The head of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, Catholicos Aboon Mor Baselios Thomas I, passed away on Thursday evening at the age of 95.

For the past six months, Baselios Thomas had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kochi.

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On Thursday morning, his health worsened, necessitating ventilator support, and by the evening, he passed away.

Born to Matthai and Kunjamma of Cheruvillil family in Vadayambadi near Puthankurishu, Ernakulam district, Mor Baselios Thomas was ordained on October 21, 1958. He was consecrated as a Metropolitan in 1974.

Under the mentorship of Mor Philoxenos Paulose, who later became Catholicos Mor Baselios Paulose II, he underwent priestly training. He served as vicar in several churches across Kerala and North India, becoming known as a revivalist preacher and skilled organizer.

Mor Baselios Thomas was instrumental in the North Indian mission at Bhilai and played a vital role in the Kolenchery Medical Mission Hospital in Ernakulam district as its organizing secretary.

On February 22, 1998, he became President of the Synodal Church, and on December 27, 2000, a church meeting at Puthankurishu elected him as the designated Superior General.

He was enthroned as the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East on July 26, 2002, in a ceremony held in Damascus, Syria.

Expressing condolences on his passing, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated that His Holiness Mor Baselios devoted his life to the service of Christians, the faithful, and the wider community.

Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, VD Satheesan, added: “His was a life of struggle and asceticism. The Most Reverend Catholicos empowered the believing community to lead the Jacobite Church through challenging times.”