East-West Schism

"Il saggio traccia una sintesi della civiltà bizantina, dalla fondazione di Costantinopoli alla Quarta Crociata. A tutti gli effetti continuazione dell'impero romano, Bisanzio riuscì ad assimilare positivamente le Völkerwanderungen che determinano il crollo della prima Roma, facendo della multietnicità e del dinamismo verticale delle élites un punto di forza e una costante. Se nell'effimero progetto giustinianeo di riunificazione dell'impero universale prevalevano ancora una gravitazione occidentale e un’ottica vetero-romana, il superamento, a partire da Eraclio, della prospettiva italocentrica segnò il vero inizio dell'età bizantina. A Eraclio vanno ascritti due traguardi fondamentali: la creazione del sistema dei temi e il definitivo soggiogamento dell’impero persiano, nella gran parte dei cui ex-territori subentrerà ben presto, tuttavia, il nuovo interlocutore arabo. Tra il VII e l’VIII secolo, con l'accentuazione dei tratti aneuropei in campo economico, sociale, artistico, culturale, si assiste alla vera e propria nascita della concezione bizantina del potere. L’età dell'iconomachia, a lungo giudicata “buia”, coincide in realtà con una fase di prosperità economica: il compiersi del processo di deurbanizzazione e la trasformazione territoriale favoriscono l’accentuarsi della vocazione statalista e predispongono il grande “risorgimento culturale” del IX-X secolo. La sconfitta dell'iconoclasmo vede anche la sconfitta del platonismo e l'affermarsi dell'aristotelismo come filosofia ufficiale del cristianesimo medievale. Il regno di Basilio I e della dinastia macedone segna la cosiddetta "età d'oro" dell'impero bizantino. Il X e XI secolo conoscono più tormentati rapporti tra stato e chiesa, che culminano nello scisma del 1054 tra chiesa d’oriente e chiesa d’occidente (in definitiva sfida del patriarca Cerulario al basileus) e un incremento politico ed economico della nobiltà militare provinciale, che si affermerà definitivamente con la dinastia dei Comneni. Proprio con il regno comneno, in particolare con la concessione dei privilegi commerciali a Venezia da parte di Alessio I, deve farsi coincidere l’inizio della fase calante dell'economia bizantina, ininterrotta fino al XV secolo, simmetrica e inversa all'ascesa del protocapitalismo occidentale dei traffici, cui l’antica egemonia di Bisanzio sarà progressivamente sottomessa e la sopravvivenza stessa della basileia infine sacrificata. Al riaccendersi della prospettiva di restaurazione dell'impero universale corrisponderà – nelle forme del ripiegamento sociale e dell'indebolimento statale – maggiore vulnerabilità nella politica pratica. Con queste premesse Bisanzio subirà, nel 1204, la forza distruttiva della “deviazione” della Quarta Crociata: una catastrofe inaspettata e forse per questo ancora più traumatica della definitiva caduta del 1453 sotto i turchi osmani.

