KOLKATA: Bishop Phillip Silas Masih, the head of Methodist Church in Bengal and the former president of Council of Methodist Bishops in India, died of a heart attack in Lucknow late Tuesday evening.
He used to travel between Kolkata and Lucknow and was the inspiration behind iconic city schools run by Methodist Church such as Calcutta Boys and Calcutta Girls, and Mount Herman in Darjeeling.
The National Council of Churches in India has started an official mourning at the loss of the bishop, who has been described as a visionary.
“He was one of the most dedicated episcopal and ecumenical accompanier I have ever come across,” Reverend P C Singh, moderator of the Church of North India and president of National Council of Churches of India, said from Delhi.
Calcutta Girls High School principal Basanti Biswas said she had lost a mentor.