A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday reserved its order on a public interest litigation challenging the State government’s decision to send its delegation to attend the installation ceremony of Joseph Mar Gregorios as Catholicos of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church in Lebanon on March 25.
The petition was filed by Gilbert Cheeran, a member of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. According to him, it was wrong to spend public funds on the travel and other expenses of such government representatives, which included Ministers, MLAs and high officials of the State who were under oath to uphold the Constitution. He contended that it was violative of the Supreme Court judgements in the Church case.
When the petition came up for hearing before the Bench comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice S. Manu, Advocate General K. Gopalakrishna Kurup submitted that the government decision to accord sanction for sending a delegation to attend the ceremony did not interfere with the administration of the Malankara Church. Nor did it amount to a parallel administration of the Church as alleged by the petitioner. In fact, nothing prevented the Jacobite faction from having a separate Church to propagate their religious beliefs. The scheduled ceremony would in no way violate any of the orders of the Supreme Court or High Court. Besides, the Jacobite faction was a judicially and statutorily recognised one. Nothing prevented the faction from accepting the spiritual supremacy of the Patriarch, he added.
The installation ceremony is scheduled on March 25 at St. Mary’s Syrian Orthodox Cathedral in Lebanon. Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church Ignatius Aphrem II will lead the ceremony. Bishops of the Syriac Orthodox Church and representatives of other Churches are among those expected to take part.
Published – March 20, 2025 06:46 pm IST