THE MISSIONARY ACTIVITY - MEANS OF ACTION FOR THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

Abstract

The trait that defines the Byzantine diplomacy of the 6^sup th^-11^sup th^ centuries is the missionary activity. Constantinople was in the twelfth century the most active center of the European diplomacy. Byzantium had a civilizing influence upon the barbaric states and the unity of the empire could be achieved by imprinting a common practicing of orthodoxy. The history of Byzantium represents a separate chapter in the European historiography, characterized by diversity and originality.

Headnote

Abstract: The trait that defines the Byzantine diplomacy of the 6^sup th^-11^sup th^ centuries is the missionary activity. Constantinople was in the twelfth century the most active center of the European diplomacy. Byzantium had a civilizing influence upon the barbaric states and the unity of the empire could be achieved by imprinting a common practicing of orthodoxy. The history of Byzantium represents a separate chapter in the European historiography, characterized by diversity and originality.

Keywords: Byzantium, missions, religion, diversity.

The distinctive feature of the Byzantine diplomacy of the 6th-11th centuries is represented by the missionary activity. The Christian propaganda was associated with the conquests, as Charles Diehl recalled that "to the extent that the missionary was a collaborator of the soldier, he was also a partner of the diplomat."1 The priest was the one who opened the way for politicians, along with the merchant, whose aim was to keep an eye on the action field of the chancery. Between the 9th-10th centuries, the Byzantine missionary activities were highly successful, turning more people to Christianity. Much of the work of Christianization is a result of brothers Cyril and Methodius activity. In the 7th century the Slavs were to be found in the old Roman provinces that they had previously devastated: Illyricum, Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia, coming soon under the influence of Byzantium. Cyril imagined the first Slavic alphabet for the Slavs and translated into the Macedonian Slav dialect, the Gospels and liturgical texts

This diplomacy had its benefits because, first of all, it brought soldiers and second of all, these vassals formed a protecting line against the invasion. The Emperor also secured important treaties, such as those with Venice, the Croats, the Pechenegs and the Armenians. Following these treaties, Constantinople was in the twelfth century, the most active center of the European diplomacy.

These relationships that the Byzantine Empire had with various foreign countries led to two important consequences: firstly, many foreigners came to Byzantium (soldiers, merchants, travelers and pilgrims) and remained a fairly long time, as to be influenced to some extent by the grandeur and prosperity of this civilization; and secondly, by means of the missionary activity, Byzantium had a civilizing influence upon the barbaric states. The favor offered by the Byzantine diplomacy to the East is highlighted by Charles Diehl: "by its action, it created in the East at least a form of common thinking and feeling, that for the Eastern and Slavic world was what for the Western and German world was Rome."2

The unity of the empire could be achieved by imprinting a common brand of foreign elements and by the common practicing of orthodoxy.

In Byzantium there operated a political principle of not bullying the losers. This did not mean that segments of peoples have not been moved from one region to another, and in their place there were placed Greek colonies, whose function was to support the Hellenism.

"Byzantium had generals of Armenian, Persian or Slavic origin; Italians, Bulgarians, Armenians officials; ministers who were converted Arabs or Turks. In this cosmopolitan empire, Greek was the common language for all these foreigners that everyone could understand; and speaking the same language, imperceptibly, all were taking habits and ways of living and of common thinking and were marked with the same seal."3

The discordant elements that made up the empire could be brought together by professing a common religion. This is where the religious propaganda intervenes, being active within the empire and beyond its boarders. Byzantium evangelizes and conquers the Slavs in Macedonia, the Arabs in Crete or the Turks from Vardar. It is therefore clearly the importance of the religious connection in the Oriental world, where one can bring into discussion a duality religion-nationality, knowing that the Orthodoxy assumed the role of national unity in the Byzantine state. It was an attempt to transform the pax Romana into pax Christiana and to fit the foreign policy of the Empire to the work of the Byzantine Church. The Eastern European countries have benefited from the Orthodox Christian tradition of Byzantium, influence that has manifested in three important coordinates: the hermit life, still ardently practiced on Mount Athos, Lavra, a monastic congregation, an intermediate model between the hermit system and community one of monastic life and the coenobitical monasteries (a Greek word from Kioinobion, denoting living together) that assumed the existence of organized and centralized communities, with identical discipline and single administration assumed by an abbot.

