Catholicos of the East Calls-On Shri Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India

Catholicos of the East, His Holiness Baselios
 Marthoma Paulose II meeting the President of
 India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee,in New Delhi on
 October 6, 2012. The Metropolitan of the Diocese
 of Delhi, Dr. Yuhanon Mar Demetrios is also seen.

NEW DELHI: Supreme head of the Orthodox Syrian Church of the East which includes the Indian Orthodox Church, Catholicos His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, visited the President of the Republic of India His Excellency Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday, October 6, 2012.

The Metropolitan of the Diocese of Delhi His Eminence Dr. Yuhanon Mar Demetrios, Lay Trustee of the Church M G George Muthoot, Fr. M.S. Scaria Ramban, Fr. Philip M. Samuel, Deacon Jis Johnson accompanied the Supreme Pontiff to Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Kerala-based Indian Orthodox church of the East dates back to 52 AD when St Thomas, one of the direct disciples of Jesus Christ, came to India. With 3 million followers all over the world in 30 Metropolitan dioceses, this year Orthodox Church of the East is also celebrating the centenary of the Re-establishment of Catholicate (Catholicosate) of the East in India.

The headquarters of the Orthodox Syrian Church of the East was first in Edessa. This was moved to Selucia-Ctesiphon, the capital of Persian Empire, then to Tigris and Musal (Mosul) in Iraq. It was transferred and restored in Malankara (Kerala), India in 1912 by the canonical Patriarch of Antioch St. Ignatius Abdul Masih II. The present headquarters is at is at Devalokam (Kottayam), in the southern Indian state of Kerala. His Holiness Baselius Paulose II is the 109th reigning Catholicos of the East and 21st reigning Malankara Metropolitan and as such, Supreme Head of the Orthodox Syrian Church of the East.