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>>>>> Adversitement<<<<<<
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Beginning of the Manjanikkara Pilgrimage
The Attamangalam St. John’s church which celebrated its 150th year of
establishment a few years back, has a unique place in the history of the
Malankara Church. The church was the venue of many important events.
The pilgrimage to the tomb of Patriarch St. Ignatius Elias III at Manjanikkara
had its beginning from this church in 1932, the same year in which Moran passed
away. Eight persons including a child from the parish were in that first pilgrim
group. It was on the first day of the Holy week they started their journey and
reached Manjanikkara Dayro two days later on Wednesday.
This unique custom of pilgrimage procession to the Saint’s tomb which began from
this parish has become an annual event during the Moran’s feast days. Every year
several thousands of pilgrims from various part of the state undertook their
pilgrimage procession, by walking hundreds of kilometers. They start their
journey several days before the feast day and from many distant places. Now the
pilgrimage that starts from the Kumarakom church is called ‘western area’
pilgrimage.
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Patriarch Saint Mor Ignatius Elias III Shakir
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Mor Ignatios Elias III the second son of Chorepiscopus Abraham and Maryam, was
born in Mardin, Turkey. He was called Nasri. He had 4 brothers and 3 sisters.
After the death of his mother, Nasri was raised in the care of his elder sister
Helena. He worked as a shoemaker in his teens and served in the government
service for about three months. At the direction of Patriarch Peter IV, Nasri
joined the theological school of the forty martyrs. In 1887, he joined Deir
al-Za`faran and was ordained deacon by Patriarch Peter IV in 1887. He became a
sharwoyo (novitiate) in 1888 and a monk in 1889 upon which he came to be known
as Elias. Elias was ordained qashisho (priest; lit. presbyter) in 1892 by
Patriarch Peter IV.In
the waning years of the 19th century, numerous Armenian and Syriac Christians
were massacred in Turkey. Qashisho Elias endeared himself to the Armenian
Christians providing refuge for about 7000 in the monastery of Mor Quryaqos |
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He was later appointed the reesh dayroyo (Cheif of the Monastry) of the Mor
Quryaqos as well as Deir al-Za`faran. In 1908 Qashisho Elias was consecrated
bishop of Amid (Diyarbakr) by Patriarch `Abded Aloho II and was named Mor
Iwanius. Mor Osthasios Sleeba, the delegate of the Holy See of Antioch to India,
was also ordained along with Mor Iwanius. In 1912, he was transferred to
Mosul where he served until his elevation to the patriarchate in 1917. After
Patriarch `Abded Aloho passed away on Nov 26, 1915, Mor Iwanius was elected
Patriarch and assumed the throne in 1917. The firman (decree) was issued
to Patriarch Elias III by the Ottoman sultan Muhammad Rashid. The sultan
conferred the Ismania medal to the Patriarch. In 1922, when civil war broke out
in Turkey and Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha assumed leadership of the newly formed
democracy, Moran Mor Elias III spent a few months in Jerusalem. Moran laid
the foundation stone of the church our lady atJerusalem on 22 March 1926.
He established a printing press there and began publication of journals in
Syriac and Arabic.
Mor Elias III was the last Patriarch to reign at the Kurkmo Dayro (Deir
Za`faran) in Mardin, Turkey the seat of the Patriarchate for most of the second
millenium. Following the massacre of the Syriac Christians in South East Turkey
in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire and during World War I, the Patriarch
was forced to leave Mardin. In the aftermath of the saypho massacres, Mor Elias
III undertook pastoral tours to the Middle East, the first in 1919 and the
second in 1925 to Aleppo and Jerusalem. Mor Elias III held a synod Dayro d-Mor
Matay, Mosul, Iraq in 1930.
