Dr. George Kaniyarakath CMI (Scripture Scholar) in conversation with Dr. Joseph J. Palackal, CMI

Reference to this unique song came about in the form of a spontaneous outburst from Dr. George Kaniarakath, CMI, when we met after many years at the CMI house at Via Martino in Rome, on 20 March 2017. The song has a long history that dates back to the pre-Portuguese era of the St. Thomas Christians in Kerala. Significantly, the song is assigned to the choir, while the celebrant invokes the Holy Spirit during Epiclesis. The Portuguese missionaries did not agree to the theological content of the text, as well as its placement within the liturgy during Epiclesis. Dr. Kaniarakath explains the reason behind the controversy, contrasting approaches, Western and Eastern, to the theology of the Eucharistic liturgy. In any case, the song was removed from the post-Udayamperur (1599) edition of the missal. Dr. Kaniarakath was kind enough to share as much information he has on the song. He could recall only the opening verse; that too, he was not sure of the exact words. The melody, however, is the same as that of “Slīwā dahwā lan” that we sing even today (see Aramaic Project 42 ). Because of its historical and theological significance, I hope a future seminarian or researcher will take interest to further explore the story of this song.

Joseph J. Palackal, CMI
New York
20 September 2017