MEMORANDUM FOR RENEWAL AND REFORMATION
OF THE CHURCH OF SOUTH INDIA (C.S.I.)
SUBMITTED TO
THE MOST REVERED G. DEVAKADASHAM
THE MODERATOR OF THE CHURCH OF SOUTH INDIA (C.S.I.)
AT NAGERCOIL, KANYAKUMARI
ON FRIDAY
MARCH 23, 2012; TIME: 10 a.m.-1 P.M
BY
THE CORE GROUP OF
THE MOVEMENT FOR THE RENEWAL AND REFORMATION OF
CHURCHES
VENUE
DIOCESAN CONFERENCE HALL
PROGRAMME
I. Opening
Hymn
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,
the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.
Praise to the Lord, who, when
darkness of sin is abounding,
Who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding,
Sheddeth His light, chaseth the horrors of night,
Saints with His mercy surrounding
Praise to the Lord, O let all
that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him;
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
- Bible Readings:
2 Kings 23: 24-25
Prof. Dr. Joanna Somervell
Acts 1: 15-26
Mrs. D. Charlet Jothi Moni
III. Brief Reflection and Prayer: The Moderator:
The Most Revd. G. Devakadashm
IV. Welcome and Introduction: Revd. Dr. Gnana Robinson
V Reading
of the Memorandum: Prof. Dr. Jayakaran Isaac
- Presentation of the Memorandum: The Rt. Revd. Dr.
I. Jesudhasan, Former
Moderator
- Greetings in Brief:
i. Rt.Revd. William
Moses, Former Moderator
- Rt.Revd.Dr. C.L.Furtado, Former Bishop, S.Karnataka
- Rt.Revd. J.A.D. Jebachandran, Bishop, Tutucorin
Diocese
- Prof. George Koshy, Former General Secretary
of the Synod
- Prof. Chritian Babu, General Secretary of Kanyakumari
Diocese (On behalf of the Host Diocese)
- Revd. Dr. Badem Sunder Raju, Vice President, (On
behalf of Telugu Speaking Dioceses)
- Adv. R. Sathiamoorthy (Representing all Lay Leaders)
- Vote of Thanks: Dr. C. Joslin Thamby
- Closing Prayer and Benediction: The Rt. Rev
.Dr. I. Jesudhasan
MOVEMENT FOR THE RENEWAL AND REFORMATION OF CHURCHES
CHURCH OF SOUTH INDIA
To
The Most Revd G. Devakadasham
Moderator
CSI Synod
Friday, March 23, 2012
Most revered and dear Moderator,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ!
At the outset we want to record
our appreciation to you for the initiative that you are taking
as the new Moderator to listen to the voices of concern that have been
raised regarding the existing state of affairs in the CSI and the need
to bring about a reformation of the Church of South India. This
concern and call have been expressed from many quarters and it is encouraging
that as soon as you have taken up the important position of the Moderator
you are positively responding to this call. We hope and pray ssthat
the initiative that you are taking will be blessed by the Holy Spirit
and bear fruits. Our prayerful support goes with you.
In this Memorandum we prayerfully
put before you our thoughts on the above issue. We want to assure you
that the views expressed and suggestions made here reflect the opinions
of many thoughtful and committed members of the CSI from different walks
of life who have a great burden for our great Church.
- Preamble
At the recently concluded XXXIII Session of
the CSI Synod, the then Moderator, in his Address has made elaborate
reference to the challenges and problems faced by the CSI. It is an acknowledgement that the CSI is in a state of crisis.
It is to be welcomed. Of course, as the Moderator has pointed out, this
perception should not prevent us from ignoring the vibrant life that
can be seen at the local congregations of the CSI. However, as we are
considering the life of the Church as a larger body, we cannot fail
to acknowledge with sadness that the credibility of the CSI is perhaps
at its lowest point in its history of 64 years in the eyes of the public,
the international partners and its own members. This is not the place
and time to attempt a detailed analysis of why is it so and to apportion
blame. We believe that the time has come for us to humbly accept our
collective failure and turn to God to lead us in the path of reformation.
The former Moderator has in his address given a list of the key issues
which he considers as part of the challenges faced by the CSI. We reproduce
them below:
a. Allegations
of corruption in the hierarchy
b. Complaints
of misappropriation of finances
- Accusations of arbitrary decisions in administrations
- Charges relating to mishandling of property transactions
He has also mentioned
that structural
reforms are needed to tackle these issues and has identified
three areas where such structural reforms are needed, namely, Episcopacy, Electoral System as part of the Democratic System of Governance
and the Federal Structure of the CSI.
Taking this as a starting
point, we give below our analysis of the issues and some constructive
suggestions.
- A Multidimensional Approach
We
firmly believe that we have to approach this problem in a parallel multidimensional
manner. Mere administrative reforms, though needed urgently, will not
produce the desired results. There must be efforts to encourage both
the
leaders and the congregations
to reflect on the theological, ethical and ecclesiological issues that
are involved, taking into consideration the purpose for which the CSI
was formed and the hopes and aspirations of those who took leadership
in bringing about the Union. We make as the first suggestion, a thorough study of the Chapter
on Governing Principles in the CSI Constitution ( Chapter II) and the
documentary Basis of the Union given as an Appendix ( Appendix I).
The CSI should have a theological focus for its mission and ministry
Theological Commission should bring out in regional languages
commentaries on the issues mentioned in these documents. For example,
paragraph 8 of Chapter II, states:
“The Church of South India recognizes that episcopal, presbyteral,
and congregational elements must all have their place in its order
of life, and that the episcopate, the presbyterate, and the congregation
of the faithful should all in their several spheres have responsibility
and exercise authority in the life and work of the Church, in its governance
and administration , in its evangelistic and pastoral work, in its discipline,
and in its worship.” (p.11)
It is further affirmed
that “No individual
and no one order in the Church can claim exclusive possession of this
heavenly priesthood” (p. 120).
