Jacobite priest’s fast for Church Act enters 40th day

Ramban started his strike at Piramadom Dayara near Muvattupuzha.

Bar Yuhanon Ramban along with visitors at the Muvattupuzha Taluk Hospital | Express

KOCHI: At a time when Church factions are battling for ownership, control and power over churches, a priest has been on an indefinite hunger strike for the past 40 days for a legislation to regulate management of churches and end all disputes.The 44-year-old Bar Yuhanon Ramban, a priest of the Jacobite Syrian Church, started his fast on August 19, with an aim to make the state government implement the Church Act. According to Ramban, he will continue his protest till he is permitted to meet Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Ramban started his strike at Piramadom Dayara near Muvattupuzha. After six days, as his health started deteriorating, he was shifted to the Muvattupuzha Taluk Hospital. “The Church Act is the only solution to the ongoing issues within and among the state’s various Christian churches and denominations. But the government is not ready to even listen to us. I will end my fast only when the CM promises to hear our concerns. We have taken appointments and visited the CM’s office almost six times this year, but we were not allowed to see him,” said Ramban, who is the director of Malankara Action Council for Church Act Bill Implementation (MACCABI).

Earlier, a series of protests were conducted by Christian groups including All Kerala Church Act Action Council (AKCAAC), Joint Christian Council (JCC), and Maccabi to implement the Kerala Christian Properties Church and Institutions Trust Bill (2009), known as the Church Act. The law, as the text of the draft says, is intended to bring in a democratic framework for the administration of temporal assets of various churches. The draft law was prepared when Justice V R Krishna Iyer was heading the Kerala Law Reforms Commission. But it was never implemented.

“There is no civil law for Christians, unlike other religious communities. The centuries-old churches built by our forefathers were not for converting black money to white. Now, almost all of them are being used for this conversion of money and this has to stop. In order to bring transparency in the financial affairs of the church, the implementation of this Act is very important,” said Boban Varghese, general secretary of Maccabi.

Meanwhile, doctors treating Ramban said if the hunger strike continues, his health condition will worsen. “His condition is stable as of now. We are closely monitoring his vitals. He was earlier diagnosed with heart problems and this strike can be dangerous for him,” said a doctor.

WHAT THE ACT ENTAILS

• The Kerala Church Properties and Institutions Trust Bill (2009) was drafted the Law Reforms Commission headed by V R Krishna Iyer.
• Every parish church shall be registered as a Christian Charitable Trust in the name of that particular church within six months from the date of commencement of the Act.
• The Trustee Assembly is to elect the Managing Trustee, other trustees and three internal auditors from among members of each parish.
• The Trustee Committee shall maintain all books of accounts and other books in relation to the accounts and prepare an annual statement of accounts.
• As envisaged under this Act, the day-to-day administration of the three-tier Trust will be vested with the respective Trustee Committees.
• Upon Registration of a Trust under Section 9 of this Act, all properties of the church, movable and immovable, and cash shall be vested with the Board of Trustees.