Eastern and Reformed: A Theological Enquiry into the Doctrine of Atonement and the Holy Spirit of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church

By Abraham Kuruvilla

The book looks into the liturgy of the Mar Thoma Church. The Mar Thoma Church claims to be eastern and reformed. An enquiry is made into the liturgy of the passion week and the Eucharist to look into the theology of Atonement (work of Christ) and the nature of the Holy Spirit respectively. The measuring rod to determine the Eastern and the Reformed nature is the Eastern Fathers such as Gregory Nazianzen, Athanasius, St. Basil, etc., and the Reformer John Calvin. The theology of atonement (work of Christ) and the nature of the Holy Spirit as laid out in the liturgy of the Mar Thoma Church are compared to the teachings of the Eastern Fathers and Reformer John Calvin. Some observations are made and accordingly conclusions are drawn. Based on the conclusions some implications are made for the Mar Thoma Church.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Release date: Sep 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532659621

Abraham Kuruvilla

Abraham Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a dermatologist in private practice. He is the author of Text to Praxis (2009), Privilege the Text! (2013), A Vision for Preaching (2015), and A Manual for Preaching (2019), besides theological commentaries for preachers on Mark (2012), Genesis (2014), Ephesians (2015), Judges (2017), and the Pastoral Epistles (2019). He blogs regularly at www.homiletix.com. Check out my video An Extravagant Elegance

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Eastern and Reformed

A Theological Enquiry into the Doctrine of Atonement and the Holy Spirit of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church

Abraham Kuruvilla

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Eastern and Reformed

A Theological Enquiry into the Doctrine of Atonement and the Holy Spirit of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church

Copyright © 2018 Abraham Kuruvilla. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

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paperback isbn: 978-1-5326-5960-7

hardcover isbn: 978-1-5326-5961-4

ebook isbn: 978-1-5326-5962-1

Zondervan is granting permission for the latest edition of the NIV text only (currently 2011), available for personal use at www.zondervan.com, www.biblica.com, www.biblegateway.com and www.youversion.com. We are not granting permission for use of the earlier editions or version of the NIV text.

Manufactured in the U.S.A.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1: A Brief Introduction to the Mar Thoma Syrian Church

Chapter 2: The Doctrine of Atonement

Chapter 3: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit

Chapter 4: Conclusion

Bibliography

Dedicated to my wife Ann

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge my teachers, church community, and my fellow priest. The faith and practices of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church have played an important role in the formation of this book. I would like to extend a special word of thanks for His Grace Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan and Rt. Rev. Dr. Isaac Mar Philoxenos. Their guidance was pivotal in my higher studies. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Bruce McCormack and Dr. James Kay for their guidance and support during my study at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Abbreviations

MTC Mar Thoma Church

MTL Mar Thoma Liturgy

OT Old Testament

Introduction

The book looks into the liturgy of the Mar Thoma Church. The Mar Thoma Church claims to be eastern and reformed. An enquiry is made into the liturgy of the passion week and the Eucharist to look into the theology of Atonement (work of Christ) and the nature of the Holy Spirit respectively. The measuring rod to determine the eastern and the reformed nature is the work of the eastern Fathers such as Gregory Nazianzen, Athanasius, St. Basil, etc., and the reformer John Calvin. The theology of atonement (work of Christ) and the nature of the Holy Spirit as laid out in the liturgy of the Mar Thoma Church are compared to the teachings of the eastern Fathers and reformer John Calvin on the same. Some observations are made and, accordingly, conclusions are drawn. Based on the conclusions, some implications are made for the Mar Thoma Church.

Chapter 1

A Brief Introduction to the Mar Thoma Syrian Church

A proper starting point to an introduction to the Mar Thoma Syrian Church would be perhaps explaining the title itself. The title Mar Thoma means St. Thomas. As the title suggests, there is a connection with St. Thomas, the Apostle of Jesus Christ. It is believed that the Mar Thoma Syrian Church ¹ was founded by St. Thomas, the Apostle of Jesus Christ. This claim has been well researched in terms of its historicity. ²

The mention of Syrian, in the title suggests that there is some connection to the East of the world. This connection to the East was a result of a migration that happened from the eastern part of the world to the south of India.³ Until now, we have been trying to understand the MTC on the basis of the title. However, to conclude an understanding of the MTC only on the basis of the title would lead to an incomplete understanding of the MTC. So it is necessary to mention that the unique characteristic of the MTC is that it is reformed.⁴ This reformed characteristic was a result of the reformation that happened in the MTC some 200 years ago.⁵ So, we can say that the MTC is arguably founded by St. Thomas, it has a connection to the East of the world, which gives the MTC an eastern nature, and it is reformed.

We can safely conclude that the MTC has a mixed history, which is a combination of eastern elements and reformed principles. However, irrespective of the above two claims, there is a lot of ambiguity regarding the theological nature of the MTC. There are sections in the MTC that arguably claim that the MTC is eastern. However, there also exists another section in the MTC that arguably claims that the MTC is reformed. Though the historicity of such claims is well researched and credible, in terms of doctrines and theological nature such claims are arguable because they are not credibly founded. There definitely exist some eastern elements and also some reformed elements in the MTC. However, to claim that the MTC is only eastern in its theological nature or only reformed in its theological nature is always debatable. Such arguable and debatable claims linger on in sections of the clergy, the faithful, and also in the general understanding of the MTC by the outside world at large. As a result, there is always a trend of over-emphasizing the importance of either the eastern elements over the reformed elements or vice-versa.

A logical and credible starting point to start from this reality of arguable and over-emphasized ambiguity would be to map the eastern and reformed elements in the MTC. The process of mapping would involve pointing out the respective elements as and where they are evident. In this process of mapping, it would necessarily involve a comparison with the eastern and reformed doctrines or beliefs as found in the global church. Toward this endeavor, I will make an effort in equating the beliefs of the MTC with the eastern and reformed doctrines or beliefs as found in the global church. Along with this, there will be a systematic analysis of the beliefs. Such a combination of mapping, equating, and analyzing would make the doctrinal claims of the MTC credible. However, since the effort of this book is an inquiry into the theological nature of the MTC, it would mean to spend a considerable amount of time with one or two elements. Accordingly, this book is an effort toward mapping the