December 11, 2019 - 16:30 AMT
Bishop Sahak Mashalian elected as Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople

Bishop Sahak Mashalian was elected the 85th Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople on Wednesday, December 11.

Mashalian was elected locum tenens of Istanbul’s Armenian Patriarchate on July 4th.

The election was between two Istanbul-based Armenian clergymen, Mashalyan and former Vicar General Aram Atesyan.

The Armenian community voted in churches in Istanbul, central Kayseri province and southeastern Diyarbakır, Mardin and Hatay provinces after a long period of uncertainty and mourning following the death of Mesrob II, the revered head of the patriarchate of Turkey's Armenians who passed away on March 8 after an 11-year fight against dementia.

Some 102 delegates chosen in the election elected Mashalyan the next head of the church.