Snehayatra 2021

SNEHAYATRA Vol. 3

SEPTEMBER 2021 / VOLUME 3

15 THE VIRTUES 13 History of
OF MOTHER Sleeba
MARY Perunal

05 THE FORGOTTEN

SAINT

98th Memorial Feast of
H. G Alvares Mar Julios
Metropolitan of Goa, India and Ceylon

Fond Remembrance of
H.H. BASELIOS

MARTHOMA PAULOSE-II

CATHOLICOS OF THE EAST & MALANKARA METROPOLITAN

With Blessings from...

H.G. YAKOB MAR ELIAS

Metropolitan of Brahmavar Diocese

SNEHAYATRA 2020 | 03

OFFICE BEARERS

Rev. Fr.Varughese V Philipose

President

Dr.Sibi Kurian Mrs. Reni Sanil

Vice President Secretary

Miss Anu Mathew Mr. John Joseph Reji.

Treasurer Joint Treasurer

EDITORIAL BOARD

President

Rev. Fr.Varughese V Philipose

Advisory Board Editor Designer

Dr.Sibi Kurian Mrs. Reni Sanil Mr. Christy Yesudas

Proof Readers

Mrs. Tessy Thomas Mrs. Dhanya Mrs. Amy Rajeev Mr. John Joseph
Mathachan Reji

Values Vission Mission Mar Julius
Youth Movment

S- sustain spirituality
E- embrace endurance
R- restore righteousness
V- valuing virtues
I- inspire to impact
C- commitment to charity
E- experience empowerment
S- selfless service
T- teach to transform
U- unite in understanding
D- devote our dedication
Y- youthful  yearning
W-wisdom
O- obey
R- repent
S- serve
H- holy
I - interceed
P- pray

SNEHAYATRA 2020 | 04

TABLE

OF CONTENTS

Usefulness of Social Media during the Pandemic 03

The forgotten saint 05
Follow Me... 06
07
Joseph A Model For Humanity
Daniel in the Lions Den 09
10
Should Suffering Shake our faith? 12
Word Game
13
History of Sleeba Perunal 14
Intercessory Prayer 15
Our Mother 16
The Virtues of Mother Mary 19
Kid's Kingdom 20
"When will the human race slow down and
ponder...!!!" 22
24
The Thief who Entered Heaven 25
Kids's Kingdom 27
Alvares Thirumeni 28
17 Attributes of God 29
Kid's Kingdom 30
Achievements
Gallery

Rev. Fr. Varughese.V. Philipose



LIFESTYLE

03

USEFULNESS OF
SOCIAL MEDIA
DURING THE

PANDEMIC

The COVID-19, also known as the corona virus, is an
ongoing pandemic from 2019, caused by severe acute
respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It
was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China
and later spread in India and other countries of the
world. To contain the spread of the virus, Government
of India declared a nationwide lockdown on March
24th 2020, during which the shops, educational
institutions and devotional centres remain closed.
Later these institutions were opened up with a
limited number of attendees; however the senior
citizens were restricted to visit the churches and mass
gatherings. In such a situation social media became
very useful to help people connect and attend mass
virtually.

As we all know, Social Media is one of the SNEHAYATRA | 04
strongest mediums of communication in
the 21st century which helps people to Apart from these, prayer meetings are also
connect from far places. It consists of conducted regularly, so that everyone can
online technology platforms including listen to the gospels of the bible. Since it is
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, an online meeting we can listen to the
WhatsApp among many others. Social devotional speakers across the world. These
media is helping to open up and meetings morally boost our faith, and help
humanise the church during this the people to face the tough and difficult
pandemic. Due to the government situations during the pandemic.
imposed restrictions, only limited people
can come to the church to attend the Though the social media has adverse effects
Holy Qurbana physically. Hence, MJYM has such as cyber bullying, social isolation and
organised live screening of the Holy addiction, it helps better communication,
Qurbana through platforms like Facebook emotional connections and self motivation.
and Youtube, so that everyone can attend Parents and teachers have to make sure
church services regularly from home that students use the social media platform
during this pandemic. with sincerity and do not get addicted.

As a Sunday school student I cannot go to Neha Elsa Kurian

the church and attend the Holy Qurbana

every Sunday and attend classes.

