Byzantine Papacy
Encyclopedia
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
domination of the papacy
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
from 537 to 752, when popes required the approval of the Byzantine Emperor for episcopal consecration, and many popes were chosen from the apocrisiarii
Apocrisiarius
An apocrisiarius, the Latinized form of apokrisiarios , sometimes Anglicized as apocrisiary, was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early medieval period. The corresponding Latin term was responsalis...
(liaisons from the pope to the emperor) or the inhabitants of Byzantine Greece, Byzantine Syria, or Byzantine Sicily. Justinian I
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...
conquered the Italian peninsula in the Gothic War (535–554) and appointed the next three popes
Papal selection before 1059
There was no fixed process for papal selection before 1059. Popes, the bishops of Rome and the leaders of the Catholic Church, were often appointed by their predecessors or secular rulers...
, a practice that would be continued by his successors and later be delegated to the Exarchate of Ravenna
Exarchate of Ravenna
The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the Lombards.-Introduction:...
.
With the exception of Pope Martin I
Pope Martin I
Pope Martin I, born near Todi, Umbria in the place now named after him , was pope from 649 to 653, succeeding Pope Theodore I in July 5, 649. The only pope during the Byzantine Papacy whose election was not approved by a iussio from Constantinople, Martin I was abducted by Constans II and died in...
, no pope during this period questioned the authority of the Byzantine monarch to confirm the election of the bishop of Rome before consecration could occur; however, theological conflicts were common between pope and emperor in the areas such as monotheletism and iconoclasm
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
.
Greek speakers from Greece, Syria, and Byzantine Sicily replaced members of the powerful Roman nobles in the papal chair during this period. Rome under the Greek popes constituted a "melting pot" of Western and Eastern Christian traditions, reflected in art as well as liturgy.
Origins (534–638)
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...
forced Pope Silverius
Pope Silverius
Pope Saint Silverius was Pope from June 8, 536 until March 537. According to the "New Catholic Encyclopedia" , the dates of Pope Silverius' pontificate are in doubt: "June 1 or 8, 536, to c. November 11, 537; d. Palmaria, probably December 2, 537."...
to abdicate and installed Pope Vigilius
Pope Vigilius
Pope Vigilius reigned as pope from 537 to 555, is considered the first pope of the Byzantine Papacy.-Early life:He belonged to a aristocratic Roman family; his father Johannes is identified as a consul in the Liber pontificalis, having received that title from the emperor...
, a former apocrisiarius
Apocrisiarius
An apocrisiarius, the Latinized form of apokrisiarios , sometimes Anglicized as apocrisiary, was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early medieval period. The corresponding Latin term was responsalis...
to Constantinople in his place; Justinian next appointed Pope Pelagius I
Pope Pelagius I
Pope Pelagius I was Pope from 556 to March 4, 561. He was the second pope of the Byzantine Papacy, like his predecessor a former apocrisiarius to Constantinople.-Early life:He came from a Roman noble family...
, holding only a "sham election" to replace Vigilius; afterwards, Justinian was content to be limited to the approval of the pope, as with Pope John III
Pope John III
Pope John III was pope from 561 to July 13, 574. He was born in Rome, of a distinguished family. The Liber Pontificalis calls him a son of one Anastasius. His father bore the title of illustris, more than likely being a vir illustris...
after his election. Justinian's successors would continue the practice for over a century.
Although the Byzantine troops that captured Italy called themselves Romans because they came from the Eastern Roman Empire, many inhabitants of the city had a deep seated mistrust of Greeks, and Hellenistic influence more generally. Before long, the citizens of Rome petitioned Justinian to recall Narses
Narses
Narses was, with Belisarius, one of the great generals in the service of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the "Reconquest" that took place during Justinian's reign....
(who captured Rome in 552), declaring that they would rather still be ruled by the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
. Anti-Byzantine sentiment could also be found throughout the Italian peninsula, and reception of Greek theology in Latin circles was more mixed.
The continuing power of appointment of the Byzantine emperor can be seen in the legend of Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...
writing to Constantinople, asking them to refuse his election. Pope Boniface III
Pope Boniface III
Pope Boniface III was Pope from February 19 to November 12, 607. Despite his relatively short time as Pope he made a significant contribution to the organization of the Catholic Church.-Early life:...
issued a decree denouncing bribery in papal elections and forbidding discussion of candidates for three days after the funeral of the previous pope; thereafter, Boniface III decreed that the clergy and the "sons of the Church" (i.e. noble laymen) should meet to elect a successor, each voting according to their conscience. This abated factionalism for the next four successions, each resulting in quick elections and imperial approval.
The prestige of Gregory I ensured a gradual incorporation of Eastern influence, which retained the distinctiveness of the Roman church; Gregory's two successors were chosen from his former apocrisiarii
Apocrisiarius
An apocrisiarius, the Latinized form of apokrisiarios , sometimes Anglicized as apocrisiary, was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early medieval period. The corresponding Latin term was responsalis...
to Constantinople, in an effort to gain the favor of Phocas
Phocas
Phocas was Byzantine Emperor from 602 to 610. He usurped the throne from the Emperor Maurice, and was himself overthrown by Heraclius after losing a civil war.-Origins:...
, whose disputed claim to the throne Gregory had enthusiastically endorsed. Pope Boniface III
Pope Boniface III
Pope Boniface III was Pope from February 19 to November 12, 607. Despite his relatively short time as Pope he made a significant contribution to the organization of the Catholic Church.-Early life:...
was very likely of Greek extraction, making him the "Easterner on the papal throne" in 607 (many authors incorrectly regard Pope Theodore I
Pope Theodore I
Pope Theodore I , who was pope from November 24, 642, to May 14, 649, is considered a Greek, but was born in Jerusalem. He was made a cardinal deacon, and a full cardinal by Pope John IV....
, who reigned from 642 to 649, as the first Eastern pope of the Byzantine papacy). Boniface II was able to obtain an imperial proclamation declaring Rome as "the head of all the churches" (reaffirming Justinian I's naming the pope "the first among all the priests"), a decree Phocas intended as much to humiliate the Patriarch of Constantinople
Patriarch of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
as exalt the pope.
Phocas erected a column of himself
Column of Phocas
The Column of Phocas , is a Roman monumental column in the Roman Forum of Rome, Italy. Erected before the Rostra and dedicated or rededicated in honour of the Eastern Roman Emperor Phocas on August 1, 608, was the last addition made to the Forum Romanum...
in the Roman Forum
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum...
only three weeks after Boniface VI's consecration, and in 609 by iussio authorized the conversion of the Pantheon
Pantheon, Rome
The Pantheon ,Rarely Pantheum. This appears in Pliny's Natural History in describing this edifice: Agrippae Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis; in columnis templi eius Caryatides probantur inter pauca operum, sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus celebrata.from ,...
into a Christian church, the first pagan Roman temple so converted. Boniface VI himself attempted to outdo Phocas's efforts to Christianize the site, collecting twenty-four cartloads of martyr bones from the Catacombs of Rome
Catacombs of Rome
The Catacombs of Rome are ancient catacombs, underground burial places under or near Rome, Italy, of which there are at least forty, some discovered only in recent decades. Though most famous for Christian burials, either in separate catacombs or mixed together, they began in the 2nd century, much...
to enshrine in the temple. A 610 synod ruled that monks could be full members of the clergy, a decision that would massively increase the hordes of Greek monks about to flee to Rome as the Slavs conquered much of the Baltic coast. At this time Salona
Salona
Salona was an ancient Illyrian Delmati city in the first millennium BC. The Greeks had set up an emporion there. After the conquest by the Romans, Salona became the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia...
in Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
, Prima Justiniana in Illyricum
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians....
