The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul will apply to the Turkish authorities with a request to obtain permission to hold elections of a new Patriarch. The decision was made at the church meeting held on October 26, accoridng to the official website of the

The seat has been vacant since 2008 because of the illness of His Holiness Patriarch Mesrop Mutafyan, and Aram Atesyan has served as Patriarchal Vicar ever since.