THRISSUR: Mar Aprem Metropolitan, 85, former Head of the Assyrian Church of the East in India, passed away following a brief period in hospital due to age-related ailments here on Monday. 

Born on June 13, 1940 as George Mookken in Thrissur, he completed his education in Church History from Union Theological Seminary, New York. 

Assyrian Church of the East aka Chaldean Syrian Chruch has its headquarters in Erbil, northern Iraq.

The funeral and other procedures will only be announced after discussing with the religious heads in Iraq. 

A prominent personality in Thrissur, Mar Aprem always stood for religious harmony. His speech, always filled with fun and wisdom, has a lot of fans in Thrissur and across Kerala.

He served as Head of the Chaldean Syrian Church in India for about five decades. He wrote about 65 books. His translation of Sree Narayana Guru’s Daiva Dashakam into the Syriac language is a prominent work.