Baby Varghese

Last updated

Baby Varghese
BornBaby Varghese
Occupation
  • Author
  • Professor
  • Scholar
NationalityIndian
Education Paris-Sorbonne University (Ph.D),
Catholic University of Paris (Th.D),
École pratique des hautes études (Syriac Diploma)

Baby Varghese, born in India, is a Malankara Orthodox priest and a Church historian and scholar in Syriac Liturgical Theology. [1] [2]

Contents

Education

After graduating from CMS College in Kottayam, Varghese joined Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kottayam. He earned his bachelor's degree in divinity from Serampore University with first class and first rank. [3] In 1981, he earned his doctorate of theology from the Catholic University of Paris. Four years later he earned his Ph.D. in liturgical studies at the University of Paris - Sorbonne in 1985 [4] Varghese has also earned a Syriac diploma from École pratique des hautes études.

Career

Varghese is a professor of Theology at St. Thomas Orthodox Theological Seminary, Nagpur, [5] a professor emeritus at Orthodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam, and a professor of Syriac studies at St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute (SEERI). He is a research guide in Syriac studies at Mahatma Gandhi University. Baby Varghese is a priest of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (Indian Orthodox Church) and serves in the Kottayam Orthodox diocese. He has written various books regarding West Syriac Christianity and translated many commentaries of the early Church fathers, Orthodox prayers, and sacraments of the Church.

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church publications

There are numerous efforts performed by Baby Varghese in the field of translating books from Syriac to English. Under the authority of the Malankara Orthodox Church Publications (MOC Publications) and with the blessings of the MOC Publications President, Thomas Mar Athanasius, Varghese has translated the Order of the Prayers on Good Friday book, [6] Prayers of the Great Lent, [7] Prayers of the Holy Week, [8] and the Promioun - Sedro of the Holy Week. [9]

In the Promioun - Sedro of the Holy Week, Athanasius' preface message praised Varghese saying:

Our note cannot be concluded without appreciating the opulent work of Fr. Dr. Baby Varghese who became instrumental in the hands of Almighty in providing this work to the Church. His lucid and clear translation of the text from its original is opening a new door before us. We are indeed contented that his maestro in the area has been useful for the Church in producing this genre of valuable literatures. May God bless him for all his great efforts. [9]

Malankara Orthodox Syrian delegation

In 2009, Varghese participated in the Joint Commission for Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. [10] The delegation of the Malankara Church consisted of: Metropolitan Gabriel Mar Gregorios (co-chair), Metropolitan Thomas Mar Athanasius; Baby Varghese; Johns Abraham Konat; Sabu Kuriakose; Abraham Thomas; Fr. O. Thomas and John Mathews (co-secretary). [11]

Varghese presented some reflections on the Anointing of the Sick and its administration to those outside the Orthodox belief. [10]

Awards

Varghese is a recipient of the:

Works

Baby Varghese has published books, commentaries and translation through SEERI and Gorgias Press. Some of his more popular works are included below. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church</span> Orthodox Church in Kerala, India

The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. It serves India's Saint Thomas Christian population. According to tradition, these communities originated in the missions of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. It employs the Malankara Rite, an Indian form of the West Syriac liturgical rite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syro-Malabar Church</span> Eastern Catholic church

The Syro-Malabar Church, also known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. It is a sui iuris (autonomous) particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO). The major archbishop presides over the entire church. The incumbent Major Archbishop is Raphael Thattil, serving since January 2024. It is the largest Syriac Christian church and the largest Eastern Catholic church. Syro-Malabar is a prefix reflecting the church's use of the East Syriac liturgy and origins in Malabar. The name has been in usage in official Vatican documents since the nineteenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mar Thoma Syrian Church</span> Church based in the Indian state of Kerala

The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian Church and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, is an autonomous Oriental Protestant Christian church based in Kerala, India. While continuing many of the Syriac high church practices, the church is Protestant in its theology and doctrines. It employs a reformed variant of the West Syriac Rite Divine Liturgy of Saint James, translated to Malayalam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malankara Metropolitan</span> A title in Orthodox Christianity

The Malankara Metropolitan or the Metropolitan of Malabar is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of the Malankara Syrian Church. It evolved from the title of the sixteenth century East Syriac metropolitans of India who were also styled the Metropolitan of Malabar. Since the division among the Saint Thomas Christians following the Synod of Diamper, the title has been mostly employed in association with the West Syriac branch of the community, usually known as the Malankara Church, among whom the office of the Malankara Metropolitan became the continuation of the local dynastic Archdeaconate.

