Most western civilizations know about the Western Roma, the Rome that has its capital in Italy. Westerners know the rise, apex, and decline of the Roman Catholic Church's power, and how popes and priests shaped history through Investiture, Crusades, Indulgences, and Rites. The History of Western Christendom is in the backyards of those in Europe, and the legacy of that church is found in the Americas. And yet there is another Christendom, one that is Eastern and that ruled far longer as a power known as Byzantium. The Byzantines were never so called by that name, they knew themselves as Romans. The Roman Empire had been split into two sections, Western, with its capital in Rome, Italy and the Eastern Roma with its capital being established in Turkey called Constantinople, now modern day Istanbul. Byzantium began according to history and legend, when Constantinus the Great, Protector of Church made his capital in Turkey, naming it originally Christus Victus, but because of his memory among the people it took the name Constantinople.
Byzantium was a collection of kingdoms, many of them in Greece, Palestine, and along the Black Sea. Long after the empire in the West collapsed (circa 441-480 A.D.), the Eastern Empire flourished and experienced unprecedented luxury, decadence, and power. According to Anna Commena, the princess of Byzantium, Constantinople was "The Queen of Cities" and her account in The Alexiad reveals the sheer grandeur and opulence of those "born in the purple." Beyond an empire, the Byzantines were religious. As aforementioned, Constantine had liberated the Church from persecution and wrote "The Donation of Constantine," effectively creating a ecclesia empowered and appointed by the government. The Byzantines had a unique blend of Church and State, with the Emperor having power over both Church and State, appointing bishops and protecting the Church with the sword, like Peter tried to protect the Lord (John 18:10-11). This created mass corruption, giving the Emperor a double edge sword of power, spiritual and temporal. In the West the two were separate in form of the Papacy and the Kings, Popes wielding spiritual powers and Kings state powers, although for a time the Popes did gain temporal powers too and ruled until more bold secularae asserted their demands to rule, an example being Henry II of England and Emperor Fredrick II Exccoumincante (Excommunicated).
Life in Byzantium was not all gold and glory. There were severe penalties for those who did not support the current regime. The Greek costume of remove a person's eyes as punishment was rampant, adding poignancy to Christ's words, "The blind leading the blind." (Matthew 15:14). Byzantine Politics were as complicated as in West, and retaining a flare for drama and death like that of Shakespeare's Julius Cesar and Et de Brut (Brutus). The Church was divided into two spheres, The State and The Monastic. Bishops in Byzantium enjoyed the decadence, their robes laced in gold and fine linen, their processional crosses in pure gold with precious gems, and their comforts seen to like that of Caesars, so long as they did not displease the Emperor, who on a whim could have Bishop exiled or confined to the harsh life of the ascetics in monastery. Ascertaining the devotion of the Byzantines is more an art than science. We have at our disposal many accounts, from Anna's The Alexiad. The Secret History by Procopius, and Michael Psellus' Fourteen Emperors of Byzantium. The problem with all texts from the period is they are littered with language that conceals their true meaning so as to not offend any Emperor living or dead, thus it requires great skill at interpreting and delving into the texts until the truth emerges beneath the dross of pomp and pageantry.
One thing we can be sure of is that the Byzantine Church was quite corrupt. Bishops came and went like merchant ships on Bosporus. Maintaining a position in the ecclesia required as much political skill as piety. The Byzantine People while professing to be Christians would not dismantle the statues to the gods of Apollo and Zeus, often leaving their temples adorned and towering. The Hagia Sophia, the greatest Church in Christendom was massive, and its splendor can still be seen, the inside mosaics of Christ unmatched in detail and golden shimmer, the dome structure a marvel and wonder to Westerners until they discovered the power of buttresses architecturally. The Hagia Sophia was a holy of holies, a Third Temple after Titus destroyed the Second One in 70 A.D. But had not Jesus torn the viel, "When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart." (Matthew 27:50-51). The Apostle Paul had argued already to the Romans and Greeks almost five centuries earlier, "For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building," (1 Corinthians 3:9), "Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16), "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own," (1 Corinthians 6:19), and, "But Christ is faithful as the Son over God's house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast," (Hebrews 3:6). One might want to have brought to the people of Byzantium's attention that holding on to their old idols, statues, and temples; while embracing Christianity is not possible, nor is creating new idols out of saints and the Madonna, "What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people." (2 Corinthians 6:16).
While Papacy tried to preserve the Western Roma and claim the Supremacy of St. Peter, The Byzantines endeavored to keep the Eastern Roma alive in their Church after the schism between the Church of Rome and Constantinople in 1054 A.D. became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church. Eastern Orthodox which is often titled after what nationality or nation it is planted in, i.e. Greek Orthodoxy, Russian Orthodoxy, and Syrian Orthodoxy, very much preserves the Byzantine Rite, and customs of that lost civilization. Attend an Orthodox service, and you will be subjected to the flicking candlelight, aroma of incense, and golden icons that are copies of the same images of Christ and the saints used by the Byzantines. The priest or Photios, will be in vestments that pay homage to Byzantine Orthodoxy. Take a glimpse of the Patriarchate of Moscow, behold his golden robes, and cap with an icon infused with ruby gems, and vestments of gold, pearl and precious gems; and suddenly you find yourself transported back to Byzantium. Russia in particular believes it has a duty to preserve the Byzantine Rite. Tsars (Cesar in Russian) were so named because Russia was believed to be the Third Rome, the First collapsing in West in 480 A.D., and the Second, Byzantium collapsing to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 A.D.
Byzantium is a bold example of when Church and Civil Authorities become two intertwined. It is one thing to have a voice, and hands to help lead a nation, and its government towards God and His Will, it is enough to become enmeshed, dependent, and controlled by the Civil Powers, making it impossible to prophecy for fear of losing one's eyes or post. The Byzantines imperialized Christianity, painting crosses on their shields, and appealing to Christ to be champions against their enemies. The Savior became the proverbial Santa Claus of Byzantium; a cancerous belief that went all the way back to the first emperor, Constantine and the Battle of Milan.
What can be learned from History of Byzantium and the Church is the dangers of when God's People can be bought. Taking positions, wearing golden vestments, and enjoying power created a aberration of the Church. In fact, the Church became what Jesus Christ spoke against, "Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called 'Rabbi.' Don't let anyone call you 'Rabbi,' for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. And don't address anyone here on earth as 'Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. And don't let anyone call you 'Teacher,' for you have only one teacher, the Messiah/Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to." (Matthew 23:5-13). Christ's words describes the Church of Byzantium and its Clergy in detail, in fact, one might wonder if the priests of Byzantium read these words and adopted everything within them. Somehow they missed the part about not "being called Father, Rabbi, or Teacher."
The motives for why Orthodox men compromised the Gospel can be summed up in the Savior's own words, "but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful," (Mark 4:19), "But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life--and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare," (Luke 21:34). The Apostle Paul affirms Christ's words, "Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction," (1 Timothy 6:9), and "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows." (1 Timothy 6:10). Ultimately, the history of the Eastern Church in Byzantium and the Western Church in Rome is one that hinges on these words, "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." (Matthew 6:24).
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