Episcopal Ordinations in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

Armenian Apostolic Church

18/4/2010

On April 18, episcopal ordinations for three new bishops of the Armenian Church were conducted in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians celebrated a Pontifical Divine Liturgy and thereupon consecrated, ordained and elevated Rev. Fr. Artak Tigranian, Dean of the Monasteries of the Mother See, Rev. Fr. Mkrtich Proshian, Locum Tenens of the Diocese of Aragatsotn and Rev. Fr. Hovakim Manukian, Director of the Inter Church Relations Office of the Mother See.

His Grace Bishop Ararat Kaltakjian and His Grace Bishop Vertanes Abrahamian, Head Chaplain of the Republic of Armenia Armed Forces Ministry, assisted His Holiness during the holy Celebration. The intercessor for the three candidates was His Grace Bishop Markos Hovhannisian, Primate of the Diocese of Gegharkounik.
During the Pontifical Divine Liturgy a public examination of the orthodox faith of the three candidates took place before the Altar of St. Stephen the Protomartyr in the Mother Cathedral. Representatives of each ecclesiastical and hierarchal rank – acolytes, deacons, priests and laymen representing different classes of society approached His Holiness and publicly bore witness on behalf of the candidates. The Divine Liturgy then continued before the Main Altar of the Mother Cathedral. Under the singing of the hymn “divine and celestial grace” the three Archimandrites faced the faithful and raised their hands as a sign of rejection of all that is worldly. Then His Holiness consecrated the candidates’ foreheads and thumbs of their right hands with Holy Chrism, solemnly brought from the Holy Basin, and called the candidates to the rank of episcopacy.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the symbols of episcopacy – the Episcopal staff and ring, were presented to the newly consecrated bishops, as well as the Holy Bible as a sign of their preaching authority.

Following the consecration, the Armenian Pontiff conveyed his message to the newly consecrated bishops and the faithful. His Holiness introduced the ordained Bishops and reflected on the rank of episcopacy, “A bishop is the spiritual servant of the faithful and Christ, who is assigned to serve God, the nation and the homeland with increased responsibility and devotion. The Apostles of Christ always encouraged the spiritual servants, and the ordained bishops in particular, to serve with vigor and dedication. The Apostle Paul (who saw God) talked about the significant mission of bishops and through Timothy (whom Paul ordained as bishop) encouraged all bishops, “do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5).
“Throughout Armenian history, our clergymen of blessed memory, graceful bishops who were the outstanding figures of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church, brought their service to our faithful and Christ with love, devotion and zeal inspired by the words of the Apostle, and spread the Word of Life of the Gospel. They supervised the service of the clergy in Church life with vigilance, and served as examples with their pure faith, exemplary lives, worthy merits and noble deeds”,- stated His Holiness Karekin II.
His Holiness continued and reflected on the important mission of the episcopacy in modern times: “Today, when the spiritual-ecclesiastical life of Armenians worldwide is reborn, new communities and dioceses are established, new churches and parishes are built, the episcopal rank of our Holy Church is greatly necessary for the prosperity of its God-pleasing mission, the management of ecclesiastical-administrative responsibilities and for facing the basic challenges and questions that need solutions.

“Glory to Almighty God for strengthening our Church with newly ordained bishops… Before the Holy Altar of Descent, the newly ordained bishops pledged to continue their unshaken path based on the love, doctrines and commandments of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church, for the Glory of God and the vibrancy of our Church and people. ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose’ (Romans 8:28).”, stated His Holiness.
The Catholicos also joyfully noted that Bishop Mkrtich and Bishop Hovakim were the first bishops ordained who were graduates from the Vaskenian Theological Seminary at Lake Sevan, which was founded by His Holiness in 1991.

During “the Kiss of Peace” all the clergy ascended to the Holy Altar to receive “the Kiss of Peace” from the newly ordained, and congratulate them on the occasion of their consecration. Following the conclusion of Divine Liturgy, a reception was hosted in the Mother See during which the Armenian Pontiff presented Panagias to the newly ordained Bishops.

Present for the service were Diocesan Primates of the Armenian Church, Members of the Brotherhood of the Mother See, Mr. Aghvan Hovsepian, Chief Prosecutor of the Republic of Armenia, Mr. Liova Khachatrian, Mr. Artak Zaqarian, Mr. Aram Safarian and Mr. Armen Martirosian, Members of the National Assembly, government officials, official representatives of the communities in the Aragatsotn Diocese, benefactors, family members of the newly ordained Bishops and pilgrims.

Following their ordinations, the newly ordained bishops will each celebrate Divine Liturgy in the Mother Cathedral.

His Grace Bishop Artak Tigranian was born on April 12, 1971 in the village of Dimitrov in the region of Artashat, Armenia. He received his primary education at the secondary Russian school of the village starting in 1978. He graduated in 1988.

In 1988, he entered the Gevorkian Theological Seminary at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. On December 28, 1993 he was ordained to the diaconate on the Feast of St. Stephen the Protodeacon, by His Grace Bishop Anania Arabajian. On May 26, 1994 he successfully defended his thesis entitled “The Tradition of the Feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross” and received a mark of good.

Upon his graduation, he was appointed to serve as Director of the Alex and Marie Manoogian Treasury-Museum of the Mother See, where he served from 1994-95. On July 23, 1995 on the Feast of Transfiguration, he was ordained as a celibate priest by His Holiness Karekin I, Catholicos of All Armenians and given the priestly name of Artak.
From 1995 to 1999 he served in the Pontifical Residence as the Secretary and Staff Bearer to the Armenian Pontiff, His Holiness Karekin I.

