MAR ABRAHAM D MATTAM VC, BISHOP EMERITUS

Theologians are often noted when their views radically differ from the official teaching of the Church. If this principle is applied, Bishop Abraham Mattam may not be considered a well known theologian. He is a theologian as far as one would qualify a bishop of the Church as a theologian. Being the custodian of faith in the local Church entrusted to his care, a bishop cannot but be a theologian, one who interprets the faith. In this sense Bishop Mattam has been serving the Church for more than two decades. He remained a faithful teacher in the Church and of the Church. A true theologian is none other than a teacher who can meaningfully present the content of faith to the believers. According to Bishop Mattam, "the true theology proceeds from faith and aims at leading to the faith. Unfortunately there are in our times, theologians who call into doubt doctrines of the faith. Truths arc sometimes falsely understood or explained in such a way that their essential meaning is distorted. Instead of strengthening faith they cause confusion and anxiety in the Church and do great harm to the spiritual life of the faithful. As a result there is a crisis in the Church concerning faith and doctrine."1 Bishop Mattam is firm in his conviction that "the task of theology and of theologians is to clarify what faith teaches, to present them in such a way that they can be grasped more easily, and to interpret them. In the light of the illumination and understanding gained, the intellect tries to interpret the faith. Theologians are not to sow seeds of confusion and disbelief. They are to be at the service of faith and of the Church."2 He is very sharp in his criticism against those theologians who ignore the teaching of the Church. He says that some theologians place themselves above the Magisterium and busy themselves propounding their own personal theologies or hypotheses. One must be able to distinguish the common teaching of the Church from the opinions of the pseudo theologians. Having referred to the Pastoral Letter of Pope John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis (n.55) Bishop Mattam says that there is not a parallel Magisterium of the theologians.1

A theologian ought to be one who thinks along with the Church. The Fathers of the Church were all great theologians and teachers of the faith par excellence. The fidelity to the teaching of the Church is one of the most important characteristics of the theologian. However, he is not bound to bring out carbon copies of the ecclesiastical teachings. He has every right to pursue the path of scientific investigation into contents of faith proposed by the Church. This honest and scientific search leads to varieties of findings and naturally to a pluralism of theology. The very existence of the different theologies of different Churches is example for this pluralism.

Theology of the Ecclesial Tradition

The starting point of theology for Bishop Mattam is the recognition of the existence of the different ecclesial traditions in the Church. The great ecclesial traditions are the result of a long dialogue between the Gospel and cultures that took place in some important cultural areas, where the Church was well established in the early centuries. Theologizing in the Church cannot but observe the diversity of these ecclesial traditions. Mar Mattam cites the Instruction The Roman Liturgy and Inculturation to explain how these traditions developed, in particular with regard to Christian celebration: "The creation and the development of the forms of Christian celebration developed gradually according to local conditions, in the great cultural areas where the Good News was proclaimed. Thus were born distinct liturgical families of the Churches of the West and of the East. Their rich patrimony preserves faithfully the Christian tradition in its fulness. "4 According to Bishop Mattam, these ecclesial traditions are of great importance as they hand down to us the teachings and traditions of the Apostolic Church. All these traditions present different theological perceptions of the mysteries of the faith, different spiritu-ality, liturgical practices and Church discipline.5 About the var-ious Individual Churches that follow these traditions, Vatican II declares that "they enjoy their own discipline, their own liturgical usage and inherit a theological and spiritual patrimony".6

