 He was also a member of the Elijah Interfaith Institute Board of World Religious Leaders.In July 2008, it was announced that Mesrob Mutafyan was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and he withdrew from all his duties and from public life; however he still officially remained patriarch and archbishop.Archbishop Aram Ateşyan, who is from Diyarbakır, is running the day-to-day affairs of the Patriarchate after being appointed as Patriarchal Vicar of Constantinople with 25 of the 26 members of the Religious Council voting for him and awaiting the official election of a new Patriarch.