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In century-old Malankara Church conflict, SC issues Jacobite faction stern warning

By, Kochi
Dec 04, 2024 07:14 AM IST

Supreme Court on Tuesday uphed its 2017 judgement in connection with the entrustment of certain churches under it to Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church as per 1934 constitution of parent church

The century-old tussle between the Jacobite and Orthodox factions of the Malankara Church in Kerala over control of certain churches and ancillary properties may finally see a resolution with the Supreme Court on Tuesday upholding its 2017 judgement and directing the Jacobite faction to comply with it.

Patriarch of Antioch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II at the St Mary’s Jacobite Syrian Church in Piravom in February this year. (HT photo)
Patriarch of Antioch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II at the St Mary’s Jacobite Syrian Church in Piravom in February this year. (HT photo)

A bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan informed the Jacobite Syrian Church that it was in contempt for “wilfully disobeying” the judgements of the top court as well as the Kerala high court in connection with the entrustment of certain churches under it to the rival Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church as per the 1934 constitution of the parent church.

The SC bench, hearing a batch of special leave petitions (SLPs) filed by the Kerala police, the state and Jacobite church members challenging the October 17 Kerala HC order, asked the Jacobite faction to hand over control of three churches each in Palakkad and Ernakulam districts to the rival faction. It will attract contempt of court proceedings if it fails to do so, the top court reminded.

At the same time, the Orthodox faction should ensure that common amenities in these six churches such as burial grounds, schools and hospitals must be thrown open to members of the Jacobite faction as well to ensure peace and harmony as part of upholding the 1934 Constitution, the SC bench underlined.

“We are only concerned with the administration of churches as per the 1934 Constitution. If you want a hearing before us, first comply with the judgement and hand over the keys,” justice Surya Kant told the Jacobite group.

The court also posted the next hearing in the case on Dec 17 and asked both factions of the Church to file affidavits in the matter.

Crux of the tussle

The Malankara church was formed in the 17th century as a result of local Christian groups on the Malabar coast resisting the attempts of the then Portuguese colonialists to follow the Latin Catholic rites. There was widespread resentment among the locals towards the Portuguese who were mainly Catholics. The Christians of the Kerala coast believed that their ancestors were baptised by St Thomas, the apostle of Jesus, and essentially lived as St Thomas Christians before the arrival of the Portuguese.

The feud between the two factions of the non-Catholic community dates back to 1912 when the Malankara Syrian Church split into two, prompting both of them to engage in legal battles over control of churches and allied properties.

While both churches follow the same liturgy rites, they differ primarily in leadership. While the Orthodox Church is based in Kottayam and considers the native Malankara Metropolitan as its head, the Jacobite faction considers the Patriarch of Antioch as its supreme head.

A constitution for the Church was drafted and adopted in 1934 approving the Patriarch of Antioch as the spiritual head. But it also added that he can govern only with the cooperation of members of the Orthodox faction. In 1958, the Supreme Court of India derecognised the leadership of the Patriarch and since then, the two groups have clashed physically and spiritually mainly over who it chooses as its leader. Though they reunited in 1959, the truce lasted briefly until 1972.

On July 3, 2017, the Supreme Court gave the right to administer 1,000-odd churches and parishes to the Orthodox group, underlining that the Jacobite group had no right to occupy the churches, citing the Constitution of the Church that was drafted and adopted in the year 1934. The Jacobite group has termed the ruling unjust as it says that it will be forced to hand over many churches including those which it had constructed and maintained over the last several decades.

Since the SC verdict, protests, skirmishes and scuffles have erupted at several contentious churches claimed by both factions when the police and the district administration tried to intervene in order to implement the top court’s decision. The most notable incident was reported in September 2019 at the St Mary’s Church in Piravom in Ernakulam district where faithful of both factions came head to head and resulted in a tense atmosphere with the police troops being called in to calm tempers.

Orthodox faction welcomes SC decision

Ronny Varghese, trustee of the Orthodox Syrian church, told HT that the church welcomed the SC decision on Tuesday and expects the rival faction to hand over the keys of the six churches mentioned in the current dispute.

“The top court has essentially said that the 1934 Constitution must be respected and peace must prevail. We welcome it. The SC made it clear that it does not want to re-examine the 2017 verdict. Everyone should march ahead together without differences,” he said.

He said that while the church agrees with the point that common facilities like burial grounds should be made available to all, he clarified that the rival faction cannot expect to bring their own priests to carry out rituals.

“Faithful of both factions can come to the churches and offer prayers. We will not oppose them. But they cannot bring in their own priests as it will be a violation of the 2017 judgment. Our prayers and liturgical rituals are the same,” said Varghese.

He claimed that around 50 churches in different parts of Kerala are still controlled by the Jacobites in violation of the 2017 verdict where faithful of the Orthodox faction are denied entry. The disputes regarding these churches are in various stages of trial in local civil courts.

Attempts to reach the officials of the Jacobite Syrian Church for a comment on the SC ruling were unsuccessful.

Impact of the ruling

The SC ruling will likely finally pave the way for an end to the dispute between the two factions at least in the management of the six churches across Ernakulam and Palakkad districts.

The Jacobite faction has been ordered by the SC to follow its directives and file an affidavit before the next hearing on December 17. In failing to do so, it will attract contempt of court proceedings.

The long-standing dispute has also had significant political undercurrents. The Orthodox faction has repeatedly accused the CPM-led government of not taking action to take control of the churches as ordered by the SC. In return, the state has informed the SC and the HC that it is up against law and order issues including risks of violence citing the 2019 incident in Piravom.

While the Orthodox church counts around 2.5 million among its adherents worldwide with the majority residing in Kerala, the Jacobite church has at least half a million adherents in the state. All three principal coalitions — CPM-led LDF, Congress-led UDF and BJP-led NDA — have wooed the two significant Christian groups during elections by offering to resolve the dispute through talks. In the 2021 assembly elections, Jacobite followers were believed to have backed the LDF to a large extent for helping maintain the status quo on the dispute.

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