Funeral of Catholicos Mor Baselios Thomas-I to be held today
Kochi: The funeral of Catholicos Aboon Mor Baselios Thomas-I, the spiritual leader of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, will take place on Saturday at the Mar Athanasius Cathedral in Puthencruz, the church's headquarters.
The funeral mass began at 8:00 am at the Patriarchal Centre, where the public could pay their respects to his remains. Concluding prayers are scheduled from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, during which he will be laid to rest, according to church officials.
Among the hundreds who came to pay tribute were Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Tourism Suresh Gopi and renowned Malayalam actor Mammootty. Due to the expected large turnout, traffic regulations have been implemented on the Puthencruz-Kolenchery stretch of the Kochi-Madurai national highway.
Archbishops from the US and UK will also attend the funeral as representatives of Ignatius Aphrem II, the Patriarch of Antioch.
On Friday, thousands gathered in Kothamangalam to say their final goodbyes to the Catholicos, who passed away on Thursday, October 31, at 5:21 pm in a private hospital in Kochi after a long illness at the age of 95. Later that night, his body was taken to Mar Thoma Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Cheriyapally in Kothamangalam for public viewing.
On Friday morning, a procession was held to Kothamangalam Valiya Palli, after which his remains were transported to the Patriarchal Centre at Puthencruz to allow more people to pay their respects.
The Catholicos had guided his followers through a challenging time following a Supreme Court ruling that took control of the churches from the Jacobite faction. He led the faction after they lost control of their churches and properties due to the 2017 ruling, which stated that the Orthodox faction should oversee the 1,100 parishes and churches under the Malankara Church.
Born C. M. Thomas on July 22, 1929, in the Cheruvillil family of Vadayambadi, he was enthroned as Catholicos on July 26, 2002, by Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas in Damascus, Syria. Although he stepped down from administrative duties in 2019, he was asked to continue serving as Catholicos.
Before his passing, he had been hospitalised for several months. He began his service as the vicar of St. Peter's Church in Puthencruz in 1959 and later served in various churches across India. He was also known for his role in the North Indian mission during the 1970s and was recognized as a prominent revivalist preacher.
In January 1974, Fr. Thomas was elected to the episcopate by the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Christian Association and was consecrated as Metropolitan with the title ‘Mor Dionysius’ on February 24, 1974, in Damascus. He was entrusted with the leadership of the Angamali diocese, the largest of the Syrian Orthodox dioceses.
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