day life. Let us also follow them as they followed Christ our Lord. The content of this book was written by me in1988 and was published in Malayalam language in the book "Nervazhiyil"of Divyabodhanam series. This translation was done by me for the benefit of wider readership around the world. I have to put on record my deep respect and homage to my great teachers who shaped my thinking in the Orthodox theological framework. They are of blessed memory: H.G.Dr Paulose Mar Gregorios , H. G.Dr. Geevarghese Mar Osthathios,H.G. Mathews Mar Barnabas,and Rev.Fr.Dr.V.C.Samuel.My deep gratitude is also extended to Rev.Dr. Fr.T.J.Joshua and Rev.Fr.Dr.K.M.George. 8 ◆WALK THE WAY ◆ I express my heartfelt gratitude to my loving colleague Reverend Father Abraham Thomas (Abey Achen) who took the pain in going through the whole manuscript of this book and make necessary corrections and additions. He was kind enough to furnish the ‘Foreword’ which explains the theological motif of the Book. I wish him all good in his teaching ministry at the Orthodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam and in his ecumenical ministry as the Secretary of the Department of Ecumenical Relations of the Church. I also thank my friend Donn (George Varghese) from Cheppad for helping me providing the Icons in this book. I should not forget the name of my son Cyril Cherian who did the graphic designing and cover page settings. Rev. Father Iyoob OIC of Bethany Aashram is the driving force behind the publication of this ebook project. He encouraged me and gave me all the needed guidance regarding the format of this book. My sincere thanks to him for his computer assistances. Once more,thankingThe Triune God Almighty, I humbly submit this book to the faithful"people of God"all over the world. July 3 r d , 2 0 2 0 . FR.C C Cherian. Kottayam. St.Thomas' Day, ✉ [email protected]). ☏ 9074615044/9447302518 9 ◆WALK THE WAY ◆ 10