The metropolitans of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church have complained that the dead among their faithful are being denied dignified burial in cemeteries.
“Though all the churches of the Malankara Sabha were built by our forefathers and the faithful have their family tombs in the cemeteries, the dead are denied a dignified burial,” Joseph Mor Gregarious Metropolitan told the media on Monday.
He said the Orthodox Church was spreading a wrong interpretation of the recent Supreme Court verdict regarding the churches of Varikkoli and Kattachira. The Kerala High Court had earlier clarified that the body of a believer shall be buried in the cemetery after completing the funeral rites outside the church, he said.
The church leaders said a conciliatory meeting convened by the State government was in accordance with the Supreme Court order. The disputes between the churches could be resolved only through negotiations and mediations, the Church leaders said.
