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GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The family is the oldest and most basic human institution, the
fundamental unit of society. More than any other institution, it has been
affected by the profound and rapid changes experienced in the world today.
Social change affects human relationship in all its aspects, and the family,
being the primary cell of society, participates in these changes –
psychological, social, economic, political, and religious. Long-practiced
customs, cultures, ideas, standards and norms break up, and new ones take
their place. Old values are being replaced by new ones. Priorities are
sometimes inverted. Change is a normal fact of life. Every day, human life
is placed in a slightly different world. One’s life today will not be the same
tomorrow. Contacts and the mode of life are affected from one day to
another. This reality was recognized by Pope John Paul II when he stated:
“In our time, as much as and perhaps more than any other institution, the
family has been beset by the many profound and rapid changes that have
1
affected society and culture”.
Many families are struggling to live according to authentic human
values. This is an age in which a Christian, conscious of this changing
situation, needs to face the challenge of living his or her faith. The Church
has always given and still gives highest priority to promoting the integrity
and welfare of the family. She considers the Christian family as the
Domestic Church and has sought to attribute this name properly to family
life.

Though there are changes in the concept of and values in family and
society, there still exist families and societies that try to be faithful to
traditional values. An excellent example is the age-old traditions of the
families in the Archdiocese of Kottayam, India. In spite of the changes in
society and culture and the challenges of modernisation, the family
traditions and customs of the families in the Archdiocese of Kottayam, for
the Southist community in the Syro-Malabar Church, presently remain more
or less unchanged and unaffected. They are alert to protecting their age-old
family moral customs and ceremonies and to preserving Christian values in
families. They have always taken a keen interest in keeping families
motivated by a Christian spirit, thanks to their forefathers who laid a strong
foundation for Christian family in Kerala. This study is inspired by this
phenomenon.

1 JOHN PAUL II, “A Time of Grace for Every Family”, in L’Osservatore Romano, English
Edition, 1-5 January, 2000, p.7.

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