The Supreme Court has issued an order to maintain the current status of administration in a longstanding dispute involving the Jacobite Syrian Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Kerala. This directive was delivered on Tuesday by a bench consisting of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, following acknowledgments from both factions of their difficulties in complying with the Court’s earlier mandate.
Previously on December 3, the Court had directed the Jacobite Syrian Church to relinquish control of six churches to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, citing a violation of its 2017 judgment, which affirmed the latter’s governance rights over 1,100 parishes as per the 1934 Malankara Church constitution.
Given the complexities of the case and the parties involved, the Court has scheduled a detailed hearing for January 29 and 30, 2025, and urged the state government to intervene diplomatically to prevent any escalation of the conflict.
The legal battle, which has seen multiple turns over the years, centers around accusations from the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church that the Jacobite faction has barred access to church facilities despite clear court orders. The Supreme Court has emphasized that while the Orthodox faction is granted administrative authority, the Jacobite community must retain access to shared amenities like burial grounds and educational and medical facilities in these churches.
