H.E. Archbishop Dr Vicken Aykazian
8 September 2022, Karlsruhe, Germany: H.E. Archbishop Dr Vicken Aykazian, Armenian Apostolic Church, Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, vice-moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee.
Born in Siirt, Turkey in 1951, Archbishop Aykazian completed theological studies at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem and was ordained a deacon in 1968 and later a celibate priest in 1971. He was ordained a bishop in 1992 by His Holiness Vasken I, Catholicos of All Armenians at Holy Echmiadzin in Armenia. In 2007, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians elevated him to the rank of archbishop.
In addition to his current responsibilities as Diocesan Legate and Ecumenical Director for the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, Archbishop Aykazian’s diverse professional achievements include Country Director for the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) in their Yerevan, Armenia office (1997-1999); Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Switzerland (1992-1996); pastor of the Armenian Church of Switzerland (1981-1992).
Archbishop Aykazian has a keen interest in the ecumenical movement having participated in the World Council of Churches (WCC) since 1981 through the Mission and Evangelism Unit II (1991-99), the Orthodox Task Force (1982-92), and as a member of the WCC Central Committee, representing the Catholicate of All Armenians from 1985-1991 and to the WCC Executive Committee from 2007-present and as chairman of the WCC Finance Committee from 2013-present.
On November 10, 2005, Archbishop Aykazian was elected as President of the National Council of Churches in the United States (NCCUS) for a two-year term. In February 2007, Archbishop Aykazian participated at the General Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and was elected as a member of the Executive and Central Committees of the World Council of Churches.
In 2013, Archbishop Aykazian was elected as president of Christian Churches Together (CCT), an organization representing Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, Orthodox and other historic peace churches.
As a result of the turmoil and violence in the Middle East over the past years, Archbishop Vicken has worked tirelessly to defend the rights of Christian minorities in the Middle East and Asia. Over the past 15 years, he has traveled several times to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and Palestine and met with high level religious and political leaders from all faiths including the Prime Minister of Israel, King of Jordan, Prime Minister of Lebanon, President Sisi of Egypt, President Barzani of Kurdistan and President Assad of Syria many times.