The Mateer Memorial Church in the capital city witnessed dramatic scenes on Friday morning as the South Kerala diocese of the Church of South India (CSI) took over control of the church and converted it into a cathedral, making it the headquarters of the CSI Thiruvananthapuram bishop Dharmaraj Rasalam. A large number of parishioners of the church protested vociferously against the move and hooted at the bishop after he made the announcement of conversion to cathedral.
The diocese also disbanded the existing church committee, representing the 2,400 families which are part of the church congregation, and formed a new committee, which the protesters termed a ‘puppet committee’. The parishioners have accused the henchmen of the diocese of stealing their official documents, which proved their rightful control over the church, and of breaking open the gate to ‘invade’ the church. The diocese authorities had brought in a large number of believers from various parts of the district. Police personnel intervened, separating both sections of believers to prevent any untoward incident.
