Tiran Nersoyan (August 23, 1904 in

Antep Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approximat ...

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

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

– September 1, 1989 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 ...

) was an Armenian Apostolic clergyman. He was Patriarch-elect of 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 ...

very briefly in 1957–1958 but never received his position as Patriarch. Born Nerses Tavugchyan in

in the Ottoman Empire, the son of a priest, he was forced to leave to

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

because of the

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 ...

. Trained at the Seminary at

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

, he was ordained priest on 21 June 1928, taking the religious name Tiran and changing his surname to Nersoyan. He served during the Second World War as priest in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1943, Nersoyan was elected Archbishop Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the

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 ...

of America reporting to

Catholicos of All Armenians The Catholicos of All Armenians (plural Catholicoi) ( hy, Ամենայն Հայոց Կաթողիկոս; see #Other names), is the chief bishop and spiritual leader of Armenia's national church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the worldwide Arme ...

in the Mother See of Etchmiadzin. However, he did not arrive in the United States until late 1944 because of the difficulties of wartime travel. He served for 10 years in office until 1953. Catholicos Kevork named him an archbishop on 20 May 1951. In this period, Archbishop Nersoyan established 11 new churches, 21 priests were added to the clergy. He founded the Armenian Church Youth Organization of America (A.C.Y.O.A.) as well as a church choir association. Under his direction, land was purchased for

St. Vartan Cathedral St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral ( hy, Սուրբ Վարդան Մայր Տաճար) in New York City is the first cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church to be constructed in North America. It is located in New York City on the corner of Second ...

and Cultural Center in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

at Second Avenue and 34th Street. The Primate was also a founder of the St. Nersess Seminary in

New Rochelle New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

, N.Y., and served as its dean. A religious scholar, Archbishop Nersoyan lectured extensively and wrote articles and theological studies in Armenian and English. The fifth edition of his translation and commentary of the ''Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church'' was published in London in 1984. Archbishop Nersoyan died of cancer in

in September 1989.''Los Angeles Times: Tiran Nersoyan; Ex-Armenian Church Leader
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nersoyan, Tiran 1904 births 1989 deaths Nersoyan Armenians from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century Oriental Orthodox bishops People from Gaziantep