www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Orthodox Stigmatist Nun - living

Dear Orest,

You are correct in the information that you have posted. It was not my intention to confuse. Yes, Mother Susan is a member of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church. The Syriac branch of the Orthodox Malankara in India is still somewhat separate.

Hopefully, and let us all pray, the divisions in the body of Christ will be healed. Although I was raised as a Roman Catholic myself, my personal faith journey did take me to India and to Mother Susan.

Did you know about the stigmatist in Damascus SYria who has offered herself as a victim for church unity: http://www.soufanieh.com/menuenglish.htm. Although her father is Greek Orthodox, she is under a Catholic Bishop.

Do you mean His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Didymos I, seventh Catholicos of the East in Malankara, who is the Primate of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church as listed on the official web site of the Church:
http://www.malankaraorthodoxchurch.in/

Even on the web site you gave us the Church is called the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

Dear Orest,

The information which you have posted is correct. It was not my intention to confuse. For some time, the official website of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox was shown as "Indian Orthodox Church."

Mother Susan is a member of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church. The Syriac branch of the Malankara Orthodox in India remains separate.

Hopefully, there will be more union among those who bear the name of Christ in the future.

Orest, you have correctly identified the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Catholicose and one of the websites for that Church, of which Mother Susan is a member.

Dear Richard,
I don't think anyone here thinks you are trying to confuse us. I myself did not know that there were two Orthodox Churches in India so I was confused. I have met members of the Orthodox Malankara Syriac Church (not Mother Susan's Church) here in Canada and I know that this is an canonical church under the Syriac Patriarch of Antioch.

When I saw the topic title of this thread as �ORTHODOX STIGMATIST NUN�, I made the assumption that you were talking about a nun who lives in a traditional Orthodox convent. But now you have explained to all of us that Mother Susuan is a private person with her own foundation and works of charity not under the official umbrella of the Church. Thanks for clearing this all up.

I enjoyed reading the article you wrote about her.

God bless,
Halia

Dear Halia,

Thank you for your post and your understanding. My heart rejoices.

The divisions in the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ must end. We are all one by virtue of the Incarnation of the Lord and His Sacrifice and Redemption. Do we not share one Cup?

It is difficult for me to be so attached to Mother Susan, to know her sufferings and also to be aware of the stigmatist in Damascus. I have witnessed the former with my own eyes. These awarenesses are a deeper call to the commonality of our Christian vocation and to the responsibilities we learned from the Gospel.

Did you know about our Canadian organization: www.stgregorysorphanage.org. [stgregorysorphanage.org.] Mother Susan has visted Toronto on several occasions. The was an important article on her in the Toronto Star and stories on Canadian television. There are tentative plans for a return visit in perhaps the not too distant future. We await God's further guidance on these matters.

God bless you.

A quick check on the details. My previous understanding of Myrna's case is that she had been Melkite Greek Catholic by birth, and only became Antiochian Orthodox following her husband after marriage. So I think her father would have been Melkite, would he not?

Dear Ernest,

I know this: that the husband of Myrna, the Damascan stigmatist is Greek Orthodox; that her spiritual director was a Lazarist priest and is now a Greek Melkite Catholic, that approvals were given by a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, and that "nihil obstats", a term of official Roman approval, were given to the messages which the Lord sent through the stigmatist by a Lazarist priest, I believe Roman Catholic.

I hope this is helpful.

www.soufanieh.com [soufanieh.com]

I am much more familiar with the information surrounding the stigmatist Mother Susan of India as I have traveled to meet her and she is my spiritual mother.

God bless you.

For further information about Mother Susan, the living stigmatist of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, please contact me via PM.

I am familiar with the Cdn organization Richard mentions as I have visited Mother Susan several times on her visits to Cda.
As you've indicated Mother Susan did appear in the Toronto Star in 1977 and was diagnosed by a team of dr's at Mount Sinai hospital. Their purpose was to discover the mystery of her wounds and lack of food intake.

Tests concluded her intestinal tract is collapsed from lack of use and would not be able to inject food even if she tried. They could not explain how she came by the wounds. They indicated she was a medical mystery.

In my opinion she is a living saint and is deeply loved by myself and those that have been in her presence.

If anyone should like more information about her they may contact myself via PM.

Thank you Richard for your sharing your knowledge.

...Gilda

Maybe I can help Richard with the confusion:

The Syriac (or Syrian) Orthodox Church has an Archdiocese and Catholicos in India called the "Malankara Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church" which is also commonly called the Malankara Syrian (or Syriac) Orthodox Church or {in India} the Malankara Jacobite Syrian (or Syriac) [Orthodox] Church - these and their Catholicos are directly under the Patriarch of Antioch.

The Church that Mother Susan belongs to, which Richard mentions, is the Indian Orthodox Church, also called the Malankara Orthodox Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syriac (or Syrian) Church, or the Malankara Orthodox Syrian (or Syriac) Church of the East - they have their own Catholicos and are currently estranged from the Patriarch of Antioch, although they commemorate him indirectly in their prayers.

The former regards the latter as in schism and all their bishops excommunicated - the latter regards the former as in violation of agreed Church constitution.
Both belong to the Oriental Orthodox Communion and the other Churches in the Communion (Armenian, Copt, Ethiopian, Eritrean) try to stay out of the disagreement.

