Elizabeth Kochamma

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy upon me a sinner.

Belated wishes of the liturgical Women’s Day!

The last Sunday (02 December 2018) we commemorated the visitation of St. Mary-Theotokos to Elizabeth and this visitation is commemorated in the Indian Orthodox Church as “Women’s Day”.

What a wonderful fellowship and conversation do we see among these two women- the elder one displaying humility and the younger one proclaiming the blessing! (The Gospel Reading during the Divine Liturgy would be from the Gospel of St Luke 1:39-56).

Two weeks back we commemorated the annunciation to Zechariah, (liturgical ‘Parents Day’- Gospel Reading: St Luke 1:5-25), wherein we read about the annunciation to priest Zechariah by the angel concerning the birth of St John the Baptist, the forerunner of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

In both these instances we see a heroic woman- Elizabeth- who like St Mary was heroic not in terms of physical valor but heroic in terms of the difficulties she faced with much hope and in saying ‘yes’ to God’s calling.

If Elizabeth would have lived in today times, we would have called her Elizabeth Kochamma, as she was priest Zechariah’s wife (‘Kochamma’ is a Malayalam term for a priest’s wife, and literally means ‘young mother’). 

The evangelist St Luke testifies- that she and the priest Zechariah ‘were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless’ (St Luke 1:9). She is mentioned as ‘righteous and blameless' together with her husband-priest.

Our early church father- St Cyril of Alexandria actually presents a detailed qualification and criterion for being a priest’s wife in his teaching on the New Testament priesthood (ref ‘On Worship in Spirit and in Truth’) and for Elizabeth, the evangelist St Luke himself testifies to her virtues. Inspite of the great sorrow she faced- of being childless and thus suffering shame in the society- she was a staunch support to her husband in his priestly duty. Priest Zechariah’s prayerful journey would have been collaborated with Elizabeth’s one, how else could the evangelist St Luke term both of them blameless and righteous?

In the visitation of St Mary and Elizabeth- we see an important role played by the kochammas in teaching the faith to others. In every parish or community there will be younger women like St Mary- like ‘St Mary went to the hill country of Judea with haste’, such women are eager to be a part of and being welcomed in the faith of the ‘bigger parish family’. Upon seeing such women, kochammas like St Elizabeth, are moved with thrilling joy to witness the birth of new life in faith and in the course of the journey we see the women blessing each other and glorifying the abundant mercies of God. What a joy for the Church!

I always love quoting what the rhetoric teacher of St John Chrysostom- Libanius, spoke of Christian women. When Libanius learned of the virtuous and courageous way St John Chrysostom’s mother had raised her family, he looked around at his pupils and said: “Great heavens, what remarkable women are to be found among the Christians!”

Let us remember the wonderful ministry of the kochammas/presbyteras/tassonis/matushkas –the unsung, unseen yet very evident support systems to the married ordained ministers who have chosen to work in our Lord’s vineyard. These women embrace and practically showcase the diaconate ministry of service and servanthood.

More importantly, do thank all the women in your life, who made those silent sacrifices for what you are today.

Let us spare a moment and pray:

“Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord.” (Psalm 31:24; NKJV).

O Gracious, ever-merciful Lord, help us to love You with all our mind, heart and soul, and to live according to Your teachings. Bless our priests and the kochammas of the married priests that they may live a life of virtue, godliness and righteousness. Nurture them with a spirit of understanding and virtue, strengthen them when faced with temptations and tribulations. Help them to serve you in holiness all the days of their life.”

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By intercessions of our foremothers in faith- St Mary the Theotokos and St Elizabeth. Lord have mercy upon us.

In Christ,

Rincy John