By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 29 gave a patient hearing to the representatives of the Jacobite Church in a bid to resolve decades-old raging dispute between the two factions of the Kerala Malankara Church.
A day earlier, the prime minister met the other faction, Orthodox Church, also in his office in New Delhi.
Modi has reportedly asked Mizoram Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai to continue the mediation between the two factions and ensure an amicable solution to the contentious issues between the two sides.
Pillai, a native of Kerala, has taken the initiative to organize the two factions’ meetings with the prime minister.
The Jacobite leaders sought Modi’s intervention to rein in what they called the Orthodox officials’ takeover spree of churches.
They also told Modi that they were in a majority in several areas in Kerala but their rights have been usurped by the Orthodox Church.
The Jacobites also urged the prime minister to help settle the contentious issues between the factions.
The leaders later told the media that the prime minister had directed Pillai to take the discussions forward and help the two sides reach an amicable settlement.
The Jacobite faction leaders said that they met with the prime minister to petition him not to implement a Supreme Court order in favor of the Orthodox faction.
The Orthodox and Jacobite factions are engaged in a bitter battle for the control of properties, including churches and other institutions, in Kerala.
A day earlier, an official of the Orthodox faction said their meeting with Modi lasted nearly an hour. The Orthodox faction was represented by Youhanon Mar Demetrios, Metropolitan of the Delhi Diocese; Thomas Mar Athanasius, Metropolitan of the Kandanad East diocese; and Youhanon Mar Diascoros, synod secretary of the Church.
“The meeting was cordial and the Prime Minister allowed us enough time to explain our stance. He also acknowledged the need to respect the court order,” the spokesperson told reporters.
According to him, the faction stressed the need to settle the issue within the framework of the Supreme Court order. “We explained the circumstances leading to the case in the Supreme Court and how the Jacobite faction is now seeking a settlement outside the court,” the spokesperson added.
He further pointed to the court directive to the state and all parties to abide by its judgment in totality and not to solve the matter in variance with the judgment.
”During the meeting, our representatives informed the prime minister that the Supreme Court order has to be implemented. There is no doubt a prime minister was very cordial and sympathetic (towards our cause). We have got a very positive feeling (during the meeting with the prime minister), Johns Abraham Konat, spokesperson of the Orthodox Church, said.
He said church leaders informed Modi that the Supreme Court gave its verdict granting the Orthodox faction the possession of churches in a case Jacobite faction and in its order, the apex court has clearly stated that the matter shall be settled only by implementing its order. “They (Jacobite f should accept the court order first. If they are ready for that, we can think about other matters,” Father Konat said.
Modi’s mediation has come more than a year after various Church denominations in Kerala offered to mediate and defuse the dispute between the two factions.
However, the head of Orthodox Church turned down the offer, saying he did not see the need for a mediated dialogue over and above the Supreme Court decision.
Catholicos Baselius Mar Thoma Paulose-II of the East also said on December 4, 2029, that their past experience of such dialogues was futile.
Even Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan too had tried to cobble together a peace formula acceptable to both sides, but in vain.
While the Orthodox faction stuck to their demand that the 2017 Supreme Court order should be implemented, the Jacobite alleged the Orthodox faction was ”misinterpreting” the order and ”taking over” their churches unethically.
The protests by both the groups have often resulted in law order issues in several parishes in the state.
The Supreme Court’s verdict on July 3, 2017, gave the Orthodox faction the right to all the properties, including churches, parishes, and institutions under the Jacobites.
The apex court dismissed a review petition filed by the Jacobite faction on November 18, 2017, thus giving the Orthodox faction the right over properties, including 1,100 churches and parishes.
The apex court’s earlier verdicts in 1958 and 1995 had also gone in favor of the Orthodox faction.
It is in this background that Pillai had taken the initiative and arranged the meetings of the Prime minister with both the factions.
Meanwhile, Pillai hosted a lunch for both Jacobite and Orthodox Church representatives at the Mizoram Bhavan in New Delhi. The leaders of the two factions participated in the lunch meeting.
“I am trying to settle this issue. Inviting someone for lunch is not part of this initiative. But, of course, I am happy that both the faction leaders participated in the luncheon meeting and it makes some sense in the scheme of things,” Pillai told IANS news agency.