The head of the Malankara Orthodox Church and Catholicos of the East, Baselius Mar Thoma Paulose-II, has turned down the offer of mediation made by various church denominations to defuse the tension between the Orthodox and Jacobite factions of the Malankara church.
“There’s no need for a mediated dialogue over and above the decision of the Supreme Court [which was in favour of the Orthodox faction in a case of control over parishes],” he said categorically while inaugurating a ‘protest of suffering’ organised by the Orthodox Christian Youth Movement here on Wednesday.
“Going by our experience, dialogues are rather futile. Some are actually out to mislead other churches [denominations]. The Orthodox church has never interfered in the internal matters of other churches,” he said on the willingness expressed by certain church denominations to mediate a dialogue between the warring factions of the Malankara church.
Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan welcomed the readiness of other churches to intervene in the matter. “The government has been trying to resolve the dispute. A Cabinet sub-committee formed for the purpose has been working in that direction. The government will therefore provide all support to the efforts taken by the Syro Malabar, Latin, Mar Thoma, Syro Malankara and CSI Churches to resolve the issue through dialogues,” he said.
