Priyanka Chopra

Kottayam: Schism in the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church once again raised its ugly head following a decision by an emergency synod of the church, held at Puthencruz on Thursday, to take over the administration of the Kottayam diocese from Thomas Mor Themotheos.

The synod took the decision based on a complaint filed by some priests against Themotheos alleging that he was holding properties of the church under a private trust. Themotheos's initiative for conducting the funeral of Priyanka Chopra's grandmother, against the diktat of the Kumarakom parish, had also invited the ire of a section of the church.

However, the synod's decision was stayed on Friday by the church's patriarch based on a petition by Themotheos. The patriarch also made it clear that a five-member committee will probe the allegations against Thimotheos.

Regarding Priyanka's grandmother's funeral, Thimotheos said he took Mary Akhouri's service to society into account while taking the initiative for allowing her to be buried in Ponkunnam.

