Page:Armenia, Travels and Studies, Vol. 2.djvu/581

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tion, first he demands an explanation of the Chairman of the Assembly or the Council. The second time he warns him, but the third time he applies to the General Assembly if the accused be one of the National Assemblies, or to the Political Assembly if he be one of the Councils, and, giving his reasons, he proposes the dissolution of the accused Council or Assembly.

Article 12.—The Patriarch having a salary appointed to him from the National Treasury provides himself for the internal expenses of the Patriarchate.


II. The Bureau of the Patriarchate

Article 13.—There will be a Bureau at the Patriarchate for all necessary national documents. This bureau will be divided into three departments:—

I. The department of correspondence, for the documents sent by the Patriarchate and for those received there.
II. The department of registration, to arrange the papers belonging to the National Assemblies and Councils.
III. The department of census, to record births, marriages, and deaths. From the last department are issued the papers needed for travelling or other personal transactions: also certificates for births, marriages, and deaths.

Article 14.—The Patriarchal Bureau will have a chief who is responsible for all its transactions. The Political Assembly elects him and the Patriarch nominates him. This chief is also the Secretary of the General Assembly.

It is his duty to see that every year he be supplied with copies of the records of births and deaths both in Constantinople and in the provinces, which records he shall have inscribed in the books of the general census of the Patriarchal Bureau. He should be well versed in the Armenian language, and practised in the French and Turkish languages.

Article 15.—This Bureau will have a sufficient number of Secretaries. These Secretaries also must be well acquainted with the Armenian language, and every one must possess all the necessary qualifications for his position. Each Secretary is responsible in his department to the Assembly or Council to which he belongs. All of them are responsible to the Chief of the Bureau.

Article 16.—All papers issued at the office of the census must be confirmed by the Patriarchal seal and by the signature of the Chief of the Bureau.


III. The Patriarch of Jerusalem

Article 17.—The Patriarch of Jerusalem occupies for life the Chair of St. James. He is at the same time the manager of all the holy places belonging to the Armenians in Jerusalem, and the President of the brotherhood of the Monastery of St. James.

It is his duty to act in accordance with the regulations of the Monastery of Jerusalem, and to watch over the faithful execution of those regulations.