The oath and enthronement ceremony of the 85th Armenian Patriarch Sahak II Mashalyan was held at the Patriarchal Cathedral of Virgin Mary on Saturday, January 11.
The ceremony started with the procession of the clergy and the solemn entrance of the Patriarch to the Virgin Mary Church.
Deputy Interior Minister Muharrem İnce, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Armenian Catholic Archbishop Levon Zekiyan, Apostolic Vicar of the Latin Catholic Church, Bishop Ruben Tierrablanca Gonzalez, Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Vicar Chorbishop Orhan Abdulahad Çanlı, Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal Vicar Metropolitan Yusuf Cetin, Chief Rabbi Rev. Isak Haleva, religious representatives and foreign diplomatic mission representatives attended as well.
After the prayers, religious leaders and representatives who attended the ceremony congratulated the new patriarch.
The Patriarchal scepter was given by the Chief of the Spiritual Committe, Archpriest Tatul Anushyan. Then the letter of the Catholicos All Armenians Karekin’s letter was read. Catholicos, besides his words of congratulation, announced also that Bishop Sahak Mashalyan is elevated to the range of Archbishop – Patriarch. Then the greeting messages of the representatives of the Cilician Catholicos, the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Pope were read. Following the greeting message of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos, Seyidne Yusuf Çetin and Armenian Catholic Archbishop Levon Zekiyan also presented their congratulations and commemorative gifts. Senior Deputy Patriarch Father Kirkor Damatyan, on behalf of the clergy of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, read a congratulatory message.
Psalm 23: 1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
After the reading the Patriarchal Oath, Sahak II said that he is starting a heavy responsibility.
In his sermon, he referred to Psalm 23: 1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”, and added: “The Holy Spirit brought me here, made me sit on the throne, and gave me a scepter to serve as a shepherd to his people. I am ready, because after long experiences, I learned that the most comfortable and peaceful place in the world is the place where the will of the Lord is manifested. May the will of the Lord be blessed, who led me in my stages of priesthood, archpriesthood, episcopacy, ultimately leading me to patriarchal rank, a supreme and holy rank. At the end of our oath, we thank all the representatives and spiritual leaders of the sister churches who conveyed their good wishes with their presence and prayers. We thank all the diplomatic representatives for honoring our Armenian Community.
We thank for the high level of representation of the Republic of Turkey who honor us. While praying to God for the prosperity and development of our country, we wish our respected President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan health and peace.
Let the Lord always remain my shepherd, so that I can serve you as a shepherd with the guidance of our Lord, to offer my services to the glory of God, for the establishment of peace, the survival of our church and the development of the Armenian community. Please pray for me in this direction.”
After the sermon, His Beatitude the Patriarch Sahak II ascended to the throne with hymns. Here he blessed all those who were in the church, and then he sat on his throne.
After the celebration, a reception was given to the public at the Ğazaz Artin Amira Hall.