, peninsular Greece, Peloponnesus, and Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
were under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Rome, and Constantinople was one of "the last places to which one could turn for refuge in the early seventh century".
Another wave of monastic refugees, bringing with them various Christological controversies
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
, arrived in Rome as the Persian Empire ravaged the eastern Byzantine possessions. The following Arab conquests of the seventh century in effect reversed the "avalanche of ascetics to the East" and the "brain drain
Brain drain
Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals...
of ascetic emigrations to the Holy Land" that followed the Gothic invasions of 408–410. Although the immigrating monastics were relatively small in number, their influence was immense:
- "Amidst an atmosphere that warmly welcomed them, the small force of monks and clerics who came to Rome at this time would combine their zeal for ChalcedonCouncil of ChalcedonThe Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
, their intellectual acument and higher learning, and the spiritual authority of the Roman church and the Papacy to mobilize the battle and win the war against the last of the great Christological controversies to confront the church."
Monothelitism conflict (638–654)
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
, often resulting in extremely lengthy delays (Sabinian: 6 months; Boniface III: 1 year; Boniface IV: 10 months; Boniface V: 13 months), due to the difficulty of travel, the Byzantine bureaucracy, and the whims of the emperors. Dispute were often theological; for example, Severinus was not consecrated for 20 months after his election due to his refusal to accept monothelitism
Monothelitism
Monothelitism is a particular teaching about how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus, known as a Christological doctrine, that formally emerged in Armenia and Syria in 629. Specifically, monothelitism teaches that Jesus Christ had two natures but only one will...
, dying only months after he finally received permission to be consecrated in 640. When Greek Pope Theodore attempted to excommunicate two Patriarchs of Constantinople for supporting monothelitism, imperial troops looted the papal treasury in the Lateran Palace
Lateran Palace
The Lateran Palace , formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran , is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main Papal residence....
, arrested and exiled the papal aristocracy at the imperial court, and desecrated the altar of the papal residence in Constantinople.
Theodore was Greek-Palestinian, the son of the bishop of Jerusalem
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is the head bishop of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine Patriarchs in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since 2005, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem has been Theophilos III...
, chosen for his ability to combat various heresies originating from the East in his native tongue. As a result of Theodore's ability to debate his adversaries in their own language, "never again would the Papacy suffer the sort of embarrassment that had resulted from Honorius's linguistic carelessness". Theodore took the nearly unprecedented measure of appointing Stephen of Dor as apostolic vicar to Palestine, with the intent of deposing the Monothelite bishop successors of Sergius of Joppa. Theodore's deposition of Patriarch Pyrrhus ensured that "Rome and Constantinople were now in schism and at open war" over the Christology that would characterize the Christian empire. A Greek pope excommunicating the Patriarch no doubt proved a "distressing spectacle" for the emperors intent upon restoring religious unity. Theodore's boldness attests to:
- "the strong undercurrent of Roman rancor against such heavy-handed use of imperial force emanating from Ravenna since the Maurikios incident [...] enthusiastic acceptance of imperial political authority exercised with such brutality was perceptibly waning".
Pope Martin I
Pope Martin I, born near Todi, Umbria in the place now named after him , was pope from 649 to 653, succeeding Pope Theodore I in July 5, 649. The only pope during the Byzantine Papacy whose election was not approved by a iussio from Constantinople, Martin I was abducted by Constans II and died in...
insisted on being consecrated immediately without waiting for imperial approval, and was (after a delay due to the revolt of Olympius, the exarch of Ravenna
Olympius (exarch)
Olympius was an Exarch of Ravenna . Prior to his term as exarch, Olympius was an imperial chamberlain at Constantinople.In 649, according to the Liber Pontificalis, the Byzantine Emperor Constans II ordered Olympius to arrest Pope Martin I on the grounds that the pope's election had not been...
) abducted by imperial troops to Constantinople, found guilty of treason, and exiled to Crimea where he died in 655. Although Martin I's main crime was the promotion of the Lateran Council of 649
Lateran Council of 649
The Lateran Council of 649 was a synod held in the Basilica of St. John Lateran to condemn Monothelitism, a Christology espoused by many Eastern Christians...
, the council itself was a "manifestly Byzantine affair" by virtue of its participants and doctrinal influences (particularly its reliance on florilegia). The council's ecumenical status was never acknowledged, for the time solidifying the idea that the convening of ecumenical councils was an imperial prerogative. Within four years of the council's adjournment, both Martin I and Maximus the Confessor
Maximus the Confessor
Maximus the Confessor was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, he was a civil servant, and an aide to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius...
were arrested and tried in Constantinople for "transgressing the Typos".
According to Eamon Duffy, "one of the worst elements in Martin's suffering was the knowledge that while he still lived the Roman Church had bowed to imperial commands, and had elected a new pope", Pope Eugenius I. According to Ekonomou, "the Romans were as prepared to forget Pope Martin as Constans II was relieved to see him removed to the remote northern shores of the Black Sea". Thirty years later, the Sixth Ecumenical Council would vindicate the council's condemnation of Monothelitism, but not before the synod "ushered in the period of Rome's "Greek intermezzo
Intermezzo
In music, an intermezzo , in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work...
'".
Reconciliation (654–678)
The inhabitants of both East and West had "grown weary of the decades of religious warfare", and the arrest of Martin I did much to dissipate the "religious fever of the empire's Italian subjects". Rapprochement the empire was viewed as critical to combatting the growing Lombard and Arab threat and thus no pope "referred again to Martin I" for seventy-five years. Although the Roman uneasiness of electing a successor while Martin I lived and the Byzantine desire to punish Rome for the council caused the immediate sede vacanteSede vacante
Sede vacante is an expression, used in the Canon Law of the Catholic Church, that refers to the vacancy of the episcopal see of a particular church...
to last fourteen months, the next seven popes were more agreeable to Constantinople, and approved without delay, but Pope Benedict II
Pope Benedict II
Pope Saint Benedict II was Pope from 684 to 685.Pope Benedict II died on May 8, 685. He succeeded Leo II. Although chosen in 683, he was not ordained until 684 because the leave of Emperor Constantine IV was not obtained until some months after the election...
was impelled to wait a year in 684, whereafter the emperor consented to delegate the approval to the exarch of Ravenna. The exarch, who invariable was a Greek from the court of Constantinople, had the power to approve papal consecration from the time of Honorius I.
Emperor Constans II, the abductor of Martin I, resided himself in Rome for a period during the reign of Pope Vitalian
Pope Vitalian
Pope Saint Vitalianus was Pope of the Catholic Church from July 30, 657, until January 27, 672.He was born in Segni, Lazio, the son of Anastasius.-Reign:...
