Inauguration of the celebration of the Year of Faith in the Exarchate

The celebration of the Year of Faith, declared by the Holy Father for the Universal Church, was officially inaugurated in the Syro-Malankara Catholic Exarchate by His Excellency the Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Mar Eusebius on November 17 in the St. Thomas Syro-Malankara Catholic parish, New Jersey during the Exarchate Pastoral Council Meeting. Also present on the occasion were Rev. Monsignor Peter Kochery, Vicar General of the Exarchate and many of priests and pastoral council members of the Exarchate.
His Excellency highlighted the importance of a meaningful celebration of the Year of Faith in order to achieve the goals visualized by the Holy Father. His Excellency said that the Year of Faith observances in the Exarchate must enable us to deepen our faith, be more rooted in the Gospel values, be more committed to our Church and bear better witness to the values that we have inherited as a Church, as families and as individuals. One of the important activities related to this celebration in the Exarchate is an ongoing faith formation program designed for all our parishes. In this connection, a few faith formation teams are formed who will carry out this ongoing faith formation program in all the parishes. So also, an ongoing Bible Study program is initiated, which will be carried out on parish levels, but monitored by a central team. In the Year of Faith, an Exarchate level Bible Convention lasting for three days also is arranged. The concluding celebration of the Year of Faith in the Exarchate shall be on November 23, 2013.