The demonstrators' demands also include the cancellation of personnel changes in the administration of the major archdiocese, as the Asian Catholic press service"Ucanews" reported on Monday.
The Apostolic Administrator Bosco Puthur had previously announced that eight deacons would only be ordained to the priesthood if they pledged to celebrate Mass only according to the reformed liturgy.
Opponents of the liturgical reform announced to "Ucanews" that priests who only celebrate the reformed form of the Mass would not be accepted in the parishes.
The demonstration in front of the archbishop's house on Sunday is part of the dispute over the order of worship of the Syro-Malabar Church, which has been smouldering for years.
While the majority of the Eastern Catholic Church has adopted a reform of the celebration of mass, clergy and laity are protesting in the central major archdiocese in the Indian state of Kerala.
Even a special envoy appointed by Pope Francis was unable to settle the conflict.
Conditions for priest candidates destroy compromise
In July, there was still hope that a compromise could end the conflict. The agreement stipulated that priests could continue to celebrate the previous form of Mass if they celebrated Mass in their parishes on Sundays and public holidays according to the liturgy approved by the synod.
According to the "Committee for the Protection of the Archdiocese", an association of priests who reject the reform, the requirement for new priests to commit themselves in writing to celebrating Mass in the reformed form violates this compromise.
In the reformed form of the liturgy, the priest turns towards the people in the liturgy of the word and celebrates the Eucharist towards the altar. The protesters in Ernakulam-Angamaly are demanding that the entire mass should continue to be celebrated facing the people.
The Syro-Malabar Church is the second largest Eastern Catholic Church. It is one of two Eastern Catholic churches that go back to the first Christians in India, who refer to the Apostle Thomas, and celebrates its liturgy according to the East Syriac rite.
In the course of the liturgical reform of the Western Church after the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the Syro-Malabar Church also initially introduced a change in the direction of celebration towards the people.
The new form of the liturgy was approved by the Synod, the highest decision-making body of the church, in 2021.
The ordination of the eight deacons was originally planned for 1 October.