. Vitalian himself was possibly of Eastern extraction, and certainly nominated Greeks to important sees, including Theodore of Tarsus
Theodore of Tarsus
Theodore was the eighth Archbishop of Canterbury, best known for his reform of the English Church and establishment of a school in Canterbury....
as Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. Much has been said of Constans II's motives—perhaps to move the imperial capital to Rome or to reconquer large swathes of territory in the mold of Justinian I—but more likely he only intended to achieve limited military victoires against the Slavs, Lombards, and Arabs. Vitalian heaped upon Constans II honors and ceremony (including a tour of St. Peter's tomb), even while Constans II's workmen were stripping down the bronze from the monuments of the city to be melted down and returned to Constantinople with the emperor when he departed. However, both Vitalian and Constans II would have been confident upon his departure that the political and religious relationship between Rome and Constantinople was effectively stabilized, leaving Constans II free to focus his forces against the Arabs. After Constans II was murdered in Sicily by Mezezius
Mezezius
Mezezius was an Armenian noble who served as a general of Byzantium, later usurping the Byzantine throne in Sicily from 668 to 669.According to a letter from Pope Gregory II to Emperor Leo III, he was Count of the Opsikion, the imperial retinue , and a later Syriac chronicle describes him as a...
,
Vitalian refused to support Mezezius's usurpation of the throne, gaining the favor of Constans II's son and successor, Constantine IV
Constantine IV
Constantine IV , , sometimes incorrectly called Pogonatos, "the Bearded", by confusion with his father; was Byzantine emperor from 668 to 685...
. Constantine IV returned the favor by refusing to support the striking of Vitalian's name from the diptychs of Byzantine churches and depriving Ravenna of autocephalous status, returning it to papal jurisdiction. Constantine IV, abandoned the policy of monothelitism and summoned the Third Council of Constantinople
Third Council of Constantinople
The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and other Christian groups, met in 680/681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and defined Jesus Christ as having two energies and two wills...
in 680, to which Pope Agatho
Pope Agatho
-Background and early life:Little is known of Agatho before his papacy. A letter written by St. Gregory the Great to the abbot of St. Hermes in Palermo mentions an Agatho, a Greek born in Sicily to wealthy parents. He wished to give away his inheritance and join a monastery, and in this letter...
sent a representative. The council returned to the Chalcedonian Creed
Chalcedonian Creed
The Confession of Chalcedon , also known as the Doctrine of the Hypostatic Union or the Two-Nature Doctrine, was adopted at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 in Asia Minor. That Council of Chalcedon is one of the first seven Ecumenical Councils accepted by Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and many...
, condemning Pope Honorius and the other proponents of monothelitism. Over the next ten years, reconciliation increased the power of papacy: the church of Ravenna abandoned its claim to independent status (formerly endorsed by Constans II), imperial taxation was lessened, and the right of papal confirmation was delegated from Constantinople to the Exarch of Ravenna. It was during this period that the Papacy began "thinking of the Universal Church not as the sum of individual churches as the East did, but as synonymous with the Roman Church".
The Greek Popes (678–752)
Pope Agatho
-Background and early life:Little is known of Agatho before his papacy. A letter written by St. Gregory the Great to the abbot of St. Hermes in Palermo mentions an Agatho, a Greek born in Sicily to wealthy parents. He wished to give away his inheritance and join a monastery, and in this letter...
, a Greek Sicilian, started "a nearly unbroken succession of Eastern pontiffs spanning the next three quarters of a century". The Third Council of Constantinople and the Greek Popes ushered in "a new era in relations between the eastern and western parts of the empire". During the pontificate of Pope Benedict II
Pope Benedict II
Pope Saint Benedict II was Pope from 684 to 685.Pope Benedict II died on May 8, 685. He succeeded Leo II. Although chosen in 683, he was not ordained until 684 because the leave of Emperor Constantine IV was not obtained until some months after the election...
(684–685), Constantine IV waived the requirement of imperial approval for consecration as pope, recognizing the sea change in the demographics of the city and its clergy. Benedict II's successor Pope John V
Pope John V
Pope John V was pope from July 685 to August 2, 686. John V was the first pope of the Byzantine Papacy allowed to be consecrated by the Byzantine emperor without prior consent, and the first in a line of ten consecutive popes of eastern origin...
was elected "by the general population", returning to the "ancient practice". The ten Greek successors of Agatho were likely the inteded result of Constantine IV's concession. The deaths of Pope John V
Pope John V
Pope John V was pope from July 685 to August 2, 686. John V was the first pope of the Byzantine Papacy allowed to be consecrated by the Byzantine emperor without prior consent, and the first in a line of ten consecutive popes of eastern origin...
and (even more so) Pope Conon
Pope Conon
Pope Conon was Pope from October 21, 686 until his death in Rome. Conon was buried in the Patriarchal Basilica of St...
resulted in contested elections, but following Pope Sergius I
Pope Sergius I
Pope Saint Sergius I was pope from 687 to 701. Selected to end a schism between Antipope Paschal and Antipope Theodore, Sergius I ended the last disputed sede vacante of the Byzantine Papacy....
the remainder of the elections under Byzantine rule were without serious issue.
During the pontificate of John V (684–685), the emperor substantially lessened the taxation burden on papal patrimonies in Sicily and Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, also eliminating the surtax on grains and other imperial taxes. Justinian II
Justinian II
Justinian II , surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus , was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711...
during the reign of Conon also decreased taxes on the patrimonies of Bruttium and Lucania
Lucania
Lucania was an ancient district of southern Italy, extending from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. To the north it adjoined Campania, Samnium and Apulia, and to the south it was separated by a narrow isthmus from the district of Bruttium...
, releasing those conscripted into the army as security on those payments. Popes of this period explicitly recognized imperial sovereignty over Rome and sometimes dated their personal correspondence in the regnal years of the Byzantine emperor. However, this political unity did not also extend to theological and doctrinal questions.
Quinisext Council dispute
Quinisext Council
The Quinisext Council was a church council held in 692 at Constantinople under Justinian II. It is often known as the Council in Trullo, because it was held in the same domed hall where the Sixth Ecumenical Council had met...
(unattended by Western prelates) which settled upon a variety of decrees "calculated to offend Westerners", the canons of which were sent to Pope Sergius I
Pope Sergius I
Pope Saint Sergius I was pope from 687 to 701. Selected to end a schism between Antipope Paschal and Antipope Theodore, Sergius I ended the last disputed sede vacante of the Byzantine Papacy....
for his signature; Sergius refused and openly flouted the new laws. The key point of contention were the regulations of the Trullan canons, which although primarily targeted at Eastern lapses, conflicted existing practices in the West. Sergius I would have objected to the approval of all eighty-five Apostolic Canons (rather than only the first fifty), various liberalizations of the issue of clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy is the discipline by which some or all members of the clergy in certain religions are required to be unmarried. Since these religions consider deliberate sexual thoughts, feelings, and behavior outside of marriage to be sinful, clerical celibacy also requires abstension from these...
, various prohibitions on blood as food
Blood as food
Some cultures consume blood as food, often in combination with meat. The blood may be in the form of blood sausage, as a thickener for sauces, a cured salted form for times of food scarcity, or in a blood soup. This is a product from domesticated animals, obtained at a place and time where the...
, and the depiction of Christ as lamb.
