17.06.2018
Nazareth Mar Thoma Church Members Celebrate With Their Metropolitan in St Maelruain’s Tallaght
St Maelruain’s Church in Tallaght was the setting for a wonderful celebration on the part of The Nazareth Mar Thoma Church on Wednesday last (June 13). The Mar Thoma Church is an Eastern Reformed Church which is in communion with the Anglican Communion. Members of Nazareth Mar Thoma Church have long worshipped in St Maelruain’s under the guidance and generosity of the rector, Canon William Deverell, and the Select Vestry.
Wednesday was the 88th birthday of the Metropolitan of The Mar Thoma Church, the Most Reverend Dr Joseph Mar Thoma, and the diamond jubilee of his priestly ordination. The Metropolitan told the congregation that at his ordination he had taken the priestly name Irenaeus which means Person of Peace. He also spoke of the work he had done in peace building through the National Council of Churches of India (NCCI) and the World Council of Churches (WCC).
His message was: accept the things you can accept, respect the things you can respect. He felt that he had been sustained in his ministry over so many years by the prayers of the people.
Canon Deverell spoke with joy of the integration of Mar Thoma members in the parish community of Tallaght and offered his congratulations to all concerned on this very happy day.
Archbishop Michael Jackson brought greetings and congratulations from the Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the Church of Ireland. He drew the attention of the packed church to the arches pointing heavenward and to the exposed stone inside the church, reminding all of us that we are living stones by God, appointed to serve and to work on earth as in heaven.
He tied this in with the motto of The Mar Thoma Church: Lighted to Lighten. He further thanked the Indian people for the many contributions of the whole community to the total community of contemporary Ireland.
The evening concluded with dinner for everyone in the Parish Centre.
