Raffi writes in his preface to the novel Khach’agoghi hishatakaranë (Armenian: Խաչագողի հիշատակարանը, lit.

'Diary of a cross-stealer' or 'Diary of a robber') that the main source material for the work is the actual diary of one such 'cross-stealer' (khach’agogh), as well as the stories he heard from the latter's wife in the village of Savra in Salmast in northwestern Iran (Raffi himself was a native of this region).

The term 'cross-stealer' (khach’agogh) refers to their practice of disguising themselves as priests or monks in order to steal valuable objects from churches.

[2] Raffi indicates in the preface that many acquaintances advised him not to publish the work, but that he did so anyway because he thought it was important to shed light on this negative social phenomenon.

[4] In 1888, a few months after Raffi's death, Khach’agoghi hishatakaranë was adapted into a play and performed in Baku by a local troupe.

[5] Khach’agoghi hishatakaranë was adapted into an Armenian film of the same name in 2010, directed by Hrach Keshishyan to a script by Artak Arzumanyan and starring Samvel Topalyan as Murad, Hrachya Harutyunyan as Godfather Petros, and Nazeni Hovhannisyan as Nene.