Archbishop Sahag II Mashalian ( hyw, Սահակ Բ․ Մաշալեան, tr, II. Sahag Maşalyan), also known as Sahak Mashalyan in

Eastern Armenian Eastern Armenian ( ''arevelahayeren'') 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, Artsakh, Russia, as we ...

transliteration (born 17 March 1962) became the 85th

Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople (french: Patriarche de Constantinople, tr, Konstantinopolis Ermeni Patriği), also known as Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul, is today head of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople ( hy, Պատրիա ...

in 2019. The

Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople ( tr, İstanbul Ermeni Patrikhanesi; Western hy, Պատրիարքութիւն Հայոց Կոստանդնուպոլսոյ, ''Badriark'ut'iun Hayots' Gosdantnubolsoy'') is an autonomous See. The seat of ...

is one of the four Sees of

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

(the other three being the

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin ( hy, Մայր Աթոռ Սուրբ Էջմիածին, translit=Mayr At’oř Surb Ēĵmiatsin), known in Armenian as simply the Mother See (Մայր Աթոռ, ''Mayr At’oř''), is the governing body of the Armen ...

, the

Holy See of Cilicia The Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia ( hy, Կաթողիկոսութիւն Հայոց Մեծի Տանն Կիլիկիոյ) is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church. Since 1930, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilic ...

and the

Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem also known as the Armenian Patriarchate of Saint James ( hy, Առաքելական Աթոռ Սրբոց Յակովբեանց Յերուսաղեմ, , ) is located in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. The ...

) and has an

autocephalous Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") 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 Ort ...

status, accepting, on the other hand, spiritual supremacy of the Catholicos of Armenia and of all Armenians in Holy Echmiadzin. Patriarch Sahak II was born as Shahan Mashalian 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, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

on 17 March 1962. During the patriarchal election, the Turkish government banned candidates from abroad. Therefore, only two candidates participated in the elections–Mashalian and Archbishop Aram Ateshyan—both of whom are considered close to the Turkish government. The new, disputed Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul slammed the

US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

recognition of the Armenian Genocide Armenian genocide recognition is the formal acceptance that the systematic massacres and forced deportation of Armenians committed by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, during and after the First World War, constituted genocide. Most hist ...

Election of patriarch leaves Turkey’s Armenians without a voice
Killian Cogan, Jan 30, 2020,

Eurasianet Eurasianet is a news organisation based at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute, the United States, that provides news, information and analysis on countries in Central Asia, the Caucasus region, Russia and Southwest Asia. Launched in 2000 ...

although he himself hails from a family of

Armenian Genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

survivors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mashalian, Sahak 1962 births Armenian Patriarchs of Constantinople Turkish people of Armenian descent Armenian Oriental Orthodox Christians 21st-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops Living people Clergy from Istanbul