1. These batch of writ petitions serve as a grim reminder of the perpetual fight for control of spiritual and temporal management of affairs of the Parish Church between the Patriarch faction and the Catholicos faction of the Malankara Church. The Malankara Church is essentially a division of the Orthodox Syrian Church and the issue of spiritual and temporal authority between the Malankara Church and the Patriarch of Antioch has been the subject matter of several rounds of litigation since the year 1879.

2. The history of the earlier rounds of litigation has been succinctly referred to in the judgment of Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy in Most Rev. P.M.A. Metropolitan and Others v. Moran Mar Marthoma and another [1995 Supp (4) SCC 286] as follows:

“xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

98. St.Thomas, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ came to Malabar in 52 A.D. to spread his message. He died in India.

99. At the Council held at Nicea in 325 A.D. - First General Council - convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine, four Patriarchates were established spanning the Christendom as it was known then, viz., Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria and Antioch, each headed by