In a letter from 1199 addressed to Innocent III, Lewon I presented himself as king of all the Armenians, a title that was copied from the one used by the Armenian catholicos. The union with Rome, established in 1198, was met with opposition in Greater Armenia and the king could not control the Armenian patriarch either, because he resided in Hromkla. Thus, he tried to assume the spiritual authority over all Armenians to avoid any damage done to his ties with Rome and to control the Armenian Church, an action reflected in the use of the title of king of all the Armenians.