Could the Armenian Catholicos Really Sentence Catholicos of Kartli to Death?

Abstract

The work discusses the Russian-language book of Arsen Shaginyan, a historian from St. Petersburg - „Geography of Armenia and the countries of the South Caucasus in the Early Middle Ages“. Closer to my scholarly interests is the third paragraph of chapter I of the Book - „Church Relations in the East in the Context of Christological Polemics“.

In this part of the book, the author tries to prove that on the basis of „limited autocephaly“ the Church of Kartli recognizes the advantage of „Great Armenia“ over churches in the South Caucasus. He relies on a letter written by the Armenian Catholicos Abraham Albatanetsi (607-615) to the Catholicos of Kartli Kiron, where he threatens him with the death penalty in case of disobedience.

The article presents translations of specialists who since 1901 (the year of publication) have interpreted and translated the very passage of the Book of Epistles, where Arsen Shaginyan has read that the Armenian Catholicos threatened Catholicos of Kartli to execute him. I will give only two translations in the summary. Both authors are Armenians. One translates into Russian and the other into English.

A. Mnatsakanyan: „Bitter as death, and even bitterer seemed to me your behavior“.

Bishop Zaven Arzumanyan: „Such measures taken by you hit us a mortal blow so terribly and exorbitantly“.

Obviously, the Armenian Catholicos suffered greatly, because he was informed that the Catholicos of Kartli expelled the Armenian bishop of Tsurtavi from his congregation.

From the Book of Epistles it is clear that he could not touch the Catholicos of Kartli; however, he could threaten the members of his congregation with corporal punishment if they had any connection with Georgians other than trade. Life is wise, and not a single item of this curse has ever been fulfilled.