THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Zacharias Mar Theophilus Suffragan Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church who passed away on Sunday made lasting contributions to the unification of Churches and to Kerala society as a whole, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, President, Catholic Bishops’ Council of India, said.
Archbishop M Soosa Pakiam, Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram, mourned the death. He remembered Zacharias Mar Theophilos as a Church leader who strived, with care and compassion, for the uplift of the poor.
Born on August 29, 1938, Mar Theophilus was ordained a deacon on May 7, 1966, and consecrated a Bishop on May 1, 1980. He was installed a Suffragan Metropolitan in 2004. Since 2005 he has been heading the Chengannur-Mavelikkara Diocese of the Mar Thoma Church. Head of the Chengannur-Mavelikkara diocese of the Mar Thoma Church for a decade, Mar Theophilus was the executive committee member of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) and executive and central committee member of the World Council of Churches (WCC).