Thankfully, our teachers have put a lot of

effort to conduct classes every Sunday

through Google Meet. Last year the church

organised OVBS on virtual platform with

the support from Nagpur Seminary.

Recently, MGOCSM also organised virtual

devotional classes (Talent and

Thankfulness) by Merlin Kochamma for all

of us which helped to motivate us during

this pandemic.

PAGE 05

The forgotten saint

written by  Zahra George




Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvares was born
on 24th April 1836 at Verna, Goa. Alvares
was appointed by the Archbishop of Goa to
minister to Catholics in British India. The
English rulers wished to have non-
Portuguese Bishops, When under Pope Pius
IX and Pope Leo XIII, the hierarchy in British
India was formally reorganized
independently of Portugal but with
Portuguese consent, a group of pro-
Padroade Goan Catholics in Bombay united
under the Leadership of Dr. Pedro Manoel
Lisboa Pinito and Alvares as the society for
the defense of the royal Patronage and
agitated against the Holy church.The British
India Govt and the Portuguese Govt. failed
to reverse the changes.

Fr. Alvares died on 23rd September 1923 in
Ribander hospital. He was laid to rest at St.
Inez Cemetery in Panaji. In 1927 his bones
were collected by his friends and admirers
placed in a lead box and reburied under a
marble slab. A small church was
constructed in Ribander in 1979. Fr Alvares'
remains were disinterred and placed in the
church by Metropolitan Philipose Mar
Theophilose of the Bombay Diocese. Fr.
Alvares' remains were moved to the present
Ossuary, on the side of the Altar at St Mary’s
Orthodox Church. A memorial Feast is
celebrated at St Mary’s Orthodox Syrian
Church in Ribander on 23rd September
every year.

FOLLOW ME... ARTWORK

MANUVAL TITTUS

Whoever wants to be my
disciple must deny

themselves and take up
their cross and follow

me.
(Mathew 4: 19)

My children need to see
Christ in my actions, not
just hear about Him in my
word.

Junia Sara Varghese

SNEHAYATRA 2020 | 06

PAGE 07 SNEHAYATRA ARTICLE

JOSEPH A MODEL
FOR HUMANITY

ROBIN VINU

God had promised Abraham that he will bless him Joseph’s life is one of the most excellent example
and will grow his generation. From his grandson from the Bible which reveals God’s watchful
Jacob, the 12 tribes of Israel were formed. Joseph overruling providence. Mountains and valleys, but
was the 11th son of Rachel and Jacob. He had to face the end result is, “God meant it for good”. He led his
many trials and tragedies in his life and crossed
many mountains and valleys. Unlike other children, life in faith all through till the end! His life was
his childhood was not a pleasant one. He had to controlled by God in his Divine plans. This clearly
suffer the hatred and cruelty from his own brothers. shows God is behind everything that happens in our
Because of this, at the age of thirteen he became a lives. Events may be called ‘accidents’ or
slave and was taken to Egypt. There, his Egyptian ‘coincidence’.
master favored him to be the overseer of his house
by the grace from the Lord. But he was falsely His faith in God made him believe that the hatred of
witnessed and imprisoned in a dungeon for two the brothers, betrayal, slavery, imprisonment,
years. But God had a different plan for Joseph. God separation from the family were all in the plan of
had blessed him with the power of interpretation of God Almighty. The brothers aimed evil against him,
dreams. He could interpret Pharaoh’s dreams which but God used it to fulfill His eternal plans. Through
bought him freedom from the prison. Later, during the eyes of faith,we can be sure that every valley and
the famine, the brothers arrived in search for help every height we pass through is a part of His plan to
and were reunited with him.This made a channel for end up for our own good and for His glory.
the brother's repentance. Later on, he was elevated
to a position of power and prestige as the Chief “We know that all things work together for good to
Minister of Pharaoh, as in charge of Egypt. Next, them that love God, to them who are the called
Joseph had the great opportunity to meet his father according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28)
again and be reunited.

