Pages from History: 12 May 1820: Birth of Florence Nightingale
12 May, 1820: Birth of Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale was named after the city, Florence, Italy, where she was born on 12 May, 1820, in a very wealthy family. She was the founder of the nursing profession. At the age of 16, Florence heard the voice of God telling her that she had a special mission in life. She helped the British Army in the Crimean war.
Her efforts to formalize nursing education led her to establish the first scientifically based nursing school—the Nightingale School of Nursing, at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London (opened 1860). Based on her studies, a Sanitary Department was established in India in 1868. She was called to her eternal home on 13 August 1910.
Florence Nightingale
Pages from History: Dr. Sosamma Philip – Medical Missionary Passes away. (4 May 2008)
4 May, 2008: Death of Dr. Sosamma Philip, Medical Missionary. Dr. Sosamma (b.9 Nov 1917) was the daughter of Late Rev. M. C. George Kasseesa (17 Apr 1874 – 23 Oct 1923) of Maliyekkal House, Kuriannoor. The Late Most Rev. Dr. Alexander Mar Thoma Valiya Metropolitan (10 Apr 1913-11 Jan 2000) was her elder brother. Dr. Sosamma passed her final school examination in 1933, but couldn’t afford a college education. She joined the Under Graduate Teacher’s Training Course in Tiruvalla and then became a teacher at 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 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, 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 secured an admission in Christian Medical College, Vellore. Immediately after getting her Medical degree, she joined the Karapuram, Cherthala Mission, where her husband 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 Mar Thoma 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.
Dr. Sosamma Philip, Medical Missionary.
Pages from History: John Milton sells the copyright of Paradise Lost for £10
27 April, 1667: Blind, bitter and poor, Puritan poet John Milton (9 Dec.1608 – 8 Nov.1674) sold for ten pounds the copyright of Paradise Lost. The book influenced the English thought and language nearly as much as the King James Version and the plays of Shakespeare.
The theme of the epic appears in its opening lines: “Of man’s disobedience and the fruit / Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste / Brought death into the world, and all our woe, / With loss of Eden.”
Pages from History: Birth of Mathews Mar Athanasius Metropolitan (1818)
25 April, 1818: Birth of Mathews Mar Athanasius Metropolitan (d.16 Jul 1877) He became Bishop at the age 24 in February 1842. He was the Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church from 1842 to 1877.
As the head of the church he worked hard for the education of the clergy and raising the moral standards of ordinary people. He was one of the ablest bishops the Syrian Churches ever had.
Mathews Mar Athanasius Metropolitan
Pages from History: Birth of Freedom Fighter (Advocate) Rev. C.V.George B.A., B.L
16 April, 1913: Birth of Rev. C. V. George B.A. B.L, Chandanakuzhiyil, Ettichuvadu, Ranny. Rev. George was an Advocate (Lawyer). Before his ordination, he was in jail for almost a year for his participation in the Freedom movement of India. He became a priest in 1947.
From 1947-1950 he was the General Secretary of the Mar Thoma Sunday School Samajam. He was the only Mar Thoma Priest who is recognized and awarded as a freedom fighter by the Government.
He was also the founder president of the Ranny Medical Mission. He passed away on 31 Oct.2001 and was buried at the Nazareth Mar Thoma church cemetery in Ranny.
Rev. C.V.George
Pages from History: Strange But True! Lightning kills Mar Thoma II (Head of the Malankara Church) (1686)
14 April 1686: Pakalomattom Parampil Thomas Kathanar was consecrated as Mar Thoma I on 22 nd May 1653 at the Alangattu Church. He ably guided the Malankara Church till his death on 25 th April 1670. He was buried in the Marthomman Church Angamaly.
His brother/ nephew was consecrated as the Mar Thoma II in 1670. Mar Thoma II was killed by lightning on 14 April 1686 while he was taking rest in the Pally Meda (guest Room) of the St. Mary’s church in Niranam. He was buried in the same church cemetery.
This may be the only incident in the history of the Christian Church where a head of a church died due to a lightning strike.
Night Lightning by Sebastien D’ARCO
Niranam St.Mary’s Orthodox Church
Pages from History: Birth of The Rev. C.V.John – Defender of Faith (1909)
10 April, 1909: Birth of Rev. C. V. John, Chirapurathu, Thottakkad (d.2 Sep 1979). After his theological training from Theological College in Serampore he became a priest in 1938.
He started as a teacher at the M.T. Seminary High School, Kottayam and then became a teacher at Mar Thoma Theological Seminary. He was the Vicar of the Jerusalem MTC, Kottayam, St. Peter’s MTC, Manganam, and the secretary of the North Division of the Church. For two years, from 1956, he served as a student chaplain in USA. In 1963, he became the Principal of the M. T. Seminary.
