>Navid100P at 08:53, 3 June 2021

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}}
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{{Infobox saint
| honorific_prefix=
| name = Gregorios Abdul Jaleel
| honorific_suffix=[[Saint]]
| image = MarGregorios.jpg
| imagesize = 300px
| alt =
| caption =
| titles = Metropolitan of [[Jerusalem]]
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Mosul]], [[Iraq]]
| home_town =
| residence =
| death_date = 27 April 1681
| death_place = [[North Paravur]]
| venerated_in = [[Syriac Orthodox Church]]
| beatified_date =
| beatified_place =
| beatified_by = Patriarch [[Ignatius Zakka I]]
| canonized_date =
| canonized_place =
| canonized_by =
| major_shrine = St. Thomas Jacobite Syrian Church, North Paravur
| feast_day = 27 April
| attributes =
| patronage =
| issues =
| suppressed_date =
| suppressed_by =
| influences =
| influenced =
| tradition =
| major_works =
}}
'''Mor Gregorios Abdal Jaleel Bawa''' (died 27 April 1681) was the [[Syriac Orthodox Bishop of Jerusalem]] from 1664 until his death in 1681. He is chiefly remembered for his 1665 mission to [[India]], in which he established ties between the [[Malankara Church]] and the [[Syriac Orthodox]] church of Antioch. He is venerated as a [[saint]] by his church.<ref>{{cite book |title=Oriens christianus : Hefte für die Kunde des christlichen Orients : Gesamtregister für die Bände 1(1901) bis 70(1986) |date=2005 |publisher=O. Harrassowitz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HFbYAAAAMAAJ&q=Gregorios+Abdal+Jaleel&dq=Gregorios+Abdal+Jaleel&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEtenMo_jhAhWDb30KHR86AXE4ChDoAQhQMAg |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Eastern Churches Journal |date=2005 |publisher=Society of Saint John Chrysostom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tIBPAQAAIAAJ&q=Gregorios+Abdal+Jaleel&dq=Gregorios+Abdal+Jaleel&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjWlcDCo_jhAhURfH0KHRZhBskQ6AEIUTAI |language=en}}</ref>

Abdal Jaleel was born in [[Mosul]], [[Iraq]]. In 1653 he was ordained [[metropolitan bishop]] for the Ameed (Diyarbakir) diocese in [[Turkey]] by the Patriarch [[List of Syriac Patriarchs of Antioch from 512 to 1783|Mar Ignatius She'mun]]. In 1664, he was elevated as the Metropolitan of Jerusalem with the title Mor Gregorios. He traveled to [[India]] in 1665 to the ordination of [[Mar Thoma I]], [[archdeacon]] of the [[Saint Thomas Christians|Malakara Nasrani Christians]] community. He was the delegate of the Maphriyana/catholicate of Syriac orthodox church to Kerala Syrian Christians.
He died in India in 1681, and his remains are interred in the St. Thomas Church at [[North Paravur]]. On April 4, 2000, Patriarch [[Ignatius Zakka I]] declared Mar Gregorios Abdal Jaleel a saint.

==Mission in India==
[[File:Paravur St. Thomas Jacobite Syrian Church.jpg|thumb|Paravur St. Thomas Jacobite Syrian Church which houses the tomb of Mar Gregorios Abdal Jaleel.]]
[[File: Susthathikon of Mar Gregorios Abdul Jaleel, the first Antiochian Bishop to reach Malankara.jpg|thumb|Susthathikon of Mar Gregorios Abdal Jaleel.]]

Thomas Christians are popularly and traditionally called ''Syriac Christians'', a term associated with their use of liturgical rites of [[Syriac Christianity]]. The name ''Syriac'' came to refer to those Christians that were using various Syriac Rites at the very beginning of Christianity. The ''Syrian Christian'' label was also attached to the Churches in Syria, which was submitted to the ecclesiastical authority of the Church of Antioch in the ancient capital of [[Roman Syria]]. It was referred to as the ''Syrian Church'' in the epistle of St. Ignatius (the third Patriarch of Antioch), to the Romans in AD 107.

The Saint Thomas Christians were in communion with the [[Church of the East]] until their encounter with the Portuguese in 1599.<ref>I. Gillman and H.-J. Klimkeit, ''Christians in Asia Before 1500'', (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1999), p. 177.</ref> Thereafter the Christians of St Thomas had been influenced by many belief streams at different points in time. These influences have later resulted in serious rifts and in the breaking down of the monolithic [[Apostolic Church of the East|apostolic church]] into different fragments under different faith streams. They were organized as a Church in the 8th century, served by foreign bishops and with a hereditary local chief called Arkadiyokon or [[Archdeacon]]. In the 16th century the overtures of the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] ''[[padroado]]'' to bring the Saint Thomas Christians into the [[Catholic Church]] led to the first of several rifts in the community and the establishment of [[Roman Catholic]] and [[Malankara Church]] factions. Since that time further splits have occurred, and the Saint Thomas Christians are now divided into several [[Eastern Catholic]], [[Oriental Orthodox]], and independent bodies, each with their own liturgies and traditions.

