A Tortured Priest Rests in Peace; In Memory of Fr. Manuel Yergatian
Armenian Reporter International [Paramus] 21 Feb 2004: 22.
Hratch Tchilingirian
The Very Rev. Fr. Manuel Yergatian, the pastor of the Armenian Church in the Netherlands, passed away on February 11, 2004 at the young age of 50. He was a member of the St. James Brotherhood of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. In 1980, the life of this energetic priest, who was full and contagious enthusiasm, changed irretrievably. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A citizen of Turkey, he was arrested in October 1980 at Istanbul airport while en route to Jerusalem. He was only 33 years old at the time. Fr. Manuel was charged with anti-Turkish activities in the years when various acts of political violence against Turks by Armenians were taking place.