Through his hard work the seminary was upgraded to B.D. Level in 1974. Achen was the second defendant in the Daniel Case
(Dr. Juhanon Mar Thoma was the first defendant) and was examined by the court for many days. His statements during the trial regarding the faith and practices of the Church are commendable. Achen was a gifted orator and writer.
Rev. C. V. John
Pages from History: Formation of the Church Missionary Society (1799)
12 April, 1799: Formation of the Church Missionary Society. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted more than nine thousand men and women to serve as mission partners during its 200-year history.
The Society was founded in Aldersgate Street in the City of London on 12 April 1799. The founders of CMS were committed to three great enterprises: abolition of the slave trade, social reform at home and world evangelisation.
“The contribution made by the society in creating and maintaining educational institutions in Kerala, the most literate state in India, is significant. Many colleges and schools in Kerala and Tamil Nadu still have CMS in their names. The CMS College in Kottayam may be one of the pioneers in popularising secondary education in southern India.”
“Benjamin Bailey was appointed to the Kottayam CMS mission in the Indian state of Kerala. Benjamin Bailey translated the complete Bible to Malayalam language. Also Authored the first printed Malayalam-English dictionary and the first Malayalam-English Dictionary. He is considered as the father of Malayalam Printing.”
Today there are about 150 mission partners in 26 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. A budget of £7.02 million a year is needed to maintain and expand this work.
Pages from History: Council of Trent adopts Jerome’s Latin Bible translation (1546)
8 April, 1546: At its fourth session, the Council of Trent adopts Jerome’s Latin translation of the Bible (called the Vulgate), completed in 405, as the only authentic Latin text of the Scriptures. It became the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Vulgate is an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin, and largely the result of the labours of Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of old Latin translations.
Its Old Testament is the first Latin version translated directly from the Hebrew Tanakh, rather than the Greek Septuagint. It became the definitive and officially promulgated Latin version of the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church, and ultimately took the name ‘versio vulgata, which means “the published translation”.
There are 76 books in the Clementine edition of the Vulgate Bible: 46 in the Old Testament, 27 in the New Testament, and three in the Apocrypha.
Saint Jerome in his Study, by Domenico Ghirlandaio
Pages from History: Panditha Ramabhai passes away (1922)
5 April, 1922: Panditha Ramabhai (b.23Apr.1858) was an eminent Indian Christian social reformer and activist. She was a poet, scholar, and a champion of improvement in the plight of Indian women. As a social reformer, she championed the cause of emancipation of Indian women.
A widely travelled lady, she visited most parts of India, and even went to England and the U.S. Her father was Anant Shastri Dongre, a scholar of Sanskrit, and her mother was Lakshmibai. They were a Chitpawan Brahmin couple. Her father taught her Puranic Sanskrit and she made quite a name for herself as a scholar in Puranic circles. She acquired great reputation as a Sanskrit Scholar. Fluent in seven languages, she translated the Bible into Marathi, her mother tongue.
Deeply impressed with her knowledge and ability, Sanskrit scholars, at the Calcutta University, conferred on her the titles “Saraswati” and “Pandita”. Although she was a Brahmin, she married (13th Nov.1880) Babu Bipin Behari Madhavi, a Bengali lawyer at Bankipore (Patna, Bihar), who was not a Brahmin, and this created a stir in the orthodox circles of Hindu society. Bereft after her husband’s death shortly thereafter, she found herself unable to play the role traditionally reserved for upper-caste Hindu widows, and converted to Christianity, an action which created a scandal even in liberal Calcutta society.
She was given a scholarship to study medicine in England; when she arrived there, she found that her hearing was defective and so she could not participate in lectures. While in England, she wrote the feminist classic “The High Caste Hindu Woman”, a scathing attack on traditional practices including widowhood, polygamy and child marriage.
She established the Mukti Mission in 1889 as a refuge for young widows who were abused by their families. In Marathi, her native tongue, the word ‘mukti’ means liberation. The Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission is still active today, providing housing, education, vocational training, and medical services, for many needy groups including widows, orphans, and the blind. Mukti Mission is located near the city of Pune (Poona) and receives support from several foreign countries including the United States and Australia.
In 1919, the King of England conferred on her the Kaiser-i-Hind award, one of the highest awards an Indian could receive during the period of the British Raj. Her contributions as a builder of modern India were recognized by the Government of India by issuing a commemorative postal stamp on 26th Oct 1989 in honour of her. The work of Pandita Ramabai continues today as a tribute to the Saviour whom she faithfully followed, Jesus Christ.
26 October 1989, in recognition of Pandita Ramabai’s contribution to the advancement of Indian women, the Government of India issued a commemorative stamp.
Nalloor Library 