The Catholic community including 450 priests in southern India’s Kerala-based Syro-Malabar Church have severed all links with their apostolic (appointed by the Pope) administrator Andrews Thazhath, which has further escalated a five-decade-long liturgical dispute within the Eastern rite Church.
The term ‘Liturgy’ for churches and Christianity, is used to define and describe a standard set of procedures or practices to be followed in a certain prescribed manner, while conducting public worship or ceremonies, in a church.
Liturgical practice is akin to following prescribed rituals in a certain order, during public worship in a church.
Examples of ‘Liturgy’ include, veneration of relics of saints, visits to sacred shrines, pilgrimages, processions, rules for rosary worship, prescribed ritualistic worship especially during important observances of the Christian faith such as birth and death of Christ Etc , including ceremonial processions.
The priests accuse Andrews Thazhath, of misleading the Vatican against their petition in a long-standing liturgical dispute. They have been opposing the imposition of a liturgical pattern that requires priests to face the altar of worship with their backs to the congregation (where worshippers are seated) during the Eucharistic prayers. ‘Eucharistic’ refers to Christian prayer rituals and ceremonies, commemorating Christ’s Last Supper, with his didciples, before his arrest by the authorities eventually leading to his death.
When Andrews ordered priests to conduct the church ceremonies in the Vatican approved manner, most publicly defied him and continue to conduct church ceremonies the traditional way, by facing the people.
The Vatican had appointed Archbishop Andrews Thazhath on July 30 with a mandate to settle the dispute between the traditionally conducted ceremony and what is now being prescribed by Papal authority.
The Archbishop, in a video message, said he was merely following instructions from the Vatican.
The defiant Kerala church group said they would not report to the Vatican appointee or obey his instructions with regards to church traditions and customs.
The priests in a resolution said that “the administrator, Andrews Thazhath or his acolytes ( asisstants or followers ) would not be invited to any Church-run institutions.” An expert in Church Canon law, who did not want to be named, said the development should be seen as “a very serious move” and may amount to defying the Supreme authority of the Pope.
“Canon” law refers to the laws governing the affairs of a Christian Church, the law created or recognized by papal authority in the Roman Catholic Church.
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. It is an autonomous church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO). The Church is headed by the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar, currently George Alencherry. It was supposedly founded in 52 ACE on present day Kerala’s Malabar Coast, reportedly by one of Christ’s disciples, Thomas the Apostle. It is reportedly one of the oldest church denominations in India and Asia. It is headquartered in Mount Saint Thomas, Kakkanad, Kochi, Kerala.
(With inputs from UCA News)
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