II. Mesrob Mutafyan

Archbishop Mesrob II Mutafyan (in Armenian Մեսրոպ Բ Մութաֆեան), or Mutafian, also known as Mesrop Mutafyan in Eastern Armenian transliteration (16 June 1956 – 8 March 2019), was the 84th Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople. The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople is one of the four Sees of Armenian Apostolic Church (the other three being Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Holy See of Cilicia and the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem) and has an autocephalous status, accepting, on the other hand, spiritual supremacy of the Catholicos of Armenia and of all Armenians in Holy Echmiadzin.

Early life Mesrob Mutafyan was born Minas Mutafian in Istanbul.

Illness and elections for locum tenens In July 2008, it was announced that Mesrob Mutafyan was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and he withdrew from all his duties and from public life; however he still officially remained patriarch and archbishop. Archbishop Aram Ateşyan ran the day-to-day affairs of the Patriarchate after being appointed Patriarchal Vicar of Constantinople with 25 of the 26 members of the synod of the patriarchate voting for him.

Archbishop Aram Ateşyan had been the Locum tenens (Pokhanort in Armenian) since 2010 because of the ill health of the patriarch. On 26 October 2016, Mesrob Mutafyan was retired by the synod of the patriarchate because of his illness which had continued for more than 7 years.

As tensions escalated leading to the resignation of the head of the synod of the patriarchate Bishop Sahak Mashalian, Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians summoned the lead clerics including Ateşyan, Mashalian and Bekdjian from Istanbul to Etchmiadzin for a mediated solution in February 2017. The decision was taken to hold elections for a Locum Tenens on 15 March, followed by a patriarchal election within six months.

On 15 March 2017, the synod elected Archbishop Karekin Bekdjian, the Primate of the Armenian Church Diocese of Germany as Locum tenens or Patriarchal alternate (Deghabah). But Archbishop Ateşyan refused to step down after the election of Bekdjian.

Death He died on 8 March 2019 at the Surp Pirgic hospital in Istanbul, from Pick’s disease.