Bishop Vicken Aykazian nominated National Council of Churches President Elect

Nov. 9, 2005
National Council of Churches

Hunt Valley, Md., Nov. 9, 2005 – Bishop Vicken Aykazian, a Turkish-born priest who represents the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) in Washington, has been nominated President Elect of the National Council of Churches USA at the NCC’s annual General Assembly.

If elected Thursday, Aykazian will assume office in January when the current President Elect, the Rev. Michael E. Livingston, assumes the presidency and succeeds Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt Jr. in that office. The President Elect automatically assumes the council’s presidency after serving a two-year term.

Vicken Aykazian was born in Siirt, Turkey, in 1951. He studied theology at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem and was ordained a deacon in 1968 and later a celibate priest in 1971. In 1992, His Holiness Vasken I, Catholicos of All Armenians at Holy Echmiadzin in Armenia, ordained him a bishop.

Bishop Aykazian, who holds a Ph.D in history and is working on a second Ph.D in theology at Catholic University in Washington, is an active ecumenist. In addition to his contributions to the NCC as a member of the Governing Board, he has been active in the World Council of Churches as a member of the Mission and Evangelism Unit, the Orthodox Task Force and the Central Committee.
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Bishop Aykazian is fluent in English, Armenian, French and Turkish.
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