Christian Faith in the Byzantine and Medieval Worlds

Mary Cunningham, G. R. Evans

• Publisher: Lion Scholar
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781912552290
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: History of Christianity

This is an accessible two-part introduction to key periods of Christian history.

Faith in the Byzantine World

For many people the Byzantine world is an intriguing mystery. Here, Mary Cunningham presents readers with an ideal guide to this most fascinating of empires. Covering the period between 330 and 1453, the author begins by providing an outline of the history of the Byzantine Church, and then looks at key aspects of its outward expression, including the solitary ideal; holy places and holy people; service to the community; the nature of belief; and art, architecture and icons.

Faith in the Medieval World

The medieval period constituted a turbulent stage in religious history. Gillian R. Evans begins her immersive account by providing an overview of the development of Christianity in the West in the Middle Ages, before looking at key aspects of medieval faith: the Bible and belief; popular piety and devotion; the Crusades and the idea of 'holy war'; politics and the Church; rebellion against authority; and the road to Reformation. This analysis is a must for all those keen to understand one of the most enthralling periods of history.

PART 1

FAITH IN THE BYZANTINE WORLD

INTRODUCTION

From obscure roots in Palestine, Christianity slowly became the dominant religion in the territories of the later Roman empire and beyond. In this earliest period, the Christian Church was one entity, united by a network of bishops, as well as a shared faith and sacraments. It is out of this unified Church of the early centuries that the two main branches of Christian tradition, the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Churches, developed. The former was based primarily in the region of Western Europe, whereas the latter developed in the empire which we now call ‘Byzantine’; this had its centre in the capital city of Constantinople (now Istanbul, in modern Turkey). It is important to remember that the two halves of Christendom remained officially joined throughout the whole of the first Christian millennium.

The decisive split occurred in 1054, although a growing separation between Latin-speaking and Greek-speaking Christians had been visible long before this date. Nevertheless, we can speak of unity throughout the Christian world even after this time. Western and Eastern Christians shared essentially the same doctrine, methods of worship and objects of veneration – such as the cross and the Bible. Minor differences did exist, however, in musical traditions, disciplinary matters and the formulation of doctrine. The Orthodox use of holy icons, for example, remained foreign to Western Christians even though they also sponsored religious art in their cathedrals and homes. Perhaps the greatest source of friction lay in the issue of authority: Roman popes increasingly felt that they should represent the highest source of power in the Christian Church. Eastern bishops and patriarchs, on the other hand, believed in a pentarchy, that is, five ancient leading dioceses, or patriarchates, namely Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. Although Eastern bishops acknowledged the pope as the first in importance among bishops, they were unwilling to grant him complete supremacy in the Church.

This account covers the history of the Byzantine Church between the dates 330 and 1453. To some extent these boundaries, especially that which is usually regarded as the beginning of the Eastern Roman empire, are open to debate. Nevertheless, Constantine’s foundation of a new capital city at Constantinople in Asia Minor may legitimately be seen as the start of this new Christian empire. The fall of the city to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 effectively ended the long and varied history of Byzantine dominion. The title of this section, ‘Faith in the Byzantine World’, is also in some ways inaccurate. People of many different faiths lived in Byzantium at different times, including not only Christians, but also Jews, Samaritans, ‘heretics’ or those who deviated from the ‘right’ faith, and even pagans in the earlier period. Nevertheless, Orthodox Christianity had become the dominant faith in this empire by the end of the fourth century. Not only were the daily lives and attitudes of most citizens shaped by this faith, but the government and official Church were imbued with its teachings. Various aspects of this Christian civilization will be explored in the chapters which follow, including the close relationship between Church and State, doctrine and worldview.

