KOTTAYAM: Bishop T B Benjamin, former bishop of the North Kerala CSI diocese for more than one and half decades, passed away on Wednesday morning. He was 101.
The funeral will be held at the cemetery of the CSI Cathedral here at 3 pm on Friday.
Bishop Benjamin was the first native bishop of CSI North Kerala diocese and led the community for 17 years from 1960. After retirement, he was staying at his residence at Chalukunnu in Kottayam. His end came at the Cheriapally hospital where he was under treatment for the past couple of days.
Son of T K Benjamin, of Thevarthundiyil, Maramon who was the arch-deacon of erstwhile Travancore-Cochin Anglican diocese, T B Benjamin was ordained as a priest in the CSI fold at the age of 30, in 1937. He had served in the CSI Madhya Kerala diocese as the vicar of the CSI cathedral here and also held the position of corporate manager of the CMS schools.
He is survived by wife Grace, daughter Jiji Mathan (USA), son T Oommen Benjamin, AGM, Federal Bank, Pathanamthitta), son-in-law Abraham Mathan and daughters- in-law Susan and Sobha. The deceased bishop’s eldest son T K Benjamin, general manager, Harrisons Malayalam Ltd, Kochi, had expired a year ago. The body of the bishop has been kept in the mortuary of a private hospital here. It will be laid in state at the CSI Cathedral on Friday from 11 am to enable the public to pay homage. The funeral services will commence at 3 pm.