Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

Yeghishe Derderian () (21 July 1911 – 1 February 1990) was

Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem In 638, the Armenian Apostolic Church began appointing its own bishop in Jerusalem, generally known as the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem. The office has continued, with some interruptions, down to this day. The bishop at the Armenian Patri ...

serving 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 ...

from 1960 to 1990. Yeghishe was born Yeghiazar Derderian in

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

, then the

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) ...

, now

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 ...

, in 1911. He lost all of his relatives in 1915, during 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 ...

. In 1922, he came to

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

at the age of 12, to study at the St. James Theological Seminary. He served eventually as the dean of the seminary, before being named deputy patriarch of Jerusalem upon the death of Patriarch Guregh Israeli (1944–1949). He was consecrated bishop at

Echmiadzin Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-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 comm ...

on 8 July 1951. The position of Patriarch of Jerusalem remained vacant from 1949 to 1957 and 1958 to 1960, with a brief period from 1957 to 1958, when

Tiran Nersoyan Tiran Nersoyan (August 23, 1904 in Antep, Cilicia, Ottoman Empire – September 1, 1989 in New York City) was an Armenian Apostolic clergyman. He was Patriarch-elect of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem very briefly in 1957–1958 but nev ...

was elected Patriarch, but not

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

. On 8 June 1960, Yeghishe Derderian became the 95th Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem and served for thirty years until his death in February 1990. His period as patriarch was marred by a number of controversies. Most notably, a financial scandal involving the Patriarchate prompted calls for Derderian's resignation. In August 1983, a five-man church auditing committee issued a report charging Derderian with impropriety in handling church funds. Derderian issued an eighty-page response denying the allegations that he had misappropriated church funds. He continued to serve despite the controversy. Patriarch Derderian was also a scholar. He wrote 22 books including biographies of religious as well as literary figures and also - under his pen name Yeghivart - poems and prose. He died in February 1990 in his residence at the St. James convent and monastery complex in the

Armenian Quarter The Armenian Quarter ( ar, حارة الأرمن, ''Harat al-Arman''; he, הרובע הארמני, ''Ha-Rova ha-Armeni''; hy, Հայոց թաղ, ) is one of the four sectors of the walled Old City (Jerusalem), Old City of Jerusalem. Located i ...

of the Old City from a heart attack after having been ill with the flu for two days. He was 79. He was succeeded by Patriarch

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 ...

, who was enthroned in November 1990.

References

Turkish people of Armenian descent Armenian Patriarchs of Jerusalem People from Van, Turkey Armenians from the Ottoman Empire 1911 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Oriental Orthodox bishops {{Armenia-reli-bio-stub