The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Overview

St. Mary's, the first Syrian Orthodox Church in metro Atlanta, belongs to the Malankara, or Indian, branch of the Syrian Church. Its parishioners are mostly first and second generation immigrants from the South Indian state of Kerala.

Activities and Schedule

Morning prayer is held every Sunday around 9:30 A.M., followed by the Holy Qurbana (the Divine Liturgy) at 10. The community often meets at members' homes on Saturday evenings for less formal sessions of prayer, singing, and Bible study. St. Mary's also sponsors a youth league, a women's league, and regular Sunday School classes.

History

Father Joseph C. Joseph, the priest of St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church, immigrated from India to the United States in 1976. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1978, he helped organize two churches in Texas, one in Dallas, the other in Houston. When his work for the Xerox Corporation led him and his family to move to Georgia in 1987, he realized that there was a need for a church to minister to the South Indian population in metro Atlanta. With the blessing of His Eminence Mor Athanasius Yeshue Samuel, a group of three to four people began meeting for services in Fr. Joseph's home in Austell, Georgia. In 1998, by the time the church had about ten families, it began to rent a small building in nearby Clarkston. Then, in 1999, the community was able to relocate to its present site in Lilburn. In 2003 Fr. Joseph was awarded a golden cross chain, in recognition of twenty-five years of service to the North American Diocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church.

The Church and Its Liturgy

The main Sunday service is known as the Holy Qurbana, after a Syriac word meaning "offering" or "sacrifice." Before entering the church, worshippers take off their shoes and leave them in the narthex, a small area before the main part of the church. Inside, they take their places in front of metal folding chairs which are arranged in rows, facing the altar at the front of the church. Men stand on the left, women on the right. While the men wear Western clothes--slacks and collared shirts without ties--almost all of the women wear Indian clothes. They cover their heads with shawls or the upper part of their saris.

The entire service is in Malayalam, the native language of Kerala, but books with parallel Roman transliterations and English translations are available. Most of the congregation know the hymns by heart and sing along enthusiastically. For visitors, the service offers a flood of sense impressions: the flowing cadences of the Malayalam chanting, often accompanied by a synthesized beat, are projected loudly through two speakers mounted in the walls at the front of the church; incense is used throughout the liturgy; colored electric lights surround the three main icons, located above and on either side of the rich, red curtain separating the altar from the nave; and bells on the ends of two liturgical fans are shaken continuously during important parts of the service. With the half hour of morning prayers that precedes the Holy Qurbana and the ten-minute or so sermon that follows, the total service lasts about three hours. There are a few opportunities to sit, but most of the time people stand, even during the readings from scripture. After the service, the community typically adjourns to a small, adjacent fellowship room and shares a meal together.