Commander Dr. Thomas Alexander
On 19th March 2015, our St. Mary’s Parish assigned me the development responsibility of our Church and was designated to approach the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs. At that time, I had no idea where to start. But miraculously, we could achieve each step effectively and quickly along the way.
In March 2017, we got the confirmation to construct our Syrian Orthodox Church in the allotted land area. The drawings were prepared and accordingly, we could execute the work swiftly. We required permission from six or seven different ministries. Even at the time of getting approval for construction from the Municipality, we could sense the Divine Hand helping us everywhere.
We had decided to celebrate that year’s Good Friday at the new location. And surprisingly, we got permission on that Maundy Thursday. When we reached the Municipality that day, the Director was getting ready to leave his office for some other work. He had the pen in his hand. However, he ensured that all documents were duly approved right away. So by Divine Grace, we could celebrate ‘Good Friday’ in the new Church as planned.
All the different events like the consecration, dedication, and submissions related to this Church appear to me as truly blessed and divinely planned. Whoever we invited, could participate. Subsequently, so many people received blessings after praying at our church. Though the current crisis has forced around 40% of expatriates to leave this country, we found only a 10% decline of members from our Church. As I understand, everyone who has prayed for interventions and their needs at our Church has been abundantly blessed. This Church is truly a blessed and divine space for all of us.
I am filled with gratitude, happiness, and pride at having had the opportunity in building the holy space for us. I hope the Glory of our Church continues to grow in the coming years. We are fortunate to accommodate true, disciplined, and faithful believers with us. Consequently, we did not face any issues commonly faced by other churches. The people associated with governing the church are truly capable, especially our Vicar Rev. Fr. Abhilash Abraham Valiyaveettil. We are lucky to have him as our first priest. He has made this church a palpable blessing and presence in the life of the congregation.
By the Grace of God, we could also conduct the Sunnahadoss (Synod) at this church. We were able to bring all the leaders of our Patriarchy to this place. Usually, it is difficult to bring all of them to a new location, but we succeeded in arranging it. I understand that miracles happen to people who sincerely pray to Morth smooni Mother at our church. Till now many have been blessed with children and prosperity in their life. I too have experienced the blessing. Even in the ongoing financial crisis, I feel the comforting and guiding presence of a Guardian spirit through our church.