Pastor's body in the morgue for a year now as family await his 'resurrection'

The body of a South African pastor has been in the mortuary for one year as his family and devoted congregants await his 'resurrection.' 

Pastor Siva Moodley, 53, founder of The Miracle Centre church in Johannesburg, died on August 15, 2021 after an illness. His body was taken to Martin’s Funeral Home in Fourways, Gauteng, where it has been since then. 

According to South African press, the church has never openly acknowledged Pastor Siva's demise and has kept his social media accounts, notably Facebook and Twitter, operational. 

Pray for resurrection

"After Pastor Moodley's death, his family and members of the church used to visit the funeral home to pray for his resurrection," Martin du Toit, the manager at the funeral home, is quoted by IOL News as saying. "The last visit was in September last year. Nobody has come to view the body since then. There is no news about his funeral."

Besides the active social media accounts, services at the church have been going on as normal,  conducted by late pastor's wife Jessie, son David, and daughter Kathryn. The services are also live streamed on social media.

"Moodley has an international following and had a television programme called Your Miracle Moment. The programme was broadcasted on DStv through FaithTV and TBN Africa," adds IOL. "Since April this year re-runs of the programme have been broadcast on Miracle TV+, a streaming service. New episodes of the programme only feature Jessie and David."

Face the truth

Fellow Pastor Prem Terry Jugdeo has called on the family to face the truth and accord the late pastor a decent burial. 

"His family and church members have not respected the death of a great person but believed in the resurrection of this servant of God. His wife and children continue as normal. They need to be honest and not hide away from the facts," he is quoted as saying. 

Du Toit, the manager of the funeral home has lodged an application with the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court to grant him permission to have Moodley buried or cremated.

and messages are posted every day as if they are from him.