These disagreements do not always extend to the local level where some people attend each others services indiscriminately, although the hierarchy frowns on this.

The Catholic Church has limited inter-communion agreements with both Churches. The Catholic counterpart to these Indian Churches is the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, also called the Malankara Syriac (or Syrian) Catholic Church and sometimes (rarely) the Malankara Catholic Church - this Church's MajorArchBishop is also called Catholicos.


I hope that clears up some confusion.

Dear Jill,

Thank you for your contribution. I was aware of the visits of the orthodox stigmatist, Mother Susan of India, to Toronto, Canada and also of the article in the Toronto Star which stipulated that the medical doctors were confounded by both her wounds and her lack of food intake. I was aware that the faithful in Canada were deeply moved and blessed by her presence.

Did you know that when she went to New Jersey in the United States and was sequestered for medical testing, they concluded that her entire gastrointestinal tract had atrophied and that there was no natural explanation or causation for her wounds?

When I went to visit Mother Susan in India in 2004, I began to learn about the ancient history of the church and the orthodox practices. I had grown up as a Roman Catholic and had received my degree in theology, summa cum laude from the Dominican Fathers in the United States and in Fribourg, Switzerland. I was so pleased to be exposed to the careful preservation of the ancient orthodox traditions which are practiced at Mother Susan's Mar Gregorios Ashram. It was a real "mind-opener" for me. Sometimes I felt like I was in Jerusalem!

Did you know about the video of the Orthodox Mass, called Holy Qurbana in India, with Mother Susan that was previously posted at this website:

Dear Michael Thomas,

Everything you have stipulated is indeed, historically correct.

While I do not consider myself "confused" - I am content with my experience and understanding - your ecclesial historiography did, I am sure, help clarify some matters for the contributors to the forum.

You know, at one time, when the Roman Catholics were making trouble in India, Mar Gregorios escaped to Antioch where he took shelter. That episode has been well documented. He was able to return home to India and the independence of the orthodox church there was established.

I remind myself daily of the unity that is the Mystical Body of Christ. Certainly, that is something we should all reflect on.

What has effected me so profoundly about my experience of the stigmatist Mother Susan is her spirit of sacrificing love. In that love, there are no divisions. There is only the present moment of living the Gospel.

I have personally maintained constant, genial, fraternal and cooperative relationships with the Catholic papal representatives in Fort Cochin, Kerala, India. They have met with Mother Susan at the Mar Gregorios Ashram and I speak to them regularly by telephone and email. In India, it seems to me, all is more of a "melting pot" than can be generally imagined in the West. Orthodox and Catholic and even Hindu and Muslim seem to somehow blend together into a common humanity. It is a fertile ground for ecumenical enterprise.

I think we all need to focus on a sense of oneness in Christ. This is my sense of things. The history is what it is. The future is ours to create under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Hmm this is interesting, but I think I shall withhold judgement until after she is canonized a saint as to whether this or is not a real stigmata. I just find it odd to hear of stigmata outside the Catholic Church. Perhaps it will be a means of establishing full unity between the various Apostolic churches in India.

*Also Mar means "lord" in Syriac, it is a term shared in common by all Syriac christians, not just the indian ones : )

Yes, GNmcnabb,

"Mar" is a general term throughout the Mideast which eventuated in India due to the Marco Polo spice trade route across the Arabian Sea. It is believed generally by ecclesial historians that St. Thomas (Mar Thoma) the Apostle traveled this route in 52 A.D. and evangelized India before being martyred by spearmen.
His relics are preserved in a cathedral in the city of Chennai (formerly Madras) in the southeast of India.

"Mar" is variously used as "Lord" with all its nuances. But in India, when it is attached to a specific name, such as "Mar Gregorios", its definitive meaning is "saint".

The St. Thomas Christians of India, as they were called, have now split into various churches and loyalties, as some of the other contributors to this forum have pointed out. The conquests by Romans Catholics under Vasco de Gama in the latter part of the 15th century did little to help the fractures in the original Christian community. So likewise the conquest by the British and the subsequent imposition of Anglicanism on the Indian populace. I have been there. I have visited the historic places. In India, as throughout the world, I believe that Our Lord is saying to all of us, "HEAL MY BROKEN BODY".


Of course, your reluctance in the face of a phenomenon as is present in Mother Susan is understandable. I too witheld judgement and sought out guidance from spiritual directors and the Holy Spirit. I have assented now with my whole heart and soul to the work of God Almighty. My home in the United States is on the real estate market so that I can move permanently to India to be with Mother Susan and to engage in the apostolic work for the poor. So be it. Amen. Ameen.

The judgement of the bishops and patriarchs of the Indian Orthodox (Malankara Syrian Orthodox) Church on these matters is well known. For decades now they have sought out the stigmatist for guidance and consolation. There is no question as to their approbation. It is reasonable for the faithful to give their assent.

You are entitled, certainly, to your opinions and doubts. I think it is preferable to follow, rather, the guidance of the bishops in matters such as these. While the process of canonization cannot begiin until after the death of a living saint, the Church nevertheless oftentimes let's its opinion be known during the course of the the life of one chosen of God. The latter is the case with the living orthodox stigmatist Mother Susan. Their ongoing attendance at Mar Gregorios Ashram speaks volumes.

Thank you for your comment. Please contact me privately if you would like documentation of what I have stipulated.

Richard Tasca