Byzantium: The Early Centuries by Lord John Julius Norwich
Published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Copyright 1988 by
John Julius Norwich
"On 11 May AD 330, Constantine the Great renamed the old
Greek city of Byzantium in his own honor, and Constantinople
became the capital of an empire that would enthrall the world
for more than eleven centuries. But the ancient name of
Byzantium still clung to the empire, and its very name still
evokes 'visions of gold and malachite and porphyry, of stately
and solemn ceremonial, of brocades heavy with rubies and
emeralds, of sumptuous mosaics dimly glowing through halls
cloudy with incense." From the front flap.
Even though the purpose of this blog is to journal the issues and
struggles pertaining to the purification of the heart, it is important
to point out that our Church Fathers, clergy, monastics and laymen
alike, achieved their purification within the particular historical
setting in which they lived their lives. These circumstances quite
often worked against their efforts. The saints nonetheless overcame
and were crowned with the imperishable crown of glory
To my knowledge this 3 vol. series on the history of Byzantium
is unsurpassed. Lord Norwich pays fascinating attention to detail
without losing sight of the whole picture. It is very hard to put the
books down.
This first volume covers the historical background for six Ecumenical
Councils as well as the background for the lives of such as, Sts.
Athanasius, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory the Theologian,
John Chrysostom, Anthony the Great, the desert fathers, St Ephraim
the Syrian, St Jerome, St John Cassian, St Nicholas of Myra, St
Spyridon, St Ambrose of Milan, St Benedict, St Dionysius the
Areopagite, St Maximos the Confessor, St John Climacus and many
others.
This second volume covers the years 800 A.D. to 1081 therefore
covering two pivotal events in the history of the Church, the iconoclast
controversy and the Roman Patriarchate's schism from the Body of the
Eastern Orthodox Church. In page 320 we painfully read, "At three
o'clock in the afternoon of Saturday 16, July 1054, in the presence of
all clergy assembled for the Eucharist, the three ex-legates of Rome,
two cardinals and an archbishop, all in their full canonicals, strode into
the Great Church of St Sophia and up to the high altar, on which they
formally laid their solemn Bull of Excommunication. This done, they
turned on their heel and marched from the building, pausing only to
shake the dust symbolically from their feet."
"Even if we ignore the fact that the legates were without any papal
authority and that the Bull itself was consequently invalid by all the
standards of canon law, it remains an astonishing production."
"...but it was only when the Bull had been publicly burnt and the three
legates themselves formally anathematized that peace returned."
p.340
This volume covers the background for the Seventh Ecumenical
council. It is during this time that Mount Athos flourishes. St John
of Damascus, St Boniface, St Theodore of Studius, St Cyrill and
Methodius and the mission to the Slavs, St Photius, St Joseph
the Hymnographer, St Athanasius of Athos, St Symeon the New
Theologian, St Vladimir of Kiev, St Andrew the Fool for Christ,
St Niketas Stethatos, St Anthony of Kiev, St Theophylactus of
Bulgaria, etc. belong to this era.
Byzantium, the empire of 1,123 years, fell on Tuesday, May 29,
1453. We read, "The spellbinding account of the city's fall - the
last great epic in the history of the middle ages - provides a
climax to a story worthy of Homer himself. The Byzantines (a
personal note- the Byzantines never called themselves as such
but called themselves 'Roman'. They were nothing less than the
remnant of the ancient civilization of Rome), under their last
Emperor, Constantine XI, held out until, on Tuesday, May 29,
1453, the massive walls of Constantinople crumbled at last."
From the front flap."
This is the time of St Alypius the iconographer, St Symeon the
myrrh-flowing of Bulgaria, St Alexander Nevsky, St Gregory
Palamas, St Nicolas Cabasilas, St Sergius of Radonezh,
St Andrew Rublev, St Mark of Ephesus and St Ephraim the New
of Nea Makri. The futile Council of Florence took place in 1438.
With tears in our eyes we read, "The next morning the people of
Constantinople awoke to find their city shrouded in thick fog,
something quite unprecedented at the end of May; the same
night the dome of St Sophia seemed suffused with an earthly
red glow that crept slowly up from the base to the summit and
then went out. This last phenomenon was also seen by the Turks
in Galata and at the Double Columns; Mehmet himself was greatly
disturbed by it, and was reassured only after his astrologers had
interpreted it as a sign that the building would soon be illuminated
by the True Faith. For the Byzantines there could be only one
explanation; the Spirit of God itself had departed from their city."
p.429-430
Amazon Editorial Review:
"For more than 1,000 years, the Byzantine Empire was the eye of the
entire world – the origin of great literature, fine art and modern
government. Heir to Greece and Rome, the Byzantine Empire was
also the first Christian empire. Now, after a year of filming on three
continents, TLC unlocks this ancient civilization, spanning 11
centuries and three continents. Pass through the gates of
Constantinople, explore the magnificent mosque of Hagia Sophia
and see the looted treasures of the empire now located in St. Mark's,
Venice."
The photography of this documentary is stunning! I was particularly
moved by the view of the remains of the Monastery of Studius and
the pillar of St Simeon the Stylite.