From what we learn from the Bible, it's Next, a total trust in God. As the In Joseph, we observe a noble
said that he had no grudge over head of ministers of Egypt and character.
anyone or did not harm anyone. We as a slave in the dungeon, his
cannot change others but we can faith remained unchanged . He a) He was very pure and he led a
change our attitudes. Even though it is was exalted in the upper-class high moral life.
difficult to maintain integrity in society of Egypt with a high
adverse situations, in different position, easy for him to forget b) He relied on God and God
cultures, Joseph did not fail to keep the faith of his fathers but he protected him from all dangers.
his integrity. First, he was faithful to his maintained his faith, and also
master in the temptation of Potiphar’s converted his Egyptian wife c) He did not show any hatred to his
wife. Second, he did not withhold the Asenath to worship the God of brothers for what ever bad things
truth from the cupbearer or the baker. Israel. they did to him.
Both the good news and bad news he
revealed to them. He only feared God.   Joseph believed that it was d) He forgave his brothers for their
God’s plans to send him to wrong doings and allowed them to
What made him great? His pardoning Egypt ahead of others, so that enjoy the luxuries
spirit is highly adorable. Behind this he could protect his family in of Egypt.
was his faith in God. He believed in the difficult times. His life was a
promises and the Divine plan. He turning point in the history of e) He trusted God even in difficult
believed every incident in his life story Israel. He is a shinning model to times.
is planned and prepared by God. So, humanity.
he simply surrendered to Him without
making any effort to change the
situations through his own or
someone’s ideas or strengths. A total
surrender! No grudge or revenge.

SNEHAYATRA  |    08

SNEHAYATRA  |    09

SHOULD SUFFERING SHAKE
OUR FAITH?

N I K H I L T H O M A S

We often ask ourselves this question, But the truth is that we don’t really
“Should suffering shake our faith?” In know how suffering fits into God’s
recent times, owing to the COVID-19 designs and this is precisely because
pandemic, Christian faith and belief our finite minds cannot comprehend
have been tested and affected. A the bigger plans and purpose of God.
substantial number of the people who Throughout the length of the Book of
had, a rather strong Christian faith, Job, we can see God speaking to Job,
found their belief in God challenged. explaining how little his humble
The prayer life of numerous Christians human servants are aware of His
has taken a drastic blow as well. It is purposes and intentions, when they
only natural to view human suffering as protest against the massive injustice
a test of faith especially when it is imposed on them. The disturbing truth
inflicted upon the innocent. Our image is that if ordeals and torments
of a loving God is shaken given the long undermine your belief in God, then
list of tragic events in history like quite simply, you were not true
tsunamis, holocausts, school shootings believers in God. We have plenty of
etc., where the innocent as well as the instances in the Bible wherein God puts
evil are equally rendered helpless. If we the faith of his beloved children to test.
carefully study the doctrines of God, we There is no question that God loves
can conclude that belief in a loving God Noah, Abraham and his own begotten
does not rule out hardships. son Jesus Christ. Yet they all were
equally put to test.
We tend to think that suffering is
visited upon us as a punishment for our SNEHAYATRA  |    10
sins.

Prayer is a simple notion. It is a
conversation with our Heavenly Father.
God is never blind to our tears and never
heedless to our pain. We should not
whine about the things that weren’t
granted to us, rather we should be
grateful for the countless blessings that
have been showered upon us. Faith is a
tenacious entity which can make things
possible no matter how impossible they
may seem. God is with us in every step
that we take, holding us close in his arms,
giving us the strength which we need to
battle the hardships that we stumble
upon in this life journey. Those who live in
the shelter of the Almighty will find
comfort in the shadow of the one true
God. We must realize that we are nothing
without our Lord. He will always guide
and bless us no matter what. We just
need to have Faith.

Not once was their faith in God moved. In Nikhil Thomas
all these instances the faith of Noah,
Abraham and Jesus Christ in their SNEHAYATRA  |    11
Almighty God remained untouched. They
never ceased to believe in God and their
faith just got stronger. What our takeaway
should be from these experiences is that
true faith can never be challenged
whatsoever. Our spirituality would be fake
if we seek God for a problem-free life. Our
lives are far from perfect, but God will
surely redeem us and deliver us from all
our troubles if we turn to him in
unshakeable faith. Our sufferings must not
lead to the dismissal of the divine love. We
must learn to appreciate this divine love
even more than we could ever imagine.

