The hierarchy of the Armenian Church consists of the following orders:

Catholicos

The catholicos (kat‘ołikos) is the head of the Armenian Church. He is also referred to as chief-priest (k‘ahanayapet), chief-bishop (epis­koposapet), and head of the nation (az­ga­pet). The catholicos is elected for life by the National Representative Assembly, con­sis­­ting of two-thirds lay and one-third clergy delegates, representing all the dioceses and the clergy of all ranks. All bishops are eligible to stand for election as catholicos, irrespec­tive of their age and which Hierarchical See of the Armenian Church they belong to. The election is pre­sided over by the locum tenens (a clergyman, preferably a bishop, filling the office of the catholicos temporarily) and takes place in the church. The main ecclesial pri­vileges of the catholicos are the ordination of bishops and conse­cra­tion of the holy muron. The catholicos approves the election of pri­mates and, when necessary, appoints catho­licosal legates. The conse­cration of the catholicos, which began in the 9th Century, takes place with the partici­pation of at least three bishops. The ritual, which includes anointing the head of the new catholicos, is similar to that used in the enthronement of ancient Ar­menian kings.

Patriarch

The patriarch (patriark‘) is enthroned, not consecrated; he has local authority and recog­nizes the spiritual supremacy of the ca­tho­licos. The patriarch of Jerusalem is elected by the Brotherhood of the Patriarchate; the patriarch of Constantinople is elected by an assembly composed of clergy and lay dele­gates, representing the parishes.

Archbishop

Archbishop (ark‘episkopos) is an hono­ra­ry title given to a senior bishop by a catho­licosal encyclical as an appreciation for his many years of service. It is also conferred to a diocesan primate who has a large diocese and assistant bishops.

Bishop

A bishop (episkopos) is consecrated by the catho­licos, who is assisted by two bishops. Canonically a bishop is elected as a primate by the Diocesan National Representative Assembly and consecrated for that diocese. However, the catholicos may con­secrate a bi­shop also for a non-diocesan responsibility.

Vartabed And Supreme Vartabed

Vartabed (vardapet) means church doc­tor, church divine, or teacher. It is an academic title, conferred only to celibate priests by the catholicos or a bishop through a liturgical ceremony. The order consists of two sub-orders: minor or particular var­ta­bed (varda­pet), which includes four degrees, and major or supreme vartabed (cayragoyn vardapet), which consists of ten degrees. With each degree, the candidate is given a special staff, at the top of which are two ser­pents inter­twined, symbolizing prudence and wisdom, headed by a cross. These orders are be­stowed separately, since each order entails preparing and defending a dissertation. A celibate priest may become a bishop without having these orders, but he cannot confer them to others.

Celibate Priest

Celibate priest (abełay), otherwise called monk or monastic priest, generally lives in a monastery and devotes himself to educa­tional and missionary activities. In special cases he may also assume pastoral or specific respon­sibilities in a diocese. Catholicoi, bishops, vartabeds, and monks are not married. Celibacy emerged in the Armenian Church in the 5th Century.

Married Priest

A married priest (k‘ahanay) is the pastor of a parish; he lives with his family among his parishioners and carries out his pastoral work under the supervision of the diocesan primate. For his many years of dedicated service, the married priest is given the title of archpriest (awag k‘ahanay). If a married priest’s wife (erēc‘kin) passes away, he may either remarry or assume the order of celi­bate priesthood with the permission of the catho­licos.

Deacon

Deaconhood is the first order of church hierarchy. The main role of the deacon (sarka­wag) is to assist the pastor or bishop during the liturgy. A deacon may also assume limited pastoral and educational tasks un­der the supervision of a diocesan primate or pastor.

