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Friday, June 15, 2012

Apostle St. Thomas in India - His witness there to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ

Apostle St. Thomas in India - His witness there to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel."


Apostle St. Thomas in India

At the St. Thomas Day celebration in New Delhi on December 18, 1955, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India, said: "St. Thomas came to India when many of the countries of Europe had not yet become Christian, and so those Indians who trace their Christianity to him have a longer history and a higher ancestry than that of Christians of many of the European countries."

It would be appropriate to cite here an extract from the radio message of Pope Pius XII on 31 December, 1952 on the occasion of the 19th century celebrations of the arrival of the Apostle in India: "Nineteen hundred years have passed since the Apostle came to India [...] During the centuries that India was cut off from the West and despite many trying vicissitudes, the Christian communities formed by the Apostle conserved intact the legacy he left them [...] This apostolic lineage, beloved sons and daughters, is the proud privilege of the many among you who glory in the name of Thomas Christians and we are happy on this occasion to acknowledge and bear witness to it."

There are people who doubt about the apostolate of St. Thomas in India. However, according to the tradition, St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, came to India in 52 A.D., and landed at Kodungallur on the Malabar (presently Kerala) coast. He preached the Gospel to the Brahmin families of Kerala, many of whom received the faith. He established seven Churches there: Kodungallur, Kottakkavu, Palayur, Kollam, Kokkamangalam, Niranam and Chayil. It is also a tradition that he frequently visited Malayattoor hills for prayer. Later, he moved on to the east coast of India. He was martyred in 72 A.D. by a fanatic at Little Mount (near Madras) and his body was brought to Mylapore (near Madras) and was buried there. His tomb is venerated until this day.

This tradition is confirmed by the testimonies of many of the Fathers of the Church. It was not difficult for the Apostle to come to India, because extensive trade relations existed between Malabar and the Mediterranean countries even before the Christian Era. There is nothing to contradict this tradition.

Trade Relationships

Extensive trade relations existed between Malabar and the Mediterranean countries even before the Christian era. The numerous golden coins of the Roman Empire which have been found all over the south, as well as many recent discoveries, offer abundant proof that Roman trade centers existed along the southern coasts of India. While King Solomon was ruling over the Israelites (B.C. 970-930), his warships brought back to his country valuable merchandise supposed to be from Muziris (Cranganore), a defunct international port of Malabar. While discussing the dealings of the Phoenicians with Muziris, the Roman historian Pliny (A.D. 23-79) complained that every year they were sending large sum of money to India for silk, pearls, gems and spices. He also remarked that the Malabar ships were visiting the Persian Gulf, Aden, the Red Sea and Egypt. Pliny, Ptolemy (A.D. 100-160) and the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea give much detailed information about the trading centers of Malabar. Diplomatic relations between India and Roman Empire existed even before the Christian era. There were Jewish colonies in Malabar in the first century.

Traditions

According to the Acts of Judas-Thomas [The two Apostles are meant: 1) Jude Thaddeus and 2) Thomas. Judas Iscariot is absolutely not meant.], which probably originated in the last quarter of the second century A.D. or the first years of the third, the Apostle St. Thomas preached the Gospel in the land of Gundaphares, a Parthian King, during the second quarter of the first century.

Besides this literary tradition favoring a Thomistic apostolate on the north-west borders of Hindustan, there is another, in favor of his preaching among the Dravidian populations of the south where there is the living presence of a strong body of Christians. The findings of Palayur, Arthad, Nilamperur, and so on, the sanctuary of Mylapore venerated as the Martyrium of the Apostle, all bear strong testimony to the reliability of the local tradition of Malabar. It is believed that the bones of the Apostle were removed from India to Edessa during the lifetime of the king under whom he suffered martyrdom. According to Cardinal Parecattil, the first Cardinal of the Thomas Christians, the apostolate of St. Thomas in India is "a tradition not written in papyrus, not carved on stone but buried in the hearts of his (St. Thomas) spiritual children from whom it can never be removed." From time immemorial these Christians were called "Thomas Christians". Tradition has it that the Apostle ordained two bishops, Kepha and Paul, respectively for Malabar and Coromandal (Mylapore). This supposedly marks the beginnings of the first hierarchy of India.

