Page:Armenia, Travels and Studies, Vol. 2.djvu/578

450 These obligations on the part of the nation are the rights of its members.

4. The authority which is appointed to represent the nation and to supervise and administer the regular performance of these mutual obligations is called the National Administration. To this body is committed, by especial permission of the Ottoman Government and by virtue of the Constitution, the care of the internal affairs of the Armenians of Turkey.

5. In order that the Administration may be national it should be representative.

6. The foundation of this Representative Administration is the principle of rights and duties, which is the principle of justice. Its strength is to be found in the plurality of voices, which is the principle of legality.

Article 1.—The Patriarch of Constantinople is the President of all the National Assemblies and the representative of their executive authority, and in particular circumstances he is the medium of the execution of the orders of the Ottoman Government.

Hence the person to be elected as Patriarch should be a man worthy of the confidence and respect of the whole nation, and he should possess all the qualifications and dignity required by his position. He should belong to that class of bishops who have always been considered as candidates for the office. At the same time he should be worthy of the perfect confidence of the Government, an Ottoman subject beginning at least with his father and above thirty-five years of age.

Article 2.—In case of vacancy of the Patriarchal Throne, in consequence of the death or resignation of the Patriarch, or from any other cause, the Political and Religious Assemblies meet and elect a Representative (locum tenens), and request the Sublime Porte to confirm their choice.

The General Assembly elects the Patriarch, but the Religious and Political Assemblies have the right by a list of candidates to express their opinion in regard to the merits of the candidates.

The election of the Patriarch will take place in the following manner:—In the first place the Representative (locum tenens) prepares a list of all the bishops within Ottoman territory, indicating opposite each name their qualifications in the sense of the first article, and presents it to the Religious Assembly.

The Religious Assembly convokes a general meeting of ecclesiastics and prepares a list of candidates by secret ballot—that is, each member present writes on a slip of paper the names of all the bishops that he