Synod brawl leads to bishop's suspension

THE BISHOP in Thoothukudi-Nazareth of the Church o f S outh India has been suspended for assaulting the CSI’s General Secr etar y during the 25 Feb 2013 meeting in Chennai of the Synod Executive Council.

Spokesmen for the Bishop and the executive Council did not r espond to requests for clarification but the anti-cor r uption lay gr oup Youth4CSI r epor ts the spat between the bishop and the Synod's Executive Council is politically and financially motivated.

The alter cation between Bishop J.A.D. Jebachandran and General Secretar y M.M. Philip began when the bishop objected to the minutes of the Council's Januar y meeting that discussed the af fairs of his diocese. After the general secr etar y declined to strike that por tion of the minutes, Bishop Jebachandran allegedly rose from his chair , grabbed Mr . Philip by his collar , took away his micr ophone, and shoved him away from the podium.

Uproar ensued, and a vote was taken by the Council to suspend the bishop. A formal notice of suspension was subsequently ser ved upon Bishop Jebachandran on 3 April 2013.