By Matters India Reporter

Chicago, Feb 15, 2022: On Feb 5, as many as 46 lay people attended a grand convocation celebration at the Cathedral Church parish hall in Chicago. It was the culmination of our 3-year theological program the Syro-Malabar diocese of Chicago conducted for lay people.

The program, prompted by the historic Vatican 11, was offered by the Pontifical Oriental Institute of Vadavathoor in Kerala’s Kottayam town.

Luke Varkey, one of the successful students of the program, shared with Matters India about course and what he has gained from it.

MATTERS INDIA: Why did you join the theology course?

Luke Varkey: I joined the theological program in the belief that it would support in many activities I am involved as a laity in the Syro Malabar Church (SMC) here in U.S. I needed to be informed about the environment of SMC to engage responsibly, creatively and critically. We were 46 of us of all ages and covering 24 courses.

What have you gained from this?

It helped me to clarify many misconceptions about SMC understanding of Scripture, Liturgy (symbolism), and Tradition. Now that I am in SM milieu, I appreciate this rich heritage, where I had criticized them from an overt understanding in the past. Then I just considered Syro-Malabar as one model with its idiosyncrasies. Now I realize although I live in a multicultural setting, most of my interactions are of SM habitat. Because the community I live in, pray, speak, eat and taste and interact are in a culture I was born and continued to be I joined this theology with openness to listen and learn. The outcome was very encouraging and appreciable. It was a journey of growth in my faith and spirituality.

Why did you choose the Paurasthya theology?

I joined the Paurasthya theology in response to an invitation from the local cathedral parish where I was part of many of many organizations. Secondly, I was confronted by eastern thought – their peculiarities and the folklore. I found it was an opportunity to do this Didache program with this group, because this is the group I am going to be living and working with. Later they would shape my questions and I can draw my conclusions. In fact, they challenged me on different fronts which was my objective. Some did clarify, some remain senseless to me, and some hit common grounds. It needed focus and careful sorting.

You left the seminary as a theology student, no?

Yes, I had an opportunity to do a different sort of theology for two years. I was a second year Jesuit theology student in Patna when I left 1987. Those were ‘Liberation Theology’ days. It was regional theology; lifestyle was set simple for us; so that necessarily we experienced local peoples’ lives, from where we began the theological inquiry – how do people experience God amid poverty, neglect or from a sociopolitical and cultural oppressive paradigm? This theology program was an exploration, advanced, futuristic, altogether new design to prepare Jesuits to respond in a region with a mission in mind.

So, how do you compare those days and this program?

Regional Theology was based on preferential option for the poor. Its design was innovational and inspired by Jesuits’ 32nd General Congregation where the thrust was ‘social Justice.’ It emphasized lot of praxis (social involvement) and theory didn’t support it- at least for me. It was an action-reflection-action cyclical arrangement; in socio-politico-cultural experience of people. It was about here and now. Through a horizontal (people) experience, this theology was hoped to relate to vertical (God/divine) experience. Personally, it stayed as horizontal experience for me. My total experience there left an indelible impact on me and haunted continually whenever and wherever I saw inequity or bruised ordinary people. So much so in 2008 I visited one of these villages where I was. There was one change – 1st time a school in that village. Should I theologize and say that was verticality of 1 farthing contribution of my horizontal experience there? Yes, today I can say that. And I feel proud of so many people who was like me in that village.

The recent theology study was more theoretical. It was about laity’s living out his faith life in family, Church and in their work environment. Since I did both there was a tie up. My questions were always surrounded by the incarnation and beatific vision -of the Gospel- a carryover from my previous theology study. I had lots of questions based on the readings and linking with their relevance today. Professors from POI always appreciated my questions and agreed with Scriptural and theological challenges of inequity in every spectrum that exist in every part of the world.

I wrote this for our convocation brochure – (During these thirty months, we learned together and grew together. We looked out for each other – by supporting, appreciating, wishing, remembering, recognizing, and praying together. We have grown as a spiritual community of friends, trying to live in the light of the Gospel, by becoming thoughtful, reflective, and respectful to each other.

This course has equipped us with answers we never knew before, and we are prepared for transformational conversations whenever, wherever, with whomever. We feel we have a surge of energy, a feeling of being ‘called’ and being ‘sent’ to be actively participating in the Church.)

Comparing the old and new theology studies I get a notion of – one focused on people versus focused on God; experience of people versus experience of God; no gap between secular and divine versus separation of secular and divine; God is faithful/kind versus be faithful to God/obey and so forth.

My answers may sound too simplistic if I were just to limit to this. Because we are dealing with human language to theological language/religious language this may not be apt enough and may not be in the scope of discussing here.

For me this theology study was to understand Syro Malabar folklore so that I can communicate with the hierarchy, faithful, in public in an informed way, so to say in an expected way.

I wrote this in one of my essays- “German Dietrich Bonheoffer warned us- ‘If we have a Church that does not allow questioning, then it can never change with the times and if it does not change, it will be fossilized and frozen. In such a Church all will be busy with rituals and thinking about themselves better than others.’ Today’s world is in conversation and in dialogue. Universal applicable values are appreciated. Ideas that are time tested are merging. Religious beliefs are questioned. Science, Technology and a new humanism is replacing religion. Laity must ask questions, ask right questions, for this they must be informed. “Change comes from questioning and established structures never allow to be questioned.”

I observe our SM Christians generally have a slavish loyalty. I heard someone saying- ‘never for an argument with a bishop or a priest.’ Those times have disappeared. Theology studies help ask questions and frame questions. Pope Francis- “collective questioning at every step is the key to change.”