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and the human being created as a person - as man and woman. The
ceremony of feeding from one cup reminds the couple of their inseparable
unity and basic vocation of forming a union of two persons. This ceremony
also ritualizes the words of Pope John Paul II: “the family originates in a
marital communion described by the Second Vatican Council as a
‘covenant’, in which man and woman ‘give themselves to each other and
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accept each other’”.

Wider Communion
Magisterium Southist Family Custom
of Pope John Paul II
Familiaris Consortio 18, 21 Betrothal or “Clasping of Hands” (Ch.
Gratissimam Sane 7 3.7.2.2)
Greeting the Parish Priest (Ch. 3.7.7)
Feeding with Special Pudding (Ch.
3.7.3.2)

Pope John Paul II underlined the wider communion as the
foundation and soul of the family: “The love between husband and wife and,
in a derivatory and broader way, the love between members of the same
family-between parents and children, brothers and sisters and relatives and
members of the household-is given life and sustenance by an unceasing
inner dynamism leading the family to ever deeper and more intense
communion, which is the foundation and soul of the community of marriage
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and the family”. Betrothal or “Clasping of Hands” clearly proclaims this
fact, because by the clasping of hands by the paternal uncles, the entire
family expresses love and support to the bride and groom, and they take up
the responsibility of fulfilling the mission of marriage and assure their
13
presence and care during a time of crisis. The Ceremony of Feeding with
Special Pudding also shows the communitarian aspect of the family life
because of the active involvement of the elders, and this is an expression of

10
Cf. LUKAS, P. U., Malayālatte Suriyāni Kristyānikalute Purātanappāttukal (Ancient
th
songs of the Syrian Christians of Malayalam, 1910), 7 Edition, Jyothi Book House,
Kottayam, 1992, p. 2. English Translation, L. K. ANANTHAKRISHNA AYYAR, The
Anthropology of the Syrian Christians, Ernakulam, 1926, pp. 301-302.
11
Gratissimam Sane, no. 7.
12 Familiaris Consortio, no. 18.
13
Cf. PULLAPPALLY, JOHN P. M., “Socio-religious Customs of Knānites (Malayalam)”,
in J. VELLIAN (ed.), Symposium on Knānites, The Syrian Church Series, Vol. XII,
Kottayam, 1986, pp. 105-106.

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