Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul to elect a new Patriarch

According to the Turkish Studies expert, Archbishop Mesrob II Mutafyan has been unable to carry out his duties since 2008 due to severe illness, which caused large issues within the Armenian community.

“This is a normal procedure, which was supposed to be realized ages ago. The pressure from the Mother See and the community played a great part in the decision making,” Ruben Melkonyan said.

According to him, the Patriarchate of Istanbul is the only governing body of the Armenian community in Turkey.

“Election of a Patriarch is not just a church or spiritual issue, but an organizational one as well. The Armenian community in Turkey faces plenty of problems and needs an active Patriarch to solve them,” Ruben Melkonyan observed.

There are currently three candidates in the election: General Vicar of Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul (since 2008), Archbishop Aram Ateshyan, Primate of the Diocese of Gougark,
Archbishop Sebouh Chouldjian, and Primate of German Diocese, Archbishop Garegin Bekchyan.

The expert stated that according to the Turkish Constitution, the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul has to apply to the Ministry of Interior of Turkey to get the permit to hold the elections.

“They will apply in early November and receive the answer in about a month. However, the Turkish Government can drag out this process for years, as it has done for several times already,” the expert said.

Ruben Melkonyan predicts two ways the elections can end:

“I think if the election is fair, Archbishop Sebouh Chouldjian will win, and if there is pressure, the winner will be the candidate, desirable for Turkey - Archbishop Aram Ateshyan”.