SNEHAYATRA  |    12

Rakhi Mariam Varghese

SNEHAYATRA  |    13

PAGE 14

INTERCESSORY
PRAYERS

written by  Sherly Yesudas

Galatians 6:2 say Praying for one another plays a big part
in “bearing one another’s burden”. Praying for another
strengthens our relationship with God and it also
strengthens the relationship with one another.

The most often heard arguments against intercessory The Orthodox church gives the title of “Saints” to anyone
prayer is that we pray to the Saints. We don’t. We pray who has lived and died in Christ throughout history. While
through the Saints. The next argument is “Why do we ask certain saints are officially canonized and commemorated
for intercession of the Saints and not go to Christ by the church, every baptized orthodox Christian is called
directly”? And my answer is simple, “because there is to be a “Saint”.
strength in asking for the saints to intercede for us, to join
in our prayers with us" . We know that Saints will “Saints” are “those who will inherit salvation” (Heb1:14)
intercede for us before the throne of Lord (2 Cor 5:20, Phil through whom God is “bearing witness, both with signs
1:19, James 5:16, Job 42:8, Gen 20:7, Exodus 32:11-14). and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy
Spirit, according to his own will”(Heb2:4).
We ask the saints to pray for us because they dedicated
themselves to Him and gave their life for God. They serve
as beautiful examples of how we too, should fulfill our
baptism through service to Christ and his Church.
Because of their righteousness, their prayers have great
power with God. We know that God hears our prayers,
then how much more so would he heed the prayers of his
holy ones.

When the Orthodox pray to saints, we do not devote our
lives to serving them, instead we merely ask them to pray
for us and intercede before God for salvation. When we do
this,” we confirm our belief in Jesus”. Orthodox Christians
do not worship Saints. However, we do venerate them.
This means we pay them proper respect and love,
because we acknowledge that their holiness comes from
God. The worship accorded to God is his alone.

To understand the power of intercessory prayer, we must
remember that God knows everything, He is not bound by
time and that He is eternal. He knows what we need before
we even ask for it. Thus, He hears all our prayers and has
even greater power to make our prayers tangible.

SNEHAYATRA  |    15

Our Mother

O Mother of our King
Shower your grace and
For your mercy we will sing
And dance like a bud
As you are the queen
Who bore salvation in the stable
And you are the maid whose teen
Filled joy in heavenly table
And as your children
We will praise you always.

Bincy Baiju

THE VIRTUES
OF MOTHER

MARY



“Mary said, behold the handmaid At the age of 14, she was betrothed to
of the Lord; be it unto me Joseph. The angel of God came to Mary and
according to thy word.” said to her “ Rejoice, highly favored one, the
(St. Luke.1:38) Lord is with you, blessed are you among
women” These words were no ordinary
Mother Mary, submitted herself to the words of grace since the blessing was soon
wishes of Lord Almighty. followed by something, which no women
at her age would ever dream off – that she
God had a big plan for Mother Mary, and will bear the Son of God… Mary was stunned
she happily accepted everything for the with the blessing given by the angel. She
Lord. asked the angel, about this, but he
explained that it’s God’s wish. In those
According to the church fathers, God times, even the thought of bearing a child
instructed Joachim and Anna, parents of before marriage was not acceptable by the
Mary to admit her in the temple at a very society and for that she will be stoned to
young age of 3. She grew up in the temple death, but mother bowed down to God’s
among orphans. This was the great plan of wish and did not even question about this
God to prepare her with many different any more. She knew that Joseph was a
kinds of blessings through difficulties, righteous man, so society would support
labour and persecutions from others, him. Mary resigned herself to the care of
separating her from any other attractions of God fully, trusting that He would guard her
the world, so as to be alone with God. There innocence. When God saw her proven, He
she learnt the life of silence, solitude and sent the angel to Joseph to accept her.
prayer.
16

She crushed the head of Satan’s pride and
thrust him out from his superior position
and command over the world. She knew
well that to bring up God’s Son, in the plan
of salvation was a difficult path. Life was not
easy for the women in Jewish community
in the past.

Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and remaining with
her is a great example of humility and
service. She was serving God through the
service offering to the neighbour.

