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Pathanamthitta:The long-drawn feud in Malankara Syrian Church in Kerala between the Orthodox and Jacobite factions seems
to be hotting up over the latter's plan to build a new church at Parumala near here, which has been restrained by the district collector citing law and order ground. The nearly a century-old schism in India's oldest Christian group once again spilled on to the streets yesterday with memers of the Orthodox section protesting the Jacobite plan to build a church at Parunala, near the Orthodox- controlled shrine where the physical remains of a Siant Gregorious, known in local parlance as 'Parumala Thirumeni', revered by both factions, are interred.
Orthodox faction's contention was that the plan to build a new church would only spark fresh troubles and there was no urgent need for a separate church in the area as there are only a handful of famies affiliated to the Jacobite faction in the area.
Not only that there was no bar for the Jacobites to visit and offer prayers in the Parumala church, they said
However, the argument was rejected by Jacobite grup, also known as Patriarchal faction since they considered the Patriarch of Antioch as their supreme spiritual head.
A spokesman for the faction said it was a long-cherished dream of the members of the community to have a shrine of their own in the area where the saint was laid to eternal rest.
The district collector Lalithambika restrained Jacobite plan after the members of the Orthodox faction took to streets and blocked vehicles. The clergy of the church had earlier given a memorandum to the district administration against the Jacobite move. The two factions have been involved in legal disputes for a long period over control of churches in central Kerala. The issue has eluded a solution despite several conciliation efforts over the decades.PTI
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to be hotting up over the latter's plan to build a new church at Parumala near here, which has been restrained by the district collector citing law and order ground. The nearly a century-old schism in India's oldest Christian group once again spilled on to the streets yesterday with memers of the Orthodox section protesting the Jacobite plan to build a church at Parunala, near the Orthodox- controlled shrine where the physical remains of a Siant Gregorious, known in local parlance as 'Parumala Thirumeni', revered by both factions, are interred.
Orthodox faction's contention was that the plan to build a new church would only spark fresh troubles and there was no urgent need for a separate church in the area as there are only a handful of famies affiliated to the Jacobite faction in the area.
Not only that there was no bar for the Jacobites to visit and offer prayers in the Parumala church, they said
However, the argument was rejected by Jacobite grup, also known as Patriarchal faction since they considered the Patriarch of Antioch as their supreme spiritual head.
A spokesman for the faction said it was a long-cherished dream of the members of the community to have a shrine of their own in the area where the saint was laid to eternal rest.
The district collector Lalithambika restrained Jacobite plan after the members of the Orthodox faction took to streets and blocked vehicles. The clergy of the church had earlier given a memorandum to the district administration against the Jacobite move. The two factions have been involved in legal disputes for a long period over control of churches in central Kerala. The issue has eluded a solution despite several conciliation efforts over the decades.PTI
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