Testimonies

The testimonies of Eusebius (early 4th cent.) and St. Jerome (342-420 A.D.) about the mission of Pantaenus, a Christian philosopher sent by bishop Demetrius of Alexandria, "to preach Christ to the Brahmins and to the philosophers of India" in A.D. 190 affirms the tradition. The testimonies of the Fathers of the Church like St. Ephrem (306-373 A.D.), St. Gregory of Nazianzen (324-390 A.D.), St. Ambrose (333-397 A.D.), St. Jerome, St. Gregory of Tours (6th cent.) and Isidore of Seville (7th cent.) are also notable. In various ways, they speak about the apostolate of St. Thomas, about the Christians of India, and about the priestly succession there. This is also attested to by several ecclesiastical calendars, martyrologies and other liturgical books of the Coptic, Greek, Latin and Mesopotamian Churches.

source: http://berchmans.tripod.com/apostle.html


   

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

God and His Messiah Jesus Christ our Lord - our right and duty to witness to Him: CIA DEA Drug Dealing

God and His Messiah Jesus Christ our Lord - our right and duty to witness to Him: CIA DEA Drug Dealing

Look up, your redemption is at hand: The New American: The Grasp of Socialist International

President of Bolivia Insists in Legalization of Use of Coca Leaves « Kawther Salam

President of Bolivia Insists in Legalization of Use of Coca Leaves


Kawther Salam, VIENNA, 12 March 2012. At the opening of the 55th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) which is meeting in Vienna from 12 to 16 March, the President of Bolivia, Mr. Evo Morales Ayma, asked the international community to assist his country in correcting a historical error that was committed against the Bolivian people when the government of dictator Banzer ratified the International Convention Against Narcotic Drugs of 1961 without reservations. He explained that his Government is vigorously combating cocaine trafficking and has destroyed tons of the drug. He said that his country needs more international assistance to combat the scourge, particularly equipment and technology.
However, Bolivia has decided to “denounce” (withdraw from) the 1961 Single Convention on Illicit Drugs in order to “correct the historic error” concerning the indigenous uses of the coca leaf and the stigmatization of the Coca plant. Bolivia will re-accede to the Convention but this time including a reservation allowing the traditional consumption of coca leaf, which is a tradition which his people has kept for thousands of years, he said.


President Morales stated: “I want to stress that at no time Bolivia has acted untimely or irresponsibly. Instead, our request for re-accession to the treaty with reservation seeks to normalize our relations with the convention and the institutional mechanisms that result from it, including the INCB (International Narcotics Control Board) so that international cooperation and the country can focus on substance, on what is important, ie. on the progress and challenges related to the fight against drug trafficking”.


The Opening Session was attending by several hundreds of diplomats and high government officials from many countries. Among them was the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales Ayma, the Vice President of Honduras, the Vice Minister in the Ministry of Narcotics Control of Pakistan, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, Ruth Dreifuss, the former President of Switzerland, Victor Hugo Barnica, the Counter Narcotics Minister of Afghanistan, Zarar Ahmad Moqbel-Osmani, the Justice Minister of Brazil, Jose Eduardo Cardozo, the Interior Minister of Iran, Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, the Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office of Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Soubanh Srithirath, the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Health of Spain, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, and the Counter Narcotics heads of the Russian Federation, the United States of America, Peru, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Germany and France  amongst others. Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand will also be attending the CND.

UN Drugs Chief Calls for Stronger Cooperation Frameworks and Attention to Health as Way Forward for International Drugs Policy


UNIS -Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said during the opening session: “We face a transnational threat of extraordinary proportions that amounts to US$320 billion or some 0.5 per cent of global GDP”.

