Eleven priests were sent proposals regarding the participation in the election of the Patriarch of Constantinople, but not all responded, Archbishop Garegin Bekchyan, the patriarchal locum tenens of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“The head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Bishop Mikael Ajapakhyan, Bishop Sahak Mashalyan, the Primate of the Gagark Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Bishop Sepuh Chuljyan, Archbishop Aram Ateshyan and several others have already responded that they are going to participate in the elections. There are still no response from the rest,” Bekchyan said.

The elections were first set for December 13, but they did not take place, since there is no written permission from the Turkish authorities.

Asked how Bechchyan himself assesses his capabilities, the locum tenens replied: “You should ask people what they think about me”.