1 B. V. Johnstone states that "tradition can be, when understood in a particular sense, and under certain conditions, a source of moral truth." These are the main elements in tradition: "the transmission across time in a community of content, in the form of beliefs and practices, a doctrine by which the members of the community justify the truth of the content transmitted." Cf. B. V. Johnstone, "Can Tradition be a Source of Moral Truth? A Reply to Karl-Wilhelm Merks," Studia Moralia 37 (1999) 449. But K. W. Merks is against this view. According to him, the determination of the criterion of truth in ethics is the task of the responsible freedom of that subject. The human subject becomes the measure of ethics in general and of the morality of traditions. Cf. Ibid., 431; K.W. Merks, "De sirenenwang van de tradities: Pleidooi voor een universele ethiek," Bijdragen 58 (1997) 137. Merks also mentions same ideas in his German article. He writes: "Die Berufung auf Traditionen als Quelle (source, nicht criterion!) von Moral gilt nur, wo die diese personale Verantwortung selbst zu integrierieren imstande sind." Cf. K. W. Merks, Tradition und moralische Wahrheit. Eine Antwort an B. V. Johnstone," Studia Moralia 38 (2000) 277. [Back]
2 J. A. Aerthayil, The Spiritual Heritage of the St. Thomas Christians (Bangalore: Dharmaram Publications, 1982) 30. [Back]
3 "Decree on the Training of Priests," in W. M. Abbott (ed.), The Documents of Vatican II (New York: Guild Press, 1966) 452. [Back]
4 W. Schrage, The Ethics of the New Testament, translated by D. E. Green (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1988); R. Schnackenburg, Die Sittliche Botschaft des NT (Munich: Hueber, 1962) English: The Moral Teaching of the NT (London: Burns & Oates, 1975); J. Sanders, Ethics in the NT (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975); V. Guroian, Ethics after Christendom: Toward an Ecclesial Christian Ethic (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994) 53-80. According to O. O'Donovan, "the foundation of Christian ethics must be evangelical foundations; or, to put it more simply, Christian ethics must arise from the gospel of Jesus Christ. Otherwise it could not be Christian ethics." Cf. O. O'Donovan, Resurrection and Moral Order: An Outline for Evangelical Ethics (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1986) 11. [Back]
5 V. Pahtikulangara, "The Thomas Christian Spirituality," Christian Orient 14 (1996) 147. [Back]
6 C. K. Barrett, The Gospel According to John (London: SPCK, 1978) 224. [Back]
7 J. Chanikuzhy, Jesus and the Greeks. An Exegetical Study of John 12: 20-26 (Leuven: Unpublished STL Thesis KU Leuven, 2000) 90. [Back]
8 Cf. J. V. MacNamara, Faith and Ethics (Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1985) 112. [Back]
9 R. F. Collins writes that "Gospel of John speaks to us of moral values, truth, fidelity, friendship, etc. - all of which must be understood in their specifically Johannine sense." Cf. R. F. Collins, Christian Morality: Biblical Foundations (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1986) 39. Again he notes: "the Johannine love command offers Jesus himself as the exemplar of love. Thus the Christology which characterizes the entire Gospel also characterizes the Johannine ethic. Christian love as the norm of discipleship (friendship) is a love which is to be patterned after Jesus' own love." Ibid., 41. The concept of love is the ethical things of NT. According to R. Schnackenburg, "the exhortation to love of the brethren is the characteristic feature of Johannine moral teaching. In the fourth Gospel, even when Jesus is speaking of his commandments (14: 15, 21), his primary aim is to urge on his disciple's love for the brethren (13: 34; 15:12, 17)." Cf. R. Schnackenburg, The Moral Teaching of the New Testament (London: Burns and Oates, 1964) 323. [Back]
