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Syro-Malabar Church's unity attempt fizzles out

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

The attempt by the Syro-Malabar Church to forge unity fizzled out with several bishops and priests rejecting a new mode of mass sought to be implemented from Saint Thomas Day today.

The new mode of mass under which priests remain facing the faithful for half the time and the altar during the other half was prescribed by the bishops' synod, the supreme decision making body of the church, in November 1999 as a sign of unity.

According to reports reaching the church headquarters at Angamaly in Ernakulam district, barring four, most of the 14 dioceses in Kerala opted for the old form of celebrating mass by facing the faithful.

Bishops of at least six dioceses had allowed priests not to follow the new mode following widespread opposition from priests and the laity.

"The bishops allowed the exemption taking into consideration the explosive situation prevailing in the church," said Fr Jose Vayalikkodath, joint secretary of the Nazrani Catholic Priests Conference.

The NCPC, which is spearheading an agitation against the attempt to change the liturgy in accordance with the tradition of eastern churches, had threatened to boycott the new mode of mass. More than 2,000 out of 2,500 priests in the 14 dioceses in Kerala had agreed to boycott the new mode of mass during a signature campaign the NCPC held last month.

Fr Vayalikkodath told rediff.com that the development is a warning to the bishops that they cannot impose changes on the church without taking priests and the laity into confidence.

The Syro-Malabar Church has been grappling with the problem of liturgy for more than two decades. While one section wanted the Latin mode of priests celebrating mass by facing the faithful, the other wanted the eastern mode, where priests face the altar. Several commissions, including one appointed by the Pope, had gone into the issue several times, but no consensus could be evolved.

The bishops' synod recently appointed a research committee to look into the issue. The new mode of mass was suggested as an interim arrangement till the committee could evolve a liturgy acceptable to all.

The proponents of the Latin liturgy, known as the reformists, see the attempt by the rival faction to introduce the Eastern liturgy as part of a larger move to restore the Chaldean (East Syrian) control over the church. They say that the Chaldean lobby headed by Changanacherry Archbishop Mar Joseph Powathil has been trying to assume control of the church, which was recognised as an autonomous Archi-Episcopal Church by the Pope.

They alleged that the Oriental Congregation of Churches in Rome, which supports the Chaldeanisation move, has been helping Powathil by appointing Chaldean sympathisers as bishops.

The Chaldean lobby claims that the Syro-Malabar Church, which was under the control of the Eastern Church until the Latins took over, is a sister church of the Chaldean Church and therefore should follow Chaldean liturgy. However, the reformists say that the church in Kerala is an independent apostolic church founded by Apostle Thomas.

They said the origin of the Chaldean Church, that came up in the region comprising the Persian Empire and Mesopotamia or the modern states of Iraq and Iran is still shrouded in mystery.

"How can they can claim patrimony of a church which was established even before it came up," asks Fr Vayalikodath.

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