Bishop K.J. Samuel, former moderator bishop of the Church of South India, passed away at Kottayam here on Sunday. He was 81.
A decision on the funeral services will be made during a meeting of the church executive committee to be held n Monday morning.
Born as the elder son of K.S. Joseph and Rachel Joseph couple in Elappally, he was ordained as a priest in 1968 and was consecrated as the second bishop of the CSI East Kerala diocese in 1990 .He was subsequently appointed as deputy moderator of the CSI in 1996 and was elected as moderator bishop of the CSI on two occasions in 1998 and 2000.
The bishop was instrumental in launching several charity and welfare organisations such as World Vision, Compassion International, and PROK, which worked towards the socio-economic and cultural upliftment of the common people. Having worked as Auxiliary President of Bible Society of India in Kerala from 1992-95, the bishop also served as the national president of the Bible Society of India during 2000-2006.
He married Susamma in 1969 and the couple has two sons and a daughter.
