Liturgy unification and Latinisation dispute Historical overview The Syro-Malabar liturgy was in a heavily
Latinised state following the
Synod of Diamper in 1599.
Archdiocese of Angamaly, the ancient metropolitan see of the Syro-Malabar Church, was degraded as a suffragan diocese of the Padroado Latin Catholic Archdiocese of Goa and its all India jurisdiction was abolished. Although
Syriac was retained as the
sacred language, the
liturgical books were modified to closely resemble the
Roman Rite. For over three centuries, the Malabar Catholics were administered by Latin hierarchy. The cultural hegemony was generally supported by the papacy and the
propaganda congregation. From 1934 onwards, popes encouraged a process of returning to the original liturgical traditions which resulted in divergence of opinion among Syro-Malabar Catholics. Following the
Second Vatican Council, the Archdiocese of Ernakulam–under the leadership of
Joseph Parecattil–and its
ecclesiastical province changed as in the universal Church to a rubric in the celebration of the Mass
versus populum. The Archdiocese advocated for a unified, Indianised (including the adoption of selected Indian customs for the Syro-Malabar Church. This move was opposed by the
Congregation for the Oriental Churches and the Archdiocese of Changanacherry. This created liturgical and ideological disunity within the Syro-Malabar Church. In 1992, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church was elevated to the status of a
major archiepiscopal church with Ernakulam as the primatal see. In 1999, the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church led by its then-Major Archbishop
Varkey Vithayathil, drew up a formula of rubric (50:50) by incorporating the views of both factions. The new pattern of Mass celebration came to be known as the Synodal Form with pre-
Anaphoral and post-Anaphoral part in versus populum and the
Anaphora celebrated
ad orientem. However the formula was rejected by the priests and laities of some dioceses, starting from that of
Jacob Thoomkuzhy. Major Archbishop Varkey Vithayathil himself was forced to sign dispensation in his archdiocese, Ernakulam-Angamaly.
Attempts by Alencherry Alencherry, from the date of his installation, emphasised the need for the rubrical uniformity in the celebration of the Mass and expressed that it was his most important task. However, his attempts were met with protests from the diocesan priests and laity of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. Meanwhile, George Alencherry was successful in persuading the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church to legislate on rubrical uniformity (as known as 50:50 formula) and in bringing more dioceses into the implementation of the decision made in 1999. The Synod in 2020 approved the revised form of the liturgy and it was confirmed in 2021, both by the pope and the Synod. Meanwhile, protests erupted in the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly led by a number of priests and laities. This was followed by the land scam allegation which led to the installation of Antony Kariyil as the metropolitan vicar of the major archbishop. The metropolitan vicar, being responsible for the ordinary administration of the archdiocese, met the pope in November 2021 and issued an order of dispensation from the decision made by the synod on the question of the rubric versus populum, in the disguise of having papal accent. Initially, some other dioceses also followed the same path but later revoked the dispensation, following explicit rebuke from the Holy See. Antony Kariyil was later forced to resign but the major section of the priests of Ernakulam-Angamaly continues their dissent, thus in effect maintaining the rubric versus populum in the celebration of the Mass, albeit illicitly.
