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( 17 )
In the land received from the Puthiyaveettil family, grandfather built a small house and he began to live there. The members in that house were - grandfather, grandmother, my father, uncle Yacob, his wife Leela and uncle Yohannan. In those times, education programmes for the illiterate old people were conducted by various organisations in the evenings. Grandfather was illiterate, he didn't go to school as he started doing work at his young age itself. Therefore, he joined the evening classes and studied how to write and read Malayalam language.
Eventhough my grandfather accepted christianity, he was not fully satisfied in the Church he joined. He felt that the Church was inactive. Was the Church inactive ? When I was in IInd Std in Sunday School, the Teacher asked a question,"who is the Supreme Head of our Church ?" Someone answered, "Jesus Christ". "Yes", the Teacher agreed, "but who is the Supreme Head of our Church on this Earth ?" We kept silence. The Teacher said,"His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, "Patriarch of Antioch and all the East". "Ha !", all of us were surprised. The Supreme Head of our Church ! His headquarters is in Antioch in Syria. "And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians" ( Bible - Acts of the Apostles 11 : 26 ). The Teacher explained that when the Church in Kerala faced certain difficulties, many Metropolitans were sent to the Malankara Church ( the Church in India ) to keep our faith alive amid crisis. Therefore, we must be faithful to our Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. The Teacher again asked, "who is the local Head of our Church in India ?", the Teacher continued, "Catholicos Aboon Mor Baselious Paulose II". His headquarters is in Puthencruz in Ernakulam district, Kerala. It was sad to say that there was a split in our Church - between the Jacobite and the Orthodox factions.
However, later, my grandfather changed to the Ceylon Pentecostal Mission along with grandmother and eldest daughter. But the three sons ( including my father ) didn't like to change the Church. The eldest daughter was married off to a person from the Ceylon Pentecostal Mission which is now known as Universal Pentecostal Church. That means my paternal aunt's family remains in Pentacostal Church, even today. After joining in the Pentecostal Church, grandfather started to read the Bible, understand it and started to interpret it. In his opinion, there was clapping of hands, songs of praise, speaking in tongues, different types of gifts by the Holy Ghost etc. in their Church.
My father was a person who had passed the SSLC (Secondary School Leaving Certificate ) examination. After that, he had joined for Pre - degree ( two year course ) in the St. Peter's College, Kolenchery. But he discontinued his studies because of different reasons. There was no money to buy textbooks. The younger brothers had already discontinued their studies. Grandmother and grandfather were not in a position to encourage his studies. After passing the Xth Std, he had registered his name in the Employment Exchange. As a result, he got a temporary job in the Post Office at Kadayiruppu. Now, I am going to tell you some points which I had heard about from my mother and relatives and but even today the truth behind it remains unknown to me.
The story goes like this. When my father got the job, there was a rule that the employed person must own some land. Therefore, grandfather transferred the 25 cents of land in my father's name. This caused great commotion in the family. My father's brothers and sister became hostile towards him. Father's two brothers went to a place called Ezhipram, near Kadayiruppu, where there was some "unclaimed land" and built one or two huts, saying that they didn't get any land and they were cheated by their brother. Grandfather and grandmother were also with them because when the conflict took place, it is said that even the kitchen vessels and pots were thrown off from the house. During one night,some people burnt the huts because the huts were built in "unclaimed land". There were one or two Bibles in those huts which were also burnt. The police came and the ultimate outcome was that my father lost his job.
( 17 )
In the land received from the Puthiyaveettil family, grandfather built a small house and he began to live there. The members in that house were - grandfather, grandmother, my father, uncle Yacob, his wife Leela and uncle Yohannan. In those times, education programmes for the illiterate old people were conducted by various organisations in the evenings. Grandfather was illiterate, he didn't go to school as he started doing work at his young age itself. Therefore, he joined the evening classes and studied how to write and read Malayalam language.
Eventhough my grandfather accepted christianity, he was not fully satisfied in the Church he joined. He felt that the Church was inactive. Was the Church inactive ? When I was in IInd Std in Sunday School, the Teacher asked a question,"who is the Supreme Head of our Church ?" Someone answered, "Jesus Christ". "Yes", the Teacher agreed, "but who is the Supreme Head of our Church on this Earth ?" We kept silence. The Teacher said,"His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, "Patriarch of Antioch and all the East". "Ha !", all of us were surprised. The Supreme Head of our Church ! His headquarters is in Antioch in Syria. "And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians" ( Bible - Acts of the Apostles 11 : 26 ). The Teacher explained that when the Church in Kerala faced certain difficulties, many Metropolitans were sent to the Malankara Church ( the Church in India ) to keep our faith alive amid crisis. Therefore, we must be faithful to our Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. The Teacher again asked, "who is the local Head of our Church in India ?", the Teacher continued, "Catholicos Aboon Mor Baselious Paulose II". His headquarters is in Puthencruz in Ernakulam district, Kerala. It was sad to say that there was a split in our Church - between the Jacobite and the Orthodox factions.
However, later, my grandfather changed to the Ceylon Pentecostal Mission along with grandmother and eldest daughter. But the three sons ( including my father ) didn't like to change the Church. The eldest daughter was married off to a person from the Ceylon Pentecostal Mission which is now known as Universal Pentecostal Church. That means my paternal aunt's family remains in Pentacostal Church, even today. After joining in the Pentecostal Church, grandfather started to read the Bible, understand it and started to interpret it. In his opinion, there was clapping of hands, songs of praise, speaking in tongues, different types of gifts by the Holy Ghost etc. in their Church.
My father was a person who had passed the SSLC (Secondary School Leaving Certificate ) examination. After that, he had joined for Pre - degree ( two year course ) in the St. Peter's College, Kolenchery. But he discontinued his studies because of different reasons. There was no money to buy textbooks. The younger brothers had already discontinued their studies. Grandmother and grandfather were not in a position to encourage his studies. After passing the Xth Std, he had registered his name in the Employment Exchange. As a result, he got a temporary job in the Post Office at Kadayiruppu. Now, I am going to tell you some points which I had heard about from my mother and relatives and but even today the truth behind it remains unknown to me.
The story goes like this. When my father got the job, there was a rule that the employed person must own some land. Therefore, grandfather transferred the 25 cents of land in my father's name. This caused great commotion in the family. My father's brothers and sister became hostile towards him. Father's two brothers went to a place called Ezhipram, near Kadayiruppu, where there was some "unclaimed land" and built one or two huts, saying that they didn't get any land and they were cheated by their brother. Grandfather and grandmother were also with them because when the conflict took place, it is said that even the kitchen vessels and pots were thrown off from the house. During one night,some people burnt the huts because the huts were built in "unclaimed land". There were one or two Bibles in those huts which were also burnt. The police came and the ultimate outcome was that my father lost his job.
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