Urgently
needed also are information on corruption and its impact on individual
Christians and common life of congregations. We need to know the
origin and the root causes of corruption. Corruption should be
seen as “Sin” in the Biblical sense and fighting corruptions is
to be viewed as a theological task. Unless the rank and file in our
congregations is given this kind of input, our efforts to reform the
churches will not take root and bear fruit.
Simultaneously, action must be taken to address the issues of Governance
at all levels because, after all is said and done, the issue here, as
it is elsewhere, is that the crisis is that of leadership. For the Church,
leadership is to be based on servant hood and responsible stewardship.
These concepts, though talked about in conferences and seminars, are
not evident in practice. The gap between what we preach and practice
has to be bridged through practical measures.
- Long term Goals and Immediate Proactive Measures
We have organized ourselves as a Church with a written Constitution.
The Constitution of the Church should reflect the reason for its existence
and the way God calls the Church to fulfill His will at a given time.
Therefore, it may be necessary, from time to time to prayerfully and
carefully bring about changes in the Constitution as demanded by the
emerging new contexts. In Chapter XIII (pages 111,112), the CSI Constitution
prescribes the procedures to be adopted while making alterations
in the Constitution. Rule 2, prescribes the procedure to be adopted
while making changes in the Constitution, other than in the Governing
Principles. The procedure requires a minimum of 4 to 5 years as they
need the approval of the two thirds of the diocesan council. On
the other hand, Rule 3 confers on the Executive Committee of the Synod,
as the ad-interim body of the Synod, “the right to frame rules, regulations and byelaws for the operation
of the provisions of this Constitution, subject to the approval of the
Synod”.
We therefore suggest that changes which we agree as our long term
goals be brought about through the process that is prescribed under
Rule 2, while immediate proactive measures which are needed urgently
be brought about using Rule 3.
- Long term Goals requiring Constitutional Changes
Since
long term goals such as Constitutional Changes are priority wise the most
important reform we want and since it has a long process to go
through, we take them first, requesting the authorities concerned to
initiate the process without losing time and to expedite the same.
(i) Rethinking
Episcopacy in terms of functions and powers
There is definitely
a need for rethinking the role and functions of episcopacy in the light
of the experience of the past six decades. Unlike, the Church of England,
which is episcopally led and synodically governed, the CSI has adopted
historic episcopacy in a constitutional form. Moreover, the framers
of the Constitution, at the time of Union have deliberately not committed
the CSI to any particular interpretation of the CSI. They have also
included a clause, as already mentioned , which speaks about the balance
among the Episcopal, Presbyteral and Congregational elements in the
life of the Church.. The Constitution also speaks about the prohibition for bishops in
directly involving in financial management. In spite of these
provisions, it is unfortunate that many Diocesan Constitutions have been amended seeking to give enormous
powers to the Bishops and this is the root cause for many difficulties.
The biblical concept of the Bishop being an Overseer is being
sought to be replaced by that of Bishop being a Chief Executive Officer.
That this is what people expect or the public believe should
not be an argument to support this view of episcopacy.
Therefore we suggest that an immediate step of reviewing the
Constitutions of all CSI dioceses be undertaken to identify where provisions
not in consonance with the provisions of the CSI Constitution have been
made and to take steps to declare them as of no effect ( See the provision
Rule 9 of Chapter VIII, p.72 of the Constitution).
(ii) Limiting the Term of Episcopacy
At present, the Constitution provides
that a Bishop once elected holds the Office till he/she retires after
attaining the age of 65. During the term of Office, there is no occasion
where his performance is reviewed either by the Synod or by the people
of the Diocese. This results in the lack of accountability throughout
his/her tenure, which theoretically can be as long as 15 years.
A suggestion that has been made many times earlier, but not heeded
to by those who were in power, may be taken up seriously at least this
time, namely, limiting the bishopric to a limited term of five or six
years depending on the approved alternative mode of election to be taken
up below. Such a step will require Constitutional Changes which
have to be carefully worked out.
(iii) Mode of Election of Bishops
The Governing Principles
clearly say that the bishopric is an elected office ( See Rule 11 (b)
of Chapter II, page 13, CSI Constitution ) and in that election both
the diocese concerned and the authorities of the Synod as whole should have an effective
voice. The present Rules for election, appointment and consecration
of Bishops , as given in Chapter VI is supposed to incorporate this
provision. However, in practice, the election to the panel at the Diocesan
level and the final selection of the one out of three or four in the
panel at the Synod level gives enough and more room for all kinds of
evils entering into the Church.
In recent years the present election process has been seen by most people
as the root cause of all the problems in the Church of South India—divisions,
hostilities, court-cases and corruption. In this process of election
all Christian values are eroded and a pseudo spirituality that foster
corruption has entered in to churches from the top to the bottom. A
paper presented at the Coimbatore Synod by a group of “Concerned Members
of the Church of South India”, which included important leaders like
late Mr. Fred Karat of Bangalore, says the following regarding “Elections
in the C.S.I.”:
“There is an overwhelming opinion against the present system of
elections in the C.S.I. which have tarnished the image of the Church.
It is often mentioned that unless the elections are scrapped, spiritual
renewal of the Church would be impossible”
Defenders of the
status-quo
in the Church often talk of the Democratic Process we have to follow.
The true democratic process is there where every citizen, the rich and
the poor, the weak and the strong, the Dalit and the non-Dalit, is able
to exercise his/her franchise with absolute freedom under no threat
of victimization and luring with inducement of reward and gain. But,
what we see practiced in churches today is not such a democracy. What
we have is a
“mutilated
democracy”. We may call it
“Majoritarianism”, where the contesters of different groups
turn heaven and earth to get the majority votes by hook or by crook
by getting votes by inducements and threats, and by making unethical
and unchristian compromises. It was such a Majoritarianism devoid of
truth and justice that sent Jesus to the cross.
So, we plead for scrapping the present system of election and look
for alternative ways of choosing God-fearing shepherds who will lead
the sheep and not rule over them.
.
(iv) Alternate method of electing Bishop.
