Manuel Batakian, I.C.P.B. (November 5, 1929 – October 18, 2021) was a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the United States. He served as an auxiliary bishop to the Armenian Catholic Patriarch from 1995 to 2000, as the third

exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and ea ...

of the Apostolic Exarchate of United States of America and Canada from 2000 to 2005, and as the first

eparch Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...

(bishop) of Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg in New York from 2005 to 2011.

Biography

Born in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, Greece, Batakian was ordained a priest for the

Patriarchal Congregation of Bzommar The Patriarchal Congregation of Bzommar (french: Institut du Clergé Patriarcal de Bzommar) is an Armenian Catholic religious congregation of priests which was founded in 1750. They use the initials I.C.P.B. after their names. They were establishe ...

on December 8, 1954. He held various offices as a priest. From 1978 to 1984 Batakian served as the Patriarchal Vicar for the Institute of the Patriarchal Clergy of Bzommar. He then served as the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Armenian Catholic Cathedral in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the Eparchy of Sainte-Croix-de-Paris. In 1990 he was named as the

of the

Pontifical Armenian College The Roman Colleges, also referred to as the Pontifical Colleges in Rome, are institutions established and maintained in Rome for the education of future ecclesiastics of the Catholic Church. Traditionally many were for students of a particular nat ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named Batakian as the

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

of ''Caesarea in Cappadocia degli Armeni'' and the Auxiliary Bishop of

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian language, Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from th ...

on November 11, 1994. He was ordained a bishop by Patriarch Jean Pierre XVIII Kasparian of the

Armenian Catholic Church , native_name_lang = hy , image = St Elie - St Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 260px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illumina ...

on March 12, 1995. The principal co-consecrators were Eparchs Grégoire Ghabroyan, I.C.P.B. of Sainte-Croix-de-Paris and

André Bedoglouyan André Bedoglouyan (February 18, 1920 – April 13, 2010) was a Lebanese-Armenian hierarch of the Armenian Catholic Church. Bedoglouyan was born in Zahlé, Lebanon and was ordained a priest on December 25, 1945, from the religious order Institu ...

, I.C.P.B., the auxiliary of Cilicia. Batakian was named the exarch in the United States of America and Canada by Pope John Paul on November 30, 2000. He became the first eparch of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg in New York when

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

elevated the North American church to an eparchy, or

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

, on September 12, 2005. He served as eparch in New York until his resignation was accepted by Pope Benedict on May 21, 2011. Batakian died on October 18, 2021.Bishop Manuel Batakian, I.C.P.B.
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References

External links

Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batakian, Manuel 1929 births 2021 deaths Clergy from Athens Members of the Patriarchal Congregation of Bzommar Greek people of Armenian descent Armenian Catholic bishops 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops 21st-century Eastern Catholic bishops American Eastern Catholic bishops 20th-century American clergy 21st-century American clergy

Biography

See also

References

External links

Episcopal succession