H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios, 45, belongs to Painuvilla Puthenveedu House, Mavelikara Diocese, and is the son of P J Baby and Thankamma Baby. His home parish is St.Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Puthiyacavu, Mavelikara. He took his B. Sc degree from Bishop Moor College, Mavelikara, G.S.T. from Orthodox Seminary, Kottayam, and B.D and M Th from Serampore College, Kolkata. He took his licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome, and his doctoral degree from the Pontificia Studiorum Universitas, Rome. He also took a diploma in Biblical Archeology from the Pontifical Institute, Jerusalem. This multilingual scholar is currently faculty member and registrar at the Orthodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam. Noteworthy among his works is an exegetical study of Psalm 24, which was published in Rome.

Interview with H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios

ICON: Congratulations on being elected to the Episcopal office. Whom do you credit your success with?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: Firstly, I give thanks to God and to my Church.

ICON: What will be your message for aspirants who missed the bus at the association, as well as at various stages of the process?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: This is not the last bus. By the Grace of God, the next bus will come very soon and everybody will get seats in that bus.

ICON: His Holiness the Patriarch of Antioch is now visiting Malankara. If given an opportunity for an audience with him, what will be your one message?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: I would ask him to take the initiative to settle the disputes between the two sections of the Church.

ICON: The relations between the two factions in the church seem to be at their nadir. Do you the see the prospect for a reunion, ever?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: I hope that the churches can settle the disputes with the guidance of the Holy Spirit in appointed time. The leaders of the church should take initiative for the settlement of issues as early as possible. Both sections share a common faith tradition and history. So, in the interest of the Indian context, it will be beneficial if the two sides unite.

ICON:  Can you suggest some unilateral confidence building measures from the Orthodox Church that will help in lowering the temperature and help facilitate a meeting of minds?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios:
a. To develop a communicative strategy from the grassroots level.
b. To train and equip lay activists to facilitate the reunion process.
c. To facilitate and ensure the participation of the women flock in the reunion process.

ICON:  The Malankara Orthodox church seems to be always in the news for the wrong reasons. Is this because we are not presenting ourselves well, or do you think there's room for introspection?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: The media is always creating news on the basis of their ideology. It is a propaganda machine for the marketing of the media. In this context the church should concentrate on and develop more media-friendly strategies.

ICON: The Catholicate will be celebrating its 100th anniversary of relocation in 2012. Where do you see the Catholicate in the next 100 years?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: The office of the Catholicate is more relevant today in the context of the Indian church. Therefore, we should redefine the function of the Catholicate and facilitate the natural development of the office with a more indigenous identity.

ICON:  Non-Christians in Kerala, especially those in the media, are confused in making sense of three Christian high priests claiming the title of Catholicos. How will you make them distinguish the genuine article from the spurious?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: The uniqueness of our Catholicate is rooted in three principles: it is National, Independent, and Democratic. The other two Catholicoi are dignitaries under the supervision of either the Roman or Syrian Pontiff.

ICON:  The Old Seminary will be celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2015. Isn't it a shame that such an ancient institution of learning appears content to conduct examinations for its aspiring Orthodox priests based on the syllabus prescribed by the Protestant Serampore University? What will be your remedy?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: As the Registrar of the Orthodox Theological Seminary, I can assure you that the Serampore University is giving the affiliated colleges enough freedom to conduct their own subjects. The BD (Bachelor of Divinity) course offering includes 28 papers of which 12 are controlled by the Senate of Serampore while the rest are conducted and controlled by the respective colleges. However, in the future, we can develop this institution as an Orthodox University for the enrichment of through the Orthodox faith and practices.

ICON:  Where do you see our seminaries in the next 100 years?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: The seminaries should develop into excellent international theological institutions with extraordinary infrastructure and faculty where national and international students will peruse their study in Orthodox faith and traditions.

ICON:  One or more of you stand the chance of being appointed to North America. The Orthodox Church in North America is blessed in having a sizeable number of US-born youngsters who have heeded the call of God's ministry. Yet many of them, after completion of their courses, are forced to stand in the sidelines because the church is unable to appoint them to an office. How will you reach out to them?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: Create a centre where such Orthodox members can receive training to take up the future leadership of our parishes. This will include language skills, conducting services, and pastoral ministry. I am very proud of their commitment and loyalty to the church, ministry, and Orthodox faith.

