ECUMENISM
WITHOUT TRANSITION?
A
Light to the Nations: The Indian Presence in the Ecumenical Movement in the
Twentieth Century, Jesudas Athyal (Ed) (Geneva: World Council
of Churches, 2016)
A Light to the Nations: The Indian Presence in the Ecumenical Movement in the Twentieth Century is a collection of articles that brings the evergreen memories of the Indian ecumenical pioneers into our present discourses of ecumenism. The life and witnesses of V.S. Azariah, Augustine Ralla Ram, Sarah Chakko, P.D. Devanandan, M.M. Thomas, Metropolitan Paulose Mar Gregorios, Stanley J. Samartha, Russel Chandran, Paulose Mar Paulose and Ninan Koshy are vividly narrated by the eminent scholars such as Roger E. Hedlund, Raj Bharat Patta, Aruna Gnanadason, David C. Scott, K.C Abraham, K. M. George, Wesley Ariarajah, Jayakiran Sebastian, George Zachariah, and Preman Niles. It is a historical piece of work that elucidates the Indian presence in the modern Ecumenical Movement. The significance of this volume is well-articulated by Michael Kinnamon in his foreword: “this volume reminds us that the ecumenical movement,, so often reduced to a study of texts or a listening of conferences, is actually embodied in persons who carry a vision of the church united and renewed” (p.xi).
In his historical analysis of the life of V.S. Azariah, Roger E. Hedlund portrays him as the forerunner of Indian ecumenism. It is inspiring to know that Azariah was a product of the mass conversion movement and spread the gospel among the indigenous people as a native missionary. Raj Bhrath Patta introduces Augustine Ralla Ram as the proponent of the theology of mission as political spirituality. Delineating his contribution in establishing Student Christian Movement of India as a student faith movement, Patta tries to redefine ecumenism as a program of building friendships. Aruna Gnadasan presents the story of Sarah Chakko as the testimony of “our foremother to whom the churches in India and the world over owe so much” (p.77). P.D Devanandan’s theology of religions and its relevance in the formation of ecumenical social thought are vividly discussed in David C. Scott’s essay. He argues that Devanandan’s theology of religions enriched ecumenical theology to relocate itself in pluralistic context.
Portraying M.M. Thomas as a chief architect of the modern ecumenical movement, K.C Abraham explores the fecundity of Thomas’ theology of humanization in making ecumenical theology a revolutionary social thought. Placing Metropolitan Paulose Mar Gregorios in the process of theological dialogue between science and religion, K.M George argues that through this dialogue, Mar Gregorios was able to offer a radical perception of truth for humanity (p.119). Wesley Ariarajah, in his excellent article on the pioneering ministry of Stanley Samartha offers us the history of the emergence of the theology of inter-faith dialogue which later became one of the prominent focuses of the World Council of Churches. Russel Chandran’s liberative missiological strategies are gaudily explained in the article written by Kiran Sebastian. Kiran affirms that “the legacy of Chandran endures in the forward march of the ecumenical dreams and hopes in the 21st century” (p. 152).
George Zachariah brings to us the ever living memory of the great humanist Paulose Mar Paulose, the architect of alternative ecumenism. Zachariah writes: “Bishop Paulose Mar Paulose’s life was short; but he still lives in the ecumenical youth student movements as they continue to remain out of control, challenging the ecumenical mafia and the pharisaic church” (p. 165). In the last chapter of this volume, the life and witness of Ninan Koshy is brilliantly narrated by Preman Niles. Elucidating his contributions in the international affairs commission of the World Council of Churches, Niles calls Ninan a great secular theologian in the household of ecumenism. In short, it is a text book of the ecumenical social thought as it was emerged from the Indian soil. The reviewer appreciates all the writers and the editor for initiating a meaningful discourse on the legacies of the ecumenical pioneers from India.
However, the inadequacy of applying methodological tools to re-present the memories archived in the written texts and the insufficiency to re-read them in the contemporary context of postcoloniality made the volume mere a historical reiteration. It would have been more meaningful if those texts could be re-read on the basis of some contemporary methodological tools like postcolonialism and post-feminism. Even though the editor claims his bail well in advance regarding the elimination of “ecumenical little narratives” in the contemporary world of “ecumenical metanarratives,” his defense becomes feeble before the question of the elimination of the stories of the people like James Massey and Kunchala Rajaratnam. Of course, this is not the error of the editor, Ecumenical Movement has always been elitist in content and practice and this legacy still continues without transition!
Y.T. Vinayaraj
Faridabad 27.07.2016
Well said. Excellent review
ReplyDeleteThank you Philip.
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