Patriarch of Antioch and head of the universal Syrian Orthodox Church Ignatios Aphrem II, offering prayers at the tomb of Catholicos Baselios Thomas I at the Mar Athanasius cathedral in Puthencruz Patriarchal Centre. Photo : Special Arrangement

SC orders status quo in Orthodox church issue, calls for peace and harmony

Apex court seeks details from the State of Kerala on the dispute between the Jacobite and Orthodox Malankara denominations

by · The Hindu

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (December 17, 2024) ordered status quo in a dispute between the Jacobite and the Orthodox Malankara denominations ahead of Christmas, while agreeing to hear the case in detail on two consecutive days in late January 2025.

A Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant decided to maintain the present state of affairs after both factions expressed, directly and indirectly, their difficulty in complying with a December 3 order of the apex court.

Also read | Jacobite Church calls for peaceful settlement of dispute within Malankara Church

On December 3, the previous date of hearing, the Bench had directed the Jacobite group to hand over the administration of six churches in the Ernakulam and Palakkad districts of Kerala to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian faction in compliance with the apex court’s judgments and the 1934 constitution of the church.

Senior advocate C.U. Singh, appearing for the Orthodox group, said an order of status quo on Tuesday would amount to the court contravening its own order of December 3.

“We are aware of this. But we have to take care that no untoward incidents happen. We will also strengthen the hand of the administration so they will control the situation,” Justice Kant said.

The court urged both groups to maintain peace and harmony. It asked the State to persuade the groups to keep the peace. “Status quo as it exists now should continue… Lives, property, law and order, peace are all very important factors of a society governed by the rule of law,” Justice Kant said.

The court said the status quo would prevail till the next date of hearing on January 29 and January 30, 2025.

Meanwhile, the court directed the State government to place on record details of the Orthodox Christian population, preferably gram panchayat or sub-division wise; the number and details of churches under the complete administrative control of either the Orthodox Malankara denomination or the Jacobite denomination; the list of these churches of which the management was in dispute; the current status of their administration; and the parish registers.

The schism within the church has impacted over 2,000 parish churches and 30 million followers across the world. The 2017 judgment had found the 1934 constitution was “appropriate and adequate” for the management of the Malankara parish churches.

In fact, the 2017 verdict reiterated decisions of the Supreme Court in 1958 and 1995 that the 1934 constitution of the Malankara church governed the parish churches under it.

The dispute between the group with allegiance to the Patriarch of Antioch in Syria (Jacobite faction) and the Catholicos of the East dates back over a century. The Malankara church is believed to be established in AD 52 by St. Thomas.

Published - December 17, 2024 09:11 pm IST