The Holy Girdle, also known as the Girdle of Thomas, Holy Girdle of Mary, Holy ''Zoonoro'', (or) ''Zunoro'', and Holy Belt of Saint Mary the mother of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, is a

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

which is one of the important relics of

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

and

venerated Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etymo ...

Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...

communion. The word ''Zunoro'' is also translated as "belt", "sash" or "girdle". It is the Oriental Orthodox equivalent of the

Girdle of Thomas The Girdle of Thomas, Virgin's Girdle, Holy Belt, or Sacra Cintola in modern Italian, is a Christian relic in the form of a "girdle" or knotted textile cord used as a belt, that according to a medieval legend was dropped by the Virgin Mary from ...

in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and the

Cincture of the Theotokos The Cincture of the Theotokos is believed to be a relic of the Theotokos (Blessed Virgin Mary), now in the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos, which is venerated by the Holy Eastern Orthodox Church. The word "cincture" (Greek: ''zone'') is sometime ...

in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

, now located at

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

Tradition

According to

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

tradition, the Virgin Mary was taken (assumed) into heaven in the presence of all apostles except

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, who was in India. He returned to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and travelled on the sky by the help of

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

to attend the

assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

. He was late to arrive and visualised that Mary's body had been taken by angels. Suffering from doubts at that time, Thomas requested Mary to give him a sign in her memory, which caused a

chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...

to stop in the air and Mary to gift her girdle to him. Thomas showed this girdle to other disciples of

and convinced them. He took the girdle, otherwise known as a ''Zunoro'', on his subsequent journeys. Those who believe in him claim that many miracles have happened since then as a result of touching or even seeing this girdle. The incident is not recorded in the Bible. The Holy Girdle is taken out annually on the last day of

8 Day Lent Ettu Nombu (Malayalam: എട്ടു നോമ്പ്) or the Eight Day Lent of Mary, mother of Jesus is a solemn remembrance of Mother Mary for Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala, India. The custom is observed in the Oriental Orthodox ( Ja ...

in September.

History

Saint Thomas the Apostle kept the holy belt with his own. After he died in

Mylapore Mylapore, also spelt Mayilapur, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Tirumayilai. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the cel ...

, his body and relics were kept in India. In 394 AD, the holy girdle moved from India to Uraha (modern

Urfa Urfa, officially known as Şanlıurfa () and in ancient times as Edessa, is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. Urfa is situated on a plain about 80 km east of the Euphrates River. Its climate features e ...

, Turkey). and then to Homs in Syria, where it was placed in

Saint Mary Church of the Holy Belt Saint Mary of the Holy Belt (Um Al Zennar) Cathedral (, shortened to ; ') is a historical Syriac Orthodox cathedral in Homs, Syria. It is the seat of the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Homs and Hama. The present structure dates from the mid-ninet ...

, also known as The Church of the Lady of the Girdle. The supreme head,

Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum ( syc, ܡܪܢ ܡܪܝ ܐܝܓܢܐܛܝܘܣ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܒܪܨܘܡ, ar, إغناطيوس أفرام الأول برصوم, June 15, 1887–June 23, 1957) was the 120th Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syri ...

Patriarch of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...

, studied manuscripts and a

Garshuni Garshuni or Karshuni ( Syriac alphabet: , Arabic alphabet: ) are Arabic writings using the Syriac alphabet. The word "Garshuni", derived from the word "grasha" which literally translates as "pulling", was used by George Kiraz to coin the term "gars ...

an book containing stories and speeches sent by the people of

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

in 1852. The archbishop of Homs ordered to renovate the church. On 20 July 1953, the Holy Girdle was discovered from the altar of the church by Barsoum in the presence of Alexandros, the Greek Orthodox bishop of Homs and it is scientifically proved. It is considered to be one of the most important relics in

Malankara Church

Some parts of Holy Girdle have been distributed throughout the

Malankara Church The Malankara Church, also known as ''Puthenkur'' and more popularly as Jacobite Syrians, is the historic unified body of West Syriac Saint Thomas Christian denominations which claim ultimate origins from the missions of Thomas the Apostle. ...

. The churches in which the relics are installed are known as Soonoro Church. These include: *

Manarcad Church St. Mary's Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Cathedral, Manarcad, is cathedral located in Manarcad, about 9 km from the town of Kottayam in Kerala, India. It is a destination for people on annual pilgrimages for the uncanonical 8 Day Lent of the ...

–

Jacobite Syrian Christian Church The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC), or the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India also known as Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, the Jacobite Syrian Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, ...

, Universal Marian Pilgrim Centrer. *

Kottayam Cheriapally St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church, Kottayam, commonly known as Kottayam Cheriapally, is a Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church located in Kottayam, Kerala, India. Cheriapally meaning ‘small church’, whose appearance contradicts its name, is on ...

Mahaedavaka ( St Mary's Orthodox Church, Kottayam,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

). * Mor Ignathious Noorono Syrian Simhasana Church, Mekkadampu. * Jacobite Syrian Cathedral Kundara – Kollam Diocese of

. *

Kothamangalam Valiya pally St. Mary's Church or Marth Maryam Cathedral is a valiyapally (principal church) of the Syriac Orthodox Church situated in Kothamangalam town in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. It is one of the most ancient Christian churches in India. ...

the

Angamaly Jacobite Orthodox Diocese Angamali Diocese is the largest of the 12 dioceses of Syrian Orthodox Church in Kerala. Angamali Diocese was formed in the historic synod of Mulanthuruthy in 1876 and has been the major center of Jacobites through the ages. Metropolitan of the ...

. *Mor Gregorios Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Cathedral

Mettuguda Mettuguda is a neighbourhood in Secunderabad city in the Indian state of Telangana. Mettuguda is divided into three regions: Mettuguda, Alugadda Bbavi and New Mettuguda. These are divided by Mettuguda Y Junction. Hindu temples there include Te ...

(

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...

). * St Mary's Jacobite Syrian Valiyapally. * St. Mary's Church Meenangadi E.A.E Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church.

Gallery

File:Zoonoroinhoms.jpg,

References

{{coord missing, Syria Christian relics Christian iconography Belts (clothing) Syriac Orthodox Church *

Tradition

History

Malankara Church

Gallery

See also

References