The Byzantine empire has traditionally been viewed as a conservative and repressive society. Churchmen, scholars and politicians alike looked to a classical past and attempted to preserve its culture, laws and values – although, of course, within a Christian framework. Historians, beginning with Edward Gibbon in the eighteenth century, have stressed not only the traditionalism of this society, but also its corruption and lack of creativity. In fact, this view of Byzantium is inaccurate in many respects. If we study the texts and artefacts of the Byzantines carefully, it is clear that creative thought and religious views did flourish and develop in the course of 11 centuries. Most of these productions also reveal a deeply Christian view of the world, a sense of God’s immanence and involvement in creation and human history. The expression of Orthodox Christian faith by means of the tools and ideas of classical civilization was consistently both innovative and successful.

Furthermore, the Eastern Roman empire contained in most periods a diverse, multi-ethnic population. The governing elite in Constantinople and a few other cities represented a tiny minority within the population as a whole. Perhaps as many as 90 per cent of the Byzantines were peasants living in rural areas, most of whom were probably illiterate. Not all of these people even spoke Greek; at the outer frontiers of the empire there were Armenian, Slavic and Syriac or Arabic-speaking communities, to name only a few. We are thus attempting to describe here a period and culture in Christian history which almost escapes precise definition. At the same time, however, it is clear on the basis of the surviving literary texts and artefacts that Byzantine Orthodoxy provided most of its adherents with a unified and comprehensive worldview. Belief in the triune God, whose definition was established by biblical revelation and in the course of the ecumenical councils, formed the basis of this worldview. Beyond this basic Christian doctrine, the cults of the Virgin Mary, the saints and holy symbols such as icons and relics, as well as religious practices such as attendance at church, keeping the fasts and celebrating the feast days, helped to define Byzantines’ sense of cultural identity.

It is with some regret that I have decided not to cover in detail other faiths in the Byzantine world. The reasons for this are primarily those of space. Separate books on Byzantine Judaism, ‘heretical’ groups such as the Paulicians and Bogomils and, perhaps even more importantly, all the Churches now called the ‘Oriental’ Orthodox, which survive to this day in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Ethiopia, India and Armenia, are required for each of these topics. This account, alongside ‘Faith in the Medieval World’, is concerned primarily with the dominant religion in the region that it covers, in this case Orthodox Christianity. The first two chapters provide a broad chronological outline of the history of the Byzantine Church and State; after these, a more thematic approach is adopted. It is inevitable that some repetition will occur; nevertheless, it is hoped that each chapter may be read on its own as well as in conjunction with others. It would be impossible to cover every subject in detail in an account of this size. Further reading are therefore provided at the end, including both primary and secondary sources.

Finally, it is necessary to add a word about the technical terms and spellings that are used here. It seems impossible to avoid using certain terms which have very precise meanings when writing about the Byzantine Church. Many of these, such as ‘patriarch’, ‘ecumenical’ council or ‘liturgy’, in fact represent transliterations of Greek words. Most have been adopted for practical use in English both by scholars and writers of books for the general public. A short explanation of the meaning of each word is provided when it first occurs in the text. Whenever possible, however, simpler terms are substituted. Spellings follow the conventions of most books published on Byzantine topics. That is, names of people or places which have a well-known English equivalent, such as ‘Rome’, ‘Antony’ or ‘Michael’, appear in that form. Those which have not previously been translated, such as ‘Herakleios’ or ‘Kosmas Indikopleustes’, are spelled according to Greek, rather than Latin, conventions.

I would like to acknowledge here the generous help of Augustine Casiday and Zaga Gavrilović, who both read through earlier drafts of the text and suggested a number of changes. I would also like to thank Claire Sauer for her meticulous work in improving the narrative.

CHAPTER 1

A CHRISTIAN ROMAN EMPIRE

(330–843)

When did the Byzantine Church, or for that matter the Byzantine empire, begin? The time when it ended, at the sack of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, is indisputable, but the point of transition between the later Roman and the Byzantine empires is less obvious. Some historians indeed would argue that there is no beginning: Byzantium represented (and its own citizens in fact adhered to this idea) the continuation of the Roman empire in the East. Many, however, would signal the reign of Constantine the Great, who finally gained sole authority as Roman emperor when he defeated Licinius in 324, and whose dramatic conversion to Christianity ended the period of persecution by pagan emperors, as the starting point for both empire and Church.

