Chapter IV
The Nature and Politics of the Orthodox Church
I must admit, the Orthodox Church is one of the most unique, and often misunderstood denominations of Christianity in the world. The term “Orthodox Church” is also a bad name, since the Church itself is not united in the same sense of the Roman Catholic Church, or the Protestant Church of Hungary, or the United Church of Ireland [1]. I much prefer the term Orthodox Churches, to resemble the more accurate reality of the state of the Eastern Churches.* Like the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Churches claim to be the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ and his holy apostles. Like the Catholic Church, they have seven sacraments, and have recognized apostolic succession (something the latter Protestant and Reformed Churches do not). That is, the churches can trace a direct line back to the apostles of Christ. For example, it is a fact that the Alexandrian Church of the East (Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria) was founded by the evangelist Mark, the non-Chalcedonian Church of Egypt (the Coptic Church) was also started by the evangelist Mark. The Orthodox Church of Jerusalem was founded by the eleven apostles of Jesus following his death and subsequent resurrection. The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and all the East was founded by Saints Peter and Paul in the city of Antioch (although the patriarchal headquarters was later moved to Damascus), this is the first official Christian church listed in the Bible (cf. Acts 11:26). The Roman Catholic Church was founded by Saint Peter. The Roman Church (of Greece) [2] was founded by Saint Paul, and is the state church of the Roman Empire, headquarters in Constantinople. All leaders of these churches succeed from the original apostles; hence, they have apostolic succession. Despite the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches of the East no longer in communion (that is, they are no longer unified with one another, even though they technically never were), both recognize one another as having valid sacraments and apostolic authority.
Jesus of Nazareth handing the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven to Saint Peter. The Catholic Church had interpreted this as the basis for the "Primacy of the Bishop of Rome" (Peter is elevated among the Apostles, and as the founding Bishop of Rome, Rome is holds authority over the rest of the ecclesiastical body). However, the Orthodox Churches maintain an equality of the apostles, and cite The Great Commission (Mt. 28:16-20) as a common rebuttal to the "Primacy of Rome."
As mentioned earlier, all of these churches are led by a Patriarch, who has religious authority over the Christian community in the certain district or see which they have been granted authority over. These territories of jurisdiction go back to the formation of the universal empire and Pentarchy of Justinian the Great, who divided up Christendom into five major primates: Rome (controlling much of the West), Constantinople (controlling much of the East: all of Greece and Anatolia), Antioch (controlling territories north of Jerusalem and into Mesopotamia), Jerusalem (controlling the Holy Lands), and Alexandria (controlling Egypt and parts of North Africa). Of these episcopal sees, two were the most important, Rome and Constantinople. After the loss of Rome and the drifting separation between the Latin Church at Rome and the Greek speaking churches of the East, the Catholic Church, headed by the Pope, claimed primacy over all of Christendom, effectively robbing the eastern patriarchs of their full independence. This was bitterly contested by the Patriarchs of Constantinople, the home of the Roman emperor also, who derived the doctrine
“first among equals” in relationship to Rome. Rather than having all official doctrine and decision coming from Rome, Constantinople argued that the two patriarchs were equal in power and status, and to become universal law and doctrine, one needed the support of the other over ecclesiastical matters. It is from the primary role that the Patriarch had in contesting the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome that he became the “symbolic” head of the Orthodox Church, although he should not be seen as the “Orthodox Pope” that some like to suggest.
