Armenian patriarch still under treatment

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Mesrop II, Turkey’s Armenians patriarch who is being treated at Yedikule Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital in Istanbul, is seen in this file photo. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK

The Patriarchate has released an announcement on its official website with regard to the condition of Turkey’s Armenians patriarch, Mesrop II, who took ill with a sudden decrease in blood pressure and was immediately taken to Yedikule Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital’s intensive care unit last weekend.

According to the announcement, the Patriarch is recovering his health and his blood pressure has returned to its normal value. However, he will be kept under observation for a while as a precautionary measure, the announcement read.

Mesrop II has been suffering from frontal lobe dementia since 2007, when he suddenly developed the disorder. Archbishop Aram Ateşyan was appointed as a deputy Patriarch with the Interior Ministry’s initiative, to the negative reaction of the Armenian community. Holding an election for a new Patriarch was also suggested, but such an election was not realized as a new patriarch cannot be elected until the death of the current patriarch according to the traditions of the Armenian Apostolic Church.