He is risen!

Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the most important Christian festival, and the one celebrated with the greatest joy.

The date of Easter changes each year, and several other Christian festivals fix their dates by reference to Easter.

Churches are filled with flowers, and there are special hymns and songs. But not all Easter customs are Christian; some, such as the Easter Bunny, are Pagan in origin.

The Easter story is at the heart of Christianity
On Good Friday, Jesus Christ was executed by crucifixion. His body was taken down from the cross, and buried in a cave.

The tomb was guarded and an enormous stone was put over the entrance, so that no-one could steal the body.

On the following Sunday, some women visited the grave and found that the stone had been moved, and that the tomb was empty.

Jesus himself was seen that day, and for days afterwards by many people. His followers realised that God had raised Jesus from the dead.

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Good Friday: The Martyrdom of Jesus Christ

Good Friday is observed two days before Easter to honor the martyrdom of Jesus Christ. It is a day of somber ceremonies for all Christians. Originally known as ‘God’s Friday’, the present expression is believed to have emerged during the 10th or 11th century.
According to Christian belief, Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Some high authority officials however felt that he was trying to mislead the people. They hatched a plot against Christ and crucified him. A huge wooden cross was placed on his shoulders, and he carried it to the place assigned for his crucifixion.
A cross, symbolic of the one on which Jesus was crucified, is unveiled in many churches. It is believed that he rose from his grave on the following Sunday, which is celebrated as Easter Sunday.
The rituals for Good Friday commence on the preceding Thursday. A feast symbolizing the last supper of Christ is held on Thursday night. The end of this meal marks the beginning of the fast for Easter. Sermons, meditation and prayers form part of the ceremony, in memory of the suffering endured by Jesus Christ for three hours. This is followed by a general communion service at midnight. A day of prayer and penance, the bells of the churches remain silent on Good Friday.

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The Response to Da Vinci Code –> by Roger Cotton

The Da Vinci Code claims to be only a novel and as such I found it to be very engaging. It fabricates a very recent search for the Holy Grail, which it proposes is really secret documents showing that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and produced a royal bloodline. The use of a narrator, who comments philosophically and theologically on life, religion, and the church — using exaggerated language — causes those assertions within the novel to sound like truths we should consider — hidden truths we need to recover to free ourselves from the lies of the church. That interests people and sells books.

However, a leading New Testament scholar, Ben Witherington III, in his book The Gospel Code, (InterVarsity, 2004), responding to The Da Vinci Code, said: “It can be quite entertaining but also misleading. We need to treat this book as what it really is—not historical fiction but almost entirely fiction, at least when it comes to its assumptions and assertions about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and early Christianity” (p. 27).
(Also Read– ENCOUNTERING THE DA VINCI CODE)

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Birth of Jesus

About 2000 years ago God sent an angel to Israel, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter. The angel told Mary that by God’s power, she would conceive and bear a son.

When Joseph learned that she was pregnant, an angel instructed him to marry her. Joseph took her to Bethlehem to register for a census. While there, Mary gave birth to Jesus. She laid him in a manger because there was no room at the inn. Shepherds visited Jesus in Bethlehem.

Later, wise men brought gifts to Jesus. They told Herod the Great, a wicked king, that Jesus would rule Israel. So Herod sent soldiers to kill the children in Bethlehem. Warned by an angel, Joseph took his family to Egypt. After Herod died, they returned to Israel and raised Jesus in a town called Nazareth.
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Martyrdom of Saint Thomas, disciple of Lord Jesus Christ

On this day St. Thomas the apostle was martyred. He was born in Galilee, and the Lord chose him among the twelve disciples (Mathew 10:3). When the Lord wanted to go to raise Lazarus from the dead, Thomas said to the other disciples: ” (John 11:16). He also asked the Lord at the supper: ” (John 14:5-6). When the Lord Christ appeared to the disciples after the resurrection, and said to them “Receive the Holy Spirit”, Thomas was absent. On his return, the disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” He said to them: ” (John 20:19-29).

