Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey establishes foundation

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

The Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey has established a foundation under the name “Hovagim 1461,” in order to formally acquire a legal personality.

The foundation is named after the first Armenian patriarchate Hovagim and the date when he was appointed to his position.

Istanbul’s 22th civil court of first instance registered the foundation officially. The foundation’s board of trustees will be made up of 10 members of the patriarchate and headed by the Deputy Armenian Patriarch Archbishop Aram Ateşyan.

The patriarchate will be able to give decisions on financial issues via the Hovagim 1461 foundation.

The activities of foundations in Turkey are detailed under the law as follows: Organizing seminars, workshops, conferences, providing information, documents and data, publishing magazines, newspapers, and articles in line with the aims of the patriarchate, and accepting donations from Turkey and abroad.

The foundation also has the right to own property by inheritance, purchase or donation. It will also be able to make investments through cooperation with other foundations.

Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II transferred the Armenian Pontificate from the city of Bursa to Istanbul after he conquered the city in 1453. He also brought Episkopos Hovagim Golod, the leader of the Armenian community in Bursa, to Istanbul and assigned him as patriarch in 1461. The patriarch’s building is in Istanbul’s Kumkapı neighborhood today.