On November 30 , 1937 , Agagianian was elected Patriarch of Cilicia by the synod of bishops of the Armenian Catholic Church , an Eastern particular church '' sui iuris '' of the Catholic Church . The election received papal confirmation on December 13 , 1937 . He took the name Gregory Peter ( ; Armenian : '' Krikor Bedros '' ) and became the 15th patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church , which had some 100,000 adherents . All Armenian Catholic Patriarchs have Peter ( Petros/Bedros ) in their pontifical name as an expression of allegiance to the church founded by Saint Peter . According to Rouben Paul Adalian , the Armenian Catholic Church regained its stature in the Armenian diaspora under the " astute management " of Agagianian following the sizable losses in the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Gregorio Pietro Agagianian