KOCHI: The running feud between the Syrian Jacobite Church and Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church has led to a tense situation in and around Puthencruz for several hours on Sunday after the members of the Jacobite Church tried to prevent Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church inside the St. Mary’s Church at Varikkoli. A team led by Ernakulam revenue divisional officer later closed the church for the time being and said that it would be reopened only after reaching an amicable solution between the two factions.
The drama began in the early morning around 6.30 as the Catholicos entered the church to lead a Mass. As the information spread, the people belonging to the Jacobite faction assembled and objected to the Catholicos entering the church. They also alleged that the Orthodox faction members tried to deface the emblem of patriarch. They laid a siege by locking up the main gate of the church from outside and prevented the Catholicos from leaving the church.
According to the officials, the emblem has been a matter of dispute ever since the orthodox faction took control of the church based on a SC verdict a few weeks ago. “Attempts were made earlier destroy the same and the police had to intervene on a couple of occasions’’, the officials said. The dispute between the two factions aggravated into a major crisis when the Catholicos refused to leave the church insisting that protestors should be arrested.
“The escort and pilot party were ready by around 12.30 pm to take the Catholicos safely out of the church. He, however, insisted on arresting the protesters and decided not to leave’’, said a police official. The crisis ended by the evening with the district administration successfully managing to persuade the Catholicos to leave the church safely. The police however resorted to a mild lathicharge to disperse the supporters of each faction.
