In a landmark judgement delivered on 3 July, the Supreme Court had ruled on a centuries-old dispute between Jacobite and Orthodox factions of Kerala’s Malankara Church. The SC had ruled that 1100 parishes and their churches under the Malankara Church should be controlled by the Orthodox faction, as per the 1934 Malankara Church guidelines.
The Piravom Valiyapalli is one of these churches, and like a number of other churches in Kerala, has been the site of heightened disputes over church administration ever since the ruling. As per a government-submitted report, there are 2600 families under the Piravom Church. Former Jacobite Church Chief Spokesperson Fr Varghese Kallappara says that 80 percent of the worshippers at the Piravom Church belong to the Jacobite faction, while 20 percent belong to the Orthodox faction.
Due to the unrest between the two factions, Orthodox faction clergy members have been unable to perform the rites there as per the SC ruling. Given the stalemate between the two groups around the administration of Piravom Church, which district authorities could not manage to break, the Orthodox faction had filed a petition before the Kerala HC requesting a response from the government on what measures the government had taken to implement the SC verdict. This petition is scheduled to be heard before the Kerala HC on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, on Monday, police attempted to implement the existing SC order in this matter, with police reaching the church and attempting to enter with members of the Orthodox clergy. A large number of Jacobite faction members opposed the move and continued their protest in and around the Church. Upon the arrival of the police there on Monday, members of the Jacobite faction took various drastic measures, with one member threatening to jump off the church building, and others pouring kerosene over their heads and threatening to set themselves alight. The police were therefore forced to cancel their attempt to enact the SC verdict by handing over administration to the Orthodox faction at around 4 PM on Monday.