10 L. Janssens, "Norms and Priorities in a Love Ethics," Louvain Studies 6 (1977) 213. [Back]
11 V. Guroain observes that "the virtuous man is not Aristotle's spodaios on whom right reason alone reigns supreme. He is rather, the new Adam, the man-god in whom divine love is incarnated and creature is reunited with his creator." Cf. V. Guroain, "Notes Towards an Eastern Orthodox Ethic," Journal of Religious Ethics 9 (1981) 228. [Back]
12 B. F. Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John (London: James Clark & Co, 1958) 167. [Back]
13 J. D. Moreno, A. L. Caplan & P. R. Wole, "Informed Consent," in W. T. Reich (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Applied Ethics, vol. II (New York: Academic Press, 1998) 687; S. Kanniyakonil, Life Giving and Life Receiving: A Study on the Recent Medical Developments and the Contemporary Ethical Issues in Organ Donation and Transplantation (Leuven: Unpublished STL Thesis KU Leuven, 1998) 62-65. [Back]
14 V. Pahtikulangara, "The Thomas Christian Spirituality," 147. [Back]
15 Cf. B. F. Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John, 202. [Back]
16 B. F. Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John, 201-202. [Back]
17 S. S. Harakas, "Greek Orthodox Ethics and Western Ethics," Journal of Ecumenical Studies 10 (1973) 751; V. Guroian, Incarnate Love: Essays in Orthodox Ethics (Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1987) 27-28. [Back]
18 B. F. Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John, 296. [Back]
19 B. F. Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John, 297. [Back]
20 B. Vawter, "The Gospel According to St. John," in Jerome Biblical Commentary (New Jersy: Prentice-Hall, 1968) 464. [Back]
21 Cf. J. V. MacNamara, Faith and Ethics, 199. [Back]
22 J. Ratzinger, "Magisterium of the Church, Faith, Morality," in C. E. Curran & R. McCormick (eds.), Readings in Moral Theology, No. 2 (New York, Ramsey: Paulist Press, 1980) 186. [Back]
23 J. Gustafson, "Christian Ethics and Social Policy," in P. Ramsey (ed.), Faith and Ethics: The Theology of H. Richard Niebuhr (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1957) 120. [Back]
25 O. O'Donovan, Resurrection and Moral Order: An Outline for Evangelical Ethics, 13. [Back]
26 B. V. Johnstone, "The Resurrection As Source for a Theology of Peace," Studia Moralia 36 (1998) 452. [Back]
28 T. Mannooramparampil, "Biblical Allusions in the Anaphoral and the Postanaphoral Parts of the Syro-Malabar Qurbana," Christian Orient 18 (1997) 77-91, 77. [Back]
29 T. Koonammakkel, "The Spiritual Vision of Varthamanappusthakam: History of an Unending Pilgrimage from the Desert into the Sea," Christian Orient 10 (1989) 102. [Back]
31 According to Pathikulangra, "proper Apostolicity stands as an important principle of unity and diversity among the different individual Churches." Cf. V. Pahtikulangara, "The Thomas Christian Spirituality," 148. [Back]
32 R. A. McCormick, "Scripture, Liturgy, Character, and Morality," in C. E. Curran & R. A. McCormick (eds.), Readings in Moral Theology No. 4 (New York/ Ramsey: Paulist Press, 1984) 295. [Back]
33 Only a general overview of the teachings of the Fathers of the Church is done here. [Back]
34 F. X. Murphy, "The Background to a History of Patristic Moral Thought," Studia Moralia 1 (Rome: 1963) 48-85. [Back]
35 The following books give the moral teachings of the Church Fathers: F. X. Murphy, The Message of the Fathers of the Church: The Christian Way of Life, vol. 18 (Wilmington, Delaware: Michael Glazier, 1986); S. Pinckaers, The Source of Christian Ethics, translated from the third edition by Sr. M. T. Boble (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1995) 195-215. [Back]
