According to a report by "Ucanews", the church's highest decision-making body unanimously adopted a resolution during its ten-day synod to end the liturgy dispute. This decision is said to have been made on the second day.
Even before the synod began, the bishops had met with those priests and laypeople who protested against the standardised form of the Mass decided by the synod in 2021.
Through dialogue, an agreement was reached to resolve the conflict.
The synod's approval is seen as the final step towards resolving the dispute, which had developed into a scandal in the Syro-Malabar Church in recent years.
Compromise found
The background to the conflict was the question of the form of mass. The main issue was whether the priest should celebrate the service facing the congregation or with his back to it.
Opponents of the new form wanted to maintain a continuous celebration facing the congregation, which had developed as a result of the influence of the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).
A large part of the Eastern Catholic Church had adopted the new form of mass, but clergy and laity in the central Grand Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly protested against it.
Several appeals for unity by the former Pope Francis met with little response.
Finally, he appointed a papal delegate for the major archdiocese.
Pope Leo XIV recently dismissed him and thanked him for his work, as a compromise had been found. The compromise negotiated between the conflicting parties came into force in June.
In future, the celebration of Mass in the direction of the congregation will be permitted in parishes if at least one Mass is celebrated in the standardised form on Sundays and public holidays.
With around five million believers worldwide, the Syro-Malabar Church is the larger of the two Eastern Churches in India that are linked to the Pope.
Of its 35 dioceses, 31 are in India, with a further four in the USA, Canada, Australia and Great Britain.