Orthodox Church relieves Zacharias Mar Aprem of all administrative duties
A special session of the synod of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church here on Friday decided to relieve Metropolitan Zacharias Mar Aprem of the Adoor-Kadampanad Diocese from all diocesan administrative duties, responsibilities related to the Church's governance and his role at the Church's seminary until further notice.
The decision follows a series of public remarks made by the Metropolitan a couple of weeks ago, which were found to be in conflict with the official positions of the Church. 'His statements appeared to question the authority of the 1934 constitution of the Malankara Church and diminish the importance of court rulings favourable to the Church, which have triggered protest among the faithful,'' the Church said in an official release
The synod was convened under the leadership of Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews III in response to complaints concerning these statements.
Seeks explanation
The controversy began when Mar Aprem, while addressing parishioners at Chungathara and Chennithala earlier this month, alleged that the Church leadership had asked him to wrest control of certain Jacobite churches within his diocese by executing a judicial order. He claimed to have refused the request outright. These comments prompted the Catholicos to seek a formal explanation, which was then reviewed at the synod.
The Metropolitan's repeated remarks, meanwhile, also fuelled speculation that he might be considering alignment with another faction of the Malankara Church, which maintains a strong presence in the Central Travancore region.
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