Apostolate of Catechism
“Go into the entire world and proclaim the Good News to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15).
The Apostolate of Catechism of the Syro Malankara Catholic Church directs one of the most important activity in the Church. Today’s children are the future Church and hence it is ever so important that the children imbibe the Church teachings from an early age itself. In this era of internet and social networking, catechism plays a more important role than ever before to guide and support our younger generation from falling into worldly traps and pleasures whilst going away from God.
The Syro Malankara Catholic Church has rich traditions going back to as early as AD 52 when St. Thomas the apostle travelled to Kerala, India and laid foundations for the early Christian community in India. The community has since then held on to the teachings and traditions laid down by the Church leaders and its elders all through these centuries. The Catechism of the Syro Malankara Church especially focuses on passing its spiritual heritage including the catholic faith, liturgy and history to the next generation in an orderly manner; so that they can themselves lead a life of worship and witness.
Catechism Classes
All the sixteen mission centres of the Syro Malankara Catholic Church in the region of the United Kingdom have been conducting regular Catechism classes for children studying in Year-1 to Year-12 in their respective Missions. The catechism is taught using the text books prepared by the Malankara Catholic Bishops Council (M.C.B.C) Commission for Catechesis. Regular seminars and sessions are held for the catechism teachers to guide and support them on the approach they need to take while teaching the content in the text books. The teachers are encouraged to emphasize on core concepts of the chapter they teach so that it brings a positive change and provides practical knowledge which can be implemented by the student in his/her daily life for the spiritual growth.
Catechetical handbook
The catechism teachers and students are provided with a catechetical handbook to note down their study progress. The handbook has the prayers that need to be recited by the catechism students before each lesson. The handbook defines the academic year and the progress of chapters to be taught in each month for the annual year along with the syllabus for each examination. The handbook also must be used as the attendance register for the students attending the session. It also has informative sections like the hierarchy of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Ecclesial Traditions and Churches in the Catholic Communion, the Precepts of the Church, the Sacraments, the Ten Commandments, a guide to Confession for children, translations from Syriac/Greek/Hebrew to English and the basic prayers including the rosary. All catechism students are encouraged to carry their personal Bible to the sessions. The teachers are recommended to use online and digital materials to keep students engaged and compensate for the weeks when the catechism classes are not conducted.
Academic Year & Centralised Exam
The academic year is generally divided into two terms. The centre provides question papers for each term examinations. The missions conduct the examinations during their allotted time and return the marks scored by every student back to the centre. The missions are directed to award the top scorers. The centre provides forms for admission, student registration and teacher registration to each mission. These forms must be filled for every new registration and returned to the centre. Every mission has elected a head teacher for catechism. All communications especially for examinations and question papers are communicated to the head teachers. The following table lists down the head teacher for each mission in the region of the United Kingdom.
Catechism Classes
All the sixteen mission centres of the Syro Malankara Catholic Church in the region of the United Kingdom have been conducting regular Catechism classes for children studying in Year-1 to Year-12 in their respective Missions. The catechism is taught using the text books prepared by the Malankara Catholic Bishops Council (M.C.B.C) Commission for Catechesis. Regular seminars and sessions are held for the catechism teachers to guide and support them on the approach they need to take while teaching the content in the text books. The teachers are encouraged to emphasize on core concepts of the chapter they teach so that it brings a positive change and provides practical knowledge which can be implemented by the student in his/her daily life for the spiritual growth.
Catechetical handbook
The catechism teachers and students are provided with a catechetical handbook to note down their study progress. The handbook has the prayers that need to be recited by the catechism students before each lesson. The handbook defines the academic year and the progress of chapters to be taught in each month for the annual year along with the syllabus for each examination. The handbook also must be used as the attendance register for the students attending the session. It also has informative sections like the hierarchy of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Ecclesial Traditions and Churches in the Catholic Communion, the Precepts of the Church, the Sacraments, the Ten Commandments, a guide to Confession for children, translations from Syriac/Greek/Hebrew to English and the basic prayers including the rosary. All catechism students are encouraged to carry their personal Bible to the sessions. The teachers are recommended to use online and digital materials to keep students engaged and compensate for the weeks when the catechism classes are not conducted.
Academic Year & Centralised Exam
The academic year is generally divided into two terms. The centre provides question papers for each term examinations. The missions conduct the examinations during their allotted time and return the marks scored by every student back to the centre. The missions are directed to award the top scorers. The centre provides forms for admission, student registration and teacher registration to each mission. These forms must be filled for every new registration and returned to the centre. Every mission has elected a head teacher for catechism. All communications especially for examinations and question papers are communicated to the head teachers. The following table lists down the head teacher for each mission in the region of the United Kingdom.
|
Mission |
Head Teacher |
Class Times |
Church Address |
| Ashford |
2nd Sunday of the Month at 3.30pm |
St. Theresa’s Church Ashford, TN24 8TX |
|
| Bristol | 3rd Saturday of the Month at 10am | St. Maximilion RC Church, Alfoxton Road, Horfield, and Bristol, BS7 9NH | |
| Coventry |
1st Sunday of the Month at 2.30pm |
St. John Fisher Catholic Church Coventry, CV2 2DL |
|
| Croydon | 1st and 3rd Sunday of the Month at 1:30pm | St. Gertrude’s Church, Croydon, CR2 6EY | |
| East London | 2nd Sunday of the Month at 10.30am |
St. Anne’s Church-Mar Ivanios Centre, Woodward Road, Becontree, RM9 4SU |
|
| 4nd Sunday of the Month at 10.30am | |||
| Glasgow |
2nd Saturday of the Month at 10am |
St. Paul’s RC Church, Shettleston Road, G32 9AR | |
| Gloucester | 3rd Saturday of the Month at 3pm | The Good Shepherd Ukrainian Church, Derby Road Gloucester, GL 4AE | |
| Liverpool | 2nd Sunday of the Month at 3pm |
St. Joseph’s convent Old Swan, L13 4BP |
|
|
Luton |
4th Saturday of the Month at 10am |
Holy Ghost Church Luton, LU48JD |
|
| Manchester |
4th Sunday of the Month at 2.30pm |
St. Hilda’s Church Northenden, Manchester M22 4ER |
|
| Nottingham |
4th Saturday of the Month at 2.30pm |
St. Paul’s RC Church 144 Lenton, Boulevard Nottingham NG7 2BY |
|
| Southampton |
1st Saturday of the Month at 10am |
St. Joseph Centre 8 Lyndhurst Road, S040 7DU |
|
| Sheffield |
3rd Sunday of the Month at 2.30am |
St. Michael’s Chapel, Rivelin Valley Road, Sheffield, S6 5GL | |
| West London |
3rd Sunday of the Month at 2.30pm |
Our Lady of Sorrows & St. Bridget Church, Isleworth, TW76DL |