PASTORAL MINISTRY IN THE SYRO-MALABAR CHURCH AND NEW CHALLENGES FOR RE-EVANGELIZATION

Abstract

The Syro-Malabar Church, a Christian community founded by St. Thomas, the Apostle, has a unique status in the whole Catholic Church. The ancestors kept up their faith in spite of many odds and knots during the centuries. One conspicuous advantage of this Church was that she was planted in a soil which was thoroughly saturated with religious heritage. Hence this Church had a solid foundation and steady growth. The zeal and active participation in the celebrations held in churches, high-profile Christian family set up and solidarity, dazzling institutions, structures and organizations and the flourishing number of vocations to priesthood and religious life are the factors that contributed to the present image of a flourishing Church.