Justinian II first sent a magistrate to arrest John of Portus and another papal counselor as a warning, and then dispatched his infamous protopatharios Zacharias to arrest the pope himself. Justinian II attempted to apprehend Sergius I as his predecessor had done with Martin I, underestimating the resentment against imperial authority among those in power in Italy, and the Italian-born troops from Ravenna and the Duchy of the Pentapolis
Duchy of the Pentapolis
In the Byzantine Empire, the Duchy of the Pentapolis was a duchy , a territory ruled by a duke appointed by and under the authority of the Praetorian Prefect of Italy and then the Exarch of Ravenna . The Pentapolis consisted of the cities of Ancona, Fano, Pesaro, Rimini and Sinigaglia...
mutinied in favor of Sergius I upon their arrival in Rome: not long after, Justinian II was deposed in a coup. However, the thirteen revolts in Italy and Sicily that preceded the fall of the exarchate in 751 were uniformly "imperial in character" in that they still harbored "allegiance to the ideal of the Christian Roman Empire" and harbored no nationalist ambitions for the Italian peninsula. Indeed, rather than capitalize on any anti-Byzantine sentiments in Italy, Sergius I himself attempted to quell the entire controversy.
In 705, Justinian II sought to compromise with Pope John VII
Pope John VII
Pope John VII was pope from 705 to 707. The successor of John VI, he was of Greek ancestry. He is one of the popes of the Byzantine captivity.-Biography:...
asking him to enumerate the specific canons of the Counsel he found problematic and confirm the rest; however, John VII took no action. In 710, Justinian II ordered the pope to appear in Constantinople by imperial mandate. Pope Constantine
Pope Constantine
Pope Constantine was pope from 708 to 715. With the exception of Antipope Constantine, he was the only pope to take such a "quintessentially" Eastern name of an emperor...
, a Syrian, left for Constantinople in 710 with thirteen clerics, eleven of which were fellow Easterners. Crossing paths with Constantine in Naples was exarch John III Rizocopo
John III Rizocopo
John III Rizocopo was an Exarch of Ravenna .Following the restoration of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian II, he sent a military force to savage Ravenna...
, who was on his way to Rome where he would execute four high ranking papal officials who had refused to accompany the pope. While Rome's rejection of the Trullan canons remains, the visit largely healed the rift between pope and emperor.
Greek was the language of choice during this period as countless Easterners rose through the ranks of the clergy. According to Ekonomou, between 701 and 750, "Greeks outnumbered Latins by nearly three and a half to one". Any power vacuum was swiftly filled from Rome: for example, Pope Gregory II
Pope Gregory II
Pope Saint Gregory II was pope from May 19, 715 to his death on February 11, 731, succeeding Pope Constantine. Having, it is said, bought off the Lombards for thirty pounds of gold, Charles Martel having refused his call for aid, he used the tranquillity thus obtained for vigorous missionary...
came to the aid of the exarchate of Ravenna in 729 by helping to crush the rebellion of Tiberius Petasius
Tiberius Petasius
Tiberius Petasius was a Byzantine usurper in Italy around 729 and 730.Nothing is known of his early life, but judging from his Latin name "Petasius" he was a native of Italy. He claimed imperial power around 729 when large parts of Italy and rest of the empire rebelled against Iconoclastic...
and Pope Zacharias in 743 and 749 negotiated the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
withdrawal from imperial territory.
Iconoclasm dispute
Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
. According to Ekonomou:
- "Like every Roman pontiff who had come before him, Zacharias considered himself a loyal servant of the imperium Romanum Christianum and a dutiful subject of the emperor who occupied the throne in Constantinople. The empire was, after all, the terrestrial image of the kingdom of heaven. It was a sacred realm of which Rome and the papacy were integral components. It represented culture and civilization. It was the irrefragable chain that connected the present to the classical past and gave his beloved Rome the aura of eternity. Most of all, it was the empire that guarded and protected the holy catholic and apostolic church. The emperor was God's elected representative on Earth. He held the empire in the name of Christ whose instrument he was and from whom he derived his power and authority. To criticize the emperor was sacrilege; to fail to obey and pray for him, whether he was good or bad, unthinkable impiety."
Although antagonism about the expense of Byzantine domination had long persisted within Italy, the political rupture was set in motion in earnest in 726 by the iconoclasm of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian
Leo III the Isaurian
Leo III the Isaurian or the Syrian , was Byzantine emperor from 717 until his death in 741...
. The exarch was lynched while trying to enforce the iconoclastic edict and Pope Gregory II
Pope Gregory II
Pope Saint Gregory II was pope from May 19, 715 to his death on February 11, 731, succeeding Pope Constantine. Having, it is said, bought off the Lombards for thirty pounds of gold, Charles Martel having refused his call for aid, he used the tranquillity thus obtained for vigorous missionary...
saw iconoclasm as the latest in a series of imperial heresies
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
. In in 731, his successor, Pope Gregory III
Pope Gregory III
Pope Saint Gregory III was pope from 731 to 741. A Syrian by birth, he succeeded Gregory II in March 731. His pontificate, like that of his predecessor, was disturbed by the iconoclastic controversy in the Byzantine Empire, in which he vainly invoked the intervention of Charles Martel.Elected by...
organized a synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
in Rome (attended by the Archbishop of Ravenna), which declared iconoclasm punishable by excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
. When the exarch donated six columns of onyx
Onyx
Onyx is a banded variety of chalcedony. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color . Commonly, specimens of onyx contain bands of black and/or white.-Etymology:...
to the shrine of St. Peter in thanks for the pope's assistance in his release from the Lombards, Gregory III defiantly had the material crafted into icons.
Final break
Leo III responded in 732/33 by confiscating all papal patrimonies in south Italy and Sicily, together constituting most papal income at the time. He further removed the bishoprics of Thessalonica, CorinthCorinth
Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
, Syracuse, Reggio
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
, Nicopolis
Nicopolis
Nicopolis — or Actia Nicopolis — was an ancient city of Epirus, founded 31 BC by Octavian in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra at Actium the previous year. It was later the capital of Epirus Vetus...
, Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, and Patras
Patras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
from papal jurisdiction, instead subjecting them to the Patriarch of Constantinople. This was in effect an act of triage
Triage
Triage or ) is the process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their condition. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately. The term comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate,...
: it strengthened the imperial grip on the southern empire, but all but guaranteed the eventual destruction of the exarchate of Ravenna, which finally occurred at Lombard hands in 751. In effect, the papacy had been "cast out of the empire". Pope Zachary
Pope Zachary
Pope Saint Zachary was Pope of the Catholic Church from 741 to 752. A Greek from Calabria, he was the last pope of the Byzantine Papacy...
, in 741, was the last pope to announce his election to a Byzantine ruler or seek their approval.
Subsequent relations
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
as Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
. This can be seen as symbolic of the papacy turning away from the declining Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
towards the new power of Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
Francia. Byzantium suffered a series of military setbacks during this period, virtually losing its grip on Italy. By the time of Liudprand of Cremona's late 10th century visits to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, despite Byzantium's recovery under Romanos I
Romanos I
Romanos I Lekapenos was Byzantine Emperor from 920 until his deposition on December 16, 944.-Origin:...
and Constantine Porphyrogenitus, relations were clearly strained between the papacy and Byzantium. Indeed, he notes the anger of the Byzantine civil service at the Emperor being addressed by the Pope as "Emperor of the Greeks" as opposed to that of the Romans.