Following the formal dissolution of the union between Latin and Greek speaking churches, the Patriarchs of Constantinople became more dependent upon the Roman emperor to protect their independence and authority from hungry Catholics, and warring Mohammedans, that threatened to bring to extinction to the historic church of Jesus of Nazareth and his apostles. As mentioned before, John VIII quickly abandoned his attempts of reunification and saw it his divine mission to protect Patriarchal authority and church independence from prowling Catholics and expansionist Mohammedans (no doubt also because his attempts at reunification were soundly rejected by his subjects and threatened the throne he sat upon). John VIII, with what little money he had from the imperial treasury, sought a restoration of the Church of Holy Wisdom, the Hagia Sophia, the only Christian church in the world that could rival in beauty, majesty, and splendor St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. John also began building new churches within Constantinople, as well as sending money to Duke John of Trebizond to begin rebuilding and refurbishing churches in the Despotate of Trebizond. John’s actions earned much admiration from the zealous faithful, and it was seen as his attempt at re-devotion after his “heretical” actions of attempting to reunify with the Latins at the Union of Florence, although some very conservative members of the Church always saw him as heretical following his attempts to submit to the Chair of St. Peter at the Union of Florence.
Religious life in the empire was on the rise with the success in Trebizond and Georgia, and it was still much the daily routine for commoners, even some of the more pious nobles, the emperor included. Every Saturday and Sunday saw the proper church service “in ordinary time” (unless it was a special month of occasion like Advent or Easter) which all the faithful were expected to attend, keeping the Lord’s commandment “Remember the Sabbath, and keep it holy.” Smaller services were always held every day of the week, often in the morning or late at night. In early November, 1457, Patriarch Athanasius passed away and a new successor had to be chosen. Gennadios II was chosen to succeed him. Unlike his predecessor, who in the Declaration of Statutes of the East implicitly rejected the idea of the Pentarchy, Gennadios was a strong defender of the Pentarchy theory and privately wrote to Emperor John shortly after his enthronement as Patriarch:
While it is true that the various episcopal sees of the Roman Church (Greek speaking churches) have their authority and jurisdiction over the territories as defined by Justinian, it still remains a truth of Christianity that the Church is still universal and must remain united. Not just in liturgy and ecclesiastical policy, but also politically and it has long been maintained that God had instituted the divine empire (Rome) to be his instrument of justice and salvation to the world. The destruction of Jerusalem by Titus is but one example of this. The conversion of Constantine was a divinely instituted miracle on behalf of God to bring the former pagan empire into his generous and holy fold. No longer does God use pagan kingdoms as his instrument of justice to the world [3], but a Christian Kingdom that is also the protector of his holy church from heathens and heretics alike. Thus, it is the duty of the Emperor of Rome, whom God has given you in his wisdom the throne of Constantine, to protect our brothers and sisters against all forms of evil.
The letter of Gennadios to John is telling for many reasons. First, it showcases the power that the Patriarch has in influencing official Roman foreign policy, supposedly a secular matter. Second, unlike the Catholic Church, which understood universalizability as a spiritual matter, the Roman Church of Greece understands universalizability not only as a spiritual matter, but a secular or earthly matter as well. After all, the promise of God is a new earth [4]. That is, the universal church was not only united in the mystical body of Christ, but also under a political entity that would be God’s instrument of justice. After all, the first Christian emperor of Rome had been given the title “equal to the apostles,” a doctrine of the Church that held that certain Christian saints were so important to Christianity, that they ranked “equal to” the very apostles whom the Lord had commanded to spread the gospel to all creation!
A theoretical map of the elaboration of the Universal Empire, or Pentarchy, as established by Justinian the Great. This map outlines the principal territories that would be under ecclesiastical authority of the four major Eastern Primates: Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria.
John responded:
To His All Holiness…
I greatly appreciate your vote of confidence in my faith and piety, and I promise to God that it will be the policy of my rule, and the rule of my brother Constantine, to ensure church independence at all times, and when possible, to bring our brothers and sisters back into the dominion of Christendom.
