A man with black Rudraksha chain and wooden cross  exuding  Indian culture, one of the faceless masses, an ordinary in the ordinary sense, savour of environment and human life, committed to  consensus trough dilogue, unity & universality.

Dr. James Kottoor

Who is  Bishop George Alanchery,  unknown to me and many like me? He never figured anywhere among the probables making the rounds in the minds of the Syro Malabar(SM) community  of Bishops, priests, sisters and people, anxiously praying for the one to suite their hearts’ expectations, not even  among print media personel or TV channels  forcasting tomorrows news today.

Those who dared to name names started with the Ernakulam Curia Trio, moved on to  Archiepiscpal heavy weights in the state and finally to  reigning bishops in Kerala. None could thnk of anyone from outside. As for the trio,  Bishop Bosco Puthur was the front runner for some in the media. In a group discussion  a sister suggested the name of Bishop Adayanthrath to which another objected, only because of his juniority.When it came to  major Archbishops alarm bells were heard to ring from distant shores like  New York that a certain Money Bag had landed in Kochi ahead of elections to convas for  cndidates from Trichur,  Palakad etc. As for me, honestly I could think of no exceptional luminary in Kerala to fit  the post with unquestioned leadership qualities, appealing to all sections and therefore  one all could look up to as their man approved. Therefore  prayerfully I left it to providential churning in the hearts of assembled prelates to come up with the dark horse  to everybody’s surprise.

Man with  Rudraksha  Trade mark

So it did happen when my eyes fell on the prnted image of a venerable looking prelate with austure bearded face, simple and serene, clad in ordinary clerical  white  but most important projecting prominently a chain with  large sized black Rudrsha beeds proclaiming Indian culture and a wooden cross hung on it, which simply gave him away for what he was and is. Eurekka! my mind thundered unknowingly! It spoke volumes to me and made a flood of images flash through my mind.

First was that of Pope John XXIII who gave a very precious gift to the world of bishops who attended the second  Vatican Council – a wooden pectoral cross hung on a cotton thread to wear as mark of their identity as followers of the crucified. It was not on a silver or golden cross that Jesus was raised up. It also reminded me the words of St.Augustine: “For you I am a Bishop, but with you I am a Christian.” Next came the image of Mother Teresa, the saint of the gutter clad in white cotton sari with blue boarder which has been the trade mark of her simplicity for the whole world to see.That image made my mind leap on to a parallel image in a totally mundane political field, that of Mamata Banerjee sporting her  down-to-earth simple white sari and chappels always which speaks constantly of her identification with the faceless masses.

A fouth image that flashed through my mind was that of a curta sporting,  cycle pedalling and beedi smoking  deparfted bishop(God rest his soul) Sopen of Daltangang. That was his way of proclaiming to the world that he really meant to be an ordinary in the ordinary sense among his ordinary flock, totally different from the rest of Ordinaries, his ecclesiastical confrers and Excellencies, not ordinaries in the ordinary sense. Reportedly he had even met Pope Paul VI also in curta in one of his Ad Limina visits. I saw him that way  long long ago presiding over an Evangelisation seminar in Delhi to which I was  invited to report by  the Late Amalorpavadass of  the Bangalore Luturgical Centre. Memorable at the meet was the critique made by the then young  energetic bishop Powathil on statistics realed out by Amalor to substantiate his thesis of Indianisation which the bishop labelled as “lies, lies and arch lies”.  Amid that thunder and lightning of a heated verbal exchange Bishop Sopen literally rose to the occsion as a consensus man in curta to provide light rather than lightning and sense rather than sound.

An  Ordinary Consensus Man

A consensus man, an ordinary among Ordinaries, a down-to-earth person concerned with the yearnings and aspirations of the common man, especially the last, the least and the lost! Those were the comforting thoghts the first sight of Bishop George Alanchery trigered to flood my mind. You see what you expect and eagerly look  forward to see. So I need not be proved correct as the expectations of many in this election were proved wrong.Only time will tell whether  the SM Synod  succeeded to make the right choice at its first attempt. That I leave  to the inscrutable workings of  divine desings to decide.  But the fact was  there was a great sigh of relief from all sections of the Syro Malabar Church (SMC) and even from all secular quarters as the media brought out his  compelling credentials for the post – coveted and disappointed for many, but for a few like Bishop George seen as a crown of thorns like that of his Master. Therefore he must have even prayed with trepidation “let this chalice pass from me” for feeling  “unworthy” for the post.