This essay outlines the history of Byzantine civilisation from the founding of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade.  In every way a continuation of the Roman empire, Byzantium succeeded in assimilating to positive effect the Völkerwanderungen that determined the fall of the first Rome, creating a point of strength and allegiance out of the multi-ethnic, ascendant vertical dynamism of the élites.  If gravitation toward the West and an antiquated Roman perspective still prevailed in Justinian’s ephemeral project to reunify the universal empire, the shift beyond the Italo-centric perspective from Heraclius on marked the true beginning of the Byzantine era.  Two fundamental achievements are ascribed to Heraclius: the creation of the system of themes and the definitive subjugation of the Persian empire, to whose ex-territories, however, the new Arab interlocutor would soon succeed.  Between the 7th and 8th centuries, with the accentuation of non-European traits in economic, social, artistic, and cultural fields, we begin to see the emergence of the authentic Byzantine concept of power.  Long considered “dark,” the age of iconomachy coincided, in reality, with a phase of economic prosperity.  The culmination of the process of de-urbanisation and transformation of the territory favoured the accentuation of a state-centred vocation and set the stage for the great “cultural revival” of the 9th and 10th centuries.  The defeat of iconoclasm also saw the defeat of Platonism and the affirmation of Aristotelianism as the official philosophy of Medieval Christianity.  The reign of Basil I and the Macedonian dynasty marked the so-called “golden age” of the Byzantine empire.  The 10th and 11th centuries saw more tormented relations between church and state, culminating in the Schism of 1054 between the Eastern and Western churches (ultimately the patriarch Cerularius’ challenge to the basileus) and a political and economic increase in the provincial military nobility that would assert itself definitively with the Comnenian dynasty.  The beginning of the decline of the Byzantine economy - uninterrupted until the 15th century, symmetrical in nature and the inverse of the ascent of Western trade proto-capitalism to which the ancient hegemony of Byzantium would be gradually subjugated and the very survival of the basileia ultimately sacrificed - began precisely with the Comnenian dynasty, in particular, with the concession of commercial privileges to Venice by Alexius I.  To the reawakening of the prospect of a restoration of the universal empire would correspond – in the form of social withdrawal and weakening of the state – greater vulnerability in political practice. Under these conditions Byzantium would, in 1204, be subjected to the destructive force of the “detour” of the Fourth Crusade: an unforeseen catastrophe and perhaps for this reason even more traumatic than the definitive fall in 1453 at the hands of the Osmanli Turks. 
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Article in the proceeding:
A Book of Psalms from Elventh-Century Byzantium: The Complex of Texts and Images in Vat. gr. 752
edited by Barbara Crostini & Glenn Peers
Studi e Testi 504
Città del Vaticano 2016, 193-225

The publishing house has mistakenly blackened passages in the list on pp. 224-225. This preprint version displays all entries.

A term paper in Church History and Doctrine 1 which discusses the Christological controversies in the Eastern side of Christianity in the Roman Empire.  The paper highlights the Historical Background, Analysis, and its significant in our present day.

We live in an age in which “esotericism” has become almost synonymous with “spiritual.” Everything from sex to politics has its occult side; in fact, this imagined esoteric counter-face—hidden yet ubiquitous—is often assumed to actually be the true meaning or reality that the material husk—the exoteric, well-known aspect—serves only to obscure. Modern culture is “occulture.” That is, today's everyman recognizes as legitimate cultural expression only that which is grounded in “rejected knowledge.” But rejected by whom and for what? These questions are rarely even acknowledged, much less tackled. All that matters is that their esoteric wisdom is in some sense anti-traditional and pro-gnostic.
Most distressing of all, for an Eastern Orthodox Christian, is the continued—even growing—confusion among theologians and laymen concerning the relationship between esotericism and the teachings of  Orthodoxy. The studies in this volume shed light on the historical development of esoteric thought from an Orthodox perspective.

Approximately 50 years ago a rapid series of events has concentrated the attention of many Catholics on the Orthodox Church.  This widespread interest is something new.  After 1917 there grew up in most Western countries a diaspora of Russian Orthodox exiles.  This had several small-scale consequences.

Resumen: Diferentes grupos de poder han recurrido a la capacidad persuasiva de la literatura profética de carácter apocalíptico para construir sus discursos. Un buen ejemplo es la obra de Telesforo da Cosenza (1356-1390), aparecida en un momento de gran inestabilidad de la Iglesia occidental. El Ms. 2667 de la BGH es uno de los testimonios más tempranos de esta obra en Castilla. Su elaboración en Córdoba, en un círculo próximo a Diego de Anaya, permite acotar las singularidades de su recepción, así como nuevas consideraciones acerca de la producción libraria castellana.


Abstract: Different groups with considerable power have shaped their discourses using the persuasive capacity of the apocalyptic prophetic literature. One example of this is Telesforo da Conseza’s work (1356-1390), which emerged during a time of great instability for the Latin Church. Ms. 2667 of BGH is one of the earliest testimonies of his works in Castile. This was accomplished in Cordoba, next to Diego de Anaya’s circle. This information allows to narrow down the singularities of its reception and new considerations regarding the book production in Castile.

