A South African pastor, Siva Moodley, has been buried 579 days after he died because his family was waiting for his resurrection.
53-year-old Moodley who died on August 15, 2021, in Johannesburg after falling ill, proclaimed that he could raise people from the dead.
Pastor Moodley was the founder of The Miracle Centre in the north of Johannesburg and used to preach that “no Christian should die from sickness.”
The funeral was held in Gauteng on Thursday, March 16, 2023.
The South African News reports that Moodley’s body had been kept at a Johannesburg mortuary since his death because his family was hoping that he would resurrect.
According to the report, after his death, family, and members of the church used to visit the funeral home to pray for his resurrection.
At the time, funeral home manager Martin du Toit lodged an application with the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court to grant him permission to have Moodley buried or cremated. However, the matter had not been set down as yet for a hearing.
Since Moodley’s death, services at the church have been going on as normal and are conducted by his wife, Jessie, son, David, and daughter Kathryn Jade. The services are also live-streamed on social media.
The church has allegedly not openly acknowledged his death on social media or informed the congregation of his whereabouts.
His social media accounts, notably Facebook and Twitter, are operational and messages are posted every day as if they are from him.
Staff from Miracle Centre declined to speak to the media. They said they had a policy in place that barred them from doing so.