Pages from History: 7 October, 1837 – Rev. Dr. Hermann Gundert arrives in Trivandrum.
Hermann Gundert
7 October, 1837: Rev. Dr. Hermann Gundert, the German Missionary arrives in Trivandrum had an audience with His Highness Sree Swathi Thirunal Maharaja, the ruler of Travancore. Rev. Gundert compiled a Malayalam grammar book, Malayalabhaasha Vyakaranam (1859), a Malayalam-English dictionary (1872), and contributed to work on Bible translations into Malayalam. He worked in various parts of South India for 23 years (1836- 1859).
The archives of information he collected from Kerala are kept in the Tuniberg University, Germany. He returned to Germany in 1859. There he took ten more years to complete the Malayalam-English dictionary. Though Gundert came to Kerala as a missionary, he is remembered today mainly for his contributions the language Malayalam. He lived in Calw, Germany where he passed away on April 25, 1893.
Pages from History: 6 October, 1536: Church executes William Tyndale
William Tyndale
6 October, 1536: Church executes William Tyndale (b.1494).
The first English version of the Bible made by direct translation from the original Hebrew and Greek, and the first to be printed, was the work of William Tyndale. He met bitter opposition from the main Church. He was accused of willfully perverting the meaning of the Scriptures and his New Testaments were to be burned as “untrue translations”.
He was finally betrayed into the hands of his enemies and on 6 October 1536, was publicly executed and burned at the stake by the Catholic Church.
Pages from History: 4 October, 1836 – Abraham Malpan ends Maramon ‘Muthappan’ Festival
Image from maramonmarthomachurch.com
5 October, 1836: Malayalam Year 1012 Kanni 19: Members of the Mar Thoma Maramon Parish used to celebrate the festival of “Muthappan” every year.
Muthappan was a wooden idol in the shape of a human, made in memory of a foreign Bishop who came to Kerala in AD 1685. Offerings and prayers were conducted in front of this idol. The people of Maramon believed that the cause of all their prosperity and blessings was because of this semi-god, Muthappan.
Large crowds used to attend this yearly festival, which was a good source of income for the Maramon Parish. On 4th October 1836, the day before ‘Muthappan Festival’, the reformer of the Mar Thoma Church, Abraham Malpan threw “Muthappan” into the well situated in the Church compound and put an end to this festival forever, starting the reformation process.
26th October 2014: Family Sunday Service (Free pdf EBook)
The Principles of Christian Family Life (Malayalam)
On 26th October 2014 (20th Sunday after Pentecost), Family Sunday is celebrated by the CSI church, CNI church and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church. The focus of the service is on the “Faith that has to be formulated in family life”.
Download this free pdf Ebook published in Malayalam in 1951 that is still relevant to today’s Christian life. This book can be used as a resource for your Family Sunday service. The link can be shared and used by church members, parishes and church organziations. It can be accessed on any smartphone, tablet or computer for free.
The Principles of Christian Family Life (Malayalam) (Published in 1951)
or
Pages from History: 29 September, 1978 – Pope John Paul I passes away
Pope John Paul I
29 September, 1978: Four weeks after being elected, Pope John Paul I passed away while reading a devotional in bed.His 33-day papacy was one of the shortest reigns in papal history, Having died before he could make a legacy as a pope, he is best remembered for his friendliness and humility, making him known as “the smiling Pope”.
Pages from History: 27, 28 September 1917 – First Mar Thoma Clergy Conference
27, 28 September, 1917 (12, 13 Kanni M.E 1092): First Mar Thoma Clergy Conference. The first annual conference for the priests of the Mar Thoma Church was held in September 1917 at the Syrian Christian Seminary in Tiruvalla under the leadership of Bishop Titus II. It was a two-day conference. Priests from Anglican Church also attended this Conference. Rev. Dr. L. P. Larsen Principal of the Bangalore Theological College was the main speaker.