Going back to the Old Testament, in the The journey of Mary and Joseph to
garden of eden, Eve believed and obeyed Bethlehem was full of hardships. While the
the serpent against the instructions and doors of the inns were closed on them, she
warnings which was given by God. As a remained in full confidence. She accepted
result, death entered the world. But Mary humbly the place of birth, the stable and
believed in the annunciation of the angel the manger and co-operated fully to bring
and accepted the incarnation of the Eternal forth the Saviour of the world, which was
Word, in the plan of redemption of according to the plan of God. In obedience
humanity. Her faith in God’s plan opened to God’s laws she presented Baby Jesus at
the closed door of heaven for us. Adam and the temple. With total surrender and
Eve fell into sin, but Mary accepted the will obedience to the will of God she followed
of God as her will and she was termed as all the Divine instructions.
“Blessed” among the women .
At the wedding in Cana, she did not ask for
wine to Jesus, instead her words were,
“They have no wine”. She surrendered her
need. On Calvary she displayed her faith
and all the virtues. Mother Mary’s
responsibility was not small. Mother Mary is
also known as the second Heaven, because
she carried Jesus Christ in her womb.
Mother Mary played a major role behind
the upbringing of child Jesus and filled Him
will all Godly values from His childhood.

17

SNEHAYATRA

GOD HAD A BIG PLAN
FOR MOTHER MARY,
AND SHE HAPPILY
ACCEPTED
EVERYTHING FOR THE
LORD.

The following are the virtues of Mother Mary – So, we can conclude that mother Mary
Profound humility – Lowliness of her heart. was the first and most perfect disciple of
Ardent charity – Her love for God behind Jesus. She was the bridge over which
every reason and be sensitive to those in Jesus passed to come to us. Even though
distress and need. she lived on earth her thoughts and
Constant prayer – Being aware of God’s affections were all rapt in heaven. Her
presence always and everywhere. heart was inflamed with the love of God.
Obedience – Following God’s will no matter For this reason, today the whole humanity
what the cost is. respects her and submit their requests to
Divine wisdom – guidance of the Spirit, her to intercede to God. She has the
practice of the virtues and guarding against highest position among the Saints.
sins.
Purity – purity of heart and senses unstained As Christians, we too should inculcate the
by sin. virtues of Mother Mary to get closer to
Angelic sweetness – Peace and joy radiated God.
to everyone around.
Lively faith – unwavering, steadfast faith.
Patience – practiced in every situation and
which was always in highest degree.

Rohan T Vinu

18

Kid's Kingdom... ARTWORK

Bertina Baiju

Whoever wants to be my
disciple must deny

themselves and take up
their cross and follow

me.
(Mathew 4: 19)

My children need to see
Christ in my actions, not
just hear about Him in
my word.

Elena Daniel

SNEHAYATRA 2021 | 19

"WHEN WILL My personal opinion is that, it haunts
THE HUMAN each and every human being,
RACE SLOW irrespective of whichever part of the
DOWN AND world they hail from. You may be the
PONDER...!!!" richest of the richest and living in the
most expensive houses, but you can
Humans…! Oh, we the mighty ones get exposed to the COVID virus, and
ruling earth for ages and ages. We then the fear and uncertainty is
are identified and classified by so nerve wrecking. If it infects you, then
many attributes like race, sex, colour, there are all chances of it getting
religion, caste, rich, poor, occupation- fatal. Passing this phase or coming
wise, qualification… The list is endless back to life is sheerly God’s mercy
indeed. and grace. Then what is the use of all
the riches, of all the power that we
Whoever or whatever we were hoard? We humans are reduced to
classified as; this pandemic rendered nothing more than worms and
it all useless and insignificant. The become so helpless.
virus treated us all equal. Many
natural disasters like tornadoes, Here arises the need for humans to
tsunamis, floods etc had reminded slow down their race towards the
us of this before. However, some unknown and look back. Count your
humans managed to get away with blessings, praise the lord for all that
their wealth and influence. he has given us. Thank him for caring
for us when many around us are
Then how is this pandemic that the struggling for oxygen, hospital beds,
world faces today any different? food, helpless children waiting for
their parents to come back home,
parents waiting for their kids to get
cured and come back healthy…

SNEHAYATRA | 20

Ponder…What have we achieved by SNEHAYATRA | 21
our education or our wealth? How
have we helped to make the world a
better place? You might think that,
as a youth or as a kid I depend on my
parents, so how much can I probably
help? My dear friend, all you need to
do is shed a drop of tear while
praying for all these miseries that the
world is trapped in.

