Holy Girdle

Last updated
Holy Girdle
Soonoro of St.mary.jpg
Holy Belt of Mary
MaterialKnotted textile cord
Size
  • Length 74 cm (29 in)
  • Breadth 5 cm (2.0 in)
  • Thickness 3 cm (1.2 in)
Discovered1852, rediscovered April 1953
Saint Mary Church of the Holy Belt, Homs, Syria
Discovered byPatriarch Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum
Present locationChurches in Syria, India, Middle East
Icon depiction the Theotokos giving her girdle to Thomas the Apostle. Below is a styllized representation of Mary's Tomb, with flowers lying on the sarcophagus. Assumptiongirdle.jpg
Icon depiction the Theotokos giving her girdle to Thomas the Apostle. Below is a styllized representation of Mary's Tomb, with flowers lying on the sarcophagus.

The Holy Girdle, also known as the Girdle of Thomas, Holy Girdle of Mary, Holy Zoonoro, (or) Zunoro, and Holy Belt of Saint Mary the mother of Jesus, is a relic of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is one of the important relics of Syriac Orthodox Church and venerated by Oriental Orthodox communion. The word Zunoro is also translated as "belt", "sash" or "girdle". It is the Oriental Orthodox equivalent of the Girdle of Thomas in the Catholic Church, and the Cincture of the Theotokos in the Eastern Orthodox Church, now located at Mount Athos.

Contents

Tradition

According to Orthodox tradition, the Virgin Mary was taken (assumed) into heaven in the presence of all apostles except Thomas, who was in India. He returned to Jerusalem and travelled on the sky by the help of Holy Spirit to attend the assumption of Mary. He was late to arrive and visualised that Mary's body had been taken by angels. Suffering from doubts at that time, Thomas requested Mary to give him a sign in her memory, which caused a chariot to stop in the air and Mary to gift her girdle to him. Thomas showed this girdle to other disciples of Jesus and convinced them. He took the girdle, otherwise known as a Zunoro, on his subsequent journeys. Those who believe in him claim that many miracles have happened since then as a result of touching or even seeing this girdle. The incident is not recorded in the Bible. [1] [2]

The Holy Girdle is taken out annually on the last day of 8 Day Lent in September.[ citation needed ]

History

Saint Thomas the Apostle kept the holy belt with his own. After he died in Mylapore, his body and relics were kept in India. In 394 AD, the holy girdle moved from India to Uraha (modern Urfa, Turkey). and then to Homs in Syria, where it was placed in Saint Mary Church of the Holy Belt, also known as The Church of the Lady of the Girdle. The supreme head, Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum, Patriarch of Antioch, studied manuscripts and a Garshunian book containing stories and speeches sent by the people of Homs in 1852. The archbishop of Homs ordered to renovate the church. On 20 July 1953, the Holy Girdle was discovered from the altar of the church by Barsoum in the presence of Alexandros, the Greek Orthodox bishop of Homs and it is existence is proven. [3] [ better source needed ] It is considered to be one of the most important relics in Syriac Orthodox Church. [4]

Malankara Church

Some parts of Holy Girdle have been distributed throughout the Malankara Church. The churches in which the relics are installed are known as Soonoro Church. [5] [6] These include:

See also

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. The church 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">Manarcaud</span> Town in Kerala, India

Manarcad is a small town in Kottayam district of Kerala state, South India. It is known for the Manarcad Perunnal, the annual feast at the St. Mary's Church, which is usually held from September 1-8. It is located about 9 km from the town of Kottayam and is on the way to tourist town of Thekkady.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Jacobite Syrian Cathedral, Manarcad</span> Church in Kerala, India

St. Mary's Jacobite Syrian Cathedral, Manarcad, is cathedral located in Manarcad, about 9 km from the town of Kottayam in Kerala, India. It is a destination for people on annual pilgrimages for the uncanonical 8 Day Lent of the Virgin Mary. There are more than 5000 families in this parish. The church architecture resembles that of the Orvieto Cathedral. The church administers various spiritual organisations, schools and a hospital. It is the home to one of the holiest relics among the Malankara churches, a small piece of Mother Mary's belt, called the Holy Soonoro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piravom</span> Suburb/Municipality in Ernakulam, Kerala, India

Piravom is a municipality in Ernakulam district and a suburb of Kochi in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located with in 31 km southeast of Kochi city center, at the boundary of the Ernakulam and Kottayam districts. Piravom is famous for its Hindu temples and Christian churches. Piravom has a river-front, verdant hills, and paddy fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baselios Paulose II</span> 2nd Syriac Orthodox Catholics (Maphrian) of India

Baselios Paulose II (born as Puthusseril Joseph Paulose was the second Maphrian of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Christian Church which is an integral part of Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and all the East

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syrian churches of Kerala</span>

This article lists the various old and ancient churches that exist among the Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Mary Church of the Holy Belt</span>

Saint Mary of the Holy Belt Cathedral is a historical Syriac Orthodox cathedral in Homs, Syria. It is the seat of the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Homs and Hama.

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

The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC), or the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church in India the Jacobite Syrian Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, is a Maphrianate based in Kerala, India, of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and part of the Oriental Orthodox Church. It recognizes the Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch and All the East as supreme head of the church. It functions autonomously within the church, administered by the Metropolitan Trustee, under the authority of the Maphrian of India, Baselios Thomas I. Following schism with the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, is currently the only church in Malankara that is under Syriac Orthodox Church. The church employs the West Syriac Rite Liturgy of Saint James.

