The Second and Third year Students of Theology of St Joseph's Institute of Theology (SJIT) visited Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church Falnir, Mangalore on 1 March 2025. Rev. Dr Ronald Serrao the Oriental Liturgy teacher, Rev. Dr Alexander Kalarikkal the Director of SJIT, and Rev. Dr Rajesh Rosario the Teacher of SJIT accompanied them.

The visit commenced at 8.00 a.m. with the walk from the Institute. At arrival, Rev. Dr Subin John Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church Vicar welcomed Rev. Dr Ronald Serrao along with the students and the priests with a floral bouquet.

The Vicar Rev. Dr Subin John shared the traditions and liturgy of the church. He described the church architecture and the administration (hierarchy). He also demonstrated to the group, the liturgical arrangements and the vestments employed in the worship.

His talk discussed issues such as the history of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church dating back to St Thomas the Apostle and how it evolved down the centuries. Br Benson Babu Vilangara also shed some light on the historial background of the church.

The 'Questions and Answers' that followed afterwards was concerned with the priests' life in their tradition, i.e., their ministry and spiritual responsibilities. He responded on some of the differences between the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church and the Roman Catholic Church paying attention to the theological, liturgical and ecclesiastical aspects.

At the end of the session, Br Tony Martin of Second year theology proposed the vote of thanks. The visit concluded with a time of fellowship when tea and snacks were served to the group. The group thereafter returned to the Institute.

The visit to the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church was a special one because it is part of the course of Oriental Liturgy. The visit assisted the students in procuring the first-hand information as well as finding out about the church.