Board of Directors: Archbishop Vicken Aykazian

Born in Siirt, Turkey in 1951, Archbishop Vicken Aykazian completed theological studies at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem and was ordained a deacon in 1968 and later a celibate priest in 1971. He was ordained a bishop in 1992 by His Holiness Vasken I, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, at Holy Echmiadzin in Armenia. In addition to his current responsibilities as legate and ecumenical officer for the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, Archbishop Aykazian's diverse professional achievements include Country Director for the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) in their Yerevan, Armenia office (1997-1999); Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Switzerland (1992-1996); pastor of the Armenian Church of Switzerland (1980-1992), during which time he established and organized new church communities in Zurich, Bern, Kreazlingen and Lugano, Switzerland; traveling priest to the Armenian churches in Istanbul and personal assistant to Archbishop Shnork Kaloustyan at the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople (1974-75); and instructor at the seminary of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem (1972-74). Archbishop Aykazian has a keen interest in the ecumenical movement having participated in the World Council of Churches (WCC) since 1981 through the Mission and Evangelism Unit II (1991-99), the Orthodox Task Force (1982-92), and as a member of the WCC Central Committee, representing the Catholicate of All Armenians (1985-91). On November 10, 2005, Archbishop Aykazian was unanimously elected as president-elect of the National Council of Churches (NCC) during the ecumenical organization's three-day General Assembly in Hunt Valley, MD. In February 2006, Archbishop Aykazian participated at the General Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and was elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the WCC Central Committee. Archbishop Aykazian earned a doctorate degree in history from the Armenian Academy of Sciences' Department of History in 1999. He also completed doctorate course requirements at Fribourg Catholic University in Switzerland for a second doctorate degree in Theology and is continuing work on his doctoral dissertation at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He received a bachelor of divinity degree from Kings College in London, England, studied pastoral theology at St. Augustine 's College in Canterbury, England, and attended the Armenian Theological Seminary in Jerusalem and the Holy Cross Armenian Seminary in Istanbul, Turkey. Archbishop Aykazian is fluent in English, Armenian, French and Turkish.