The funeral service for Archbishop Mesrob II Mutafyan, the 84th Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, will be held on Sunday, March 17, at Istanbul’s St. Virgin Mary Church.

He will be buried at the Armenian cemetery in the Sisli district of the Turkish capital, like all the previous Armenian patriarchs, the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople said on Facebook.

Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan passed away Friday at Intanbul’s Holy Savior Armenian Hospital after a long illness. He was 63.

He began suffering from dementia in 2008 and has been in a vegetative state since then. Mesrob II was elected Patriarch in 1998, succeeding Karekin II. He had to withdraw from his duties due to his illness in 2008 and Archbishop Aram Atesyan was appointed to serve as Patriarchal Vicar for the Armenian community of Istanbul.

A new patriarch could not be elected as Turkish laws prohibit any elections while a standing patriarch is alive.