Compartilhando de longos séculos de história comum e tendo por fundamentação doutrinária básica a adesão às fórmulas proclamadas como ortodoxas nos Sete Concílios Ecumênicos (325-787) realizados no âmbito do antigo Império Romano Cristão, a Igreja Católica Apostólica Romana e a Igreja Católica Apostólica Ortodoxa encontram-se separadas como dois corpos independentes, muitas vezes rivais, nos últimos quase mil anos de existência do cristianismo. Apesar da aproximação institucional experimentada desde o Concílio Vaticano II (1962-1965) entre o papado romano e os patriarcas greco-ortodoxos, a divisão entre duas das maiores e mais antigas porções do movimento cristão continua sendo motivo de escândalo e de interpretações simplistas, não raro fundadas em um desconhecimento básico das circunstâncias históricas nas quais se deu aquilo que justamente foi chamado de Grande Cisma ou, de forma mais técnica, simplesmente de Cisma Oriente-Ocidente. Este curso objetiva retomar de forma sinóptica alguns dos momentos-chave que levaram a esta grande cisão e seu aprofundamento, de modo a fornecer aos alunos elementos básicos para situar historicamente a realidade da divisão entre católicos e ortodoxos.

Although his history is critically important for understanding the years 1204 to 1261, George Akropolites is largely silent on the subject of diplomatic contacts with the Latins in the years following the Fourth Crusade. His account leaves out key details regarding negotiations, such as when and where talks took place, or who conducted them. This omission is especially perplexing because Akropolites was himself a diplomat. Generally, he only makes brief allusions to contact with the Latins, leading the casual reader to underestimate the importance of these meetings. This analysis examines the contacts Akropolites does and does not address, gaining greater insight into the goals and purpose of his historical work by acknowledging people and events the author purposely decided to leave out of his narrative.

Over the past sixty years, scholars have consistently argued against the idea that the excommunication of the patriarch of Constantinople by three papal legates in July 1054 marked the final break between the Churches of East and West. Rather the breach between Catholic and Orthodox should be dated to after 1095 when the Crusades increased tension and misunderstanding between Latins and Greeks. While that broad conclusion is probably correct as far as dogmatic and liturgical matters are concerned, the ideological significance of the events of 1054 has been neglected. This article argues that they were both symptom and to some extent a cause of a process of change whereby the ideological claims of the Byzantine emperor became unacceptable to an ever wider section of influential western European opinion. That change manifested itself very strongly at the time of the First Crusade but it had been developing long before that as a result of the widely disseminated propaganda of the reforming papacy.

Konstantinos D.Kakavelakis translated in 1998 from german to greek    with comments and a 60 Pages Introduction  the book
"Einführung in die Neumenkunde" under author´s attendance.
It was the fisrt book of Constantin Floros which ever presented up to this date to the greek language. Ziti Editions-Thessaloniki.
ISBN 960-431-449-1
ΠΡΟΛΕΓΟΜΕΝΑ ΤΟΥ ΜΕΤΑΦΡΑΣΤΗ
Το βαρυσήμαντο τρίτομο έργο του Κωνσταντίνου Φλώρου (oμ. καθηγητή στην έδρα της ιστορικής μουσικολογίας στο Πανεπιστήμιο του Αμβούργου) Universale Neumenkunde -Παγκόσμια Νευματική Επιστήμη κυκλοφόρησε το 1970 από το γερμανικό μουσικό οίκο Bärenreiter στο Kassel στη γερμανική γλώσσα. Δέκα χρόνια μετά την ιστορική έκδοση της Παγκόσμιας Νευματικής Επιστήμης κυκλοφόρησε από τον εκδοτικό οίκο Heinrichshofen στο Wiesbaden με τον τίτλο Einführung in die Neumenkunde (1980). ["Εισαγωγή στη Νευματική Επιστήμη" ]ένας συνοπτικός τόμος  από τον ίδιο συγγραφέα. Σε αυτόν συνθέτει τα αποτελέσματα της συνολικής εργασίας του με εκλαϊκευμένο επιστημονικό τρόπο κοινοποιώντας  στο πλατύ διεθνές κοινό την ελληνική καταγωγή των σλαβικών λειτουργικών μελωδιών και του γρηγοριανού χορικού.
Αυτός ο συνοπτικός τόμος,
είναι το πρώτο βιβλίο του Κωνσταντίνου Φλώρου που μεταφράσθηκε και παρουσιάσθηκε στην ελληνική γλώσσα.

