The primary aim of this translation is to open a multidimensional discussion on the loss of authority experienced by Etchmiadzin in the nineteenth century, and to analytically demonstrate how this weakening of authority is exemplified at institutional, regional, social, and individual levels through a critical article published in 1879 in the newspaper Mshak by the Armenian writer Hakob Melik-Hakobyan (1835–1888), known by the penname Raffi, who is widely acknowledged as having played a significant role in the formation and shaping of the political ideologies of the period. Raffi’s critique of Etchmiadzin is not confined merely to a debate over institutional competence; rather, it evolves into a multilayered discussion that interrogates the limits of the spiritual center’s capacity to govern, the social consequences that emerge when this capacity is weakened or entirely eroded, and the destructive effects of corrupted representation on national consciousness. The neglect or misgovernance of Etchmiadzin not only creates a religious vacuum among Armenians but also, indirectly, constitutes a structural obstacle to national unity and awakening. Within the framework of the historical development and institutional organization of the Armenian Church, Etchmiadzin has been the subject of numerous studies. However, by addressing the relationship between religious corruption and national disintegration through concrete examples along the religion–nationalism axis, this article offers an original contribution to the existing literature from a critical perspective. Raffi is regarded as one of the most prominent figures of modern Armenian literature and as a writer with a broad readership. His historical novels, in particular, are considered to have served as a significant source of ideas that nourished the formation and development of Armenian nationalism. Throughout his life, the author was at times accused of irreligion due to his sharp criticisms directed at the Church and the clergy, and he was even targeted in an assassination attempt as a result of certain critiques articulated in his novels. Mshak, the periodical in which the article was published, began publication in Tiflis in 1871 and is recognized as the liberal newspaper of Caucasian Armenians in the final quarter of the nineteenth century. With its emphasis on themes such as social reform, education and cultural modernization, the critique of existing institutions, and Armenian nationalism, it played a central role in disseminating the ideas of contemporary writers to a broad readership.
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