YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. A decision has been made during the October 26 church meeting in the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul to request the Turkish authorities to grant a privilege of electing a new patriarch, the Patriarchate told ARMENPRESS.

The meeting discussed the issue that since May of 2008, Patriarch Mesrop Mutafyan withdrew from his duties and Archbishop Aram Ateshyan has been the Locum tenens to fulfill the Patriarchal duties.

“The rules and traditions of the Church consider 7 years of absence as enough for dissolving the covenant. Therefore the 8 years of absence of the Patriarch confirms the dissolution of the “Patriarchal covenant”, the meeting’s report reads.