Mor Ignatius Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Cathedral |

Patriarch Mor Ignatios Elias III (1867-1932)

(Marubhumiyile Manjanikkara)

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ( Matthew 11:28).” 'Am I a God near at hand,' says the Lord, 'And not a God afar off?'" (Jeremiah 23:23). The delays in receiving answers to our prayers are not God’s denials. God’s timing is perfect, and what we need with prayer is, patience. Prayer empowers the believer to be with God and through HIM everything is possible. Seeking the intercession of Mother Mary and the revered saints is a very powerful weapon to ward away evil forces. The Cathedral named after His Holiness and the holy remains interred within it, stand as living witness for many devotees receiving blessings and becoming beneficiaries of the benevolence of our Lord & God through the intercession of His Holiness. Rightfully the cathedral has come to be known as ‘Marubhumiyile Manjanikkara’. The holy remains of H.H Moran Mor Elias III was interred in Mor Ignatius Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Cathedral at Jebel Ali, Dubai by His Grace Dr. Kuriakose Mor Theophilose Metropolitan on 16 February 2007.

Hundreds of faithful believers in this church and globally have experienced the most graceful blessings of God Almighty through the intercession prayers of Moran Mor Ignatius Elias III Bava. So many in distress have been touched deeply. It was due to such staunch spiritual closeness that the Church in Dubai was dedicated to His Holiness. In this church, none that kneeled in prayer and seeking His Holiness intercession for them go empty handed. Many individuals and families of our faith and others come forward to share what God has done for them in their lives through the intercession of His Holiness. The Church continues to bear witness of the many sick who are healed, jobless who get employed meaningfully, barren couples being blessed with children and many broken hearts healed and filled with renewed hope in their life through the very powerful intersession prayers in the church interred with Elias Bava’s holy remains.

Many faithful of this parish and the univeMany faithful of this parish and the universal church go all the way to Kerala to take part in a Pilgrimage walk every year on the occasion of the remembrance day celebration (Orma Perunaal) conducted during February in remembrance of His Holiness. Now it has become a popular spiritual practice for many believers to observe the Pilgrimage Walk to Dubai Cathedral as Elias Bava Perunaal celebrations, from their distant residences in Dubai and even beyond, thus making the name “Marubhumiyile Manjanikkara” most befitting to this Cathedral.

About H.H. Moran Mor Ignatius Elias III Patriarch of Antioch & All the East

Moran Mor Ignatius Elias III was the 119th legitimate successor to St. Peter on the Holy Patriarchal See of Antioch. H.H. Moran Mor Elias III was a holy man, a saint in every sense. Moran Mor Elias III accompanied by Mor Clemis Yuhanon Abbachi, Mor Ostathios Quryaqos, Mor Athanasius Samuel and his secretary Zkaryo Shakir and translator Adv. Elias Ghaduri set sail to India on 28 February 1931 from Basra on the ship 'Warsova’. The patriarch arrived at Madras on 14 March 1931 and stayed as a guest of the British Governor Sir George Staly. They arrived at Thrikkunathu seminary in Alwaye on 21 March and offered the Divine Liturgy on 22 March. Mor Elias III attended many church delegates meetings in Alwaye, Karingachira, Panampady and Kuruppumpady. His Holiness struggled tirelessly to bring about peace in the Syrian Orthodox Church in Malankara. to bring peace and harmony in Malankara Church, Moran had to face resistance and non-cooperation from parts of the Church. Because of this His Holiness was very much disappointed and became very much physically weak. On 11 February 1932 at the invitation of Qashisho Kuriakose Elavinamannil (father of our diocesan Metropolitan H.G. Mor Militheose Yuhannon), the Patriarch arrived at Manjinikara. On 12 February, His Holiness requested the priests who visited him not to leave for a couple of days and in the evening, the Patriarch recited and taught them many prayers contemplating on the departed. On 13 February Mor Clemis Yuhanon Abbachi offered the Holy Qurbana. After the noon prayers His Holiness felt pain in the head. Soon after, he fainted in the presence of the monks and slipped into eternal rest at 2:30 in the afternoon.

The memory of the holy Patriarch is revered throughout the Syriac Orthodox Church and especially in Malankara. His Holiness loved the people in Malankara so much which is very evident in His Holiness words "Death is inevitable whether here or in India; I would rather sacrifice my life for the sake of our children in Malankara." On October 20, 1987, Patriarch Mor Zakka I through encyclical E265/87, permitted the Church in Malankara to remember his name in the fifth diptych. (For more info on Mor Ignatius III Bava, please visit the web site copy and pasting
http://www.socdigest.org/articles/02feb05.html )

From the very beginning miracles happened at the sepulcher in Manjanikkara. Pilgrims come here from the different parts of Manjanikkara on all days. During the saint’s annual remembrance day on Feb 13, thousands of pilgrims go to the Holy Qabar, walking a great distance. Manjanikkara is the only pilgrim centre in the whole world where pilgrims walk some 200 to 300 km to reach the church.

Passion Week 2024

Patriarch Mor Ignatios Elias III (1867-1932)

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