After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in the Upper room in Zion, the apostles dispersed everywhere to preach the Gospel, Thomas went to India. He worked there as a slave at one of the friends of the king, whose name was Lukios, who brought him to the king who inquired about his profession. Thomas said: “I am builder, carpenter and a physician. He preached in his master’s palace, and Lukios’ wife believed and all his household.

The king asked him about his achievements, and he said: “The palaces that I built were the souls that have become the temples of the King of Glory; the carpentry that I did was the Gospel that removes the thorns of sin; and the medicines I practiced are the Holy Mysteries which heal the poison of the evil one. The king became angry and tortured him, and bound him among four poles, cut off his skin and rubbed his wounds with salt and lime. The apostle Thomas endured the pains. Lukios’ wife saw him suffering, and she fell from the window and died. Lukios came to him and said: “If you raise my wife from the dead, I believe in your God.” Thomas went to the room where the dead body was, and said: “Arsabona (Arsonia), rise up in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” She rose instantly and bowed to the Saint. When her husband saw that, he believed and many more with him from the people of the city, and Thomas baptized them.

Once the sea drove a huge tree to the shore that no one could lift it up. St. Thomas asked the king for permission to lift it up and to use its wood in building a church. He got the permission, he made the sign of the cross, and he raised it and later he built the church, to which he ordained a bishop and priests.

St. Thomas left and went to a city called “Kantoura” (Kontaria), where he found an old man weeping bitterly because the king killed his six children. The Saint prayed over them, and the Lord raised them up. The idol priests were angry, and wanted to stone him. The first raised a stone to throw it at him, and his hand was paralyzed. The Saint prayed over his hand, he was healed instantly, and all the idol priests believed in the Lord Christ. Then St. Thomas went to the city of “Parkenas” and other cities, where he preached in the Name of Jesus Christ. The king heard about him, and he put him in prison. When he found out that he was teaching the prisoners the way of God, he tortured him, and at last he was killed with a spear, and he received the crown of martyrdom. He was buried in “Melibar” or Mt. St. Thomas, India , then his body was relocated to El-Raha.

Hence He is the patron saint of the Churches in India as he is said to be founder of the churches in India.

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Indian Orthodox Church

India is one of the earliest of centres of Christainity in the world. The Christain religion in India is as old as the Christain religion itself. The Gospel of Jesus Christ was preached in India in the first century itself. Tradition traces the origin of Christianity in India to the missionary enterprises of St. Thomas, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. This tradition, most dearly cherished by a large of Christians known as the Saint Thomas Christians.

The name, Malankara Orthodox Church, refers to the section of the St.Thomas Christians of India, that Canonically came under Catholicate of the East whose Supreme Head is His Holiness The Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan,with head quarters at Devalokam, Kottayam,Kerala, India. St.Thomas Christians at present belongs to ten different churches and denominations. The Malankara Orthodox Church is one among them and it is the second largest.

St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, is the founder of the ancient church in India. Christian writers and historians from the 4th century refer to the evangelistic work of Apostle Thomas in India, and the Indian Christians ascribe the origin of their church to the labours of the apostle in the 1stcentury.
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The Advent for X’mas

Prior to Christmas is a fasting period to Orthodox Churches across the world, that many call Advent. Advent means “coming.” It is the period of waiting for the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ. Indian Orthodox Church as a community enters today to its 25 days fast to bring forth Christ into their heart .

For most of its members, they are anxious to get to the feast — they want the days to rush by. The preparation usually consists of shopping and decorating. Faithful are encouraged to discipline themselves through self-control and patience and to read the Scriptures, specifically the prophecies that speak of the coming of the Messiah, in this lent period by the Church.

Faithful are to turn their focus to a Godly way of life that calls for sacrificing and almsgiving. Let everyone think of charity and the giving of his time, talents, and resources to others that may be in need. There is no better way to imitate Christ than to be loving and charitable towards others.

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