Supreme head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church passes away

Baselios Marthoma Poulose II, Catholicos of the East and Supreme Head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC), passed away on Monday morning after a prolonged illness. He was 74.

He breathed his last at 2.35 am at a private hospital in Pathanamthitta.

He was undergoing treatment for lung cancer since December 2019 and tested positive for COVID-19 in February this year.

The mortal remains will be kept for a public exhibition at the Parumala church till 7 pm on Monday and the funeral will be held at the MOSC headquarters at Devalokam, Kottayam, by 5 pm on Tuesday.

According to the medical bulletin, his clinical condition had turned extremely critical since the morning of Sunday.

Though he recovered from the virus infection, the post-COVID-19 lung complications worsened the health condition, says the medical bulletin.

He was enthroned as the eighth Catholicos of the East and the Malankara Church, in November 2010, after the abdication of Baselios Marthoma Didymus I.

( With inputs from ANI )