An agreement over the reopening of an Indian cathedral at the center of a ferocious liturgical dispute appears to have broken down on the day it was announced.
Newsroom(17/06/2023 09:30, Gaudium Press) St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Ernakulam, South India, has been permitted to reopen after being closed for over six months following clashes between supporters and opponents of a new “uniform mode” of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church’s Eucharistic liturgy, known as the Holy Qurbana. The reopening agreement was reached on June 14 after talks between a group of bishops representing the Synod of Bishops and representatives of the cathedral basilica. The agreement states that only the approved uniform mode, endorsed by the synod and the Holy See, will be allowed in the cathedral basilica.
If the conditions of the agreement are violated by priests, religious, or laypeople, the synod expects the apostolic administrator of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese to take appropriate action in accordance with canon law. The agreement also allows the cathedral basilica’s vicar, Msgr. Antony Narikulam, to convene the parish council, but their approval is not necessary for implementing the agreement.
However, the officials at the cathedral basilica stated that the parish council insisted, during a June 15 meeting, that if the church were reopened, only the established local form of the Eucharistic liturgy, in which the priest faces the congregation throughout, should be celebrated. As a result, they withdrew from the June 14 agreement.
The Synod of Bishops, which took place from June 12 to 16, was an emergency meeting called to address the liturgical crisis in the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese, the largest and most prominent see of the Syro-Malabar Church. The dispute over the uniform mode of the liturgy has led to protests, street brawls, hunger strikes, and clashes inside the cathedral basilica.
The uniform mode, also known as the “50:50 formula,” combines the ancient tradition of the Syro-Malabar Church, where the priest faces east (ad orientem), with the post-Vatican II practice of the priest facing the people (versus populum). Despite Pope Francis’ appeal to adopt the new mode, the majority of priests and laypeople in the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese reject the change and want their preference for the Holy Qurbana facing the people to be recognized.
Cardinal George Alencherry, the leader of the Syro-Malabar Church, expressed concern about the response of civil authorities to violence against Christians in the Manipur state during the meeting. In a post-synodal circular letter, Cardinal Alencherry emphasized that the uniform liturgy decided by the Synod and approved by the Holy See will continue without change, urging everyone, including dissidents, to support the synod’s decision. He also denied rumours of division or redrawing of geographical boundaries within the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from The Pillar