On October 8, 1999 he presented and successfully defended his doctoral thesis entitled “Catholicos Karekin I Hovsepian; His Life, Spiritual and Research Works”. On October 10 of the same year he received the rank of Archimandrite (Vardapet) at the St. Mesrop church of Oshakan by His Eminence Archbishop Nerses Pozapalian.

In 1999, Father Artak departed Armenia to serve as the spiritual pastor in the Church of St. John the Baptist in Paris, in the Armenian Diocese of France, where he served until 2000.
He returned to Armenia in 2000 where he was assigned to serve as the Assistant Grand Sacristan of the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin. In 2001, by Pontifical Order of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, he served as the Grand Sacristan of the Mother Cathedral until 2005.
From 2006 to 2008 he was the Deputy Primate of the Diocese of Gugarq serving as the Abbot of the Monastery of Haghpat.

In 2008 he returned to the Mother See, and was re-assigned to serve as the Assistant Grand Sacristan of the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin. On June 15, 2009 he was appointed to serve as the Dean of the Monasteries of the Armenian Church, where he serves today.

His Grace Bishop Mkrtich Proshian (baptismal name Hayk) was born on August 13, 1975 in the town of Vagharshapat in the Republic of Armenia. He received his primary education at the Khachatur Abovian School #4 starting in 1981 and graduated in 1992.

From 1985-1990 he studied at the Tadevosian School of Art in Vagharshapat. He served as the Chairman of the local Vagharshapat Armenian Church Youth Organization from 1991 to 1993. He entered the Vaskenian Theological Academy at Lake Sevan in 1993 and transferred to the Gevorkian Theological Seminary at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in 1998.

On May 23, 1999 he was ordained to the diaconate by His Eminence Archbishop Voskan Galpakian. Upon his graduation, he was assigned to serve in the Christian Education Center of the Mother See as the Training Director of religion teachers, where he worked until 2001.

In 2000, he successfully defended his thesis entitled “Interpretation of the Liturgy” by Khosrov Andzevats” and received a mark of good.

He was ordained as a celibate priest on January 14, 2001 by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians and given the priestly name of Mkrtich.
He departed Armenia to continue his education in the United Kingdom. From 2001 to 2003 he studied at the University of Leeds, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors. During his studies, he also served as the visiting spiritual Pastor of the Armenian Community of Manchester, England. He continued his advanced education in 2003 at the University of Cardiff, and upon successful defense of his thesis entitled “Classical Redemption and Feminist Theology” received a Masters of Theology with distinction in 2004.

He returned to Armenia and in October 2004 was appointed to serve as the acting Dean of the Vaskenian Theological Academy at Lake Sevan. He was appointed to serve as the permanent Dean of the school in 2005, and served there until 2008. During this time, he also taught “Doctrine Theology” at both the Vaskenian Academy and the Gevorkian Seminary.
He presented and successfully defended his doctoral thesis entitled “Attempt to Analyze Feminist Soteriology” in 2006 and received the rank of Archimandrite (Vardapet) at the St. Mesrop church of Oshakan by His Eminence Archbishop Yeznik Petrosian.

In 2007 he studied at the Yerevan University School of Political Studies and graduated in 2008. In March 2008, he travelled to the United States, where he was appointed to serve as the acting Parish Priest of the Sts. Sahak and Mesrop Armenian Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America.

He returned to Armenia in September 2009, and by Pontifical Order of the Catholicos of All Armenians was appointed to serve as the Locum Tenens of the Diocese of Aragatsotn where he continues to serve today.
Bishop Mkrtich has published several works including a translation from Classical Armenian of the theological work “Interpretation of the Divine Liturgy” by Khosrov Andzevats and the sermon study “Precept to All Priests” by Vardan Aygektsi.

His Grace Bishop Hovakim Manukian (baptismal name Vardkes) was born on October 19, 1976, in the village Voskehat, Republic of Armenia. He received his primary education at the secondary school of the village starting in 1983 and graduating in 1993. He entered the Vaskenian Theological Academy at Lake Seven in 1994 and 1999 transferred to the Gevorkian Theological Seminary at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and graduated in 2000. He also took a course at the Bossey Ecumenical School, Geneva, Switzerland in 1998 and a course in Social Theology at the Diaconal School in Aarhus, Denmark in 2001.

He was ordained to the diaconate on July 16, 2000, by His Eminence Archbishop Mesrop Grigorian. Upon his graduation in 2000, he was assigned to serve in the Inter Church Relations Department of the Armenian Church. On October 22, 2001 he successfully defended his thesis entitled “Extracts from the History of the Coptic Orthodox Church ” and received a mark of very good.

He was ordained as a celibate priest in November 2001, by His Eminence Archbishop Voskan Galpakian and given the priestly name of Hovakim. He departed Armenia for further study, and from 2002-2004, studied at the Spiritual Academy in Sergiev Posad, Moscow.

He returned to Armenia in June, 2004 and was reappointed to serve in the Inter Church Department of the Mother See. He was appointed to serve as the Director of the Inter Church Office in August, 2005, where he still serves today. He presented and successfully defended his doctoral thesis entitled “Ecumenism in the 20th Century and the Armenian Church” and on April 23, 2006 received the rank of Archimandrite (Vardapet) at the St. Mesrop church of Oshakan by His Eminence Archbishop Yeznik Petrosian.

From 2008-2009 he attended classes at the Yerevan University School of Political Studies. He is a lecturer at the Gevorkian Seminary and the Vaskenian Academy on the History of the Universal and Armenian Churches.
Since 2005 he has served as member of the Trustee Committee of the Armenian Round Table Charitable Foundation. He served as a member of the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) from 2004 to 2009. He was appointed to serve as a member of the Central Committee of the CEC in 2009. Since 2004, he has served as the Ecumenical Officer of the Armenian Church to the World Council of Churches. He is the author of several scientific, public and apologetic articles.

Source: