On This Day In Roman History
The Fourth Council of Constantinople comes to a close on February 28, 870 CE. This council was brought upon by the Eastern Emperor Basil I and Pope Adrian II, which contained some 100 bishops and a handful of other church nobles. The entire purpose of the council was to meet and affirm the decisions made in regards to Nicaean Christianity during the Second Council of Nicaea. While many of the discussions were rather intricate, the overall discussion involved under what circumstances and how the icon/image of Christ should be displayed.
Did you know?
Pope Leo III, some 7 decades earlier, secured the Western papacy with the protection of Charlemagne. It was during this time that I like to refer to western history as "The Age of Charlemagne" simply because he really was starting to dominate things in the west. The picture was starting to change a bit by the mentioned 870, but the Franks still had a lot of weight in protecting the Popes through these times. With the west being secured under this Frankish control, the pontiffs of the east were met with a schism because they felt themselves the true descendants of the Roman Empire and its religion.
Pictured: Basil I victorious in a wrestling match against a Bulgarian champion (far left), from the Madrid Skylitzes manuscript. Image by John Skylitzes, via Wikimedia Commons.
Emperor Basil was known for his abilities in riding and taming horses. He also had a knack for wrestling, as he once reportedly beat a Bulgarian champion. His early fame, in conjunction with randomly being taken in by a wealthy woman who endowed him with riches, paved the way for his companionship with the Emperor.
A selected quote from the Second Council of Nicaea: "We decree that the sacred image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the liberator and Savior of all people, must be venerated with the same honor as is given the book of the holy Gospels. For as through the language of the words contained in this book all can reach salvation, so, due to the action which these images exercise by their colors, all wise and simple alike, can derive profit from them. For what speech conveys in words, pictures announce and bring out in colors."
Opinion
Welcome to my daily opinion! It seems like so much of this Byzantine history, especially late Byzantine history, is riddled with theological intricacies. I was happy I could at least spice it up a little today with an image of Basil wrestling a Bulgarian. I love reading how the Byzantines considered themselves still to be Romans at this point, and in my opinion, they are. Romans, like all people, are ever changing; it only makes sense that the new inheritors of Italy and its religion only find schisms with the now changed east.
Sources
Bigham, S. (2000). The image of God the Father in Orthodox iconography and other studies. Oakwood.
Gregory, T. E. (2011). A history of Byzantium. Malden, Mass.: Wiley-Blackwell.
Rahner, K. (2004). Encyclopedia of theology: the concise Sacramentum mundi. New Delhi: Continuum.
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