Saturday Evening Post
Making of the Encyclopaedia
From the Horse’s own Mouth
George Menachery
Six
This
was the kind of thing we fed our prospective contributors. No wonder the best
scholars did come forward to share the fruits of their decades-long hard work
with the readers of the Encyclopaedia. And the majority of them kept their
writings objective, research backed, and providing exhaustive end - notes,
bibliographies, and illustrations where relevant. It is a matter of
satisfaction that when the first volume (actually Volume II) of the
Encyclopaedia did appear (7th April, 1973) reviewers in India and
abroad consented that we had fulfilled to a remarkable degree our somewhat
exorbitant claims.
Here
are a few extracts from some of the scores of rave reviews which appeared from
time to time which will justify what was said in the previous paragraph. [I do
not know whether this is the right place to give these extracts. But one has to
present those somewhere or other, and this may be as suitable a spot for it as
any other. I do not know also whether it may not be putting the cart before the
horse. Perhaps this will give a proper idea of the contents of the work. We
will continue our narrative of the progress of the work on the Encyclopaedia
after this interlude]:
Encomia
for the Encyclopaedia
“A
necessary acquisition for all theological and university libraries.” - Curtis
Bochanyin, Divinity Librarian, University of Chicago
“The
STCEI, without question, fills a major gap for reference works on Indian Church
History. We are eagerly looking forward to the 3rd volume.” - Newland F. Smith,
Librarian for Collection Development, United Library, lllinois.
“STCEI
is a long awaited and much needed reference title for all libraries of religion
and theology. It is thorough in its coverage of Christianity in India. Its
articles are autographed and authoritative. Valuable too are the bibliographies
accompanying most of the articles… rich with maps, tables, and plates. A highly
recommended reference tool for hard to obtain information” - Kenneth O’Malley,
C.P., Library Director,Catholic Theological Union, Chicago.
”A
great and indispensable need of the hour” - Valerian Cardinal Gracias.
“The
authoritative articles, reproductions of ancient documents and the colour
pictures will make the work very valuable”- Joseph Cardinal Parecattil.
Also
highly praised by Cardinal Lourdusamy, Cardinal Picachy, Cardinal Vithayathil,
Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Cardinal Telespore Toppo.
“The
publication of the three volumes of the St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of
India is a worthy model for the world Churches and an incomparable achievement
and contribution of the Church in India,” stated Oswald Cardinal Gracias in
Guwahati, dedicating the work to the nation.
“The
publication of the third and final volume is something of which the
Encyclopaedia team can be justly proud, but they should not rest on their oars
but must continue their much needed work of service to the Church in India
today,” His Eminence went on to say.
Telespore
Placidus Cardinal Toppo dedicated the volumes to the world Christian community.
The two Cardinals officially released the 3rd volume of the Encyclopaedia by
exchanging copies of the work, in the presence of Archbishops and Bishops from
all over India and members of the CBCI Commissions.
“I
want to commend to you a good reference book on Christianity in India . I know
nothing better on that subject than the St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of
India .. It is compendious and comprehensive, scholarly and ecumenical. Some of
the best scholars in India and abroad have contributed. There are numerous high
quality illustrations and maps .. It covers the whole ground - history,
culture, customs, divisions, art, architecture, music, parish, life, liturgical
vestments, Christian traditional occupations, dance and drama, institutions,
statistics - the coverage is remarkable, and the reliability of the information
very high ... It is a tool worth having for any library, for any scholar
interested in the history of Christianity, for anyone interested in
understanding India and its religious heritage” - Paulos Mar Gregorios (Dr.
Paul Verghese), Principal, Orthodox Theo. College and sometime President - the
World Council of Churches
“Like
Veda Vyasa the Editor has brought together almost all the information that
exist about Indian Christianity into an ordered whole for the first time… “-
Antony Cardinal Padiara, the First MajorArchbishop
“A
wealth of essential information difficult if not Impossible to come across
elsewhere “- Revue D’Histoire Eccl., Louvain, Belgium
“It
is a lavishly produced work, much better produced than what usually comes from
India ... The whole approach is ecumenical both in intent and content” -
Eastern Churches Review. London, U.K.