His  raw credentials? According to reports he visited every one of the 8000 families  with 30,000 faithful of his newly established mission diocese of Thuckalay,  a God-forsaken cluster of underdeveloped villages in Kanyakumari, Tamilnadu. It was started as a SM mission  in  1961 which became a diocese in 1966.On hearing  that, some asked:  Where will you find a bishop who is eager to walk into your home uninvited as a matter of duty of a sheperd going after every one of his flock? Isn’t it rare to find even Parish Priests who deem it as one of their prime duties to  visit every family in the parish? Of course I have seen that second question  proved wrong by Fr. Isac Damien of St.Judes Parish,Thammanam, who used to visit all families every year as a matter of duty. To make those visits homely and productive, Bishop George not only picked up but  excelled himself in Tamil to feel one with a new cultural community into which he was inserting himself following the incarnational principle of his master Jesus.

Of course besides Tamil he is also proficient in Malayalam, being from Changanaserry, in English and also  in French, having studied in Surbone university, Paris for five years to take a doctorate in Biblical Theology in 1986. Before that he had graduated in economics from the Kerala University with second rank in l965 and acquied Masters in Theology with first rank from the Pontifical Theological Institute, Alwaye. It was after all these he was consecrated  by Archbishop Powathil as the first bishop of Thuckalay on Feb.2nd 1997. Now in God’s own time he is raised as the Major Archbishop of Ernakulam and Ankamaly to sheperd a flock of 4 million SM Christians spread all over the world. Isn’t it proof enough that he is a man of letters (he had also found time to write a book: Morality Today and Tomorrow),  wisdom, spiritual insight,  practical know-how and universal outlook to promote unity in diversity?

Man of Dialogue for Unity

That is what the substance of his recent pronouncements after election loudly proclaims.  He had said:My mission gets achieved when I unite every one in God’s love. That mission consists in protecting both man and the  environment he lives in. God is to be found in the dialogue of truth. Absorbe positive points in Indian culture, resolve conflicts in liturgical practices in different dioceses through discussion. Persue the path of consensus not confrontation. Wherever there is division power of evil is at work. When one stream of thinking tries to stamp out the opposite it produces division, friction and conflict.  I am committed to promote, not my plans and programmes but those which are the outcome  of common discussions gone through and decisions taken jointly by  bishops, priests, religious and the general public.

 What more can one expect from a newly elected leader? No wonder the election of the new Major Archbishop was accepted with rapturous  acclamation from all quarters.  As new revelations of his precious personal traits are revealed admiration, appreciation, acceptance, expectration, contentment and joy  abound and brim over in the SM community.

Hidden Fears & Aprehensions

That is not to ignore hidden fears  some still  entertain about his stand on the ongoing conflict of views  for and against Chaldaisation, Indianisation and liturgical reform, all of which  practically died  down in Kerala but  still raging in the SMC in US. Since Archbishop Alanchery happens to be very close to  retired Archbishop Powathil who consecrated him bishop,  they fear  he could become his tool at least  covertly to  promote  Chaldaisation. This section as reported in the US based Voice blog of 29/5/11, has already submitted, a mass petition  to the Archbishop   requesting that he should rather follow the path of Indianisation blazed by Cardinal Parecattil and resist the imposition of  Manickean cross, altar curtain and chaldeanisation of the liturgy.

The subject is hotly discussed for and against  in  the two blogs: http://syromalabarfaith.blogspot.com/    and     http://syromalabarfaith.blogspot.com/          

opposing each other, though their fears seem to be nothing more than a tempest in tea cup since a more sober section of the  SM laity in US has already submitted a 12-point  remedial suggestions to the Major Archbishop and the SM Synod of bishops to put an end to this unnecessary  puerile controversy.

What is the answer? What is the solution? Where there is division and conflict the forces of evil are  at work,  Archbishop Alanchery had already affirmed. More over he had added, that  he was committed to promote, not any of his or any one group’s agenda but the one evolved and agreed upon through dialogue and discussion by bishops, priests and people. He  is therefore a man of consensus, not confrontation and  as he wants to resolve conflicts through dialogue, no one should expect him to take instant decisions on any thorny issue but   give him enough time to discuss and deliberate before he can come up with clear directives.

 He has given his word and we  have to trust  and rest in peace while praying to the Lord who is the light, the life, the truth and the way, to help him  lead his flock in the right path. Those who love good(God) everything is bound to turn out for their own good.So let  the entire SM community give him a chance to prove his mettal  and enough time  to promote unity, universality and harmony  as promised, under his leadership both in India and abroad.

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