The following titles are used for the clergy: for the catholicos, His Holiness (norin surb ōc‘utiwn); for a patriarch, His Beati­tude (norin amenapatuut‘iwn); for a locum tenens, His Eminence (barjrašnorh); for an arch­bi­shop, His Eminence (gerašnorh); for a bishop, His Grace (gerašnorh); for a supreme varta­bed, Very Reverend (kerapatiw); for a var­tabed, Reverend Father (hogešnorh); for a celi­bate priest, Reverend (hoge­šnorh); for a mar­ried priest, Father (ar­žana­patiw); for a dea­con, Dear (barešnorh). The catholicos is ad­dressed in Armenian as vehap‘ar˙ tēr; an archbishop or bishop as srbazan hayr; a var­ta­bed or supreme vartabed or monk as hayr surb; a mar­ried priest as tēr hayr.

The Armenian Church has specific salu­tations for greeting clergy in accordance with their distinct ranks. A married priest is greeted by “bless me father” (orhnea tēr), and he acknowledges the salutation by saying “may God bestow upon you His blessings” (Astuac ōrhnē jez). When a clergy­man meets people, he says, “I greet you all” (vołjˇoyn jez). Celibate clergy of all ranks are greeted by the phrase “God help you” (Asd­uac ōgnakan), and they reply, “may God protect you” (Asd­uac pahapan). A clergy­­man, when de­parting from a home or gathering, says, “stay in peace” (mnac‘ēk‘ xałałut‘emb).

DECISION-MAKING STRUCTURES

From the early period of the formation of the Armenian Church, the laity has participated in all aspects of its activities, including the elec­tion of bishops and catholicoi and decisions pertaining to theological, canoni­cal, jurisdic­tional, and administrative mat­ters. At the start, this participation did not follow a precise rule. The ad­minis­trative, conciliar, and functional organs of the Ar­menian Church took definite form in the 19th Century with the creation of two con­stitutions, the polojenie in 1836 by Russia for the Armenian Church in Armenia, and the National Constitution in 1863 by the Ottoman-Turkish government for the Ar­menian Church in the Ottoman Empire. In Armenia, the parti­cipation of laity in church affairs was greatly reduced; while the Ot­toman authorities increased and extended the role of the laity in church affairs and decision-making. The same pattern continues in both cases. The decision-making struc­ture of the Holy See of St. Etchmiadzin is largely based on the polojenie and as a result it has, rather, a clergy-centered administration and decision-making process; only a few of its dioceses in the diaspora follow the basic principles of the National Constitution. The conciliar structures and decision-making process of the Holy See of Cilicia, including its dioceses, are more laity-centered, and are exclusively based on the National Consti­tution.

The following system of decision-making is practiced by the Holy See of Cilicia and by the dioceses under its jurisdiction:

– The National Representative Assembly is constituted on the basis of one-third clergy and two-thirds lay delegates. The Diocesan National Repre­sentative Assem­blies elect the lay delegates, whose numbers are fixed according to the numeri­cal size of each diocese. Celibate priests are elected by the Assembly of Monastic Order, while married priests are chosen by the Religious Council or the Diocesan Assembly of Clergy. The diocesan primates are ex-officio de­legates. The National Represen­tative Assem­bly is convened only for the election of a catholicos. A similar assembly, the National Ecclesiastical Assembly, is constituted at the Holy See of St. Etchmiadzin for the election of a catholicos.

– The National General Assembly is the supreme legislative body of the Church. The delegates of the Assembly are elected by the Diocesan National Representative Assemblies, with a ratio of one member of the clergy to six lay delegates. The numbers of delegates are determined by the numeri­cal size of each diocese; primates are ex-officio delegates. The Monastic Order par­ticipates with two delegates. The clergy de­legates are elected by the dioceses that they represent. The National General Assembly normally meets once every four years to review the overall work of the dioceses and the Catholicosate and to set the priorities and guidelines for the next period. A similar conciliar body, the Ecclesiastical Represen­tative Assembly, meets at the Holy See of St. Etchmiadzin when necessary.

