NOTE: = 25 =

...[their re-]election is permissible [after] two years. **Art. 27.** When the number of those resigning from among the members of the Religious Assembly, or those missing for another cause, reaches three, others are elected in their stead by the General Assembly. But until this election takes place, the majority of the total [number of] members is sought in the Religious Assembly. *Twenty-seventh Article.* When the number of those among the members of the Spiritual Council (*Meclis-i Ruhanî*) who are missing due to resignation or for another cause reaches three, others are elected in their stead by the General Council (*Meclis-i Umumî*). And until this election takes place, the majority of the total members of the council is sought in the said council. **Art. 28.** The function of the Religious Assembly is the general superintendence of national religious affairs. Its obligations are: to develop religious feeling within the nation; to preserve inviolate the confession and traditions of the Armenian Church; to oversee the good order of the churches and of the clergy; to take care to obtain the means to improve the present condition of the clergy and to render their future peaceful and secure; to oversee the teaching of Christian doctrine by paying visits from time to time to the national schools; to raise worthy and capable *vardapet*s and priests; and, examining religious disputes arising within the nation, to resolve them in accordance with the laws of the Church. *Twenty-eighth Article.* The duties of the Spiritual Council consist of the following matters: the superintendence of the spiritual affairs of the Nation; the promotion and strengthening of religious beliefs within the Nation; the preservation from violation of the customary doctrines and traditions of the Armenian Church; the paying of strict attention to the churches and churchmen maintaining a well-ordered state; the perseverance and exertion towards both the reform of the present condition of churchmen and the securing of the means of assurance for their future condition; paying like attention to religious instruction by inspecting national schools from time to time; raising monks and priests endowed with competence and ability; and thoroughly investigating religious questions that arise within the Nation, and resolving and settling them in accordance with the customary rules of the Church. **Art. 29.** When the Religious Assembly is unable of itself to resolve an important purely religious question, it forms a General Ecclesiastical Assembly [comprising] the Bishops present in *Kostandnupolits* [Constantinople], the preaching *vardapet*s of the churches, the senior priests, and... *Twenty-ninth Article.* In the event that the Spiritual Council is unable to resolve an important question that arises relating purely to religion, [it convenes] the Bishops present in *Der-i Sa‘adet* [Constantinople], and the preachers and priests of the Church, and their seconds, and...

NOTE: 4