Armenian National Constitution or
Regulation of the Armenian Nation (Turkish:"Nizâmnâme-i Millet-i Ermeniyân") (1863) was
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
approved form of the "Code of Regulations" composed of 150 articles drafted by the Armenian intelligentsia (Dr. Nahabed Rusinian, Dr. Sevichen, Nigoghos Balian, Krikor Odian and Krikor Margosian ), which define the powers of Patriarch (position in Ottoman
MilletMillet is an Ottoman Turkish term for a confessional community in the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th century, with the Tanzimat reforms, the term started to refer to legally protected religious minority groups, other than the ruling Sunni. Millet comes from the Arabic word millah and literally means...
) and newly formed "
Armenian National AssemblyArmenian National Assembly was the governing body of the Armenian Millet established by Armenian National Constitution of 1863 under Ottoman Empire....
".
Armenian National Constitution or
Regulation of the Armenian Nation (Turkish:"Nizâmnâme-i Millet-i Ermeniyân") (1863) was
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
approved form of the "Code of Regulations" composed of 150 articles drafted by the Armenian intelligentsia (Dr. Nahabed Rusinian, Dr. Sevichen, Nigoghos Balian, Krikor Odian and Krikor Margosian ), which define the powers of Patriarch (position in Ottoman
MilletMillet is an Ottoman Turkish term for a confessional community in the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th century, with the Tanzimat reforms, the term started to refer to legally protected religious minority groups, other than the ruling Sunni. Millet comes from the Arabic word millah and literally means...
) and newly formed "
Armenian National AssemblyArmenian National Assembly was the governing body of the Armenian Millet established by Armenian National Constitution of 1863 under Ottoman Empire....
". This code is still active among Armenian Church in diaspora.
Hatt-ı Hümayun's (1856) organisation to bring equality among
milletsMillet is an Ottoman Turkish term for a confessional community in the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th century, with the Tanzimat reforms, the term started to refer to legally protected religious minority groups, other than the ruling Sunni. Millet comes from the Arabic word millah and literally means...
also brought the discontent of the Armenian Patriarchate. Before the Hatt-ı Hümayun, the Armenian Patriarch was not only the spiritual leader of the community, but its secular leader (of all Armenians - the Armenian nation) as well. The Patriarch could at will dismiss the Bishops and his jurisdiction extended to 50 areas. The revolutionary Armenians wanted to abolish what they saw as oppression by the nobility, drawing up a new `National Regulation'. The "Code of Regulations" (1860) was drafted by members of the Armenian intelligentsia (Dr. Nahabed Rusinian, Dr. Sevichen, Nigoghos Balian, Krikor Odian and Krikor Margosian). They primarily sought to define the powers of Patriarch.
Finally the Council accepted the draft regulation on May 24,1860, and presented it to the Bâb-ı Âli. The Babiali ratified it (with some minor changes), by a firman on March 17,1863, and made it effective. The Armenian National Constitution (Ottoman Turkish:"Nizâmnâme-i Millet-i Ermeniyân") was
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
approved form of the "Code of Regulations" composed of 150 articles which defined the powers of Patriarch (his position in Ottoman
MilletMillet is an Ottoman Turkish term for a confessional community in the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th century, with the Tanzimat reforms, the term started to refer to legally protected religious minority groups, other than the ruling Sunni. Millet comes from the Arabic word millah and literally means...
) and newly formed "Armenian National Assembly".
The Armenian Patriarch began to share his powers with the
Armenian National AssemblyArmenian National Assembly was the governing body of the Armenian Millet established by Armenian National Constitution of 1863 under Ottoman Empire....
and limited by the Armenian National Constitution. He perceived the changes as erosion of his community.
It defined the condition of Armenians within the state, but also it had regulations defining the authority of the Patriarch. The constitution of
Armenian National AssemblyArmenian National Assembly was the governing body of the Armenian Millet established by Armenian National Constitution of 1863 under Ottoman Empire....
seen as a milestone by progressive Armenians. It attempted to define Armenia as a modern nation. The reforms which resulted in the Armenian National Assembly came about as individual Armenians and pressure group complained frequently for assistance against injustices perpetuated by the Kurds (seen as feudal) and corrupt officialdom. At the beginning the relations were positive but in the 1860s, the Ottomans, having crushed Kurdish resistance, no longer needed Armenian support, and the Empire became less responsive to Armenian claims.