Congregation-facing Mass resumes at St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Kochi

The observance of Holy Mass was held on Sunday morning (August 30, 2026) at the St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Keralam’s Kochi after a gap of four years, with the priest facing members of the congregation.

A sizeable share of priests and laity members of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese had been demanding this mode of Mass, while opposing the Unified Mass that the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church had been insisting on.

The Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency (AMT), which had been demanding the congregation-facing mass, said in a release on Sunday (August 30, 2026) that a consensus had been reached on the matter and that the Sunday service was held accordingly.

A communication shared by the AMT —dated 22 August and bearing the sign of Fr. Thomas Mangattu, Administrator of the Cathedral Basilica— said that a Unified Mass will be held on Sundays at 5 p.m.

The scheduled congregation-facing Mass will be held during the time of festivals, anniversaries, among other occasions. The same mode of mass would apply to marriage ceremonies being held on Sunday noon.

The consensus also spoke of church members taking swift measures to withdraw litigation they filed against each other in the wake of the dispute regarding the mode of Mass.

On Friday, clergy and laity members of the church who attended a protest meeting here, had given a call to boycott bishops, including the Major Archbishop, until they got ‘justice’ from the Synod. They had also warned of withdrawing from the consensus that had been reached, until and unless the Synod chose bishops from among the priests of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese.

They further warned that a lasting settlement would not be found, until a liturgical variant was permitted for the mode of Mass that they had been demanding.

Meanwhile, the executive committee of the One Church One Qurbana Movement has said that it would not agree with the ‘consensus agreement’ on the mode of Mass at the church.

The agreement was reached with a few persons who were not associated with stakeholders who have been seeking Unified Mass. The archdiocese must explain who entrusted these persons to be party to any such agreement, the movement said, in a release.