Oxford history of the christian church

4. The Notitiae Episcopatuum: the higher clergy and imperial ceremonial.

Whatever may be argued to the contrary, there is plenty of evidence to show that as far as the upper reaches were concerned, there was in Byzantium a strong sense of order (τα+́ξιζ). Anyone of rank or office whether lay or clerical had his own fixed place in the hierarchy. This was set out in official lists and a glance at these lists shows how extensive a range was covered particularly for the imperial household and for civil and military administration. They did also indicate the geographical distribution of the sees. The four eastern patriarchates each had their own list, though the vicissitudes of the middle ages (Muslim and sporadic Frankish conquests) meant that the Constantinopolitan Notitia became the most important list for Byzantium. ²⁷

Precise dating of the tweny-one Notitiae Episcopatuum edited by Darrouzès appears difficult to fix but the lists seem to have been revised at irregular intervals, under Leo VI, in the late twelfth century, and then, after the confused diocesan organization in the troubled Frankish conquests, in the mid-fourteenth century, while Notitia 20, the Ecthesis Nea, comes from the end of the fourteenth century. Lists (like the Church itself) continued under Turkish rule; Notitia 21 is from the end of the fifteenth century. Changes in the order of metropolitans or episcopal sees often reflected expansion or contraction of imperial territory. The eighth-century acquisition of the dioceses of South Italy, Sicily, and Illyricum meant that these now came under the jurisdiction of Constantinople, thus bringing in Thessalonica, one of the most important cities of the Empire. In the eastern regions names continued to appear on the list, though the territories in question were under Muslim rule and their bishops often refugees in Constantinople. Changes in the list might come about through the elevation of a suffragan bishop to the rank of metropolitan, as in Alexius I's reign when it was considered that the Emperor should not have acted without consulting the standing synod. Sees might be doubled up as in Asia Minor whither Christian inhabitants had fled before the Turks or been converted to Islam and episcopal resources were almost nil. Another feature of later Notitiae was the creation of a number of sees in the near vicinity of Constantinople. This had its repercussion on ecclesiastical politics since the additional prelates could swell the numbers of the standing synod and if necessary provide support for Emperor or Patriarch against the powerful office-holders of the Great Church.

The Notitiae Episcopatuum were of practical value. They determined the order in which bishops appended their signatures to conciliar acta. They were used when bishops took part in imperial ceremonies and the current list would often be found appended to the Tactica. The best known of the Tactica are the ninth- and tenthcentury lists and the much later fourteenth-century Pseudo-Codinus. ²⁸ These set out the order of precedence of dignitaries and functionaries in imperial ceremonial, such as audiences or banquets or ceremonies connected with the festivals of the Christian year or the holding of synods. They are relevant here because high ecclesiastics were an integral part of the polity. They appear in the Tactica as 'the metropolitans', or 'the archbishops' and the current Notitia would be consulted to determine the order of each particular group.

Imperial protocol for formal occasions was almost always linked to the Church's calendar, though on occasion traces of pagan festivals, as the Brumalia, still lingered on. The various Tactica describe the splendid processions across the City, the rich clothes appropriate to each grade and occasion, the accompanying entertainments, the organ and singing by the cantors and by the orphans, thus bringing to life the ritual and symbolism of the imperial way of life which so impressed foreign visitors. Many classes participated in this. The Epiphany celebrations were particularly resplendent and those present included the priests, deacons, subdeacons, readers, and cantors from the Palace and Great Church and the Nea, as well as the clergy of the patriarchal secretariat (papades) and selected poor. And though not guests, the populace at large could at least enjoy the processions just as crowds still enjoy public spectacles. Such ecclesiastical occasions demonstrated the indissoluble link between church and state.

5. The Ecumenical Patriarch and his election.

The Church, like the secular government, had its own institutions and administrative departments. These were marked by conservative adherence to tradition. There was also change in emphasis and detail. But intermittent and scanty sources make it difficult to follow the development of such changes. Circumstances seemed to have been met as they arose; in a sense this was living by 'economy', adaptability, despite efforts at strict adherence to hierarchical status as laid down in the (occasionally revised) Notitiae Episcopatuum or the imperial handbooks on protocol. Moreover Byzantine ecclesiastical history was riddled with conflicts over authority spured on by a passion for debater.

In the post- sixth-century period the final choice of a patriarch rested with the Emperor. Initially the metropolitans met in the standing synod in Constantinople and selected three names. Only they could vote, but as in other synodal business, views could be expressed unofficially by others outside the metropolitan circle, such as the leading officials of the Great Church. The three names were submitted to the Emperor who could either select one of these or a fourth candidate of his own choice. The De Cerimoniis describes in detail how the announcement (εὶυuεa) and investiture (πpò+́ßλnσιϓ) were made by the Emperor in the Magnaura palace in the presence of senate and clergy. The Patriarch was then escorted to his own palace, the patriarcheion adjoining Hagia Sophia. He was enthroned in the Great Church on the following Sunday after receiving the patriarchal insignia from the Emperor and he was consecrated by the metropolitan of Heracleia.

Thus in practice the Emperor could put in his own man. He was similarly influential in bringing about deposition or resignation. Only rarely did he choose one of his own family: it was Leo VI and Romanus I in the tenth century who did this. There were obvious reasons why an Emperor (or an Empress) might want a man with a particular outlook, such as the statesmanlike Tarasius who cleared up iconoclast problems, or there might be a desire to further political ends, as in the appointment of the unsuitable monk Eustratius Garidas, the protϩgϩ of Anna Dalassena who was thus won over to accept an unpalatable Ducaena as daughter-in-law. And the fourteenth-century hesychast controversies, as well as family rivalries, saw a prolonged see-saw of resignations and reappointments according to the views of the dominant Emperor. But in spite of certain unfortunate appointments this system by no means produced a series of sycophants or weaklings — Nicephorus I, Tarasius, Photius, Nicholas Mysticus, and most of the eleventhcentury patriarchs were among those who upheld the dignity of their high office. They were enlightened and educated men, often originating from a lay or non-monastic milieu. Normally they were priests on their election, but one or two were actually laymen, as Photius and Nicephorus. During the latter middle ages many were monks, appointed for their views for or against union with Rome, or in the fourteenth century for their hesychast or anti-hesychast associations, men who in addition to their patriarchal activities often left a body of writings, Callistus I for instance, or Philotheus Coccinus also important for liturgy. This move towards monastic appointments is in keeping with the significant role of the monastic world in general during the later middle ages. The Church's awareness of its own authority and its desire to stress this is also reflected in the fifteenth-century work of archbishop Symcon of Thessalonica on ordinations. He said that the formal pronouncement of the election of a new patriarch was made by both 'our powerful and sacred ruler' and by 'the sacred and holy synod', and though he allowed the imperial right of selection he specifically emphasized that the choice was really that of the metropolitans. ²⁹ In the case of resignations whatever pressure might have been brought to bear on various patriarchs their resignations had to be accepted by the synod, as the patriarchal registers show, and they were not always automatically endorsed without question. And in reverse the synod could not depose without imperial confirmation.