KOCHI: Catholicos Aboon Mor Baselios Thomas I, who guided the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church amid the onslaught of legal cases that led to the loss of churches and other infrastructure, and set it on the path of revival, passed away on Thursday.
Mor Baselios Thomas I was 95. He suffered from age-related ailments and had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kochi for the past six months. In his death, the Jacobite Church has lost a general who was a one-man army.
Born on July 22, 1929, as the sixth son of Mathai, of the Cheruvillil family of Vadayambadi, Puthencruz, and Kolencherry Kallunkal Kunjamma, Mor Baselios Thomas I was christened C M Thomas. Life was not a bed of roses for him. His was an aristocratic family, which, by the time of his birth, had fallen on hard times. Frequent bouts of illness during childhood affected his education.
Concerned about the sickly child, his devout mother used to take him to Malecruz Dayara where the relics of St Kuriakose, Patriarch St Ignatius Elias III and St Gregorios of Parumala are interred.
After one such visit, his mother is believed to have had a vision while praying, which prompted her to dedicate little Thomas to church service. It is said that right after she made the decision, the boy was cured of his illness.
His family’s financial difficulties forced Thomas to end his education in class IV. To support the family, he joined the postal department as a mail runner. However, his spiritual education flourished under the guidance of Njarthunkal Koruthu Malpan, Moosa Saloma Ramban (Mor Chrysostomos) and Kadavil Paul Ramban (Paulose Mar Athanasius).
In August 1958, deacon Thomas was ordained ‘kassisso’ (full priest) by Mor Yulius Elias (patriarchal delegate to Malankara) at the Majanikkara Dayara.
He was never one to sit on the sidelines. When appointed the vicar of Puthencruz St Peter’s Church in 1959, it is said that he worked with the labourers carrying sand and stones needed for the renovation of the church. He later served as the vicar of churches in Vellathooval, Keezhumuri, Fort Kochi, Valamboor, Kolkata and Thrissur.
For seven years from 1967, he was the organising secretary of Kolencherry Medical Mission Hospital. He served as the head of the North Indian mission in Bhilai in the 1970s. In 1974, he was named secretary of the Pourasthya Suvishesha Samajam.
He worked among coal-mine labourers and patients suffering from tuberculosis at Varikoli Hospital. During this period, he achieved renown as an orator and theological scholar.
On December 8, 1973, Fr Thomas was named a prelate during the Angamaly diocese laity conference at Kothamangalam Valiyapally. He was consecrated metropolitan with the title ‘Mor Dionysius’ by Patriarch Mor Ignatius Yaqub III on February 24, 1974, in Damascus, Syria.
On his return to India, he wasn’t allowed to enter certain churches due to the legal disputes.
Consecrated as Catholicos of Jacobite Church by Patriach of Antioch in 2002
Undeterred Mor Dionysius and Perumpally Mor Geevarghese Gregorios worked tirelessly to hold the church together. He travelled extensively to boost the morale of the faithful.
In 1978, the Mor Baselios Medical Mission Hospital in Kothamangalam was started under his patronage. On the demise of Mor Baselios Paulose II in 1996, Mor Geevarghese became president of the episcopal synod of the church in India. And following the passing of Mor Geevarghese in February 1999, Mor Dionysius was nominated to the presidency of the Malankara Church synod and association.
On December 27, 2000, he was chosen as the Catholicosdesignate. On July 26, 2002, Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, the Patriarch of Antioch, consecrated the 73-year-old Mor Dionysius as the Catholicos with the title ‘Baselios Thomas I’ at the St Peter’s and St Paul’s Cathedral at Mor Ephrem Monastery in Ma’arat Sayyidnaya, near Damascus.
In the Syrian Orthodox Church hierarchy, the Catholicos is second in rank to the Patriarch of Antioch. He ordained around 350 priests and played a pivotal role in the establishment of various educational institutions. When the Church suffered persecution, he joined the faithful in the struggle and was even arrested multiple times. He was named an accused in around 560 cases.
When the issue of denial of entry of faithful into cemeteries reared its head, he fasted for 44 days at Pazhanthottam Church. On March 31, 2014, he presided over the selection of Moran Mor Aphrem II to the synod and subsequently was the chief celebrant in his consecration as Patriarch of Antioch in Damascus on May 29.
Funeral at Puthencruz patriarchal centre
The mortal remains of Mor Baselios Thomas I were taken to Kothamangalam Cheriapally from the hospital at midnight. It will be kept at the church till 12pm, before being moved to Kothamangalam Valiyapally for the public to pay homage.
Later, the remains will be shifted to the Bishop’s House where he used to live and then by 4pm to Puthencruz Patriarchal Centre. At 8am on Saturday, there will be Holy Mass. He will be interred in a specially constructed tomb at the Patriarchal Centre on Saturday at 3pm. All institutions managed by the Jacobite Church will observe 14 days of mourning.