List of Byzantine popes
The Byzantine Papacy was composed of the following popes and antipopes. Of the thirteen popes from 678 to 752, only Benedict II and Gregory II were native Romans; all the rest were Greek-speakingGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, from Greece, Syria, or Byzantine Sicily. Many popes of this period had previously served as papal apocrisiarii
Apocrisiarius
An apocrisiarius, the Latinized form of apokrisiarios , sometimes Anglicized as apocrisiary, was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early medieval period. The corresponding Latin term was responsalis...
(equivalent of the modern nuncio
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
) in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. The series of popes from John V to Zachary (685–752) is sometimes referred to as the "Byzantine captivity" because only one pope of this period, Gregory II, was not of "Eastern" extraction.
- Pope VigiliusPope VigiliusPope Vigilius reigned as pope from 537 to 555, is considered the first pope of the Byzantine Papacy.-Early life:He belonged to a aristocratic Roman family; his father Johannes is identified as a consul in the Liber pontificalis, having received that title from the emperor...
(537–555), former apocrisiarius - Pope Pelagius IPope Pelagius IPope Pelagius I was Pope from 556 to March 4, 561. He was the second pope of the Byzantine Papacy, like his predecessor a former apocrisiarius to Constantinople.-Early life:He came from a Roman noble family...
(556–561), former apocrisiarius - Pope John IIIPope John IIIPope John III was pope from 561 to July 13, 574. He was born in Rome, of a distinguished family. The Liber Pontificalis calls him a son of one Anastasius. His father bore the title of illustris, more than likely being a vir illustris...
(561–574) - Pope Benedict IPope Benedict IPope Benedict I was pope from June 2, 575 to July 30, 579.Benedict was the son of a man named Bonifacius, and was called Bonosus by the Greeks. The ravages of the Lombards rendered it very difficult to communicate with the Byzantine emperor at Constantinople, who claimed the privilege of confirming...
(575–579) - Pope Pelagius IIPope Pelagius IIPope Pelagius II was Pope from 579 to 590.He was a native of Rome, but probably of Ostrogothic descent, as his father's name was Winigild.Pelagius appealed for help from Emperor Maurice against the Lombards, but the Byzantines were of little help, forcing Pelagius to "buy" a truce and turn to the...
(579–590) - Pope Gregory IPope Gregory IPope Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...
, "the Great" (590–604), former apocrisiarius - Pope SabinianPope SabinianPope Sabinian was pope from 604 to 606. He was born at Blera near Viterbo. Pope during the Byzantine Papacy, he was fourth former apocrisiarius to Constantinople elected pope.-Apokrisiariat :...
(604–606), former apocrisiarius - Pope Boniface IIIPope Boniface IIIPope Boniface III was Pope from February 19 to November 12, 607. Despite his relatively short time as Pope he made a significant contribution to the organization of the Catholic Church.-Early life:...
(607), former apocrisiarius, likely born in Rome to a Greek father from AntiochAntiochAntioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the... - Pope Boniface IVPope Boniface IVPope Saint Boniface IV was pope from 608 to his death.Son of Johannes, a physician, a Marsian from the province and town of Valeria; he succeeded Boniface III after a vacancy of over nine months. He was consecrated on either 25 August or September 15 in 608...
(608–615) - Pope Adeodatus IPope Adeodatus IPope Saint Adeodatus I or Deodatus I was Pope from November 13, 615 to his death....
(615–618) - Pope Boniface VPope Boniface VPope Boniface V was pope from 619 to 625.He was consecrated as pope on December 23, 619. He did much for the Christianising of England and enacted the decree by which churches became places of refuge for criminals....
(619–625) - Pope Honorius IPope Honorius IPope Honorius I was pope from 625 to 638.Honorius, according to the Liber Pontificalis, came from Campania and was the son of the consul Petronius. He became pope on October 27, 625, two days after the death of his predecessor, Boniface V...
(625–638) - Pope SeverinusPope SeverinusPope Severinus was pope in the year 640 who became caught up in a power struggle with the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius over the ongoing Monothelite controversy.-Election and struggle with Constantinople:...
(640) - Pope John IVPope John IVPope John IV was elected Pope of the Catholic Church, after a four-month sede vacante, December 24, 640.Pope John was a native of Dalmatia . He was the son of the scholasticus Venantius. At the time of his election he was archdeacon of the Roman Church, an important role in governing the see...
(640–642), Dalmatian, first pope born and raised east of Italy since Pope ZosimusPope ZosimusPope Saint Zosimus was Pope from March 18, 417 to December 26, 418 .He succeeded Innocent I, and was followed by Boniface I. Zosimus took a decided part in the protracted dispute in Gaul as to the jurisdiction of the see of Arles over that of Vienne, giving energetic decisions in favour of the...
(417–418) - Pope Theodore IPope Theodore IPope Theodore I , who was pope from November 24, 642, to May 14, 649, is considered a Greek, but was born in Jerusalem. He was made a cardinal deacon, and a full cardinal by Pope John IV....
(642–649), Greek-Palestinian - Pope Martin IPope Martin IPope Martin I, born near Todi, Umbria in the place now named after him , was pope from 649 to 653, succeeding Pope Theodore I in July 5, 649. The only pope during the Byzantine Papacy whose election was not approved by a iussio from Constantinople, Martin I was abducted by Constans II and died in...
(649–653), former apocrisiarius - Pope Eugene IPope Eugene IPope Saint Eugene I or Eugenius I, was pope from 10 August 654, to 1 June 657.He was a native of Rome, born to one Rufinianus. He was elected pope on 10 August 654, ascended in 655, and died on 1 June 657, of natural causes.-Early life:...
(654–657) - Pope VitalianPope VitalianPope Saint Vitalianus was Pope of the Catholic Church from July 30, 657, until January 27, 672.He was born in Segni, Lazio, the son of Anastasius.-Reign:...
(657–672), likely of eastern extraction (father named Anastasios) - Pope Adeodatus IIPope Adeodatus IIPope Adeodatus II or Pope Deodatus II reigned as Pope from April 11, 672 to June 17, 676. Little is known about him. Most records which remain indicate that Adeodatus was known for his generosity, especially when it came to the poor and to pilgrims....
(672–676) - Pope DonusPope DonusPope Donus was Pope from November 2, 676 to April 11, 678.He was the son of a Roman named Mauricius. Not much is known of this pope.-Reign:...
(676–678)
- Pope AgathoPope Agatho-Background and early life:Little is known of Agatho before his papacy. A letter written by St. Gregory the Great to the abbot of St. Hermes in Palermo mentions an Agatho, a Greek born in Sicily to wealthy parents. He wished to give away his inheritance and join a monastery, and in this letter...
(678–681), Greek - Pope Leo IIPope Leo II-Background and early activity in the Church:He was a Sicilian by birth , and succeeded Agatho. Though elected pope a few days after the death of St. Agatho , he was not consecrated till after the lapse of a year and seven months...
(682–683), Sicilian - Pope Benedict IIPope Benedict IIPope Saint Benedict II was Pope from 684 to 685.Pope Benedict II died on May 8, 685. He succeeded Leo II. Although chosen in 683, he was not ordained until 684 because the leave of Emperor Constantine IV was not obtained until some months after the election...
