Kakkanad, Cochin - The Special Session of the Syro-Malabar Church began on June 12 at Mount St. Thomas, the headquarters of the Church. The synod began with meditations led by Mar Remegiose Inchananiyil, Bishop of Eparchy of Thamarassery.

Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church presided over the Holy Qurbana along with the Synod Bishops.

In his inaugural message, Cardinal George Alencherry recalled the selfless services and courageous leadership of late Mar Joseph Powathil, Metropolitan Emeritus of Changanacherry. He also pointed out that the demise of Mar Powathil is a great loss for the church and the society as a whole.

Cardinal Mar George Alencherry gave a special welcome to the new participants of the Synod, Mar John Panamthottathil, Bishop of the Eparchy of Melbourne, and Bishop Alex Tharamangalam, Auxiliary Bishop of Eparchy Mananthavady. The Major Archbishop praised the incomparable great contributions made by Mar Bosco Puthur, the first Bishop of the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of the. St. Thomas The Apostle of Melbourne.

In his inaugural message, the Major Archbishop referred to the various socio-political and agricultural crises the Church is facing. The indifference on the part of the state and central governments, who have shown reluctance to take constructive steps despite the brutal persecution of Christians in the Manipur riots, is not acceptable.

Both the central and state governments need to take a sympathetic approach to the problems faced by the farmers in Kerala. The state government should understand the truth that even after the Supreme Court verdict on the buffer zone issue, the farmers' concerns remain unresolved. It is sad that the government does not come up with policies to protect the farmer, even though the wild animals coming down on the agricultural land have become a threat to the life and property of the farmers. The loss of life due to wild animal attacks has significantly increased in the recent past, which is worrying for the farmers.

The Special Session of the Synod is being convened with the aim of discussing the problems existing in the Arch Eparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly regarding the renewed uniform Holy Qurbana. The synod's deliberations are proceeding in the light of the understandings that the Church's permanent synod members had with Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State. The special Synod session will conclude on Friday, June 16 at 6 pm IST.