As indicated above, Eliyah-Sliba
and Moses are two Seasons that take their origin from one feast, namely, the
feast of Transfiguration. Hence we
discuss them together under one title.
EXALTATION OF THE
CROSS
The celebration of the Exaltation of
the Cross on September 14th is the fulcrum on which the whole
liturgical Season and partially the whole liturgical year turn. It is, in fact, the celebration of the
glorious Cross as well as the invention of the Holy Cross by empress Helena,
mother of emperor Constantine in the fourth century.
According to the liturgical laws,
there must be at least one Sunday for the Season of Eliyah-Sliba before
September 14th and the Sunday that follows it must be celebrated as
the fourth Sunday of Eliyah-Sliba.
The Sundays before September 14th ought to be called the
first, second, third.... Sunday of Eliyah; but the Sundays after that may
be named either the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh Sunday of Eliyah or the first, second, third,
fourth Sunday of Sliba.
SECOND COMING
The Church that attains her
perfection through the working of the Holy Spirit, reaches the goal with the
Second Coming of Iso’-Msiha.
Hence the Second Coming and Final Judgement are specially emphasized during these liturgical
Seasons.
There is a belief in the Church,
right from the beginning, that Eliyah
would appear before the Second Coming of Iso’,
and he would make dispute with the son of perdition and make public his errors,
and after that the glorious Cross would appear.
This belief too has become a basis for the name Eliyah-Sliba for this liturgical Season.
HOLY CROSS - THE RISEN
LORD
The Holy Cross is the Symbol
or Icon or Sacrament of the Risen or Transfigured Iso’-Msiha for Mar Toma Nazranees. As it is already indicated, the
Transfiguration on Mount Tabor could be proposed as the substance and reality
of Christian living. Hence the Eastern
Churches give it great importance in the divine worship.
ANTICIPATION OF
HEAVENLY LIFE
The special feature of these
liturgical Seasons is to make possible an anticipation of heavenly life here on
earth itself. What the Apostles
experienced on Mount Tabor was the same.
In that ecstatic experience the chief of the Apostles exclaimed:
“Lord,
it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one
for you and one for Moses and one for Eliyah” (Mt 17, 4).
Today the devotees experience such an
anticipated heavenly bliss only in the Church - in the liturgical celebrations
of the church, especially, in the Holy Qurbana. Each and every faithful gets true and
authentic experience of the risen Lord there and thus through the grace of the
Holy Spirit, he/she is transfigured into his personality.
ESCHATOLOGICAL
REALITIES
The prayers and rites, special to
these Seasons, are helpful to get convinced of the last realities such as the
end of this world, the end of earthly life, the judgement, heaven or hell,
etc. That will definitely make the
believers aware of the bitter fruits of sin and will form a repentant heart in
them. Thus it enables them to raise
sentiments of authentic praise and thanksgiving to the saving God from the
depth of their hearts.
COMMENTARY OF BRIK -
ISHO
Brik
- Isho, one of the famous commentators of East Syriac Liturgical Year,
gives us a good description of the Weeks of Moses:
“After
the Weeks of Eliyah, there may be one
or two or three Sundays before the
beginning of the Weeks of
Dedication of the Church. Its reason
is as follows: No one who lives in this world knows the time of our Redeemer’s
arrival. The Lord himself said: “But of
that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but
the Father only” (Mt 24, 36).
VICTORY OF THE HOLY
CROSS
Another speciality of these Seasons
is to proclaim the strength and victory of the Holy Cross. The “Sign of the Son of’ Man” (Mt 24, 30) that would appear in heaven
at the end of the world, as mentioned in the Gospel, would be the Holy Cross
itself. Tradition of the Church also
holds testimony to this fact. It was
(and still is) as an anticipated manifestation of the second coming of the Lord
that the apparition of the Cross to emperor Constantine, invention of the Holy
Cross, etc. were celebrated in the Church.
In early Church, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross was held as
equal to Easter celebration. It could be understood only from its
veneration as a Sacrament of the Risen Lord; and in fact, the empty Cross
signified so in the early Church.
VALUE OF SUFFERING
Flowery or glorious Cross is also a
symbol which expresses the real value of Christian Suffering. Those who suffer with Iso’-Msiha will also be
raised with him in order to share his glorious life.
EIGHT - DAY FAST
The Feast of the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary on September 8th is also
an important Feast for Mar Toma Nazranees. Mar
Toma Margam prescribes an Eight-Day Fast in preparation to this feast. This appears to be a practice that originated
in Kerala itself. It is an observance
started in connection with the Moslem invasion of Crangannore in the 9th
century, to safeguard the chastity of Nazranee
Virgins. During that invasion, they
took refuge in the churches where they spent their time in prayer and
penance. Mostly the womenfolk keep this
observance. After the morning Holy Qurbana, they remain in the church in
prayer and meditation until the Evening
Liturgy of the Hours (Ramsa) is
absolved.
We hear of an observance for three
days in Persia, known as “Virgins’ Fast”. It is true that the Eight-Day Fast has some similarity to that. But historians affirm that the Eight-Day Fast is an independent
observance developed among the Mar Toma
Nazranees in connection with an historical event.