ICON:  There exists a cultural rift in North America between India-born and US-born members. The former are on a nostalgia trip and cling on to traditions (including the language of divine service) for their moorings. The latter are drifting day by day away from the church, unable to make the connection. How will you handle the situation?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: Even though there exists a cultural disparity, we have to train them to adjust to modern situations without sacrificing the ancient traditions of the Church. The general principle is that the language of religion is always mystical and its meanings are not fully understandable in any language. Even the Malayalee does not fully understand the Malayalam liturgy. What we need is involvement in the spirit of the liturgy.

ICON:  The church has been unable to implement a salary and transfer system for priests in North America. Many priests are almost functioning as idavakapattakkar for decades together. On the other hand, a sizeable section of the clergy pursues secular employment since the church is unable to support them with a proper salary. The church is suffering spiritually because of this. Any thoughts?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: Most of the priests migrate to the USA in connection with their own arrangements. In this process the Church has no control over them. However, many of them render their valuable services for the establishment of our parishes in the USA without receiving any ‘proper salary'. In the future, we have to develop a proper and functioning overall setup in the ministry of the clergy.

ICON:  Continuing this chain of thought, are you in favour of prescribing a retirement age for bishops? If so, what would be the ideal age for retirement? How will the church utilize the services of its bishops, post-retirement?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: I understand that our church has already formulated the rules and regulations concerning the retirement of Bishops. If a Bishop is not physically fit for administration he can take voluntary retirement. During the post retirement period the church should take care of the Bishops and they can continue to provide spiritual guidance

ICON:  There's a perception among the laity that our bishops lack financial transparency. How will you remedy this perception?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: I think this is an incorrect perception. However, Bishops should maintain financial transactions in a transparent way.

ICON: One or more of you will be appointed to dioceses with control over churches in the Gulf. The faithful in the Gulf are seething at the endless stream of donation-seekers thronging their churches at any given moment. How will you address their grievance that the church is exploiting them solely as a source of funding with little or no concern for their spiritual welfare?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: In the Gulf region the collection campaigns should be restricted and limited by the diocesan Bishop. The details of the collection should be published. Moreover, the funds should be utilized for the benefit of the whole church.

ICON:  In the Gulf too, there exists a cultural rift between India-born and native-born members. The latter seems to be more comfortable in the milieu of a personalised Christianity characterized by prayer meetings and witnessing. How will you reach out to such lost sheep?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: In the Gulf context we need a paradigm shift in religious practices. We have to understand the needs of the youngsters who are born and brought up in the Gulf from their own perspective and develop new strategies to bring them into the mainstream life of the church.

ICON:  Coming to Indian dioceses outside Kerala, with religious fundamentalism on the boil, how will you drive home the message that ours is the original and ancient church of India with its cultural moorings intact?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: In our St Thomas tradition we always maintain religious tolerances and cultural identity. We never promote idea such as forced conversion and Christian fundamentalism.

ICON:  Do you think the tradition of a monastic life has died down in the church? How do we revive it and offer laymen a chance to recharge their spiritual batteries through access to monasteries?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: I don't think so. Our monastic tradition has not completely died out. There are certain golden strings in the church. However, we must revitalize the existing patterns of the monastic system. The monastic communities have a vital role in upholding the traditions and practices of the church.

ICON:  Our understanding is that there are no theological or Biblical restrictions against women having voting privileges at the parish, diocesan and Malankara Association levels. What measures will you take to help revise our constitution and provide equal status to women?

H.G. Mathews Mar Themothios: In principle I agree with your statements. Our church is in the process of revising the constitution. The church currently allows women to participate in the general body meetings of the parish. I hope that in the near future women will get voting rights in all spheres of the administrative bodies of the Church.

ICON: Thank you Rambachen for taking time to explain your views and vision to ICON members. We are grateful to you and our prayers are with you as you re-dedicate yourself to assume this most important responsibility.

~ICON Moderators