of alleged Patriarchs, the possession of this relic (and its use in ordination) was supposed to be the sign of legitimate succession. There was one alleged holy Atsh at Sis. At Etshmiadzin they had what they claimed to be the true holy Atsh. When Kirakos of Etshmiadzin, despairing of the state of his Church, resigned in 1443, his party elected and ordained Gregory X to succeed him (1443-1466). But Zachary of Aghthamar was ordained Patriarch by his friends; he took possession of Etshmiadzin itself in 1461. Then, when he was turned out by Gregory X in 1462, he went off to Aghthamar, taking the holy Atsh with him and maintaining his claim. The relic was not brought back to Etshmiadzin, till it was stolen in 1477 by partisans of the line of Gregory X. Then the kingdom of Cilician Armenia fell to pieces (p. 389), the influence of the Crusaders was over, and all Armenians returned to schism. The Patriarch at Etshmiadzin, partly through the sanctity of his monastery,[1] partly through that of his recovered and now universally admitted holy Atsh, secured the allegiance of all the Church. His line still resides there; by dint of ignoring schisms and making a straight-looking succession they trace their line from St. Gregory, nay from St. Thaddæus and St. Bartholomew the apostles.[2] Etshmiadzin, the national sanctuary, has been enriched with many legends, tending to show not only that it was the home of St. Gregory, but that it had always been, at least in principle, the seat of the Katholikos. The lines of Sis and Aghthamar acknowledged the supremacy of Etshmiadzin, but, as a bribe to make them do so, they too were allowed to keep the title Patriarch. Sis became an inferior Patriarchate,[3] under Etshmiadzin, but having considerable metropolitical jurisdiction; Aghthamar remained a merely titular Patriarchate (p. 430).
The Armenians then became used to the idea of other Patriarchs under the supreme Katholikos-Patriarch. Once that is admitted it does not much matter how many there are. As a matter of fact two more were formed. Since 1307 they had a
