The Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, Raphael Thattil, signed a decree on September 30, 2026, approving the dissolution of the Special Tribunal of the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly, in Kerala (India), according to The Pillar. The text appeared in the November issue of the monthly bulletin Ernakulam Missam. The body had been created to judge the disciplinary cases of priests who resisted the new “uniform” liturgy, and its dissolution comes after the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s supreme tribunal, suspended its proceedings.
A tribunal created in December 2024
Thattil had established the tribunal on December 18, 2024, to address the “ongoing disciplinary problems” of the clergy of the archeparchy, the most populous of the Syro-Malabar Church, with about 500,000 Catholics. The conflict is long-standing: the majority of priests and faithful in Ernakulam-Angamaly prefer to celebrate the Holy Qurbana facing the assembly, a custom of more than half a century, and strongly rejected the uniform model promoted from Rome, in which the celebrant faces the people during the Liturgy of the Word, the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer, and the faithful again after Communion.
Bishop Bosco Puthur, then apostolic administrator of the archeparchy, referred the cases of four priests to the tribunal: Varghese Manavalan, Joshy Vezhaparambil, Thomas Valookaran and Benny Palatty. Prior sanctions had been imposed and administrators appointed in their parishes, which provoked protests from the laity. The tension in the archeparchy had already been reported by InfoVaticana when the liturgical dispute intensified in October 2024.
The Apostolic Signatura suspends all cases
Archbishop Mathew Moolakkatt, moderator general of the administration of justice, received a complaint about procedural defects in two of the proceedings and temporarily suspended the proceedings. The presiding judge of the tribunal, Father James Mathew Pampara, disagreed and appealed to the Apostolic Signatura. According to The Pillar, on October 1, 2025, this dicastery suspended all cases, prohibited the opening of new ones, and requested the files.
The Signatura also referred the two pending cases to the ordinary metropolitan tribunal of Ernakulam-Angamaly, which resolved them in first instance following its instructions. This cleared the way for Thattil to dissolve the special body.
Status of the priests and liturgical agreement
The four priests remain on the clergy list of the archeparchy. Manavalan is listed on medical leave, and the other three appear as vicars or holding parish positions. In addition, a notice from the chancellor, Father Antony Vazhakkala, revoked in 2026 the suspensions of priests Jacob Pozholipparambil, in April, and of Manavalan himself, in June.
In August of this year, the Synod of Syro-Malabar Bishops reaffirmed the agreement reached in June 2025, according to which parishes may continue to celebrate facing the people provided they offer at least one Mass in the uniform form on Sundays and holy days of obligation. The declaration may be presented before civil courts as the official position of the Church in the internal disputes of the archeparchy.