Orthodox Church objects to govt delegates at Catholicos' installation

AFTER a brief hiatus, the disputes between Jacobite and Orthodox factions in the Malankara church resurfaced with the state government's decision to send official representatives to Lebanon for the installation of Joseph Mor Gregorios, Malankara Metropolitan of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, as Catholicos.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Kottayam

Addressing media persons at the Orthodox Church headquarters at Devalokam in Kottayam on Thursday, functionaries of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) expressed their strong protest against the state government for supporting the installation ceremony.

According to them, the alleged alternative installation ceremony in Lebanon would disrupt peace within the Malankara Church. The Orthodox faction also pointed to a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the 1934 Constitution of the Malankara Church and explicitly rejected any attempt to create a parallel management system under the pretext of the spiritual supremacy of the Patriarch.