Old Tappan, NJ – On December 4, 2024 a memorial service was convened at the headquarters of the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church in honor of the Catholicos of India, His Beatitude Aboon Mor Basilios Thomas I, who passed away at the age of 95 on October 31, 2024 after leading the Church in India for more than twenty years and serving Christ for an entire lifetime.
His Eminence Archbishop Mor Titus Yeldho – the hosting hierarch – was joined for evening prayers, Holy Qurbono, and memorial prayers by His Grace Bishop David (President of the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches and Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New York & New England), His Eminence Archbishop Mor Dionysios John Kawak (Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of the Eastern United States), His Eminence Archbishop Mor Silvanos Ayub (Knanaya Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church), and His Grace Bishop Gabriel (Coptic Orthodox Archdiocese of North America). His Eminence Archbishop Petros (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Archdiocese of New York), His Grace Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan (Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church) and His Grace Bishop Sinoda (Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church Archdiocese of North America) were unable to attend due to preexisting commitments, but each sent his formal greetings and condolences.
His Beatitude Aboon Mor Basilios Thomas I was greatly admired by throughout the Oriental Orthodox Church and indeed throughout the Christian world. In a letter to His Eminence Mor Titus penned on October 31, His Grace Bishop David wrote the following on behalf of the Bishops of SCOOCh:
“His Beatitude was a true servant of Christ who lived selflessly and self-sacrificially for the sake of his flock. His tireless work on behalf of the Church – most especially on behalf of the sick and the suffering – and his constant travels throughout the dominion entrusted to him by God – earned him the title of ‘the Jacob Burdono of India’, for like the saint to whom he was compared, he selflessly endured bitter hardship in order to sustain the Church in times of persecution…A kind and gentle spiritual father and a talented and gifted administrator, His Beatitude was also an indefatigable ambassador for Christ and and a true icon of the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sake of his sheep…His Beatitude Aboon Mor Basilios Thomas I was an inspiration for all those who seek to emulate Our Lord Jesus Christ and to feed the sheep of His flock, and we, the Bishops of SCOOCh, join our Indian and Syriac Orthodox Fathers not only in mourning his loss to this world, but also in celebrating his laudatory life. May his memory be eternal, and may God repose him in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
At the memorial service, His Grace elaborated on these sentiments, adding that His Beatitude has “fought the good fight, he has kept the Orthodox Faith, and he has finished the race…and showed us how to keep the faith and fight the good fight until the end…On behalf of SCOOCh…we offer unto you our deepest condolences, and we ask [His Beatitude’s] prayers on our behalf, because as he joined the Heavenly Choir now, we know that although we have lost him here on earth, we have him to pray as an intercessor on our behalf in the Paradise before the Throne of God”.
The Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches prays for the comfort of the people of the Syriac Orthodox Church in India and throughout the world and for the peaceful election of a new Catholicos of India in due course. May His Beatitude Aboon Mor Basilios Thomas I pray for us all before the Throne of God.