The Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church Ignatius Aphrem II will visit India from May 22 on an invitation from the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church.
Jacobite church trustee Thampu George Thukalan said here on Tuesday that the visit of the Patriarch was to meet the faithful against the “special circumstances” existing in the Indian church.
The visit will be a private one and the Patriarch would not address or attend any public meetings during the period he was in the country, said Father Varghese Kallapara of ‘Quest 4 Peace’ Secular International Samithy 2017.
The samithy had pressed for a visit of the Patriarch in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict early July last year on the dispute between the two factions of the Malankara Church.
The Patriarch would not visit churches or parishes but would celebrate the holy Eucharist at the Puthenkurisu Patriarchal Centre. The Patriarch was also likely to meet the President and the Prime Minister of India and the Chief Minister of Kerala, he added.
