YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS. Archbishop Aram Ateshyan, who continues to hold office as Patriarchal Vicar of the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul, sent the copy of the letter which was sent to Istanbul’s Governorate to the Cologne Primacy, where locum tenens-elect Archbishop Garegin Bekchyan is currently located, sources from the Patriarchate told Istanbul’s Zhamanak daily.

On  March 16, Ateshyan submitted a written request to the Istanbul Governorate, asking for a meeting for discussing the patriarchal election.

Bekchyan sent a letter to Ateshyan from Cologne, asking to provide him the copy of the letter, and to stop using the term vicar in correspondence and in press notifications.

In the same letter he notified Ateshyan that he has appointed Bishop Sahak Mashalyan as locum tenens vicar.