The story so far: There is an ongoing dispute in the Syro-Malabar Church, which is part of the universal Catholic Church, over the way the Mass is celebrated. The row is mostly centred around the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church headquartered in Kochi, Kerala. The differences over the system of Mass celebration emerged prominently after the synod of bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church issued a diktat in August last year that all the dioceses -- there are 36 of them in Kerala -- of the Syro-Malabar Church should celebrate the Mass in a uniform way.
Synod of Bishops
However, its diktat triggered a bitter stand-off between those who wanted the existing system to continue and those who faithfully switched over to the unified system as decreed by the synod.
What is at the root of the issue?
The Syro-Malabar Church is an eastern Catholic church, autonomous but in full communion with the worldwide Catholic Church and the Pope. The Syro-Malabar Church members trace the origin of their faith to St. Thomas, the apostle, who is believed to have arrived on the Malabar coast (old name for Kerala) at around 50 AD. They are also sometimes referred to as St. Thomas Christians. The way the Mass is celebrated in the Syro-Malabar church varies from the way the Mass is celebrated in the Latin Catholic and other Churches, which are part of the universal Catholic Church.
The Mass is now celebrated in some of the dioceses and archdioceses of the Syro-Malabar Church with the celebrant, or or the priest, facing the congregation (those participating in the ceremonies) for the first half and then facing away from them towards the altarfor the second half. The synodal decision in August last year was that the Mass should be celebrated in a uniform manner as explained above.
However, this did not go down well with a group, which has claimed that they have been conducting the Mass for the last 50 years with the celebrant facing the congregation for the full celebration. The group has strong and vociferous support from priests and laity of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church. .
Why is the opposition critical?
The significance of the opposition to the synodal decision is that the members of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese comprises more than 10% of the population of the Syro-Malabar Church members, estimated to be numbering around five million in Kerala. According to church sources, most of the priests of the archdiocese, numbering around 460, are also in favour of a celebration of the Mass with the celebrant facing the community throughout the ceremonies. There is also wide support from the community of the laity, numbering around 5.5 lakh, in the archdiocese.
A rival group, meanwhile, has demanded that the synodal decision be implemented and that the apostolic administrator of the archdiocese, Archbishop Antony Kariyil, should step down considering that he had not been able to implement the decision of the synod of bishops. However, those opposing the synodal decision have been more vociferous about their demand that the archdiocese should continue with the Mass system practised for about 50 years now.
What is the current status of the issue?
Archbishop Antony Kariyil (on the right) exchanging greetings with Cardinal George Alencherry at St. Thomas Mount in Kakkanad, Kochi | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Meanwhile, the Apostolic Nuncio to India (the representative of Vatican in Delhi), Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, met Archbishop Kariyil in Kochi on Tuesday, a day after Vatican authorities were reported to have asked him to step down from his position as the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. Archbishop Kariyil was appointed to the post to look after the day-to-day affairs of the archdiocese in 2019 after a string of land deals in 2016 and 2017 that allegedly caused financial losses to the archdiocese. Archdiocesan members, including priests and lay people had alleged that Cardinal George Alencherry was responsible for the land deals.
In the wake of Girelli's meeting with Kariyil, there are strong rumours that the resignation of Archbishop Kariyil is imminent.