St. John The Baptist is a Syrian Jacobite church situated in South Parur, a village located on southern border of Ernakulam District, Kerala, India. This area is landmarked by the busy Kottayam-Ernakulam Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athanasius Paulose</span> 19th and 20th-century Jacobite Syrian patriarch

St.Paulose Mor Athanasios, popularly known as Aluvayile Valiya Thirumeni, was the Metropolitan of the Angamaly Diocese and malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cincture of the Theotokos</span>

The Cincture of the Theotokos is believed to be a relic of the Theotokos, now in the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos, which is venerated by the Holy Eastern Orthodox Church. The word "cincture" is sometimes also translated as "belt", "sash" or "girdle". It is the Orthodox equivalent of the Girdle of Thomas in the Western church, and the Syriac Holy Girdle. Its feast day is September 13.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girdle of Thomas</span> Christian relic in the form of a belt

The Girdle of Thomas, Virgin's Girdle, Holy Belt, or Sacra Cintola in modern Italian, is a Christian relic in the form of a "girdle" or knotted textile cord used as a belt, that according to a medieval legend was dropped by the Virgin Mary from the sky to Saint Thomas the Apostle at or around the time of the Assumption of Mary to Heaven. The supposed original girdle is a relic belonging to Prato Cathedral in Tuscany, Italy and its veneration has been regarded as especially helpful for pregnant women. The story was frequently depicted in the art of Florence and the whole of Tuscany, and the keeping and display of the relic at Prato generated commissions for several important artists of the early Italian Renaissance. The Prato relic has outlasted several rivals in Catholic hands, and is the Catholic equivalent of the various relics held by Eastern Christianity: the Cincture of the Theotokos of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Holy Girdle of the Syriac Orthodox Church.

Valiyapally is a title given to a main church in a diocese of the Christian denominations Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church,Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Church, Meenangadi</span> Church in Kerala, India

E. A. E St. Mary's Soonoro Syriac Orthodox Church, Meenangadi, is a Marian Pilgrim center of the Syriac Orthodox Church located at Meenangadi in Kerala, India. The church is under E.A.E Arch Diocese, the first missionary association of Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and is currently under the direct control of Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. In 2006, the church was elevated to the status of "Marian Pilgrim Centre", and in 2018, it celebrated its diamond jubilee. It is the first church to adopt the 8 Day Lent in Malabar Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Evangelistic Association of the East</span> Non-governmental organization

The Evangelistic Association of the East is a registered Non-governmental organization headquartered at Perumbavoor, Kerala working in the Educational, Social Service and Spirituality sectors. The organization has Educational Institutions, Orphanages and an Arch Diocese affiliated with Syriac Orthodox Church across South India. It was founded as the first missionary association of Syriac Orthodox Church in 1924 by 'Malphono Nasiho' Geevarghese Cor-Episcopa Athunkal(1902-1997) and later registered in 1949 under Indian Societies Registration Act. XXI of 1860. The E.A.E Arch Diocese is under the direct control of Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch օf the Syriac Orthodox Church․

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Cathedral, Kundara</span> Church in Kundara, India

St. Mary's Jacobite Syrian Cathedral, located in Kollam District of Kerala also known as Gothara Idavaka preserved generation of Pakalomattam family who baptized by Saint Thomas, is a Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. As per tradition, Most church members belong to the Pakalomattom family known as Vilayil Tharakan Gothram, the part of the family branch communion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Jacobite Syrian Cathedral, Kothamangalam</span> Church in Ernakulam, India

Martha Mariyam Cathedral or St. Mary's Church is a prominent Valiyapally of the Syriac Orthodox Church situated in Kothamangalam town in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India.

There are many places of worship in the town of Piravom in the Indian state of Kerala, catering for the Hindu and Christian faiths. Religious festivals are also celebrated.

Reflecting the religious constitution of the population, a large number of Hindu temples and Christian churches dot the townscape of Kottayam district. Some of them are the Thirunakkara Mahadeva temple, Kumaranalloor Devi temple, Thiruvarrpu Sri Krishna Temple, Thaliyil Mahadeva Temple, Pallippurathukavu Bhagavathi Temple, Elia Cathedral, Kottayam Valiya Pally, Manarcad Cathedral, Cheriya Palli, CSI Holy Trinity cathedral, Puthuppally St. George Church and Thazhathangadi Juma Masjid. All the temples of Kottayam were also built under royal patronage of Hinduism during the 2nd millennium.

References

  1. Serfes, Father Demetrios; Constantinidis, John (Tr.) (1 March 1999), The Holy Belt of the Theotokos, archived from the original on 31 January 2010, retrieved 15 January 2010
  2. "St.Mary's Jacobite Syrian Cathedral, Manarcad".
  3. Holy Girdle History
  4. The Oxford History of Christian Worship | pg 157 | https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0195138864
  5. "St Mary's Jacobite Syrian Cathedral". Archived from the original on 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  6. 1 2 Eapen, Tara (6 September 2013). "The revered relic - Tirupati". The Hindu. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  7. "Martha Mariam Cathedral Valiya Pally Kothamangalam(St.Mary's Church)". 2014-08-15. Retrieved 2018-01-29.