Pope Francis appoints Archpriest Levon Zekiyan as apostolic administrator of Armenian Archieparchy of Istanbul

Pope Francis appoints Archpriest Levon Zekiyan as apostolic administrator of Armenian Archieparchy of Istanbul –

Pope Francis has appointed Archpriest Levon Boghos Zekiyan, emeritus lecturer at the Universita Ca’ Foscari, Venice, as apostolic administrator “sede plena” of the archieparchy of Istanbul’s catholic Armenians (Catholics 3,339, priests 6, religious 6), Turkey, elevating him to the dignity of Archbishop. The bishop-elect was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1943, gave his solemn vows in 1964 and was ordained a priest in 1967. He has assumed the pastoral care of the Armenian diaspora and the fraternity of Sts. Nicola and Sergio in the Patriarchate of Venice and has served as ordinary professor of Armenian language at the Universita Ca’ Foscari, Venice, and as a lecturer at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome. He has also served as Academic of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia and consultor for the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

Vatican Information Service