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Benedictory Address
His Beatitude Moran Mor Ignatius Youssef III YOUNAN
Patriarch of Antioch of the Syriac Catholic Church
Silver Episcopal Jubilee Ceremony of
Moran Mor Baselios Cardinal CLEEMIS
Major-Archbishop ofthe Malankara Syriac Catholic Church
Trivandrum, Kerala, India
August 22nd, 2026
ܒܫܶܡ ܐܰܒܳܐ ܘܰܒܪܳܐ ܘܪܽܘܚܳܐ ܚܰܝܳܐ ܩܰܕܺܝܫܳܐ܆ ܚܰܕ ܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ ܫܰܪܺܝܪܳܐ܆ ܐܰܡܺܝܢ.
« ܡܳܢܳܐ ܐܶܦܪܽܘܥ ܠܡܳܪܝܳܐ ܥܰܠ ܟܽܠܗܽܘܢ ܛܳܒ̈ܳܬܶܗ ܕܰܥܠܰܝ܆
ܟܳܣܳܐ ܕܦܽܘܪܩܳܢܳܐ ܐܶܣܰܒ܆ ܘܒܰܫܡܶܗ ܕܡܳܪܝܳܐ ܐܶܩܪܶܐ »
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
one true God, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
“what shall I return to the Lord for all His goodness to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord”
(Psalm 116: 12-13)
Your Beatitude, Moran Mor Baselios Cardinal Cleemis Catholicos, dearly beloved Brother in Christ,
Honourable Chief Ministers of Keralam and Meghalaya,
Your Eminences and Excellencies, Venerable Fathers of the Holy Episcopal Synod of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and Shepherds of the Sister Churches here present;
Respected Ministers, MPs and MLAs;
Reverend Fathers and Deacons; Dear men and women religious;
Distinguished dignitaries and honoured guests; and you, beloved people of God, sons and daughters of the Apostle Saint Thomas:
Shlomo! Peace be with you all!
It is with great joy and fraternal love that I greet you on this day of grace, bearing the greetings and the blessing of the Apostolic See of Antioch, the city where, as the Scriptures testify, “the disciples were first called Christians” (Acts 11:26). And I come with the words of the son of Sirach upon my lips, who, beholding the high priest in the sanctuary, exclaimed: “How glorious he was - like the morning star among the clouds, like the full moon at the festal season, like the sun shining upon the temple of the Most High” (cf. Sirach 50:5–7). Beloved brothers and sisters, when Antioch looks toward India today, she beholds such a radiance: twenty-five years of episcopal grace shining in the person of His Beatitude Moran Mor Baselios Cardinal Cleemis.
Twenty-five years ago, on the luminous Feast of the Shunoyo - the Assumption of the Mother of God - the hands of the Church were laid upon a young priest named Isaac, and he arose as Mar Cleemis, a bishop of the holy Church of God. From that day the Lord, who called him by name, has led him from grace to grace:
To Malankara, he is a father. Seated upon the chair of the Venerable Mar Ivanios, he has not merely guarded an inheritance; he has multiplied it. History will say of him: he received a Church, and he handed on a communion of Churches.
To India, he is a statesman of the Gospel. He has been a bridge among the venerable ritual Churches of this land and a servant of harmony among all believers. In a nation of a billion voices, his voice has been heard, speaking for the small, the poor and the persecuted, and showing to all that gentleness is not weakness.
To the universal Church, he is a gift of the East. When he was called into the College of Cardinals, Rome did not simply honor a man; she received a treasure, the voice of the Saint Thomas Christians and of the Syriac patrimony in the counsels of Peter. In the dicasteries and synods of the Church, his wisdom is sought and trusted.
And for us to the Antiochene family, he is a beloved brother and a crown. In him the ancient See of Antioch recognizes her own and all the Churches of the Syriac tradition stand taller because he stands among us.
Your Beatitude, my beloved Brother: on this day of your jubilee, still radiant with the light of the Shunoyo, Antioch embraces you. I entrust you anew to the Blessed Virgin Mary, on whose glorious feast you were consecrated: May she who stood by the Cross keep you steadfast in every trial. May Saint Thomas, the father of your Church, confirm you in faith. May the prayers of the Venerable Mar Ivanios and of all the saints of our common Syriac heritage accompany you always. May the Lord grant you many more years, peaceful, healthy and fruitful, to shepherd the flock entrusted to you, in loving communion with our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV and in ever deeper fraternity among the Churches of the Antiochene tradition.
And the best way I can conclude is with a proclaim raised to the Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, expressing the Church’s joy on the feast of its shepherd, quoting a chant set to the melody ܠܗܰܘ ܝܰܠܕܳܐ ܓܢܺܝܙܳܐ (lhaw yaldo gnizo)(To That Hidden Child), taken from the Service of the Enthronement of a New Patriarch or Bishop:
« ܒܗܳܢܳܐ ܝܰܘܡܳܐ ܕܥܰܕܥܺܐܕܳܟ܆ ܐܰܒܽܘܢ ܛܽܘܒܬܳܢܳܐ ܡܳܪܝ̱ܒܰܣܶܠܺܝܳܘܣ. ܚܳܕܝܳܐ ܘܪܳܘܙܳܐ ܡܰܪܥܺܝܬܳܟ܆ ܘܙܳܡܪܳܐ ܫܽܘܒܚܳܐ ܠܗܰܘ ܕܰܓܒܳܟ. ܘܥܰܒܕܳܟ ܪܳܥܝܳܐ ܕܬܶܪܥܶܐ ܠܥܳܢ̈ܶܗ ܒܰܒܛܺܝܠܽܘܬܳܐ܆ ܕܒܰܨܠܰܘ̈ܳܬܳܟ ܢܶܬܦܰܪܩܳܢ ܢܰܦܫ̈ܳܬܳܐ ܕܟܽܠܰܢ ».
On this feast day of yours, O our blessed father, Saint Baselios, your flock rejoices and delights, singing praises to the One who chose you and appointed you as a shepherd to care for His flock with devotion, that through the power of your prayers, all our souls may be saved.
And now, may the blessing of the Holy and Glorious Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, descend upon Your Beatitude, upon the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Kerala, and upon everyone who shares the joy of this Silver Jubilee: now, always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
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