Joseph Arnaouti

Joseph Arnaouti, ICPB (; born 2 May 1936) is a Syrian Armenian Catholic hierarch. He served as the Patriarchal Exarch of Damascus since 1997 until 2023.

Biography Joseph Arnaouti was born in Aleppo, Syria, on 2 May 1936. He joined the Patriarchal Congregation of Bzommar and was ordained to the priesthood on 5 April 1969.

Simultaneously, on 24 May 1997, he was appointed the Patriarchal Exarch of Damascus for the Armenian Catholics, and served in this position until December 2023.

During the Syrian civil war, he remained in the capital, often joining other Christian leaders in Damascus to advocate for peace. In 2015, he joined the Patriarchs of Antioch in a joint statement calling for an end to arms trafficking to stop the conflict in Syria. He also maintains close ties with other Eastern Christian prelates, including the Syriac Orthodox Church, participating in inter-church hospitality and diplomatic meetings in Damascus.

In September 2021, following the death of Patriarch Krikor Bedros XX Ghabroyan, Arnaouti participated in the Elective Synod of the Armenian Catholic Church convened by Pope Francis at the Pontifical Armenian College in Rome. He was part of the body of bishops that elected Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian as the new Patriarch of Cilicia.