The Knanaya Catholic Church’s refusal to issue a ‘no objection certificate’ (NOC) to parishioner Justin John, despite a Kerala High Court order, has caused controversy. The church’s decision prevented Justin, an auto-rickshaw driver, from marrying his non-Knanaya Catholic fiancée. This incident represents a missed opportunity for the church to break with its centuries-old practice of endogamy, which restricts marriages within the Knanaya community.
Justin, a member of St Anne’s Knanaya Catholic Church, planned to marry Vijimol, a Roman Catholic from St Xavier’s Church. However, without the NOC from the Knanaya Church, St Xavier’s Church refused to solemnize the wedding. Biju Uthup, vice president of the Global Knanaya Reform Movement (GKRM), expressed disappointment, stating that the couple could not officially marry despite exchanging garlands in front of St Xavier’s Church.
Uthup, who is leading a legal battle against endogamy in the Knanaya Church, held Mar Mathew Moolakkatt, the head of Kottayam Archeparchy, responsible for the incident. He plans to take legal action against the bishop for contempt and seek compensation, including double the expenses incurred for the wedding.
The potential historic significance of this wedding lies in the fact that the Knanaya Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam, under the Catholic Church led by Pope Francis, does not permit its members to marry Catholics outside the Kottayam Archeparchy. The Knanaya Church traces its ancestry back to a Jewish-Christian community that migrated to Kerala from southern Mesopotamia in AD 345, led by merchant Thomas of Cana. As a result, the church insists on endogamy and has a process for members wishing to marry outside the sect, which includes obtaining permission to leave the eparchy of Kottayam (PLEK).
Justin, however, did not wish to relinquish his membership with St Anne’s Knanaya Catholic Church to marry Vijimol, who hails from the same village. This refusal by the Knanaya Church has sparked controversy and garnered support from various groups, including the Knanaya Catholic Youth League (KCYL), who staged a demonstration to protect the church’s customs.
The youth leader of KCYL clarified that the archeparchy did not expel Justin from the church but could not issue the NOC due to the ongoing legal proceedings. The battle against endogamy in the Knanaya Church dates back to 2015 when the Knanaya Catholic Naveekarna Samithi (KCNS) sought intervention from the court. While the additional sub-court and appellate court ruled in favor of KCNS, the Kottayam Archeparchy challenged the decision in the high court, arguing that it would disrupt long-standing practices.
The high court admitted the plea and issued an interim order on November 4, 2020, stating that members of the Kottayam Archeparchy could request an NOC from the metropolitan archbishop to marry Catholics from other dioceses. The court emphasized that the bishop and archeparchy should issue the NOC without requiring the relinquishment of the person’s membership with the Kottayam Archeparchy. However, the church challenged this interim order, leading to the high court reaffirming the previous arrangement on March 10, 2023.
Based on this order, Justin sought an NOC for his engagement with Vijimol, which the church initially granted. The engagement took place in her parish with the announcement made in both parishes. However, the Knanaya Church changed its stance within a month, refusing to issue the NOC for the wedding,
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