According to Christian theology, in the beginning of creation, the Spirit of God brooded over the waters and infused life into it. And as a crown of creation, God created man in his own image and likeness by blowing His life-breath into the nostrils of the first human being-Adam. He was adorned with a garment of glory and had full- fledged physical- mental- spiritual faculties almost similar to all features and characteristics of God. But because of the sin and fall of man, there occurred depletion in the aura of glory and his power began to diminish. The love of God for humanity persuaded Him to venture replenishing the depleted haloes. God knew it would be possible only by His coming down in the form of human. Thus an incarnation was imperative.
Through the Incarnation of Christ, (i.e. God taking flesh or matter) the lost relation between the Creator-God and the Creation-Universe was reinstated and restored. This atonement (at –one- ment) is maintained as an on-going relationship through the sacraments by the Christian Church. Jesus Christ’s atoning supreme sacrifice at Calvary was meant for the atonement of the world (1John 1:7). His was a vicarious sacrifice for and on behalf of every human being to propitiate God and to exempt them from being demanded to be sacrificed. It was meant to put an end to the symbolic bloodshed of animal sacrifice from the face of the earth and to replace it with the bloodless sacrifice – the Holy Qurbana- in which the bread and wine are the symbolic representation, and mystical actualization of the real body and blood of Christ that had been shed and given as the ransom at the cross of Calvary. (Ref John 6:55, Luke22:14-20, Mark14:22-25, Mathew 26:26-29,). Holy Eucharist meaning-Thanks giving- is not at all a repetition but it is the continuation of the Supreme Sacrifice of Christ at the Cross and is also the sharing of the very life of Christ by being in his company whereby we acquire His nature of love and power of creativity. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17, Hebrew13:10-16, Psalms50:14). One accepts Christ’s offer of atonement when each time one accepts Jesus Christ as one’s personal God and Saviour in real faith and deed. This is possible when a person renews their faith in Christ through the sacraments like holy baptism, true confession and Holy Communion, etc. Gradually and eventually that person gains entry into the Kingdom of God (Rom 10:10). Salvation is a continuous spiritual process touching the continuum of past, present and future.
Unless one confesses their belief in Christ’s death on the cross and professes that it was for them and in their place, they are not going to get its benefits. The act of confessing and Professing of faith in Christ’s redeeming work is the means for one to get salvation wrought by Christ. The sacramental rites and rituals in Christian Church are the dramatic enactments and the historic presents of the life of Christ and through it the faithful re-live those events happened in the past and foretaste the eschatological events yet to happen in future. Through worship, a faithful makes a travel in time- machine to reach the three realms of time- the past, the present and the future. It goes beyond space transcending the time which means the four dimensional space-time continuums.
May God give us more wisdom to understand his ways.
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holy qurbana is a foretaste of heaven and it is the risen lord who is the celebrant.
Dr. Paul Mailackachalil PhD
Please note that the kernel or the keynote sentence in my article is as follows:
In Christ,
George Achen, Ireland.
When we say about the Holy Qurbana, We for the sake of not understanding it argue about many things which we hear from other denominations specially. This is where our Jesus Christ said it is like serving God and Demon at a single time. If you ask me how what ever I feel let me scribble here with a little knowledge and deep faith in our Orthodoxy.
How many of us come to church early from the start of Namaskaram.
How many of us bring our Qurbana Kremam or will take one from the shelf available in the church. (We all have by hearted the full kremam itself.)
Do we all really listen and participate in our worship dedicated.
Are we sending our children to Sunday school for them to learn and are we teaching our children our belief beyond the church in home. So at least they will not be a prey of other denominations.
H Q is so meaningful if we study and then participate. Let me just give a simple example what I have learned and understood (If I am wrong please correct me)
During the Evangaleon procession we see the two sextons holding the candle and the two sextons carrying the marbhassa. And later before the gospel is read from the Holy Bible by the Priest (this is one of the reason we also say it is not the priest in the Qurbana but the Christ himself and how dedicated we are that can be felt and I don’t think it is always possible) we see these two sexton go backwards and keep the marbhassa, which in the scriptures it is said the angles were with Christ and when he started the public ministries they backed off.
I have read about Pampady Thirumeni that while H G was the celebrant when he was a Ramban, Patriarch Bava was present.  And during the Lord’s Prayer Bava was supposed to start but that day H G himself started the Lord’s Prayer. When it was enquired by the Patriarch Bava H G said “I saw the Lord God standing in
front of me and I just called without thinking yourself is present near me and please forgive me” There are lot of experience from many like this.
Our Qurbana is a vast subject to learn and under stand there are lot of books available to learn the meaning of our Holy Qurbana and Once learned we all will participate so faithfully
In prayer let me conclude here.
Shaji Thundiyil
vallamkulam