Lumen et Vita

Despite great strides toward more diverse, inclusive, and equitable research and dialogues, theology largely remains a discipline where discourse centers on a few great figures understood in a few limited perspectives. In March 2025, Lumen et Vita held a conference entitled "Untold Stories," explicitly looking for papers on figures who have been overlooked or new perspectives on familiar voices. This volume of the journal includes two of these papers.

In "The Mar Thoma Syrian Church: Ecumenical and Oriental," Abel Joshua Abey gives a brief, but curated history of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church. Tracing its early roots to soon after Christ's death and resurrection to the present day, he positions it as a "bridge church" that serves as an intermediary between many divides in the Christian world today.

We hope that this volume contributes to the Church's chorus of stories that, by their difference as much as their unity, tell the story of Jesus Christ.