KOTTAYAM: Amid its continuing protest against the installation of a new Catholicos for the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church has resorted to seeking legal options to prevent the move.
As part of it, three members of the Orthodox Church have jointly filed a suit in the Kottayam munsiff court, seeking to declare the installation null and void. The plaintiffs claimed that the installation has no bearing on the Malankara Church. The court has accepted the petition and issued a notice to the opposing side. The case is scheduled for hearing on April 2. The Orthodox Church is represented by lawyer Jojo Thomas.
“The petitioners have questioned the Patriarch of Antioch’s authority in appointing a Catholicos for the Malankara Church, which, according to them, is governed by the 1934 Malankara Constitution.
They have also sought a court order restraining the newly installed Catholicos from functioning in any capacity within India, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the 1934 constitution,” plaintiffs stated.