Considering the
importance of the Office of the Bishop, alternate methods of electing
a Bishop in a diocese may be considered. The procedure of short listing
of candidates by well defined criteria and the diocesan council making
a decision on the panel as proposed ( by Dr. Gnana Robinson—see Appendix
I, p.19) may be given serious thought to avoid unwelcome canvassing
and use of money power. The aim of such changes should eventually enable
really Christ-centered capable and dedicated persons to be elected without
having to spend time and money on canvassing.
(v) Relationship of the Synod with the Dioceses
According to
the CSI Constitution, the Synod is the highest representative body of
the CSI, its supreme governing and legislative body and the visible
symbol of its unity. It is also the final authority on all matters pertaining
to the Church. The Diocesan Councils have the power to frame their Constitution
within the framework of the Synod Constitution. The supervisory power
of the Synod over the dioceses is not explicitly given. It is implied
in Rules 15 and 16 of Chapter IX where a distinction is sought to be
made between matters of common interest to the whole Church and the
internal affairs of the dioceses. Rules 15 and 16 only provide for calling
for information relating to administration and financial management,
that too from the Bishop, or from the Officers. Further, the Synod’s
intervention in the diocese is limited by providing “assistance”
and that too in consultation with the Executive Committee concerned.
These Rules are not applied uniformly and fairly; there is also the
question of deciding what issues come under internal affairs. These
Rules require a thorough revision taking into consideration the recent
experience in dealing with Diocese where massive maladministration with
regard to finance and properties has been reported. One of the actions
frequently taken
by the Synod is the appointment of administrative committees.
Since there is no specific provision for appointing administrative committee,
such an action has been questioned in the Court of law. At the same
time, Bishops should not be allowed to run the diocese for a long time
with administrative committees bypassing democratically elected Committees.
A perusal
of the sub Rules 15(a), 15(b) and 15(c) shows that 15(c) was made by
the Synod of 1950 and after 30 years later, the other two sub Rules
have been added. However, it is not clear why the following Rule which
was passed by the Synod Working Committee as early as 31-12-1983 (WC
83-142), under the power given in Rule 14 of Chapter IX, has not been
made a part of the Constitution:
“If at
any time it is found that the finance of a Diocese is not properly managed,
the Synod Executive Committee/Working Committee, on the recommendation
of the CSI TA, shall have the right to appoint an administrator who
will take charge of the Diocesan Accounts, Finances and properties and
hold office until the financial affairs of the Diocese are considered
by the Synod Executive Committee /Working Committee, in consultation
with the CSI TA to be in order.”
We recommend that this provision be taken up seriously.
(vi)Officers of the Synod
General Secretary:
The General Secretary is the
Chief Executive of such a big Church, the CSI with 23 dioceses and around
four million believers. He/she is one officer who has to deal
meaningfully with all the bishops, who are all basically theologians
and spiritual heads. He/she has to represent this big Church in ecumenical
forums in the World Wide Church and interact meaningfully in all faith
and order discussions. How can persons from secular backgrounds without
adequate theological orientation justifiably hold such positions and
represent this great Church meaningfully in ecumenical forums? In the
absence of any qualification prescribed for the General Secretary, candidates
from every walk of life in the secular field attracted by the pomp and
power vested on this post, today dare to contest elections and one who
wins by majority votes gets appointed. His/her theological competence,
spiritual commitment and moral integrity have been never tested. This
is not the way to elect a person for such an important position.
We therefore recommend that the post
of the General Secretary be made a full time paid post for a term of
five years, renewable if satisfactory for another term. His /her
qualifications have to be prescribed, the post should be widely advertised,
proper interview should be held and the best person should be selected.
We acknowledge that we have had and we have still lay persons with adequate
theological orientation and such persons can also be candidates for
such a post.
Treasurer of the Synod:
The treasurer who is to hold
and administer “all moneys belonging to the Synod” should be a person
with professional expertise in financial management. This is not
a job which anyone coming from any walk of life for a period of two
years can handle. There should be continuity in careful planning
and execution. The situation where one man spends all the money
he has in two years, and another man succeeding finding no money even
to pay the essentials like “pensions” of retired bishops should
not happen. The person should be able to concentrate on his work
without worrying about the Synod elections after the two year period.
He should be a neutral person treating all equally without fearing the
prospect of election.
We therefore recommend that the treasurer’s
post is also made a full time paid post for five years with very clear
job-description, renewable for another term if found satisfactory.
The Synod treasurer should be in a position to train and guide diocesan
treasurers on true Christian Stewardship in finance and property managements.
The qualification for the treasurer should be spelt out, the post should
be widely advertised, the applicants should be interviewed and the best
among them should be appointed with clear job-description.
Both the above officers
should be residential at the Synod Centre
(vii).Church of South India Trust Association- management of movable
and immovable properties of the Church - Rethinking the role and functioning
of the CSI TA
Apart from the Constitution of the CSI, there are also the provisions
of the Church of South India Trust Association (CSI TA) which govern
the management of movable and immovable properties of the CSI. CSI TA
was incorporated as Limited Company in the year 1947 under Section 13
of the Indian Companies Act, 1913 (now Section 25 of Indian Companies
Act 1956) with certain objects expressed in the Memorandum of
the Association.. The relationship between the CSI and CSI TA is now
a matter of great importance and legal experts must review this aspect
in the light of the experience that we have gained over the past 60
years.