– The Central Council, which is elected by the National General Assembly, is the executive body. It consists of two councils, the Religious Council and the Lay Council, each having equal membership; their man­date lasts to the next assembly. The Religious Council deals with matters per­taining to theology, liturgy, inter-church and inter-religious relations, issues related to church and society, Christian education, ministerial formation, youth, women, pas­toral ques­tions, and socio-ethical issues. The Lay Council’s agenda mainly includes adminis­trative and financial matters. The two councils may organize joint meetings to discuss the whole life of the Church, particularly emer­gency issues and concerns and projects related to the Catho­licosate. In the Holy See of St. Etchmiadzin, the Supreme Spiritual Council, which is appointed by the catho­licos and comprises equal numbers of clergy and laity, is equivalent to the Central Council. It deals with general church affairs.

The diocese and parish follow the same system of administration and deci­sion-making.

– The Diocesan National Representative Assembly is the legislative body of the dio­cese. The criteria for lay and clergy rep­re­sentation is the same as that in the National General Assembly. In some dioceses, the lay dele­gates are elected directly by the people, while in other dioceses they are elected by the parish assemblies. Clergy delegates are elected either by the diocesan Religious Council or the diocesan Assembly of Clergy. The Diocesan National Representative As­sem­b­ly meets at least once a year to evaluate the activities of the diocese and to set priorities for the next period. The diocesan primate is elected by the Diocesan National Representative As­sembly on the basis of a list of three names submitted by the catho­licos. Canoni­cally a diocesan primate is elected for life; how­ever, in the last few decades, some dioceses have fixed a period of four or six years for the ministry of the primate, who is eligible for reelection.

– The Diocesan Council, which is the executive body of the diocese, is elected by the Diocesan National Representative Assem­bly for a period of two years. It consists of two separate bodies, the Religious Council and the Lay Council, each having equal member­ship. The first deals with religious matters and the second with finance and admi­nis­tration through specialized committees. They meet together in case of neces­sity.

– The Parish Assembly is composed of members of the parish. It elects the parish council and evaluates the overall activities of the parish. It generally meets once or twice a year.

– The Parish Council is elected in some dioceses directly by the members of the parish by public vote; in other dioceses it is elected by the Parish Assembly. It is com­posed of lay people and its mandate is to organize and supervise all aspects of the life and work of the parish.

In addition to these functional structures on global, diocesan, and parish levels, the conciliar life of the Armenian Church also includes the follow­ing bodies:

– The Council of Bishops meets to dis­cuss theological, doctrinal, liturgical, ethical, and ca­noni­cal questions. It is not a perma­nent body; it convenes when needed. In the past, issues pertaining to theo­logy, liturgy, ethics, canon, and doctrine were dis­cussed and decided with the active participation of laity from all walks of life. This practice, which is a concrete expression of the par­ticipatory nature of the decision-making processes of the Armenian Church, needs to be restored.

– The Assemblies of Monastic Orders are organically related to the Hierarchical Sees. A monastic order or brotherhood consists of celibate clergy of all ranks. Each monastic order has its own bylaws, which regulate the members’ internal monastic life and acti­vi­ties. Some of the members of the brother­hoods serve at church headquarters, others in dioceses as primates, pastors, teachers, and preachers.

All executive bodies are accountable to the assemblies that elect them. They may appoint spe­cialized ad-hoc committees to deal with specific matters or projects.

The catholicos on the global level, the primate on the diocesan level, and the pastor on the parish level are ex-officio presidents of all decision-making structures. The sequence of ac­coun­ta­bility, both for clergy and laity, goes from the parish (the pastor), to the diocese (the primate), and, finally, to the catho­licosate (the catholicos). From the very beginning, in spite of its diverse politico-religious con­text, the Ar­menian Church has been charac­terized by democ­­ratic con­cepts and practices and con­ciliar forms of decision-making. The structure of the Church’s authori­ty is not pyramidal, but collegial, and its decision-making is not autocratic, but democratic. The partici­patory character of the Armenian Church is one of its salient features. In fact, all members of the Armenian Church, the clergy and the laity, irrespective of gender or age, take an active role, in all spheres and at all levels, in the decision-making of the Church.