Notes

SYRIAC: a two-centuries- long umbilical cord to the table of the Last Supper.

Why should we resuscitate a dying language? From the lecture at the Syro Malabar Convention in Houston, Texas. 1- 4 August 2019. See full lecture at Aramaic Project-152. https://youtu.be/FqT_I06gVH4​

It was indeed an honor for me to be invited to be a resource person at the Syro Malabar Convention 2019 at Houston, Texas. The topic I was assigned to talk about was liturgical music. I also had a mission to prepare the convention choir to sing Syriac chants during Qurbana. Therefore, it was appropriate to educate the youngsters on the need to revisit the Syriac tradition as part of their search for their unique identity. Some of the singers sang with the choir for the Qurbana at the National Shrine, on 7 September 2013 at Washington, D. C. (see Aramaic Project-66 https://youtu.be/aJnk78G_bX4​ ). This was the first experience of Syriac chants for most of them. There has been a steady growth of interest in Syriac chants among the Youth. Currently, the Resurrection Hymn and the Trisagion are sung in Syriac in many Syro Malabar churches in the USA. People are getting used to the idea of a bilingual Qurbana. If this trend grows, the nature of the Syro Malabar liturgy will be different in the next fifty years. We are glad to present this part of the Houston lecture to augment the conversation on the Syriac heritage of the Syro Malabar Church.

References:

• Aramaic Project-152. https://youtu.be/FqT_I06gVH4
• The missalette at the Convention. http://www.thecmsindia.org/researches/resources-for-researchers ....
• Aramaic Project-66 https://youtu.be/aJnk78G_bX4

Joseph J. Palackal, CMI
New York
6 January 2021