Cult Watch: Emperor Emmanuel Church

Naïve Christians, especially from the Roman Catholic Church, are being lured into joining the Emperor Emmanuel Church. This group is located at Muriyad in Thrissur district of Kerala state, India. It is also known as 'Zion.'

Is Emperor Emmanuel Church a cult? Let us examine a few facts.

About

Zion or Emperor Emmanuel Church is significantly established. They exist in India and other countries.

This excerpt is from their website:1

Zion is the little flock that believes that Jesus Christ has come again in flesh, his true name is Emmanuel and that he will transfigure and take them to the Eternal City in the New Earth...Zion believes that God the Father will come to visit them and when He comes, they will become like Him and so they eagerly wait for Him...Emperor Emmanuel Church is located at Muriyad in Thrissur district of Kerala state, India. This Church consists of 80 local fellowships in Kerala as well as other states such as Karnataka, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Puducherry, etc. Emperor Emmanuel has overseas fellowships in places like Australia, the UK, the USA, Ireland, Italy and the Gulf countries such as Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, etc.

Zion was pioneered by Mr. Roy Joseph aka Joseph Ponnara. (Emphasis Mine).

Catholic apologist, Michael Prabhu has published pertinent information about Zion on his website. This excerpt provides significant details about Joseph Ponnara:2

Emperor Emmanuel is a charismatic-style, rabidly anti-Catholic doomsday cult whose centre is in Muriyad, near Irinjalakuda in Kerala. It is also known as "Zion". Its founder and leader is one Joseph Ponnara, a former drawing teacher in a school in Erattayar where he was active in the Catholic charismatic renewal. He started his activities in Thodupuzha in Kerala in 2000, calling his centre the "Embassy of Emperor Emmanuel", before moving to Muriyad in 2005 and renaming it "Zion".

Apparently, he lacks an academic background, theological formation as well as Biblical scholarship. His knowledge of English is insufficient for him to preach in any language other than Malayalam, so he depends on a translator. His only credentials are his personal interpretations of Scripture and what he claims are revelations from the Father and the Holy Mother [Mary]. Of course, he claims having discernment and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Ponnara is the cult's sole preacher and teacher. Two priests have joined the cult. One, the elderly Fr. Joseph Ayyankoil, left the Vincentians [which runs the retreat centre at Potta and the Divine Retreat Centre at Muringoor, both of which are situated just a few minutes drive from "Zion"] in 2005. The other is a young Irinjalakuda diocesan priest Fr. Roby...

A three-storey concrete Noah's ark is under construction at "Zion". Here, they are preparing for the Second Coming of Jesus.

But this Jesus is not the Jesus that other Christians know. Neither is the Second Coming the one that either Catholics or the fundamentalist Protestants teach.

Cultish Characteristics

A closer observation of Zion through a cursory reading of their own website reveals the following cultish characteristics:

A. Zion proclaims a "New Jesus" – a Jesus who has already come to earth for the second time, "Zion is a community that believes in Jesus Christ who took flesh from Holy Mother, was born two thousand years ago, preached the Kingdom of God, died on the cross, rose from the dead, and who procured forgiveness of sin for the children of God. Having received the salvation he gave 2000 years ago, this flock called Zion waits for him as a savior. Zion is the little flock that believes that Jesus Christ has come again in flesh, his true name is Emmanuel and that he will transfigure and take them to the Eternal City in the New Earth." (Emphasis Mine).3