Kuttiyil Shajan Joy (Gheevarghese), oic,

              Communication In Sacris: A Juridico-Theological Study
in the Context of Catholic and non-Catholic Eastern Churches in India
                                  (CCEO cc. 670 & 671).

Direttore: P. Cyril Vasil' sj

           The term "communicatio in sacris" and its application in the life of the Church has become one of the most effective tools in the Church's mission especially in the field of ecumenism. The division, and the consequent desire for unity, and the urgent pastoral need for the good of the souls make communicatio in sacris inevitable. Our study is an attempt to fìnd out the possibilities of a wider application of the principle of communicatio in sacris towards a fuller communion with the separated brethren especially in the context of India where the Oriental Catholic and non-Catholic Churches claim their origin from the same apostolic tradition of St. Thomas and profess almost the same faith, have same sacraments and recognize each other's apostolic succession. It is a study within the framework of the council documents (especially OE 26 & 27 and UR 8 & 15), CIC c. 844, CCEO cc. 670 & 671, recent Vatican documents, and the directory for the application of principles and norms on ecumenism etc. The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, which came into full communion of the Catholic Church in 1930 after a period of 277 years of exodus, is on the path of flourishing and she has a special vocation for entering into communion and communication with the majority of the Oriental non-Catholic Churches in India which share the same common patrimony. Her promotion to the ecclesial status of Major Archiepiscopal Church opens up a new era in the dialogue of communion and ecumenism in the context of the non-Catholic Eastern Churches in India. The present juridical status of the Malankara Catholic Church acknowledged by Rome is the anticipated position of the whole Malankara Church in the Universal Church. The thesis concludes with the proposal that an extensive interpretation of communicatio in sacris would demand the Churches sui iuris in India to apply its wider application in the Indian context and reduce the contradictions which provide a stumbling block in the proclamation of the good news to the majority of the non-Christians in India.