Sahak II Maşalyan, (born on Mar. 17, 1962 in Istanbul) is the current Patriarch of Turkey’s Armenian community. Winning the election in late 2019 against rival Aram Ateşyan, he became the 85th Patriarch of Turkey’s Armenians.
EARLY LIFE
Born Şahin Maşalı in 1962 in Istanbul’s Bayrampaşa district, he was first consecrated as Şahan at his baptism and then as Sahak II Maşalyan when he became a cleric in 1992. He received his education at Istanbul’s Tevfik Kut Primary School, Gedikpaşa Secondary School, and Bakırköy High School, and he later enrolled at Istanbul Technical University’s Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering in 1979.
AN AVID LEARNER
Maşalyan dropped out of university three years later, deciding he wanted to become a priest, and started to learn the Armenian language at the age of 20. However, he later returned to academic life at Istanbul University’s Department of Philosophy between 1983 and 1987, when he settled in the Armenian Patriarchate as a student. During his time at university, he continued his preparations to become a cleric by studying Armenian language, religious services, the history of churches, and other Christian teachings. He was inspired by the teachings of prominent clergymen such as Shenork I Kaloustian, Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan, Priest Shenork Kasparian, Father Shenork Muradian, Father John Whooley, and others.
ROAD TO PATRIARCHATE
From 1984 to 1988, he gave sermons at Bakırköy Church in Istanbul, taking over from Mutafyan, who was a vartabed, a highly educated archimandrite in the Armenian Apostolic Church tradition holding a doctorate in theology. At the time, he also undertook the responsibility of giving sermons at Gedikpaşa Church in Istanbul, albeit in rotation this time.
Two years later, Shenork I Kaloustian consecrated him as a deacon, or sargavak in Armenian, the last of the minor orders with the role of serving in church services and assisting clergy. From 1988 to 1989, Maşalyan performed his military service in Istanbul’s Kağıthane district and then in the eastern city of Tatvan.
After continuing his theology studies in 1989 at the Allen Hall Seminary in London, he graduated magna cum laude in 1994. Maşalyan also served the Armenian Church in London as a sargavak while he was studying. During his time in in London, he was consecrated as an unmarried priest, also known as apeğa among Armenians, thus completing his transition to spiritual lifestyle.
Maşalyan then spent three years in Jerusalem to better grasp life in monasteries. He also organized Holy Book Works in afternoons for three years, with support from Patriarch Torkom Manugyan. The cleric also gave religion lessons at the Tarkmanças High School and became the desuç, or school principal, of the institution.
Between 1997 and 1999, Maşalyan continued his education at the Jesuit educational institute Milltown Institute of Philosophy and Theology’s Spirituality department, earning a master’s degree in 2000. Between 1999 and 2005, he continued his sermons in churches throughout Istanbul, in Kınalıada, Kumkapı Dışı Surp Harutyun, Gedikpaşa, and Galata. During the same period, he also became the deputy chief of the Spiritual Council and represented the Armenian Patriarchate in meetings and conferences both at home and abroad. His articles are also frequently featured in the patriarchate bulletin Lraper.
Between 2005 and 2011, Maşalyan worked at the Kevorkyan Theology Academy in Armenia, moving his way up from research associate to dean. He also helped train over 200 clergymen who are active all around the world.
HIS WORKS
In addition to his work as an educator and clergyman, he continued his service the Armenian community in other ways. Between 2008 and 2010, he starred in 72 programs in which the Bible is discussed on Shoghakat TV, a local Armenian television channel. The highly successful programs accumulated millions of views. Maşalyan also penned a religious and historical novel, Yergu Ukhtavor (Two Devoted People), a fiction about the life of Patriarchs Golot and Chakatagir, which became a best-seller. He was consecrated as a vartabed in 2006 and, episcopant two years later. In 2011, he made his permanent return to Istanbul, after which he became the Armenian Patriarchate’s official for inter-church and inter-religion relations.
Taking an active role in the Turkey Churches Joint Commission, Maşalyan also published a book on the common beliefs among the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant denominations, marking a first in Christian history. The cleric has also penned Christianity with its Fundamental Principles, which was translated to English.
Maşalyan is a polyglot. The cleric speaks Turkish, Armenian, and English fluently, and he also studied Greek, Latin, and Hebrew within the scope of his religious education.
FOR FURTHER READING
- “Https://Armenianchurchsydney.Org.Au/Learning/Church-Dictionary/.” Armenian Apostolic Church of Holy Resurrection, armenianchurchsydney.org.au/learning/church-dictionary. Accessed 25 June 2021.
- “Sahak Maşalyan kimdir? Sahak Maşalyan’ın biyografisi.” Hürriyet, 11 Dec. 2019, www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/sahak-masalyan-kimdir-sahak-masalyanin-biyografisi-41395246.
- Suny, Ronald, et al. “‘We Want to Raise More Religious Officials.’” Agos, 27 Jan. 2017, www.agos.com.tr/en/article/17577/we-want-to-raise-more-religious-officials.
- Wikipedia contributors. “Allen Hall Seminary.” Wikipedia, 17 Apr. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Hall_Seminary.
- “Sahak II Mashalian.” Wikipedia, 20 May 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahak_II_Mashalian.
- “Shenork I Kaloustian of Constantinople.” Wikipedia, 29 May 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenork_I_Kaloustian_of_Constantinople.
- “Shoghakat TV.” Wikipedia, 2 Apr. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoghakat_TV.