Carmelite Fr. Louis Maliekal, one of the pioneers in contextualized Indian theology, Indian spirituality and Indian liturgy, died of a massive heart attack on February 25 at Bhopal, central India. He was 83. Fr. Maliekal died at Devamath Hospital, Bhopal, where he was admitted for treatment for severe stomach pain.
His funeral service will be held at 2.00 pm on March 1 at Mary Matha Church, Bhopal and burial at Yesu Ashram, Padaria, in the same city, according to Carmelites of Mary Immaculate province headquarters. Father Maliekal introduced Bhajans in the Indian Church by composing the first Christian Bhajan (Om Jagadiswara sadapi chinmaya Jagadeeshwara vande) when he was a student of theology in Dharmaram College Bangalore. In the wake of the renewal within the Indian Church after the Second Vatican Council he played a leading role in the liturgical experiments in the Indian Church.
Fr. Maliekal is credited with the formulation of the Order of Indian Mass for the Syro-Malabar Church called the Bharatiya Pooja. It is being currently used at Kurisumala Ashram, Kerala, even though the Syro-Malabar Church discontinued all experiments in indigenization and inculturation. Father Maliekal’s passion for evolving Indian liturgy and Indian theology is reflected in his doctoral thesis Yajna and Eucharist: An Inter-Religious Approach to the Theology of Sacrifice, as a student of the Catholic University of Luvain. Honoring his contribution in contextualized theological formation in India, a book titled Theology on Wheels: A Movement for Contextualized Theological Education edited by Dr. Davis Varayilaan was released on the occasion of the golden jubilee celebration of his priestly ordination on February 10.
Source: www.mattersindia.com
