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Armenian Patriarchate Gearing Up For Election Of 97th Incumbent

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  • Armenian Patriarchate Gearing Up For Election Of 97th Incumbent

    ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE GEARING UP FOR ELECTION OF 97TH INCUMBENT

    http://hetq.am/eng/news/22588/armenian-patriarchate-gearing-up-for-election-of-97th-incumbent.html
    12:07, January 23, 2013

    Arthur Hagopian

    Jerusalem, Jan 23 - The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is gearing
    up for one of the most momentous events in the 2,000 year-old
    history of the Armenian presence in the Holy Land. Preparations
    for the election of a new patriarch to succeed the late Archbishop
    Torkom Manoogian, are proceeding at a brisk rate, with the main event
    scheduled to take place tomorrow.

    Patriarchate sources told this correspondence tomorrow's agenda is
    designed to narrow down the list of potential candidates to five. This
    will later be pared down even further, to two, before the final vote is
    cast. Under the rules and regulations of the Patriarchate, any member
    of the Priestly Brotherhood of St James, that is, priests ordained
    in Jerusalem, would be eligible for election. But in practical terms,
    the incumbent is chosen from among the ranks of the highest princes -
    the archbishops - of the Armenian church.

    The total number of Armenian archbishops who were ordained priests by
    the Jerusalem Patriarchate today stands at 8, three of them based in
    Jerusalem, and the remaining five ministering to the needs of Armenian
    congregations in the diaspora.

    The sources revealed that the front-runners to become the 97th
    Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, in a direct transmission from
    the first patriarch, Abraham, are the Grand Sacristan, Archbishop
    Nourhan Manoogian and Director of Ecumenical Relations, Archbishop
    Aris Shirvanian, the current Locum Tenens.

    Manoogian (no relation to the late patriarch) was born in Aleppo in
    1948 and ordained a priest in 1971. He was anointed bishop in 1999.

    Shirvanian, who is older, was born in Haifa in 1934 and ordained a
    celibate priest in 1957. He became a bishop in 1974.

    Archbishop Sevan Gharibian, born in Beirut in 1940 and made bishop in
    1988, is the third potential Jerusalem candidate. Observers have named
    the Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the United States, Archbishop
    Khajag Barsamian (born in 1951 in Arapgir, in the former Armenian
    district of Malatya), as another leading candidate.

    The late Primate of the Australian and New Zealand diocese, Archbishop
    Aghan Baliozian, had been seen as yet another powerful possibility. As
    the members of the St James Brotherhood pray for guidance and wait for
    the fateful day to dawn, Armenians all around the world are watching
    developments in Jerusalem with great anxiety.

    The Armenian church in the Holy City has been forced to wade through
    the morass of debilitating challenges in recent years, and needs the
    strength and endurance to maintain its stature and standing not only
    as the second most vital font of spiritual rejuvenation after the
    Mother Church in Armenia, but also as one of the three Guardians of
    the Holy Places.

    Tomorrow "will be two important dates not only for the new person
    succeeding Patriarch Torkom II and leading the church in the Holy Land
    but equally importantly for the Armenians still living and witnessing
    in those biblical and also historical lands," says one of the leading
    commentators of the Middle East religious scene, Dr Harry Hagopian,
    Ecumenical, Legal and Political Consultant to the Armenian Apostolic
    Church.

    Observers note that both of the leading contenders, Manoogian and
    Shirvanian, are blessed with the requisite qualifications to lead the
    church into the future. "Nourhan is a man of steel who is not afraid
    of a challenge, and has the charisma and bearing of a force to be
    reckoned with. He has been a pillar of strength in times of crisis
    for the Patriarchate. He may be brash at times, but his indomitable
    courage and determination are undeniable. The Patriarchate needs a
    strong man like him at the helm," they add.

    Manoogian is keen to maintain Jerusalem's traditionally strong ties
    with the diaspora. His recent visit to Sydney, to attend the funeral
    services for Baliozian, has been seen as further indication of his
    inclinations. Observers believe Shirvanian's pronounced tact and
    diplomacy will be fundamentally important in steering the church
    through the morass, particularly of the political tint, surrounding
    it on all sides.

    "Despite his soft-spoken approach, Shirvanian has the inner strength
    of a majestic lion, his sagacity and wisdom evident in all the moves
    he orchestrates." Although Shirvanian is not one to shirk a challenge,
    his preference is for a more softly-softly approach.

    In his recent Christmas message, he dwelt heavily on the topic
    of peace in the region, among the Semitic cousins, Arabs and Jews,
    ending it with an invocation in Arabic and Hebrew. The late patriarch,
    Manoogian, has been known as a reformer and a modernizer, a man of
    vision although not all his dreams were realized. One of his grand
    designs was the construction of a hostel for Armenian pilgrims and
    tourists, another was a residential project that never got off the
    drawing board.

    Will the 97th Armenian Patriarch build on those dreams, or will he
    have a different agenda to follow? The next few days may, hopefully,
    give us an indication of where the wind will lie.

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