Download 11.1 The Byzantine Empire

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11.1 THE BYZANTINE
EMPIRE
A F T E R R O M E S P L I T, T H E E A S T E R N E M P I R E , K N O W N A S
BYZANTIUM, FLOURISHES FOR A THOUSAND YEARS.
A NEW ROME IN A NEW SETTING
• The Eastern Roman Empire
• Roman Empire officially divides into East and West in
395.
• Eastern Empire flourishes; becomes known as Byzantium
• Justinian becomes emperor of Byzantium in 527.
• His armies reconquer much of the former Roman
territory.
• Byzantine emperors head state and church, use brutal
politics
LIFE IN THE NEW ROME
• New Laws for the Empire
• Justinian seeks to revise and update laws for governing the empire
• Justinian Code—new set of laws consisting of four main parts
• Code regulates much of Byzantine life; lasts for 900 years.
• Creating the Imperial Capital
• Justinian launches a program to beautify the capital, Constantinople.
• Constructs new buildings; builds magnificent church, Hagia Sophia.
• Byzantines preserve Greco-Roman culture and learning.
CONSTANTINE’S HECTIC PACE
• City becomes trading hub with major marketplace.
• Giant Hippodrome offers chariot races and other entertainment.
• Racing fans start riots in 532; the government restores order
violently.
• Empress Theodora is the powerful wife and adviser to Justinian.
THE EMPIRE FALLS
• Years of Turmoil
• Justinian dies in 565; the empire faces many crises after his death.
• Attacks from East and West
• Byzantium faces attacks from many different groups.
• Empire survives through bribery, diplomacy, and military power.
• Constantinople falls in 1453; brings an end to the Byzantine Empire.
THE CHURCH DIVIDES
• A Religious Split
• Christianity develops differently in Eastern and Western
Roman Empires.
• Two churches disagree over many issues, including the
use of icons.
• Icons are two-dimensional religious images used to aid in
prayer.
• Leading bishop of Eastern Christianity is known as a
Patriarch.
• In the West, the pope excommunicates the emperor,
banishing him from the church over the iconoclast
controversy.
CHURCH DIVIDES
• Byzantine Missionaries Convert the Slavs
• Eastern Orthodox missionaries seek to convert the northern peoples
known as the Slavs.
• Missionaries create the Cyrillic alphabet—the basis for many Slavic
languages.
• Alphabet enables many groups to read the Bible.
WORK WITH A PARTNER
1. Answer questions 1 and 2 on page 305
1.
2.
Forming and Supporting Opinions What do you think was the most
important issue dividing the two churches?
Do you think the schism between the Roman Catholic church and the
Eastern Orthodox Church will ever be healed and the two churches
reunited ? Why or why not?
THE PRIMARY CAUSES OF THE EAST-WEST SCHISM
OF 1054*
Cause
Eastern Church
Western Church
POLITICAL RIVALRY
Byzantine Empire
Holy Roman Empire
CLAIMS OF PAPACY
Patriarch of Constantinople was
considered second in primacy to the
bishop of Rome.
Bishop of Rome claimed
supremacy over entire church.
THEOLOGICAL
DEVELOPMENT
Stagnated after Council of Chalcedon.
Continued to change and grow
through controversies and
expansion.
FILIOQUE CONTROVERSEY
Declared that the Holy Spirit proceeds
from the Father.
Declared that the Holy Spirit
proceeds from the Father and the
Son.
ICONOCLASTIC
CONTROVERSY
Engaged in 120-year dispute over the
use of icons in worship; finally
concluded they could be used (statues
prohibited).
Made constant attempts to
interfere in what was purely an
Eastern dispute (statues
permitted).
*from Robert C. Walton. Chronological and Background
Charts of Church History. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.
THE PRIMARY CAUSES OF THE EAST-WEST SCHISM
OF 1054*
Cause
Eastern Church
Western Church
DIFFERENCES IN
LANGUAGE AND
CULTURE
Greek/Oriental
Latin/Occidental
CLERICAL CELIBACY
Lower clergy were permitted to
marry.
All clergy were required to
be celibate.
OUTSIDE PRESSURES
Muslims constricted and put
continual pressure on Eastern
Church.
Western Barbarians were
Christianized and
assimilated by Western
church.
MUTUAL
EXCOMMUNICATION OF
1054
Michael Cerularius
anathematized Pope Leo IX
after having been
excommunicated by him.
Leo IX excommunicated
Patriarch Michael
Cerularius of
Constantinople.
*from Robert C. Walton. Chronological and Background
Charts of Church History. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.
A TOUR OF CONSTANTINOPLE
1. Look at Haiga Sophia Read and answer questions.
**Last 5 minutes discussion **
• http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=10
FOUR ORIGINAL PROVINCES WITHIN CHRISTIANITY
RECOGNIZED BY THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA (325 C.E.)
