Torkom Manoogian
Torkom Manoogian 
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| Name in Armenian | Թորգոմ Մանուկեան |
| Birthplace | Baquba |
| Birth date | 16 February 1919 |
| Resides in | Jerusalem |
| Death place | Jerusalem |
| Death date | 2012/10/12 |
| Death year | 2012 |
| Resting place | Mount Zion |
| Positions | Patriarch of Jerusalem |
| Religion | Armenian Apostolic |
| Languages | Armenian |
| Ethnicities | Armenian |
| Dialects | Western Armenian |
His Beatitude Patriarch Torkom Manoogian, 1919-2012
Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Biography
Source: http://www.armenian-patriarchate.org/page1.html
His Beatitude Archbishop Torkom Manoogian was born on February 16, 1919, in a refugee camp near the desert town of Baquba, north of Baghdad, Iraq. After completing his elementary education at the Holy Translators Armenian School in Baghdad, he entered the theological seminary of the Armenian Patriarchate of St. James in Jerusalem as the youngest student of his class. On August 2, 1936, he was ordained into the holy diaconate by his spiritual father and favorite teacher, the late Patriarch, Archbishop Torkom Koushagian. At his ordination as a priest on July 23, 1939, he was given the name Torkom.
From 1939-1946 he served in various capacities in the Armenian Patriarchate: on the Board of the Patriarchate's official gazette, Sion, and also as sub-dean at the seminary. In July 1946 he traveled to the United States and took up the pastorate of the Holy Trinity Armenian Church in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This pastorate was interrupted in 1951 when he was named as Vicar General of the Eastern Diocese of America, headquartered in New York, by the Primate of the Diocese. After resuming his pastorate in North Philadelphia for one year in 1954, Father Torkom returned to Jerusalem where as Dean of the Seminary he assumed responsibility for the religious education of young seminarians preparing for the priesthood. He also headed the Chancellery of the Patriarchate.
Returning to the United States in 1960, he entered the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to follow a course of graduate study. This study was interrupted when in 1962 he was elected as Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church located in Los Angeles. On October 14 of that same year he was consecrated a bishop at the Holy See of Ejmiatsin, Armenia, by His Holiness Vazken I, the late Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
After four years as Primate of the Western Diocese, in April 1966, Bishop Torkom was elected Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America. Two years later, on the occasion of the consecration of St. Vartan Cathedral, the first Armenian cathedral in America in whose construction he played a pivotal role, the late Holiness Vazken I conferred upon Bishop Torkom the title of Archbishop.
Having served six consecutive terms as Primate of the Eastern Diocese--24 years--Archbishop Torkom was elected 96th Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem on March, 22. 1990.
When the late Catholicos Vazken I entered into eternal rest on August 19, 1994, His Beatitude was chosen to take responsibility for the Holy See of Ejmiatsin as the Catholical Locum Tenens, a capacity in which he served until the election of Karekin I, the new Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians in April 1995.
His Beatitude holds several academic honors, including an honorary doctorate granted to him by the General Theological Seminary in New York. In 1986 he was the recipient of two prestigious American medals: the Statue of Liberty Medal, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. January 18, 1990 marked the 50th anniversary of his ordination, an event celebrated nationwide in the United States. He was also chosen "Man of the Year" by the "Religion in American Life." organization.
His Beatitude has played a vital role in the promotion of international ecumenical relations. He has served on the Board of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States, and was Chairman of the Board of "Religion in American Life ". He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the "Appeal of Conscience Foundation ".
In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake which struck Armenia in December 1988, he was instrumental in coordinating international efforts aimed at mobilizing and marshaling financial and material support for the rehabilitation process, in which he is still active.
A musician, choral conductor, composer, poet and writer, Archbishop Torkom has a wide range of personal interests and pursuits. He has published some 20 books and monographs including three books of poetry under the pen name "Shen Mah", original research on the Armenian liturgy, books on the Armenian genocide, and a detailed guide book of the holy places of Jerusalem. He has recently rendered into Armenian the 154 sonnets of William Shakespeare.
He is considered a foremost expert and lecturer on the Armenian composer, Komitas, and is currently working on a book of Armenian liturgical music by the great musicologist.
Health
JERUSALEM PATRIARCH IN GRAVE HEALTH
asbarez Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
Archbishop Torkom Manoogian
JERUSALEM-The Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, has been hospitalized since January 19 after suffering a stroke and by complications from pneumonia, reported the Patriarchate.
His Beatitude the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, has been hospitalized in Hadassah Ein Kerem since 19 January in almost unconscious condition as a consequence of a severe pneumonia and a brain stroke.
The 93 year old spiritual leader went into sudden cardiac arrest and while doctors at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital were able to resuscitate him, they have not been able to bring him back to full consciousness despite medical treatment.
Archbishop Manoogian also suffers from Parkinson's disease, hypertension among other ailments. Currently, doctors are continuing to drain his lungs.
The Holy Synod of the Jerusalem Patriarchate convened on January 30 and appointed the Grand Sacristan, Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, as Patriarchal Vicar to manage the daily affairs of the Patriarchate.
Members of St. James Brotherhood visit the ill patriarch on a regular basis. The Latin Patriarch, Archbishop Fouad Twal has also visited the archbishop and offered prayers.
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Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem dies at 93
(AFP) / 12 October 2012
JERUSALEM — The Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem, Torkom Manoogian, one of the custodians of Christianity’s holiest sites, died on Friday at the age of 93, Armenian sources said.
A respected figure among Christians of the Holy Land, Manoogian had been in a coma since January after a stroke. He headed the Armenian Orthodox communities in Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan.
Manoogian was born on February 16, 1919 in a refugee camp for survivors of the Armenian genocide located near Baquba in the Iraqi desert.
He studied theology at the seminary of the Armenian patriarchate of Saint-Jacques in Jerusalem and was ordained in 1939.
In 1946, he was transferred to the United States, where he served as New York’s Armenian bishop and then primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America.
He was known in Jerusalem for his passion for music.
The Armenian Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, a monastic order, is one of the custodians of the Holy Places, along with the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches as well as the smaller Syriac and Coptic churches.
There are currently an estimated 2,000 Armenians living in Jerusalem, compared to 16,000 in 1948 when the state of Israel was founded.
With a presence in the Holy Land dating back to the 5th century AD, the community is active in commerce, trading and pottery in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.
The patriarch’s funeral is to be held on October 22 at the Armenian cemetery on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. His successor will be elected in 40 days, an appointment which needs the approval of Israel and the king of Jordan.