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After decades of a legal battle that yielded nothing, the Orthodox faction of the Kerala-based Malankara Syrian Church has sought political help to settle its century-old row with the Patriarch faction over faith.
Ironically, the faction has turned to the Communist Party of India, Marxist, which the church has so far treated as an untouchable owing to its anti-religion ideology, to protect its churches and properties from the Patriarch faction.
The CPI-M will discuss the issue at the Left Democratic Front state committee meeting to be held in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, November 16.
Two senior Orthodox bishops met former CPI-M minister and LDF convenor Paloli Muhammed Kutty at Kochi last week and offered to shift their political allegiance from the ruling United Democratic Front.
The CPI-M leader will meet the bishops again on Monday, November 18, to tell them of the party's decision.
The CPI-M is obviously enthused by the offer since its traditional support bases in the state have been crumbling.
The biggest blow to the party came from the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam when it started weaning away the Ezhavas from its fold. Ezhavas have been traditional supporters of the communist parties in Kerala.
The SNDP, headed by liquor baron Vellappally Natesan, jolted the CPI-M by setting up its branches in the party's citadels in north Kerala. The support of the Orthodox faction will not make up for the losses the CPI-M has suffered over the years, but party strategists believe it would help build relations with the minorities, who constitute nearly 40 per cent of the state's population.
But the church is sharply divided over the attempt by the Orthodox faction to align with the CPI-M. The Patriarch faction has termed the move as suicidal for its rival as well as the CPI-M. "The move will lead to politicization of the church, which is supposed to remain above political affiliations," said Father Varghese Kallappara, spokesman for the Patriarch faction.
He warned the CPI-M that it would jeopardize the strong relations it had maintained with the church. "We are strong enough to protect our interests. We will deal with any attack on us strictly," the priest said.
The Orthodox faction approached the CPI-M for help after Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony refused to get involved in the matter. He did so in the wake of the Supreme Court judgment recognizing Baselios Mar Thoma II of the faction as the Catholicos of the church on the basis of elections held under the supervision of court observers.
But the rival faction rejected the election and had Thomas Mar Dionysius ordained as supreme head by the patriarch of Antioch based in Damascus. The move began a battle for control of the church by the two factions.
While the Orthodox faction has claimed control of all the churches of the sect as per the Supreme Court's verdict, the rival has demanded division of the churches on the basis of the strengths of the two factions. But as the apex court's order was silent on control of the churches, the state government has been unable to reconcile the conflicting claims.
Though the chief minister said the government is ready to mediate between the two factions, they haven't shown much interest. The heads of other churches in the state have also made similar offers, without much success.
The intervention of the CPI-M in the dispute could spell trouble since both factions are geared to settle the dispute on the streets. The Orthodox faction has already formed volunteer forces to protect the churches from attacks by the rival camp.
The current problem seems to arise from the Orthodox faction's refusal to declare allegiance to the patriarch of Antioch. But both admit privately that the rift is not for the cause of faith, but a quarrel over wealth and properties.
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