Church Policy of Byzantium after the Triumph of Orthodoxy (843–886)

"This monograph, Church Policy of Byzantium after the Triumph of Orthodoxy (843–886), meticulously examines the Byzantine ecclesiastical policies in the crucial period following the restoration of icons in 843. Predrag Komatina deftly navigates the complexities and inconsistencies of Church-State relations, including Iconoclasm, the rise of monasticism, relations with Rome, schisms, theological disputes, and missionary endeavors in order to provide fresh insights into the efforts of the key figures of the moment: Empress Theodora, Emperors Michael III and Basil I, and Patriarchs Methodius, Ignatius, and Photius. By drawing upon a wide range of Greek, Latin and Slavic sources, including previously underutilized hagiographies, Komatina also encompasses the Empire's territorial expansion and the initiatives of Constantinople to achieve ecclesiastical independence from Rome. This monograph is essential reading for scholars and students seeking a deeper understanding of the Byzantine religious and political landscape in the 9th century, an era of profound and far-reaching transformations. Scholarship had been lacking in a comprehensive study of Byzantine Church dynamics after Iconoclasm, but this book now amply fulfils this long-desired need."
—Prof. Óscar Prieto Domínguez, Universidad de Salamanca

The book deals with the policy of the Byzantine state in the field of ecclesiastical matters from the end of Iconoclasm in 843 to the death of Emperor Basil I in 886. It examines the attitude of the main political actors – the emperors and their closest collaborators – towards religious matters and the decisions they made concerning the various issues of Iconoclasm and Orthodoxy, appointment of the patriarchs, relations with the Church of Rome, and theological disputes with Muslims, non-Chalcedonian Christians, and Christian sects. This volume also considers missionary activity outside the borders of the Empire and policy towards religious minorities inside them, as well as the political and intellectual potential behind it.

Predrag Komatina is Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Byzantine Studies of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.