January 15, 2020 - 10:39 AMT
New Armenian Patriarch meets Turkey’s Erdogan

Days after being installed as the 85th Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople in a ceremony held at St. Mary’s Patriarchal Church in Istanbul, Bishop Sahak Mashalian met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Armenian community voted in churches in Istanbul, central Kayseri province and southeastern Diyarbakır, Mardin and Hatay provinces after a long period of uncertainty and mourning following the death of Mesrob II, the revered head of the patriarchate of Turkey's Armenians who passed away on March 8 after an 11-year fight against dementia. Some 102 delegates chosen in the election elected Mashalyan the next head of the church.

Erdogan’s meeting with the newly-elected Armenian Patriarch was closed to the press, and no details are available.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu too hosted Mashalian and congratulated him for being elected as the 85th Armenian patriarch in Turkey, Anadolu Agency reports.

Cavusoglu wished the best for the Armenian community and Turkey.

He said they would continue to work together “in the multicultural and tolerant environment of the country.”