Pages from History: 27 September, 1976: Juhanon Mar Thoma Metropolitan passes away
Metropolitan Juhanon Mar Thoma (Photo credit: LIFE magazine)
27 September, 1976: Juhanon Mar Thoma Metropolitan Passes away. (b.7 Aug.1893) .Dr Juhanon Mar Thoma was the Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church from 1947 to 1976. He provided the Church with the emblem having the motto: “Lighted to Lighten”. This has been appreciated by many leaders of Christian churches.
“Ecumenism was a reality for him; he restored peace with the Indian Orthodox Church. He actively participated in ecumenical councils such as the World Council of Churches. In 1948, he led the delegation to the first Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Amsterdam. At its second meeting at Evanston, Illinois in 1954 he was elected as one of the presidents of WCC. During the third Assembly in New Delhi in 1961 he was the chairman and guided the deliberations with distinction.
It was in 1974, it was decided enter into full communion with the Churches of South India, North India and with various provinces in the Anglican communion.” ~ wikipedia.com
On 26 June 1975 the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi declared Emergency. Juhanon Mar Thoma was the only Christian leader in India who raised a voice and sent a letter to the Prime Minister arguing for the restoration of democracy.
Dr Radhakrishnan, vice-president of India (right) greeting Bishop S. U. Barbieri, Metropolitan Juhanon Mar Thoma and Archbishop Iakovos during the Third Assembly of the WCC in New Delhi, November 18 – December 6, 1961. (Photo from the Archives of wcc-coe.org)
The six new elected Presidents of the World Council of Churches (1954).
Standing, left to right, the are Bishop Dibelius of the Evangelical Church of Germany, Bishop Barbieri of the Methodist Church in Argentina, Metropolitan Juhanon of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, India, the Very Rev. John Baillie of the Church of Scotland, Bishop Sherril of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the U.S.A.
Seated, left to right, Bishop bell of the Church of England (Honorary President), Archbishop Michael of the Eastern Orthodox Church in North and South America. (Photo from the Archive of wcc-coe.org)
Pages from History: 21 September, 1522: Martin Luther publishes the New Testament in German
Martin Luther Bible
21 September, 1522: Martin Luther’s translation of the New Testament is published. Luther’s translated the Bible into the vernacular German language making it more accessible to ordinary people. The Luther Bible was not the first German Bible translation, but it was the most influential having a tremendous political impact on the church and on German culture. Luther even had large-print Bibles made for those who had failing eyesight.
The translation also furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible.
Martin Luther translates the Bible into German.
Pages from History: 20 September, 1224: Francis of Assisi receives the stigmata
St. Francis of Assisi
20 September, 1224: On or about this date, on Italy’s secluded Mount Alvernia, Francis of Assisi reportedly prayed, “O Lord, I beg of you two graces before I die—to experience in myself in all possible fullness the pains of your cruel passion, and to feel for you the same love that made you sacrifice yourself for us.” Soon his heart was filled with both joy and pity, and wounds appeared on his hands, feet, and side. He reportedly carried these scars (called stigmata – divine marks corresponding to those left on Christ’s body by the Crucifixion,) until his death in 1226.
Pages from History: 19 September, 1882 : Salvation Army starts its work in India
Frederick St George de Lautour (Booth)Tucker – ( Photo from http://www.salvationarmy.org/India)
19 September, 1882: Salvation Army starts its work in India. The Salvation Army was started in 1865 by William Booth as “The Christian Mission” in London to work among the poor and the unchurched people. Later he changed the mission’s name to the Salvation Army.
India is the Salvation Army’s oldest mission field. Frederick St George de Latour Tucker, of the Indian Civil Service, read a copy of The War Cry, and became a Salvationist taking the Indian name of Fakir Singh. He commenced the Army work in Bombay on 19 September 1882. The adoption of Indian food, dress, names and customs gave the pioneers ready access to the people, especially in the villages. In addition to evangelistic work, various social programmes were inaugurated for the relief of distress from famine, flood and epidemic. Educational facilities such as elementary, secondary and industrial schools, cottage industries and settlements, were provided for the depressed classes by the Salvation Army. ~ http://www.salvationarmy.org
