Funeral held for Anoushian, senior priest of the Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey
A senior priest of the Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey died at the age of 55 on Sunday (Nov. 14) evening. Tatul Anoushian, who was both the general secretary and president of the Spiritual Council of the Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey, had been under treatment for some time in a hospital. On Thursday (Nov. 18) the funeral ceremony for Archpriest Anoushian, which started at 10.15 pm in the Kumkapi Virgin Mary Church, was led by the Patriarch of the Armenians of Turkey, Sahak Mashalyan. Anoushian's body, which was brought to the altar during the ceremony, greeted the people symbolically, and her forehead and right hand were consecrated with the holy oil of Myron by Patriarch Mashalian. Istanbul-born Anoushian, an English literature graduate, worked in the tourism business until 1992 when he devoted himself to church duties. He rose to the rank of subdeacon at a church in Istanbul’s Kinaliada island, shortly before rising to the rank of deacon at Samatya Surp Kevork Church.