The Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, had met the 85. patriarch in the person of Archbishop Sahak Maşalyan, on 11 January 2020. On Monday, January 11, 2021, at 4 pm, the anniversary of Patriarch Sahak II’s ascension to the throne was celebrated at the Patriarchate Cathedral with the ceremony carried out under the presidency of Patriarch Sahak II.
While the Patriarchate’s clergy and religious officials attended the ceremony, Surp Asdvadzadzin (Virgin Mary) Patriarchal Church Foundation Board Chairman Hrant Moskofyan was also present at the ceremony. Considering the coronavirus pandemic process, the prayer of thanks and celebration took place in a restricted way.
His Beatitude the Patriarch moved from the Patriarchate to the Patriarchal Church with a religious cortege at 4 pm and the afternoon prayers were read. Afterwards, prayers of gratitude were read for the survival of the Patriarchate and for the well-being of His Beatitude the Patriarch. At the end of the prayer of gratitude, His Beatitude the Patriarch blessed the Authority of the Patriarchate with the Holy Cross.
At the end of the ceremony, Patriarch Sahak II gave his message and first of all thanked God. Summarize in his message; noting that last year the Armenian community in Turkey gained a patriarch reminded that a new era had begun. Time passed quickly and the anniversary of the ascension to the throne had come.
It is true that it was time to implement many projects, but the coronavirus epidemic process unfortunately disrupted the whole world order as well as negatively affecting our society. However, in this period, one of the most important developments of the Patriarchate was its effective use of social media and its effort to reach the public.
In this context, His Beatitude the Patriarch wished that the coronavirus would lose its effect as soon as possible and that the Authority of the Patriarchate would advance into the future with new projects. On this occasion, he thanked everyone who is a stakeholder in the service of the Patriarchate Authority both materially and morally by coming together alongside the Patriarchate Authority and Patriarch Sahak II in these limited conditions. At the end of his words, he wished the Patriarchate to serve our society for many years as a testimony of our deep-rooted past.
After the final blessing, His Beatitude the Patriarch went in front of the church’s board of directors with a cortege of clergy accompanied by the hymn “Gentarar Asdvadz”, where he accepted the congratulations of the religious officials.
