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Hürriyet, Turkey
Jan 5 2009
Armenian patriarch to stay despite his illness
ISTANBUL - The Armenian Patriarchy is not an office that can function
without an acting patriarch, said the editor-in-chief of Armenian
daily Jamanak Ara Koçunyan, criticizing the decision of the
Spiritual Council not to replace Patriarch Mesrob II who is said to be
suffering from frontal lobe dementia.
As concern grows over the patriarchy without a patriarch, senior
members of the community say any comments about the health of the
patriarch attracts serious criticism from the conservative community
and the patriarchy.
Speaking to Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review,
Koçunyan, whose newspaper first broke the story about the
deteriorating health of the patriarch, said: "It is a very sensitive
subject. It can be perceived as disrespectful to the office of the
patriarch.
Koçunyan said the Spiritual Assembly met mid last year due to
increasing concern over the patriarch and asked for the community to
wait until the new year for a decision.
In a statement released by the Spiritual Synod last week, it was
reported that members recognized Patriarch Mesrob II as the spiritual
leader of the Armenian community in Turkey and that the patriarch was
capable of handling all his responsibilities. "Members of the
Spiritual Council do not believe it is necessary to cloud the
community's agenda with an issue such as the election of the patriarch
and advise members of the community to wait in faith and patience," it
said.
Koçunyan said the Spiritual Council did not have the right to
issue such a declaration and that the Armenian Church traditionally
did not have such an executive mechanism. "The Spiritual Council does
not elect the patriarch. It is trying to force a fait accompli on the
community."
Koçunyan said, "I would not like to judge the policies of an
ill patriarch, but he did not display the democratic sensitivities of
his predecessor," stating that both his newspaper and the Agos weekly
faced embargoes and other prohibitions from the patriarchate in the
past.
Jan 5 2009
Armenian patriarch to stay despite his illness
ISTANBUL - The Armenian Patriarchy is not an office that can function
without an acting patriarch, said the editor-in-chief of Armenian
daily Jamanak Ara Koçunyan, criticizing the decision of the
Spiritual Council not to replace Patriarch Mesrob II who is said to be
suffering from frontal lobe dementia.
As concern grows over the patriarchy without a patriarch, senior
members of the community say any comments about the health of the
patriarch attracts serious criticism from the conservative community
and the patriarchy.
Speaking to Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review,
Koçunyan, whose newspaper first broke the story about the
deteriorating health of the patriarch, said: "It is a very sensitive
subject. It can be perceived as disrespectful to the office of the
patriarch.
Koçunyan said the Spiritual Assembly met mid last year due to
increasing concern over the patriarch and asked for the community to
wait until the new year for a decision.
In a statement released by the Spiritual Synod last week, it was
reported that members recognized Patriarch Mesrob II as the spiritual
leader of the Armenian community in Turkey and that the patriarch was
capable of handling all his responsibilities. "Members of the
Spiritual Council do not believe it is necessary to cloud the
community's agenda with an issue such as the election of the patriarch
and advise members of the community to wait in faith and patience," it
said.
Koçunyan said the Spiritual Council did not have the right to
issue such a declaration and that the Armenian Church traditionally
did not have such an executive mechanism. "The Spiritual Council does
not elect the patriarch. It is trying to force a fait accompli on the
community."
Koçunyan said, "I would not like to judge the policies of an
ill patriarch, but he did not display the democratic sensitivities of
his predecessor," stating that both his newspaper and the Agos weekly
faced embargoes and other prohibitions from the patriarchate in the
past.