KOCHI: Even as the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church has stuck to its decision not to go for a consensus meeting with Jacobites over the Church row, Jacobite Syrian Church head Catholicos Baselios Thomas I on Friday said the dispute with the Orthodox faction should be settled through discussion.
In an official statement, Baselios Thomas I said, “Even in the sensational Ayodhya case, the Supreme Court (SC) had directed resolution through mediation.” He reiterated that the Jacobite Church only opts for a path of discussion. “If someone thinks that they could encroach and capture churches and cemeteries built by the church members through their hard work, they should know that it will not work,” said the Catholicos.
“The Jacobite faction will fully cooperate with the cabinet sub-committee formed in the wake of the Supreme Court directive to the state government to resolve the issue through mediation. It is the non-cooperation by the Orthodox faction that remains a hindrance,” he said. The Supreme Court verdict on Tuesday had criticised the state government for not implementing the 2017 verdict regarding the ownership of the Churches in dispute.