SC orders status quo till next hearing in Malankara Church dispute case

Sub: History

Sec : Medieval India

Context:

The Supreme Court of India issued a ruling to maintain the status quo in the ongoing dispute between the Jacobite and Orthodox factions of the Malankara Church.
This decision was made after both factions expressed difficulty in complying with a December 3 order that required the Jacobite faction to hand over the administration of six churches in Ernakulam and Palakkad districts to the Orthodox faction.
This ruling was in compliance with earlier Court judgments and the 1934 Constitution of the church.

About the case:

The dispute revolves around the administration of certain churches in Ernakulam and Palakkad districts of Kerala.
The two main factions involved in the dispute are the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (Jacobites) and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (Orthodox).

Background:

The Malankara church was formed in the 17th century as a result of local Christian groups on the Malabar coast resisting the attempts of the then Portuguese colonialists to follow the Latin Catholic rites. There was widespread resentment among the locals towards the Portuguese who were mainly Catholics.
The feud between the two factions of the non-Catholic community dates back to 1912 when the Malankara Syrian Church split into two, prompting both of them to engage in legal battles over control of churches and allied properties.
The Jacobite Faction follows the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, led by the Patriarch of Antioch, and claims rightful control over the Malankara Church’s properties as its true inheritors.
The Orthodox Church is based in Kottayam and considers the native Malankara Metropolitan as its head.

Fight for leadership:

A constitution for the Church was drafted and adopted in 1934 approving the Patriarch of Antioch as the spiritual head. But it also added that he can govern only with the cooperation of members of the Orthodox faction.
In 1958, the Supreme Court of India derecognised the leadership of the Patriarch and since then, the two groups have clashed physically and spiritually mainly over who it chooses as its leader. Though they reunited in 1959, the truce lasted briefly until 1972.

Christian denominations in Kerala:

Kerala has a diverse Christian population, which includes Catholics, Jacobite Syrians, Orthodox Syrians, Mar Thomites and Pentecostals.
While Catholics constitute 61% of the state’s Christian population, the Malankara Church represents 15.9%.