1982

the Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church by Fr. John Meyendorff (Author) For more than a millennium the Byzantine Empire (the Christian ROMAN Empire) and its capital, Constantinople (New Rome), guided the spiritual destinies of the Christian East. Even after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the influence of its culture, thought and institutions remained powerful, above all in the Orthodox Church. In this collection of essays, Fr. John Meyendorff, one of the most prominent Orthodox historians and theologians of our day, delineates the many facets of this Byzantine Roman legacy. After an initial survey of the Byzantine Church, he explores such varied subjects as Byzantine political ideology, spirituality and ecclesiology. He clearly demonstrates the significance of Byzantium not only for the history of Eastern Europe and the Near East, but for our own lives as well. Constantinople and the Byzantine Legacy: The Byzantine Empire, the continuation of the Roman Empire, lasted around a millennium after the fall of the city of Rome in the fifth century. The Romans, as they always called themselves, experience massive territorial losses – first losing the Western Roman Empire to Germanic tribes, then eastern provinces like Egypt and Syria to the Caliphate in the seventh century. Even as it lost territory, the empire, based on its magnificent city Constantinople, resiliently persisted and even flourished. Only centuries later, after multiple periods of recovery, was finally conquered by the Muslim Ottoman Turks, a thousand years later. Constantinople, as the “New Rome”, was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe for significant periods of the Medieval Era. Starting in Late Antiquity, Byzantine Roman culture shifted away from classical paganism, while at the same time incorporating its themes, motifs, and traditions into the new Christian art. Constantinople and other regional cities hosted the Ecumenical Councils that established Christian doctrine accepted by most Christians: Orthodox, Catholic, and including many Protestant Christians. As the great imperial Christian city, it played a major role in converting Europe to Christianity. Constantinople’s wealth also made it one of the great centers of art and architecture for many centuries. It was responsible for preserving numerous classical texts, including the works of Homer, Thucydides, Plato, and Sophocles. While its own rich literary texts, which include important historical sources, have not been as appreciated, in the 1400’s, scholars fleeing to the West played an important role in the Renaissance. This Eastern Roman Empire, with the ‘Queen of Cities’ as its capital, influenced cultures far and wide for many centuries – from Venetians or Germanic tribes and kingdoms of the West to the Russians, Arabs, and Turks to the north and east. At the same time, as one of the most important trade centers of its age often under threat, it was significantly affected by other cultures as well. Constantinople itself, after 1453AD, became the imperial Muslim city at the heart of the mighty Muslim Turkish Ottoman Empire, where its legacy continued as the Sultans also considered themselves Roman emperors. Even as Byzantine Roman Constantinople and its once-great empire continued faded into obscurity, the legends and authority of Constantinople continued to be influential over the succeeding centuries. Over time, though, it became easier to dismissed or even condemn New Rome and its legacy for its many supposed failures. Today, the ruins and relics of Byzantium, often neglected, ignored, or misunderstood, are scattered across multiple countries and museums, exploring and documenting this legacy. About the Author: Fr. John Meyendorff, a longtime professor and dean of St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, died in 1992. Unanimously hailed at the time of its first publication in 1960, The Orthodox Church was reintroduced by him in the American edition of 1981. His corrections and additions are included in this most recent edition, which has been revised and expanded by Nicholas Lossky. Author: Fr. John MeyendorffPublisher: SVS PressPublished: 2001Size: 8.5×5.5Pages: 268ISBN:978-0913836903 —————————————– Shipping: Dear Buyers, PLEASE BE PATIENT for your packages to be shipped and to arrive! We have upto 10 business days for our 100% volunteer staff, working hard, as fast as they can to fulfil your order along with ALL the other orders in the order that they were received. If you need your purchase EXPEDITED, please make sure to purchase “PRIORITY MAIL” postage in your purchase and message us to expedited. 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