Mar Thoma Sliba / St Thomas Cross

(താഴെ കൊടുത്തിരിക്കുന്ന ലഘുലേഖ രണ്ടു ഞായരാഴ്ചകള്‍ക്ക്  മുമ്പ് ചിക്കാഗോ ഇടവകയിലെ CCD  കുഞ്ഞുങ്ങള്‍ക്കായി വിതരണം ചെയ്തതാണ്. ഇതിന്റെ പിതൃത്വം ഏറ്റെടുക്കുവാന്‍ ആരും ആഞ്ഞു മുമ്പോട്ട്‌ വന്നിട്ടില്ല. ഒന്ന് രണ്ടു പതിറ്റാണ്ട് മുമ്പ് യൂത്ത് നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട ജീസ്‌ യൂത്ത് കാരി ഡോ? സിന്ധു ആണ് ഇതിന്റെ മാതാവെന്നും ചിക്കാഗോയിലെ ജീസസ് യൂത്തുകാരാണ്‌ ഇതിന്റെ പിതാവ് എന്നും പറയപ്പെടുന്നു. ക്ലാവര്‍ കുരിശിനെ മാര്‍ തോമ കുരിശാക്കുവാന്‍ ഇതിനേക്കാള്‍ ശോചനീയമായ ന്യായീകരണങ്ങള്‍ നിരത്തുന്ന ഏതെങ്കിലും ലേഖനം അയച്ചു തരുന്നവര്‍ക്ക് തക്കതായ പ്രതിഫലം കൊടുക്കുന്നതാണ്. - ബ്ലോഗ്‌ മാസ്റ്റര്‍) There are many kinds of crosses in Christian world. The Mar Thoma Sliba (St.Thomas Cross), Greek Sliba, Latin Sliba, Patriarchal Sliba, Papal Sliba, Calvary Sliba, Russian Sliba, Celtic Sliba, Sliba of Triumph, Tau Sliba etc are some of them. It is according to the meaning given to a Sliba that it assumes a particular name, qualification and form. Although all kinds of crosses are acceptable and venerable in the universal Church, some Apostolic Churches use their own forms of the cross. Mar Thoma Nazranees have always the Sliba which has been designed according to their own theology. It is known as Mar Thoma Sliba.

On Dec: 18 the Church of Mar Thoma Nazranees celebrates the feast of the "Miracle of Mar Thoma Sleeva/Sliba". The Syriac word Mar Sliba means 'one who is crucified or the Risen Lord', i.e.; the one who has accomplished human salvation through the death on the cross and the victorious resurrection. Many ancient documents testify that Mar Thoma Sliba was venerated in all the churches and chapels of S1. Thomas Christians. Those who hold that there existed no Mar Thoma Sliba but only the simple Cross in the pre-Diamber period should listen to what Antonio de Gouvea, a Portuguese historian, says about Mar Thoma Sliba in 1606:

" .... the old churches were all built in pagoda fashion, but all, full of Crosses like those of St. Thomas miracle cross (at Mylapore) which is called St.Thomas Cross. Hence one can see how much older than Portuguese time is the veneration, love and shape of this cross. For the ancient churches built before, long before the coming of the Portuguese, were all ornamented with them, both painted and graven .... "

According to an ancient local tradition, Mar Thoma Sleeha (St. Thomas the Apostle)fell dead a martyr on this particular granite stone. The faithful kept it sacred and at a later stage the Sliba, the symbol of their faith, was engraved on it. Modem scholars fix the date of engraving somewhere around 650 AD. In the sixteenth century, as the western missionaries were digging the ground to reconstruct the church on Periyamala ( S1. Thomas mount), they happened to come across this special Cross. It was on March 23, 1547. When the construction was over, they fixed it to the rear wall of the main altar at the Eastern end. It remains there to the present day. On 18th December 1558 during the Gospel proclamation at the Holy Qurbana, this Sliba sweated blood and water. According to the testimony of the missionaries, the miracle was repeated for several years on the same date and in the same manner. They informed the Pope of this miracle and obtained permission from him to celebrate Dcember 18th as the Feast of Mylapore Cross's apparition. It is a historical fact that in the ancient Churches and houses of Mar Thoma Nazranees there were different forms of the Mar Thoma Sliba. Ancient models of the Mar Thoma Sliba are found in the Jacobite churches at Kottayam and Kadamattam and in the Mar Thoma Nazrani Sabha churches at Muttuchira, Alengad, Kothanellur and so on. Another important thing which is to be noted is that the term Sliba is given to persons (Slibakutty), places (Slibapuram) and Churches (Mar Sliba Pally) in our mother Church. The Mar Thoma Sliba is the dynamic symbol of the death and resurrection of Iso Misiha in the Indian context. It proclaims the Theological, Christologoical, Pneumatological and Ecclesiological dimensions and specifications of Christian faith.  The Sliba without the figure of the Lord reveals fully the mystery of salvation. It reveals the er three divine persons of the Holy Trinity, the work of creation by the Father, redemption by the Son, sanctification by the Holy Spirit, the Church which is the continuation of Christ, the Wordof God which builds up the Church, the sacraments which are the acts of the Church and the final glorification of the Church.  Mar Thoma Sliba is an empty cross, namely, the cross without the dying figure of Iso Misiha. In imitation of the empty tomb, this empty Sliba symbolizes the resurrection of Iso Misiha.  The four tips of this Sliba are designed like blooming buds. A bud is always a symbol of new life. New life is restored to man in Jesus' resurrection. Thus the shape of this Sliba itself proclaims the resurrection ofIso Misiha. The Holy Spirit that descends upon the Mar Thoma Sliba is yet another symbol of resurrection. As St.Paul teaches, the Holy Spirit transforms Jesus' flesh-body into Spirit body and thus quickens the dead Jesus Christ (Rom 8,11).  According to several scholars, this particular Sliba is erected upon a lotus. The lotus symbolizing Buddhism and the Sliba over it shows that Christianity was established in the land of the Buddha. The lotus flower in which the Sliba is situated can be understood as a cultural' integration from Buddhism. Thus the Sliba erected on a lotus, is a living symbol of faith in the risen Lord, established in India.                         The lotus in the Mar Thoma Sliva rests upon three steps. The symbolism of steps or ladders is evolved in Christianity in connection with biblical (Gen 28,12) and liturgical traditions. The three steps signify either heaven or Calvary.