by Louise Manoogian Simone
On October 27, 1999, four hundred and fifty delegates from worldwide Armenian churches voted to elect Archbishop Karekin Nersissian, Primate of the Yerevan, Armenia Araratian Diocese as the new Catholicos of All Armenians. The voting was successfully concluded in one ballot with Archbishop Karekin receiving 263 votes, his opponent Archbishop Nerses Bozabalian, former Chancellor of Holy Etchmiadzin, receiving 176 votes and 11 votes considered invalid.
His Holiness was born in 1951 in the village of Voskihat, near Etchmiadzin and entered the theological seminary of Holy Etchmiadzin at the age of fifteen. Graduating with honors, he taught at the seminary for one year, served as deacon another year and was ordained a celibate priest in 1972. Shortly thereafter, he continued his studies in Vienna, Austria and in 1975 moved to Germany where he graduated from Bonn University while serving as pastor to the German Armenian community. After a brief return to Armenia he completed his postgraduate studies in 1979 at the Russian Orthodox Seminary in Zagorsk, Russia. In March 1980 he joined the Araratian Diocese, the most populous diocesan jurisdiction in the Armenian Church. He was elevated to Bishop and Primate of the Araratian Diocese in 1983. His Holiness Vazken I granted him the title of Archbishop in 1992.
Throughout the past ten years of independence and the rebirth of religious freedom, Abp. Nersissian expanded the religious activities of Holy Etchmiadzin and his diocese by establishing new churches, a fifty student theological seminary in Sevan, youth activities, orphan assistance programs, developing Children's Centers with an enrollment of 5000 students, Bible study and teacher training programs. In recent years the Araratian diocese began airing special religious programs on national television to encourage tens of thousands of new parishioners. In 1998, Abp. Nersissian was appointed Vicar General of Holy Etchmiadzin during the illness of the late Catholicos Karekin I. His Holiness has traveled extensively in Europe, North America and the Commonwealth of Independent States. He is fluent in Armenian, Russian, German and English.
Due to the tragic deaths of government officials, the enthronement of His Holiness, originally scheduled for October 31, was postponed to November 4, 1999. Armenian bishops and clergy from various worldwide denominations, foreign delegates and guests, the President, Prime Minister, government ministers, parliamentarians, President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia, the President and Parliament Speaker of Karabakh and a number of local dignitaries, along with thousands of church members attended the enthronement. Honoring the forty-day mourning period all other celebratory events surrounding the historic election of a new Catholicos were cancelled.
AGBU takes this opportunity to wish the new Catholicos many productive years as His Holiness assumes the awesome responsibilities of leading the worldwide Armenian church and its millions of parishioners.
