Orthodoxy and the Imperial Idea
The Transformation of the Orthodox Church in Late Byzantium
by Norman Russell
Paperback (No longer our product)
(August 2025)
ISBN: 9780227178904
Price: $38.00
In stock
Hardback (No longer our product)
(February 2025)
ISBN: 9780227178911
Price: $120.00
Out of stock
An exploration into how the Orthodox Church adapted to survive and flourish under Ottoman rule.
For those living in the East Roman Empire, it was God-protected, immune from the impermanence of other states. But in late Byzantium, intellectuals began to reconsider this assumption: could the East Roman Empire be vulnerable, even temporary? And what would that mean for the Orthodox Church? Through his engagement with influential intellectuals at the time, principally Philotheos Kokkinos, Demetrios Kydones, Cardinals Bessarion and Isidore, George Gemistos Plethon, Mark Eugenikos and George Scholarios, Norman Russell explores the strategies and responses to this seismic shift in the imagination and conceptualisation of the Church and the Empire. By exploring the details of such crucial events as the Hesychast Controversy, the ecclesiastical revolution that followed, and successive attempts to attain ecclesiastical union with the West, Norman Russell considers how the Orthodox Church adapted to survive and flourish under Ottoman rule. This is an important new contribution to the scholarship of the Orthodox Church in the Byzantine period, of interest to scholars of Byzantine civilisation, the East Roman Empire, and the Orthodox Church.
- By (author) Norman Russell
"The Byzantine Empire is often summed up in two words: unchanging and caesaropapism. This was never true, but Norman Russell reveals with rare clarity and amazing insight how, in the empire's long last century (1330-1453), the Patriarch, in alliance with the monastic hesychast movement, assumed a wide-ranging political authority. Emperor and Patriarch changed places-the patriarch lending sacral support to the emperor. A brilliant and thought-provoking book!" Andrew Louth, Professor Emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University "An astute examination of church-state relations in the final years of the Byzantine empire. While impecunious emperors pursued a pro-Latin policy in a futile attempt to save the dying state, the reins of cultural and political power were increasingly taken up by erudite and energetic churchmen affiliated with the Hesychast movement. Russell demonstrates how the new leadership strengthened the Church and insured its survival under the ensuing centuries of Ottoman domination." Fr Maximos Constas, Distinguished Professor of the Humanities, University of Austin "A very valuable new contribution to understanding the theological and ecclesiastical developments of Late Byzantium within the wider political and intellectual context. Norman Russell takes a generous and nuanced approach, presenting the various strands of development with an appreciation of the different personalities and their responses to the challenges posed by this period of turmoil. A presentation both enjoyable to read and deeply rooted in scholarship." Dr Judith Ryder, General Editor, Translated Texts for Byzantinists "Norman Russell's Orthodoxy and the Imperial Idea offers a compelling analysis of the evolving relationship between the Orthodox Church and imperial power in the late Byzantine era. Drawing on an impressive range of primary sources and scholarly research, Russell explores how the Church adapted to political changes, highlighting its central role in shaping both religious and imperial identity. A must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of theology, politics, and history in late Byzantium." Revd Dr Alexandros Chouliaras, Adjunct Lecturer of Patristics, Dogmatics, Anthropology, and Spirituality, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
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