General Assembly of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem of the Armenian Apostolic Church convened a session Friday. The event brought together 29 senior clergy members from the Church dioceses of Jerusalem and other countries.  

The assembly commenced with a pray to God, so that the soul of recently deceased Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, may rest in peace. And the order of the day was but one matter: election of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens.

As a result, and with an overwhelming majority of the votes, Archbishop Aris Shirvanian was elected Patriarchal Locum Tenens of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Archbishop Shirvanian’s duties will be to preside over Patriarch Manoogian’s funeral and, forty days after the Patriarch’s passing, to organize an election for the new Patriarch.