26th December 2000: Reception to the Prayanams

(a) MARTHANDAM: the youth from Marthandam brought the MCYM Flag. About seventy representatives from Marthandam accompanied Mr. A. Raj, the National MCYM President.
(b) BATHERY: the youth brought the papal flag.  A busload of representativesattended the youth convention.
(c) TRIVANDRUM: the "chayachitram" of our Bishops was brought by the MCYM of Trivandrum Archdiocese.
(d) Bahya Mission The National Flag was brought by the MCYM of Bahya Mission and about a hundred youth from the various cities of India attended the convention.
(e) Thiruvalla The "deepashika" was brought by the MCYM of Thiruvella. It began from Vennikulam, the place where Mar Ivanios pitched his tent after leaving Mundanmala ashram.

There was also  "chayachitraprayana" from the hometowns of the late archbishops Mar Severios and Mar Greogorios. The "prayanams" reached Thiruvalla (St.John's Cathedral) at about 4:00pm. Since the Prime Minister was visiting Kerala, the roads were blocked from 4:00 - 5:30pm. The "prayanams" could start from the cathedral only at 5:30pm. There was a large crowd accompanying the youth. Many youth came on two and four wheelers. There was the traditional "chenda-melam" to add to the flavor of the
celebrations.

The "prayanams" reached Mar Ivanios Nagar Municipal ground at about 6:15pm. The flags, torch and "chayachitram" were received by the General Convener, His Excellency Thomas Mar Koorilos, the Vicar General of Bathery and the directors of MCYM.

After hoisting the flags, the Millennium Quiz Competition was conducted under the auspices of the National MCYM executive council. The quizmaster was Mr. Joji "uncle" from Pune zone. The MCYM of Trivandrum Archdiocese won the first prize, the second prize went to Marthandam, the third to Bathery followed by Thiruvalla and the Bahya Mission.

The program ended with an evening prayer and later, the participants were served dinner at the St. John's cathedral. The males were accommodated at the St. John's College and the ladies at Bodhana, a unit of the Thiruvalla Social Service Society.
 
 

27th December 2000

The Millennium Youth Convention

The day began with the Holy Mass at St. John's Cathedral; the mass was presided over His Excellency Thomas Mar Koorilos and the Directors of MCYM. At 8:15am the representatives were served breakfast and were brought to the main ground for the Millennium Youth Convention. Registration began at 9:00am and there were about a thousand youth at the beginning of the inaugural session. Prof. V. J. Pappu, the Managing Editor of Deepika, inaugurated the Convention.

This was followed by the study session directed by Rev. Fr. Jose Vellianipuram, the Director of KCYM. The class was on "Eucharist Centered Youth for Social Justice" The session ended with a "churchasammelan" (dialogue session) which was presided over by Rev. Fr. Manalel, the Director of MCYM, Bethary. Mr. Ramesh Chennithala M.P. was also present.

In the inaugural session the following were released:

1. The Smaranika i.e. the Souvenir of Reunion Sapthathi and Jubilee celebrations.
2. The double cassette and CD of the Holy Mass celebrated by His Excellency Thomas Mar Koorilos, recorded digitally.
3. The Vishal Malankara Voice by the Bahya Mission coordinator, Rev. Fr.John. Berchmans

The meeting ended at about 2:00pm.

Afternoon Session

Millennium Almaya Sammelan

The meeting began at about 4:00pm. It was presided over by His Excellency Geevarghese Mar Divannasios and attended by Bishops Mar Ignatios and Mar Koorilos. The national president of MCA, Mr. Varghese Karpayil and the central team organized the meeting. Dr. Alexander Jacob (IPS) delivered the main talk.

Public reception to His Beatitude Moran Mor Ignatius Moussa Davoud, the patriarch of Antioch and the prefect designate of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, at Pallimala, Thiruvalla. A few very distinguished guests were also invited. The meeting was attended by MPs, MLAs, Municipal Chairmen, Bishops, Vicar Generals, Mother Generals, IAS, IFS and IPS officers belonging to the Malankara Church. At 8:00pm all
shared the Dinner.

28th December 2000

It was a very rainy day, unexpected though. The holy mass was therefore shifted to the St.John's Cathedral. There were a large number of faithful coming into the cathedral to participate in the Holy Mass.

At 9:00am, the Patriarch, the Archbishop and the Bishops were given liturgical reception.
The Holy Mass was presided over by the Beatitude and the Malankara Metropolitan. All our Bishops and seventy priests con-celebrated the Holy Mass. His Excellency Soosa Pakiam, the Bishop of Trivandrum delivered the Homily.

After mass, the foundation stone was laid for the new Cathedral by the Patriarch, with the assistance of our Bishops.

The "preshida rally" began at 2:00pm from Kavumbhagom towards the Municipal Ground. It was well attended and beautifully organized. The Bishops with the Patriarch followed the faithful in the traditional "Ratham". As it reached the Thiruvalla central junction (SCS Junction), the MLA Mr. Mamman Mathai and the Municipal Chairman, Mr. Babu garlanded the Patriarch. There was a large crowd following the "Ratham".  It was a like a "manushya-mahasmudram". It was so impressive that all the inhabitants of Thiruvalla echoed that it was a unique rally in spite of the rain.

The public meeting began at 5:10pm. It was inaugurated by His Beatitude and was presided over by His Grace Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios. His Grace Major Archbishop Mar Varkey Vithayathil, CSsR, delivered the Benadictory Speech. H.E. Mar Timotheos welcomed the meeting.

The meeting ended at about 6:30pm. The Reunion Sapthathi Celebration was a unique event and it gave the impression that The Malankara Catholic Church is a vital and vibrant church.

Two supplements were prepared in the most popular dailies namely, Malayala Manorama and Deepika and came out on 28th December. There was a feature article in Deepika on Malankara Sapthathi in Deepika on 27th Dec.

Thank you for your interest in the Sapthathi Celebrations.

Viva Malankara Church
 

Prepared under the guidance of H.E. Mar Koorilos by Sherry New Delhi.