Transcending
Time, Shining Across Ages
by D. Babu Paul
That was early 1970s. Various events had snowballed into a cumulonimbus cloud in
Malankara. One fine evening those days there was a usual get-together in the
office of K M Cherian, then Chief Editor of MANORAMA. Fr. V M Geevargese, Fr.
Paul Vergis the Principal of the Old Seminary, Mar Theophilos of Alwaye, N M
Abraham, Senior Assistant Editor of MANORAMA and me who was admitted into that
august crowd by the dignity of the office of the District Collector coupled with
the affection of Oonnoonnichayan (KMC).
Fr. Paul Vergis said: “There is a young Metropolitan in Baghdad. He is likely to succeed the present Patriarch. If he becomes Patriarch we can expect peace.”
“You mean that young man, Zakka Severios?” asked Mar Theophilos. None of us in the group except those two could have said anything. What surprised us was that Fr. Paul Vergis, very reluctant to praise any one, was all praise for this young bishop, whom the rest of us had not met.
Years went by. Yacoub III passed away. To be succeeded by the man forecast by Paul Vergis. Zakka Mar Severios, Archbishop of Baghdad. At the time of being elected Patriarch of Antioch he was all of forty seven years in age!
The Iwas family had migrated from Jessirah on the banks of Tigris to Mosul about three centuries ago. That was an aristocratic family. The word IWAS indicates the position of Diwan (as we understand), a place of respect and authority. Bawa’s grandfather was what in Greek is called tekton. Architect, expert in carpentry, furniture designer, confidant of the royal family: that defined the gentleman. King Faisal I had decorated him with medals. He sent his son Bashir to Istanbul for higher studies. Bashir was good at studies. He returned to become a professor in the Military Engineering College. It was the desire of Bashir who remained hundred percent faithful even in the unhelpful circumstances in Istanbul that one of his children should become a priest. Sadly, he did not live to see it, though.
Bashir left teaching to set up an industry. He was into furniture business. He established a wood working complex. He was thriving as an industrial magnate when disaster struck in the form of a fire which destroyed the factory and led to the owner being diagnosed with cardiac disease. He died. Soon followed his wife. That was 1945. Poor boy, Zakka was just about twelve years old. About that Bawa told me: “My parents left me, but my God held me close”.
Bawa joined the Seminary. God had identified a patriarch. All that happened subsequently was preparation for that exalted office.
He graduated from the seminary with 97 % marks. Bawa told me a story once. He scored 90 % in Arabic. First in class, of course, but less than for other subjects. The professor of Arabic said, “He deserves cent percent, but is that not reserved for the author of the textbook?” Bawa reminisced, ‘he was a kind man, a kind man he was’, as he perhaps retrieved from memory the face of that teacher.
The first assignment of the young monk was to teach. He
taught Syriac, Arabic and Peshita Bible. However when he came to the notice of
Patriarch, Aprem I, the teacher reached the Patriarchate. Second Secretary, to
begin with, and later First Secretary. After the days of Patriarch Aprem he
continued with Yacoub III. It was Yacoub Bawa who ordained him priest. That was
in 1957. Inside of two years he began to be invited to teach post graduate and
doctoral students. And thus at age 26 came the first recognition: the Cross of
the Grand Monk.
In the meantime he studied journalism. On to the General Seminary in US (General and Union are the commanding heights in theological studies in USA) where for two years he read Oriental Languages and Pastoral Theology. Bawa has told me about an incident from those days. The Driving Instructor noticed that the student was yielding to whoever wanted to overtake him and he told the disciple, “Father, at this rate you will neither learn driving nor reach your destination”. As he told me the story he burst out laughing and said in English with a slight touch of French accent, ‘but what can I do, God made me this way’.
I have no intention to list the achievements of Zakka Bawa.
Vatican II, Lambeth Conference, Pan Orthodox Meet, Pro Oriente deliberations( he
was a mere 34 years in age when Pro Oriente honoured him with their Fellowship),
Advisor to the Roman Catholic Church in re the Oriental Canon Law, and finally President of the World
Council of Churches. Plus more than twenty works including the one on
INCARNATION AND SALVATION.
A major event in the Episcopal career of Bawa was the discovery of the St. Thomas relics from the Mosul Cathedral. It is part of that find that Mar Augen brought to Malankara and enshrined at Devalokam. His Proclamation to add the name of Thomas, alongside the names of Peter and Paul, in the Quorbono in Malankara, effective December 21, 1987, also shows the special connection that Zakka Bawa has with the revered memory of St. Thomas.
Not to be forgotten is the landmark declaration he made
with John Paul II, thus ending a division of fifteen centuries, that the faith
was the same and that the three emergent sacraments may be mutually accepted.
And that declaration in 1984 was followed by an understanding with the Greek
Orthodox Church in West Asia.
When Bawa ascended the Throne in 1980 it was my privilege to speak on behalf of the church in India. That marked the beginning of a very special relationship. My hotline to Damascus is still intact. The young bishop whose hair was all black has grown into an invincible shepherd. And yet his fatherly affection for me remains unchanged. Maintaining a relationship like this which provides space both for humorous jokes and serious discussions on church and world affairs is not easy. That a layman located far away in a distant land can enjoy this privilege is a reflection of the greatness of Bawa.