“Each
major article is written by an expert” - R. N. S., New York, N. Y.
“An
extra ordinary publishing achievement of lndian Christianity “- USCC US
Bishops’ Council Bullettin. Washington, D.C.
“A
monumental work containing significant information” - Baltimore Review
“All
the facts about Christian India” - The Universe, London
“Exhaustive,
historical, sociological, liturgical, archaeological and cultural information”
- Ostkirchlihe Studien,Wurzburg
“All
these are treated with scholarly serenity by competent contributors” - T. N.
Sequiera, The Hindu. Madras.
”Authoritative
volumes worth possessing” - A.M. Mundadan, The Journal of Dharma “It is a big mirror in which is seen
reflected a panoramic view of the historical, social, cultural and religious
facets of the Christian community” - N. K. Seshan, All India Radio
”...contributions
are quite outstanding and even throw new light on well-known subjects” - E. R.
Hambye, The Clergy Monthly
“The
most important feature of the Encyclopaedia is its pioneering probe into the
antiquities of Christianity” - P. Thomas, The Horizon
“The
best authorities in each denomination were invited to tell their story without
the editorial cuts” - Metropolitan Mar Aprem, The Voice of the East
”An
exhaustive research tool that can be universally recommended” - M. M. Thomas,
Chairman, W.C.C.
“Where
governments and universities have failed the loving labour of a few individuals
has triumphed” - M. G. S. Narayanan, Mathrubhoomi Weekly.
”Authoritative
articles by Indian as well as Western authors deal with every aspect of
Christianity in India” - The Indian Express
“It
is to be respected as an extraordinary work of great importance” - The Malayala
Manorama
Justice V. R. Krishna Aiyer [former Supreme Court Judge and president, History Assn.] on the 3rd Volume of the Encyclopaedia: “The third volume of the book St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India is an extraordinary work with focus on Christianity but being Cyclopaedic has learned chapters on Hinduism and Islam. Truly it is a holistic work, an eclectic theological composite piece. The chapter on Hinduism illumines its ancient and geographical character and true source of its origin. Read on to learn the basic principles and you will learn that this Sanatana Dharma (moral values for all times)... Professor Menachery has done great service to all religions by weaving all of them into a new fabric in his epic voluminous trinity which if popularly read and discussed and read in libraries will surely be the beginning of Jesus and Sankara and Mohammed as the Founders of a New World Order of peace and stability of human rights and equality with a bias of equity. Gandhiji and Vivekananda did it in different ways. I deeply appreciate the wonderful work of Professor George Menachery. It is not narrowly Christian but broadly universal in thinking. Jesus was the greatest humanist revolutionary and died for a dynamic dialectical world order...”
After speaking about the prompt responses
received from Fr. Placid and Dr. Hambye and the non-response from Dr. Mundadan
we had digressed somewhat into the reproduction of portions of our first
brochure and extracts from the reviews which appeared, mostly after the
publication of the Kerala Volume in April, ’73. Now let me continue the story
from where we had left off.
It was time now for me to delve somewhat deeper
into the story of Christianity in India if I were to speak sensibly to scholars
on the different topics to be dealt with in the Encyclopaedia and to discuss
with them the contents of those topics intelligibly. There were three libraries
which I could visit: the library of the St. Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary at
Alwaye, that of the St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Vadavathoor (Kottayam), or
the library of the Dharmaram College, Bangalore.
As I was collecting articles on Apostle Thomas
and the Kerala Christians to begin with, Kottayam and Bangalore appeared to be
the best bet. Since I had a little acquaintance with two
scholars at Vadavathoor from the National Seminar days viz. Dr. Koodappuzha and
Dr. Vellian I decided to make use of their scholarship and the books at the
Vadavathoor library to select appropriate topics for the Encyclopaedia and
suitable authors to treat them. I had some contact with Dharmaram also but
Vadavathoor was nearer and I could get there by 10 a. m. if I boarded a KSRTC
bus from Ollur in the early morning; even the fast buses would stop at Ollur to
pick up passengers in the early morning hours. And I could return home if
necessary on the same day.
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