The Patriarch has invited the church for peace talks
Even as they have received an explicit invite from Patriarch of
Antioch Ignatius Aphrem II for initiating peace talks during his visit
to India this week, the Malankara Orthodox Church appears to be taking a
cautious approach to the issue.
Speaking to
The Hindu
, church spokesperson P.C. Elias said the church had already made its
stance clear on the peace talks with the Pontiff when he had made the
overture last year. “We are ready for talks on the basis of two key
points; one, it should be on the basis of the 1934 Constitution of the
Church and second, it should be based on the Supreme Court verdict in
the case,” he said. The definition of peace shall be identified on the
basis of these two key factors, he said. He, however, said the Church
had not made any formal reply to the recent invite from the Patriarch.
The communications are being handled by the Ecumenical Relationship
Committee of the church.
According to him, a meeting of the Church
Synod has been scheduled for Wednesday. “Naturally, the issue will come
up at the meeting. However, the Catholicos and Malankara Metropolitan,
if he prefers so, can initiate any steps in this regard on the basis of
the framework decided by the Synod earlier when a similar invite was
communicated by the Patriarch last year,” he said.
Catholicos
Baselius Mar Thoma Paulose II, the head of the Orthodox Church, would be
busy on Monday and Tuesday as he would be leading the consecration of
deacons and priests.
Meanwhile, Biju Oommen, secretary, Malankara
Orthodox Syrian Church, said the synod, scheduled for Wednesday, will
take a decision on further steps. The Patriarch will be in India from
May 22 to 26. He is expected to land in Kerala and then move to New
Delhi and call on the President and Prime Minister.
