Church Of Ceylon (Anglican) Democracy: Choosing The Best To Be Put Over Us

By S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole –DECEMBER 1, 2021

Prof S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

Heritage of England

We Anglicans have the heritage of the mother of Parliaments. As such we expect our Sri Lankan Anglican Church, the Church of Ceylon which is the successor to the Church of England in Ceylon, to be run most democratically. However, like our country, we too show signs of decline in our democracy. It is a make-or-break time for the Church, and I raise some of the issues at a time our new and dear Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dushantha Rodrigo, just finished his first Diocesan Council on 26-27 Nov. 2021. The Church has assets worth well over 2 Billion Rupees and a regular communicant membership of 20,000 (Higher figures may be quoted using those who maintain nominal membership to retain their right to be married in a magnificent church building and buried with their parents in the church graveyard, or even to retain good memories from their childhood coming to Church for Easter and Christmas services which often are a choral concert.

The Diocesan Council reports are a case in point. Chartered Accountant Rajan Asirwatham has for years maintained the funds which are so well-managed that are seen to grow every year. But Asirwatham is aging. Most of us do not understand these esoteric numbers. Every year I see fewer and fewer questions raised at Council on these accounts. I fear for the long-term prospects of these vast sums as good people die or quit our shores.

Resolutions

The resolutions are how we lay folk escape theocracy, the rule of priests. We Council representatives, whether laity or clergy, can put forward resolutions to express our views and have them carried. It is in the resolutions that our democracy is expressed.

A case in point is the Tamil Eucharistic Liturgy, the highest form of communion with God during the Mass. Passing Resolutions is a tightly controlled episcopal exercise. It has to be submitted to the Standing Committee 60 days early. Rarely is this cautious restriction eased. Even if passed, it fails if the Bishop refuses his assent. All that failed this year as Rev. S.D. Parimalachelvan who campaigned for the Bishop’s election was allowed to introduce multiple resolutions on the floor with bad grammar, poor translations and the bishop still gave his assent, even though they were voted on without time for study or correction.

Resolutions have run into clericalism. The liturgical Commission mostly has Sinhalese. They gave the Tamil Liturgy to Rev. Joshua Ratnam who came to St. John’s College from Trinity College after failing, was in Special V, and the day the results came he left school after not making the mark again. He naturally found a vocation in the Anglican priesthood.

Ratnam was good with the clerical hierarchy and putting him in charge of the Liturgy was a means of rewarding him for supporting liberal agendas shared with former Bishops Kenneth Fernando and Duleep Chickera. What would happen when a scholastic failure writes our prayers? Disaster upon disaster.

For one, the 10 Commandments became 9 Commandments. Almighty in “Almighty God” had Almighty deleted because Theological College Pilimatalawa teaches that the word implies that God is mightier than other gods. So on and so forth. The worst was the prayer “O God without Holiness and Destruction.” The poor man was in Diocesan Council saying indefensively before everyone that if it is broken up correctly it is acceptable.

The Liturgical Commission approved Ratnam’s disaster. So the Bishop says we cannot blame Ratnam. This seems the purpose of Committees. One man runs it and takes decisions. The Yes-man Committee gives him cover so it does not seem a one-man show. I say the majority Sinhalese never read what thry approved.

Anyway, Fr. Steven Jebachelevam and I of Nallur moved a resolution demanding immediate revision. Bishop Dhilo Canagasabey gave it his assent because the approval was near unanimous so even to defend his man he could not deny the resolution to save face for his man.

After 2018 we have been calling God Him without Holiness. It is OK because we are stupid Tamils in the eyes of the church. We Tamils will play meek and dumb as we have done for 3 years without a word of protest. I have asked Bishop Rodrigo many times at the Standing Committee. He too has stalled saying “soon” but we Tamils are the step-children of the Lord Bishop even Tamil Lord Bishops who rely on Sinhalese to manage the Church. I say that Moratuwa Christians would not have allowed such brazen meddling with their prayers and would have kicked out the Bishops who tried this.

Rev. Steven Jebachelvan who seconded the resolution is a rare priest with a national university degree, B.Sc. Peradeniya, in addition to the normal B.Th. degree from Pilimatalawa. He has been ignored for all serious appointments in the Church and been put under a poorly educated Archdeacon. He has to taught the lesson not to cross our Lord Bishops!

Former murdered St. John’s Principal Anadarajan’s son, already a school administrator in Canada, came and offered his services as Principal of St. John’s. He was turned down. When Archdeacon Ponniah who as a theology student was suspended for smuggling hard liquor into the theological College and scraped through courses was appointed, and I asked why Jebachelvan is not better, I was told that Jebachelvan lacks personality. He is not shorter, if at all, than Ponniah. And the Church now has a height specification for Principals rather than degree requirements! CMS which is responsible for principals’ appointments seems not to look at qualification for Principals or for its own Members. The CMS, an institution that must upkeep standards, had a Chairman going as Dr. Dan when he had no earned doctorate. what a standard for the world.

Is the church taking Tamils and Tamil institutions for granted? Would the Church dare put a man without a university degree in charge of any of the St. Thomas’ schools or Trinity? We in Jaffna do not wish to be the dumping grounds for Church favourites.

Sabotaged Resolutions by Council

We who moved the Tamil Liturgy resolution are not the Church’s only stepchildren. Fr. Nesakumar of St. Thomas’ Gurutalawa has had a resolution from 2018 going nowhere for lack of funds in a church with Rs. 10 million for cars for each of the 4 archdeacons and Rs. 300+ for sending routine letters by courier after sending them first by email. It has almost Rs. 3 billion in assets.

Another ignored resolution is from 2015. It calls for including other churches in the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL). And the objection? The new churches are converting our members. The clue to the objection is the new resolution in 2021 (by Mr. Keshan Leitch and Rev. S.D. Parimalachelvan) reminding us of the 2015 resolution telling the Church to ensure that the admission of new members to the NCCSL does not undermine its statements on comity and ethics in mission. The cat is out of the bag. People voted for the new resolution, most of us not knowing the comity principle from the nineteenth century – that demarcates different cities to different missions. We were tricked into voting for the 2021 resolution against the new churches while pretending to be all for ecumenism!

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