Varghese, Varughese, Verghese, Geevarghese, Varughis, and Varkey are Syriac–Malayalam variants of the Assyrian Syriac/Aramaic Christian name Giwargis/Gewargis/Givargis (George). It is given as first, middle, or last name among the Syrian Christians, an ancient community of Christians from Kerala, India. The pronunciation from Syriac/Aramaic was naturally adapted to fit the vowels of the local dialect. Many names of this community are a combination of Aramaic and Hebrew names, that have been adapted into the local dialect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathews Athanasius</span>

Mathews Mar Athanasius Mar Thoma XIII was the Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Church from 1852 until 1865. As a reformer, he spent most of his reign attempting to reform and heal rifts within the church. However in 1865, he was deposed by the traditionalist faction of the Malankara Church and Pulikkottil Joseph Dionysius became their leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Malpan</span> Founder of the Malankara Mar Thomas Syrian Church (d. 1845)

Palakunnathu Abraham Malpan, was an Indian cleric and theologian known for the Reformation movement within the Malankara Church during the 19th century. He was born in the ancient Syrian Christian Palakunnathu family which practiced West Syriac Rite Oriental Orthodoxy after the Coonan Cross Oath of 1653.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacobite Syrian Christian Church</span> Malankara body of the Syriac Orthodox Church in India

The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, the Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church or the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, is an autonomous Maphrianate of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch based in Kerala, India and a part of the Oriental Orthodox Communion. It is administered by the Malankara Metropolitan and Catholicos-Elect, Gregorios Joseph, under the spiritual authority of the Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius Aphrem II the supreme hierarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malankara Church</span> Historic Indian Christian denomination

The Malankara Church, also known as Puthenkur, is the unified body of Saint Thomas Christians using the West Syriac Rite who claim origins from the missions of Thomas the Apostle. This community, under the leadership of Thoma I, opposed the Padroado Jesuits as well as the Propaganda Carmelites following the Coonan Cross Oath of 1653, which was taken to resist Western Catholic influences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baselios Marthoma Mathews I</span>

Baselios Marthoma Mathews I was the primate of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, also known as Indian Orthodox Church. He was the 5th catholicos of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and 18th Malankara Metropolitan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dionysius Vattasseril</span> Indian saint

Geevarghese Dionysius Vattasseril, also Dionysius VI, Dionysius Geevarghese II or, popularly, Vattasseril Thirumeni, was a bishop of the Malankara Church and 15th Malankara Metropolitan. In 2003, Dionysius was canonized as a saint by the Malankara Orthodox Church, and his feast day is celebrated on February 23 each year. He is known as 'The Great Luminary of Malankara Church', a title which the Church bestowed on him in recognition of his contribution to the Church.

St. Thomas Orthodox Theological Seminary is a seminary of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Nagpur, India.

Pulikkottil Dionysious Joseph II, also known as Dionysious V, was the Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Church, was born into the family of Pulikkottil (Kunnamkulam). He was the 14th Malankara Metropolitan.

St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute (SEERI) is a centre for Syriac studies located in Kottayam, Kerala. It is a research centre of the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baselios Augen I</span>

Baselios Augen I was the 17th Malankara Metropolitan, the fourth Catholicos of the East in the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, and the first Catholicos of the East in the Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church. He was the first Catholicos consecrated in a reunified Malankara Church, by the Patriarch of Antioch in 1964 but his tenure saw a second split in the Holy Church.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">V. C. Samuel</span> 20th-century Indian theologian and priest

Vilakuvelil Cherian Samuel (1912–1998), called Samuel Achen was an Indian Christian philosopher, scholar, university professor, theologian, historian, polyglot and ecumenical leader. He was a priest of the Indian Orthodox Church. He was the author of many doctrinal books and papers including The Council of Chalcedon Re-Examined: Historical Theological Survey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malankara–Persian ecclesiastical relations</span>

