Yuhanon Mor Meletius

Dare to Think!

Answers given to the questions from young people in Houston in July 2007

Question 1. Isn’t it heretical to sing a hymn written by someone in a protestant church in our church at the end of Qurbana?

Answer: Who might have built this church building? Were the builders Orthodox Christians? We don’t even know what kind of people built this building. There might have been atheists among the builders. Some of them might have been Hindus, and some might have been Muslims. Still we use it as our holy place to gather on our holy day and perform our holy sacraments.

Do you think it is heretical for us to worship in this building that was not made by Orthodox Christians? Well, if your answer is NO, then, how can we say it is heretical to sing a song written by a non-Orthodox person? In the case of the Church building we bless it and make it our own though constructed by people of other religions.  What matters in the case of songs is the purpose for which we use them, not who created the song. If that song is instrumental in bringing glory to God, agree with our theology and faith, it cannot be heretical. On the other hand if we sing a song written by an Orthodox Christian without even bothering to think of what it means, it brings disgrace to the name of God, and it is heretical.

Question 2. I see people sitting and standing at different times without much uniformity during Holy Qurbana. What is the accepted standard of the church about when to sit and stand during the Qurbana?

Answer: Standing symbolizes respect. But this does not mean that when we stand we are respectful, and when we sit we are disrespectful. Whether we sit or stand, we all have to participate in worship with respect. The attitude of our mind is what matters; not the position of the body.  

We all stand when the gospel is read and in other important occasions. But those who have any disability should not be asked to stand even in those times. Let them sit comfortably and participate in the worship keeping their mind in the Lord.  

Stauman Kalos, in its original language, means “Let everyone stand up”. It is an instruction to the congregation that is in a sitting position at that time to stand up. Unfortunately its meaning is popularly considered to be “Let us stand well”, which makes it an instruction to the people who are already standing to stand in a better way.  The original meaning of Stauman Kalos implies that originally in our worship people could sit and stand more frequently without having to tire themselves in the same standing position for a prolonged time.  

This is an excellent example of how we keep our customs and rituals without caring for their meaning. We need to learn that the meaning is really what matters.

Question 3. Nowadays we have prayer meetings. I wonder if our church has any accepted format for our prayer meetings. What are we supposed to do when we meet?  

Answer: Prayer meeting is one of the good things we have adopted from the Protestant churches. Our Sunday school, student movement, and Vacation Bible School – all we have adopted from Protestant churches. Even our system of Theological education is from them. Our seminary in Kottayam is affiliated to the Serampore Univeristy, which is a Protestant university.  

When our fathers saw something good in other churches, they had the good will to admit that they were good, and to adopt them to our church. Prayer meeting is something very good for families to get to know one another well and to grow together in spiritual life. I see great potential in prayer meeting.  

Well, coming to the question of how to conduct prayer meetings, we still do not have any accepted format for the church. I would say it is in the formative stage. We conduct prayer meetings just as the protestant church members conduct their prayer meetings.

In order to evolve our own format, we need to ask ourselves the basic question of why we are having prayer meetings. Once we have a satisfactory answer to this why question, we will also know how we should conduct prayer meetings.  

If someone asks us why we are having prayer meetings, we must have an authentic answer. We don’t want to say that we are having prayer meetings because other churches have it too. Therefore, I suggest that when we gather for prayer meetings, we need to spend more time in study. Study involves conscious thinking. We need to ask questions to ourselves, and seek answers.  

With such study, we will evolve a general understanding of why we need prayer meetings, and how it is related our life. Based on such general understanding, we will be able to develop a format for our prayer meetings.

Question 4. Thirumeni, I think that the approach thirumeni is suggesting can cause great confusion among people. Thirumeni says that we need to study and develop the appropriate ways of doing things in our worship and in our prayer meetings. What if people at different places develop different ways of doing things? So I think it is better if these matters are discussed in the Episcopal Synod first, and then let us be known how things should be done.  

Answer: What if the synod makes a decision that all people should go to their church every Sunday? Still there will be people who prefer to stay home on Sundays.  

The will and the power to do things come from the people. Nothing can be imposed upon the people by the synod. The synod will be powerless if the people do not have the will and the power to implement its decisions. Once the people express their willingness for doing something good, then the synod can facilitate it and help to create some uniformity. If you wish to see a better church, you need to think about it together, and find out what can be done. Once you arrive at some consensus, then the synod will facilitate its implementation.  

For example, all members of the synod are in favor of giving full voting rights to women. However, the synod cannot impose it upon the people. If it is imposed, the reaction of the people could be unpredictable. The synod has to wait for the formation of a general consensus about this among the people. That is why women are given permission to attend the General body at this time. Eventually, when our people are mentally prepared, the synod will be able to give full voting rights to women.

Question 5. Thirumeni, I can’t understand why our church keeps on going with the court cases. Why don’t we just split into two and get over with it? At least we can stay as good neighbors and friends rather than fighting with each other forever.   

Answer: The majority of the people in our church want peace. They do not care for the court cases or what group they belong to. They do not care if they have a Catholicose or a Patriarch above them. All they care for is they need a church to go to on Sundays and attend the worship peacefully. They also want to be buried at the same place their parents were buried. However, this majority of peace-loving people have no voice. There is nobody to speak for them.

What we hear in the media is the voice of the very small minority that has split itself into two fighting factions. Each group claims that their group is right and the other is wrong.  

I like to stand with the majority of people who have no voice and are not represented in the media. If a split happens, it splits families and close relatives. I know a family in which the father belongs to one side, but the others on the other side. How can they be separated into two Churches? Can we give ourselves up to the interests of some people who want to split the community for their own interest? If that is allowed, it will become a bad tendency and will spread every where.  

There are a lot of people who claim that a division will solve all problems and bring lasting peace. It will not, rather will only start new problems.  I think that we can still be hopeful and try our best for unity. United, we are strong, and we stand; divided, we are weak, and we fall.

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