Thiruvananthapuram: The Orthodox Church on Friday came out vociferously against the State Government's move to present a Bill in the Assembly to end the discord between the Jacobite and Orthodox factions in the ongoing Church dispute.

The Orthodox leadership has warned that it will strongly stall the move and stage protests in all dioceses. Metropolitans and priests will hold a fast-cum-prayer at Thiruvananthapuram on Monday while Sunday will be observed as a protest day in the churches.

The move to introduce a Bill will only worsen the issue and they would not accept the intervention of the State Government over the Supreme Court verdict, said Orthodox Church secretary Biju Oommen. The Church leadership termed the move by the Government as a ploy to “distract attention” when the latter is on the defensive.

“The Orthodox Church is perplexed over the LDF stand. The move to pass a law is painful. The Orthodox Church expects the Government and the LDF to review its decision to introduce the Bill. The court itself had struck down the laws enacted by the Government against the Supreme Court verdicts. The LDF should view the protests by the Orthodox Church seriously. If the Government goes ahead with the Bill, the Church will initiate legal proceedings against it,” said the Orthodox Church leadership.

The Kerala Government is set to bring in a legislation to resolve the longstanding dispute between the Orthodox and Jacobite factions of the Malankara Church of the Jacobite Syrian community in the State.

A meeting of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has given its approval to the government to frame a law that does not violate the essence of the Supreme Court verdict on the contentious matter so that an amicable resolution is possible.

By planning to bring in a Bill, the government aims at recognizing the claim of the Orthodox faction to the churches, and to ensure freedom of worship for the Jacobite faithful.

At the meeting on Thursday, State Law Minister P Rajeev explained the aim of the legislation and the broad shape it will take. All the allies of the LDF approved it in general terms. However, there was a suggestion to make both the contending parties aware of the good intention of the government.

The Justice K T Thomas Commission had submitted its recommendations to the government on the issue and the Law Department had examined them. The legislation will be brought about by making necessary changes to them.

A district-level authority consisting of the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police will be formed for resolving any dispute that may arise. If the dispute cannot be resolved by this authority, an appeal could be made to the State government.

Backdrop

The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, has two factions — the majority Orthodox, who have their headquarters in Kottayam, and the Jacobites, who consider the Patriarch of Antioch in Beirut (Lebanon) as their supreme leader.

The community first split into Orthodox and Jacobite in 1912, but came together in Kottayam for a brief period between 1958 and 1970, following a Supreme Court ruling. Since 1970, they have been at war over church control.

After decades spent in trial, the apex court in its final verdict in 2017, gave the Orthodox faction the right to administer 1,100 churches and parishes under the Malankara Church and said there was no ground for the Jacobites to claim any of the churches.

Jacobite Church followers have been accused of preventing access to its places of worship to devotees and clergy from the Orthodox faction, despite the orders of the high court and the Supreme Court.

The Orthodox Church, one of the parties to the legal case, had earlier asked the state government to take legal measures to implement the court order without any conditions. Earlier, the faction even expressed its reservation about the government’s moves to try for a compromise to solve the tangle.