A kaikkaran (trustee) is a member of the parish who is elected by the potuyogam or pratinidhiyogam and confirmed and appointed by the local hierarch, or directly appointed by him in exceptional circumstances. The trustee assists the parish priest in safeguarding and administering the parish properties and income in accordance with the norms of ecclesiastical and civil law, carrying out the programmes and affairs of the parish, cooperating with the parish priest in pastoral ministry, and assisting in the administration of the financial affairs of the parish. The election is conducted by the potuyogam or pratinidhiyogam in accordance with the eparchial statutes. Once elected and confirmed by the local hierarch, the trustees assume office by taking the prescribed oath and receiving the keys from the parish priest at the entrance to the sanctuary. At the conclusion of their term of office, they are required to render a complete account of their administration, settle all financial matters, and return the keys to the parish priest at the same place before relinquishing office.
The potuyogam determines the number of trustees required in a parish, taking into account the size of the parish, provided that the number is never fewer than two. Trustees are elected for a term of one year and may be re-elected for the following year. However, without the explicit permission of the local hierarch, no person may be elected for three consecutive terms. Where there are several trustees, they may divide the service year into equal periods, with each trustee assuming primary responsibility during one period according to age or convenience. The trustee exercising the principal responsibility during a particular period is known as the nadathukaikkaran, while the others are called koottukaikkarans.
To be eligible for election, a trustee must be at least twenty-one years of age, faithful to the Church, trustworthy, efficient, service-minded, and free from parish arrears. He must also possess the other qualifications prescribed by the eparchial statutes. A person cannot be elected as a trustee if he publicly opposes the faith or teachings of the Church, lives under ecclesiastical censures, is a public sinner, has been convicted of offences involving moral turpitude without subsequent reform, has failed to fulfil the annual Paschal obligations, lacks sound judgment, deliberately violates Church laws, is a habitual drunkard, or is addicted to intoxicants. Likewise, the parish accountant, the sacristan, and any other persons specifically excluded by the eparchial statutes are ineligible for election as trustees.
Trustees serve the parish without remuneration or allowance. Nevertheless, when their presence is required for prolonged periods in connection with parish duties, they are entitled to reimbursement of their daily expenses from parish funds, provided that suitable provision has been made for this purpose in the parish budget. The eparchial bishop has the authority to accept the resignation of a trustee and may also remove a trustee from office for negligence of duty, dishonesty, incapacity, financial misconduct, or offences involving moral turpitude, after giving the trustee an opportunity to present his defence. In ordinary circumstances, complaints against trustees may be submitted to the eparchial curia or the eparchial administrative tribunal, where they will be dealt with according to the prescribed canonical procedures.
Every trustee is automatically a member of the potuyogam and an ex officio member of the pratinidhiyogam. A trustee has no authority to act independently on behalf of the Church by making decisions, alienating parish property, or entering into contracts. The parish priest remains the lawful administrator of the parish, while the trusteeās responsibility is to assist and cooperate with him. In fulfilling their responsibilities, trustees are expected to act in collaboration with the parish priest, respecting the interests of the potuyogam and pratinidhiyogam and observing both ecclesiastical and civil law.
The responsibilities of trustees are extensive and include assisting the parish priest in arranging the facilities necessary for divine worship and catechetical formation, implementing the decisions of the palliyogam, maintaining parish buildings and other properties, supervising parish income, expenditure, and financial transactions in accordance with ecclesiastical and civil law, and ensuring that all bills, vouchers, receipts, and financial records are properly maintained. The nadathukaikkaran and the parish priest are jointly responsible for maintaining these records, and the trustees must produce the accounts whenever required by the parish priest. If discrepancies in the accounts or shortages of money causing loss to the parish are established, the responsible trustee or parish priest must reimburse the loss.
The trustees are also responsible for maintaining the parish registers, including the Nalvazhy (Journal), Peredu (Ledger), and Anduthirattu (Annual Register), together with the Masathirattu (Monthly Register), Kurumthirattu, and Ardhavarshikathirattu wherever these are required by the eparchial statutes. They must prepare and preserve the Muricharthu (inventory) of all movable and immovable parish properties and ensure the safe custody of title deeds, agreements, legal documents, and other civil records.
Another important responsibility of the trustees is the supervision of the parish treasury. The nadathukaikkaran opens the bhandaram (treasury) and offering boxes in the presence of the parish priest, another trustee, or a person authorised by the parish priest. The offerings are counted jointly, and a written record signed by both parties is maintained. Trustees also provide leadership in organising parish feasts, celebrations, construction works, and the cultivation of parish lands in consultation with the parish priest. They arrange the necessary facilities in the presbytery for the parish priest and assistant priests and may represent the parish or its institutions before civil courts or tribunals in specific legal matters if authorised by the parish priest and approved by the local hierarch.
When a parish priest is transferred, all financial records, passbooks, official documents, cash balances, and inventories of movable and immovable properties are to be handed over to the nadathukaikkaran, subject to the particular customs or statutes of the eparchy. As soon as the new parish priest assumes office, the nadathukaikkaran hands over all these records and properties to him. However, if an assistant parish priest is serving in the parish, the outgoing parish priest entrusts the entire administrative responsibility to the assistant parish priest, who in turn coordinates with the nadathukaikkaran until the new parish priest takes charge.
The governance of the Church is not the responsibility of bishops and clergy alone but also involves the co-responsibility of the lay faithful. The institution of trustees provides an effective structure through which the laity actively participate in the administration of parish life. When trustees faithfully fulfil their responsibilities in collaboration with the parish priest, in accordance with ecclesiastical and civil law, they promote accountability, transparency, and shared responsibility in the spiritual, pastoral, administrative, and temporal affairs of the parish.
Rev. Dr. Matthew Souriamkuzhi
