PIRAVOM: Seventy-eight-year old Ammini stood at the gate of St Mary’s Syrian Cathedral in Piravom with folded hands and tearful eyes as the events of the day unfolded on Thursday.
Staunch Jacobite all her life, Ammini was one of the many elderly who looked on in shock, as the ancient church, home to fond memories and resting place of their forefathers, bore witness to unprecedented mayhem.
Heartbroken when the hallowed portals of the sacred church were defiled by police boots, a collective wail of despair went up from the crowd of faithful.
“Our forefathers lie in eternal rest at this church. What will happen to me when I die? Where am I to be buried?” sobbed Ammini.
Hundreds of faithful, fiercely faithful to the church since birth, broke into tears when they were forced to leave the church premises.
“Our metropolitans, who stood like a wall in front of the church, have blessed us with the strength and will to fight. The Orthodox faction has drawn the curse of the Holy Magi on their heads. They will never receive their blessings,” said Asha, a parishioner of the church.
“To cater for the unjust demand of around 200 Orthodox families, 2,500 Jacobite families who have always belonged to this church have been asked to leave. What sort of justice is this?”she asked.
“Let the Orthodox faction feed on our bodies if they want our church,” said an elderly woman in her eighties.