Bishop Armash Nalbandian
Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Damascus
Bishop Armash Nalbandian (baptismal name Hagop) was born on January 29, 1973, in Aleppo, Syria. He received his primary education in Aleppo.
From 1987 to 1993, he entered the Gevorkian Theological Seminary at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
In September 1991, on the Feast of the Exhalation of the Holy Cross, he was ordained to the diaconate by His Eminence Archbishop Nerses Pozapalian.
In 1993, he graduated from the Gevorkian Theological Seminary, after the successful defense of his thesis entitled "The Life and Works of Catholicos Gevork Surenyants V (1911-1930)"․
In December 1993, with the invitation of His Eminence Archbishop Karekin Bekchian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Germany; and by the Pontifical Order of His Holiness Vasken I, of Blessed Memory; he left Armenia for Germany to study and served as a spiritual pastor to the Armenian community.
From 1995 to 2000, he studied New Testament Theology at the University of Erlangen-Nierenberg, Germany. He also studied ancient Greek and Latin strengthening his skills in the explanatory methods of the Holy Gospel.
In November 1998, he was ordained as a celibate priest by His Eminence Archbishop Karekin Bekchian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Germany; and was appointed to serve as Spiritual Pastor for the Armenian Communities of Southern Germany.
In 2000, he studied at the Catholic Theological University of Tubingen.
On December 23, 2003, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, he defended his doctrinal thesis entitled “The Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church from the 5th century to the present day”, and received the rank of Archimandrite (Vardapet).
In 2004, Father Armash returned to Syria where he was assigned to serve as Vicar General to the Diocese of Damascus.
In the fall of 2004, the Armenian community elected him to serve as the Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Damascus.
On January 15, 2006, Father Armash was consecrated as a Bishop by His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