It is in the area of management of movable and immovable properties
of the Church, there seems to be the greatest need for creating provisions
in the Constitution to ensure transparency and accountability. No one
can deny that we have been coming across cases of large-scale mismanagement
of properties.. As stated above, the CSI TA is the body that had been
created and given a legal status by Registration under the Indian Companies
Act to be responsible for the management of the properties. The properties
that are spread over the four Southern States are used by the various
dioceses. The CSITA manages these properties through the Power of Attorney
Holders nominated by the Executive Committees of the Dioceses. Now,
a Power of Attorney Holder is an Agent empowered to act on behalf of
the Principal and whatever that has been done by him is binding upon
the Principal. In fact, the Instrument granting the Power of Attorney
invariably contains an assurance that the Principal will ratify what
has been done by the agent. This being so, if there is any large-scale
mismanagement, the ultimate responsibility would devolve upon the CSITA
and affect its tax-exempt status. Is the CSITA whose affairs are managed by a small Committee of Management
equipped to monitor and supervise all that is done by its Power
Agents, numbering more than 80? These issues assume great
importance due to the fact that CSI TA has been granted exemption
from Income Tax on its income under Section 10-23 C (v) of the Income
Tax Act. The sub-section reads as follows:
“any trust (including
any other legal obligation) or Institution wholly for public religious
purposes or wholly for public religious and charitable purposes (which
may be approved by the prescribed authority) having regard to the manner
in which the affairs of the trust or the Institution are administered
and supervised for ensuring that the income accruing thereof is properly
applied for the objects thereof “
The emphasis
here is that the CSI TA, being a Public Trust, is assumed to have an effective mechanism
of administration and supervision to ensure that
the income accruing is properly applied to the objects of the Trust.
How effective the present mechanism is, needs to assessed.
In this connection, the relationship between the CSI and the CSI TA
should be made clear. The formal inauguration of the CSI was on 27th
of September, 1947, but the CSI TA was registered on 26th
September, 1947 itself, that is, one day prior to the birth of the CSI.
Yet, the original Constitution of the CSI did not speak about
the CSI TA at all, even though it was in existence on that day, except
claiming powers to make rules and pass resolutions relating to the property
of the Church ( Rule 14 of Chapter XI ). Article 3 of the Articles
of the CSI TA clearly defines what the expression “Church of South
India” means in the Memorandum and Articles, before and after
the Inauguration. The state of affairs appear to indicate very clearly
that the CSI TA was meant to have certain independence and autonomy
subject to the rules and regulations that may be made from time to time
by the Synod. In fact, the Treasurer of the CSI was the Treasurer of
the CSI TA and its Administrator. However, an amendment
made in 2002 has made the Moderator, Deputy Moderator, General Secretary
and the Treasurer of the CSI ex officio members of the CSI TA, and the Moderator as the ex officio
Chairman and the General Secretary as the ex officio Secretary of the CSI TA.
It is
felt by many that this move has made the CSI TA, which was supposed
to be the guardian of the properties of the CSI, a handmaiden of the
CSI. . This needs to be reviewed and changed. The CSITA should
remain as an autonomous body under the overall control of the Synod,
without giving a chance for the office-bearers of the Synod to influence
its decisions.
5. Immediate Proactive Measures
We suggest several practical and
concrete measures for immediate actions, which we believe will go a
long way in improving our pattern of Governance.
a. Measures to improve transparency and accountability in Governance
Transparency and Accountability
have come to occupy centre stage in all reforms in Governance worldwide.
It has also been recognized that working towards greater Transparency
and Accountability is also a major step towards combating corruption,
because corruption thrives only in an opaque and non transparent administration.
Further, it has also been recognized that the hall mark of a transparent
and accountable administration is the extent to which the administrative
bodies confer the right to information to the stakeholders about the
way decisions are made on issues which affect them.
We therefore
suggest the following, with reference to administration at the Synod
Level:
(i). Specific
Rules may be framed regarding preparation, dissemination and accessibility
regarding the proceedings of the bodies involved in Synod administration.
The
Synod is described in Chapter IX (page 75) as the “highest representative
body of the Church of South India, its supreme and Governing and legislative
body and the visible symbol of its unity”. Therefore, what happens
at each Session of the Session and at the subsequent meetings of the
Executive/ Working Committee are of immense significance to every member
of the CSI and the decisions taken must be disseminated to all members
through a reasonable process. The current situation is that, the Proceedings
of a Session of the Synod is given in printed form,
two years later at the time of the next session, to members,
many of whom have not attended the earlier Session, for consideration!
While there are rules regarding the time limit for preparation and circulation
of Minutes of even a pastorate committee, there are no such rules in
the Constitution for any meeting of the Synod or the Executive Committee
or the Working Committee.
We therefore recommend:
i. Immediate steps be taken to form Rules which prescribe a
reasonable time limit within which such Minutes may be prepared and
circulated to the members who attended a meeting .
ii. Secondly, immediate steps be taken to create
a link in the CSI Website in which the proceedings and Minutes of the
Synod, Executive Committee and the Working Committee may be uploaded.
This is done in many Churches. For example, complete list of Minutes
and Audited Statements of the General Council of the Synod of the Reformed
Church in America is available at www.rca.org/gsc . The General Synod Council is also a tax exempted organization like
the CSITA ; it is an organization exempted from federal taxes under
Section 501 (c0 (3) of Internal Revenue Code. Another example would
be the Church of England. Its official website www.churchofengland.org.uk . provides access to all Reports and Proceedings besides the usual
information about the life and work of the Church. If such a step is
taken it would be a great advancement in promoting transparency and
accountability.
(ii) Right to information
It has been widely recognized
that the right to information is a fundamental right of all stakeholders
and an informed membership is the key to fight corruption in any organization.
Government of India has recognized this right by enacting the Right
to information Act of 2005 which has brought in tremendous change in
the way governance takes place. The Synod administration may voluntarily
come forward to declare that information on key issues will be made
available for those who seek it. At the same time the Executive Committee
can also begin, in consultation with legal experts, to formulate our
own form of Right to Education Act. Of course, there will be resistance
to such a bold step and all sorts of objections may be raised.
However, only through such a step we can
raise the level of credibility of the administration in the eyes of
the members and the general public.
b. Measures to combat corruption
(i) Independent and credible mechanism to deal with allegations of
corruption
The former Moderator, Bp.
Vasanthakumar, in his address mentioned about the allegations that are
being made against the administration at different levels and bemoaned
the fact that persons are preferring complaints to outside statutory
bodies and investigations arising out of such complaints have given
sleepless nights to the Officers of the Synod. There are two reasons
for this state of affairs:
- One is the lack
of responsiveness on the part of the administration when complaints
are made before church authorities. Mostly they are ignored because
many of the allegations are made against the authorities themselves.
