Early Christianity used diverse symbols to convey profound truth in a contextually relevant way. One of my favorite symbols is the St. Thomas Cross or Mar Thoma Sleeha. According to the tradition of the Mar Thoma Christians in Kerala, India, Christianity was brought to the Indian subcontinent by the Apostle Thomas in the first century. Depicted on the St. Thomas cross is a dove, a menorah, a lotus blossom, and a pearl. While variations of this cross have existed since the sixth century, they universally tell a story of an indigenous expression of Christianity, with its seed from Judaism (menorah), that became rooted in the land of Buddha (lotus flower.) It is a bridge between the orthodoxy of faith that holds to the incarnation (dove) and depicts the cross as the center of the Christian faith and reveals the mystery of resurrection, and our salvation or enlightenment (lotus) effected by the empty tomb. The pearl is used by Syriac Christianity to symbolize that salvation through Jesus and our enlightenment by the Holy Spirit is Christianity’s greatest gift to the world.

As Asians, we have so much we can contribute to the Christian discourse in the “West.” As the magi came from the East to visit Jesus, perhaps Western Christianity can look to the East to recover the beauty of diversity, contextualization, and relevance—particularly as the West continues to grapple with the effects of the Western Enlightenment, which has difficulty in grappling with transcendence. Perhaps the resurrection of Christianity in the Western world begins with acknowledging and understanding the Eastern rootedness of the faith.

Manoj M. Zacharia

The Rev. Canon Manoj M. Zacharia, PhD, serves as the Rector of the historic St. Anne’s parish in Annapolis, MD. He has previously served in various parishes in the Episcopal Church and as licensed by the Anglican Church of Canada, Church of South India, and the Mar Thoma Church. He has served as a Deputy to the General Convention and as a member of the Standing Committee for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations. His ultimate blessings are to be married to Joelle and a parent to Abigail and Johan.