Orthodox-Jacobite dispute: Kerala High Court orders District Collectors to take possession of 6 churches

The Kerala High Court recently directed the District Collectors of Ernakulam and Palakkad to take possession of six churches caught in a long-drawn dispute between the Jacobite and Orthodox factions of Malankara Christians [St Thomas Orthodox Syrian Church & anr v Dr Venu V IAS & ors and connected cases]..The Court passed the order on a contempt petition filed by two vicars (petitioners) belonging to the Orthodox faction.Justice VG Arun criticized the blatant disobedience of the Court's 2022 directions to allow members of the Malankara Orthodox Church (Orthodox faction) to enter and peacefully perform prayer services at the churches due to obstruction by Jacobite parishioners.The judge said he was left with no option but to call on the District Collectors to take over the possession of these churches."The recalcitrant attitude of the official respondents and disregard of the directions by the party respondents (Jacobite faction members) leaves this Court with no option but to issue directions for preventing the contemptuous acts," the Court said..The State authorities had informed the Court that a large group of Jacobite parishioners including elderly men, women and children were obstructing entry to the church.The State said that it had made sincere efforts to implement the Court's directives but had been forced to withdraw due to massive agitation by Jacobites. Further State intervention may lead to a loss of lives, the Court was told.Members of the Jacobite faction who were before the Court maintained that the church was not liable to be handed over to the Orthodox faction and that the earlier order of 2022 was passed on a mistaken basis..The Court rejected their objections and ordered the District Collector of Ernakulam to take over the possession of three churches, namely, St. Mary's Orthodox Church at Odakkali, St. John's Besphage Orthodox Syrian Church at Pulinthanam and St. Thomas Orthodox Syrian Church at Mazhuvannoor.The District Collector of Palakkad was ordered to take possession of three other churches, namely St. Mary's Orthodox Church at Mangalam Dam, St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church at Erickinchira and St. Thomas Orthodox Syrian Church at Cherukunnam.Both Collectors were ordered to file compliance reports by September 30 when the case will be heard next.Additionally, the District Police Chiefs were directed to deploy sufficient personnel to aid in the takeover, to ensure that the Court’s orders are implemented without further delay..By way of background, the Orthodox and Jacobite factions were initially part of the same church, but eventually split over differences on who the church should owe its allegiance to. Whereas the Orthodox faction pledged its allegiance to a Bishop in Kerala (Malankara Metropolitan), the Jacobite faction views the Patriarch of Antioch as its spiritual head.Disputes then cropped up over which faction is entitled to administer various churches in Kerala. This dispute eventually reached the Supreme Court..In 2017, in KS Varghese v. St. Peter's and Paul's Syrian Orthodox Church and others, the Supreme Court relied on a document drawn up in 1934 (1934 Constitution) to rule in favour of the Orthodox church on several disputed issues.The top court also opined that a parallel system of running the churches could not have been set up by a 2002 document drawn by the Jacobite faction.However, the Orthodox faction has since repeatedly complained of the failure to implement the Supreme Court's 2017 order..On one such plea, a single-judge of the High Court in 2022 directed the police to provide necessary assistance to the petitioners (Orthodox faction) to peacefully enter and conduct religious services in certain churches under dispute.Since their entry to the churches continued to be obstructed by the rival Jacobite parishioners, the Orthodox petitioners again moved the High Court for relief by filing the present contempt petition.On August 30, Justice Arun rejected the Jacobite respondents' arguments against further Court intervention in the matter and questioned whether it should turn a blind eye when its directives were being treated with scant respect. Such contemptuous acts would malign the entire judicial system, the judge added."Disobedience of court orders strikes at the root of the rule of law on which the judicial system rests. If conduct which tends to bring the authority of the court and the administration of law to disrepute is allowed to be perpetuated that will result in the entire system being maligned. It is the bounden duty of every court to uphold the majesty of law and maintain the purity of the system. The law is equally applicable to the mighty and the meek, the powerful and the powerless and has to be applied without fear or favour, prejudice or predilection," the Court said..The petitioners (Orthodox vicars) were represented by Senior Advocate S Sreekumar, assisted by advocate Roshan D Alexander, Tina Alex Thomas, Harimohan and Kochurani James.Additional Advocate General Ashok M Cherian represented the State authorities.Senior Advocates Naveen R Nath and K Ramakumar and advocates Sajan Varghese, Sreenath Vijayaraghavan, P Vijayaraghavan (Palayil) and PV Elias represented other private respondents..[Read Order]