Ernakulam: Addressing the ongoing dispute over the unified mass in the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, Syro-Malabar Church Major Archbishop Mar Raphael Thattil warned on Thursday that Holy Mass cannot be conducted according to the will of individual priests.
"Mass should be offered in the way prescribed by the Church and liturgy," said Archbishop Thattil during the Holy Mass at St. Sebastian's Church, Nedunkandam.

The Syro-Malabar Church picked Bishop Raphael Thattil as its major archbishop, succeeding Cardinal George Alencherry, who resigned from the post last month.

The dispute
Tension has been brewing since 2021 over the standardised form of worship that has upset a section of the laity and the clergy. As per the new practice ordered by the Vatican, "the priest will face the congregation till the Eucharistic prayer, and then again from Communion to the end of the Mass. During the Eucharistic prayer, he will face the altar against the congregation."

The Synod of bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church announced that the unified mass would be conducted in all churches from November 28, 2021. However, a section of the Angamaly Archdiocese opposed the practice.

The protesters have been demanding that the priest should face the devotees while performing the holy mass as continuing the previous practice.