Bishop Mattam strongly insisted on considering theology as an essential factor contributing to the ecclesial identity. He believes that there is a Syro-Malabar theology just like a Roman theol-ogy. The Syro-Malabar Church with her East Syrian heritage has her own methodology of theologizing. Thus we ought to think of the Syro-Malabar ecclesiology, Syro-Malabar christology, Syro-Malabar eschatology etc. Very often famous theological faculties claim to offer theologies without properly taking into consideration the possible theological differences of the individual Churches. The theology in its concrete form is likely to be found in an ecclesial tradition. What happens many a time is that the theology of the Latin Church is forced on all the Churches as 'the theology of the Church'. Only veiy recently there is a feeling of urgency to take into consideration the theological interpretations of different ecclesial traditions. Bishop Mattam is a theologian of the Church but specifically of the Syro-Malabar Church. To the theology of the Syro-Malabar Church he has contributed much through the pastoral letters, books, several articles and presentation of papers. However, he was more interested in applying his theological insights in his pastoral work. Perhaps the boldest action that Bishop Mattam has taken to materialize his theological insights is to have started a theological college at Satna. There were numerous oppositions and sharp criticisms against this attempt, even from the part of some of the fellow bishops. A new theological college was simply taken to be an unnecessary multiplication of the existing systems, and hence waste of money, Only very few could appreciate the relevance of a particular Seminary in North India where the theology of the Syro-Malabar Church could be given prominence. Bishop Mattam points out the ecclesiological reason for starting a new seminary.   "According to the Vatican Council II, the various ecclesial traditions have their own distinct spirituality, liturgy, Church Discipline and theology. That is to say each individual or autonomous Church possesses its own spirituality, form of worship, discipline and theological insights.  The study of the St. Thomas Church should, therefore, cover all these aspects. The Council moreover, enjoins on all the members of the Eastern Churches that they preserve their liturgical rites and established way of life and practise them with the greatest fidelity."7 According to Bishop Mattam, St. Ephrem's Theological College is a theologate of an oriental Church in North India, which has a special role and duty to fulfil.  "It is bound to promote the study of oriental Churches, the history, traditions and theology, especially of St. Thomas Church of India, presently called, Syro-Malabar Church."8

Theology as Worshipping Theology

More and more theologians are coming to the conclusion that liturgy should serve as the primary source for theologizing. The famous axiom 'lex orandi lex credendi' has inspired these theologians to delve deep into the ocean of liturgical celebration to find out the pearls of theological  wisdom. Thus authors like Aidan Kavanagh and David W. Fagerberg speak of liturgy as the theologia prima (primary theology) and other theologies as theologia secunda (secondary theology). A. Schmemann considers liturgy as the ontological condition of theology.10 Theology is more than reflections spoken out or written down. The scholastic theologians made theology a captive of 'word'. One could think theology, say theology, and write theology. Very few theologians of the middle ages thought of doing theology, the typical theological method of the early Church. The Church did her theology through the worship. The symbols of space-time in liturgy are much more powerful tools of theologizing. A little bit of water tells about the salvific bath more than many volumes! A tiny drop of the oil exhorting a pneumatology which all the printed works of many theologians may not exhaust! Liturgy is full of such symbols of theology. How much does the incense in the East Syrian Qurbana have to say on the theology of the sacrament of reconciliation? The prayers, gestures, actions, the space, objects, and persons are all engaged in doing theology. The initial procession in the East Syrian Qurbana from madbaha to bema is nothing but the theology of incarnation presented through the complex of symbols of space, persons, objects and actions:

Bishop Mattam believed in the worshipping theology. He finds the liturgy of an individual Church as the locus of theologizing. "The liturgy and the whole Rite of the St. Thomas Church, the Mar Thoma Margam, enshrines in it a theology of its own. Its christology, pneumatology, sacramental theology, biblical theology and eschatology, are distinctive. It is not an abstract theology, but one translated into the form of worship and prayer and actual way of Christian life. We have to discover it in the prayers of'the anaphoras, of the feasts of the Church, of the Divine Office, sacramentals and the writings of the Fathers of this Church."" He insisted on the liturgical celebration in which the lex orandi is determined by the Church. He believes that the Church hag the obligation to see that orthodoxy is maintained in the worship (ortholatria) and liturgy corresponds to faith. The pastoral letters written by Bishop Mattam point to his extraordinary concern for the right worship.13 In his letter to the faithful he presents Eucharist as the centre of Christian spirituality and religious life. "Let every one try to draw nourishment from the Holy Qurbana and foster a spirituality centered on the liturgy."