Constantinople, the ‘New Rome’

Constantine’s decision to found an administrative capital, or ‘New Rome’, at the site of the ancient city of Byzantion shifted the centre of gravity eastwards in the empire. Several ideas seem to have motivated Constantine in this decision. First, the site was strategically well placed. At a vantage point which divided not only Asia Minor from the rest of Europe, but also the Black Sea from the Mediterranean, Constantinople represented a link between all the territories of the Roman world. Second, it is likely that Constantine saw political advantages in distancing himself from the power structures and traditions of the old Rome. In Constantinople, he was able to establish a new order, with a newly appointed senate and administration. Henceforth, Constantinople would represent the centre of the largely Greek-speaking, Eastern Roman empire which slowly and inexorably became separated, both culturally and politically, from the Latin West.

Constantine’s conversion

Although it may be purely legendary, the story of Constantine’s dramatic conversion at the Milvian Bridge outside Rome and the successful defeat of his first main rival, the usurper Maxentius, in 312 was regarded even by contemporary historians as the starting point for a new, Christian Roman empire. The true sequence of events before this famous battle remains obscure and was embroidered in subsequent years. An account written by the Christian historian Lactantius sometime before 324 relates that Constantine, following instructions he had received in a dream the night before, instructed his troops to inscribe the chi-rho sign,

, representing the first two letters in the name of Christ in Greek, on their shields. Nearly 30 years later, Eusebius elaborated this story in his biography of Constantine, saying that the emperor had a vision of a luminous cross in the sky, accompanied by the inscription ‘Conquer by this’. After this battle, Constantine went on to defeat his other rivals and by 324 had become sole ruler of the entire Roman empire. He also decided to introduce Christianity as the state religion, providing the Church for the first time with money and imperial backing. The extent of Constantine’s own conversion remains open to debate. It is likely that while viewing the Christian God as the most powerful force in the universe, he continued to express allegiance to the ancient gods of pagan Rome. Constantine was finally baptized on his deathbed in 337, and was buried with much pomp in a mausoleum which he had built in Constantinople

The Christianization of the empire

Perhaps the most important effect of Constantine’s conversion was on the Christian Church itself. As a result of Constantine’s active patronage and legal reforms from the 320s onwards, the Church began to develop as an institution with wealth and property at its disposal. For the first time, churches on a monumental scale could be endowed and built. Basilicas intended for large urban congregations, shrines in honour of martyrs or saints, and churches built on holy sites of pilgrimage began to proliferate in Eastern and Western Christendom. The internal organization of the Church also changed in response to imperial patronage and protection. Although bishops had led the Christian community in its decisions since as early as the second century, their organization into various ranks and dioceses seems to date from the period of Constantine. It is interesting to note that Christian dioceses followed closely the secular organization of the state and its division into local provinces by Diocletian and his successors. Each province had its principal bishop, who was responsible for organizing meetings and ordaining all the clerics under his jurisdiction. A hierarchical power structure for the Church came into being at the same time that it began to exert significant influence and authority within the secular state.

Constantinople

Constantine founded his new capital city on the site of Byzantion, an ancient Greek city-state, or polis, located on the Bosphorus between Golden Horn, an inlet which leads to the Black Sea, and the Sea of Marmara. Byzantion was insignificant before Constantine chose it for the ‘New Rome’, but he added or enlarged all the necessary ingredients of a late-Roman city: wide avenues bordered by colonnades, squares or forums, public baths, a racecourse or hippodrome, a palace and several new Christian churches, including the two central basilicas, Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) and St Irene. Constantine also moved the city walls outwards to allow for expansion; a further set of defensive walls, about 1.5 kilometres beyond Constantine’s, was added by the emperor Theodosius II at the beginning of the fifth century. These outer walls proved ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Part 1: Faith in the Byzantine World
• Part 2: Faith in the Medieval World
• Further Reading
• Index