SYRO MALABAR CHURCH

One third of the world population is Christians and over 17% of the total population is Catholics. Brazil (12.5 Cr), Mexico (10.0 Cr), Philippines (8.5 Cr), USA (7.0 Cr) and Italy (4.1 Cr) are  the top ranking countries in Catholic population. There are about 2 Cr Catholics in India. This makes about 1.5% of the total population.

Syro Malabar Church which is in communion with Pope and the Catholic Church world over has its headquarters in Kerala and as per the Annurio Pontificio of 2016, has over 4 million members. The SM  Church is spread across the world depending upon the strength of Malayalees in each region. It is worth mentioning that the Eparch of Kalyan has 100,000 members with 106 parishes and 146 religious priests and St Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago, USA has 85,000 members with 11 parishes and 45 religious priests. Within the state, Ernakulam - Angamaly with 510,000 members in 347 parishes and Changanacherry with 390,000 members in 366 parishes are in the top slots. Erstwhile Cochin state, Meenachil and Changanacherry put together hold 56 per cent of the total SM population. The Church has 31 eparchies of which 5 are archeparchies. There are 3224 parishes, 539 quasi parishes and 490 missions. As far as the personnel are concerned there are 35,000 sisters, 6836 brothers, 2907 seminarians, 9121 priests, 56 bishops and one Major Archbishop. Further to all these there are many schools and colleges, hospitals and health care institutions, old age homes, children homes and orphanages under the control of the church.

What is narrated above are about the physical entity of the Church. However the overall unity within the church is far from expected for quite sometime. The Church is really in turmoil. As in any other organisations money, fixed assets, power, regional considerations etc are the predominant causes for the current state of affairs. One of these is the two imaginary power centres, Ernakulam and Changanacherry. Difference in observations have also been derived from this. The sui juris of the two eparchies have made them adamant of their own. While the Cruz de Sam Thome or Mar Thoma Sliba or Nasrani Cross has become the part of the liturgy of the Changanacherry Eparch, the Ernakulam division has rejected it. Even though they have no hesitation in using the Chinese made plastic cross for the church needs they have an inbuilt aversion for the Mar Thoma Sliba. Of late one of the bishops from the northern Kerala came out open to reject the coming of St Thomas to Kerala. The Liturgical Curtain or the Sanctuary Veil is used in all  churches of Changanacherry diocese but not by the Ernakulam Angamaly diocese and their associates. The earlier heads of the church preferred to remain themselves away from similar issues to keep their holiness intact.

Similarly many observations in the church too has variations which are left untouched. Above all there are serious issues within the church which are opposed by a large section of members. These are now surfacing quite frequently. The suicide by the wife of the Professor whose hand was chopped off by the militants was one such case. Many senior priests and sisters raised their voices against the Church administration in this matter.

It is also a matter of serious consideration that recently a few nuns belonging to the Church came to the media and opened out their mouths against the existing order of the confession by the male priests.  The rich life style of the priests have also attracted severe criticism. The church in general has become more like a commercial establishment. It may not be out of place to quote a verse from the gospel here. "My house shall be known for a house of prayer, and you have made it into a den of thieves." (Mathew 21:13).All of us together have made our Lord Jesus Christ the largest selling commodity in the faith market the world over.

The way things are being shaped up, Syro Malabar Church is on the verge of a split. What is happened to the Jacobite community is likely to take place here anytime. I wish to call, therefore, the members of Syro Malabar Church and the associate churches, The Latin Church, The Malankara Church and the Knanaya Church to sit together and make this opportunity to a constructive one than destructive. Let us unite and live under one umbrella. The top four of the churches, if came together, can avoid the imminent disaster of the Syro Malabar Church. Petty regional outlook of the church can also be resolved for ever.

There are many issues which need extensive discussion.

KV George
kvgeorgein@gmail.com