Major Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios Passes Away

The first Major Archbishop and Catholicos of the Malankara Catholic Church Cyril Mar Baselious passed away on Thursday 18th January, 2007. He was 71.

The Major Archbishop was diabetic and had been undergoing dialysis for the last six months. He was admitted to a private hospital here on Thursday morning following complaints of uneasiness.

He breathed his last there at 6.45 p.m. His death was unexpected as the Major Archbishop was the chief celebrant at an installation ceremony at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Pattom, on Wednesday.

Funeral was held on Saturday, 20th January, 2007.

All educational institutions under the Malankara Catholic diocese remained closed on Friday and Saturday.

It was during his tenure as Archbishop in February 2005 that the Malankara Catholic Church was elevated to Major Archiepiscopal status. Cyril Mar Baselius was a member in the congregation for oriental churches in Rome.

People from all walks of life turned up in large numbers at the St. Mary’s Cathedral here on Friday to pay their last respects to Major Archbishop of the Malankara Catholic Church Cyril Mar Baselius who passed away on Thursday.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, Mayor C. J ayan Babu, District Collector N. Ayyappan, freedom fighter K.E. Mammen, Chennai Archbishop Chinnappa and Mavelikkara Archbishop Joshua Mar Ignatios were among those who arrived at the church in the morning to pay homage.

Representative of the Pope in India Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, C.C.B.A president Archbishop Oswald Gracious were among those who came to pay their respect to Archbishop Baselios. This was followed by the “Dhupa-Prarthana” by all seven Bishops of the Malankara Catholic Church. Following which, Trivandrum Arch-Diocese Arch Bishop and close friend of Catholica Bava, Arch Bishop Susapa gave a speech.

The funeral service which started at 12.15 p.m. was lead by Geevarghese Mar Divanyasios, the Bishop of Bathery and the administrator of the Malankara Catholic Church. The funeral rites were preceded by a public procession from St.Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Palayam.

It was a sad moment when H.E. Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios’ was taken from St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Pattom for a procession around the city of Thruvananthapuram.

The cathedral bells chimed and hymns in Syriac exhorting to `go in peace’ sung by the mourners rented the air as priests acting as pallbearers escorted the throne down the aisle. The throne was then raised at the four doors of the Cathedral, representing East, West, North and South, by the priests as sign of bidding adieu to the city and its people. The `funeral squad,’ comprising the State police armed battalion, reversed arms as a mark of respect.

“Ente nagarame, janame, ningalodu njyaan yatra parayunnu. Ningal samadhanathode vasikyuka” (My city, my people, I bid adieu to you. Peace be with you.) – was the farewell prayer being said as the procession moved around the city. As the procession moved through the city, people bid farewell with tears to the Archbishop.

The procession moved along the flyover, PMG Junction and Lourdes Church and reached the cathedral in two hours. Around 30,000 people including Cardinal Moussa Ignace Daoud, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches; Pedro Lopez Quintana, representative of the Pope in India, 25 Bishops, 1,500 priests and 3,000 nuns attended the service.

Draped in solemn vestment and seated on a throne with the symbolic staff in hand, the body was interred alongside his predecessors Mar Ivanios and Mar Gregorios, in a specially prepared vault filled with frankincense at the basement of the Cathedral.

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