The Christian East And The Rise Of The Papacy: The Church in History

The Church in History #4

by Aristeides Papadakis

This text explores the history of the Eastern Church, spreading from Byzantium to the Orthodox Churches of the Balkans and Russia. It also examines the native Eastern Churches of Egypt, Ethiopia, Syria, Armenia and Georgia, and in the process exposes the many factors which contributed to the Christian disunity in the Middle Ages. The book also treats the impact on the East of such movements as the revolutionary Reform Papacy, the crusades, scolasticism and concilarism.

Genres: History, Church History, Religion, Theology, Christianity, Nonfiction, Christian History

424 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Dr. Aristeides Papadakis is professor of history (emeritus) at the University of Maryland.

Reviews

[Σωτήρης Αδαμαρέτσος · Rating 4 out of 5]

Γραμμένη για μη ελληνικό αναγνωστικό κοινό, εκκλησιαστική ιστορία.
Το έργο έχει δύο κεντρικούς άξονες. Την Γρηγοριανη μεταρρύθμιση που οδήγησε στην εδραίωση της εξουσίας του Παπα ως απόλυτης θρησκευτικής αρχής απέναντι στην Φεουδαρχια της Μεσαιωνικής Ευρώπης. Ωστόσο συμπεριέλαβε κάθε πλευρά της πολιτικής και θρησκευτικής ζωής στην Δύση, ειδικότερα δε στην θεολογική αναβάθμιση της Εκκλησίας μέσω του σχολαστικισμου και της φιλοσοφίας.
Την ίδια στιγμή στην Ανατολή, η πτώση της στρατιωτικής και πολιτικής ισχύος της Αυτοκρατορίας οδήγησαν την Ανατολική Εκκλησία σε μια καινοφανη πολιτική πορεία και διαφορετική θεολογική εξέλιξη. Η παρακμή του Κράτους των Ρωμαιων ανάγκασε την Εκκλησία να διεκδικήσει την αυτονομία της ως συγκεντρωτικός πόλος εξουσίας και σημείο αναφοράς των ανατολικών ορθοδόξων χριστιανών. Αυτή η τάση, θεολογικά, εκφράζεται στην παλαμικης εμπνεύσεως θεολογία του ησυχασμου και την ενίσχυση του ρόλου των μοναχών (αγιοριτων και συριων) στις δομές της και στην πνευματική της πορεία, εφεξής.

Μετά το 1071 μΧ, Δύση και Ανατολή ακολουθούν πια εντελώς αντίθετη θεολογική αλλά και πολιτική προσέγγιση του ρόλου τους στο χώρο. Η ίδια η φύση της ανατολικής θεολογίας ήταν κατ ουσίαν μοναστικη και αποφατικη σε αντίθεση με την καινούργια "επιστημονική" Λατινική αντίληψη της θεολογίας ως γνώσης εννοιών βάσει του σχολαστικισμου κ της φιλοσοφίας, κάτι που αποτυπώνεται καθαρά στην σύνοδο Φερραρας Φλωρεντίας, με την οποία κλείνει το έργο.

Δυο σημαντικά και πλούσια σε ιστορικές αναφορές κεφάλαια γραμμένα από τον κορυφαίο θεολόγο John Mayendorff αναλύουν την παρακμή των παλαιών Χαλκηδονιων και μη εκκλησιών και την γέννηση των νέων εκκλησιών των Βαλκανίων και Ρωσίας.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was actually primarily authored by Aristeides Papadakis (I think Meyendorff was either a contributor or editor of the series.)

The story of the Great Schism is (in English anyway) almost exclusively told from the Western perspective. This much needed volume attempts to balance those accounts with the story being told from the Eastern perspective. A great read. One of my favorite history books ever.

[Lucas Sipe · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting account of the Middle Ages from the perspective of the Orthodox rather than the Catholic Church. This is a Church History, so the main focus is on the respective Orthodox churches and events are seen from those lens. During the part on the Crusades, for example, we focus on how the Latin crusaders interacted with the various eastern Christian churches. The underlying theme is the taught relationship between the developments of the Papacy and the Christian Churches in the East. If you're unfamiliar with the historical/ theological arguments concerning that issue, it might be easy to get lost as this book relies upon the previous 3 books in the series. You either need a background in that issue or have read the prior 3 histories. Unfortunately, the bias of the author tends to color those sections and the work can often becoming nothing more than a polemic against the Roman Catholic West. When this book is at it's weakest is in those moments- that's not to say there isn't interesting analysis and arguments but are often overshadowed by shallow comments and judgmental prose.
At it's best, Papadakis shines a light on eastern churches uncommon to the English speaking world. The section on the Georgian/ Serbian churches are fascinating and incredibly well researched. Truly the highlight of the work and something any reader will want to know more about. It's concluding section, a chapter devoted to the Church of Rus was also well done. The father the author strays from the familiar, the better the work becomes. It's a fascinating look into the Eastern Churches throughout the high medieval period.
Within the Byzantine Orthodox Church sphere, Papadakis does well in illuminating the numerous controversies, histories, and relationships. There is a lot of dense theological thought, however, and that can often be a slog to get through. The discussion on energy/ essence distinction within the Hesychast Controversy is not explained well. Be that as it may, an unfamiliar reader will be given a throughout introduction into the Byzantine Church during the Medieval Period and gain a fresh insight into the period as a whole.
There's not much to say in terms of Historiographical method. The author does not hide his Orthodox faith and it's published through St. Vladimir Seminary Press. The author never excuses the Church, however, and is actually only biased against the Catholic Church; his treatment of Islam, the faith of the Mongols, and other religious groups is really well done and quite fair. Sources are often used but there is a tendency to focus on official documents. A history of the same period with a focus on economics or bottom up would be interesting to read.
Most English speaking histories of the period tend to focus on a Western perspective but this is a needed companion to gain a more full perspective of a tenues time in the history of the Church. I think 3.5 might be a better ranking, but doesn't quite deserve a 4 star ranking either. A definite read for someone with a focus on this period but only in regards to the Church.

[Mikhail Belyaev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Книга носит обзорный, а не систематический характер. Интересны, однако, суждения автора по некоторым вопросам:
- окончательное закрепление раскола между православием и дохалкидоскими церквями ("несторианцами" и "монофизитами") автор связывает с мусульманским завоеванием тех частей Империи, где были сильны гетеродоксальные учения;
- аналогично окончательное закрепление раскола между православием и католичеством автор связывает с османским завоеванием Византии.
Также интересна его оценка Ферраро-Флорентийского собора: "единственным историческим достижением Флорентийского собора стало поражение, которое он нанес западному соборному движению." (с. 589)

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed analysis of the impact of Eastern Christianity on the rise of the papacy. In particular, it deals with the emergence of the papacy according to its claim of universal leadership of Christendom. Primarily an ecclesiastical history, this book looks how the papal claims were affected by developments in the Byzantine Empire. It emphasizes Byzantine developments, both political and theological, and how these came across during the period of a East-West interaction during the late Middle Ages, i.e. the crusades and their aftermath. Places legal and political developments of papal powers into context of Western Europe's political growth from feudal into early modern period. Good chapters on the growth of Orthodoxy in the Slavic lands and in particular Russia. At the end, the authors show how diverging ecclesiastical leadership traditions had divided the two branches of Christianity.