Introduction:
A popular celebration in and around Anekal-
feast of ªÀ£Àa£ÀߥÀà , has shaped
the faith of the people and has played a vital role in their formation as
Christians.
Early
Childhood and History:
250 CE, Decius was the ruler of Rome. He
demanded emperor worship. As many of the Christians held Jesus as the Lord and
saviour, they were subjected to persecution to denounce their faith and worship
Decius. To save the life of devout Paul, he was kept in his uncle’s house.
Unfortunately, falling prey to the desire of wealth, his uncle plans to hand
him over to the soldiers. Young Paul flees to Egypt. He finds a cave to live on
and there he lives for the rest of his life. Prayer, penance and fasting became
integral part of the life of this holy man.To remain faithful to his Christian
faith, he chose to be a hermit.
Stories
among the Rural Christians about ªÀ£À a£ÀߥÀà:
Like, Elijah in the Old Testament, Paul, was
miraculously fed. A crow would get half the bread daily and feed him. It's
believed that God himself, used to send him the food through the crow. John the
Baptist was his patron.
Meeting with St Antony
Abbot:
Listening to the divine voice, St Antony
the Abbot came in search of Paul the Hermit. After, roaming all around, he stopped
for drinking some water, near a lake. Was anxious to see a threatening creature,
which was half human and half beast. Trusting in the divine providence, he made
the sign of the cross on the creature and it became human and that led his way to Paul the Hermit.
Paul was in deep meditation at the time of
his arrival and had already seen Antony through his divine eyes. Thus both,
though met for the first time, wished each other as if they knew each others
for eternity. Antony, briefed Paul about the idol worship, atheism, cheating
and many such evils that were prevalent out there in the society.
Last rites of Paul the Hermit:
As man of deep prayer, Paul knew of his
death. Thus he sent Antony get the clothes from Athanasius. Paul was welcomed
to the heavenly abode, by the group of angels and Antony on his way back
witnessed this glorious event and praised God. The lifeless body of Paul was
lamented over by the lions. They dug the grave, in which Paul was buried. All the creatures of the forest shed tears on
the departure of the saint of the forest.
He lived for 113 years and is known as the
first Hermit.
ªÀ£Àa£ÀߥÀàgÀ ¨ÉÃqÀÄzÀ¯É:
Prayer and intercession in Tamil termed as-
Vendudal. This word is translated into to ¨ÉÃqÀÄzÀ¯É in
Kannada. We can also associate it with a kind of a vow or promise that people make , in faith. a£ÀߥÀà- is the Kannada translation of the Latin word-Paul.
Celebration
of the feast in Anekal and around:
In the opinion of the famous historian Rice,
there was a church in Anekal, in 1400 CE. Dominicans, who were inspired by this
saint, were the pioneers. Thus they brought in this celebration. The Franciscans,
who came later, were the devotees of Antony.
Later, in 1951, then parish priest of
Anekal, Rev. Colaco popularized this devotion. He encouraged the custom of
cooking and having a meal in the forest and the procession (vÉÃgÀÄ GvÀìªÀ)
10 days in advance to the feast, there will
be novena prayers in the church, which are reduced to be three days of prayer
at present. There will also be a flag hoisting in honour of the feast; the flag
contains the picture of the saint.
The missionaries, found the model of this
holy man as an apt example to the
reality of the local farmers and others.
ªÀ£À ¨sÉÆÃd£À:
On the day of the feast there will be a
grand Eucharistic celebration. Generally Bishop joins this celebration and
there will be mass Holy Communion and confirmation, followed by the grand feast
day meal. Priest blesses the meal. All the families of the village have a share
in preparing this meal.
ºÀgÀPÉ:
People in struggle, especially the poor,
who depend on natural resources, quite often prayed through the intercession of
this saint. At times they had the practice of leaving a sheep for God and cut it
on the day of the feast. The faith that, the saint of the forest would help
them, understanding their struggles. They pray especially for rain, to get
healed from various skin diseases and to save the village from natural
calamities.
Theological thinking:
1.Human Cries: Basically every human being has 3
fundamental cries in life says , G. Saurus
Prabhu.
1.
Cry for
survival
2.
Cry for
dignity
3.
Cry for
meaning.
Given the struggles the poor and low caste Christians,
, the seems to have had first two cries very strongly seem to be part of their life.. Thus Paul the
hermit, some across as a model, who stood firm and on convictions to build his
life on the foundation of God.
2.ANAWIM SPIRITUALITY:
Old Testament has a special privileged
position to the –ANAWIM-the poor of YHWH. At every event, at every step of
their life they depended on YHWH. As they were poor and struggling, so are the
people of this land, suffering due to various evils of the society and also
natural calamities. Paul the Hermit can be a model to these people to remain
faithful and trust in the divine providence.
3. Comparison with the feast of Passover:
For
the Israelites, feast of Passover, reminded them of the mighty works of God in
their lives. It reminded them of the deep religious experience they had.
Feast
of Paul the Hermit has a similar connotation, to the poor and the farming
communities of Anekal and around. It reminds them of the age old beliefs of
their elders and the life witnesses of healing and miracles that they have
received boost their faith. Thus like Passover, this feast strengthens the
community and the relation bet God and people.
Conclusion:
Every religious celebration has something
to contribute to the formation of faith. The feast of Paul the Hermit, teaches
deep trust in the divine providence. The virtues of the saint have become part
of the lives of the people of this village. Thus a saint, though from far, has
become saint of the land. In a world, where only noise and active life
attracts, Paul the Hermit is a counter cultural example and challenge to the
present generation. The formation that the people of the surrounding villages
have gone through, due to the faith fostered by this feast will always make
these people always unique and special.
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