Author: Jobin

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    The Undivided Light: The Holy Trinity (Part 4 of 7)

    ByJobin

    Week 4 of The Undivided Light is now up on Seeking Theosis, and this one is on the Holy Spirit.
    The post draws on Ephrem the Syrian, Jacob of Serugh, and Cyril of Alexandria to look at who the Spirit is and what the Spirit does, both in the broad sweep of salvation history and in the specific life of prayer, baptism, and the Qurbana. There is also a brief and honest note on the filioque question, which is something that comes up whenever the Spirit’s procession is discussed, and where the Oriental Orthodox position is clear and worth knowing.
    It is perhaps the post in the series so far that has felt most personally relevant to write. The Spirit is the person of the Trinity closest to us and yet the hardest to speak about directly, and the Syriac fathers have things to say about that which I have found genuinely helpful.

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    The Undivided Light: The Holy Trinity (Part 3 of 7)

    ByJobin

    The Undivided Light | Week 3 is now up on Seeking Theosis
    The Eternal Son, Begotten Not Made
    There is a phrase in the Nicene Creed that most of us have said so many times that we have stopped hearing it.
    “Begotten. Not made.”
    Two words. One of the most consequential theological statements ever written. And if they are true, the entire Gospel stands. If they are not, the entire Gospel falls.
    This third post in the summer Trinity series looks at the eternal Son, the second person of the Trinity, through the eyes of three fathers whose voices shaped the Oriental Orthodox confession of the Nicene faith.
    Three fathers guide the reading: Athanasius of Alexandria, who spent most of his life defending this confession against enormous pressure and explained why it is the foundation of the entire Gospel. Cyril of Alexandria, whose theology of participation shows why the Eucharist depends on the Son being truly and fully God. And Jacob of Serugh, who expressed the mystery of the begotten Son in Syriac verse of remarkable beauty and depth.
    There is also a reflection toward the end on what this theology means for how we receive the Qurbana, which may be the most practically useful part of the post.
    Do share it with anyone who might benefit, and prayers for the completion of the series remain very much asked for and appreciated.

  • Dwelling in the Spirit – Week 2 | The Spirit Who Gathers

    ByJobin

    Luke says it plainly: after Pentecost, the community was of one heart and one soul.
    Not because they had resolved their differences. Not because they had become identical. But because the same Spirit who had taken up dwelling in each of them was simultaneously inhabiting all of them.
    Cyril of Alexandria: Christ’s prayer “that they may be one as we are one” is not a prayer for institutional coherence. It is a prayer for theotic unity — that the same divine life circulating between Father and Son might circulate among believers through the indwelling Spirit.
    Koinonia is not fellowship. It is participation in divine life, shared outward.
    Week 2 of Dwelling in the Spirit is now on the blog.

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    The Undivided Light: The Holy Trinity (Post 2 of 7)

    ByJobin

    *The Undivided Light: The Holy Trinity* Part 2 of 7

    _The Father, Source Without Origin_

    There is a moment in prayer that most people who pray regularly will recognise. We begin to speak to God, and somewhere in the middle of the words, the words run out. Not because we have lost concentration. But because we have arrived at something so vast that language cannot quite reach it.

    The Christian tradition has a name for what we are standing at the edge of in that moment.
    It is the Father.

    This week the series looks at the first person of the Trinity, the Father, asking what it means in the Syriac and Alexandrian tradition to call God the Source Without Origin. Ephrem the Syrian, Cyril of Alexandria, and Severus of Antioch are the three voices guiding the reflection, and there is a section toward the end on what this theology actually changes about how we pray day to day.

    There is also a short reflection on how the structure of the Malankara Qurbana itself teaches us this Trinitarian truth every Sunday, whether or not we have had words for it.

  • Second Sunday after Pentecost: Not Peace but a Sword

    ByJobin

    The Second Sunday after Pentecost reflection is now on the blog.
    Today’s Qurbano readings sit together in a way that is both challenging and deeply honest.

    The early church in Acts 4 responds to real opposition by praying not for safety but for boldness, grounding themselves in Psalm 2 and the sovereign purposes of God.

    Paul in Ephesians 2 gives us the foundation of that boldness: Christ himself is our peace, the one who broke down every dividing wall in his own body.

    And Jesus in Matthew 10 tells us plainly that following him will sometimes cost something, that the sword of genuine discipleship may divide us from those closest to us.

    The reflection is written to be accessible from age 13 upward, so please do share it with the young people in your families.

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    Dwelling in the Spirit – Week 1 | The Gift of Holy Boldness

    ByJobin

    Ten days after the Resurrection, the disciples were still behind a locked door.
    Then the Spirit came – and Peter, the man who wept at a servant girl’s question, stood in the streets of Jerusalem and spoke to thousands.

    Chrysostom’s observation is precise: what changed was not Peter’s character. What changed was the source from which he operated. The Spirit who had accompanied the disciples now dwelt within them.

    Parrhesia – holy boldness – is not a personality trait. It is what happens when the Fire takes up residence.

    Week 1 of Dwelling in the Spirit is now on the blog.

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    The Undivided Light: The Holy Trinity (Post 1 of 7)

    ByJobin

    The first post in the new summer series on Seeking Theosis is up.

    The series is called The Undivided Light: The Holy Trinity, and it runs every Wednesday through the summer. This first post asks a simple but important question: why Trinity? It begins not with a definition but with Pentecost, looking at what actually happened on that day and why it reveals the Trinity more clearly than any diagram or formula ever could.

    Three church fathers guide the reading in this post: Ephrem the Syrian, Cyril of Alexandria, and Jacob of Serugh. Their writings are referenced at the end of the post for anyone who wants to follow up.

    You can read it at seekingtheosis.blog.

    Do share it with anyone who might benefit, and prayers for the series as it continues week by week would be very much appreciated.

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    First Sunday After Pentecost: Now That the Fire Has Fallen

    ByJobin

    The First Sunday after Pentecost reflection is now on the blog.

    The central question is simple: a week after the feast, what has actually changed? The three readings of today’s Qurbano answer it together.

    The Bereans in Acts 17 show us daily Scripture reading done with genuine honesty and curiosity.

    Paul in 2 Corinthians tells us that we are new creations and ambassadors of the kingdom, in every ordinary moment of the week.

    And Jesus in Luke 7 closes with a beautiful and challenging line: wisdom is proved right by all her children. Not by those who debated the invitation. By those who lived it.

    The reflection is written such that young teens from age 13 upward can easily comprehend, so please do share it with the young people in your families.

  • Dwelling in the Spirit: The Spirit Has Come to Stay

    ByJobin

    Five days ago the Church kept Pentecost.

    Monday came, and the ordinary week returned. The question Pentecost always quietly leaves behind waited in the ash: what has changed?

    The Fathers answer: everything – because the Spirit has not merely visited. He has come to stay.

    New Friday series begins today on Seeking Theosis.

  • St. George: Trophy-Bearer of Christ

    ByJobin

    St. George: Trophy-Bearer of Christ

    Who was George, really? What did he actually give up when he stood before Diocletian? Why has this soldier-saint held the hearts of the Orthodox Christian faithful
    (especially Indian Orthodox) for so many centuries? And what does his witness say to our generation today?

    Our latest reflection on Seeking Theosis traces the life of Mor Geevarghese from the Roman military barracks to the place of martyrdom at Lydda, through the Syriac tradition that brought him to Kerala, and into the feasts and pilgrimage sites that have made him one of the most beloved saints of the Indian Orthodox Church.

    A saint whose intercessions are sought every day of the year belongs to no single date on the page.

    St. George, pray for us. 🙏