WHICH CERTIFICATE IS MORE IN EFFECT?

A1+
[01:48 pm] 13 November, 2008

The marriage certificate given after the marriage in the Armenian
Apostolic Church is in effect just like the certificate given by the
Civil Acts Registration Agency. However, according to priest Vardan
Gapoyan, the church gives the certificate only after registering
at the agency. After marrying in the Armenian Apostolic Church the
marriage certificate given.

"The Republic of Armenia recognizes the marriages and declared divorces
that take place with the ritual of the Armenian Apostolic Church and
correspond to the order defined by the RA government," as stated in the
9th article of the RA law on "Relations of the Republic of Armenia and
the Armenian Apostolic Church", which was passed on February 22, 2007.

Nevertheless, the legislation requires couples to register and then
get married in the church, but there are many other problems connected
to that.

"If we look at it from the law perspective, a person can get married
with someone in the church, then at the agency with another and in this
case, the state can’t regulate the force of any marriage. That is why
we need certain legislative reforms," told "A1+" one of the priests.