Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey may steer clear of politicsMay 31, 2011 - 11:32 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey will do best to steer clear of politics, according to a possible future patriarch who has vowed to keep politics at an arm’s length from the church if elected to the post. “Even though I am personally concerned about politics, I would not advise the Patriarchate to get involved in such matters,” Archbishop Karekin Bekjian, a candidate for the patriarchate and a primate of the German diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, told the Hürriyet Daily News. Asked whether he would become a Turkish citizen if elected as patriarch, Bekjian said he currently has both Turkish and German citizenship. He also said that titular Patriarch Mesrop II, who is incapable of discharging his duties due to dementia, suggested opening a theology department within a university several years ago to raise new clerics for Istanbul’s Armenian community. “The idea of sending young clerics to theology departments in Europe had also come up, [but] I am not warm to that idea. Clerics must be chosen from among the Armenians of Istanbul so that they can understand the mentality, the cast of that mind that exists here,” Bekjian said. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. |