Jacobite Church: Internal rift deepens as Catholicos resigns

Kochi: After losing most churches to the Orthodox faction in a long legal battle, the internal rift in Malankara Church’s Jacobite faction has peaked with the Catholicos of India – Baselios Thomas I – losing his administrative powers over the Church after the Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius Aphrem II, accepted his resignation recently.
As the move paved the way for a change in regime (factionally), the supporters of Catholicos have written to the Patriarch, demanding action against the Church’s co-trustees who forced the Catholicos to resign, thus fostering infighting.
The Patriarch accepted his resignation letter – in which he had raised allegations against the elected governing body– on Thursday, considering his ‘age and long years in service’ but kept mum on the allegations. Patriarchate then asked him to continue as the spiritual head and handle temporal matters till further arrangements are made with the assistance of a committee formed by the Patriarch.
This committee includes Mor Themotheos Thomas (secretary of synod and metropolitan of Kottayam diocese), Mor Severios Abraham, (assistant metropolitan of Angamaly region) and Mor Gregorios Joseph (metropolitan of Kochi diocese) as members. They will assist the Catholicos in making decision till the synod meets at the end of May when the Patriarch will visit Kerala.
Catholicos – who had sent several letters of resignation –had raised allegations against the elected governing body for trying to defame him. They had demanded an investigation into past financial dealings of the Church.
The rift began when a section of the laity and priests threw their weight behind Mor Themotheos Thomas who ran against the Catholicos for the position of Metropolitan trustee in a secret ballot. Though Themotheos lost the election, his panel of representatives won key posts including that of ‘laity trustee and clergy trustee’.
While the Church secretary post was won by the supporters of Catholicos, Themotheos himself got elected as the synod secretary. Sources said nearly 80% of the seats in the working and managing committees were won by the Themotheos group. Then the rift between Catholicos and the elected governing bodies began, said sources.
“Whenever, the governing bodies demanded an independent inquiry into past financial dealings, the meetings were adjourned by the Catholicos who shelved further proceedings. Questions were raised in managing, working committees and the synod about financial dealings but Catholicos ignored them. Now the Patriarch has curbed his powers and asked him to stay as the head. It’s not right if he leaves, he must answer how the church was embroiled in this crisis,” said Fr Varghese Kallapara, a senior priest.
Meanwhile, nine of the 22-members in the working committee have written to the Patriarch seeking action against the co-trustees by naming them as those responsible for the resignation of Catholicos.
Sources said the new committee is not going to take drastic decisions. “All three committee members are unlikely to work together as they have different opinions. Themotheos would be outnumbered in such a committee. I guess, Patriarch is trying to maintain status quo till his visit in May,” said a senior priest.