Rome
Antioch
Alexandria
Jerusalem
In 325, the Council of Nicaea recognized only four major jurisdictions within the church. Due to the Jewish revolts of the 1 st and 2nd
Centuries, a shift in the influence of Christianity had taken place away from Jerusalem. Antioch and Alexandria became major jurisdictions,
but because of conflicting schools of interpretation and theology often disputed with one another. After its founding by Constantine,
Constantinople was rising in importance and later its Patriarch also disputed with Alexandria over theology (e.g. Nestorius who held to the
Nestorian heresy of a two-person Christology). Rome, being the original seat of the Roman Empire was given Primacy as “first among
equals.” This meant that the opinion of the pope of Rome was canvassed in theological disputes. He was given some jurisdiction outside of
Rome, but it did not mean he had jurisdiction over the other three provinces. It was implied that the distance of Rome from the other
provinces gave the Pope some level of impartiality as to theological opinion, but not a definitive say in settling disputes.
“PENTARCHY”: FIVE PROVINCES RECOGNIZED
BY THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (451 C.E.)
Constantinople
Rome
Antioch
Alexandria
Jerusalem
In 381 the Council of Constantinople elevated Constantinople to a Patriarchate (major province) because
the seat of the Roman government was moved there. Constantine had called Constantinople “Nova
Roma” (New Rome). Theodosius the Great, who died in 395, was the last emperor to rule a unified
Roman Empire. In 410 Germanic tribes (Visogoths) had sacked Rome, and by the middle of the 5th
century the western Roman Empire had fallen. In 451 the Council of Chalcedon—which settled the
Christological controversies of the time—affirmed a fifth province in Constantinople.
EASTERN ORTHODOX VIEW OF THE EQUALITY OF
PATRIARCHS
Patriarch of
Rome
“primacy”
Patriarch
of
Constantinople
Patriarch of
Alexandria
Patriarch
of Antioch
Patriarch
of
Jerusalem
First Among
Equals
“First among equals” merely meant that the Pope’s opinion was the one
that was asked first. As noted above, the distance of Rome from the east
could imply impartiality. But the Eastern Orthodox did not hold that the
Pope’s opinion was law for the entire Church. In the ancient “pentarchy”
(the five “sees” listed below) he would preside as the “chair” in an
ecumenical council. This did not give him any authority over other
jurisdictions however.
ROMAN CATHOLIC VIEW
OF “PAPAL SUPREMACY”
Pope of
Rome
Supreme
above other
provinces
Patriarch
of
Patriarch
of
Constantinople
Alexandria
Patriarch
of
Antioch
Patriarch
of
Jerusalem
EFFECT OF ISLAMIC CONQUESTS
Constantinople
Rome
Antioch
Alexandria
Jerusalem
The Islamic conquests of the 7th and 8th Centuries effectively eliminate any influence of the patriarchates
of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria in the Christian world. Constantinople had already been given
second place in “primacy” to Rome, therefore the two main “rival” patriarchates are Rome and
Constantinople. This sets up the political conflict that was to come and be exacerbated by the linguistic,
liturgical, and theological differences between Rome and Constantinople.
LINGUISTIC DISUNITY
•
•
•
•
West—dominant language Latin
East—dominant language Greek
Decline in bilingualism after the fall of the western empire
Linguistic disunity develops into cultural disunity
• Different religious rites and liturgy develop
• Different approaches to Christian doctrine emerge
PAPAL SUPREMACY AND THE
NICENE CREED
• Pope Leo IX claimed he held authority over the four eastern
patriarchs.
• The Pope in 1014 inserted the “Filioque clause” (the words “and
the son” in regards to the procession of the Holy Spirit) into the
Latin version of the Nicene Creed. (This was not allowed by the
Roman church in the Greek version). Leo IX asserted the
papacy’s right to do so. The Eastern Orthodox believed this to be
a violation of the 7th canon of the Council of Ephesus, and viewed
this clause as a western innovation and heresy.
• The Eastern Orthodox today state that the 28th Canon of the
Council of Chalcedon established the equality of the Bishops of
Rome and Constantinople, therefore, the Roman pontiff could not
claim authority over Constantinople.
ICONOCLAST CONTROVERSY
• The Byzantine Emperor Leo III outlawed the veneration of icons in the
8th century. Some believe this to be a result of the pressures of Islam.
Those who were against the use of icons in the church were called
“iconoclasts.” The first period of iconoclasm occurred from 730-787
C.E. A second period of iconoclasm occurred from 814-842 C.E.
• Arguments usually surrounded the understanding of how to depict the
two natures of Jesus Christ in Christian theological teaching.
“Iconodules” (supporters of the use of icons) believed that to disallow
depicting Jesus artistically denied the incarnation.
• The western church rejected iconoclasm. However, icons, which are
generally two dimensional works of art were generally not used. Instead,
statues were allowed in the western church .
DIFFERENT CHURCH/STATE RELATIONS
• Caesaropapism in the east subordinated the church to the religious
claims of the dominant political state. In the Byzantine Empire, the
emperor had supreme authority over the church.
• In the west the church was relatively independent of the state due to
the fall of the western empire and a lack of imperial authority. Later,
when strong kingdoms emerge in Western Europe, the investiture
controversy surfaces creating church/state conflicts.
• Pope and patriarch excommunicate each other over religious
doctrines and disputes over jurisdiction.
• Eastern and Western churches officially split in 1054.
• West—Roman Catholic Church
• East—Orthodox Church