The SG had an inaugural zoom audience with Patriarch Sahak II Mashalian, the 85th Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople. The SG has a long history advocating for churches in Turkey and beyond and has visited the predecessor of the Patriarch in Istanbul several times.
Schirrmacher was accompanied by Dr Behnan Konutgan of the Association of Protestant Churches, the Evangelical Alliance of Turkey, a member of the World Evangelical Alliance. The Patriarch especially informed the SG about the situation of his church in areas, where it is under pressure.
Archbishop Sahak II Mashalian (born in 1962) became the 85th Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople in 2019. The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople is one of the four Sees of Armenian Apostolic Church (the other three are: the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Holy See of Cilicia and the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem).
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahak_II_Mashalian
Photos: Thomas Schirrmacher/WEA.