After the [[Coonen Cross Oath]] incident, [[Mar Thoma I|Archdeacon Thomas]] was ordained as bishop by the laying on of hands by twelve priests. This was considered necessary in view of the [[extraordinary circumstances]]. Appeals were sent to various Eastern Christian centers and Mor Gregorios Abdul Jaleel Bawa of Jerusalem was the first to respond.

Mor Gregorios reached Ponnani, then an important port on the South West coast of India, in 1665. The 'Travancore State Manual' Vol II Page 187, records the arrival of Mor Gregorios as follows - "Two years afterward, in 1665, the position of the Archdeacon Thomas altered by the arrival on this coast of a Bishop named Gregory, Patriarch of Jerusalem sent by the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius XXIII the quarter whence had come [[Ahathalla]], thirteen years previously".

Knowing the prevailing political climate, he traveled further south by land in disguise until he came across some Syriac Rite Christians from the North Paravur church. He revealed his identity showing them the 'Sthathikon' from the Patriarch of Antioch. They led him to their church and sent word to others. The Archdeacon and many people rushed to the place to welcome the Bawa. Soon after, Mor Gregorios canonically ordained the Archdeacon as Metropolitan [[Mar Thoma I]]. Together, they traveled to various churches affirming the Orthodox faith and traditions. In 1670 March Gregorios and Mar Thoma I together ordained [[Mar Thoma II]] as the second [[Malankara Metropolitan|Malankara]] Metropolitan.

An important encyclical by Mor Gregorios dated 5th Kumbam 1668 gives us a record of the Malankara Church during the period. Referring to the [[Synod of Diamper]], it says "Most of the early records on the faith and history of the Malankara Church prior to the arrival of Portuguese were destroyed in the aftermaths of the Synod of Diamper. They did this in order to establish a new chapter in Malankara. The ultimate aim of the Synod was to transform the Syriac Rite Christians into the Roman Catholic fold by use of force and in this process, they managed to destroy all the earlier records. The support of Portuguese military and the local Kings made their task much easier."<ref>Extracts from this encyclical were later published in the book E M Philipose, ''Indian Church of St.Thomas'', 1907. The original is preserved at the Kottayam Valiyapally.</ref>

Gregorios died on 27 April 1681 (M.E. 857 Medom 14th, Friday). It is said{{by whom|date=January 2013}} that he knew beforehand the exact hour of his demise. In accordance with his instructions, he was dressed in the pontifical habits with cross and staff in hand and taken to the church seated in a chair. A large number of people gathered at the church and, as he died, it was reported that the people witnessed a bright glow inside and outside the church and several other miraculous signs. {{citation needed|date=January 2013}} His mortal remains were interred in the 'Hykala' of the St. Thomas Church at North Paravur which has since become a pilgrimage center.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}}

On April 4, 2000, Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I of the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]] declared Gregorios Abdal Jaleel a saint.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}} On 7 February 2006, the Patriarch issued a decree authorizing the recital of the name of Mor Gregorios Abdel`Jaleel in the Fifth 'TUBDEN' (diptych). {{citation needed|date=January 2013}}

== Relics ==
[[File: First Antiochian Bishop to reach Malankara Mar Gregorios Abdul Jaleel's Tomb in Paravur Church.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Mar Gregorios Abdal Jaleel inside St. Thomas Jacobite Syrian Church, North Paravur.]]
The relics of Mor Gregorios are preserved at St. Thomas Church, North Paravur which include his vestments, a golden cross, a golden chalice, a paten set, and an ''Trulia'' worn by Mor Gregorios. The holy 'Arulikka' has 12 partitions of which 11 contain the relics of saints and the twelfth partition in the middle contains a piece of the cross on which Christ was crucified. The Chalice and Platen are still used in the Holy Qurbana celebrated on the feast of Mor Gregorios. The relics are ceremoniously taken out and exhibited for public veneration on the feast day.

==Feast==
The Perumal (Malayalam) or Dhukrono (Syriac) of Mor Gregorios Bava is celebrated for 4 days starting from 24 April every year and culminating on the 27th. During these days, the North Paravur is declared as a festival area by the Kerala government considering the large flow of pilgrims. Thousands of pilgrims from different parts of Kerala, mostly from the northern part of Malankara, travel by foot covering many miles to reach the tomb every year.

The Feast of Mor Gregorios Abdal Jaleel is also celebrated at Elanjikal Palli in Niranam on 28 April.

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://sor.cua.edu/Personage/PZakka1/20000409MGcAbdalJalilMOSleebo.html Patriarchal Encyclical canonizing Mor Gregorios as a saint]
* [http://www.syrianchurch.org/Paravur/StGregorios.htm Biography of Mor Gregorios Abdul Jaleel Bawa]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131016110920/http://www.syrianchurch.org/MalankaraChurch/DEFAULT.HTM A brief history of Christianity in Kerala]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2967523460070007994&hl=en Video of the 325th Perunnal of St. Abdul Jaleel Mor Gregorious at N.Paravoor church ]
{{Christianity in Kerala}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul Jaleel, Gregorios}}
[[Category:Syriac Orthodox Church bishops]]
[[Category:Oriental Orthodoxy in India]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]
[[Category:1681 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Mosul]]
[[Category:Syriac Orthodox Church saints]]
[[Category:Assyrian saints]]
[[Category:17th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops]]

Gregorios Abdal Jaleel - Revision history

>Navid100P at 08:53, 3 June 2021