Several historical evidences shed light on a significant Malankara–Persian ecclesiastical relationship that spanned centuries. While an ecclesiastical relationship existed between the Saint Thomas Christians of India and the Church in Sassanid Empire in the earlier centuries, closer ecclesiastical ties developed as early as seventh century, when India became an ecclesiastical province of the Church of the East, albeit restricted to matters of purely ecclesiastical nature such as ordination of priests, and not involved in matters of temporal administration. This relationship endured until the Portuguese protectorate of Cochin of Malabar came to be in 16th century, and the Portuguese discovery of a sea route to India. The Christians who came under the two ancient yet distinct lineages of Malankara and Persia had one factor in common: their Saint Thomas heritage. The Church of the East shared communion with the Great Church until the Council of Ephesus in the 5th century, separating primarily over differences in Christology.

Malankara Malpan Arch Corepiscopa Curien (Kurian) Kaniyamparambil was a priest in the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church and a scholar of the Syriac language, who translated the Bible (വിശുദ്ധഗ്രന്ഥം) from the Syriac Peshitta text to Malayalam. This is the official bible used by Syriac Orthodox Church in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shehimo</span> Book

Shehimo is the West Syriac Christian breviary of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the West Syriac Saint Thomas Christians of India that contains the seven canonical hours of prayer. The Shehimo includes Bible readings, hymns and other prescribed prayers from the West Syriac Liturgical system. Within the breviary there are certain prayers that are recited at seven fixed prayer times, while facing the east at home or at church. The Shehimo also provides communal prayers as an introduction to the Holy Qurbono. The practice of praying during the canonical hours has its roots taken from Psalm 119:164, in which the prophet David prays to God seven times a day. The Shehimo breviary can be prayed either by reading or chanting the prose or singing the verses. The different versions of the breviary are available in Syriac, Malayalam, English, among other languages.

References

  1. ↑ "Lectures by Fr. Dr. Baby Varghese – St Thomas Orthodox Theological Seminary ( STOTS ), Nagpur" . Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  2. ↑ PAGE, Orthodoxy Cognate (4 February 2020). "'The East Syrian Mission to China & Central Asia' – Lecture by Fr. Dr. Baby Varghese at STOTS- Nagpur". News | Orthodoxy Cognate PAGE. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  3. 1 2 In Spirit, In Truth [Eastern Worship - A Study] Fr Dr B Varghese (Divyabodhanam Book Series 18) (PDF). Kottayam: Divyabodhanam Theological Education Programme for the Laity. 1986.
  4. ↑ "Liturgy Symposium | Fr. Baby Varghese | Institute of Sacred Music". ism.yale.edu. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  5. ↑ "Faculty – St Thomas Orthodox Theological Seminary ( STOTS ), Nagpur" . Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  6. ↑ Order of the prayers of Good Friday. Varghese, Baby., Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Kottayam: Malankara Orthodox Church Publications. 2011. ISBN   978-93-81026-08-3. OCLC   806637349.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ↑ Prayers of the great lent. Varghese, Baby., Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. (3rd ed.). Kottayam: Malankara Orthodox Church Publications. 2012. ISBN   978-93-81026-06-9. OCLC   807944450.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. ↑ Prayers of the Holy Week. Varghese, Baby., Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Kottayam: Malankara Orthodox Church Publications. 2011. ISBN   978-93-81026-14-4. OCLC   854135473.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. 1 2 Promioun-sedro of the Holy Week. Varghese, Baby., Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Kottayam: Malankara Orthodox Church Publications. 2011. ISBN   978-93-81026-07-6. OCLC   806637350.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. 1 2 "Kottayam (India)". www.christianunity.va. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  11. ↑ "Report on the eleventh meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches (Pampakuda, Kerala, India, 28 January - 1 February 2014)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  12. ↑ "Fellows Lunch | Fr. Baby Varghese | Institute of Sacred Music". ism.yale.edu. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  13. ↑ "Institute of Sacred Music 2013–2014" (PDF). 109. Bulletin of Yale University. 1 September 2013. pp. 12, 46, 52.
  14. ↑ "Gorgias Press". www.gorgiaspress.com. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
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