PATHANAMTHITTA: The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, on Tuesday, set an example for sparring religious groups by making arrangements for the cremation of a doctor of the Pushpagiri Medical College (PMC) Hospital in Thiruvalla as per Hindu rites. The initiative came from the Metropolitan Archbishop of Thiruvalla Thomas Mar Coorilos, who asked the PMC authorities to make funeral arrangements on the hospital premises itself.
B. Brijesh Kumar Singh, 61, from Bihar, had served Pushpagiri for 28 years. He was found dead on Saturday at a hotel room in Kochi where he had been waiting for next day's flight to his home town, Patna, for the Navaratri festival.
The cause of death had been identified as cardiac arrest, said Fr. Thomas Kodinattumkunnel, PMC Chief Executive Officer.
The younger brother of the deceased, R.P. Singh and his nephew, Mayan Singh, reached Thiruvalla on Tuesday. The church arranged a Brahmin priest for leading the funeral rites on the hospital premises in the presence of a large number of clergy as well as the PMC staff and students.
Fr. Santhosh Azhakath, PMC director (Human Resources), was in charge of the arrangements for the cremation.
The Archbishop, accompanied by Fr. Kodinattumkunnel, was present throughout the ceremony and offered flowers, sesame and ghee as directed by the Brahmin priest. The Christian priests and nuns followed suit.
Wrapped in a red silk cloth, the doctor's body was kept on a specially prepared funeral pyre and was lit by his nephew after a 40-minute ceremony.
The Archbishop also led a prayer service, chanting verses from the Srimad Bhagavad Gita and the Holy Bible. Fr Azhakath said the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church believed that respect and trust among different religious groups was the prime necessity to evade problems in this age of communal divide.
Dr. Singh is survived by his daughter and parents. His brother and nephew would leave for Bihar with the funeral ashes, said Fr. Azhakath.
No comments:
Post a Comment