Social and political roles of the Armenian clergy from the late Ottoman era to the Turkish republic

• Published in: Philosophy & social criticism Vol. 43; no. 4-5; pp. 539 - 547
• Main Author: Kılıçdağı, Ohannes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-05-2017; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Clergy; Empires; Group identity; Leadership; Minority groups; Muslims; Religious leaders; Rights; State role; Treatment methods; Armenian patriarchate of İstanbul; Ottoman Armenians; minorities in Turkey; Ottoman millet system
• ISSN: 0191-4537; 1461-734X
• DOI: 10.1177/0191453716688366

This article examines the treatment of Armenians by the late Ottoman and Turkish republican state with a special focus on the social and political roles of the Armenian clergy, especially the patriarch. After giving a brief account of the historical evolution of the millet system – the principles and practices applied by the Ottoman state in its treatments of non-Muslims – the article tries to understand whether the new regime kept it or adopted a modern approach during the transition from empire to nation-state. It concludes that the republican state has created a deliberate inconsistency in its treatment of the Armenian community and patriarch. Although it has avoided recognizing them as a group and their group’s rights it continuously discriminated against them because of their group identity. The republican state has tried to downgrade the patriarch to a mere religious figure without any social or political role which is defined de jure. However, it has continued to accept him as de facto leader of the Armenian community on some occasions.