Liturgy is the source and summit of Christian life. It is a nursery of Christian life wherein one learns the basic principles and understands the importance of celebrating one’s life.
It is in the liturgy that one can experience the Love of Christ and rediscover oneself. Sadly, the focus of the current strife among the Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Catholic Church, the Syro-Malabar Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly, is the priest’s orientation (Facing the Altar or Facing the Congregation) during various sections of the Holy Qur-bana (Eucharistic celebration).
Uniform rubrics were released in 1999 by the Synod of Bi-shops of the Syro-Malabar Church to standardize Eucharistic celebrations. The choice was made to have the priest face the altar throughout the Eucharistic Prayer, but turn to face the people after Communion and during the Liturgy of the Word. Dispensations, on the other hand, were given in a few dioceses, such as the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, enabling priests to face the congregation the whole liturgy.
When the bishops planned to terminate these dispensations in November 2021, the Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency, a group inside the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, protested and showed resistance.