Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Archbishop Raphael Minasyan as the new
head of Armenian Catholics in Armenia, Georgia and Eastern Europe,
Armenia Today cites the Patriarchy of the Armenian Catholic Church in
Beirut, Lebanon, as saying.
Minasyan will replace Vaan Oganyan. The official appointment ceremony
will take place at the Cathedral of Saint Grigory the Illuminator in
Beirut.
Raphael Minasyan was born in Lebanon on October 24, 1946. He entered
the Catholic monastery of Zmmar in Lebanon in 1958. He entered the
Lebanese seminary in Rome in 1966. He joined the order in Beirut in
1973.
Minasyan formed the Sacred Cross scout group in 1984, the group opened
a church in Zalka. He was a pastor of Armenian Catholics in California
in 1996-2006. He is a co-founder of the Armenian Alliance charity
fund. He was the editor-in-chief of Avetaber-Verelk for 8 years.
Minasyan founded an Armenian television company in 2005, the work of
which was broadcast by the Telepace Channel.
