External Relations and Protocol Department Established at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin – October 2014
By Pontifical order of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the External Relations and Protocol Department has been established in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. His Eminence Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan has been appointed as the Director of the newly created Department.
ARCHBISHOP NATHAN HOVHANNISYAN
Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisian (baptismal name: Samvel Hovhannisyan) was born on 9 May 1955 in Yerevan, Armenia. He received his primary education in school No. 114. Before entering the Gevorkian Theological Seminary at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, he studied Piano and Music at the Arno Babajanian Musical-Pedagogical College of Yerevan, and continued his musical education at the Komitas Conservatoire of Yerevan, graduating the Prof. Kathy Malkhasyan class in 1980.
From 1984-1987 studied and graduated from the Gevorkian Theological Seminary; defending the thesis: “Minucius Felix “Oktavios”. He was ordained as a celibate priest by Archbishop Hoosik Santourian in 1988 and given the priestly name of Nathan. In 1989 defended his doctoral thesis: “Shepherd of Hermas” and received the rank of Archmindrate by His Grace Bishop Anania Arabajyan. At the same time he was appointed to serve as the Vice-Dean of the Gevorkian Seminary at Holy Etchmiadzin while also lecturing in the Seminary on Patristics and Early Church History.
In 1991, the Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Vazken I, of Blessed Memory, appointed Father Nathan to serve as the Locum Tenens of the newly organized Armenian Diocese of the Ukraine. In 1994, he received the rank of Senior Archimandrite (Dzayraguyn Vardapet) after the successful defense of his thesis: “Petros Quture and his Anthology of Theology”.
In 1997 he was consecrated as a Bishop by the Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Karekin I, of Blessed Memory and was appointed as the first Primate of the Diocese of Ukraine of the Armenian Church. From 1997 to 2000 he served as a member of the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Armenian Church.
In 2000 Bishop Nathan was elected to serve as the Primate of the Diocese of Great Britain of the Armenian Church. He started this new position on 1st October 2000. By Pontifical Order he was assigned to serve as Director of the Publishing Center of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, on November 1, 2010. From 2013 to 2014 he served as the Vicar of the Armenian Diocese of Canada before returning to the Mother See.
Archbishop Nathan has been very active in Ecumenical circles. He has participated in various International Conferences and Ecumenical Assemblies. From 2001 to 2006 he served as President of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. He was Chairman of the Forum of the Anglican-Orthodox Eastern Churches from 2001 to 2010. In 2006-2010 he was the Co-President of the Council of the Churches of England. He has represented the Armenian Church as a member of the “Faith and Order” Commission for the World Council of Churches, from 2006-2014.
He is a Correspondent Member and Honorary Doctor of the International Personnel Academy of Ukraine. In 1995 he was granted with the Medal of “Prince Daniel ofMoscow”. In 2001, the President of Ukraine granted him with the Order of Merit. Since 2006 he has been an honorary citizen of Bethlehem.
