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Palestine News Network (PNN)
January 23, 2013 Wednesday
Armenian Patriarchate Gearing Up For Election of 97th Incumbent
by Arthur Hagopian 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.
January 23, 2013 Wednesday
Armenian Patriarchate Gearing Up For Election of 97th Incumbent
by Arthur Hagopian 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.