Christianity in Byzantium : between the end of Iconoclasm and the Schism
Creators: name: Alexopoulos, Lampros
Publisher: name: Database of Religious History (DRH)
Year: 2023

description: The Council of Constantinople that the Byzantine regent Theodora summoned in 843 convened to refute iconoclasm and restore the worship and the veneration of the Holy Icons, marking the end of Iconoclasm, which caused several serious problems to the Byzantine empire in both religious and political level. However, albeit the period after iconoclasm was generally peaceful, it was not entirely tranquil, since the iconoclastic controversy left behind a legacy of factions. Patriarch Methodius I (843-847) accommodated former iconoclasts in the Church, provided that they renounce their heretic views. Methodius’s policy met strong opposition by the monks of the Studios monastery in Constantinople, many of which were excommunicated by Methodius before his death in 847. An intense struggle for succession has begun until Empress Theodora appointed St. Ignatius, the son of the Emperor Michael I Rangabe and opponent of Iconoclasm, to succeed Methodios. St. Ignatius was fervently accused by his enemies that, since he had not been elected in a synod and subsequently confirmed by the Emperor, but he was being appointed by the Empress Theodora, he was not a legitimate patriarch. Furthermore, St. Ignatius soon became involved in the conflict between the monks of the Stoudion monastery and the moderates in the Church. This dispute was about whether to depose clergymen who had cooperated with iconoclast policies in the past or not. Ignatius took the side of the conservative Stoudite monks and deposed the archbishop of Syracuse, Gregory Asbestas (844-880), the leader of the moderate party. Asbestas protested in 853 to Pope Leo IV (847-855) seeking a redress. Thus, a period of friction in relations between the Church of Rome and that of Constantinople had begun: Asbestas and several other bishops had been condemned in a synod called by St. Ignatius without papal consent. These events were the beginning for the so-called Photian schism. The schism was initially caused due to political reasons. Michael III (the so-called Drunkard) became emperor at a young age, while his mother Theodora served as regent. His uncle Bardas, Theodora’s brother, was an influential advisor. However, he found a fervent critic in the face of St. Ignatius: Bardas was accused of committing incest with his daughter-in-law, therefore St. Ignatius publicly denied him the Eucharist in the Hagia Sophia. Consequently, St. Ignatius lost support and he was forced to resign in 858. He was replaced by the layman Photius. Photius became a monk on December 20, 858 and on the following four days was successively ordained lector, sub-deacon, deacon and priest. He was made patriarch on Christmas day. St. Ignatius’s supporters however sought the aid of Pope Nicholas I (858–867). The Pope was angered by Byzantine missions among the Bulgars, whom he regarded as belonging to his juristiction. Nicholas wrote to the Bulgarians accusing the Greeks and Photius replied by accusing the Western Chruch of heretically altering the creed in saying that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and from the Son (Filioque). He declared Pope Nicholas deposed in 867. When the new emperor, Basil I the founder of the Macedonian dynasty, rose to the Byzantine throne, he reinstated St. Ignatius while Pope Nicholas’s successor (869) Adrian II, condemned Photius. But when St. Ignatius passed away, Photius quietly became patriarch again. Hence a schism occurred, which is called the Photian schism. The schism was mostly about whether the Church of Rome possessed monarchical power of jurisdiction over all churches, or whether it was the senior of the five Patriarchates and therefore could not canonically interfere with the internal affairs of another Patriarchate. The mutual distrust shown in the time of Photius erupted again in the middle of the 11th century, after papal enforcement of Latin customs upon Greeks in southern Italy. The patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius (1043 - 1059), closed Latin churches in Constantinople as a reprisal. Cerularius quarreled with Pope Leo IX over church practices in which the Roman Church differed from Constantinople, particularly the use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist. Dissenting opinions were also exchanged over other theological and cultural issues, ranging from the issue of papal supremacy in the Church to the filioque clause and other disagreements between the patriarchates. Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida (or Humbert of Moyenmoutier) came from Italy to protest, was accorded an icy reception, and left a bull of excommunication (July 16, 1054) on the altar of the great church of Hagia Sophia. The bull anathematized (condemned) Michael Cerularius, the Greek doctrine of the Holy Spirit, the marriage of Greek priests, and the Greek use of leavened bread for the Eucharist. These events caused the East-West Schism and led to the end of the alliance between the Byzantine emperors and the Popes. Later Popes allied with the Normans against the Byzantine Empire.