The honours made him happier for the cause, but humbler for himself.

The unusual versatality of Mar Gregorios consistently found expression in several ways:

1. A capacity to transmit the essence of spiritual, philosophical and socio-political concepts with a lucidity springing from the depths of his own study and reflection.
   
2. A constructive compassion, rooted in an ancient faith, that reaches, father than just help, to those various forms of oppression and helplessness, to ways of social restructuring through an ethical-intellectual renewal, to address the deeper causes of human condition.
   
3. The illuminating search for the fundamental principles shared by the different religions of the East as a possible basis for common understanding and endeavour.
   
4. A spontaneous interest in natural and social sciences, as well as in historical processes, resulting in holistic contributions to contemporary thought.

Mar Gregorios will be remembered by the Church as a modern teacher of their ancient faith, and by the reading public for the many books and papers he wrote in several languages, particularly in English and Malayalam. The recurring themes of his writings reflect the quest for truth and love, freedom and creativity, peace and justice.

He was not for other-worldly mysticism which ignored man's sinful reality; nor was he impressed by secular humanism that was unconcerned about 'the source of our being.' As he wrote his book Cosmic Man, The Devine Presence with reference to the teachings of Gregory of Nyssa, 'Thought is not scholastic to the extent of eleiminating the element of mystery; but then neither is it an unintellectual mysticism' (p. xviii).

Mar Gregorios was of course sensitive to the need for urgent response to human suffering compounded by many-sided poverty. Of this, his modest efforts for stonecutters of Tughlakabad in Delhi and the orphaned boys at Thalakodu in Kerala are examples. What concerned him more basically was the futility of 'swabbing the floor without closing the tap.' He wanted the socio-economic system that regularly reproduced poverty to be altered. This explains his life-long interest in politics. He was not in politics but of politics.

Whenever he found time, he dialogued with the leaders of both the political Right and Left. Not surprisingly, he had a better wavelength with the latter. He held up a mirror to them to show how India, in particular, was impoverished not only for historical reasons but also by an ecological crisis and the so called 'secularization.'

Way back in 1978, he stated in his book, The Human Presence, 'The affairs of the world are largely in the hands of people who are expert at making money, waging war and playing politics', and proceeded to present 'An Orthodox view of Nature.' On Secularism, so fashionable among some intellectuals, he was equally clear and sharp. In a recent essay, he wrote: 'Secularism creates communal conflict because it brutally attacks religious identity, while pretending to be tolerant of all religions. It claims to be neutral towards all religions, equidistant from them, but it refuses to acknowledge itself as basically a religious ideology with a powerful propaganda machine' (India International Centre Quarterly, 22-1/1995).

In his book, Enlightenment: East and West (1989), he develops a critique of European Enlightenment. He asks the elight in India, who have so easily borrowed from the liberal humanism an technological civilization of the West, to step back and take a second look:

The book was acclaimed in the West.

Mar Gregorios did not share the view that all religions said same thing, but agreed that religions had common elements. Therefore, inter-religious dialogue for cooperation had untapped potential. During his 20 years in Delhi, he had extremely cordial and productive relations with the spiritual leaders of the Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Jain and Sikh religions.

Mar Gregorios had an abiding interest in education, which he maintained through children's easy access to him, through the schools run by the Church, and by interaction with educationalists besides working as the Principal of Theological College. Also, he was for reviving the tradition of women's active involvement in church affairs.

Illness during the closing years of his life seemed to have re-activated his interest in 'holistic health and healing.' He organized a major International seminar in February 1995 in Surajkund (near New Delhi). The papers prepared for it, including those by him, and its report (on which he was personally working in his last days) are valuable for the alert public as well as for medical practitioners from the different systems of healing. Bringing them together to re-examine their assumptions was a purpose which the consultation substantially achieved. Mar Gregorios sought a healing touch to a wounded society.

In the course of his life-long spiritual-intellectual quest with a social purpose, Mar Gregorios has authored a number of other books also. The Joy of Freedom (1967, 1987), The Gospel of Kingdom (1968), The Freedom of Man (1972), Freedom and Authority (1974), The Quest for Certainty (1975), Truth without Tradition (1978, Science for Sane Societies (1980), The Indian Orthodox Church: An Overview (1982), The Meaning and Nature of Diakonia (1988), A Light too Bright (1992) and A Human God (1992).

Apart from numerous periodical articles, contributions to symposia and Encyclopedias, and lectures in scores of universities worldwide, Mar Gregorios was the chief editor of the quarterlies, Star of the East (New Delhi) and Purohitan (Kottayam).

Dr. Paulose Mar Gregorios lived a full life. True to his name, Gregorios, he remained ever awake. Yet such was the ambition of the agenda he set for himself, his work will have to be continued by those who share his convictions and interests. There are few countries he has not visited in his search for knowledge and friendship. The world was his neighbour. He was proficient in at least a dozen languages, modern and ancient, of Asia, Europe and Africa. He was equally at home in the East and the West, but he wanted Eastern enlightenment and the critical rationality of the West to maintain a dialectic relationship instead of the overwhelming one way flow as at present.

While he respected critical rationality, he also believed in revelation, in miracle, and in transcendence. The Orthodox tradition does not see these in conflict. He was essentially an activist for peace and justice, scholarship and contemplation being only a means to higher social and spiritual goals. he had the courage of his Christian conviction. He cherished freedom for others as much as him. He seldom compromised and always forgave. He was unmoved by calumny. He worked to a plan and had little time to waste, an impatience which sometimes would appear brusque. He knew his limitations and did not hesitate to publicly own the, as a corrective for himself and possibly others. Until the very end, he worked hard for peace and unity among Orthodox Christians in India.

Mar Gregorios was a lover of art, architecture, and music. There were, he would remind, a part of the authentic tradition of Eastern Christians. He established the Shruthi school of music at the Theological Seminary in Kottayam and started the School of Orthodox Sacred Music at the Orthodox Centre in Delhi.

Above all, Mar Gregorios was a seeker after Truth, and as he explains in an early book. The Faith of Our Fathers, truth has to be perceived in the light of tradition, which he was a lucid teacher, has to be understood in the light of sacred tradition, and not interpreted at will. It is only through the realization of truth that peace and justice, freedom and equality, the oneness of the human family and harmony between man and nature can be expected to come. Only this way, can the original concept of the word Orthodox - the right glorification of God - find expression in this world. What kept up his spirits was trusting confidence that " When the spirit of truth comes, He will lead you to the complete truth." (John 16:13)