KOTTAYAM: The dispute within the Malankara Church appears to be escalating with the Orthodox Church on Friday coming out against Jacobite faction’s call for co-existence as sister churches.
In a press note, the Orthodox faction demanded the return of all the infrastructure of the Malankara Church.
“The opposite faction (Jacobite Church) has made it clear that they are a different church and want to continue as a sister church. They are the ones who dragged us into cases. The Malankara Orthodox Church fulfilled its responsibility of proving the truth.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly clarified that the Malankara Church is a trust and that the trust should be governed in accordance with the 1934 Constitution. People have the right to leave the trust and embrace other beliefs. Even if someone leaves, the trust will always remain under the governance of the trust, which is the law of the land,” the Orthodox faction stated.
“The trust will remain forever. Those who wish to leave the trust should voluntarily withdraw from the Malankara Church,” it said.
Coming down on the Patriarch of Antioch, the faction alleged that Mor Ignatius Aphrem II was once again trying to undermine the peace within the Malankara Church. “By establishing parallel centres of power, a foreign citizen is mocking the Indian judicial system.
The Malankara Church strongly opposes the government and political parties for supporting this move. In contrast, the Orthodox Church has no issue with any religious institution installing its leader,” it said.
The Orthodox Church added that the fundamental right to establish a new church and worship has never been questioned. “But there should be no attempt at implementing parallel rule within the Malankara Church. The church must be governed in accordance with the 1934 Constitution. A parallel constitution is not possible as the Supreme Court has unequivocally ruled against parallel rule within the Malankara Church,” the faction said.