Khajag Barsamian ( hy, Խաժակ Արքեպիսկոպոս Պարսամեան; born July 4, 1951) is an Armenian religious figure. He is the Pontifical Legate of the Western Europe and Representative of the

Armenian Church 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 across the ...

to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

. Formerly, he was the Primate of Diocese of Armenian Church of America (Eastern).

Early life

Barsamian was born in

Arapkir Arapgir ( hy, Արաբկիր; ku, Erebgir) is a town and district of Malatya Province, Turkey. As of 2000 it had a population of 17,070 people. It is situated at the confluence of the eastern and western Euphrates, but some miles from the right ...

, Turkey on July 4, 1951. At age 13, he began his religious studies at the Holy Cross Armenian Seminary in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. Encouraged by Archbishop Shnork Kaloustian (the late Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople), he went to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

to study at the Seminary of the St. James Armenian Patriarchate from 1967 to 1971. He was ordained a

celibate Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, th ...

priest in 1971 and achieved the ecclesiastical degree of

vartabed A vardapet or vartabed ( hy, վարդապետ, in Western Armenian or aɾda'pεtin Eastern Armenian) is a highly educated archimandrite in the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church traditions who holds a Doctorate in Theol ...

two years later. His later educational pursuits led him throughout the United States and Europe: to New York's General Theological Seminary, St. John's University in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, the Gregorian University in

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 ...

, and Oxford's Oriental Institute. He has lectured in the United States, Italy, England, Germany,

and

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

, and has conducted research at the Manuscript Library of Yerevan, the Mekhitarist Institute of Venice and the Manuscript Library at the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. His publications have appeared in various educational and scholarly journals. In October 1991,

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Communi ...

awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree.

Career

Concurrent with and subsequent to his education, he took on pastoral duties in

; in the Armenian communities in

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

and

Ramleh Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations. The city was f ...

; and throughout the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America—in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

;

Minneapolis – Saint Paul Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

and at the St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he served as

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 ...

and director of Ecumenical Relations.

Primate

Barsamian was elected

Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) in the spring of 1990 (succeeding Abp.

Torkom Manoogian Patriarch Torkom Manoogian (, he, תורגום מנוקיאן; 16 February 1919 – 12 October 2012) was the List of Armenian Patriarchs of Jerusalem, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem serving the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He was the 96th ...

), and was subsequently elevated to the rank of

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 ca ...

Vasken I Vazgen I also Vazken I of Bucharest, (), born Levon Garabed Baljian ( hy, Լևոն Կարապետ Աբրահամի Պալճյան; September 20, 1908 – August 18, 1994) was the Catholicos of All Armenians between 1955 and 1994, for a total of 39 ...

(the late Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians), at the Cathedral of Holy Echmiadzin. In 1992, he received 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 ...

. In May 2018, Barsamian announced that he would not seek an eighth term as Primate. His 28-year reign as Primate is the longest in the history of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America. On May 4, 2018, Very Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan (now a bishop) was elected as Barsamian's successor and confirmed by

Karekin II Catholicos Karekin II ( hy, Գարեգին Բ, also spelled Garegin; born 21 August 1951) is the current Catholicos of All Armenians, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. In 2013 he was unanimously elected the Oriental Orthodox hea ...

, the Supreme Patriarch and Spiritual Leader of the Armenian Church.

Other activities

Abp. Barsamian has been a central figure in arranging frequent meetings between the supreme leaders of the Armenian and Catholic churches. He has played a key role in arranging the 2001 visit of

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 ...

to Armenia, in bringing together the mass in remembrance of Armenian genocide at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome in 2015, and in organizing the visit of

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

to Armenia in June 2016. As the former president of Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), Barsamian led the effort to develop Armenia and bring humanitarian assistance to its citizens. Abp. Barsamian is a leader in religious and ecumenical organizations, including the

National Council of Churches The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the Uni ...

, the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

, the

Appeal of Conscience Foundation Founded by Rabbi Arthur Schneier in 1965, the Appeal of Conscience Foundation is an interfaith partnership of corporate and spiritual leaders from all faiths who come together to promote "peace, tolerance and ethnic conflict resolution." Mission T ...

, the

National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations The Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) is a United States 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to honor and preserve cultural diversity and to foster tolerance, respect and understanding among ethnic groups. The EIHS was founded in 1984 as the N ...

, Religion in American Life, and the

American Bible Society American Bible Society is a U.S.-based Christian nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the American member organization of United Bible Societies, it supports global Bible translation, production, distribution, literacy, engage ...

Recognition

He is a recipient of the

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

Medal of Honor, and has received honorary doctorates from

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...

, and the

Academy of Sciences of Armenia The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետության գիտությունների ազգային ակադեմիա, ՀՀ ԳԱԱ, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri az ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barsamian, Khajag People from Malatya Primates of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America American people of Armenian descent 1951 births Living people Armenian Oriental Orthodox Christians American Oriental Orthodox Christians Turkish Oriental Orthodox Christians Turkish people of Armenian descent Turkish emigrants to the United States 20th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops 21st-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops

Early life

Career

Primate

Other activities

Recognition

See also

References

External links