Land deal Controversy and Ernakulam priests' revolt In March the city police initiated an investigation into the real estate transactions after a private citizen, a lay Catholic, lodged a complaint against Alencherry, two priests, and a real estate agent. The Kerala High Court observed that there was prima facie evidence to indicate criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and misappropriation of money. A single bench judge of Kerala High Court found the complainant had standing to bring the lawsuit because the property at issue was not private property, but assets held in trust with Alencherry as caretaker. On 16 March 2018, the division bench of Kerala High Court stayed a court order requiring the police investigation because the complainant had sought the order without first allowing the police to follow their procedures and removed some verbal comments of the single judge abusing ecclesiastical powers of the head of the church. Later that month, a group of 90 priests out of 400 staged a street demonstration calling on Alencherry to stand aside, pending resolution of the legal procedure, while more than 200 lay Catholics responded with a demonstration in support of Alencherry. The Vatican's proper role and its failure to intervene was decried and defended as well. On 22 June 2018, Pope Francis named
Jacob Manathodath, Bishop of
Palghat the Apostolic Administrator
seda plena of the Archieparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly under the recommendation of Alencherry. In April 2019, the Kakkanad Judicial First Class Magistrate Court filed a criminal complaint against Alencherry for breaches of the law and massive disparities in the church's land agreements. The Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court ruled on 24 August 2019 that Alencherry, along with the former financial officer of the archdiocese and a real estate agent will face charges. The Joseph Injodey commission, which was created by apostolic administrator bishop Jacob Manathodath to investigate the property dealings, submitted its findings in March 2019 to Bishop Manathodath, who would forward it to Cardinal Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches in Rome. The
Income Tax Department fined the Syro-Malabar Church's archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly Rs 3 crore for the contentious land purchases that occurred between April 2013 and March 2018. During the investigation, the department discovered that there were attempts to avoid tax in the land sale, and the plots were registered for lower amounts while the sale was done for greater amounts. Bishop Antony Kariyil of Mandya was then appointed as the episcopal vicar of the major archbishop and given the personal title "archbishop". The land deal row was investigated by KPMG, a private audit firm appointed by the Vatican. The 2019 KPMG report revealed that an inquiry has found a lack of transparency in the appointment of agents in the land deals. Laity activists sought civil and legal action on the matter and action against George Alencherry who was the diocese head. The police team investigating the case submitted a report to the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Ernakulam in December 2020, stating that there is no evidence of conspiracy or excessive gain by George Alencherry in the incident. The High Court of Kerala denied Alencherry's plea in August 2021, which sought to dismiss the cases filed against him for alleged criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, and fraudulent execution of settlement documents in the lawsuit challenging the lower court's verdict. The Kerala High Court ruled in August 2021 that George Alencherry must stand trial in the case. The court found that a significant information had been suppressed, and directed the government to investigate whether any state land had been included in the sale. It had also criticized the police for not registering a case despite being in possession of enough information.
Forged documents by priests A 24-year-old man was arrested on 19 May 2019 for allegedly forging documents against Alencherry, following which a row has erupted in Syro-Malabar church with a section of priests protesting against the arrest. Three bishops of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese have come out openly against the arrest of the man claiming that he is not a criminal and he had no role in forging documents. The priests have claimed that the man, a faithful, while working as an intern with a reputed business group in Kochi, had taken a screenshot of documents allegedly having Alencherry's name from the computer server of the firm and brought it to the notice of a church priest Tony Kalookaran. The priest reportedly shared it with another priest, who allegedly submitted it to a Synod of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. The priests, including auxiliary bishops of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, have demanded a high-level probe into the forgery case. Police have said the documents, purportedly linking the Syro-Malabar Church head with the accounts of a private bank, were found to be forged during their investigation. According to them, the cardinal was found not operating any account in the bank named in the documents. The priests, including Bishop Jacob Manathodath, who was appointed as the administrator of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese by Pope Francis on 22 June 2018, have urged the government to order either a CBI or a judicial probe into the case. Meanwhile, the police made Kallookaran also an accused in the case on 21 May 2019. Former Auxiliary Bishops Sebastian Adayanthrath and Jose Puthenveettil had also joined Bishop Manathodath at a press conference held on 20 May 2019 to raise the demand. Refuting the allegations of torture in custody, the police said they were carrying out a "scientific probe" into the case.
Love jihad controversy In January 2020, a post-synodal circular issued by Alencherry about
love jihad was read out at Catholic churches on Sunday
liturgies, the circular alleged that Christian women are targeted, recruited to
Islamic state and even killed. However, the circular was not read in many of the churches in Ernakulam district due to ongoing disputes with hierarchy. The church's statement sparked criticism from its leaders and followers. Reformists criticized the church for labeling interfaith weddings as "love jihad." ==Notes==