(684–685) - Pope John VPope John VPope John V was pope from July 685 to August 2, 686. John V was the first pope of the Byzantine Papacy allowed to be consecrated by the Byzantine emperor without prior consent, and the first in a line of ten consecutive popes of eastern origin...
(685–686), Syrian - Pope CononPope CononPope Conon was Pope from October 21, 686 until his death in Rome. Conon was buried in the Patriarchal Basilica of St...
(686–687), Sicilian - Pope Sergius IPope Sergius IPope Saint Sergius I was pope from 687 to 701. Selected to end a schism between Antipope Paschal and Antipope Theodore, Sergius I ended the last disputed sede vacante of the Byzantine Papacy....
(687–701), Syrian- Antipope TheodoreAntipope TheodoreTheodore was a rival with Paschal for Pope following the death of Pope Conon , and thus is considered an antipope of the Roman Catholic Church.Prior to the disputed election, Theodore was an archpriest...
(687) - Antipope PaschalAntipope PaschalPaschal was a rival with Theodore for Pope following the death of Pope Conon , and thus is considered an antipope of the Roman Catholic Church.Prior to the disputed election, Paschal was an archdeacon...
(687)
- Antipope Theodore
- Pope John VIPope John VIPope John VI was a Greek pope from Ephesus who reigned during the Byzantine Papacy from October 30, 701 to January 11, 705. His papacy was noted for military and political breakthroughs on the Italian peninsula. He succeeded to the papal chair two months after the death of Pope Sergius I, and his...
(701–705), Greek - Pope John VIIPope John VIIPope John VII was pope from 705 to 707. The successor of John VI, he was of Greek ancestry. He is one of the popes of the Byzantine captivity.-Biography:...
(705–707), Greek - Pope SisinniusPope SisinniusPope Sisinnius was Pope for about three weeks in 708.A Syrian by birth, Sisinnius's father's name was John. The paucity of donations to the papacy during his reign indicate that he was probably not from the aristocracy.Sisinnius was selected as...
(708), Syrian - Pope ConstantinePope ConstantinePope Constantine was pope from 708 to 715. With the exception of Antipope Constantine, he was the only pope to take such a "quintessentially" Eastern name of an emperor...
(708–715), Syrian - Pope Gregory IIPope Gregory IIPope Saint Gregory II was pope from May 19, 715 to his death on February 11, 731, succeeding Pope Constantine. Having, it is said, bought off the Lombards for thirty pounds of gold, Charles Martel having refused his call for aid, he used the tranquillity thus obtained for vigorous missionary...
(715–731) - Pope Gregory IIIPope Gregory IIIPope Saint Gregory III was pope from 731 to 741. A Syrian by birth, he succeeded Gregory II in March 731. His pontificate, like that of his predecessor, was disturbed by the iconoclastic controversy in the Byzantine Empire, in which he vainly invoked the intervention of Charles Martel.Elected by...
(731–741), Syrian - Pope ZacharyPope ZacharyPope Saint Zachary was Pope of the Catholic Church from 741 to 752. A Greek from Calabria, he was the last pope of the Byzantine Papacy...
(741–752), Sicilian
Legacy
According to Duffy, by the end of the 7th century, "Greek-speakers dominated the clerical culture of Rome, providing its theological brains, its administrative talent, and much of its visual, musical, and liturgical culture". Ekonomou argues that "after four decades of Byzantine rule, the East was inexorably insinuating itself into the city on the Tiber. Even Gregory would succumb, perhaps unwittingly, to the lux orientis [...] Once the political bonds had been reformed, both Rome and the Papacy would quickly begin to experience, even before the sixth century came to a close, its influence in other ways as well." Ekonomou views the Byzantine influence as organic rather than "an intentional or systematic program" by the emperors or exarchs, who focused more on political control and taxation than cultural influence.Demographic and monastic
The schola Graeca (also called the ripa Graeca or "Greek bank") refers to the segment of the Tiber's bank "heavily populated by Easterners, including Greeks, Syrians, and Egyptians". The Byzantine quarter quickly became the economic center of Imperial Rome during this period (marked by Santa Maria in Cosmedin, a name also given to Byzantine churches founded in Ravenna and Naples). The portion of the Aventine overlooking this quarter became known as the ad Balcernas or Blachernas, after the district of Constantinople. This region was latter called the piccolo Aventino ("little Aventine") once it developed into a "Greco-oriental quarter" after successive waves of Sabaite monks.Byzantine immigrants to Rome included merchants from Byzantine territories such as Syria and Egypt. Refugees from the Vandal persecutions in North Africa and the Laurentian schism accumulated in significant numbers in the early sixth century; a similar phenomenon occurred with the inhabitants of the eastern territories later re-conquered by the Byzantines. Greeks accounted for nearly the entire medical community of Rome and a Greek school of medicine was established during this time. Most Greek inhabitants of Rome during this period, however, would have been members of monastic religious communities, although it is questionable whether any exclusively Greek monasteries were established. However, by 678, there were four Byzantine monasteries: San Saba, Domus Ariscia, SS. Andreas and Lucia, and Aquas Salvias. Constantine IV
Constantine IV
Constantine IV , , sometimes incorrectly called Pogonatos, "the Bearded", by confusion with his father; was Byzantine emperor from 668 to 685...
alludes to these four monasteries in a letter to Pope Donus
Pope Donus
Pope Donus was Pope from November 2, 676 to April 11, 678.He was the son of a Roman named Mauricius. Not much is known of this pope.-Reign:...
; Ekonomou suggests there were at least two more Byzantine monasteries in Rome: the Boetiana and St. Erasmus on Caelian Hill
Caelian Hill
The Caelian Hill is one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome. Under reign of Tullus Hostilius, the entire population of Alba Longa was forcibly resettled on the Caelian Hill...
. Greek monastics brought with them (in the late seventh century) the institution of monasteria diaconia, dedicating to serving the indigent of the city.
At the end of the sixth century Easterners remained a minority of the Roman clergy, although they were doubtlessly admitted into it (as determined by the names subscribing to synodical proceedings). Although they constituted less than one percent of the hierarchy at the beginning of the seventh century, the percentage of Easterners was higher for the priesthood. In contrast, a 679 synod convoked by Agatho was predominantly eastern (more than half of the bishops and two-thirds of the priests). These monastics "brought with them from the East an unbroken legacy of learning that, though shattered almost beyond recognition in the West, Byzantium had preserved in nearly pristine form from ancient times".
Non-monks also emigrated to Rome, as can be seen in the skyrocketing popularity of names like Sisinnes, Georgios
Georgios
Georgios is derived from the Greek word . The word is a compound of and...
, Thalassios, and Sergius
Sergius
Sergius was a name of a Roman Patrician Gens originally from Alba Longa and can refer to:- Roman Catholic Popes :*Pope Sergius I , Sicilian-born pope*Pope Sergius II , Italian-born pope...
(and, to a lesser extent: Gregorios, Ioannes, Paschalis, Stephanos, and Theodoros). Ekonomou cites the appearance of these names, along with the disappearance of Probus
Probus (disambiguation)
Probus can refer to:People* Marcus Pomponius Maecius Probus, consul in 228*Marcus Aurelius Probus, Roman Emperor *Marcus Valerius Probus, Roman grammarian* Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus, a powerful Roman senator of the 4th century...
