Tribute to Jerusalem's Armenian Patriarch - 'a careful and skilful analyst of the demanding situation in the Middle East'
Thursday 18th October 2012
Archbishop Rowan Williams has sent the following message to the Armenian Orthodox Community in Jerusalem.To His Eminence Archbishop Nourhan Manougian
Grand Sacristan
The Brotherhood of St James
and the Armenian Orthodox Community in Jerusalem
Your Eminence, dear Brothers, Dear Friends:
His Beatitude the late Patriarch Torkom Manougian was an exceptional figure both in the Armenian Church and in the wider Christian world, within and beyond the Holy Land.
An intellectual, scholar, musician and poet, he was also a skilled statesman who represented all the most impressive aspects of the Armenian character and the Armenian tradition. He was hospitable and understanding to all, a careful and skilful analyst of the demanding situation in the Middle East, a thoughtful and eirenic presence in discussion and debate, and in and through all this, a faithful, loved and revered pastor to his flock. He played a key role in many aspects of the life of the Armenian diaspora, but will be remembered most vividly by countless pilgrims to Jerusalem for his warm welcome and wise counsel during his long years as Patriarch of this ancient see. He will be deeply missed by Christians of all traditions and by many others too.
We assure our Armenian brothers and sisters of our sympathy and prayers at this time, and pray especially for the community in Jerusalem and for you, dear Archbishop Nourhan, as you oversee the funeral rites of the Patriarch and the business of the Patriarchate.
We thank God profoundly for the witness of the late Patriarch and commend him to God’s care; may his memory be eternal.
With every blessing in Christ:
+ Rowan Cantuar:
From Lambeth Palace
St Luke the Evangelist, 18 October 2012