Could Not Handover Churches To Orthodox Faction Due To Resistance From Jacobites: State Govt Informs Kerala HC

The state government has informed the Kerala High Court that it has not been able to implement the order to hand over certain churches to the Orthodox faction of the Malankara Church from the possession of the Jacobite faction.

As per a report by The New Indian Express, the government stated that the failure to do so was because the police had been facing strong opposition from members of the latter, who had camped inside the Churches. Further, it informed the Court that some of the protestors had threatened to commit suicide.

The government also mentioned that it feared serious law and order issues might arise and it was not possible to remove the Jacobite members from the Churches without using force.

The Churches to be handed over were--St Thomas Orthodox Syrian Church, Cherukunnam; St Mary’s Orthodox Church (Odakkali Palli), Odakkali; St John’s Besfage Orthodox Church, Pulinthanam, Muvattupuzha; St Mary’s Orthodox Syrian Church, Mangalam Dam; St Mary’s Orthodox Syrian Church, Erickinchira; and, St Thomas Orthodox Syrian Church, Mazhuvannoor.

The two factions had split in 1912 and reunified in 1959. But after 1972-73, there have been disputes over the control of churches and their properties. In 2017, the Supreme Court had ordered 1064 churches to be handed over to the Orthodox faction. However, implementation of the order has not been possible due to resistance from the Jacobite faction.