KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday cautioned factions of the Malankara church that if the entry of clergy or priest or office bearers appointed under its 1934 constitution is blocked, the court will have to step in. "There is only one constitution. You have to act under that constitution. These churches can be administered only as per the 1934 constitution," observed the court and added that there cannot be two factions (Orthodox and Jacobite) any more.
The court also expressed hope that the mindset of both factions will be dispensed away with.
Justice Devan Ramachandran made the observation when the petitions filed by the Orthodox faction seeking police protection for churches and vicars came up for hearing.
The court said that its endeavour is to ensure that every church under the Malankara sabha is governed by the 1934 constitution. In other words, only the clergy, the vicar and the office bearers under the constitution can be permitted to administer the churches. "You may have a predilection to calling yourself as a particular faction. The court cannot even recognise that. All of you are parishioners. There is no difference between you. All of you have the same blood and the genetic composition is the same," observed the court.
The judge also said, "I am not saying that what happened in the past has to be obliterated. You will have to make way for the next generation of thoughts. You fought each other under the impression that you can have a separate constitution. But now there is only one constitution. This is a call for the wise men at the top of the factions to settle this once and for all. This has been going on for years. If you pass this on to the next generation, things could get dangerous."
The counsel for the Jacobite faction submitted that they are nudged out from the churches under the guise of the Supreme Court verdict in the KS Varghese case. The court said that it is time to understand that there is only one faction "that is churches, nothing else."
The court asked, "Who is benefiting from this fight? Some churches are kept locked. Some are in the hands of revenue authorities. People are fighting each other and crying. Who benefits from the churches being shut down? Definitely not the almighty. In fact, the almighty is pained to see such a factional feud. Let the believers understand the power of the lord not the power of the sword."