Vicar Message

Dear beloved in Christ Jesus, Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It gives me immense pleasure to greet and welcome you to the official website of St. George Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, United Kingdom. The website is specially designed to fulfill the basic information regarding the church, and I am very much sure that all who browse over here will be benefited. As the members of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, we have certain responsibilities to our fellow men. I hope and believe that God Almighty has chosen us to be His witness among the gentiles, not just through the faith but through our action. Jesus asks His followers to "Be kind and compassionate to one another as the Father is compassionate" which I believe is a central point of His teachings According to Thomas Aquinas, "compassion is the fire which the Lord has come to bring on earth;" Compassion is born not of the consciousness of someone else's weakness, but of the awareness of shared weakness. Compassion arises in the hearts of those who have a feeling of togetherness, based on our common and shared humanity, and it heals by making connections among us. It is this awareness of togetherness and belonging that urges us to grieve at others pain. This sense of grieving is the surest way to discern whether the feeling I have towards another person is compassion or merely pity. Thomas Merton said that, 'the whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all living beings', who are all part of one another and all are involved in one another. Therefore, to develop compassion, one has to develop an ever-keener awareness of the interdependence of all living things. God almighty created this universe with the vision of interdependence of all living beings. As a Christian, thus we have a special vocation to fulfill this vision, in other words, we are called to be the salt and Light of this world. Let us thank God Almighty for choosing us to born and live in this true faith. Here, as the members of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, let us join our hands for the peace and unity of our broken society. For that may the good God fill us with His Holy Spirit, through the intercession of the most blessed virgin St. Mary, the mother of God and through all the saints and martyrs of the Holy Church. May the Heaven shower upon all of you, His choicest of blessings throughout your life's journey. And may I take this opportunity to thank all who visit this website. May God bless you all. Yours in Christ,

Rev. Fr. Akhil Joy