Before thinking about yourself and
your needs in prayer, pray for the
needy. Feel empathy towards them.
Live life frugally without showing off.
Nobody is asking you to, sacrifice
your happiness or to not enjoy. But
take a moment to think before you
download a paid caller tune or
simply pay for a mobile game, or
when you throw away or don’t eat
food cooked, just because it’s not
your favourite. Shop only when
necessary, don’t harass your parents
for gifts unnecessarily. Be thankful
that you have your loved ones
around you.

My dear friends…slow down and
ponder. Just learn to be a good
human being.

May God bless you all! Amen.

Tessy Thomas

THE THIEF WHO ENTERED 22 Snehayatra
HEAVEN By John Joseph Reji


Repent for the kingdom of
It's always intriguing to know, how a heaven is near" (Mathew 3:2)
thief with his few words won the
heart of the Lord and made himself a
shareholder of heaven.
But is it possible for a thief to enter
God's kingdom? What can we learn
from him?
Let's find out.

The scripture says :
One criminal who was hanged there
kept dredging him saying " Are you
not the Messiah? "

Save yourself and us! But the other
rebuked him saying " Do you not fear
God, since you are under the same
sentence of condemnation? We
indeed have been condemned justly,
for we are getting what we deserve
for our deeds, but this man has done
nothing wrong". Then he said " Jesus,
remember me when you come into
your kingdom ". He replied, "Truly I
tell you, today you will be with me in
Paradise ". (Luke 23:39-43)

Here the thief asks his colleague "Do
you not fear God?” Therefore it is
quite evident that he accepted Jesus
Christ as God and his saviour.

He continues, that he deserves this
condemnation for his deeds. Here he
essentially confesses his sins to Jesus,
something similar to the structure
that occurs in the sacrament of
confession which is

23 SNEHAYATRA Here the thief on the cross is like the
prodigal son
I am the way and the truth and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through " Father I have sinned against heaven and
me".(John 14:6) before you. I am no longer worthy to be
called your son.”
“The act of a man who undergoes
conversion through the action of Holy Therefore just like the father in Jesus
Spirit namely contrition, confession and parable forgives his wayward son similarly
satisfaction.” Jesus forgives him by responding " Truly I
This is why Jesus says " Repent for the tell you today you will be with me in
kingdom of heaven is near " (Mathew Paradise ".
3:2)
This shows the importance of confession This is why Jesus said "I am the way and the
in our lives. truth and the life. No one comes to the
The thief admitted his guilt and Father except through me".(John 14:6)
demonstrates that he was sorry for his
sins. He says - We indeed justly are Therefore it's not what the title says as The
receiving the due reward of our deeds Thief Who Entered Heaven, rather it is a
but this man has done nothing wrong man who accepted Jesus as his God and
and he said " Jesus remember me when Saviour, humbled himself and confessed his
you come into your kingdom ". sins with repentance who entered heaven.

As the Psalmist says "The sacrifice
acceptable to God is a broken spirit and a
contrite heart".( Pslams 51:17)

Kid's Kingdom...

Jancy Josekutty

Evann Lukose Sanil

Seek ye the ride of Christ

ARTWORK

Paul Reji

SNEHAYATRA 2021 | 24

ALVARES THIRUMENI

Abraham Daniel

Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvares (Alvares Alvares was consecrated as Mar Julius I,
Mar Julius) (29 April 1836 – 23 September with the permission of the Syrian Orthodox
1923) was initially a priest in the Roman Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Peter IV, by
Catholic Church in Goa. He joined the Mar Joseph Dionysus, Geevarghese Mar
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Gregorios of Parumala, Mar Paulose Evanios
then became the Metropolitan of Goa, of Kandanadu and Mar Athanasios at
Ceylon and Greater India in the Malankara Kottayam Old Seminary on 29 July 1889.
Orthodox Syrian Church.
Alvares Mar Julius was made in charge of
He was a great scholar, man of high the new Mangalore and Bombay dioceses.
principles, a great visionary and had an He brought Roman Catholics like himself
impressive personality. He opened a who were dissatisfied with the working of
college where Goan priests taught the Roman Catholic Church into the Syrian
Portuguese, French, Latin and Philosophy. Orthodox Church, ordained and
In 1912 Mar Julius opened an English consecrated priests.
School in Panaji.
SNEHAYATRA 2021 | 25

