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CROSS CONTROVERSY DIVIDES SYRO MALABAR CHURCH IN SOUTH INDIA

Updated: March 25, 1992 05:00 PM GMT
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A move to replace the crucifix with a "heretical" cross in churches has divided the Syro Malabar Church (SMC) in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

The move was opposed by an SMC group that alleges the Saint Thomas Cross -- a decorated cross without the figure of Jesus -- is Manichaean in origin and heretical.

"There is nothing heretical about the Saint Thomas Cross," asserted Archbishop Joseph Powathil of Changanacherry, leader of the pro-cross group.

Maintaining that the cross is "truly Catholic like any other form of the cross," Archbishop Powathil noted an SMC tradition that "this cross was drawn by Saint Thomas the Apostle."

P.K. Mathew, a layman of Changanacherry archdiocese, wrote in "Assisi," a Catholic monthly magazine, that the cross was influenced by Manichaeus who preached in the third century that Jesus did not die on the cross but was carried by angels to heaven.

Manichaeus was condemned by the Church.

Mathew was supported by theologians P.T. Chacko, a layman, and Capuchin Father K. Luke, who maintain that there "are reasons to believe that Manichaeus visited India."

Archbishop Powathil told UCA News in early March that the controversy is a "deliberate" attempt by "exponents of Latinization" of the SMC liturgy.

The Powathil group maintains that the SMC, which traces its origin to Saint Thomas the Apostle, was Latinized in the 16th century by Portuguese missioners. It now wants the Church to be restored to its earlier identity.

His group, which insists on shedding all Latin customs in the SMC, has succeeded in shifting the beginning of Lent from Ash Wednesday to the preceding Monday. The SMC observes 50 days of Lent.

The other group, supported by several bishops, priests and laypersons, wants to retain all Latin customs that have "contributed to the spiritual life of the Church for the past four centuries."

The controversial cross, with flowerbuds adorning its ends, stands on a lotus pedestal, while a dove is shown descending on it.

This cross was discovered in 1548 by Portuguese missioners from Mylapore in neighboring Tamil Nadu state, where tradition says Saint Thomas was martyred and buried.

The cross, which Archbishop Powathil says identifies the SMC, is printed on the Church´s sacred texts and vestments.

The Indian bishops recommended this cross for a postal stamp in 1972 to commemorate the death of Saint Thomas 1,900 years ago.

New churches in Changanacherry, Palai and Kanjirapally dioceses now bear only this cross. Even in old churches the crucifix is being replaced with the controversial cross.

The late Carmelite Church historian Father Placid Podipara once wrote that the Saint Thomas Cross resembles a cross the Jesuit missioners discovered in China in 1625.

The Powathil group maintains that the Saint Thomas Cross symbolizes the Resurrection. Archbishop Powathil asserted that the Oriental Churches "seldom keep the crucifix with the figure of Jesus on it in their churches." He said the orientals give "much importance" to the Holy Spirit in their worship.

Kerala´s other Christian denominations strongly influenced by the apostolic tradition of Saint Thomas also retain this cross as an identification mark, he added.

Father Mathew Kattady, vicar of the SMC parish in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram, told UCA News: "Nobody knows what this cross means. Nobody has studied it. The archbishop likes it installed in churches. We do it."

Thomas Kuzhively, a parishioner, said: "Let any cross come. We believe in Jesus and obey the pope."

END

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