This forces the complainants to approach Courts and other statutory
bodies.
- The second
reason is that we have voluntarily put ourselves under statutory
bodies like the Income Tax Department by registering CSITA
under the Companies Act of 1956 as a Section 25 Company and claiming
Tax Exemption as Public Religious Charitable Trust under Section 10
( 23) ( c ) (v) of the Income Tax Act of 1961.
- That apart
we also come under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act since we do receive
funds from our ecumenical partners. This being so, if we want to avoid
intervention by statutory bodies we must strengthen the existing
mechanisms for dealing with charges of corruption and also create new
mechanisms.
We therefore recommend
the Creation of an Ombudsman type of organization with independent powers
to investigate genuine complaints of corruption and maladministration
immediately. Naturally safeguards have to be built in to protect persons in responsibility
from vexatious and mala fide complaints.
(ii) Sanctions and punitive actions against persons
who are found to have indulged in corrupt action
One of the things which embolden individuals who indulge in corrupt
action and gain financially in the Church administration is the reluctance
on the part of the Church authorities to take punitive actions against
such persons. Corrupt actions are not only violations of Church Rules,
but also against the law of the land. Therefore, the Church should not
hesitate to seek the help of the mechanisms available under the law
enforcement agencies of the Government to bring to book such offenders
and to recover the ill-gotten wealth.
The Executive Committee may pass a resolution
that the Church will not hesitate to take such a decisive action against
those who are proved to have indulged in serious acts of corruption.
c. Measures relating to elections to pave the
way for free and fair election.
No can deny that the election processes in the Church has become highly
compromised from top to bottom. Since elections are related to acquisition
of power in the Church administration, people are willing to go to any
extent to get elected to positions of authority and power. Everyone
agrees that these days money plays a significant role in elections.
Therefore, God fearing persons who are not willing to indulge in such
corrupt practices have no opportunity of getting elected. Therefore,
alternative forms of choosing persons for responsibilities in the Church
at diocesan and congregational levels should be explored on the basis
of the alternative mode of electing bishops is decided upon as appealed
above. However, pending such changes, the following measures can be
taken with immediate effect:
(i)A Code of Conduct for all elections
A Code of Conduct to be followed by candidates and their supporters
may be worked out. In this, list of malpractices like giving and receiving
bribes, inducements, appealing to caste and regional affiliations, producing
and distributing pamphlets denigrating opposing candidates, etc to influence
voting must be declared as electoral offences just as it has been done
in the Representation of People’s Act.
(ii) Appointment of Election Commissions
The Constitution provides for appointing a Panel of Election observers
for bishopric elections (Rule 39, Chapter VI, pp.64,65). Announcement regarding the appointment of this panel may
be made in the diocese where elections are to be held and allow complaints
regarding malpractices to be received and investigated by the Panel.
Since a large number of bishopric elections are going to be held during
this biennium and the process has already started in some dioceses quick
action is needed.
(iii) Code of responsible leadership and minimum
standard for holding public offices
Recognizing that the present crisis is primarily one of leadership,
a Code of responsible leadership may be framed to be followed by all
holding public offices and given wide circulation. The “Seven Nolan Principles of Public Life” – Selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty
and leadership by example may be promoted as standards for holding
public offices. The Code of Leadership approved by the 25th
Quadrennial Assembly of the NCCI held in Tirunelveli during
February, 2004 may be adopted and disseminated. Minimum Standards for
persons who seek Offices should be worked out ( proposal by Dr. Gnana
Robinson, through PFLWC-see Appendix II, p.21) may be taken as a guideline.
Bishops’
Council
There is a general feeling among many members that the fellowship of
bishops, which was originally meant for theological refreshment, has
turned out to be a extra-constitutional power centre which tries to
protect the interests of the bishops and to maintain the status-quo
preventing changes towards renewal and reformation. This explains
why some of the very important recommendations for changes made by committees
constituted by the Synod, such as the Abel Commission, have never been
even opened for discussion. Propositions for changes are first
referred to the bishops and only if they approve it, they are presented
to the Synod (IX: 22)
It is recommended that the supremacy
of the Synod is upheld and the status of the Bishops Council as an extra-constitutional
power centre be abolished. It can continue as a fellowship for spiritual
unity and theological enrichment.
6. Some Common Concerns
i The Missing Theological Focus:
Whether all the
23 Dioceses of the CSI function with a common theological focus is a
question that bothers many of us. There was a time when CSI dioceses
recruited only ordinands who came out of the Senate of Serampore College
related colleges and seminaries, because this theological university
had an ecumenically recognized theological focus and standard. But this
is no more the case. Now candidates from all quarters are recruited.
Theological education these days is commercialized and there is a mushroom
growth of theological colleges all over the country, because a theological
degree of some sort is a “license” for people to go abroad.
Most of these colleges promote sectarian theologies and maintain questionable
standards. Sound theology is a “must” for a healthy, corruption-free
Church. The Theological Commission of the CSI should
be constituted with sound theologians, and the Commission should play
a vital role in the life of the CSI. Theological colleges of questionable
credibility should be identified and dropped out of the list of the
theological colleges for recruitment. The Senate
of Serampore College also should be requested to apply strict measures
in giving affiliation to new colleges.
- The Need for Healthy Spirituality in the CSI:
Congregations in the CSI these days are flooded with revival meetings
and conventions, where freelance preachers in good number with questionable
credibility are the preachers. Self made bishops and archbishops
are arising from among them. These preachers propagate a prosperity
cult-spirituality centered on money (Mammon), which is devoid of any reference to justice and truth.
Here, we have to be reminded that in the Bible we come across two strands
of spirituality, namely, the Priestly Spirituality and the Prophetic
Spiritually. The priestly spirituality was popular with the ruling
class and many followed it (it was the “broad gate” mentioned by
Jesus). But it was devoid of justice and truth and God rejected it totally (See Is.11:11-15; Jer.7:4, 8-15; Amos: 21-23; Micah 6:6:6-7).
