Mammootty the common uniting factor for two Kerala churches

Kochi: For two churches of different denominations in Kerala, an unlikely common bond has emerged in Malayalam superstar Mammootty.

In a remarkable coincidence, the actor has been celebrated by both the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, appearing at important gatherings of the two churches within a fortnight of each other.

On November 1, Mammootty was the chief guest at the concluding public meeting of the pilgrimage week marking the 124th remembrance feast of St Gregorios of Parumala at the Parumala church in Pathanamthitta district.

The meeting was presided over by Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, supreme head of the Orthodox Church.

On Friday, the actor was back among the faithful, this time at Puthencruz, where the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church honoured him with its Shreshtha Bava Award.

Instituted in memory of its late Catholicos Mor Baselios Thomas I, the award recognises Mammootty's contributions to the welfare and progress of society.

The gathering was part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of the historic Mulanthuruthy Synod and the Holy Mooron consecration ceremony.

It was led by Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II, the supreme head of the Jacobite Church based in Lebanon, and Catholicos Mor Baselios Joseph, its head in Kerala.

Kerala Chief Minister, V.D. Satheesan, inaugurated the meeting.

The two churches, despite sharing a common Malankara Christian heritage, are at loggerheads over church ownership and spiritual authority.

Chief Minister Satheesan used the occasion to make an emotional appeal for unity, offering to act as an interlocutor between the two sides.

"I just imagined if unity takes place. It would be a huge thing for Kerala. All of you also imagine the same scenario," he said.

Mammootty, meanwhile, offered his own simple reflection on what makes life meaningful.

Material possessions, he said, do not bring happiness, peace does.

"What I do often is I always convert all as my friends," he said.

There was something particularly poignant about those words coming from a man whom both sides were happy to embrace.

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