Author: Our Staff Reporter
Publication: The Hindu
Date: August 30, 2002
URL: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2002/08/30/stories/2002083001350500.htm
A Division Bench of the Kerala High
Court on Thursday adjourned to September 3 for final hearing a writ petition
filed by the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan, Baselius
Marthoma Mathews II, supreme head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church,
and other Metropolitans under him, regarding the Church dispute.
The Bench, comprising the Chief
Justice, B.N. Srikrishna, and Justice C.N. Ramachandran, was informed today
by the counsel for the Jacobite faction that the Jacobite Syrian Association
was not in favour of allowing the Catholicos of the East to enter the St.
Mary's Church at Manarcaud and perform religious rituals there.
The Bench had on Wednesday sought
the views of the Jacobite Syrian Association on allowing the Orthodox Syrian
Association and the Malankara Metropolitan to perform religious rituals
at the church. It was also submitted that in fact, the Catholicos had never
entered the church and done any religious service during the last 30 years.
In the writ petition, the Catholicos
and the Metropolitans had sought permission to exercise their power over
as many as 1,150 churches and pleaded for a direction to the State Government
and the police to provide adequate and effective protection for exercising
such powers. During the arguments, counsel for the Orthodox faction had
confined his plea for police protection for performing religious services
to nine churches. They were the Marthoman Christian Church, Kothamangalam,
St.Mary's Church, Angamaly, St. George Church, Karingachira, Martha Mariyan
Church, Kandanad, St. Kuriakose Church, Mampara, St. Mary's Church, Errikumchira,
Marthoman Church,, Mulanthuruthy, St. Mary's Church, Manarcadu, and the
St. Peter's and St. Paul's Church, Puthemkurizhu.
