Feast of St. Eldho Mor Baseliose – The Kanni 20 Perunnal

St. Basil’s Boston, the only church in North America named after  St. Eldho Mor Baseliose,  is celebrating the Feast of St. Eldho Mor Baseliose on Oct 2nd and  Oct 3rd of 2009. There will be Evening Prayer on Friday (Oct 2nd) and Holy Mass on Saturday morning (Oct 3rd). This reflects “Dhukrono” of St. Baselios Yeldho Bava celebrated in the Mor Thoma Cheriapally, Kothamangalam with spiritual grandeur every year on Oct 2nd and Oct 3rd and this feast is popularly known as “Kanni 20 Perunnal”.

The saintly father, Maphryono Mor Baselios Yeldho, left his mortal self for his heavenly home on Saturday afternoon on “Kanni 19” (Malayalam calendar), 1685 and was entombed on the very next day in the sanctuary of Mor Thoma Cheriapally, Kothamangalam. Though the Holy Father had lived in Malankara for only a few days, his name has spread far and wide leaving a lasting mark in the history of Malankara Syrian Church.

The people of Kothamangalam celebrate the Cheriyapally festival on October 2nd and 3rd with piety and festivity. The colourful ‘Rasa’ (Ceremonial procession) of the festival days is led by a Nair youth from the Chakkala family carrying a traditional lamp recalling how his ancestor escorted Bawa to the Church. The Kanni 20 Perunnal is an auspicious time to pay homage to Bawa. This brings devotees from near and far for a great religious and cultural meet.

MarThoman church (Cheria Palli) The final resting place of Maphriyono Mor Baselius Yeldho

St. Basil’s starts Sunday School

Members of St Basil’s believe that one of the biggest gift they could give to their children is brining them up in faith of our lord Jesus Christ. We believe Sunday School is one of the vehicles to achieve this and pass on our traditions, culture and goodwill. So St. Basil’s starts it Sunday School program. We have selected Dr. Joby Eldo as our Head Master and Mrs. Pretha Sebeyon and Mrs. Jewel Eldo as teachers.

In coordination with our Archdiocese we believe mission of our Sunday School program is to 

Develop an understanding of Bible to provide a strong foundation for Christian Living (build knowledge).

Help our children understand that God has a plan for each of them (individual study and analysis).

Lead our children to a personal commitment to follow Jesus (decision making).

Learn to worship our Lord through singing and praying and help them remain in that commitment (hold the faith and grow)

We plan to achieve this by

Implementing  a structured program for learning the Word of God.

Sharing our faith and help them to seek guidance from Bible

Providing interactive environment to understand and experience God’s love and His call.

Educate our children the need for regular worship and offer exciting opportunities to be with children who keep the same Christian values. Introduce them to the faith and sacraments of the Church.

The church Inauguration is being discussed in the media

Visit following links for details

• Malayalamanorama
• eMalayalee
• Kerala Time
• Aswamedham  
• Malankara Jacobite Syrian Christian Network

and more….

Church Consecration

30 August 2009: Boston, USA

St. Basil’s Syriac Orthodox Church of Boston was consecrated by the archdiocese metropolitan Eldho Mor Titus on August 30, 2009.  This is the first church for the Syriac Orthodox Church in North America in Boston area. This church is named after the saint of the Syriac Orthodox Church, St. Eldho Mor Baseliose, who is entombed at Kothamangalam Cheriyapalli. The first Holy Qurbono was led by Archbishop Eldho Mor Titus and assisted by Fr. Punnoose Abraham and Dn. Moncy Jacob of St. Stephen’s Knanaya church, Boston and Mr. Roy Varghese, Alex, Sanal, Anil, and Mr. John Jacob. This is the first church in named after St. Eldho Mor Baseliose.

A public meeting was conducted after the Holy Qurbono with representatives from different Malayalee churches in Boston area delivering their greetings to the new church. Messages from vicars of all Malayalee churches in Boston area were read in the meeting. Archbishop Eldho Mor Titus greeted the church members and described the life history of St. Basil. Diocesan treasurer Mr. Abraham Mathew represented the diocese council and greeted the church. Vice president of St. Basil’s Syriac Orthodox Church (the new church), Dr. Abraham Varghese welcomed the gathering and secretary, Dr. Sinu P. John thanked every one who participated.

St. Basil’s Syriac Orthodox Church of Boston  will be conducting a feast of the saint Mor Baseliose on October 2 and 3rd this year.