Garegin II

Born in the village of Voskeat, Echmiadzin district, Armenian SSR. In 1965 he entered the theological seminary of Echmiadzin , which he graduated in 1971, later worked as a teacher in the same seminary.

In 1970, he was ordained deacon , and in 1972, he was ordained a priest. At the direction of the Patriarch and Catholicos Vazgen I, he went to Vienna to continue his theological education.

In 1975, at the direction of Catholicos Vazgen I, he went to Germany , where he served as a spiritual pastor and continued his theological education at the University of Bonn.

In 1975 he continued his education at the University of Vienna .

In 1979, he returned to Echmiadzin, later went to Zagorsk , where he studied at the graduate school at the Moscow Theological Academy of the Russian Orthodox Church .

In March 1980, during the patriarchate of the Catholicos of All Armenians, Vazgen I, Archbishop Garegin Nersisyan was appointed the chief vicar of the Catholicos of all Armenians, which remained until July 4, 1999 .

On October 27, 1999, after the death of Catholicos Garegin I, the National Church Council (supreme governing body) of the Armenian Apostolic Church elected Archbishop Garegin Nersisyan as the 132nd Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians.

He is a member of the Supreme Spiritual Council, whose members are elected by the council.

In early March 2008, during the riots and pogroms in Yerevan associated with the reluctance of supporters of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the defeated in the presidential election, to recognize the victory of Serzh Sargsyan, Garegin II tried to make a peacekeeping mission and influence the position of Ter-Petrosyan, but failed ^{[ 2]} .

In early May 2008, while visiting the Vatican at the invitation of the head of the Roman Catholic Church Benedict XVI , he called on all countries of the world to recognize the 1915 Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire ^{[3] [4]} .

On August 23, 2013, Garegin II sent an official letter to Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade with a request to assist in the release and return of the Armenian soldier Hakob Injigulyan, who was captured in Azerbaijan, after which Pashazade met with the prisoner, but he was not extradited to the Armenian side ^[5] .

November 4, 2013 elected Chairman of the World Council of Churches (WCC) ^[6] .

• Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots ( October 30, 2009 ) - for his exceptional contribution to the preservation and development of national and spiritual values ^{[7] [8]}
• Order of Honor ( September 16, 2015 ) - for the exceptional contribution to the preservation, development and dissemination of national and spiritual values ^[9]
• Order of Friendship ( August 7, 2006 , Russia ) - for a great contribution to the development and strengthening of Russian-Armenian friendly relations ^{[10] [11]}
• The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise of the V degree ( October 2, 2001 , Ukraine ) - for a significant personal contribution to the development of Armenian-Ukrainian spiritual ties, the strengthening of inter-church relations ^{[12] [13]}
• Commander of the Legion of Honor ( 2001 , France ) ^[14]
• Cavalier of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania (2000, Romania )
• Bethlehem 2000 Medal ( Palestinian National Authority , 2000) ^[15] .
• Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called with a diamond star ( ROC , 2004 ) - for his outstanding contribution to the development of fraternal relations between the Russian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic Churches ^{[16] [17]}
• Honorary Doctor of Yerevan State University (2004) ^[18]
• Honorary Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia .
• Honorary Doctor of Artsakh State University .
• Winner of the prize of the International Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Peoples “For outstanding work to strengthen the unity of Orthodox peoples. For the approval and promotion of Christian values ​​in the life of society ”named after His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II for 2009 ( January 21, 2010 ) ^[19] .
• Order of St. Anne of I degree ( 2011 , Russian Imperial House) ^[20]
• Order of the Grigor Lusavorich Union of Armenians of Ukraine ( March 16, 2018 ) ^[21]

• List of Armenian Catholics
• Yezras (Nersisyan) - the younger brother of Garegin II

• Garegin Second. His Holiness Catholicos of All Armenians, High Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church. short biography
• Garegin II. Biography on the website of the New Nakhichevan and Russian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church