Page 201 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

202 The Armenian Church

people. The mission ad intra almost replaced
mission ad extra because of the huge crises
and upheavals confronting the nation. In
times of socio-political distress, the Church
has been the source of hope; in times of
military confrontation, the people have found
refuge in the Church; and in times of
uncertainty, they have turned to the Church
for guidance. After the fall of the Armenian
Kingdom in Cilicia in 1375, the cultural,
social, religious, and political life of the
nation was organized around its only central
institution, the Church.
During the times when political authority
was absent, the Armenian people and alien
powers alike regarded the Armenian Church
as the nation’s leader. Thus, although it im-
posed heavy restrictions on the role of the
Church, Czarist Russia considered it as the
representative of the Armenian people. While
they ruled brutally Eastern Armenia and
Cilicia, the Ottoman authorities recognized
the Church as the only legitimate representa-
tive of the community and granted it the
power and responsibility to govern over the
internal life of the community. After the
Genocide, the Church’s role as leader became
even stronger and more central, both for
diaspora communities and in the eyes of
outside powers.
In the early period of the diaspora, the
Church's pivotal role in national life