Kerala - Kottayam   

Injunction against church head leads to legal tangle

Staff Reporter

Church authorities to move higher court

KOTTAYAM: The permanent injunction issued by the Ernakulam Munsiff Court against the Supreme Head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Baselius Mar Thoma Didimos I, the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan from exercising his powers in convening the Episcopal Synod and Malankara Association, has once again brought in a cycle of legal complexities.

Additional Munsiff K. Santhosh Kumar had disallowed the meeting of the Malankara Syrian Christian Association called by Catholicos Didimos I, for September 21 and also restrained him from convening the meetings of the Managing Committee and Working Committee of the Association.

The order comes against the plea made by Myalil Babu Paulose of Chethikode Edamana and another person. In their prayer they had maintained that the Malankara Sysrian Christian Association had not elected Didimos I as Catholicos or Malankara Metropolitan, as stipulated in the Constitution adopted by the Church in 1934. Meanwhile the Orthodox Church authorities on Tuesday maintained that they would move the higher court without delay. According to them, Catholicos Didimos I was consecrated as Catholicos, following the same procedure that they were following since 1964. The present Catholicos (Bishop Thomas Mar Thimothios, then) was elected Catholicos-designate at the 1992 meeting of the Malankara Association. Fr O. Thomas, clergy secretary of the Church said the verdict would not affect the functioning of the Church as there were enough provisions within the Constitution to carry on the administration.

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