Originally published at National Catholic Register
KOCHI, India — This month’s delayed priestly ordination of eight deacons of the Ernakulam Archdiocese of the Syro Malabar Church (SMC) has highlighted continuing divisions in the troubled archdiocese, which remains crippled by a bitter liturgical feud that erupted three years ago.
The ordination ceremony — which was delayed from Christmas 2023 because of the liturgical dispute — took place at the archdiocese’s minor seminary on Nov. 4, with dozens of police deployed outside. And while more than 200 archdiocesan priests were in attendance, the majority of them boycotted the Mass led by Bishop Bosco Puthur, the administrator of the archdiocese, because of the liturgy he utilized.
Alongside of this liturgical dispute, many local clergy and laity have been further incensed over Bishop Puthur’s recent appointment of Father Joshy Puthuva as chancellor of the archdiocese. Father Puthuva has 15 criminal cases pending against him stemming from his earlier term as the archdiocesan financial officer.
The Syro-Malabar Church is one of three Indian Churches in full communion with Rome, alongside the local Latin Catholic Church and the Syro-Malankara Church. It has an estimated 5 million members, including more than 600,000 in the Archdiocese of Ernakulam.
Bishop Bosco Puthur in the middle
