Bishop Aren Shahenian
Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Argentina
● General Information
Was Born on January 20, 1970, in Baghdad, Iraq. The baptismal name is Shant.
From 1976 to 1981 – Elementary School in Baghdad.
From 1984 to 1987 – Secondary School in Kirkuk, Iraq.
From 1988 to 1992 – College of Mechanical Sciences in Kirkuk, Iraq.
From 1992 to 1998 – St. Karapet Theological Seminary of the Armenian Diocese of Iraq. Ecclesiastical course organized by Archbishop Avak Assadourian, Primate of the Armenian Church Diocese of Iraq.
From 1994 to 2000 – Babylon Theological University, Baghdad (earned a Licentiate in Theology and Philosophy).
2000–2005 – Master’s and Doctorate in Liturgiology (Pontifical Oriental Institute).
● Ecclesiastical Ranks and Ordinations
In 1999 – Ordained a Deacon by Archbishop Avag Asadourian.
In 2000 – Ordained a Celibate priest by Archbishop Avag Asadourian in the Armenian Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator of Cairo, Egypt.
In 2006 – Received the four degrees of Archimandrite (Vardapet), ordained by Bishop Anoushavan Jamkochian.
(Thesis: The Sunrise (Arevagal) Service – Its Origin, Development, and Theology.)
2024 – Consecrated as a Bishop by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
● Tenure
From 2003 to 2012 – Spiritual Pastor of the Armenian Church in Italy, Deputy Representative of the Patriarch.
From 2012 to 2013 – Abbot of St. Gevorg Church of the Diocese of Aragatsotn.
From 2014 to 2016 – Spiritual Pastor of St. Yeghishe Cathedral of the Armenian Diocese of Great Britain and Ireland.
From 2016 to 2018 – Spiritual Pastor in the Netherlands, Deputy Representative of the Patriarch.
In 2019 – Spiritual pastor of St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, the Seat of the Armenian Diocese of Argentina.
In 2022 – Locum Tenens of the Armenian Diocese of Argentina.
In 2024 – Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Argentina.
