Pages from History: John Bunyan – Author of Pilgrim’s Progress is born
John Bunyan
28 November, 1628: English preacher John Bunyan (d. 31August,1688), author of more than 60 books, including the famous Pilgrim’s Progress, is born in Elston, England.
In 1655, Bunyan was baptized by immersion by Pastor John Gifford of Bedford and called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Bunyan was arrested November 12, 1660, for preaching without the approval of the Anglican Church. He was charged with “teaching men to worship God contrary to the law” and was in jail more than twelve years.
His most well-known work, The Pilgrim’s Progress, was written while in the Bedford jail. During Bunyan’s lifetime there were 100,000 copies circulated in the British isles, besides several editions in North America. It has been continuously in print since its first printing. Bunyan’s remarkable imagery was firmly rooted in the Reformation doctrines of man’s fallen nature, grace, imputation, justification, and the atonement–all of which Bunyan seems to have derived directly from Scripture. ~ http://www.chapellibrary.org
John Bunyan’s Works
The Collected Works of John Bunyan was carefully edited by George Offor, first published in 1853 and revised in 1862. These files are from the 1862 edition.
These pdf books can be downloaded at no cost and read for free. It can be accessed at http://www.chapellibrary.org/literature/bunyan/
Pages from History: Thomas Mar Athanasius Suffragan Metropolitan passes away
Thomas Mar Athanasius Suffragan Metropolitan
27 November, 1984: Thomas Mar Athanasius Suffragan Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church passes away (b.26 May 1914). Bishop Thomas was born on 26 May, 1914, to the Panampunna family,Kottayam, Kerala. He was a scholar and continued his studies to the end of his days. He was known for his deep devotion and great ability to build up the Church. In 1953, he became bishop, and in 1978, he was designated as Suffragan Metropolitan.
He attended the first Assembly of the World Council of Churches at Amsterdam in 1948, and also the Assembly at New Delhi in 1961. He was a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches since 1961. Thus he made significant contributions to the cause of ecumenism.
He has attended many other international conferences in the Churches and was a delegate to the Melbourne Conference where he had made a distinct contribution as a leader of Bible Study.
He also attended the sessions of the second Vatican Council on special invitation.
His sudden death on 27 November, 1984, was severe shock to the whole Church and to the ecumenical world.
Pages from History: 21 Nov 1881: Birth of Very Rev. K. E. Oommen
Very Rev. K. E. Oommen
21 Nov 1881: Birth of Very Rev. K. E. Oommen (21/11/1881 to 23 May 1984). Very Rev K. E. Oommen was one of the first four graduates who accepted ordination together in the Mar Thoma Church. He was one of the Divisional Secretaries of the church till 1939. With his evangelical zeal and wise counsel he gave great support to Abraham Mar Thoma and later Metropolitans.
He had a long and fruitful life. He died in 1984 at the age of 103. Most Rev Philipose Mar Chrysostom of the Mar Thoma Church is his son.
Pages from History: 9 November, 1917: Birth of Dr. Sosamma Philip – Medical Missionary
Late Dr. Sosamma Philip, Medical Missionary.
9th November, 1917: Birth of Dr.Sosamma Philip, Medical Missionary. Dr. Sosamma was the daughter of Late Rev. M.C. George Kasseesa (17 April 1874 – 23 October 1923) of Maliyekkal House, Kuriannoor.
The Late Most Rev. Dr. Alexander Mar Thoma Valiya Metropolitan (10 April 1913 – 11 January 2000) was her elder brother. Dr. Sosamma passed her final school examination in 1933, but she couldn’t afford a college education. She joined the undergraduate teacher’s training course in Tiruvalla and then became a teacher in Kuriannoor Middle School. The family had to sell a portion of their ancestral property to pay for her dowry.