,
Faustus
Faustus (praenomen)
Faustus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name. It was never particularly common at Rome, but may have been used more frequently in the countryside. The feminine form is Fausta. The name was not usually abbreviated, but is occasionally found abbreviated F. During the period of the Roman Empire, it...
, Venantius
Venantius
Venantius may refer to:* Venantius Fortunatus , Latin poet, bishop, and saint* Venantius of Camerino , aka Saint Venanzio, martyr, patron saint of Camerino* Venantius, brother of Saint Honoratus...
, and Importunus as evidence of the "radical transformation in the ethnic composition of the city".
Economic
Byzantine traders came to dominate the economic life of Rome. Roman resentment against this reality culminated in Emperor Valentian III expelling all "Greek traders" from the city in 440, an act that he was forced to reverse after a famineFamine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
. Persons from all portions of the Byzantine empire were able to follow traditional trade routes to Rome, making the city truly "cosmopolitan" in its composition.
Architectural
Greek speaking prelates also become common in Rome at this time, concentrated around a ring of churches on Palatine HillPalatine Hill
The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city...
, dedicated to Eastern Saints: Cosmas and Damian, Sergius and Bacchus, Hadrian, Quiricius and Giulitta, and Cyrus and John.
Greek influence was concentrated also in the diaconia
Diaconia
A diaconia was originally an establishment built near a church building, for the care of the poor and distribution of the church's charity in medieval Rome or Naples...
along the Tiber
Tiber
The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
, an emerging Byzantine quarter of the city, and the churches of San Giorgio in Vellabro and Santa Maria in Cosmedin
Santa Maria in Cosmedin
The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin is a minor basilica church in Rome, Italy. It is located in the rione of Ripa.- History :The church was built in the 8th century during the Byzantine Papacy over the remains of the Templum Herculis Pompeiani in the Forum Boarium and of the Statio annonae, one...
. According to Duffy,
- "Even the native traditions of Roman religious art were now transformed by Eastern influence, the monumental realism of the Roman style, represented in the apse of SS Cosmas and Damian, being replaced by the delicate formalism of the paintings of Santa Maria Antiqua, or the Byzantine-style icon of the Virgin now in the church of Santa Francesca Romana. The worship of the Roman Church itself was being transformed by Eastern influence."
Santa Maria in Cosmedin was given to Greek monks fleeing the iconoclastic persecution, and was built on a Greek plan with three apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
s and a templon
Templon
A templon is a feature of Byzantine churches consisting of a barrier separating the nave from the sacraments at the altar....
barrier, introduced to the West at this period.
Literary and musical
Rome experienced a "short cultural efflorescence" in the early sixth century as a result of the translation of Greek words—"both sacred and profane"—into Latin, with the rise of an intellectual class fluent in both languages. Because traditional Classical education in Rome had declined "nearly to the point of extinction", even learned Latin scholars could not read such works in their original Greek and were forced to rely on translation. Many such texts appeared in the papal library, which was established by Pope AgapetusPope Agapetus
Pope Agapetus may refer to:*Pope Agapetus I *Pope Agapetus II *Agapitus of Palestrina, martyr and saint*Felicissimus and Agapitus, martyrs*An early bishop of Ravenna...
circa 535 (moved by future Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...
to his monastery on Caelian Hill
Caelian Hill
The Caelian Hill is one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome. Under reign of Tullus Hostilius, the entire population of Alba Longa was forcibly resettled on the Caelian Hill...
and later the Lateran). The papal library contained only a very few texts in the year 600, but boasted shelves of codices (primarily in Greek) by 650. Moreover, the staff of the papal chancery was thoroughly bilingual by mid-century, with its "administrative apparatus" run by Greeks. Until recently, scholars believed that papal texts were written in Latin and then translated into Greek; however, the evidence regarding the proceedings of the Lateran Council of 649
Lateran Council of 649
The Lateran Council of 649 was a synod held in the Basilica of St. John Lateran to condemn Monothelitism, a Christology espoused by many Eastern Christians...
reveals exactly the opposite to be the case.
Despite the conquest, the decline of the knowledge of the Greek language
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
continued almost unchecked, and translators remained in short supply throughout Gregory I's papacy. Only at the end of the sixth century did knowledge of the Greek language (and the corresponding supply of Greek texts) undergo a "slightly increased vitality". Conversely, knowledge of Latin in Constantinople was "not only rare but a 'complete anachronism'".
Pope Vitalian
Pope Vitalian
Pope Saint Vitalianus was Pope of the Catholic Church from July 30, 657, until January 27, 672.He was born in Segni, Lazio, the son of Anastasius.-Reign:...
(657–672) established a schola cantorum
Schola cantorum
The Schola cantorum was the trained papal choir during the Middle Ages, specializing in the performance of plainchant. Although legend associates them with the papacy of Gregory the Great, there is no historical evidence to support this claim. The Schola is attested in historical records...
to train ceremonial chanters, which was almost entirely "in imitation of its Byzantine model". Vatalian also introduced the celebration of the Easter vespers and baptism at Epiphany, both traditions originating in Constantinople. The "liturgical byzantinization" furthered by Vitalian would be continued by his successors. However, the Latin language made a liturgical resurgence—officially replacing Greek—between 660 and 682; Greek again re-emerged during the papacy of Pope Agatho
Pope Agatho
-Background and early life:Little is known of Agatho before his papacy. A letter written by St. Gregory the Great to the abbot of St. Hermes in Palermo mentions an Agatho, a Greek born in Sicily to wealthy parents. He wished to give away his inheritance and join a monastery, and in this letter...
and his successors.
By the beginning of the eighth century, bilingual liturgies were common place, with Greek taking precedence. Thus, Greek literary customs found their way into the entire liturgical calendar, particularly papal rituals. This period laid the groundwork for Western mariology
Mariology
Roman Catholic Mariology is theology concerned with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ as developed by the Catholic Church. Roman Catholic teachings on the subject have been based on the belief that "The Blessed Virgin, because she is the Mother of God, is believed to hold a certain...
, built closely after the cult of Theotokos
Theotokos
Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
("Mother of God") in the East, where Mary was regarded as the special protector of Constantinople.
Organizational
Many features of the papal court originated during this period, modeled after similar Byzantine court rituals. For example, the papal office of the vestarariusVestararius
The vestararius was the manager of the medieval Roman Curia office of the vestiarium , responsible for the management of papal finances as well as the papal wardrobe...
imitated the protovestiarios
Protovestiarios
Protovestiarios was a high Byzantine court position, originally reserved for eunuchs.-History and functions:The title is first attested in 412, as the comes sacrae vestis, an official in charge of the Byzantine emperor's "sacred wardrobe" , coming under the praepositus sacri cubiculi...
of the Byzantine court, with both responsible for the management of finances and the wardrobe.
Theological
Maximus the Confessor
Maximus the Confessor was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, he was a civil servant, and an aide to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius...