The Prophetic Spirituality demanded Justice and Truth in all spheres
of life and very few followed it (the “narrow” gate mentioned by
Jesus - See Is.I:16-17; Jer. 7: 5-7; Amos 5:24; Micah 6:8). Jesus
affirmed this Prophetic Spirituality when he said “The Sabbath was
made for man, not man for the Sabbath”, thereby subjecting all the
so called holy institutions such as “the Sabbath” and the religious
rituals to justice and truth in human relationship, to the wellbeing
of the human, especially the differently-abled, the poor and the marginalized (See Mark 2:27 along with Mark 3:1-6).
Behind
the priestly spirituality or the pseudo-spirituality, we discern a distorted understanding of God. “If you
stretch out your hand to give to God liberally, God will stretch out
his hand to heal you and bless you abundantly” seems to be the gist
of all preaching we hear these days from pulpits, platforms and in T.V.
programmes. The conception of God that lies behind such
spirituality is that of “a hard-core extortioner who would not relent
unless and until he is appeased with obeisance and flatteries (praises)
and bribed with generous gifts (offerings)”. Such an understanding
of God can be the starting point of corruption in churches. “If
God should be bribed for blessings, what is wrong in our bribing the
leaders?” - the devotees may ask. How much of such an understanding
of God is true to the image of God revealed in and through Jesus’
life and teaching? If the “Father” character in Jesus’ Parable
of the Second Son (known among us as the “Prodigal Son”) gives us
any clue to our understanding of God, how much of that does really agree
with this “Extortioner” concept of God? It is high time, the
CSI organizes a serious consultation on our understanding of God, because
a sound understanding of God is basic and fundamental to a Corruption-Free
Church.
- Migrant Christians Care in City Churches:
It has been brought to our attention that migrant Christians in cities
face lot of problems in relating themselves to local CSI congregations.
It is recommended that the Dioceses with migrant Christians have a special
department to attend to the needs of such Christians.
- Uniform Criteria for Ordinations:
We are told, the dioceses have their own guidelines for ordination,
and there are no uniform criteria for the whole CSI. This seems
to result in delay in ordination of some candidates giving room for
complaints of favoritism and victimization. Clear criteria valid for
the whole CSI and faithful adherence to the same are recommended.
7 Joint Action Committee or Steering Committee
to Follow up
From the experiences
of the past, where decisions and recommendations made at several Synod-sponsored
commissions and committees had never been taken up seriously and acted
upon, we are a bit concerned that this our effort also should not end
up as a futile exercise. We therefore appeal to the Moderator to constitute
a Joint Action Committee or Steering Committee for this purpose with
representation from both the Executive Committee and from the Core Group
that is behind the Movement for the Renewal and Reformation of the C.S.I.
which includes all people in the CSI who look for changes. This Committee may work under your direction and it may be given a
time frame within which recommendations may be made for consideration
by the Executive Committee and the Synod.
8. Closing Remarks
We have endeavored to put forth our views on some of the issues which
we believe are of importance and we trust that these constructive suggestions
will be considered in the spirit with which we have made them. We, once
again, thank you, the Moderator, for taking this initiative and assure
you of our cooperation and support to your continued efforts for the
Renewal and Reformation of the Church of South India..
Yours faithfully,
Members of the Core Group of the Movement for the Renewal and the
Reformation of the Church of South India who have affixed their signatures
to this Memorandum on March 23, 2012
Names Designation Diocese
Rt. Revd. Dr. I Jessudhasan, Former Moderator/Bishop
-S.Kerala Diocese
Rt. Revd. Willaim Moses,
Former Moderator/Bishop -Coimbatore
Diocese
Rt. Revd. Dr. Samuel Amirtham, Former Bishop,
-S.Kerala Diocese
Rt. Revd.Dr.C.L.Furtado,
Former Bishop,
-S.Karnataka Diocese
Rt. Revd. Dr.J.A.D. Jebachandran, Bishop,
-Thoothukudi Nazareth Diocese
Prof. George Koshy, Former General Secretary
of the Synod, -S. Kerala Diocese D. Charlet Jothimony,
Synod Member, -Thoothukudy-Nazareth
Diocese
Revd.Margochis David Wesley, Synod Member,
,,
Mr.J.K.M. Johnson David, Synod
Member
,,
Mr. S. Ponraj Johnson,
Synod Member
,,
Mr. C. Gandhi Rajan,
Synod Member
,,
Revd. S. Manickam
Pastor
,,
Revd. S.G. Lourdhuraj
Pastor
,,
Revd. D.G.A. Thomas
Pastor
,,
Revd. J. Koin Pitchai
Pastor
,,
Revd.R.L.A. Sundarraj
Pastor
,,
Revd. D.K.N. Johnson
Pastor
,,
Mr. D. Mohan
Lay Leader
,,
Revd.Dr. Dhyanchand Carr, Former Princiapl, TTS,
- Madurai Diocese
Adv. R.Sathiamoorthy,
Former President,National YMCA,
,,
Prof. D.Samuel Lawrence, Former Professor,
American College, ,,
Revd.Dr. S. John Sahayam, Former Professor,
American College, ,,
Revd.Dr. M. Gnanavaram, Principal, TTS,
,,
Prof.Dr. Jayakaran Isaac
Member of the Synod,
-Vellore Diocese
Revd.Dr. Y. James Prakasam, Member of the Synod,
,,
Mr. D. Devaraj,
Member of the Diocesan Council ,
,,
Mr. David Selvaraj
Synod Member,
-Central Karnataka Diocese
Revd.Dr. Siga Arles
Professor(Theologican)
,,
Revd. B.J. Premiah
Senior Pastor,
-Madras Diocese
Dr.Joslin Thamby,
Lay Leader
,,
Revd. S.D. Sounderarajan, Pastor,
,,
Revd. Daniel Meshak,
Pastor,
,,
Dr. Paul Panneerselvan,
Lay Leader
,,
Mr. Azariah,
Lay Leader,
,,
Mr. Edward Thyagarajan,
Lay Leader,
,,
Revd.Dr. A.J.George Kodumuti Nadar, Medical Chaplain,
,,
Revd.Dr. Arthur Jeyakumar, Professor (Rtd.),TTS,
-Trichy -Tanjore Diocese
Revd. P.Praveen Prabhu Sudheer, Professor, ACTC,
- Karim Nagar Diocese
Mr. V. Jayakar Johnson
Lay Leader
,,
Mr. J. Devadanam
Lay Leader
,,
Revd.Dr. Badem Sunder Raju, Vice President/Synod Member, -Rayalaseema
Diocese
Revd. Jayakumar,
Synod Member,
,,
Mr. S. Raja
Dio. Council Member,
,,
Prof. D Christian Babu G.Secretary
of the Dio./Synod Member, Kanyakumari
Diocese
Mr. N. Vethamuth,
Dio. Treasurer,
,,
Adv. A.J. Livingston,
Convener-Prophetic Forum,
,,
Revd. K.G. Mohan
Pastor,
,,
Revd. Y. Gnanadhas.
