Thought Platform Demands Armenian Patriarchate Election Process be Started

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The Thought Platform has launched a petition on change.org about the Armenians not being allowed to elect a patriarch for over eight years.

What happened?

Armenians in Turkey cannot elect their patriarch for over eight years. When spiritual leader of the Armenians in Turkey Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan got sick in 2008, the patriarchate elections couldn’t be held.

After the two years passing with the discussions “whether the elections will be held”, Aram Ateşyan was assigned as Deputy Patriarch by the İstanbul Governorship.

It was decided that Patriarch Mesrop II be retired in October 2016, however, no progress was made as to the election.

A new phase started with Spiritual Leader Board Chair Sahak Maşelyan’s resignation in February 2017. In the meeting held by the mediators in Armenia, it was decided that the election process be initiated and a sub-governor be elected.

In the elections held on March 15, Spiritual Leader of Armenians in Germany Archbishop Karekin Bekçiyan was elected sub-governor to manage the Patriarch election.

After the election, current Deputy Patriarch Aram Ateşyan shared a message from the İstanbul Governorship with the press members:

“Rules and practices concerning the patriarchate election are well known to you and within this scope, initiating an election process is evaluated to be legally impossible”. (NV/TK)