During the time of Patriarch Photios, several Christian missions strengthened the cultural and political influence of the Byzantium in the Balkans, as well as in Russia and Central Europe. Between the years 862-863, Rastislav, Prince of Moravia, addressed the Byzantines for sending priests. The Prince desire was to establish an independent Church, which could offer an opening to Christianity that provided the detachment from the political influence of the Franks, Bavarians or Bulgarians. The Byzantine mission in Moravia was led by Constantine-Cyril, joined by his brother Methodius. The two arrived in Moravia in 863, their missionary work was a great success due to the introduction of the Slavic language in worship, especially since in theory, only three languages were accepted for religion: Greek, Latin and Hebrew. These languages of worship were called by Constantine "the heresy of the three languages." This denomination will be also adopted by his disciples to describe the views of the opponents, focusing on the concept that all languages may be able to transmit the faith in God. "In support of his position, he cited the fourteenth chapter of the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. The verses that follow were to offer arms to his disciples to defend the right of the Slavonic liturgy: "He that speaketh in a tongue, edifieth himself: but he that prophesieth, edifieth the church.... For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle So likewise you, except you utter by the tongue plain speech, how shall it be known what is said? For you shall be speaking into the air. There are, for example, so many kinds of tongues in this world; and none is without voice. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is without fruit. But in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may instruct others also; than ten thousand words in a tongue."4

The same aim to form an independent church was also the desire of the Bulgarian Khan Boris (852-889), who accepted the conversion to Christianity in 864 and was baptized in Constantinople, calling himself Michael, by the emperor's name. The Bulgarian diocese was disputed by Pope Nicholas I and Patriarch Photios, conflict which ended in 870 when the fate of Bulgaria remained closely linked to the Byzantine Orthodoxy and the Bulgarian archbishop was appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, occupying a prominent place in the Byzantine hierarchy.

In the early tenth century, Byzantium succeeds in the Christianization of the Alans with the help of the Byzantine monk, Euthymius, Christianization which strengthens the position of the Orthodoxy in the area. The same also century represents the Christianization of other two peoples: the Hungarians and the Russians. The Hungarians were converted in Constantinople, and the Russians, like the Bulgarians, also had the choice between the old and the new Rome, and the choice turned to the Byzantine Orthodoxy. Between 989 and 997, the episcopate of Kiev became the mitropoly that depended on Constantinople; the clergy were generally sent to Constantinople, which allowed the non-involvement of the Kyiv seat in the battles from the Imperial Court. After the fall of Constantinople to the Turks (1453), the Russian capital, Moscow, was the one who received the name of "The Third Rome", managing to keep the fight for Christianity started by the old Byzantium.

In his book, The Byzantine Commonwealth, Dimitry Obolensky states the close contact between Byzantium and the East Central Europe, setting the historical time for the contacts. The first period corresponds to the time between 500 and 650, which was dominated by the settlement of the Avars in Pannonia. The second period, which spans over the last four decades of the ninth century, is characterized by the missions of Constantine and Methodius in Moravia. The last period which comprised the period 900-1200, engaged the relations between the Byzantium and the Magyars.

"The image that the Byzantium had in the eyes of the others should not be considered exclusively in terms of the politico-diplomatic and military contacts, since it had left Europe a colossal cultural heritage. The entire Roman law, systematized as a great legal corpus in the time of Justinian became subject in the Western universities and was the argumentative armor of the Western Empire in its dispute with the Pontificate. After the fall of Constantinople, a good part of the Byzantine intellectual elite fled to Western Europe, bringing a new breath to the humanist movement found at its peak. Scholars such as Bessarion, who had become cardinal after the failure of the religious union from Florence, brought a whole cultural heritage consisting of priceless manuscripts, which were the basis of prestigious libraries. In this context, scholars of the Italian Renaissance, like Marsilio Ficino or Lorenzo Valla have revived the classical studies translating, for the first time in the West, the ancient Greek works of antiquity directly from the language in which they were written. Moreover, by means of the interpretations of some scholars like the Neoplatonic Georgios Gemistos Plethon, the ancient ideation was associated to the intellectual movement that animated the final period of the Byzantine history."5

The Byzantine painting had also found a very suitable land in the rich Moldavia, whose rulers aspired to rule the country after the memory left by the Basileuses, dressed according to the Greek fashion and having around them Greek officers and artists. The Moldavian churches being narrow and dark, the frescoes were extended on the exterior walls, where they played an instructive role, comparable with the Armenia carved facades from Vladimir and the Roman lands.

The religious painting of Byzantine influence remained in Romania under different aspects till 1850, when it succumbed to the art of Western origin.

