Primate Galstanian departs for Jerusalem to attend the Funeral of the late Armenian Patriarch His Beatitude Abp. Torkom Manoogian
His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, Primate of the Armenian Church Canadian Diocese departs for Jerusalem to attend the funeral of the late Armenian Patriarch His Beatitude Archbishop Torkom Manoogian. On Sunday, October 21, the casket will be carried in a procession from the Jaffa Gate to St. James Armenian Cathedral, where a wake service will be held. On Monday, October 22, the Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at the cathedral. The funeral service and interment will follow at the Holy Savior Monastery at Zion Gate.
On October 12, 2012 His Eminence Archbishop Nourhan Manougian; Vicar General of the Patriarchate in Jerusalem informed our Primate that His Beatitude Patriarch Archbishop Torkom Manoogian of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, entered his eternal rest in Jerusalem at the age of 93 years old after long years of illness. On this occasion, Primate Galstanian stated “we lost a beloved spiritual leader who has served the faithful of our church with great distinction from Holy Jerusalem to the United States of America and Canada. We pray the Almighty God to grant rest to the soul of Patriarch Archbishop Torkom Manoogian and remember him on the day of the final judgment”.
Our Primate, Diocesan Council members, Clergy and faithful deeply mourn the death of Patriarch Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, and pray that the Lord grant consolation of the Holy Spirit to all our believers, and keep the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and its Brotherhood in His blessings and care.
Upon the directive of the Primate a special requiem service, prayer will be held in the Diocesan parishes-churches throughout Canada for the repose of the soul of His Beatitude late Patriarch Archbishop Torkom Manoogian this Sunday October 21, 2012.
Blessed be the memory of the righteous.
His Beatitude Archbishop Torkom Manoogian was born on 16 February 1919, in a refugee camp near the desert town of Baquba, north of Baghdad, Iraq. After completing his elementary education at the Holy Translators Armenian School in Baghdad, he entered the Jarangavoratz Theological Seminary at the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem as the youngest student of his class. On 2 August 1936, he was ordained into diaconate by his spiritual father and favorite teacher, then Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Torkom Koushagian, thus becoming a member of the Brotherhood of St. James. He was ordained as a celibate priest on 23 July 1939, and given the priestly name of Torkom.
In 1960, he entered the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to pursue his post-graduate degree. His studies were interrupted in 1962, when he was elected to serve as the Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, headquartered in Los Angeles, California. On 14 October of that same year he was consecrated as a bishop at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, by the Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Vazken I, of Blessed Memory.
After serving as Primate of the Western Diocese four years, Bishop Torkom was elected in to serve as the Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America in April 1966. Two years later, on the occasion of the consecration of the St. Vartan Cathedral in New York, the first Armenian cathedral in America in whose construction he played a pivotal role, he was elevated to the rank of Archbishop by the Pontifical Encyclical of His Holiness Vazken I.
On 22 March 1990, after having served six consecutive terms (24 years) as the Primate of the Eastern Diocese, Archbishop Torkom was elected to serve as the 96th Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem.
When His Holiness Vazken I entered into eternal rest on August 19, 1994, His Beatitude was chosen to take responsibility for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin as the Catholical Locum Tenens, a capacity in which he served until the election of Karekin I, the new Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians in April 1995.
His Beatitude holds several academic honors, including an honorary doctorate granted to him by the General Theological Seminary in New York. In 1986 he was the recipient of two prestigious American medals: the Statue of Liberty Medal, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. 18 January 1990 marked the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, an event celebrated nationwide in the United States. He was also chosen as “Man of the Year” by the “Religion in American Life” organization.