36 When one comes to St. Ephrem, he is not influenced by Platonic or dualistic tendencies, which was the characteristic of certain trends of early Christianity that sought to denigrate the value of the body. Cf. E. Beck, "Die Theologie Des Hl. Ephraem," Studia Anselmiana 21 (1949)100-101; G. Noujaim, "Anthropologie et economie de salut chez saint Ephrem," Parole De L'Orient IX (1979-1980) 313-315; E. Beck, "Ephrms der Syreri," CSCO 419 (1980) 1-20. [Back]
37 V. Guroian, Ethics After Christendom: Toward an Ecclesial Christian Ethics (Grand Rapides, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994) 3-7. [Back]
38 In agreeing with this impression S. Hauerwas defines Christian ethics as a form of reflection in service to a community, (which) derives its character from the nature of that community's convictions." Cf. S. Hauerwas, The Peaceable Kingdom (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1983) 51-54. [Back]
39 P. Kochappilly, "Trinitarian Foundation of Christian Ethics and Syro-Malabar Qurbana," Christian Orient 18 (1997) 139. [Back]
40 V. Pathikulangara, Resurrection Life and Renewal (Bangalore: Dharmaram Publications, 1982) 1; J. Vellian gives also a short description about lex orandi, lex credendi Cf. J. Vellian, "Theological Dimensions of Liturgy: Presidential Address," Studia Liturgica 30 (2000)1-13, 4-5. [Back]
41 M. Vellanickal, "Sources of Theology of the Syro-Malabar Church in the Pre-Diamper Period," in B. Puthur (ed.), The Life and Nature of the St. Thomas Christian Church in the Pre-Diamper Period (Kochi: LRC Publications, 2000) 99. [Back]
42 Cf. P. Ramsey, "Liturgy and Ethics," Journal of Religious Ethics 7/3 (1979) 145. [Back]
43 D. E. Saliers, "Liturgy and Ethics: Some New Beginnings," Journal of Religious Ethics 7/2 (1979) 173, 187. [Back]
44 As quoted in P. Kochappilly, Celebrative Ethics: Ecological Issue in the Light of the Celebration of the Syro-Malabar Qurbana (Rome: Pars dissertationis ad Doctoratum in Theologia morali consequendum, Academia Alfonsiana, 1998) 1. [Back]
45 Cf. T. Mannooramparampil, "Horizontal Dimension of the Syro-Malabar Qurbana," Christian Orient 13 (1992) 99. [Back]
46 Cf. L. M. Chauvet, Symbol and Sacrament: A Sacramental Reinterpretation of Christian Existence, translated by P. Madigan and M. Beaumont (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1995) 268-311. [Back]
47 In order have a clear concept about the first stage of the gift of God, see the Eucharistic prayer of Syro-Malabar Liturgy. Cf. Syro-Malabar Bishop's Conference, The Syro-Malabar Qurbana, The Order of Raza (Ernakulam: San Jose Process, 1989) 83, 86, 93-94. [Back]
48 Syro-Malabar Bishop's Conference, The Syro-Malabar Qurbana, The Order of Raza, 95. [Back]
49 A.H.C. Van Eijk, "Ethics and Eucharist," Bijdragen, tijdschrift voor filosofie en theologie 55 (1994) 366. [Back]
50 G. Wainwright, "Eucharist and/as Ethics," Worship 62/2 (1988) 123-138; T. Berger, "Sacrosanctum Concilium and Worship and the Oneness of Christ's Church, Twenty Five Years Later," Worship 62 (1988) 299-316; L. M. Chauvet, Symbol and Sacrament: A Sacramental Reinterpretation of Christian Existence, 311. [Back]
51 There are many works which express the relationship between spirituality and moral theology. Some of them are the following: R. Gula, The Good Life: where Morality and Spirituality Converge (New York/Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1999); W. C. Spohn, "Spirituality and Ethics: Exploring the Connections," Theological Studies 58 (1997) 109-123; D. J. Billy, "Models and Multivalence: on the Interaction between Spirituality and Moral Theology," Studia Moralia (2000) 45-66. [Back]
52 M. Walzer, Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pluralism and Equality (New York: Basic Book, 1983) 28. [Back]
55 M. Walzer, Thick and Thin: Moral Argument at Home and Abroad (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame press, 1994) xi. [Back]