Lacking the support that it had found in the intellectual and political structures of the Byzantine State, as well as the generosity of the kings and the aristocracy, the Byzantine art declined during the eighteenth century and could no longer withstand the "naturalistic" pressure coming from the West. Eventually, it was reduced largely to a stereotypical illustration of the religious precepts.

The Serbian Annals were known to us very soon after their composition. They have circulated in the Romanian Countries, the proof being the execution of copies of these writings by the Romanians. And not only that, but they were used together with the historical writings belonging to the Byzantine literature as a literary model for the first creations of Romanian historiography. One can say that our cultural beginnings lie under the influence of the Byzantine literature. Demostene Russo in his book, Hellenism in Romania, published in 1912 states: "The one who says slavism, says byzantinism"6, a pretty powerful statement and a little too general. However, the assuming of some patterns of Byzantium, through the Slavic Orthodoxy branch is a sure thing. The Slavonic coating reveals inside a Romanian thinking with Byzantine influences.

The founders of the Romanian principalities have initiated connections with Byzantium, either on religious grounds or political ones. Many documents confirm the support granted by the Romanian princes to the monasteries of the Holy Mountain. Alexandru Basarab and his son, Vlaicu Voda, have rebuilt the Cutlumus monastery. A great benefactor of the monastery was also Neagoe Basarab, which is why at the sanctification of the Curtea de Arges Monastery, founded by this prince, all the abbots of Athos attended.

The evolution of the medieval Europe is differently understood if one takes into account the testimonies of Byzantium, of a city witness of the events that have shaped the course of history forever. Its borders that made possible the interactions with other nations and the Byzantine diplomacy were essential in shaping the image of an integrated state in the history of peoples who have left an impressive documentary legacy. This legacy was also a condition that facilitated the beginning of the history for the Slavic peoples. The Byzantine history also means turning to the values of the classical antiquity as through the Byzantine culture manuscripts of ancient writers, be they Greek or Latin, were brought to light once again.

"Posterity is more grateful to the Byzantine literature for its conservative action than for its creations. The obligation that we have to it is due both to its original results as well as to the love with which it preserved the treasures of the classical antiquity and the classical tradition in philosophy, method and research".7

From the Byzantine historiography irradiated influences on the medieval and modern European culture. The period from Constantine the Great to Justinian is an historic space for intellectuals, who saved the manuscripts of the Greek and Roman antiquity, the Empire State organizing a state scriptorium. These values were submitted to the Latin West and participated in the affirmation of the great currents of the European culture. The Greek-Slavic and Romanian cultures were born through the intake of the Byzantine paradigm that has made its mark on the entire East.

The Byzantine culture meant the contribution of three elements: the Hellenism, the Roman character, Christianity to which the Eastern part associated a function in defining the historical culture of the Byzantium.

Some important figures are Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (905-959), during his reign Joseph Genesius wrote On the reigns of the Emperors in four books. But the most important historian was Michael Psellos with his Chronographia covering the years 976-1077 and who wrote in the spirit of the historian that provided the facts faithfully, but not outside the Byzantine rhetoric spirit, followed by other authors as George Cedrenus or John Zonaras.

Anna Komnene (1081-1118), the Byzantine chronograph, was a brilliant author of the Middle Ages through her work, Alexiad written in 15 books. The work is well informed and represents an important milestone in the evolution of the Byzantine historiography and literature. In the Alexiad, Anna presents the history of the political relations and wars between Alexius I and the Western countries. She describes in detail the weapons and tactics used in the battles. Although subjective, the story of the First Crusade is of a great value for the history, being the only existing Byzantine eyewitness writing, trying to revive a world and a personality. An enthusiastic admirer of the Byzantine Empire, Anna considered the Crusades dangerous both politically and religiously speaking. The book also contributes to the understanding of the feminine mentality and perception in the Byzantium time. There are general ideas about the beauty of history, the value of truth, the objectivity of the historical writing or the educational function of history.

The Byzantine historians thought that the Antiquity must be learned and its writing must be imitated and processed, the ancient model being assumed also stylistically, which meant the translation of quotes, sayings, phrases, allegories, comparisons, mythological allusions. In general, the Byzantine historians expose in their prefaces their conception of history, which is tributary to the great historians such as Thucydides, Polybios, Diodorus of Sicily.

