Church dispute at Piramadom: Priests, faithful clash in front of altar; three injured

PIRAVOM: The altar of St John’s Bethlehem Syrian Church at Piramadom, where the name of God and hymns are supposed to resonate, witnessed verbal abuse and physical confrontation on Sunday morning, with priests also taking part. The scenes witnessed at the church amid the ongoing dispute between the two factions left even the faithful embarrassed.

Priests and faithful belonging to the Jacobite and Orthodox factions clashed for nearly half an hour during the Holy Qurbana at around 7 a.m. An Orthodox priest was among the three people injured. The injuries were not serious. The Ramamangalam police took control of the church. No case had been registered till Sunday night. Ernakulam District Collector G. Priyanka will hold reconciliation talks at the Collectorate on Monday.

The church, which is under the control of the Jacobite faction, was holding the Holy Qurbana when Orthodox assistant vicar Fr. Ebin Abraham and his group arrived for worship with a favourable order from the Muvattupuzha Sub Court. When they attempted to enter the madbaha, or altar, they were stopped by Jacobite vicar Fr. Lalmon Thampi Pattarumadathil, who was leading the group. This led to the confrontation. The Ramamangalam police arrived at the church and brought the situation under control.

When the Jacobite faction conducted the Holy Qurbana, Fr. Ebin staged a sit-in in front of the gate in protest. Fr. Ebin Abraham, and Jacobite faction members Regi Chenayammakkil and Daniel Payyanickal, were injured in the incident.

Government says dispute will be resolved through discussions

Chief Secretary Biswanath Sinha informed the Kerala High Court that the generations-old dispute between the Orthodox and Jacobite factions would be resolved through discussions led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

There is hope that the dispute can be resolved, he said. The submission was made before a Division Bench in connection with cases relating to the administration of six churches. Additional Advocate General Mohammed Shah made the submission on behalf of the government.

“The church is part of the Kandanad East Diocese of the Malankara Church. The faithful had to hand over the church citing a technical reason in the Munsiff Court verdict. A favourable verdict was obtained after making the reality clear. Justice must be implemented,” said Dr Yuhanon Mar Dioscoros Metropolitan.