Kottayam,Kerala: The 35th Synod, the highest decision-making body, of the Church of South India (CSI) will begin here on Saturday.
Speaking to mediapersons here recently, Bishop Thomas K. Oommen, deputy moderator and head of the Madhya Kerala Diocese (MKD) of the Church, said that over 500 delegates from the 24 dioceses spread over Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Seemandhra, Telengana, and Jaffna in Sri Lanka will participate in the four-day deliberations. The triennial meet will elect the new moderator and deputy moderator of the Church for the next three years.
The Synod is the first one being held after the amendments to the Church constitution brought out by the special Synod last year, which had effected major changes in the nomination process of the moderator and deputy moderator candidates by reducing the role of the laity in the process. Earlier, it was the 435-member Synod, a body heavily loaded in favour of the laity, that had not only acted as the electoral college but also played a crucial role while nominating the new moderator and deputy moderator candidates.
However, as per the amended provision, from this session onwards, it will be the 24-member bishop’s council, which currently has an effective strength of 22, which will nominate the candidates for the moderator and deputy moderator posts from among themselves.
To be declared elected, the candidates should receive ‘50 per cent plus one’ vote of the Synod. “If anyone failed to receive the required number of votes, the process will be repeated,” said Bishop Oommen. Reacting to a question, he said the amendment had not curtailed democratic rights but only brought discipline to democracy. Bishop Oommen is a frontrunner for the top post.
The constitution had also amended the tenure of the Synod from a biennial one to a triennial one and raised the retirement age of bishops from 65 years to 67.
According to Bishop Oommen, this Synod would take a focussed decision to work for the emancipation of the socially marginalised sections, especially among the Scheduled Tribes and the Scheduled Castes. The Synod would also delineate its outlook towards education, especially on basic education.
The church managed some of the oldest institutions in higher education sector all over south India and, as such, the Synod could also set the ball rolling in establishing a separate university, affiliating these institutions, he said.
This is for the third time that the highest body of the Church, with a total membership of over 15 lakh, is being held in Kottayam.
It was held for the first time in 1966 in connection with the 150th anniversary of the arrival of protestant missionaries to the Malabar coast, and then it was held in 1978. In addition to the members of the Synod, representatives of sister Churches would also participate in various sessions.
source: The Hindu