PM Modi condoles death of supreme head of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, the supreme head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, died at a private hospital at Parumala in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district while undergoing treatment for post-Covid-19 complications
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of the supreme head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India, Moran Mor Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, who passed away in the early hours on Monday. The Prime Minister also expressed solidarity with the members of the Orthodox Church at their hour of grief.
“Saddened by the passing away of His Holiness Moran Mor Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, the Supreme Head of Indian Orthodox Church. He leaves behind a rich legacy of service and compassion. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the members of the Orthodox Church. RIP,” Modi posted on Twitter from his official handle.
Baselios Marthoma Paulose II (74) died at a private hospital at Parumala in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district at 2:35am, while undergoing treatment for post-Covid-19 complications, a church spokesperson said. The senior priest had been suffering from lung cancer since December 2019, and had recovered from the coronavirus infection in February this year, reported news agency PTI.
Born to Kollannur Iype and Pulikkottil Kunjeetty on August 30, 1946, Baselios Marthoma Paulose II studied at the government school in Pazhanji and later at St. Thomas College in Kerala. In 1969, he enrolled at the Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kottayam for his theological studies, where he studied under the guidance of Paulos Gregorios, T J Abraham Malpan, and N K Koruthu Malpan.
Baselios Marthoma Paulose II was the eighth Catholicos of the East in Malankara and 91st primate on the Apostolic Throne of St Thomas, the church said. He was enthroned as the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan in November 2010.