Aram Ateşyan, acting Armenian Patriarch, resigned from his duty Wednesday, Armenian-Turkish weekly Agos reported.

The move paves the way for the election process which requires the abolition of the post of acting patriarch.

Prominent community members have long been calling for election in the absence of Mesrob II, the current patriarch who remains in a vegetative state after an illness.

The post was vacant between 2008 and 2010 before Ateşyan was appointed as acting patriarch.