No political favorites: Orthodox Church

The Church had welcomed the development works being taken up by Mr. Modi in Gujarat, he said, however, as in every administration, there would be shortages and defects.

Kottayam:  The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, whose two bishops met Narandra Modi early this month, has officially said that it has no political favorites in the upcoming general elections.

Speaking to the media following the conclusion of the Episcopal Synod in Kottayam, synod secretary Mathews Mar Savarios Metropolitan, head of Kandanad (West) diocese, said the Church had always respected the freedom of its members to vote on their own will.

“We would like them to vote for those who stand for truth, justice, secularism, and social harmony,” he said.

“We are only happy about anyone coming to power in the established, democratic manner,” he replied to a question regarding the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Referring to the comments made by two orthodox bishops who welcomed Mr. Modi on his arrival in the State a few days back, Bishop Savarios said the comments made by them were not the “general position” of the Church.

“They had very close personal relations with political leaders in the North, including Mr. Modi, during their stint as heads of the dioceses there. It was only natural that they made a personal visit to him during the BJP leader’s visit to Kerala,” Bishop Savarios said.

The Church had welcomed the development works being taken up by Mr. Modi in Gujarat, he said, however, as in every administration, there would be shortages and defects.

The Metropolitan also refused to side with Kerala's main alliances, the LDF or the UDF, in their approach to the grievances of the Church and said both the alliances had taken steps which were welcomed by the Church and resented by it.

Reacting to a question, the Metropolitan said wealth was not the cause of his Church's disputes with the Jacobites. “It is based on justice. Supreme Court judgments are there on which the authorities should take the initiative to release the disputed properties,” he said.

This was the first synod of the Church held this year. The next one has been scheduled for August.

Source: The Hindu