SNEHAYATRA 2021 | 26

Since Alvares Mar Julius was not allowed He also started a number of periodicals
by the portuguese rulers to work freely in including A Cruz (The Cross), Verdade (The
Goa, he was mostly based in the Canara Truth), O Progress De Goa, O Brado Indiano,
region of Karnataka with the main base at and Times Of Goa. Later many of them
Brahmawar. He along with Fr. Noronha were banned because of his critical
worked among the people along the west opinions against the government.
coast of India from Mangalore to Bombay.
About 5,000 families joined the Orthodox
Church.

“I HAVE FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT, I HAVE FINISHED
THE RACE AND I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH.”.

His last days were in Ribandar Hospital, a Though Mar Julius I was considered an
charitable institution. He was ill with enemy by the government, the Governor-
dysentery. It was his wish to be buried by General sent his representative to pay
Orthodox clergy, and he was specific not to tribute to him. Thousands of people
permit any Catholic priest to undertake especially poor and beggars paid their last
this duty. He died on 23 September, 1923. respects. The funeral procession wound
through all the main roads of Panaji and
His body was kept in the Municipal Hall for the body was laid to rest in the secluded
24 hours to enable the people to pay corner of St. Inez Panaji cemetery on 24
homage. September 1923. Now his holy relics is kept
at the St. Mary’s Orthodox Church,
Ribander, Goa.

Abraham Daniel

SNEHAYATRA 2021 | 27

SNEHAYATRA 2021 | 28

BIBLE QUIZ

1.What golden image did the Israelites
make at Mt. Sinai?

2.When Daniel prayed to God after it was
not allowed, where was he thrown into?

3.Where did God give Moses the Ten
Commandments?

4. How many books have the name John
in them?

5.What is the 5th commandment?
6. What were men trying to do at the

Tower of Babel?
7.How did David kill Goliath?
8.What happened when Jesus went into

the wilderness?
9.Who did Laban trick Jacob into

marrying?
10.What did God send to feed the Israelites

in the desert?

1.A golden calf, 2. The lion’s den, 3. Mt. Sinai, 4. Four, 5. Honor your father and mother,
6. Build a tower to reach Heaven, 7. A slingshot and a stone, 8. He was tempted by Satan,
9. Leah, 10. Quail and manna.

SNEHAYATRA 2021 | 29

ACHIEVEMENT

MARTHAMARIYAM VANITHA SAMAJAM
CENTRAL EXAMINATION RESULTS

Mrs. Sherly Yesudas
(Senior)

2nd rank  Diocean level



Mar Julius Youth Movement of St. Mary's
Syrian Orthodox Church, Ribander

distributed grocery kits to the needy families
of Ribander area during this tough time of
pandemic. Church Vicar Rev. Fr. Varughese
Philipose handed over kits to the families

In Loving Memory of

V.G.Joy C.V.Kuruvilla

I said,"Oh, that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly , and be at rest."
(Psalm 55:6)

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OVBS 2020

SNEHAYATRA 2021 | 31

CHRISTMAS 2020

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ARING THVIRTUALGS
SESSIONS
SH
E BLESSIN

WORKS
HOPS N E H A Y A T R A 2 0 2 1 | 3 3

All hard work brings a
profit, but mere talk
leads only to poverty.

– Proverbs 14:23

Whatever you do, work at
it with all your heart, as
working for the Lord, not
for human masters. –

Colossians 3:23

SNEHAYATRA 2021 | 34

Virtual FANCY DRESS

Let us pray for ...
for prayer and assistance
Contact: [email protected]

35

98TH MEMORIAL FEAST
OF

ALVARES MAR JULIUS

With Compliments from

Arun Kuryan & Anoop Kuryan.
Bainguinim, Old Goa.