Lord Irwin, then British Viceroy to India, wrote to the Patriarch on December 1,
1930 requesting his intervention in person or through a delegate in resolving
the schism that had erupted in the Malankara Church. His Holiness responded to
the Viceroy's letter, on December 15, 1930 accepting his invitation with
certain conditions. Given his cardiac problems, his doctors attempted to
dissuade him from the trip. His 75 year old sister also discouraged him from the
trip. His Holiness said to her, "Death is inevitable whether here or in India; I
would rather sacrifice my life for the sake of our children in Malankara."
Mor Elias III left Mosul on February 6, 1931 accompanied by Mor Clemis
Yuhanon Abbachi, Rabban Quryaqos (later Mor Ostathios Quryaqos), and Rabban
Yeshu` Samuel (later Mor Athanasius Samuel of North America), his secretary
Zkaryo Shakir (his brother Joseph's son) and translator Adv.Elias Ghaduri. They
set sail to India on February 28, 1931 from Basra on the ship "Warsova" and
disembarked at the Karachi port on March 5, 1931. They were received at Karachi
by the Patriarchal Delegate Mor Yulius Elias Qoro, Mor Athanasius Paulos of
Alwaye and several clergymen and faithful. On March 6, 1931, the Patriarch and
his entourage proceeded to Delhi by train reaching there on the 8th and visited
Lord Irwin. On March 14th, the Patriarch arrived at Madras and stayed as a guest
of the British Governor Sir George Staly. From there, he arrived at the
Thrikkunathu Seminary in Alwaye on March 21st, and offered the divine liturgy
there on March 22nd.
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H.H. Mor Elias III convened conciliatory meetings at Alwaye, Karingachira,
Panampady and Kuruppumpady. The Patriarch lead the passion week services at
St.George Church, Karingachira. A church delegates meeting was held at
Kuruppumpady on July 5, 1931. The denho (Epiphany) services in January 1932 were
at the St.Thomas church, Pakkil, Kottayam. On February 11, 1932, at the
invitation of Qashisho Kuriakos Elavinamannil, the Patriarch arrived at the
Manjinikkara Mor Stephanos church from Kallissery. The inability to bring about
reconciliation in the church had weighed down heavily on the Patriarch;
moreover, the hardships of the long travel had taken its toll on His Holiness.
On arriving at Manjinikkara, the Patriarch said, "This place offers us much
comfort; we desire to remain here permanently." On February 12th, His Holiness
requested the priests who came to visit him not to leave for a couple of days.
In the evening, the Patriarch recited many prayers of the qandilo (unction) and
contemplated on the departed. On February 13th, Mor Clemis Yuhanon Abbachi
offered the Holy Qurbono; His Holiness gave the sermon during the liturgy.
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After
the noon prayers and lunch, as was his routine, the Patriarch spent time
recording events in his journal; he asked for a dictionary to get clarification
for the meaning of a word. Following that, he complained of pain in his head.
Soon he fainted and was placed on a cot by the monks where he slipped into
eternal rest at 2:30 pm. Many eye witnesses recount the deep gloom that cast its
spell in the area that evening and the wails of the monks who accompanied the
Patriarch. Different opinions arose regarding the final resting place for the
Patriarch—a situation that the church in Malankara never had to confront before.The decision was in favor of interring the mortal remains in a plot of
land to the north of the Mor Stephanos church, the title deed of which was
transferred to the Patriarchate. On February 14th, the funeral services for His
Holiness were held there. Mor Dionysius Michael consoled the gathering. Mor
Ignatios Dayro church attached to the tomb of late Patriarch was built by the
Patriarchal delegate Mor Yulius Elias Qoro. The memory of the holy Patriarch is
revered throughout the Syriac Orthodox Church and especially in Malankara where
thousands of pilgrims reach the tomb by foot on the annual feast day, February
13, from various parts of the Kerala state. Mor Elias III is the only Patriarch
of Antioch whose remains are interred in Malankara and his tomb stands as a
towering symbol of the sacrifices made by the Syriac fathers to nurture the
church in Malankara. On October 20, 1987, Patriarch Mor Zakka I through
encyclical E265/87 permitted the Church in Malankara to remember his name in the
fifth diptych |
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Source : www.manjinikkaradayara.org |
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