KOTTAYAM: Believers will bid farewell to His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, the head of the Malankara Orthodox Church, on Tuesday. The mortal remains, which were kept for the public to pay homage at Parumala church, were taken to the Catholicate Aramana in Devalokam, the headquarters of the Malankara Orthodox Church. The funeral service will begin at 3 pm on Tuesday.

His end came at 2.35 AM at a private hospital in Parumala in Pathanamthitta district while undergoing treatment for post-COVID-19 complications.

The senior priest, who had been suffering from lung cancer since December 2019, had recovered from the COVID-19 infection in February this year.

People from various walks of life came to pay their last respects to the senior priest, whose mortal remains were kept for the public to pay homage at the Parumala Church. Even when he was brought to the Devalokam Church in Kottayam late at night, many people came to pay their last respects.