Pastor,
,,
Revd. T. Justin Raj,
Pastor,
,,
Revd.Dr. Vijithambi Solomon, Director, CMS,
,,
Mr. Emil Jebasingh,
Lay Leader,
,,
Mr. Irwin Dhas,
Lay Leader
,,
Mr. Srivas Sunder,
Lay Leader,
,,
R. Robinson
Lay Leader
,,
Prof. Dr. Winston Somervell
Professor (Rtd.)
,,
Prof.Dr. Mrs. Johanna Somervell Professor
,,
Dr. P. Samraj
Christian Scientist
,,
Mr. S. Renjit Singh
Lay Leader
,,
R. Kumaresan
Lay Leader
,,
T. Paulose
Lay Leader
,,
Revd. C. Devadhas
Director, DMPB
,,
Mr. A. Sam Jayapaul
Lay Leader
,,
Revd.Dr. Gnana Robinson, Pastor/Former Principal of TTS &UTC,
,,
Appendix I:
A Guideline for Bishop’s Election in Churches in India
The Basic Principle:
Basically, all ordained ministers in the Diocese/Church are eligible
candidates to become a Bishop, the Chief Pastor or the Chief Shepherd.
Qualifications
All
Pastors, who fulfill the following conditions, should be accepted as
candidates eligible to become a Bishop.
(i). He/She
should have passed the basic ministerial studies of B.D./M.Div. level
or any other level agreed by the Council.
(ii).
He/She should be between the age of 55 and 60 – not below 55,
not above 60 or any other age limit agreed by all in the Council.
(iii).
He/She should be a person who is not convicted in any criminal or civil
legal proceedings or in a Church Court.
(iv).
He/She should have had personal administrative and pastoral experience,
i.e., he/she should have successfully served as District Minister
or Area Chairperson for at least 5 years.
(v).
All ordained ministers thus short-listed should be announced to the
Diocese as candidates eligible to become Bishop.
(vi).
The Council responsible for the election of the bishop should be watchful
to see, if any canvassing or underhand dealing is done on behalf of
any candidate, and should see that such things are prevented. If it
is known that a particular candidate has a part in such campaigns, that
candidate should be disqualified.
(vii).
Consensus Candidate: If the whole Council with no campaign and intimidation
whatsoever is able to come up with a consensus candidate, that candidate
may be declared as the chosen leader without a contest.
- In the absence of a consensus candidate, after the notice period,
all those who are responsible for electing the Bishop should come together
within closed doors, spend a time of prayer invoking the Sprit of God, and then cast lot, a method practicedss in the New Testament times
(see Acts 1:23-26).
The Advantage of this Method:-
It
gives sufficient space for the working of reason and for the guidance
of the Holy Spirit. It preempts the room for rivalry, enmity and division.
No one would feel let down or defeated in this way of choosing a bishop.
All can be content with the assurance that God has chosen a member of
their fellowship to be their “Chief Shepherd” and be thankful to
God.
Let us not give up hope:
The prophets in the Bible, who
opted to listen to God’s will and to carry it out in this world, were
all alone in their struggle against the principalities and powers of
this world. Jesus, whose body the Church is, was also all alone in his
struggle against the evils of this world. It is on his death and resurrection
that his Church is built. Martin Luther, the Reformer, was all alone
when he protested against the excesses in the medieval churches. He
had the courage to stand up and to say to his opponents “Here I stand”.
The movement he initiated as a single person could spread out far and
wide and bring about radical changes in the churches.
So, let
us not be discouraged saying “we are a few, we are alone, what can
we do?” God is with us in our struggle for justice, truth and
life. He will sustain us. His spirit will guide us and strengthen us.
Let us keep on struggling against the evils in the churches and working
for the restoration of the true Church of Christ, which can bear effective
witness in this world fraught with many problems and bring the “good
news” of liberation to the poor and the marginalized in our society.
Gnana Robinson
Appendix II
A Model Election Manifesto for Diocesan Elections
from
The Prophetic Forum for the
Life and Witness of Churches
(PFLWC)
- Preamble
Let’s follow the
foot-steps of Jesus Christ, the Head of the
Church
The Church, the Body of
Christ, invites those who are assured of God’s calling to take up
ministerial responsibilities.
Let no one without a genuine calling, but just by being attracted
by the power, pomp and monetary benefits that go with the position,
come forward saying that he/she had a divine calling and thus deceive
the Holy Spirit. Because, Christ’s calling for his ministry
is of a different nature from that of the calling for worldly offices,
as seen below:
“You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles
lord it over them and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great
among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you
must be slave of all. For the Son of man also came not to be served
but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:
43-45)
Today many who seek positions of profit
and power resort to unchristian immoral ways and grab such positions
in churches and such persons give a deaf year to prophetic voices coming
from committed Christians within churches calling for changes in the
life of the church in accordance with “the Mind of Jesus” (Philippians
2:50). Therefore members of the Prophetic forum realize the need
for participating in the process of election in the present structure.