, who was carried under heavy imperial guard from Rome to Constantinople in 654, typifies the theological development of Eastern monasticism in Rome vis-a-vis conflicts with the Byzantine emperors. Maximus and his fellow Graeco-Palestinian future Pope Theodore I
Pope Theodore I
Pope Theodore I , who was pope from November 24, 642, to May 14, 649, is considered a Greek, but was born in Jerusalem. He was made a cardinal deacon, and a full cardinal by Pope John IV....
lead a synod in Rome of predominantly Latin bishops that stymied Imperial efforts to enforce doctrinal unity (and thus end the domestic strife which much aided the Persian advance) on the issue of Monothelitism
Monothelitism
Monothelitism is a particular teaching about how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus, known as a Christological doctrine, that formally emerged in Armenia and Syria in 629. Specifically, monothelitism teaches that Jesus Christ had two natures but only one will...
.
As a result of this theological flowering, "for the first time in well over a century, the church of Rome would be in a position to debate theological issues with Byzantium from a position of equality in both intellectual substance and rhetorical form". However, "the irony was that Rome would experience its revitalization not by drawing upon its own pitiable resources, but rather through the collaboration of a Greco-Palestinian pope and a Constantinopolitan monk employing a style of theological discource whose tradition was purely Eastern".
As early as the papacy of Gregory I, the churches of Italy and Sicily began "increasingly following Eastern ritualistic forms", which Gregory I himself endeavored to combat and modify. For example, Roman churches adopted the practice of saying Allelueia in Mass except during the fifty days between Easter and Pentecost; in a letter, Gregory I acknowledge the development, but claimed it originated in Jerusalem and reached Rome not through Constantinople but through Jerome and Pope Damasus. Similarly, Gregory I claimed an "ancient origin" for allowing subdeacons to participate in mass without tunics (a practice common in Constantinople). Gregory was also keen to distinguish the Latin Kyrie Eleison from the Greek, noting that only Roman clerics (rather than the entire congregation in unison) recited it, and thereafter affixed an additional Christe Eleison.
Despite his vehement public statements to the contrary, Gregory I himself was an agent of creeping Byzantine influence. As Ekonomou states, Gregory "not only reflect but was in many ways responsible for Rome's ambivalent attitude toward the East". For example, he organized a series of liturgical processions in Rome to "assuage the wrath of God and relieve the city's suffering" from the plague which killed his predecessor, which greatly resembled Byzantine liturgical processions which Gregory I would have witnessed as apocrisiarius
Apocrisiarius
An apocrisiarius, the Latinized form of apokrisiarios , sometimes Anglicized as apocrisiary, was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early medieval period. The corresponding Latin term was responsalis...
. Gregory I's mariology
Mariology
Roman Catholic Mariology is theology concerned with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ as developed by the Catholic Church. Roman Catholic teachings on the subject have been based on the belief that "The Blessed Virgin, because she is the Mother of God, is believed to hold a certain...
also comports with several Byzantine influences. However, it as after the death of Gregory I that Eastern influence became for more apparent and the adoption of Byzantine practices accelerated.
Sergius I incorporated the Syrian custom of singing the Agnus Dei and elaborate processions with Greek chants into the Roman liturgy. The "more learned and sophisticated theological interests" of the Greek popes also added a new "doctrinal edge" to the claims of the primacy of the Roman Pontiff
Primacy of the Roman Pontiff
The primacy of the Bishop of Rome is an ecclesiastical doctrine held by some branches of Christianity, most notably the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion. The doctrine concerns the respect and authority that is due to the Bishop of Rome from bishops and their...
, "sharpened and fixed" by various confrontations with the emperor. Eastern monastics, if not Byzantine society at large, in the fourth and fifth centuries came to regard Rome as "not just another patriarch" but as a unique source of doctrinal authority. According to Ekonomou, the Dialogues "best reflect the impact that the East exercised on Rome and the Papacy in the late sixth century" as they "gave Italy holy men who were part of an unmistakable hagiographical tradition whose roots lay in the Egyptian desert and the Syrian caves".
Artistic
The Byzantine period saw the disappearance of most remnants of classical style from mosaics in ItalyLate Antique and medieval mosaics in Italy
Italy has the richest concentration of Late Antique and medieval mosaics in the world. Although the technique is especially associated with Byzantine art, and many Italian mosaics were probably made by imported Greek-speaking artists and craftsmen, the numbers of significant mosaics remaining in...
, although the process of this transition is hard to follow not least because there are even fewer surviving mosaics from the period in the Greek-speaking world than in Italy. The magnificent sequence of mosaics in Ravenna continued under the Exarchate, with those in the Basilica of San Vitale
Basilica of San Vitale
The Church of San Vitale — styled an "ecclesiastical basilica" in the Roman Catholic Church, though it is not of architectural basilica form — is a church in Ravenna, Italy, one of the most important examples of early Christian Byzantine Art and architecture in western Europe...
(527–548, spanning the change of rule) and Basilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe (549), but no sharp transition of style is detectable from those produced under the Ostrogothic Kingdom
Ostrogothic Kingdom
The Kingdom established by the Ostrogoths in Italy and neighbouring areas lasted from 493 to 553. In Italy the Ostrogoths replaced Odoacer, the de facto ruler of Italy who had deposed the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 476. The Gothic kingdom reached its zenith under the rule of its...
or the Western Emperors of the preceding decades. Greek Pope John VII
Pope John VII
Pope John VII was pope from 705 to 707. The successor of John VI, he was of Greek ancestry. He is one of the popes of the Byzantine captivity.-Biography:...
was "by far the most outstanding patron of the Byzantine iconographic style", commissioning innumerable works from "traveling Greek craftsmen".
Four churches in Rome have mosaics of saints near where their relics were held; these all show an abandonment of classical illusionism for large-eyed figures floating in space. They are San Lorenzo fuori le Mura
San Lorenzo fuori le Mura
The Papal Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls is a Roman Catholic parish church and minor basilica, located in Rome, Italy. The basilica is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and one of the five Patriarchal basilicas, each of which is assigned to a patriarchate. St...
(580s), Sant'Agnese fuori le mura
Sant'Agnese fuori le mura
The church of Saint Agnes Outside the Wall is a titulus church, minor basilica in Rome, on a site sloping down from the Via Nomentana, which runs north-east out of the city, still under its ancient name. What is said to be the remains of Saint Agnes's are below the high altar...
(625–38), Santo Stefano Rotondo
Santo Stefano Rotondo
The Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Celian Hill is an ancient basilica and titular church in Rome, Italy. Commonly named Santo Stefano Rotondo, the church is the National church in Rome of Hungary dedicated to Saint Stephen and Saint Stephen of Hungary...
(640s), and the chapel of San Venanzio in the Lateran Basilica (c. 640)
Illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
s show similar developments, but it is difficult to see specifically Byzantine elements in the emerging medieval style of St Augustine Gospels of c. 595, the earliest Latin Gospel book
Gospel Book
The Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament...
, which very probably passed through the hands of Gregory I. The earliest estimates for the date of the fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s at Castelseprio
Castelseprio
Castelseprio was the site of a Roman fort in antiquity, and a significant Lombard town in the early Middle Ages, before being destroyed and abandoned in 1287. It is today preserved as an archaeological park in the modern comune of Castelseprio, near the modern village of the same name...
in northern Italy, which undoubtedly show strong Byzantine influence, would put them into this period, but most scholars now date them much later. There has been much speculation, in respect of Castelseprio and other works, about Greek artists escaping from iconoclasm to the West, but there is little or no direct evidence of this.