In their report of 1814 the British and Foreign Bible Society said that the printing of the Armenian Testament had aroused much interest among the Armenians, especially those in Russia. Emperor Alexander at that time took a keen interest in the work of the Russian Bible Society and therefore the cause itself became popular among all classes. The Armenian Catholicos, the spiritual head of that Church, with residence at Etchmiadzin, now in Russia, bordering upon Armenia, was elected one of the vice-presidents of the society. He wrote a letter to its president commending the work of the society, and approving of the plan to supply his own people with the Word of God. The Armenian archbishop of Tiflis contributed six hundred roubles for that purpose. In 1818 the British and Foreign Bible Society purchased one thousand five hundred copies of the Armenian New Testament from the Armenian Catholic College located on the Island of St. Lazarus, Venice, for distribution among the Armenians. Later, a still larger number was purchased and distributed in the same way. In 1823 the same Bible Society published at Constantinople an edition of five thousand copies of the Armenian New Testament and three thousand copies of the four Gospels alone. These books were rapidly distributed by agents of the British and Foreign Bible Society and by Mr. Connor of the Church Missionary Society, at that time in Constantinople, among the Armenians of the Trans-Caucasian provinces in Russia and in Turkey. These facts have an important bearing upon the preparation of the Armenians for a reform movement. Hitherto, while they had the Bible in its entirety, it was mostly in manuscript form, and inaccessible to the people. These valuable copies of the Holy Scriptures were kept in the monasteries or in the larger churches, carefully guarded by the priests or other custodians, who usually were themselves unable to read or understand the writing. All the Armenians everywhere accepted the Bible as the divine and inspired Word of God. The name of the Bible is Astvadsashoonch, or “_The breath of God_.” With joy they welcomed the printed word that could be kept in their houses, handled with their own hands, and perused at their leisure. Hitherto they had been permitted only to kiss its silver adorned covers at the close of the formal services of their churches.