Naturally, I have only provided his closing in what was a lengthy letter of response to His All Holiness the Patriarch of Constantinople. Most important to understand from Emperor John’s response was the promise to restore universal Christendom to the faithful minority scattered throughout the historic homelands of Christianity, which were now controlled by the Mohammedans. In his response, we also see the power that the Patriarch wields, or can wield. Patriarch Gennadios had implicitly altered official Roman policy – the Romans now had a mission to reunite the Pentarchy if they desired. The desire, as the Patriarch wrote, is not something the emperor should just fawn at, but actually pursue because it was part of his divine duty. It also comes as no surprise that when Roman nobles petitioned to Emperor John to institute national taxation upon the Church, John refused, citing “God’s church does not get taxed, for it is unique among earthly institutions that it is divinely ordained and therefore not subject to the laws of this world.”
To the extent that the Church wielded political influence throughout the Roman Empire is not widely debated, it is a considered fact by consensus. As highlighted hitherto, the religious establishment in the Roman Empire held considerable power. Throughout the latter end of John’s reign, the Church not only continued to pressure for special favor, protection, and assurances of independence, the lack of any means of taxation on the wealthiest institution in the empire deprived the imperial coffers of much needed revenue. Of course, the Church claimed that its wealth was a vehicle for its holy mission. I am here reminded to think of the many Christian missionaries in faraway lands like the Orient with nothing more than their Bible and the shirt on their back performing God’s mission. Regardless, this religious revival was both a blessing and curse upon the empire. There seemed to be a push among the political elite, as well as some of the elite within the Church, to seek a restoration of the Universal Pentarchy of Justinian the Great, to which a later emperor would boldly struggle for, whom I shall cover in greater detail later in my work.
Meanwhile, Emperor John put the imperial treasury behind a new effort to restore the icons of the Church which were destroyed in the ninth century during a period known as the Iconoclasm, in which Iconoclasts (the breaker of icons) shattered and destroyed many of the beautiful icons and other artworks of the Romans (one of the reasons for the lack of Roman artwork of the period). The use of icons in the liturgy was formally adopted by the seventh ecumenical council, the Second Council of Nicaea. However, some thought it idolatrous to have icons in use during the mass, which sparked the wave of outrage and disobedience. The Council had adopted the use of icons and a symbol of faithful profession, and to help teach the illiterate of the story of the gospels. This wave of iconoclasm preceded the wave of iconoclasm that swept through Christendom in the early sixteenth century after the Protestant Reformation. Some critics of the emperor said he was putting his effort behind a restoration of the icons to shake off his missteps in trying to bow to the authority of the Pope at the Council of Florence, which earned John few friends. Regardless, we are indebted to his efforts because some of the precious works of Roman art has been preserved to us because of his efforts.
An iconoclast destroying Church icons during the tragic Iconoclasm of the Ninth Century. John VIII sought to showcase his piety and devotion by funding a new campaign to restore many of the lost icons to become an important focus of Church life.
[1] This timeline’s Ireland was among the first nations to go Protestant following the Protestant revolution.
[2] The Roman Church is the equivalent of our timeline’s Greek Orthodox Church. To avoid confession with the Roman Catholic Church, it is known as the Roman Church of Greece – which is this AAR’s state church of the Roman (Byzantine Empire). I may refer to it in this AAR as the Byzantine Church or the Roman Church as well, so consider these terms interchangeable.
[3] The Patriarch is referring to our historical idea that Pagan empires of the Old Testament, like Egypt (Pharaoh), Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar), and Persia (Cyrus the Great) were instruments of God’s justice through human history (sometimes good, like Cyrus, other times bad, like Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar).
[4] Cf. 2 Peter Chapter 3, Verse 13 & Revelation Chapter 21 Verses 1-8.
*This statement actually reflects how your’s truly sees the world of Orthodoxy, since Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and Coptic Orthodoxy (all generally labelled “Orthodoxy” by Western onlookers) are not united despite the umbrella term. For example, the Oriental and Coptic Orthodox Church(es) do not accept all seven of the first ecumenical councils that are universally accepted by all Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism (they accept the first three, including the First Council of Nicaea). That said, I do think the Orthodox liturgy is the most beautiful in the world, even better than the Catholic liturgy which I weekly attend in real life.
