Kochi: Archbishop of the Chaldean Syrian Church of the East, Mar Aprem Metropolitan, 85, passed away at Thrissur today, media reports said.
He was not keeping well and was undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Thrissur.
A multifaceted personality, a Church history researcher among others, he led the Indian Church for 56 years.
An author, and a Syriac language enthusiast, he was born as George Davis Mooken, alias Mar Aprem Metropolitan on June 13 1940, as the fourth of ten children of Devasi and Parapulli Kochumariam in Kizhakkekotta, Thrissur.
He did his theological studies at United Theological College, New York, Union Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary.
He was ordained as a priest on June 25, 1961 and then as a bishop on June 13, 1965. He was elevated as metropolitan at the renowned Mar Sayyaka Cathedral in Iraq, on September 29, 1968. He was the second youngest bishop in the history of the Indian Church.
He returned to India on October 26, 1968 to assume administrative responsibilities of the Church.
He led the Church as its global head for six months following the death of Maran Mar Dinha IV as Patriarch in 2015.
He authored over 70 books on travel, humour, and Church history. He played a crucial role in establishing Marthoma Higher Secondary School in Madras and the Chaldean College in Thrissur. He had passion for music.
Photo: X
