Tension at churches in Kerala over power tussle

Tension prevailed at several churches in Kerala on Sunday with members of the Jacobite faction of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church trying to enter the churches that were taken over by the Orthodox faction on the basis of a Supreme Court order.

Police blocked the Jacobite faction members, including priests and women, at various churches. The tense situations were continuing.

The Jacobite faction had earlier announced that its believers would enter all the 52 churches that were taken over from them by the Orthodox faction. But the Orthodox faction maintained that it was not opposed to believers entering the church, but would not allow priests.

Tension mainly prevailed at the Marthoman Jacobite Syrian Church at Mulanthuruthy in the suburbs of Kochi. Believers led by the Metropolitan of the Kochi diocese of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church Joseph Mar Gregorios tried to enter the church. They were blocked by the police, leading to an altercation. A similar major tense situation was reported at Kattachira St.Mary’s Church at Kayamkulam in Alappuzha and Vadavucodu St Mary's Church in Ernakulam district also.

The Jacobite faction members, who have been demanding referendum among believers on each church's possession and law in this regard, are planning to launch an indefinite stir in front of the Government Secretariat.

It was after a long legal battle that SC ordered administrative control of 1,100 odd churches to the Orthodox faction. The state already witnessed tension at many prominent churches with the Jacobite faction members resisting moves to handover management to the Orthodox faction. The Kerala government is caught up in a fix over the issue with the SC order in favour of the Orthodox faction on one side and a prominent faction of the Christian community on the other. Hence the government has been maintaining a soft-pedaling strategy.

Even as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan recently initiated mediatory talks between the two factions, those remained inconclusive as both the factions remained adamant on their stands. While the Orthodox faction wants to implement the Supreme Court order granting control of about 1,100 churches to them, the Jacobite faction was insisting on the law to conduct a referendum among believers in each church to decide on the possession of the church.