Crisis in Malankara Syrian Knanaya Church as Patriarch of Antioch suspends Knanaya Metropolitan

Crisis in Malankara Syrian Knanaya Church as Patriarch of Antioch suspends Knanaya Metropolitan

A leadership crisis has engulfed the Malankara Syrian Knanaya Church after the Patriarch of Antioch has placed the Metropolitan of the Chingavam-headquartered Church under suspension.

An official statement by Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II said that the actions of Mar Severios Kuriakose Metropolitan “amounted to challenging the authority of the Holy Throne of Antioch.” It had earlier stripped Mar Severios of his title of ‘Archbishop and Chief Metropolitan of the Knanaya Archdiocese in India’ after he acted contrary to the orders of the Patriarch of Antioch. He continued anti-Church activities resulting in his suspension, the statement noted.

The suspension order was issued after the Patriarch, during an online meeting on Thursday (May 17), sought an explanation from the Metropolitan. The statement noted that the Metropolitan was “unable to satisfactorily explain his lack of concern and culpable inaction on the issue of Indian Orthodox priests conducting passion week services in Knanaya parishes in the U.S.A.”

It added that the Patriarch was unconvinced about the Metropolitan’s explanation regarding the reception accorded to the Catholicos of the Indian Orthodox Church.

Following the suspension, Mar Severios is barred from performing all episcopal and priestly functions and duties. He was relieved of all his powers and responsibilities as a Metropolitan and the ‘Samudaya Metropolitan’ of the Knanaya Archdiocese.

The clergy and believers, meanwhile, have come out in protest against the suspension. Hundreds reached the Bishop’s house at Chingavanam in Kottayam on Friday. Knanaya Committee and priests passed a resolution supporting the Metropolitan. It strongly protested the unjustifiable action and affirmed their trust in him. The resolution called on the Patriarch to withdraw the suspension immediately.