Armenian millet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Armenian millet (Turkish: Ermeni milleti, Millet-i Ermeniyân) or the Armenian Gregorian Millet was the Ottoman millet (autonomous ethnoreligious community) of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It initially included not just Armenians in the Ottoman Empire but members of other Oriental Orthodox and Nestorian churches including the Coptic Church, Chaldean Catholic Church, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, and the Assyrian Church of the East,[1] although most of these groups obtained their own millet in the nineteenth century.[2] The Armenian Catholic and Armenian Protestants also obtained their own millets in 1831 and 1850 respectively.[3]
Mehmet II separated the Armenian millet from the Greek Orthodox millet because of the disagreements that they had over orthodoxy. [4] By establishing a new Armenian Patriarchate in Constantinople, members of the millet were not only able to handle things autonomously, they had the legal status to bring a case to the Islamic courts.[5] The Armenian millet did not have the ability to hold authority over the many people they were supposed to, as the majority of the Armenian population in Eastern Anatolia was far from Constantinople.[4] This Patriarchate proved to be more powerful than the Catholicosates of Sis and Etchmiadzin. Ottoman Armenians had institutions such as courts of law, schools, prisons, and hospitals for their own community.
The Tanzimat era saw reformers, Ottoman statesmen and non-Muslim reformers alike, attempt to codify the law under the principle of the doctrine of equality. Secular law codes were promulgated in both the Porte and the Patriarchate which saw laity increase in power at the expense of the clergy. This was none more exemplified with the Armenian National Constitution. In 1915 the Tehcir Law marked the beginning of the Armenian genocide. In 1918 the Armenian Patriarchate announced its relationship with the Ottoman Empire to be terminated, though it now has a relationship with the Republic of Turkey. Armenians are a recognized minority according to the Treaty of Lausanne, but do not receive funding from the Directorate of Religious Affairs.
Until the promulgation of the Edict of Gülhane in 1839, the patriarch, within limits, possessed absolute penal authority over the Armenian people. At the capital, the patriarchate had its own jail and maintained a small police force. Its authority over the clergy and civil administration being absolute, the patriarch could imprison or exile Armenians at will; and while they were compelled to secure the consent of the Sultan to imprison or exile laymen of their community, the necessary firman was easily obtained. The patriarchal system of government, in placing civil powers in the hands of high ecclesiastics, was an outcome of the fact that the Sultan made no distinction between church and community, and often lent the weight of its authority to maintain the integrity of the church.
In the 18th century, the Armenian community underwent a cultural renaissance known as the Armenian national awakening. This involved a revival of classical Armenian learning, and the interpretation of new ideas coming from Western Europe, particularly the Enlightenment and the events of the French Revolution. With the start of the 19th century there was also the influence of American and English missionaries, which eventually spawned the creation of the small Armenian Protestant millet. During this time, Armenian reformers that became inspired from their studies in time in Paris were known as Loussavorial, where as conservatives were Khavarial.
The Porte finally approved, and a constitutional committee accepted, an Armenian Gregorian millet constitution, known as the Armenian National Constitution, on March 29, 1863.[6] This constitution, based on the principle of representation, limited the powers of the Patriarch and the clergy, through the opening of an Armenian National Assembly, which now elected the Patriarch and appointed members to an ecclesiastical and a civil council.[7] Metropolitans were elected by provincial assemblies, which were dominated by laity. Taxation was based on ability to pay, and used to upkeep local administration.[8]
The Porte suspended the constitution from 1866-1869. But from 1869-1892, the Armenian Constitution functioned, and the general assembly met, regularly. Along with the Ottoman Constitution it was again suspended in 1892 after tensions flared with Ottoman government, but was reinstated following the Young Turk Revolution in 1908.[8]
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