H σημασία του, η σημασία της μετάφρασής του στην ελληνική γλώσσα, και η παρουσία του ευρύτερου έργου του Κ.Φλώρου γνωστοποιούνται πρός το ελληνικό κοινό απο τον Κώστα Δ.Κακαβελάκη σε μία διαφωτιστική εισαγωγή 60 σελ. η οποία εντάσσεται σε αυτήν την βελτιωμένη και ειδικά επιμελημένη για την Ελλάδα πρωτοποριακή έκδοση του οίκου Ζήτη.  Στο βιβλίο του αυτό ο Κωνσταντίνος Φλώρος παρουσιάζει συνεπτυγμένα και με τον καλύτερο δυνατό τρόπο τα προβλήματα που παρουσιάστηκαν κατά τη διαδικασία της αποκρυπτογράφησης από τον ίδιο των παλαιοβυζαντινών και παλαιοσλαβικών σημειογραφιών, που η ερμηνεία τους παρέμενε μέχρι και το 1970 αινιγματικά κλειδωμένη στο παρελθόν. Αποδεικνύει περίτρανα ότι οι Νοτιοσλάβοι και οι Ρώσοι υιοθέτησαν τη λειτουργική μουσική και το βυζαντινό μουσικό σημειογραφικό σύστημα με ορισμένες μόνο αλλαγές. Με έναν ευφυέστατο συγκριτικό τρόπο, όπως περιγράφει ο Dr. Wolfgang Kruger το 1973 στο έκτο τεύχος του εγκυρότατου επιστημονικού περιοδικού των γερμανικών σπουδών Literature, Music, Fine Arts, o Κωνσταντίνος Φλώρος μας διαφωτίζει σε βάθος για τις κρυφές σχέσεις μεταξύ της παλαιοβυζαντινής γραφής και του γρηγοριανού χορικού διανοίγοντας έτσι νέες προοπτικές, που μέχρι πρότινος ήταν τελείως άγνωστες στο πεδίο έρευνας της μεσαιωνικής μουσικής. Το εξίσου εγκυρότατο αμερικανικό επιστημονικό RILM Abstracts V/2 (May-August) 1971 αναφέρει ότι ο συγγραφέας για πρώτη φορά στην ιστορία των μουσικών ερευνών φέρνει στην επιφάνεια αποδείξεις που παρουσιάζουν ότι οι Δυτικοί υιοθέτησαν το μουσικό σημειογραφικό σύστημα, το σύστημα των μουσικών ήχων και των μουσικών γενών από τους Βυζαντινούς. Σ' αυτή την υπεράσπιση συστρατεύονται δυνάμεις πολλών επιστημών, προκειμένου να βγει κανείς από τον λαβύρινθο των μεταλλαγών και των σκόπιμα ή τυχαία τροποποιημένων δευτερευόντων μετονομασιών και μικρολογιών. Αυτές είχαν και έχουν πάντα τη μοίρα να επενεργούν στην πορεία του μουσικού πολιτισμού, δυστυχώς, μόνο ως σκοτεινή συνέπεια και όχι σαν ενωτική αλυσίδα του χαρακτήρα του ιστορικού του γίγνεσθαι. Ως Έλληνες έχουμε έναν πρόσθετο λόγο να περιηγηθούμε στις περίπλοκες διαβάσεις του κόσμου των νευμάτων, αυτών των μαγικών σημαδιών που προέρχονται από το σύστημα τονισμού της ελληνικής γλώσσας, που χρονολογείται από τη μεγάλη για τον ελληνισμό εποχή της αλεξανδρινής περιόδου. Μέσα από την ασφαλή πλοήγηση του Κωνσταντίνου Φλώρου θα γνωρίσουμε και θα εξερευνήσουμε, έστω και με μία μικρή καθυστέρηση κάτω από το φως της ελληνικής γλώσσας τις πτυχές αυτές, που κατά την εποχή του Μεσαίωνα χάραξαν και καθόρισαν την πορεία της μετέπειτα Ευρωπαϊκής μουσικής ιστορίας.

This talk about The Great Schism was held at Church of Saint Sava (Belgrade) - 25th August 2016. The lecturers were: dr Vladimir Cvetkovic (Independent Researcher, Göttingen) and dr Dragoljub Marjanovic (Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Byzantine History, Belgrade).