Principal Munsiff Jyothi Babu R. granted a temporary injunction, suspending the enforcement of the Patriarch’s bull that had initially suspended Archbishop Severios.
The court clarified that while this order halts any disciplinary measures, it does not prevent the Patriarch from carrying out his spiritual responsibilities as outlined in the Church’s constitution.
The court acknowledged the Patriarch’s supreme spiritual authority within the community but emphasised that his jurisdiction does not extend to the Church’s temporal matters, which include its administrative, financial, and natural aspects.
Reason for ruling
“If the injunction is not granted, irreparable loss and injury would be caused to the petitioners (those who back the archbishop) as well as the parishioners.
The balance of convenience is in favour of the petitioners as well as the members of the Knanaya Samudayam in general. Hence, it warrants the court’s intervention to grant an order of injunction,” the court stated.
The ruling also highlighted that Archbishop Severios was elected by the Knanaya Association, representing all the parishes of the church.
Any disciplinary action against him would affect the entire community, thereby constituting an interference by the Patriarch in the administration of the Knanaya archdiocese.
The ongoing factionalism between Archbishop Severios and two regional bishops has now escalated into a full-blown conflict.
In an abrupt move in May this year, the Patriarch stripped Archbishop Severios of his title as ‘Archbishop and Chief Metropolitan of the Knanaya Archdiocese in India,’ citing defiance of his orders as the reason.
However, in response, the faction supporting the archbishop convened a meeting of the Knanaya Association — the archdiocese’s highest decision-making body — and decided not to approve the suspension.