PATHANAMTHITTA : The head of the Believers Eastern Church, Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan (formerly K P Yohannan), who was on Tuesday hit by a car during his morning walk in Dallas, United States, has passed away. He suffered sudden cardiac arrest, a church spokesperson said.
The 74-year-old prelate was under intensive care at a hospital in the Texan city following the accident.
“Beloved Archbishops, Bishops, Fathers and all the Faithful. With profound grief and sorrow, we would like inform that His Holiness Athanasius Yohan I, our honourable Metropolitan reposed in the Lord this evening, the 8th of May 2024. He passed away due to sudden cardiac arrest in a hospital in Dallas, Texas where he had been receiving treatment since his accident. Further details will be announced soon by the Holy Synod. May his memory be eternal!, “ the Church said in its official Facebook page on Wednesday.
Church spokesperson Fr Sijo Pandapallil also sought prayers “from all in the difficult phase of the church”.
Nothing suspicious about accident: Church official
On Tuesday, around 6.45am Dallas time (5.15pm IST), Yohan was out on his morning walk. He usually takes his walk on the Church campus in Dallas. However, at the time of the accident, he was on a county road, which had no walkway, he said.
According to a Church official, Yohan underwent emergency lung surgery and was on medical observation for 24 hours.
Soon after the accident, police rushed to the spot and the metropolitan was airlifted to the Dallas hospital.
Pandapallil said that though there is not much clarity about the accident, it is not a hit-and-run case and prima facie there is nothing suspicious.
Police have recovered the vehicle that hit the metropolitan and registered a case, he said.
As soon as reports of the accident emerged, Church secretary Fr Daniel Johnson left for the US. A team of bishops of the Church was also scheduled to leave for the country soon.
Yohannan was founder-president of GFA World, earlier known as Gospel for Asia, a large non-profit mission organisation with a focus on India and Asia.
Born in 1950 into a Mar Thoma Church family in the upper Kuttanad village of Niranom, he joined Operation Mobilization (OM), an evangelical movement at the age of 16 and served it for eight years. He later moved to the US in 1974 for theological studies at Criswell College in Dallas, and graduated with a BA in biblical studies.
In 1979, Yohannan and his wife Gisela started Gospel for Asia, based in Texas. In 1981, he started a chapter of GFA in Kerala and in 1983 established its Indian headquarters in Tiruvalla. In 1993, he founded the Believers Eastern Church as part of the GFA World Apostolate and was consecrated as its bishop in 2003.