Thousands bid adieu to Kerala bishop killed in US road accident

Thiruvalla (Kerala) May 21: Thousands bid adieu to Believers Eastern Church's Metropolitan Bishop Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan at his church headquarters in Kerala’s Thiruvalla on Tuesday.

He was knocked down by a car while he was walking on the road early this month in Dallas, US. Two days later, on May 8, he passed away following a cardiac arrest.

His body was brought back to the church headquarters here on Sunday.

Since then thousands of people have paid homage to him including leading figures from all walks of society.

On Tuesday, his body was interned at the church headquarters. He was given a state funeral.

K.P. Yohanan, as he was known, became the founder and head of the Believers Church, based in Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district, in 2003. In 2017, it took the name Believers Eastern Church and he became the supreme head and was known as Metropolitan Bishop Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan.

In his early childhood, he developed an interest in the Bible and later studied theology in Dallas. In 1974, he married German national Giesla and they started the charity organisation Gospel for Asia. In the 1980s, Yohanan was known for his radio programme "Athmeeya Yatra", which centred around the Bible.

In his career as an evangelist and then as the supreme head of the Church that he founded, he set up numerous Bible Colleges and also a state-of-the-art hospital and medical college at Thiruvalla.

During the Lok Sabha polls, his church was in the news when they pledged support to the BJP-led NDA candidates.