A group of Turkish Armenians held a protest demanding the right to replace acting General Vicar of the Armenian Patriarch of Turkey, Archbishop Aram Ateshyan.

They laid a black wreath in front of the Armenian Patriarchate to protest against being denied the right to replace acting Archbishop, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

“For exactly eight years, we [have not been able to] choose our patriarch due for various excuses. They are stalling the process with a made up, unheard of title,” writer Jaklin Celik said on behalf of the group.

Celik added that Armenians do not want further interventions on their religious freedoms.

Representative of Armenian community Tatyos Bebek called on the government to “fulfill its promises” by permitting an election.

“The state created this [title] and chose a proxy within a date – an appointed one, to be exact. We want to choose our own patriarch. And we want the state to keep its promise,” Bebek told Anadolu Agency.