07/09/2019 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – Bishop Sahak Mashalian was elected as the temporary Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul following a closed-door electoral meeting on Wednesday, July 4th. Bishop Mashalian beat Archbishop Aram Ateshyan by two votes.

The election of the new temporary bishop is the first step in the election of a new Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul to replace Archbishop Mesrob II, who died on March 8th and was unable to perform his duties for over 10 years because of having entered a mysterious coma. The Armenian Church has on a number of occasions attempted to hold permanent patriarchal elections since Mesrob’s illness. However, the Turkish government rejected them each time on the basis that Mesrob was still alive.

Upon his election, Bishop Mashalian explained that, “the Church Congregation-Assembly chose me as a locum tenens with majority of the votes. The placeholder should order the election process, the head all Church meetings, and he must ensure that the elections are held impartially.”

It is unclear, however, whether Turkey will finally allow the Armenians to elect a permanent Patriarch. The government has a long record of meddling in the internal affairs of religious minorities. They are held captive to a government who uses them as a political tool to increase their own power, all to the detriment of religious freedom in Turkey.

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