ARMENIAN PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM TO BE ELECTED TODAY

11:26 23.01.2013

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 today.

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.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress