KOCHI: Tension gripped St George Church, Peechanikkad, Angamaly, on Sunday, when the Orthodox faction tried to enter the church.
Armed with the High Court order allowing police protection, the vicar and members of the Orthodox faction came to celebrate the Holy Mass. But they were forced to return after protest from the rival faction. According to the sources, hundreds of members of the Jacobite faction gathered at the gate of the church blocking the entry.
However, police intervened before the situation went out of control. The Orthodox faction claimed that over 300 people had gathered inside the church to prevent them from entering and the police stood there without taking any action.
"We had the court order and police protection was ordered by the High Court. When the vicar and faithful reached there to conduct the holy mass, around 300 Jacobite faction members blocked the entry. We practised social distancing and there were only less than 15 people. But they comprised a crowded and the police stood there without taking any action," said Fr Johns Abraham Konat, spokesperson of Orthodox Church.
Fr Konat added that the police said they were outnumbered. "So we were forced to return. We will move court against this injustice," said Fr Konat.
Meanwhile, sources with the Jacobite faction said that protest is the only way to fight the injustice and all the faithful stood together in the fight. "How can the parishioners let go of a church that belonged to them all of a sudden? They will protest and it is hard to dissuade them from protesting," said a source.
Police booked the Jacobite faction for opposing the implementation of the court order and gathering in violation of the Covid protocol.