Archbishop Sahag II Mashalian (Western Armenian: Սահակ Բ․ Մաշալեան, Turkish: II. Sahag Maşalyan), also known as Sahak Mashalyan in Eastern Armenian transliteration (born 17 March 1962) became the 85th Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople in 2019.[1]

His Beatitude Patriarch

Sahak II Mashalian
Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
Native name
Սահակ Բ. Մաշալեան
II. Sahag Maşalyan
ChurchArmenian Apostolic Church
SeeArmenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
Elected11 December 2019
PredecessorMesrob II Mutafyan
Personal details
Born (1962-03-17) 17 March 1962 (age 62)
Istanbul, Turkey
DenominationOriental Orthodox

The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople is one of the four Sees of Armenian Apostolic Church (the other three being the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Holy See of Cilicia and the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem) and has an autocephalous 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, Turkey 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.[2] The new, disputed Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul slammed the US Senate recognition of the Armenian Genocide[3] although he himself hails from a family of Armenian Genocide survivors. [citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Armdiaspora (2019-12-11). "Bishop Sahak Mashalyan is the new Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople". Armdiaspora. Archived from the original on 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  2. ^ New, disputed Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul slams US Senate recognition of Armenian Genocide
  3. ^ Election of patriarch leaves Turkey’s Armenians without a voice, Killian Cogan, Jan 30, 2020, Eurasianet
Oriental Orthodox titles
Preceded by Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
2019–present
Incumbent