The Armenian Catholic Synod of Bishops elected Bishop Krikor Ghabroyan as the new Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia. He will be the 20th Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia, succeeding His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX, who passed away on June 25.
The election followed a ten-day-long conference of the Armenian Catholic Synod of Bishops. After the election, Bishop Ghabroyan requested communion with Pope Francis. The Armenian Catholic Church is among the Eastern churches in communion with the Holy See.
Bishop Krikor Ghabroyan
Pope Francis recognized that the election comes in a difficult time for the Armenian Catholic Church, specifically with the challenges that Armenian Catholics face in the Middle East.
“The election of Your Beatitude comes at a moment when your Church is facing certain difficulties and new challenges, such as in particular the situation of part of the Armenian Catholic faithful who pass through great trials in the Middle East,” wrote Pope Francis in a letter.
The Pope expressed his trust that the Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia will be guided by the Holy Spirit as he leads his congregation through difficult times.
Bishop Krikor Ghabroyan was appointed Bishop on Jan. 3, 1977 and consecrated Bishop on Feb. 13, 1977. He began his studies in Lebanon at the Minor Seminary of the Institute of Bzommar Patriarchal Clergy and then the College of the Marist Brothers of Jounieh, and completed his studies at the Armenian Leone Pontifical College and the Pontifical Gregorian University, both in Rome.
On Aug. 9, Bishop Ghabroyan, who now assumes the name Gregoire Pierre XX, will be installed as the new Patriarch at the patriarchal headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon.
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Source: Armenian Weekly
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