• Catholicos of
  All Armenians
• Mother See of
  Holy Etchmiadzin
• Ecclesiastical
  Assembly
• Supreme
  Spiritual Council
• Armenian College
  and Academy

• Who We Are ▼
  What We Believe Holy Tradition Clergy College of Bishops
• Patriarchal Sees ▼
  Patriarchate of
  Jerusalem Patriarchate of
  Constantinople
• Dioceses ▼
  Armenia Africa Asia/Australia Europe Middle East North America South America
• Seminaries ▼
  Gevorkian Theological
  Seminary Vaskenian Theological
  Academy
• Current Structure

The Hierarchy of the Armenian Church

The Catholicos stands at the peak of the hierarchical ladder of the Armenian Church. During his consecration as Catholicos, when he receives the grace of the Holy Spirit for leading the Church, he also receives the authority to pass it to the bishops, who, in turn, pass it to the priests during ordination.

The hierarchy of the Armenian Church has three main ecclesiastical orders. They receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, as well as the authority to pass it to others through sacraments, ordination and anointing with chrism.

The PRIESTHOOD is the initial order of the hierarchical structure. The priest is to administer and provide for spiritual renewal and education of the faithful, as well as to celebrate the Divine Liturgy and perform the sacraments, and special services.

The priest receives his authority from the bishop through ordination and anointment of the Holy Chrism.

There are both secular (married) and celibate (unmarried) priests in the Armenian, as well as in the Orthodox Church. Upon their ordination, both are referred to as “Kahana”.  According to tradition, in order to be ordained as a secular priest, the candidate should be married for at least one year and have a child. A widowed priest can become a monk or marry for a second time, according to the regulation decreed by Catholicos of All Armenians Kevork V (1911-1930).

The HIERMONK/MONK, or celibate priest, declares a vow of celibacy the same evening on the day of his ordination and is given a “veghar”, a special head-cover, which symbolizes his renunciation of worldly things.  A celibate priest is given the title of Monk, in Armenian “Abegha”.  Upon successful completion and defense of a written thesis, on a topic of his choosing, the Monk receives the rank of Archimandrite (Vardapet).  This indicates that he is a “Doctor” of the Church and receives the right to carry the staff of an Archimandrite.

A higher rank of Senior Archimandrite (Dzayraguyn Vardapet) can be granted after completing and defending a doctoral thesis.  The rank can only be granted by Bishops who themselves have attained the rank of Senior Archimandrite.

Secular priests can obtain the title of Senior Priest, referred to in Armenian as “Avak Kahana”.

The BISHOP stands at the highest order in the Church hierarchy.

Episcopacy symbolizes the union of the Church. The bishop is at the head and the spiritual leader of all the churches of the same political-geographical regions, the dioceses. The bishop has the authority to ordain and anoint priests and consecrate Churches.

In the Armenian Church the bishop is ordained and anointed by the Catholicos. During the ordination the bishop receives an episcopal staff and a ring as signs of his authority. The bishops are elected from among those celibate priests who have achieved the rank of archimandrite.

Bishops of extraordinary accomplishments may be granted the title of Archbishop by Pontifical Encyclical.

Catholicos of All Armenians

Unlike the other Orthodox Churches, in the hierarchy of the Armenian Apostolic Church the Catholicos of All Armenians, a Greek term signifying “Universal Leader of the Church”, is the head of the Church.  He ranks higher than Patriarchs, Archbishops and Bishops in the Armenian Church.  He is typically chosen from the College of Bishops, and once elected is regarded as the “First Among Equals."  The Catholicos is consecrated by 12 bishops.

The Catholicos represents the centralized authority of the Armenian Church. He is the supreme judge and the head of the legislative body. Ordination of bishops, blessing of chrism, proclamation of feasts, invitation and dismissal of National-Ecclesiastical Councils, issuing decrees concerning the administration of the Armenian Church and establishing dioceses are all within his jurisdiction and responsibility.  

The National-Ecclesiastical Council elects the Catholicos for life.

Minor Orders

There are also two minor orders in the Armenian Church, which are bestowed by the laying of hand.

Clerk (Dpir) at present combines the responsibilities of different servants of the ancient Church: psalm-reader, sexton, door-keeper and lantern-lighter.              

Deacon usually is elected from among the clerks. His duty is to help the priest both during the services and in his pastoral activity.

Scholarly Degrees of the Armenian Church

The Armenian Church gives her priests two scholarly degrees by ordination:

1. Archimandrite (Vardapet) - is equal to a Master’s degree in Divinity.

2. Senior Archimandrite (Dzayraguyn Vardapet) - is equal to a Doctorate degree in Divinity.

Only celibate priests can receive scholarly degrees by ordination. Only those bishops, who have the degree of senior archimandrite, have the authority to ordain archimandrites or senior archimandrites.

When an archimandrite receives a scholarly degree, he also receives a staff with a two-headed serpent, which symbolizes wisdom and authority to teach and to preach.

Example Forms of Address: