By the decree of His Excellency Kevork Archbishop Noradounguian, dated December 18, 2025, Fr. Hovsep Galstyan has been appointed Chancellor of the Ordinariate.

Text of the Decree

DESIGNATION OF THE CHANCELLOR

Guided by Canons 252-254 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (hereinafter CCEC) and based on the needs of the Chancellery of the Ordinariate, particularly, for the management and archiving of official documents, including grant project documents, reports, and the correspondence of the Ordinariate,

I have Decreed

To appoint Fr. Hovsep (passport name Levon) Galstyan the Chancellor-Notary of the Ordinariate, while simultaneously maintaining his position as the Pastor of the five communities of Ashotsk.

The Chancellor-Notary, in his work, commits to being guided by the canons of the CCEC and the specific duties and instructions given by the Ordinary.

✠ KEVORK NORADOUNGUIAN

Titular Archbishop of Sebastia

Ordinary of the Armenian Catholics of Armenia, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern Europe

Annex 1

The Positions and Duties of the Chancellor and Notary According to the Canons of the CCEC

Canon 252. §1. In the eparchial chancellery a chancellor is to be appointed, who must be a priest or a deacon, and whose principal duty, unless otherwise provided by particular law, is to take care that the decrees of the chancellery are gathered, arranged, and preserved in the archive of the eparchial chancellery.

§2 If it is necessary, the chancellor may be given an assistant, with the title of vice-chancellor.

§3 The chancellor and vice-chancellor are by virtue of the law itself notaries of the eparchial chancellery.

Canon 253. §1. Besides the chancellor, other notaries may also be appointed, whose signatures authenticate various decisions, either judicial acts only, or only acts of a certain type or transactions.

§2  Notaries must be of unimpeachable reputation and above suspicion; in those cases where the reputation of a cleric could be questioned, the notary must be a priest.

Canon 254. It is the duty of the notary:

1. to draw up the acts and documents concerning decisions, decrees, obligations, or other dispositions requested of them;

2. to record faithfully in writing what is done and to sign the protocols of these matters, noting the place, day, month, and year;

3. while observing all requirements, to supply acts or documents to those who legally request them and to declare copies to be in conformity with the original.

Canon 255. The chancellor and other notaries can be freely removed from their positions by the eparchial bishop, but not by the eparchial administrator, unless with the consent of the college of eparchial consultors.

Canon 256. §1. The eparchial bishop must establish the archive of the eparchial chancellery in a safe place, where documents concerning eparchial affairs are to be preserved.

§2 An inventory of the documents kept in the eparchial chancellery is to be drawn up, with a brief summary of each document.

Canon 258. It is not allowed to remove documents from the archive of the eparchial chancellery, except for a short time only at the permission of the eparchial bishop, or the joint permission of the Vicar General and the Chancellor.

Annex 2

Other Duties of the Chancellor-Notary of the Ordinariate According to the Instructions of the Ordinary

1. By instruction of and in agreement with the Ordinary, to compile grant projects related to the pastoral mission of the Ordinariate and the parishes, to monitor their implementation, to request, collect, and preserve all related documents, including financial ones, to prepare project reports, and to conduct correspondence with partner organizations.

2. To carry out the composition of texts for the publications of the Ordinariate and to support their printing, with the agreement and authorization of the Ordinary, as well as those responsible for the liturgical and publishing affairs of the Ordinariate.

3. To perform other instructions of the Ordinary related to the management of documents.