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THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED BY THE MALANKARA ASSOCIATION HELD ON DECEMBER 26, 1934:

The Constitution which was adopted on December 26, 1934 provides for various aspects concerning the Malankara Church and the Malankara Association. The relevant Articles, as originally approved in 1934, read thus:

"(1) Malankara Church is a division of Orthodox Syrian Church. Primate of the Orthodox Syrian Church is Patriarch. (2) Malankara Church was founded by St. Thomas, the apostle and supremacy in the Orthodox Syrian Church of the East and the Primate of the Orthodox Syrian Church is with the Catholicos. (5) The approved canon of this church is Hudaya Canon written by Bar Hebreus (the same canon book as one printed in Paris in 1898).

The plaintiff-respondent's case, as put forward in O.S.4/79, is to be following effect:

Until 1912 the Malankara Metropolitan, necessarily a native of Malankara, was invariably exercising administrative powers over temporal and ecclesiastical matters which authority was derived because of his election/approval by the members of the community. The persistent interference by the Patriarch in the affairs of the Church compelled the community to feel the need for re- establishment of Catholicate. Accordingly, it was revived and re-established in 1912. The seat of Catholicate was transferred from Tigris in Persia to Malankara. After the establishment of Catholicate, "Practically no residuary power (was) left with the Patriarch of Antioch over this Episcopal Church". There are about 1,000 Parish Churches comprised in the Malankara Church. They are under the authority of Malankara Metropolitan. The Malankara Church is neither a union nor a federation of congregational autonomous units, but a Church with a unique solidarity derived from apostolic succession. The 1934 Constitution governs and regulates all the affairs of this Church. The Constitution enables the Malankara Metropolitan to hold the office of Catholicos as well. "Thus in the Malankara Metropolitan-cum-Catholicos converge all temporal, spiritual and ecclesiastical powers without mitigating the exalted position and status of the Patriarch, the Primate of the Orthodox Syrian Church". After the judgment of the Supreme Court the Patriarch and his group accepted the Catholicos and the 1934 Constitution. But later they have been acting against the interests of the Church at the instance of Patriarch and others. They also denied the authority of the first plaintiff (Catholicos-Malankara Metropolitan). The defendants are impleaded in their individual capacity and as representing the Patriarchal group. "No person irrespective of his position has any locus standi in the Malankara Church without believing in the holy church, headed by the Catholicos of the East-Cum-Malankara Metropolitan and without affirming and accepting the ecclesiastical authority of the first plaintiff and the administrative set up and heirarchy, the principle being that the lawful Metropolitan is necessary to the very being of the Church". In Para 24 a reference is made to Church properties. The paragraph reads thus: "Defendants and their partisans are trying to intermeddle in the affairs of individual churches and create dissensions and discord therein. They are attempting to make use of the properties of the church in this illegal and unlawful attempt".

It is relevant to notice the reliefs sought for in the suit. They are :

"A. To declare that the Malankara Church is episcopal in character and is not a union or federation of autonomous church units and is governed in its administration by the constitution of the Malankara Church ;

B. To declare that defendants 1 to 3 are not competent to ordain priests and deacons for Malankara church;

C. To declare that defendants 1 to 3 are not legally consecrated Metropolitans of the Malankara Church and defendants 4 to 8 are not legally ordained priests or deacons of the Malankara Church.

On a consideration of the relevant material placed before it, the Division Bench has held that while the Orthodox Syrian Church including the Malankara Church is Episcopal in spiritual matters, in temporal matters it is not Episcopal. It referred, in our opinion rightly, to the judgment of the Royal Court of Final Appeal of Travancore in Seminary Suit where it is observed: "parties agree that head of Syrian Church in this country or its Metropolitan should be a properly ordained Bishop and that regarding temporal affairs acceptance of Malankara Metropolitan as such by the community is necessary". It was further held in the said judgment that "while the ecclesiastical supremacy of the Patriarch has all along been recognised, authority of Patriarch never extended to Government of temporalities of the Church". The Division Bench at the same time clarified that it does not mean to hold that the Metropolitan has the jurisdiction over the day-to-day management of temporal affairs of Parish Churches. The Division Bench has also referred to the Mulanthuruthy Synod resolutions which say that the Parish Churches have a degree of autonomy with certain supervisory powers alone being vested in the Managing Committee of the Association of Catholicos or the Malankara Metropolitan, as the case may be. The Division Bench has held that "Malankara Church though it has some episocopal charaterstics is not a purely episcopal church. But we are not able to agree that the individual Parish Churches are independent churches or churches with independent status.....The Parish Churches are constituent parts of the Malankara Church and enjoy a degree of autonomy and the administration of the day-to-day affairs vests in the Parish Assembly and committee elected by the Parish Assembly subject to supervisory powers of the Metropolitan - and the provisions of the constitution of the Malankara Sabha do not affect this position".** We are, however, of the opinion that in this suit no declaration can be granted affecting the rights of Parish Churches in their absence nor can it be declared that the properties held by Malankara Parish Churches vest in the Catholicos or the Malankara Metropolitan or the Metropolitan of the concerned diocese, as the case may be. Indeed, no such specific relief has been asked for in the suit and without impleading the affected parties, no declaration can be claimed by the plaintiffs that their church is