India: Cardinal Alencherry of the Syro-Malabar Church Resigns

The Syro-Malabar Church is one of the 23 autonomous Eastern Catholic churches in communion with Rome. The Eucharistic liturgy of the Syro-Malabar Church, known as Holy Qurbana, has been the subject of a long and complex dispute over the direction in which the priest should turn when celebrating the liturgy.

The resignation of Cardinal Alencherry was accepted on November 29, 2023, and made public on December 7. He had been at the head of the Syro-Malabar Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly since 2011, and was at the head of this Eastern Catholic Church which has some five million followers in India and the diaspora.

In 2019, when strong internal divisions were already appearing, with some of the members refusing to accept the liturgical reform approved by a synod of this Church – an assembly which brings together all the bishops of this rite – the cardinal had already proposed his resignation. Rome then “accepted the advice of the synod… that it was not the right time.”

A Rare Decision

The Roman Pontiff accepted the second resignation presented by the Alencherry, who was created cardinal in 2012. According to Eastern canon law, the curial bishop – equivalent to an auxiliary bishop – Sebastian Vaniyapurackal then becomes administrator of the Syro-Malabar Church, while waiting for a church synod to elect a new major archbishop.

This departure remains a rare situation. Indeed, unlike Latin bishops, according to Eastern law, a head of an Eastern church is not required to resign at age 75. Pope Francis specifies that the cardinal will remain a member of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches.

The Vatican said Thursday that Francis had also accepted the resignation of Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, the archeparchy's apostolic administrator since July last year. Archbishop Thazhath remains Metropolitan Archbishop of Trichur of the Syro-Malabars.

Bosco Puthur, bishop emeritus of the Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Melbourne of the Syro-Malabars (Australia), will exercise this function “sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis,” (as long as the see is vacant, according to the will of the Holy See).

Pope Sends Video Message to Priests

Cardinal Alencherry's 12 years at the head of this Church were eventful. The Holy See has repeatedly dispatched emissaries as part of the liturgical dispute that has been bogged down for decades. When Rome appointed an apostolic administrator, the cardinal was stripped of his diocese in 2018. He was also accused in cases of financial embezzlement.

In this context of crisis, Pope Francis also sent a video message to the Syro-Malabar faithful and priests, addressing them directly in an attempt to avoid a schism. The representative the Pope had previously sent, Slovak Archbishop Cyril Vasil, was rejected on site last August.

In this video message, Francis said: “See to it that by Christmas 2023 your archdiocese humbly and faithfully agrees to catch up with the rest of your Church, respecting all the directions of your synod.”