Archbishop Mesrob II Mutafyan (in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Մեսրոպ Բ Մութաֆեան), or Mutafian, also known as Mesrop Mutafyan in

Eastern Armenian Eastern Armenian () is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Western Armenian. The two standards form a pluricentric language. Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia, Russia, as well as Georgia, and by the Armeni ...

transliteration (16 June 1956 – 8 March 2019), was the 84th

Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

. The

Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

is one of the four Sees of

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

(the other three being

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin (), known in Armenian as simply the Mother See (Մայր Աթոռ, ''Mayr At’oř''), is the governing body of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is headquartered around Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Vagharshapat (Etc ...

, the

Holy See of Cilicia The Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia () is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church. Since 1930, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia has been headquartered in Antelias, Lebanon. Aram I is the Catholicos of C ...

and the

Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, also known as the Armenian Patriarchate of Saint James (, , ), is located in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. The Armenian Apostolic Church is officially recognised under Israel's confessional syste ...

) and has an

autocephalous Autocephaly (; ) is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with t ...

status, accepting, on the other hand, spiritual supremacy of the Catholicos of Armenia and of all Armenians in Holy Echmiadzin.

Early life

Mesrob Mutafyan was born Minas Mutafian in Istanbul. He graduated from the American High School in

Kornwestheim Kornwestheim (; ) is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about north of Stuttgart, and south of Ludwigsburg. History Origins and Development Kornwestheim's history spans over 1200 years, first ...

near

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. From 1974 to 1979, he studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. On 13 May 1979, he was ordained to priesthood taking the name Mesrob and was commissioned

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

Kınalıada Kınalıada (Turkish language, Turkish for: Henna Island; , 'first', known classically in English as Prote) is the fourth smallest inhabited island in the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara; near Istanbul, Turkey. It is also the closest o ...

, one of the

Princes' Islands The Princes' Islands (; the word "princes" is plural, because the name means "Islands of the Princes", , ''Pringiponisia''), officially just Adalar (); alternatively the Princes' Archipelago; is an archipelago off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey, ...

in the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

in Istanbul with a small

community. Between 1979 and 1981, he continued his theological studies in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. On 21 September 1986, Mesrob Mutafyan was elevated to the rank of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Echmiadzin Vagharshapat ( ) is the 5th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is commonly known as Ejmiatsin ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. From 1982 to 1990, he coordinated the

ecumenic Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

al relationships of the

Patriarchate Patriarchate (, ; , ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, referring to the office and jurisdiction of a patriarch. According to Christian tradition, three patriarchates—Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria—were establi ...

. He attended the

Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the ''Angelicum'' or ''Collegio Angelico'' (in honor of its patron, the ''Doctor Angelicus'' Thomas Aquinas), is a pontifical university located in the historic center of R ...

Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1988/1989. In 1993, he was elevated to the rank of

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

to serve the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

. From 1997, Mutafyan acted as the

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the

. Following the death of Patriarch Karekin II Kazanjian of Constantinople, Mesrob Mutafyan was elected

locum tenens A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

on 16 March 1998 to serve as the temporary leader of the Church until an election was held. Even though the Turkish local authorities demanded Archbishop of

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 35 km2, and its population is 524,452 (2022). It is a large and densely populated district on the Anatolian (Asian) shore of the Bosphorus. It is border ...

Şahan Sıvaciyan, the retired longest-serving archbishop, should succeed, Mesrob Mutafyan was finally elected the 84th Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople on 14 October, 1998 and could take office. During his apostolic journey to Turkey,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

visited also the Surp Asdvadzadzin Patriarchal Church in

Kumkapı Kumkapı (meaning "sand gate" in Turkish) is a quarter in Fatih district of Istanbul. It is located along the northern shore of Marmara Sea. Up to recent times, Kumkapı is the center of the Armenian community of the city, boasting a school and ...

, İstanbul, where he attended a religious ceremony and held later talks with Patriarch Mesrob II on 30 November 2006. He was also a member of the

Elijah Interfaith Institute Elijah Interfaith Institute is a nonprofit, international, UNESCO-sponsored interfaith organization founded by Alon Goshen-Gottstein in 1997. The organization is headquartered in Jerusalem, with offices and representatives in different cou ...

Board of World Religious Leaders.

Illness and elections for locum tenens

In July 2008, it was announced that Mesrob Mutafyan was suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

and he withdrew from all his duties and from public life; however he still officially remained patriarch and archbishop. Archbishop Aram Ateşyan ran the day-to-day affairs of the Patriarchate after being appointed Patriarchal Vicar of Constantinople with 25 of the 26 members of the

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

of the patriarchate voting for him. Archbishop Aram Ateşyan had been the Locum tenens (Pokhanort in Armenian) since 2010 because of the ill health of the patriarch. On 26 October 2016, Mesrob Mutafyan was retired by the synod of the patriarchate because of his illness which had continued for more than 7 years. As tensions escalated leading to the resignation of the head of the synod of the patriarchate Bishop

Sahak Mashalian Sahak (, ) may refer to: Places * Sahak-e Abd ol Nabi, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * Sahak-e Yareyeh, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran People * Sahak (name), an Armenian masculine given name * Sahak Parparyan (born 1988), an Armen ...

Karekin II Catholicos Garegin II (, also spelled Karekin; born 21 August 1951) is the Catholicos of All Armenians, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, since 1999. In 2013 he was unanimously elected the Oriental Orthodox head of the World Cou ...

, Catholicos of All Armenians summoned the lead clerics including Ateşyan, Mashalian and Bekdjian from Istanbul to Etchmiadzin for a mediated solution in February 2017. The decision was taken to hold elections for a Locum Tenens on 15 March, followed by a patriarchal election within six months. On 15 March 2017, the synod elected Archbishop Karekin Bekdjian, the Primate of the Armenian Church Diocese of Germany as Locum tenens or Patriarchal alternate (Deghabah). But Archbishop Ateşyan refused to step down after the election of Bekdjian.

Death

He died on 8 March 2019 at the Surp Pirgic hospital in Istanbul,Times of Israel, website, ''Armenian Patriarch in Turkey Mesrob II dies at 62''
/ref> from Pick’s disease. Bishop

was elected as his successor. As a sign of respect Patriarch Abba Seraphim directed the

British Orthodox Church The British Orthodox Church (BOC), formerly the Orthodox Church of the British Isles, is an independent church, having its roots in Oriental Orthodoxy. The British Orthodox Church has not been in communion with any of the Oriental Orthodox ch ...

to observe forty days of mourning.British Orthodox Church website, article dated March 8, 2019
/ref>

References

External links

Who is who (Mesrob Mutafyan)

Interview with Patriarch Mesrob II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutafyan, Mesrob 1956 births 2019 deaths Armenian Patriarchs of Constantinople Turkish people of Armenian descent Armenian Apostolic Christians 20th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops 21st-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops People with Alzheimer's disease