Indian priests threatened with excommunication in dispute over facing the altar or congregation during Liturgy

Nirmala Carvalho/Crux

Nirmala Carvalho/Crux

India

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MUMBAI, India – Syro-Malabar Church leaders in India are threatening to excommunicate priests who do not comply by July with synodal directions about when to face the altar during Mass.

The Syro-Malabar Church, with an estimated following of 4.25 million worldwide, is the second largest of the eastern Churches in communion with Rome. Ever since its synod decided in 2021 to adopt a new, unified mode of celebrating the Mass, the Church has been gripped by controversy, above all in its largest jurisdiction of Ernakulam-Algamany.

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