Supreme head of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India passes away at 74; Shashi Tharoor mourns

The supreme head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India, Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, passed away in the early hours of Monday at the age of 74, a church spokesman said here. His end came at 2.35 am at a private hospital in Parumala in Pathanamthitta district while undergoing treatment for post-Covid-19 complications, he said.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted the news expressing his grief. "Saddened by the passing of the supreme head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India, Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, just four@months after recovering from #COVID19 . A man of infinite compassion& grace, he will be widely mourned. RIP", he said.

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The senior priest, who had been suffering from lung cancer since December 2019, had recovered from the Covid-19 infection in February this year. 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 & Malankara Metropolitan in November 2010.