Two years after the then administrative committee of the South Kerala diocese of the Church of South India (CSI) took over control of the Mateer Memorial Church in the capital city and converted it into a cathedral, the change was effectively reversed on Friday with a section of believers removing the display boards marking it as a cathedral.
The change was effected on the day the new CSI Thiruvananthapuram bishop Royce Manoj Victor took charge.
In April 2022, the church had witnessed tension for weeks after the administrative committee under the then bishop Dharmaraj Rassalam unilaterally disbanded the elected church committee representing the 2,400 families which are part of the church congregation, and formed a new committee, which the protesters termed a ‘puppet committee’. The parishioners had then accused the henchmen of the diocese of stealing their official documents, which proved their rightful control over the church, and of breaking open the gate to ‘invade’ the church. They argued that conversion of the church into a cathedral under the CSI will destroy its democratic and autonomous nature.
Legal battles
Since then, a section of the believers have been holding their worship at a hall on the Salvation Army campus. Over the past two years, legal battles have also taken place for control of the church. The then bishop’s attempt to increase the retirement age to 70 was annulled by the Madras High Court. The court also dissolved the administrative committee and put a retired judge in charge as the administrator. The new bishop has taken charge following this. But, with a section still sticking to the demand to turn the church into a cathedral, the matter is far from settled.
The 115-year-old church, one of the iconic buildings in the city, is located in the LMS compound, spread over 17.5 acre.
