MM

that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless
all
(NRSV). This resulted in the development of a theology based on the Creator of a Created order.
you"
influence of both Manganam Christhavashram and Students Christian Movement inspired Dr. M.M.
The
to creatively respond to Liberation Theology.
Thomas
words and deeds of Dr. M.M. Thomas were a reminder that it is the dharma of the church to stand
The
solidarity with those who suffer pain, are oppressed, exploited, and marginalized, and also to act
in
taking the’ U stance for righteousness in political and secular spheres. He was careful to
responsibly
a model for Christian witness in India by bringing about the harmony of Christian dharma and
form
heritage. The Acknowledged Christ of Indian Renaissance (CLS Madras: 1970), The Secular
Indian
of India and Secular Meaning of Christ (CLS Madras: 1976), and Bhagavad Gita: A
Ideologies
Appreciation (Malayalam, CLS Madras: 1987), are his books that laid the foundations of
Christian
Christian Theology.
lndian
firm roots on Indian soil, Dr. M.M. Thomas was instrumental in sowing the seed for the
With
of a post-colonial theology by bringing the subaltern voices of the marginalized in society
emergence
the purview of philosophical discussion. The visions and actions of Dr. Thomas also had a great
to
on the approach of the church towards providing space for those who lacked a living space. For
impact
South Travancore missionary Vedanthachari was a person who worked within a framework
example,
his o\vn. After his death his followers were stranded as sheep without a shepherd.
of
churches and fellowships in the area were unwilling to receive them. Even though they
Those
the Mar Thoma priest in Trivandrum, it remains a fact that even the Mar Thoma Church
approached
a cold shoulder to their needs.However, in those days, Dr. M.M. Thomas, Dr. K.K. George and
turned
who were then students at the University College. Trivandrum, ventured to visit those flocks
friends
a shepherd and catered to their spiritual growth. This is how the South Travancore mission
without
of the Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association got established and later parishes formed.
fields
theology of Dr. M.M. Thomas is that of a new humanity. The foundational principle of post-colonial
The
which swept over Europe and third World nations was new humanity. In the discipline of
philosophy
it assumed the form of Liberation Theology, Black Theology, Dalit Theology, or Feminist
theology.
Dr. Thomas played an important role in evolving this vision of new humanity as the form of
thought.
Thomas sojourned through the path of Reformation in the Mar Thoma Church. Mar
Dr.
Church has a heritage of resistance against the Portuguese invasion and the influx of foreign
Thoma
disputes. The reformation ideals of the church influenced Dr. Juhanon Mar Thoma
liturgical
Dr. M.M. Thomas, Mr. T.M. Varghese, Adv. K.T. Thomas and others in taking a firm
Metropolitan,
in the struggles against the move towards Independent Travancore at the time of independence
stance
later against the state of Emergency in the seventies.
and
Thomas's views about the church, and his creative criticisms gave a sense of consciousness to the
Dr.
churches in India. His use of terms like Open Church. Secular Koinonia, gave more clarity
Christian
his book on the reformation of Abraham Malpan. In the contemporary social, economic, and political
in
where the rights of the minorities are eclipsed and the process of marginalization of the weak
setting
Liberation Theology.
In the words of a South American theologian, whose thought was captured
when he read
and reflected on Psalm 145: 9-l0."The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over
witness for the Indian Church.
and content to his
ecclesiology. Dr. Thomas explains the plausibility of the witness ofan open church
accelerated, the ecclesial theology of Dr. M.M. Thomas becomes all the more pertinent.