ETCHMIADZIN. – The Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II has learned Friday that Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, has passed away at the age of 93 and after a long illness, Information System of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin informs. 

Archbishop Manoogian was born in 1919 in a refugee camp near the desert town of Baquba, north of Baghdad, Iraq.

His Beatitude played a vital role in the promotion of international ecumenical relations. He served on the Board of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States, and was Chairman of the Board of “Religion in American Life.” Also, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the “Appeal of Conscience Foundation.”

Archbishop Torkom Manoogian had published some twenty books and monographs, and he was considered a foremost expert and lecturer on the Armenian composer, Komitas.