He added: stronger regional cooperation networks are vital for confronting the threat of illicit drugs. Fedotov stressed, Ministers and anti-drug officials from the 53 CND Member States will consider issues of concern, including the availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for medical and scientific purposes and preventing the diversion of chemicals for the manufacture of illicit drugs. The CND is the central policy-making body within the United Nations system dealing with illicit drugs.
The Executive Director urged States to intensify prevention strategies as part of a comprehensive response to drug demand, supply and trafficking.  “At present, the balance between our work on the supply and demand sides stays firmly in favour of the supply side.  We must restore the balance. Prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, reintegration and health have to be recognized as key elements in our strategy,” he said.  “Overall, our work on the treatment side must be considered as part of the normal clinical work undertaken when responding to any other disease in the health system.”

Mr. Fedotov exhorted States to recognize that drug dependence was an illness; evidence shows that treatment is more effective than repression in addressing a public health challenge that takes some 250,000 lives annually.  He noted that children were vulnerable to the effects of drugs and to protect them it was important to use family-based prevention methods.

In this, the centenary of the signing of the International Opium Convention in 1912, the first legal instrument on drug control, the Executive Director said it was important to recognize the gains made over that time but more needed to be done. He said the international drugs conventions provided the best way to mitigate the negative effects of illicit drugs on individuals and communities, while ensuring that those in need can obtain life-saving medications.


March 13th, 2012 | Tags: , , , , , , | Category: Conference, Convention, Drugs, Foreign Ministers, Spain, UN, Vienna

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Moscow to host the Congress movement in support of Army and Navy

В Москве пройдет съезд движения в поддержку армии и флота


"Российская газета" - www.rg.ru
16.02.2012, 14:53

26 февраля в Москве пройдет учредительный съезд движения, создаваемого по инициативе Дмитрия Рогозина. Один из организаторов съезда, депутат Госдумы Алексей Журавлев сообщил, что в мероприятии должны принять около четырех тысяч человек. Цель собрания: официальное учреждение "Добровольческого движения (ОНФ) в поддержку армии, флота и оборонно-промышленного комплекса". Ожидается, что мероприятие состоится в "Крокус-сити".

Учредителями выступили, по словам Журавлева, 560 общественных организаций патриотической направленности. Инициатором создания движения стал вице-премьер Дмитрий Рогозин и, скорее всего, он примет участие в этом съезде.

Журавлев категорически опроверг слухи, будто движение создается только для того, чтобы после появления упрощенного порядка регистрации политических партий, в партию же и превратиться: "Нет, в рамках съезда такого вопроса нет. И вообще нет, на сегодняшний день этого не требуется. В наших планах - создание мощной общественной поддержки военно-промышленному комплексу России".


Moscow to host the Congress movement in support of Army and Navy

"Rossiyskaya Gazeta" - www.rg.ru

2/16/2012, fifty-three past two p.m.

February 26 in Moscow will host the founding congress of the movement created at the initiative of Dmitry Rogozin. One of the organizers of the Congress, a State Duma deputy Alexey Zhuravlev, said that the event should take about four thousand people. The purpose of the meeting: the formal establishment of "Volunteer Movement (ONF) in support of the Army, Navy and the military-industrial complex." It is expected that the event will take place in "Crocus City".

The founders were, according to Zhuravlev, 560 non-governmental organizations patriotic. The initiator of the movement became Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, and, most likely, he will take part in this congress.

Zhuravlev has categorically denied rumors that the movement is created just for that after the appearance of a simplified procedure for registration of political parties in the same party, and become, "No, in the Congress is not such an issue. In general, there is, at present it is not required. In our plans - the creation of strong public support for the military-industrial complex of Russia. "

Frontline presents controversial "Death of a Princess" on its 25th anniversary






Egyptian Actress Suzanne Taleb Plays An Executed Saudi Princess—and Pays a Price of Her Own

Jesus (pbuh) said, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." They all went away and did nothing, for they were all guilty.