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TURKISH ENVOY MEETS ARMENIAN RELIGIOUS LEADER IN GERMANY
Hurriyet
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-envoy-meets-armenian-religious-leader-in-germany.aspx?pageID=238&nID=22324&NewsCatID=338
June 4 2012
Turkey
An Armenian religious leader living in Germany, Archbishop Karekin
Bekjian, says he has been visited by Turkey's ambassador to Germany
regarding his candidacy to become the next patriarch of Turkey's
Armenians.
Bekjian said he had spoken to Ambassador Huseyin Avni Karsl覺oglu
regarding his candidacy.
"He asked questions about my patriarchal candidacy. In previous months,
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who also visited Germany,
wanted to pay a visit, but we could not hold the meeting due to some
other pre-scheduled activities," Bekjian recently told the Hurriyet
Daily News.
Bekjian is seen as one of the strongest candidates for the Armenian
Patriarchate of Turkey. Current Patriarch Mesrop II cannot perform
his duties due to a disease called frontal lobe dementia.
Even though the Armenian community wishes to choose its own patriarch
by holding an election, Turkey's Interior Ministry appointed an acting
patriarch, Aram Ate癬_yan, two years ago - marking a first in the
patriarchate's history.
Bekjian said he informed Karsl覺oglu about the 40,000 Armenians who
have migrated to Germany from Turkey.
The archbishop also expressed his appreciation for Ankara's decision
last month to return the Surp Hac (Holy Cross) T覺brevank religious
school - which is now serving as a high school - to the Armenian
community. Surp Hac T覺brevank's clerical school was shut down in
1940 and then lost its foundation status in 1985. Bekjian was one of
the last teachers to serve in the school.
Asked if he considered the ambassador's visit a "political step,"
Bekjian said no political matters were spoken of during the visit.
"The Armenian community is accepted as a religious minority in Turkey
and the institution that leads the community is the patriarchate;
they are in charge of these matters," he said.
Bekjian said the ambassador had told him that the Turkish state was
responsible for all its citizens, regardless of their ethnicity.
"We have to admit the reality that world has changed. There are some
painful matters, everyone has things to tell. We have to keep an eye
on the next generations. Oriental Churches are the ones closest to
the origins of Christianity; you experience this richness and this
belongs to all of us," Karsl覺oglu reportedly told Bekjian.
From: Baghdasarian
Hurriyet
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-envoy-meets-armenian-religious-leader-in-germany.aspx?pageID=238&nID=22324&NewsCatID=338
June 4 2012
Turkey
An Armenian religious leader living in Germany, Archbishop Karekin
Bekjian, says he has been visited by Turkey's ambassador to Germany
regarding his candidacy to become the next patriarch of Turkey's
Armenians.
Bekjian said he had spoken to Ambassador Huseyin Avni Karsl覺oglu
regarding his candidacy.
"He asked questions about my patriarchal candidacy. In previous months,
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who also visited Germany,
wanted to pay a visit, but we could not hold the meeting due to some
other pre-scheduled activities," Bekjian recently told the Hurriyet
Daily News.
Bekjian is seen as one of the strongest candidates for the Armenian
Patriarchate of Turkey. Current Patriarch Mesrop II cannot perform
his duties due to a disease called frontal lobe dementia.
Even though the Armenian community wishes to choose its own patriarch
by holding an election, Turkey's Interior Ministry appointed an acting
patriarch, Aram Ate癬_yan, two years ago - marking a first in the
patriarchate's history.
Bekjian said he informed Karsl覺oglu about the 40,000 Armenians who
have migrated to Germany from Turkey.
The archbishop also expressed his appreciation for Ankara's decision
last month to return the Surp Hac (Holy Cross) T覺brevank religious
school - which is now serving as a high school - to the Armenian
community. Surp Hac T覺brevank's clerical school was shut down in
1940 and then lost its foundation status in 1985. Bekjian was one of
the last teachers to serve in the school.
Asked if he considered the ambassador's visit a "political step,"
Bekjian said no political matters were spoken of during the visit.
"The Armenian community is accepted as a religious minority in Turkey
and the institution that leads the community is the patriarchate;
they are in charge of these matters," he said.
Bekjian said the ambassador had told him that the Turkish state was
responsible for all its citizens, regardless of their ethnicity.
"We have to admit the reality that world has changed. There are some
painful matters, everyone has things to tell. We have to keep an eye
on the next generations. Oriental Churches are the ones closest to
the origins of Christianity; you experience this richness and this
belongs to all of us," Karsl覺oglu reportedly told Bekjian.
From: Baghdasarian