Jossi Jacob Ponodath: Malankara Orthodox Church: A Reaction Against the Cast-based Social Structure

Biography

Fr Dr Jossi Jacob Ponodath Personal Information Date of Birth March 17, 1971 Nationality Indian Church Affiliation Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Mobile No.and Email (+91) 954 497 2724, 9400352724; jossijacob@mosc.in Designation Principal, St. Thomas Orthodox Theological Seminary, Nagpur (2019 -) Previous Occupation Member of the Faculty of the Holy Trinity Theological College, Addis Ababa (2003 - 2019) (Held positions of Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs, Director of Post-Graduate Programme, Director of the Doctor of Theology Programme) Educational Background Bachelor of Divinity (1996) – Serampore University, Calcutta, India Master of Theology (2000) – Pontifical Oriental Insitute, Kottayam, Kerala, India Doctor of Theology (2003) - Pontifical Oriental Insitute, Kottayam, Kerala, India St Thomas Orthodox Theological Semiary, Nagppur, is one of the two Seminaries for Clerical training in the Malankara Orthodox Church. It was Established in 1995 in Nagpur, the geographical center of India for training of the aspirants for priesthood from the states in India other than Kerala.
The Evangelical Mission of the Malankara Orthodox Church:
A Reaction against the Cast-based Social Structure (Abstract)

The Malankara Orthodox Church is a Christian Community in India claiming its history back to the period of the advent of the religion itself. Attaching the origin of the Indian Christianity to Saint Thomas the Apostle of Jesus Christ, is not a matter of complete historical certainty, but a great deal for the traditional Christian community in Kerala, a south-western state of India. First century origin of Christianity in India is still a matter of dispute, but the long standing presence of the Christian community in Kerala as an indigenous social group prior to the western interaction in the history of the country, is a obviously a well-evidenced fact. The Saint Thomas Christian Community of Kerala remained enjoying considerable good position in the society with cast-based stratification. There is hardly any evidence for evangelical activities of the community prior to nineteenth century.
Stratification of people into different classes based on economic status and ethnicities, and oppressions based on the same are quite common in the history of humanity in almost all the societies in different times. Indian society is not an exemption and had developed a peculiar kind of social stratification, namely, the complex cast system of India. Oppression and subjugation of the lowest cast of the hierarchy in a religiously justified pattern remains a great evil persisted in the Indian society including in Kerala. Radical changes occurred in the socio-political and economic conditions in colonized India also left the injustice almost totally unanswered.
 The Orthodox Church was always aware of its mission and responsibility to empower and enrich humanity physically, mentally and socially, and spiritually, but the active involvement in evangelical mission was quiet difficult task. The traditional Christian community of Kerala known as Saint Thomas Christians also enjoyed a significantly higher role in the society with cast-based organization. The faithful of the Malankara Church resisted any attempt to extend evangelical activities to their Hindu brethren, especially to the untouchables of the society. This casteist attitude of the community hinders the Church from engaging in evangelical activities for many generations until late nineteenth century.

The missionary activities of the Malankara Orthodox Church in the modern era became really complex in this context. Mission was not just conversion into Christianity and taking pastoral and spiritual care of them, but extending integral support to the downtrodden and rescuing them from the structure of oppressing Casteism. Since 19th Century the Church seriously involved in the uplifting of the weaker section of the society through availing chances for education and growth in many other ways.

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