Tension prevails at the historic Piravom St. Mary's Church after both factions of the Malankara church converged at the venue on Wednesday morning.
The around 50-strong Jacobite group led by the parish priests celebrated the Mass while Catholicos Baselios Thomas I and metropolitan trustee Joseph Mar Gregorios and senior bishops were present.
The police had been on guard since the Orthodox group had sought police protection to enter the church and to celebrate Mass following the Supreme Court verdict in July 2017. But the group alleged that the police colluded with the Jacobites to allow the latter’s entry into the church on Tuesday night.
Following a quarrel between the Orthodox and Jacobite factions over the control of parishes, the Supreme Court in a verdict in 2017 handed over control of churches to the Orthodox church.
Published - September 25, 2019 09:54 am IST