Theology of Mission and Inculturation

Being the bishop of a mission eparchy, Mar Mattam is convinced of the teaching of the Church with regard to mission and inculturation of the Gospel. Proponents of today's missiology give great stress to the dialogue with other religions and cultures. However, Bishop Mattam is critical of the stand taken by some of the modern writers of missiology. He warns the Christian world of the danger of a new inculturation even at the cost of the uniqueness of Christ. He cites the example of the Final Statement of the General Assembly of EATWOT, an Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, held at Tagaytay City, Philippines in December, 1996. "Christology, like the rest of theology, must be remade, re-written, in terms of new realities. We have to wrestle with and dismantle our colonial theological baggage, and work with a new vision. In remaking christology, religious pluralism and reality of the poor will be central. Revelation in Jesus was held to be absolute and exclu-sive. Today we are aware that religions are the response of the finite to the infinite."15 According to Mar Mattam, unless we have a clear idea of the principle of inculturation the whole work of evangelization and the very process of inculturation may be derailed. He under- lines the teaching of Pope John Paul II saying that the inculturation "must in no way compromise the distinctiveness and integrity of the Christian faith".16 There is a limit for inculturation, beyond which it would be 'betrayal' of the Gospel. Many a time inculturation becomes the private enterprise of some individuals. Bishop Mattam rigorously opposes any such move of separating the process of indulturation from the people. The Gospel must take root in the life-situation of the people: ".. .the Good News, the Word Jesus Christ proclaimed to the nations, must take root in the life-situation of the hearers of the Word".17 Inculturation is a long process, not to be left to experts but must spring from the faith experience of the new community of believ-ers: "This kind of process needs to take place gradually, in such a way that it really is an expression of the community's Christian experience. ... In effect inculturation must involve the whole people of God, and not just a few experts, since the people reflect the authentic 'sensus fidei' which must never be lost sight of. ...It must be the expression of the community's life, one which must mature within the community itself, and not be exclusively the result of erudite research. The safeguarding of tradi-tional values is the work of a mature faith."18

Bishop Mattam emphasises the ecclesial character of inculturation. Inculturation should include the whole of the Church, theology, liturgy, Christian life, and structures as it is stated in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in Africa: "...inculturation includes the whole, life of the Church and the whole process of evangelization. It includes theology, liturgy, the Church's life and structures."" He finds two dimensions of inculturation in the teaching of Redemptoris Missio: Firstly, the authentic values and good elements of the culture of a people are integrated in Christianity. Secondly, the Church transmits Gospel values to the culture, thus purifying and per-fecting the culture.

Another important aspect always highlighted by Mar Mattam in his writings and talks is the uniqueness of the Semitic culture. He defends the use of the symbols taken from the Semitic culture and Judaic religion. "The chosen people of Israel were of the Semitic culture and professed the Judaic religion. Christ was born into this community and the Gospel was announced in the Semitic religio-cultural background. Thus the religion and culture of Israel became a vehicle for the proclamation of the Gospel. Christ in his teaching, draws elements from their religion and culture, their life situations, the symbols, sayings and signs they were accustomed to. We can fully understand the Gospel only in this religio-cultural context. If all these elements are dissociated from the Gospel, the signifi-cance and meaning of his words and actions become unintelligible."2"

The Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhor-tation Ecclesia in Africa says: "In practice, without prejudice to the traditions proper to either the Latin or Eastern Church, inculturation of the liturgy, provided it does not change the essential elements, should be carried out so that the faithful can better understand and live liturgical celebrations."21

Bishop Mattam sees great danger in the cur-rent of syncretism by inculturation and religious pluralism. Syncretism makes compromises with Christianity. He cites David J. Hesselgrave's views on syncretism in his work Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally: "When respondents choose parts of the Christian message which appeal to them and, rejecting other parts of the message, incorporate accepted elements into non-Christian religions to make a new whole, the result is syncretism... Syncretism, East and West, is perhaps best understood as a very natural desire on the part of many people to embrace the most appealing aspects of the various religions... After all, some of the most exclusivistic claims of all religious literature are to befouitid in the Old and New Testaments. Ultimately, syncretism is but another form of Christ-rejection."" Bishop Mattam finds (he document The Roman Liturgy and Inculturation as one giving clear admonition regarding syncretism: "The liturgy is the expression of faith and Christian life, and so it is necessary to ensure that liturgical inculturation is not marked, even in appearance, by religious syncretism. This would be the ease if the places of worship, the liturgical objects and vestments, gestures and postures let it appear as if rites had the same significance in Christian celebrations as they did before evangelization. The syncretism will be still worse if biblical readings and chants or the prayers were replaced by texts from other religions, even if these contain an undeniable religious and moral value."" Bishop Mattam is against any dialogue in the name of the proclamation of Good News which involves the danger of compromising with the uniqueness of Christ as the saviour of the world. He is not ready to accept any Sacred Scripture as equal to the Sacred Bible. He is not prepared, to accept any religious symbol in liturgy which would replace the sacred symbols chosen by Christ.

