Patriarch Archbishop Nourhan Manougian
Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem
His Beatitude Archbishop Nourhan Manougian was born on July 24, 1948, in Aleppo. Name at Baptism: Boghos. He received his primary education at the Haigazian School of Aleppo.
In 1961, he entered the Theological Seminary of Antelias of the Catholicosate of Cilicia.
In 1966, he entered the Jarankavoratz Theological Seminary of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
On July 27, 1968, he was ordained to the diaconate.
On June 15, 1971, he was ordained a celibate priest by Patriarch Yeghishe Derderian and was given the priestly name Nourhan.
From 1971 to 1972, he was the Vice Dean of the Jarankavoratz Theological Seminary. In 1975, he was appointed Dean of the Seminary.
From 1970 to 1973, he served as spiritual pastor of the Armenian Diocese of Switzerland (Geneva).
In 1973, he received the rank of Archimandrite (Vardapet).
From 1974 to 1980, he served as spiritual pastor of Jaffa and Haifa in Israel.
In 1980, at the invitation of Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, he left for New York, where he studied at the Episcopal General Theological Seminary, completing its three-year course.
In 1994, he served as spiritual pastor of St. Gevork Church in Houston, Texas, USA.
In 1998, he was elected Grand Sacristan of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
On December 14, 1999, he was consecrated a bishop by His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.
In 2009, His Eminence Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, appointed Archbishop Nourhan Patriarchal Vicar, overseeing the activities of the Patriarchate's departments.
On January 24, 2013, the General Assembly of the St. James Brotherhood of Jerusalem elected Archbishop Nourhan Patriarch of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, following the passing of Patriarch Torkom Manoogian of blessed memory. On June 4, the consecration service of His Eminence Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, Patriarch of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, was offered in the chapel of St. James.
On July 23, 2013, His Beatitude Nourhan Manougian was officially recognized as the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem by the State of Israel.
On February 6, 2014, His Beatitude Nourhan Manougian received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the General Theological Seminary in Manhattan, New York.
