KERALA (UCAN): The long lingering liturgical dispute over the rubrics of the Mass in the Syro-Malabar Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly in Kerala, southern India, has apparently been resolved ending decades of controversy that brought the Church to the brink of schism and led to violent attacks and several court cases.
“We have resolved our differences over liturgy,” said Father Kuriakose Mundadan, the presbytery council secretary of the archdiocese.
He said that Church officials and more than 300 priests reached an agreement regarding the orientation of the Mass celebrant during liturgical celebrations at their meeting on June 19.
The decision reportedly allows the priests to offer Mass facing the people but requires them to celebrate at least one Mass facing the altar on all Sundays and important feast days, beginning July 3, the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, who is traditionally believed to have evangelised the western Indian coast in the first century.
The bishops, a Church official said, “have also agreed to the demand of the protesting priests, such as replacing the current archdiocesan curia, and withdrawing police complaints and court cases against priests, among other concessions.”
The decision reportedly allows the priests to offer Mass facing the people but requires them to celebrate at least one Mass facing the altar on all Sundays and important feast days, beginning July 3, the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle
The dispute simmered for over five decades, stemming from efforts to renew the Church’s liturgy following the Second Vatican Council. While one group sought renewal along modern lines, the other insisted on reviving the Church’s ancient liturgy.
After decades of studies and discussions, the Church’s synod approved a rubric that sought to accommodate both views. It allowed priests to face the people, except during the Eucharistic prayer when they were required to face the altar. At least 12 of the 35 dioceses rejected the synod-approved Mass.
However, in August 2021, the synod mandated that all dioceses implement the officially approved Mass to promote liturgical unity by November that year. All dioceses accepted the synod’s order, except the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly with a smaller group supporting the synod decision.
The division led to violent street protests, closure of the cathedral, a hunger strike, a boycott of the Church’s bishops, and several court cases.
Some who supported the synod-approved Mass, protested in front of Mount St. Thomas, the headquarters of the Church on the outskirts of Ernakulam, and later inside the Archbishop’s House
The Vatican assumed control of the archdiocese’s administration by appointing Archbishop Cyril Vasil as its pontifical delegate in July 2023. However, he too was unable to resolve the dispute, as priests and laity continued to insist on their demand for priests to face the people during the liturgy.
“We accepted the formula as the bishops accommodated our demand,” said Riju Kanjookaran, spokesperson of the Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency, a group of priests, religious, and laity that spearheaded the five-year-long protest. He said on June 20 that they were not ready to accept anything less than allowing them to continue their Mass, “which is in our blood.”
Some who supported the synod-approved Mass, protested in front of Mount St. Thomas, the headquarters of the Church on the outskirts of Ernakulam, and later inside the Archbishop’s House.
The head of their Syro-Malabar Church, Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil and his vicar, Archbishop Joseph Pamplany, “are expected to make an official announcement soon,” Father Mundadan said.
