The vicious rift in Kerala, the southern state of India, between the Malankara Orthodox and Jacobite Syrian Orthodox factions of the ancient Eastern Orthodox Syrian church headquartered in Antioch, Syria has been bothering and pestering believers of both sides for more than a century now. Both sides have gone to court and the Indian Supreme Court had come out with a final verdict on 3rd of July 2017 in favour of the Malankara Orthodox faction working out of Kottayam, Kerala.
What could have been a peaceful settlement did not end then as the Malankara Orthodox priests wanted to extract their pound of flesh in the name of the verdict and antagonise the Jacobite faction, by insisting on a unforgiving settlement to follow the (invisible) 1934 constitution, which was not acceptable to the Jacobites.
Even three and a half years after the verdict, and Orthodox faction spending crores as litigation fees and grabbing 52 Jacobite churches, the matter has not been peacefully resolved. There is a belief among the Orthodox Christians and more so with the intelligensia that a more peaceful, loving, hand-holding, accommodating approach by the Orthodox faction could have seen a peaceful resolution of the conflict much early.
Listening to Pope Francis, if during this lent season starting from 15 February, we could, starting from the Malankara Orthodox clergy and laity, try to be free from grudges and be reconciled with everyone, the objective of our Christian faith would be more than met.
For the past couple of weeks, I have been attending the online Sunday mass / qurbana at St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Cathedral, Manarkkadu, Kottayam, Kerala, India. Manarkadu st Marys is the famous pilgrimage centre for intercession of Mother Mary. It was spiritually very satisfying. It is high time our priests start walking the talk on the sermons they make during the qurbana, of love, brotherhood, forgiveness etc.
Most of us immerse in the practice of lent, ie. generally avoid rich food, luxury and pleasure, abstaining from food till noon everyday and try to be more engaged in spiritual activities, forgiving others, having frequent prayers and doing social service.
Instead of attending only our service or qurbana, and carry out the activities as listed above, if a large number of Orthodox believers could attend occasional Jacobite qurbanas during this lent season, it would be the best way to show our love and develop respect for our brethren. 👍🙂
Can we forgive our Jacobite brethren during this lent season ..? If not during this year, let us plan to forgive and be Christ-like at least during the 2022 lent season .. Again a wasted year ..
Why are our spiritual leaders not taking proactive action to bring peace in the church ? There are vested interests of protecting their turf of influence and affluence besides simple ignorance and playing politics. If all Christians following Christ are sure to go to heaven, why do we need all these sects and groups? If every good person irrespective of their religion can lead a happy life, do we need religions at all ?
It is our baggage of materialistic assets (the devil) that is stopping us from getting closer to God. Nobody wants to admit it openly and continue fooling and cheating the innocent public.
Pope Francis, different from the others, is known for making such spiritual, introspective and surprising calls every year during important occasions. The spiritual head of almost 1.2 billion Catholics, who are about 16% of global population and about 50% of all global Christians, as per 2010 data (click here), is a very respected figure for the whole world.
George Easaw
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