JERUSALEM (AFP)–Archbishop Nurhan Manougian has been elected the 97th Armenian Apostolic Patriarch of Jerusalem, one of the five custodians of Christian religious sites in the Holy Land, sources told AFP on Jan. 24.
Manougian, 65, replaces Torkom Manougian, who died aged 93 in October 2012, after falling into a coma following a stroke.
The new patriarch will lead the small Armenian Apostolic communities in Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Jordan, as well as take responsibility for parts of the holy sites, including the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
Manougian was elected with 17 votes in his favor to 15 votes for Archbishop Aris Shirvanian, who had been serving as interim patriarch, a source in the Armenian community said.
Nurhan Manougian was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1948 and ordained in Jerusalem in 1971. His election must be approved by Israel and the Jordanian king.
There are an estimated 2,000 Armenians living in Jerusalem today, down from an estimated 16,000 in 1948 when the state of Israel was created.
Our church is ‘Apostolic’ church & not ‘Orthodox’.
“His election must be approved by Israel and the Jordanian king.” — Why??
Does anyone know anything about the new patriarch’s formal education and anything he might have written or researched?
Hi Mike,
You can go to this page if you can read Armenian, there are some information about his life and education: http://www.armenianchurch.org/index.jsp?sid=1&id=4070&pid=85
He has many publications such as Եւ… Եղեւ Լոյս, Եւ Դարցեալ Եղեւ Լոյս, Սուրբ Յակոբի Բեմէն (52 Քարոզներ).
His Beatitude, Patriarch Nourhan Manougian is my Uncle, so please let me know if you need more information about him.
The story is not that accurate as to governments approving the candidate for Patriarch. In fact it is not only the Israeli government and Jordanian king, but also the Palestinian government that have to give a stamp of approval. Any one of them can reject the candidate and in such a case, the interim Patriarch continues their duties while an acceptable candidate is elected by the brotherhood and again presented for approval. I believe this is intended as a safeguard to prevent someone from bullying their way into power, though it also can and has been used in a negative way in bringing to power a corrupt Patriarch that works for the interests of said governments, as in the case of Yeghishe Derderian (1960–1990). He manipulated and was manipulated by this law and in doing so, prevented Patriarch Tiran Nersoyan from being enthroned and instead Nersoyan was exiled from the holly land.
i wish the new electet patriarch good health & wisdem
We’re can I get address information to congratulate him.