In 1940, she married Dr. P.V. Philip (Palathinkkal, Kottayam), who was working with the Mission Hospital in Karappuram, Cherthala. But unfortunately, Dr. Philip died after nine months of their marriage. She also lost her mother, three months later. Dr. Sosamma had an earnest desire to continue the medical work of her departed husband. She joined Alwaye U.C. College and passed her intermediate examinations and applied for a seat in Christian Medical College, Vellore. As she did not get admission at CMC Vellore, she joined the American College in Madurai and finished her B.A. and then joined the Nicholson School, Tiruvalla, as a teacher.
But the desire for a medical education was burning in her heart, so she applied again and this time she secured an admission in Christian Medical College, Vellore. Immediately after getting her Medical degree, she joined the Karapuram, Cherthala Mission, where her husband had worked. After further passing her specialization courses in Chicago, she worked with the Kumbanad and Kattanam hospitals for many years.
In 1967, she joined the Sihora Ashram Hospital in Madhya Pradesh and remained there till her retirement, 30 years later in 1997. As recognition of her work and social service, the Church awarded her the “Manava Seva Award”.
After her retirement, she returned to stay with her relatives in Kuriannoor. She was called to her eternal home on 4 May 2008 and was buried beside her parents at the St.Thomas Mar Thoma Church Cemetery in Kuriannoor.
Late Rev. M.C. George Kasseesa (Father of Dr. Sosamma Philip)
Late Alexander Mar Thoma Valiya Metropolitan (Elder brother of Dr. Sosamma Philip)
9 Nov 2014: CSI, CNI and Mar Thoma Church celebrate ‘The Communion of Churches in India (CCI) Day’.
On 9 November, 2014, Sunday: the CSI, CNI and Mar Thoma Churches celebrate this Sunday as the ‘The Communion of Churches in India (CCI) Day’.
The Communion of Churches in India (CCI) has been constituted as the visible organ for common expression of the life and witness by the founding Churches, the Church of North India (CNI), the Church of South India (CSI) and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church (MTC) which recognise themselves as belonging to the one Church of Jesus Christ in India, even while remaining as autonomous churches, each having its own identity of traditions and organizational structures. “The Communion” invites other Churches in India to enter into full communion with the member churches separately and join “The Communion”.
World Sunday School Day: 1st November 2014 (Free Ebook – Robert Raikes and how we got Sunday School)
George Romney’s portrait of Robert Raikes, the newspaperman who popularised schooling on Sundays Photo: National Portrait Gallery, London
2nd November 2014 : World Sunday School Day – The first Sunday of the Month of November is celebrated throughout the world as Sunday School Day. The Mar Thoma/ CSI/ CNI churches are celebrating Sunday, 2nd November, 2014 as World Sunday School Day.
Robert Raikes (1735- 1811), an English Publisher, started the first Sunday School in the city of Gloucester in England in 1780. During the early days, reading, arithmetic and Bible was taught at the Sunday Schools.
In 1809, Church representatives of the Malankara Churches held a meeting at Kandanadu Church, near Ernakualam to arrange facilities to teach children in the Church about religion, prayers and sacraments. The India Sunday School Union was founded in 1876.The Mar Thoma Sunday School Samajam was established on 25 February 1905, at the Maramon Convention.
We encourage our readers to read and share this Free 4 page PDF Ebook Resource for your Sunday Schools and children’s services: Robert Raikes and How We Got Sunday School
Inscription on the tomb of Robert Raikes.
7 October, 1837: Birth of Thomas Mar Athanasius Metropolitan
Thomas Mar Athanasius Metropolitan
7 October, 1837: Thomas Mar Athanasius, the first son of Abraham Malpan was born into the Palakunnathu family of Maramon. He was the Metropolitan of The Mar Thoma Syrian Church from 1877-1893. It was during his time the Mar Thoma Church lost almost all their churches and properties in a court case called the “Seminary Suit”.
The main events during his episcopate are the formation of “The Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association” in 1888 and the beginning of the Mar Thoma Church magazine “Malankara Sabha Tharaka” in 1893. Though the episcopate of Thomas Mar Athanasius was a period of trial and suffering for the Mar Thoma Church, it was also one of great spiritual promise for the future. He was called to his eternal home on 10 August 1893.
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.
Nalloor Library 