PART 2: Tax Privileges of the Armenian Church

There are legal privileges that apply exclusively to the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church. This special status does not mean that the Armenian Church has been granted the status of a tax-exempt organization. Rather, it means that the state has no right to interfere in the Church’s internal affairs—for instance, in its self-governance: who serves as a community’s spiritual pastor, who leads a diocese, who holds the office of Patriarch, or who is elected and consecrated as the Catholicos of All Armenians. Furthermore, the state cannot compile a list of the "top 1,000" Christians.