The Ernakulam District Collector took over the disputed Mulanthuruthy Marthoman Church on Monday morning, evicting members gathered in the church premises. The Ernakulam police forcefully entered the building in the morning and arrested and dispersed those who were gathered in the church for a prayer meet. Members of the Jacobite faction, who were gathered in the church were moved to different places and ousted from the premises. A few of the priests who had assembled are also believed to have been injured in the altercation with the police.
Members of the Jacobite faction started a fasting prayer in the church on Friday, as they were reluctant to handover the disputed property. The fasting prayer was done under the leadership of Joseph Mar Gregorious, the Metropolitan of the Kochi diocese of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church.
The Kerala High Court had ordered the Jacobite faction to hand over the Mulanthuruthy church located in Ernakulam to the Orthodox church, as per a 2017 Supreme Court directive. However, the former faction showed reluctance in doing so and reportedly refused to comply with the High Court order, prompting police intervention.
After they refused to comply with the order, the High Court also issued an order for contempt of court. Further Ernakulam district authorities were asked to hand over the church to the petitioner, the Orthodox faction, after enough force could be spared following their COVID-19 duties. During the interim, the court had made it clear that the Jacobite faction could not handle the church.
In 2017, the Supreme Court passed an order stating that 1100 parishes and their churches under the Malankara Church should be controlled by the Orthodox faction as per the 1934 Malankara Church guidelines, leading to the Jacobite faction losing its legal status as the Malankara Syrian Church.
Last year, the Piravom Church in Ernakulam was also taken over by the district collector in a similar manner in 2019, after a Kerala High Court order.