NEW YORK — Staff members and clergy gathered in St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral on Wednesday, January 25, for a brief service, to pray for the health and recovery of Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Manoogian, the former Primate of the Eastern Diocese, was admitted on January 19 to a hospital in Jerusalem, where he is resting comfortably but has been drifting in and out of consciousness.
Manoogian will turn 93 next month.
In a quiet reflection at the service, Diocesan Primate Archbishop K
hajag Barsamian spoke of the patriarch as a great spiritual leader of the Armenian Church, and a figure of enduring stature in the worldwide community of Christian churches.
He said that the well-being of the patriarch has a special importance to Armenians in America, where he is respected and loved as the Primate who led the Eastern Diocese for 24 years. Many current members of the Diocesan staff worked with him during that time, and hold Manoogian especially close to their hearts.