In a letter to the faithful of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese, Apostolic Administrator Bosco Puthur emphasised at the weekend in Kochi (Kerala) that the Pope would not allow opponents of the liturgical reform to split off and found their own Eastern Catholic Church.
The faithful should beware of such "false propaganda", according to the letter, which is available to the Catholic News Agency (KNA).
The proposal to create a new church of its own right in communion with the Pope for opponents of the liturgical reform was first put forward in April.
Pope Francis had personally addressed the protesters several times during the conflict and called on them to obey.
In his letter, Puthur emphasised that it was completely out of the question that the Pope would allow those who refused to obey him to found a new church in communion with him. The idea of an independent church is propagated by those who "repeatedly reject the Pope's repeated paternal call, twist his words and insult the Holy Father's representatives", Puthur continued.
A protest against the standardised form of the liturgy is a protest against the Pope.
All attempts at pacification have failed
A dispute over the order of worship has been smouldering in the Syro-Malabar Church for years.
The new form of the liturgy was decided by the synod, the church's highest decision-making body, in 2021.
While the majority of the Eastern Catholic Church has adopted a reform of the Mass, clergy and laity are protesting in the central Grand Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly in the Indian state of Kerala.
A compromise reached in July, according to which priests would only be obliged to celebrate the liturgy in the form decided by the synod on Sundays and public holidays, failed due to the church leadership's demand that newly ordained priests should commit themselves entirely to this form.
The Syro-Malabar Church in south-west India is the largest of today's churches and communities of St Thomas Christians, which is said to have been founded in the 1st century by the Apostle Thomas during his missionary journeys.
Through links with the Assyrian Church of the East, it celebrates its liturgy in the East Syriac rite.
In the course of Portuguese colonisation, the Thomas Christians were forced to adopt Western forms and hierarchies and broke up into several churches.
There are already two Catholic churches of the Thoma Christians: in addition to the Syro-Malabars, there is the smaller Syro-Malankar Church, which celebrates its liturgy in the West Syrian rite.