Believers Eastern Church elects Samuel Mor Theophilus as new metropolitan

Believers Eastern Church elects Samuel Mor Theophilus as new Metropolitan, initiates restructuring, and honors late founder Athanasius Yohan I.

A Synod meeting of the Believers Eastern Church at its global headquarters in Thiruvalla on June 17 elected Samuel Mor Theophilus Episcopa as its new Metropolitan. He succeeds Athanasius Yohan I Metropolitan, the founder of the church, who passed away last month.

An official statement said the enthronement of the Metropolitan-elect, who currently heads the Chennai Archdiocese of the Church, would be held at the St. Thomas Believers Eastern Church Cathedral in Kuttapuzha, Thiruvalla, at 8 a.m. on June 22.

Besides electing the new Metropolitan, the Synod also appointed Joshua Mor Barnabas Episcopa of Jorhat and Ranchi as its secretary. It further decided to initiate a massive restructuring of the Church by dividing the establishment into 11 archdioceses and ecclesiastical regions, each to be headed by an Archbishop. A decision to rename the Believer’s Convention Centre in Thiruvalla in memory of the first Metropolitan was also made.

The Synod, which began at 10 a.m., commenced after offering prayers at the grave of Athanasius Yohan I. The Synod was held at the St. Thomas Cathedral at 11 a.m., where the clergy, leaders, and faithful from various institutions, parishes, and dioceses of the church were in attendance, both physically and virtually.

Daniel Mor Timotheus of North America and Europe made the announcements of the Synod in English, while John Mor Irenaeus of Delhi made the same in Malayalam.

Athanasius Yohan passed away in May due to a sudden cardiac arrest while he was under intensive care at a hospital in Dallas, Texas, following a car accident that happened during his morning walk. He founded the Believers Eastern Church as part of the GFA World Apostolate in 1993.

According to Believers Eastern Church, its membership includes over 3.5 million people in 10 countries, speaking a hundred languages.