In such a situation, members who come forward to participate are asked
to move cautiously and wisely remembering the following words
of Jesus:
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise
as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)
Under the changed circumstances when rampant corruption prevalent
in the society has entered into the life of the churches, as admitted
by the National Council of Churches in 2004, the Prophetic Forum realizes
the need for uncorrupt Christians entering in Church administration
and therefore encourage really committed members to contest elections
following the guidelines prescribed below.
- Candidates who wish to contest elections should Commit themselves
whole heartedly to accept and live according to the following Ten
Characteristics of Christian Commitment:
- Total commitment to Christ, which is a commitment to truth,
justice and life.
- This commitment is a self-less commitment. It does not
expect
fame, reward and gain for the person concerned.
- This is a fear-less commitment. It is not afraid of the
consequences of its struggle for truth, justice and life. The person
knows, his/her promotion, prospect for higher studies, the welfare of
family members, monetary benefits, etc. all may be affected.
- This is not a commitment which can be swayed away by
temptations of promotions, monetary gains, power, fame,
etc.
- This is a Commitment which will never give Christ’s place
to worldly
riches and wealth (Mammon—Matthew 6:24)
- This is the commitment which transforms the life of the
person
concerned into a life-giving spring, a fruit-bearing
tree
and an ever shining light that brightens the life of all
people
who live in darkness.
- This commitment is not discouraged by unjust sufferings,
persecutions,
scandals and even death for Christ’s sake, for
the person
knows that these are all part of bearing the cross
of Christ
and following him.
- This is the commitment which seeks shelter in Christ even
at conditions
being totally lost and forgotten by all.
- This is the commitment which never entertains any evil for
others—even
for opponents and enemies. It aims and
works
for the welfare of all.
- This commitment leads the person concerned to a
Spirituality
of abiding in Christ at all times, in all conditions.
- Programme of Action for the Welfare of the Church
Those who win the elections are called to dedicate themselves to work
night and day for the realization of the daily prayer of millions of
Christians all over the world,
“Thy
Kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.”
by working for justice, truth and life and thus transforming the
Church, the Community of believers in Christ, a Foretaste of the Kingdom
of God in this world. In order to achieve the above ultimate goal, all
elected Servant Leaders will jointly work on the following areas of
concern:
- Healthy Spirituality:
Work for a healthy spiritual revival in churches centered around the
Jesus of Nazareth who “emptied himself taking the form of a servant”
that many may have fullness of life and thus expose the vanity of the
Prosperity Cult Spirituality which is being promoted around Mammon,
the idol of riches, by commercialized gospel preachers misleading away
from the crucified Christ. Make congregational worships Christ centered
and not Mammon (money) centered.
- Clean Administration:
- Concentrate on the clean administration of all medical, educational
and service institutions run by the Church. See that these institutions
serve all people equally and justly giving special consideration for
the poor, the differently- abled and the marginalized. Give no room
for favoritism, nepotism and bribe.
- While recruiting service staff for the institutions strictly follow
the guidelines laid down by the Diocese and select the best candidate
available having before you only the welfare of the concerned institution
in mind. Neither money nor pressure from superiors be allowed to interfere
in your right decision.
- See that all Diocesan institutions, the educational institutions in
particular, disseminate Christian values such as neighborly love, integrity
and sharing in the world.
- Christian Stewardship:
- See that there is Transparency and Accountability in the
Administration of the finance and properties belonging to churches.
- In selling and buying properties, in giving contract works,
in renting out buildings belonging to churches, in collecting rents
and in managing the income generating institutions and fields and estates
belonging to the Diocese see that absolute integrity is maintained and
the accounts are properly audited.
- Employment Bureau in the Diocese
An Employment Bureau in the Diocese is to be started. On
the basis of carefully laid down criteria all registered candidates
should be interviewed and deserving candidates should be selected for
appointment. Special consideration should be given to the poor,
the differently-abled and the marginalized. Favoritism, nepotism
and bribe should be totally avoided.
- Welfare of Church Workers and Pastors
- Candidates for Ministry should be carefully selected depending on
the need of the Diocese concerned. Candidates with genuine call
for ministry alone should be selected.
- Those who are selected should be sent for theological education after
a definite period of probation. They should not be made to wait
for a long period.
- Those who complete their theological education successfully and return
to the Diocese should be ordained after one or two years, depending
on the traditions followed in the Diocese. Delay in ordination without proper reasons can demoralize the ordinands
leading to the loss of initial vision for ministry.
- Ordained ministers with high academic competence should be encouraged
to go for higher studies, if they are motivated.
- A centralized salary system should be evolved, where pastor’s salary
is not tied with the assessment to be raised from the congregation,
so that the pastor may pay his/her attention to the spiritual nurture
of the congregation rather than to maximizing the income of the congregation
in order to pay the assessment to the Diocese.
- The pension and gratuity schemes for pastors should be laid down satisfactorily
and the retired pastors should be treated with dignity.
- Transparent Administration
- Every member of the Congregation should be equipped and encouraged
to point out mistakes wherever they find and to bring them to the attention
of those in authority for the purpose of those mistakes to be corrected.
- Pastors should abstain from posing themselves before their congregation
the super-human image by virtue of their ordination, thus instilling
among the members the fear complex that they should not question or
criticize any thing that the pastor, “the man of God”, does
or speak and that God would punish them if they question the pastor.
Remember what St. Paul told to the men of Lystra when they were about to worship him as
one of the gods who came from above. Stopping the crowd from worshipping
him and Barnabas, Paul said, “We also are men, of like nature with you”
(Acts 14:15). Such should be the humility of every man of God. A critical congregation
is the sign of transparent administration.
- Victimization of those who raise questions and point out mistakes
and thus silencing dissenting voices in churches is the root cause for
corruption in churches. To have transparency and accountability in administrations victimization should
be totally avoided. Leaders should realize that by listening to
the views of constructive dissenters, we will win more co-workers.
Prepared
by the Revd.Dr. Gnana Robinson
On behalf of the Prophetic Forum for the Life and
Witness of Churches in May 2009 for the Diocesan Election in Kanyakumari
Diocese. Some minor additions are made in this Englsih version
dated March 28, 2012)
