Church Feud: Kerala High Court Grants Police Protection To Orthodox Vicars Against Jacobite Faction, For Performing Rites In Six Churches

The Kerala High Court has ordered adequate protection for vicars and parishioners of the Orthodox faction in a batch of petitions filed by them over hindrance caused by the Jacobite faction and their agents in the various kurisupallies under the respective Churches in performing the religious rites. 

The Court was considering petitions filed by the Vicar and Parishioners of different Orthodox Churches - namely, the St. Thomas Orthodox Syrian Church, Mazhuvanoor; the St.Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church, Odakkali; the St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church, Poothrikka; the St. John’s Besphage Orthodox Church, Pulinthanam; St. Thomas Bethel Orthodox Church, Karikode; and the St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church, Attinkunnu, Kakkoor. It has passed separate orders in all the petitions.

The petitions were filed seeking the issuance of a direction to ensure that the Priests and Vicars of the Malankara Orthodox Church were not prevented from conducting religious services in the church in accordance with the 1934 Constitution and as per the Apex Court decision in K.S. Varghese v. St. Peter's & Paul's Syrian Orthodox Church & Ors. (2017). 

As per the Supreme Court judgment, all the Malankara Parish Churches are bound by the 1934 Constitution, and there are no factions. It had been observed that the "faith of Church is unnecessarily sought to be divided vis-a-vis the office of Catholicos and the Patriarch as the common faith of the Church is in Jesus Christ. In fact an effort is being made to take over the management and other powers by raising such disputes as to supremacy of Patriarch or Catholicos to gain control of temporal matters under the garb of spirituality. There is no good or genuine cause for disputes which have been raised".

The Single Judge Bench of Justice Anu Sivaraman perused the Apex Court decision and observed that, the Churches in question had been included amongst the the list of 1,064 churches under the Sabha. 

"Therefore, it is clear that in so far as the constituent parish churches of the Malankara Church are concerned, all questions stand settled by the judgment of the Apex Court. A judgment in rem means and includes a declaratory judgment of the status of some subject matter. The judgment is conclusive in respect of the case or class of cases to which it is made applicable in general... It is, therefore, clear that in so far as the constituent parish churches are concerned, the judgment of the Apex Court in K.S. Varghese is a judgment in rem," it was observed. 

It was the case of the Orthodox faction that the Jacobite faction members were physically obstructing them from rightly following the Apex Court verdict in K. S. Varghese (Supra) by performing religious rites in the six Churches. 

The Apex Court decision in K.S. Varghese case (Supra) stated that no group or denomination by majority or otherwise could take away the management or the property as that would virtually tantamount to illegal interference in the management and illegal usurpation of its properties. "It is not open to the beneficiaries even by majority to change the nature of the Church, its property and management. The only method to change management is to amend the Constitution of 1934 in accordance with law. It is not open to the Parish Churches to even frame bye-laws in violation of the provisions of the 1934 Constitution," it had been added. 

The Jacobite faction opposed the present pleas by raising contentions as to the identity of the Churches. They claimed the said Churches did not belong to the Orthodox faction, amongst other grounds. 

It is in this light that direction for grant of protection has been issued by the Court. 

Case Title: St. Mary's Orthodox Church & Anr. v. State of Kerala & Ors. and other connected matters

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Ker) 212

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