We may not find in the writings of Bishop Mattam a systematic exposition of his theological views. However, his dear conviction regarding the faith of the Church is expressed in his writings and talks in an unambiguous language. One may not find too much intellectual speculation in his works. His theology is marked by the ecclesial character. He does not believe that theology is for an elite group in the Church) ft should be addressed to all the faithful, to each one according to his capacity of comprehension. He does not find any worth in a theology which goes beyond the Church-and her faith. As the Fathers of the Church, the great theologians of the early centuries, Bishop Mattam makes use of the prayer of the Church as the greatest source of theologizing. The believers, arc already familiar with this source and hence a theology developed from this source is not strange to them. Since Mar Abraham Mattam found theology as a worshipping theology he could succeed in explaining the content of faith to the Christian believers who fonn the worshipping community. In (his mission of teaching he was not just restricted to his eparchy. The whole Syro-Malabar Church and other Churches as well profited from his valuable theological contributions.

Endnotes

1. St. Ephrem's Theological College, Satna: Directory & Calendar 1999-2000, p.6.
2. A.D. Mattam, "Theological Dimensions of lnculturation in the Indian Context", in X. Koodapuzha, ed.,Eastern Theological Reflections in India, Kottayani 1999, p. 10.
3. St. Ephrem's Theological College, Satna: Directory & Calendar 1999-2000, pp.6-7
4. The Roman Liturgy and Inculturation, 1994, n.17. Cfr. A.D. Mattam, "Christianity and Inculturation", Ephrem's Theological Journal, Vol. I (1997), p.49.
5. A.D, Mattam, "Christianity and Inculturation", Ephrem's Theological Journal, Vol.1 (1997),"p.49.  
6. Lumen Gentium, n. 23. . .
7. St Ephrem's Theological College, Satna: Directory & Calendar 1999-2000, p.8. Cf .UR 17; OE 6.
8. St. Ephrem's 'Theological.College. Satna: Directory & Calendar 1999-2000, p.8.
9. A. Kavanagh, On Liturgical Theology,.New York ,1984, pp. 74-75; D.W. Fagerberg, What is Liturgical Theology ?Astudy in Methodology, Minnesota 1992, pp, 15-22.
10. A. Schmemann, "Theology and Liturgical Tradition", in M. Shepherd, ed., Worship in Scripture and Tradition, New York 1963, p. 175.
11. A.D. Mattam, Inculturation of'the Liturgy in the Indian Context, Kottayam 1991,p. 121.
12. A.D. Mattam. "Theological Dimensions of Inculturation in the Indian Context", p.23.
13. See for example, The Satna Samachar, Vol. X11.3 (1989), pp.3-5
14. The Satna Samachar, Vol. XII.2 (1989), p.2.
15. Cf. "Documents-Final Statement: EATWOT", Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, Vol. 61, n. 8, August (1997) pp 546-556. Cf. A.D. Mattam, "Christianity and Inculturation", Ephrem's Theological Journal, Vol.1 (1997), p.44.
16. Redemptoris Missio, n. 52.
17. Ecclesia in Africa, n. 60.
18. Redemptoris Missio, n. 54. Cf, A.D. Mattam, Inculturation of the Liturgy in the Indian Context, pp. 104-106.
19. Ecclesia in Africa, n. 62. Cf. A.D. Mattam, "Christianity and Inculturation", p.47.
20. A.D. Mattam, "Christianity and Inculturation", Ephrem's Theological Journal, Vol.1 (1997), p.48. Cf. A.D. Mattam, "Theological Dimensions of Inculturation in the Indian Context", p. 14.
21. Ecclesia in Africa, n. 64.
22. David J, Hessel-grave, Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally, Allahabad 1981, p. 113. Cited in A.D.Mattam, "Christianity and Inculturation", 66. !
23. The Roman Liturgy and Inculturation, 1994, n.47.

BISHOP Mar ABRAHAM D. MATTAM, V.C, From the pages of life