Kochi: Baselios Thomas I, Catholicos of the Jacobite Syrian Church, has passed away. He was undergoing treatment for age-related ailments in Kochi. He was known for uniting and holding the Church together during times of crisis.
He was the shepherd of the Jacobite Syrian Church for over two decades. When the Church was embroiled in crises, the Catholicos led the believers through the fiery path of struggles. In his passing, the Jacobite Church lost an irreplaceable leader.
Born on July 22, 1929, in the Cheruvillil family of Vadayambadi at Puthencruz to Mathai and Kunjamma, he was ordained as a priest on October 21, 1958. He was ordained as Metropolitan in 1974. On February 22, 1998, he became the head of the Synod.
On December 27, 2000, the Church Synod convened at Puthencruz elected him as the Cathalicos-designate. In a ceremony held in Damascus, Syria, he was enthroned on July 26, 2002, by Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East.