On the Romanian territory spiritual and material influences came from Byzantium, Bulgaria, Serbia, and the Dalmatian world through "cultural corridors" (name used by Razvan Theodorescu). The two important "corridors" were the first one that started from the parts of Macedonia and Serbia and ended the Hungarian plain, and the second one started in the vicinity of the Bosphorus, and ended in the Pontic steppe and in the South-West of Russia. Of their importance, Razvan Theodorescu notes that "they were culturally neither rigid nor tight, the movement of people, goods and ideas between them being current, and their interferences all but rare."8

The administrative organization of the Byzantine Empire preserved the Roman organization as a model. In the time of Justinian, Latin was the official language of the government and the national language.

"Nowhere in the world of the Middle Ages was the ancient tradition preserved more than in Byzantium; nowhere did the contact with the Hellenism maintain better. Politically, the Byzantine Empire could claim Rome and proclaim its heir; intellectually, it engaged with all its roots in the fertile soil of the ancient Greece. It convened under its authority, all the Hellenism glorious capitals - Athens, Alexandria, Antioch and Byzantium itself, its capital, that was, in essence, a Greek city. The populations of the monarchy were, for the most part Greek, or at least of a Hellenized race. Most of them spoke Greek, and so they together had a more nimble intelligence and a greater taste of the masterpieces of the ancient literature."9

About the contact between the Byzantium and the Romanian countries, Dimitri Obolensky outlines the three reasons that have made the intersection of the two cultural levels possible and not just at one point in history. The first is related to trade, the second to the ambition of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to spread its hegemony in the Eastern Europe (by creating the two Mitropolies "Wallachia" and the "Moldovlahia" and from which both they had won party, the Byzantium continuing its authority and the Romanian countries by winning a status comparable to the other states) and the third and most important one is related to the interest for the military aspect (Byzantines wanted to save the capital from the Turks threat, and any help and influence upon Transylvania for its participation in crusades were welcome).

The Slavs mediators helped a lot in the transmission of the Byzantine culture and literature, but at the same time they can not be granted the major role. Direct contacts with Athos have existed, thus passing through the South Slavic branch and a good example is represented by the founding of the Metropolitan Churches in Wallachia in 1359 and in Moldavia in 1401 that have been done "by the inner longing, but not without the incentives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople."10

Footnote

1 Charles Diehl, Bizant, Growth and Decay, National Publishing House, Ciornei, 1940, p. 76.

2 Ibidem, p. 80.

3 Ibidem, p. 96.

4 Dimitri Obolensky, Un Commonwealth medieval (A Medieval Commonwealth): Byzantium, Corint Publishing House, Bucharest, 2002, p. 162.

5 Ion Toderascu, Bogdan-Petru Maleon, The History of Byzantium, Al.I. Cuza University, Iasi, 2009, p. 7.

6 Demostene Russo, Hellenism in Romania, Bucharest, 1912, p. 25 apud Dan Horia Mazilu, Re-reading the old Romanian Literature, 1st vol., Bucharest University Publishing House, Bucharest, 1994, p. 23.

7 Steven Runciman, The Fall of Constantinople, The Encyclopedic Publishing, House, Bucharest, 1991, p. 58.

8 Ra zvan Theodorescu, Bizant, Balcani, Byzantium, Balkans, the West at the beginning of the Romanian Medieval Culture 10th- 14th centuries, the Academy Publishing House, Bucharest, 1974, pp. 346-348.

9 Charles Diehl, Bizant , Growth and Decay, National Publishing House, Ciornei, 1940, p. 307.

10 Dan Horia Mazilu, Re-reading the old Romanian Literature, 1st vol., Bucharest University Publishing House, Bucharest, 1994, p.25.

References

REFERENCES

Cantacuzino, George Matei, (1977), Springs and Halts, Bucharest, Eminescu Publishing House.

Diehl, Charles, (1940), Bizant, Growth and Decay, Ciornei, National Publishing House.

Mazilu, Dan Horia, (1994), Re-reading the Old Romanian Literature, 1st vol., Bucharest University Publishing House.

Obolensky, Dimitri, (2002), A Medieval Commonwealth: Byzantium, Bucharest, Corint Publishing House.

Runciman, Steven, (1991), The Fall of Constantinople, Bucharest, The Encyclopedic Publishing House.

Theodorescu, Razvan, (1974), Byzantium, Balkans, the West at the Beginning of the Romanian Medieval Culture, 10th-14th centuries, Bucharest, the Academy Publishing House.

Toderascu, Ion; Maleon, Bogdan-Petru, (2009), The History of Byzantium, Iasi, Al.I. Cuza University.