The Turkish Ministry of the Interior has sent to the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople and the patriarch election initiative group the regulations for holding the election for a new Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople.

But these regulations have caused discontent among the Istanbul Armenian community, including clergy, according to Agos Armenian weekly of Istanbul.

The main point of dissatisfaction with these regulations is the stipulation that Armenian clergymen who are serving outside Turkey cannot run in this election.

Under the regulations from back in 1863, however, all Armenian clergymen who were born in Turkey could become candidates for the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, regardless of the country of their service.