Kerala church dispute: Jacobite faction submits petition to state govt demanding law

The Jacobite faction of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church has demanded a law to resolve their centuries-old dispute with the Orthodox faction and submitted a mass memorandum to the Kerala government in this regard. Signed by five lakh believers of the Jacobite church, a group of church representatives, including Mathews Mor Anthimos Metropolitan, submitted the memorandum to Industries Minister EP Jayarajan at his office in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

The Jacobite and Orthodox are two Kerala-based Syrian church groups. The feud between the two factions intensified following the implementation of a 2017 Supreme Court order, granting the Orthodox faction possession of over 1,000 churches and properties attached to them. According to the recent petition by the Jacobite faction, the centuries-old church dispute cannot be resolved by a court decision alone and that the government should intervene for an amicable solution, a statement from the church read.

The Jacobite faction is of the view of that various steps taken by the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front government so far to settle the issues in the church, including the recent Kerala Christian Cemeteries (Right to Burial of Bodies) Bill, was "bold". They want more such legislation to end the dispute between the two factions, it said.

The Jacobite group also said the only solution to settle the dispute between the factions was to hold a referendum in the churches and both the factions had tried and succeeded in most of the churches in Malabar earlier, the statement added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held discussions with representatives of the Jacobite and Orthodox factions in New Delhi this week with an aim to resolve the dispute. He met three senior priests of the Jacobite faction at his office on Tuesday, a day after discussions with representatives of the Orthodox group there on Monday.

Earlier, the CPI(M) government had attempted to mediate talks between the factions to end their feud over the administration of 1,000-odd parishes. The effort by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to cobble together a peace formula acceptable to both sides did not yield results.

While the Orthodox faction stuck to their demand that the 2017 Supreme Court order be implemented, the Jacobite faction alleged that the other group was "misinterpreting" the order and "taking over" their churches unethically.

The protests by both groups have often resulted in law and order issues in several parishes in the state, including delay in the burial of deceased parish members.