57 J. Selling 'Human Person," in Bernard Hoose (ed.), Christian Ethics: An Introduction (London: Cassel, 1998) 102. [Back]
58 P. Podipara, "Hindu in Culture, Christian in Religion, Oriental in Worship," in G. Menachery (ed.), The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India, vol. 2 (Trichur: Saint Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India, 1973) 107. [Back]
59 V. Pathikulangra, "Thomas Christian Culture [Editorial]," Christian Orient 7 (1986) 107. [Back]
60 E. Tisserant, Eastern Christianity in India, translated by E. R. Hambye (Culcutta: 1957) xiv. [Back]
61 J. Kolengaden, "Culture and Traditions of the Thomas Christians," in G. Menachery (ed.), The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India, vol. 2 (Trichur: Saint Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India, 1973) 128. [Back]
62 P. Podipara, "Hindu in Culture, Christian in Religion, Oriental in Worship," 108. [Back]
63 http://web.missouri.edu/~sacp/IM99/abstract/chakravarti.html; M. Hibbets, "Saving them from Yourself: An Inquiry into the South Asian Gift of Fearlessness," Journal of Religious Ethics 27 (1999) 437-462; F. Clooney, "Finding One's Place in the Text: A Look at the Theological Treatment of Caste in Traditional India," Journal of Religious Ethics 17 (1989) 1-29; F. Clooney, "Back to the Basics: Reflections on Moral Discourse in a Contemporary Hindu Community," Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 20 (1995) 439-457. [Back]
64 S. C. Crawford, The Evolution of Hindu Ethical Ideals, Asian Studies at Hawaii, 28 (Hawaii: The University Press of Hawaii, 21982) 131. [Back]
65 Though our intention is not to present the Hindu concept on bioethics, social ethics and environmental ethics, it is significant to see as G. Chediath notes: "When Christianity reached Kerala in 52 A.D. many of the people who were under Buddhist influence - Ahimsa, human fraternity etc., and who were persecuted by the Hinduism accepted the new religion, which, according to them, perfected their religious sentiments." Cf. G. Chediath, "The Thomas Christians Judaeo - Buddhist - Hindu - Christians?" Christian Orient 8 (1987) 190. Besides, the Hindu approach on environment is similar to the thinking of Mar Aphrem. Cf. P. Pottampuzha, "Mar Aprem: Patron of Eco-Theology," Christian Orient 14 (1995) 138-148. [Back]
66 Cf. V. N. Aiya, The Travancore State Manual, Vol. II (Travancore: The Travancore Government Press, 1906) 103. [Back]
67 T. Pallipurathkunnel, "The Life and Ministry of the Indian Church Before the Synod of Diamper," Christian Orient 14 (1993)170-180, 179. [Back]
68 As quoted in T. Pallipurathkunnel, "The Life and Ministry of the Indian Church Before the Synod of Diamper," 179. [Back]
69 As quoted in J. A. Aerthayil, The Spiritual Heritage of the St. Thomas Christians, 204. [Back]
70 J. A. Aerthayil, The Spiritual Heritage of the St. Thomas Christians, 204. [Back]
71 A. Ayyar, Anthropology of the Syrian Christians (Ernakulam: 1926) 243. [Back]
72 T. Pallipurathkunnel, "The Life and Ministry of the Indian Church Before the Synod of Diamper," 179. [Back]
74 Cf X. Koodapuzha, "The Ecclesiology of the Thomas Christians of India," in T. Vellilamthadam & J. Koikakudy (eds.), Ecclesial Identity of the Thomas Christians (Kottayam: Oriental Institute of Religious Studies, 1985) 79. [Back]
75 J. Thaliath, The Synod of Diamper, Orientalia Christiana Analecta 152 (Roma: Pont. institutum Studiorum, 1958) 28; A. M. Mundadan, Traditions of St. Thomas Christians (Bangalore: Dharmaram College, 1970)125. [Back]
76 Mar Joseph Powathil, "Identity and Dignity of the Syro-Malabar Church," in Jose Porunnedom (ed.), Acts of the Synod of Bishop of the Syro-Malabar Church (Kochi: 1996) 72. [Back]
77 J. Thaliath, The Synod of Diamper, 42. [Back]
78 V. Pathikuangra, " Thomas Christian Culture," 110. [Back]
1, 2,