39525 - Orthodox Church History and Institutions (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

Students will acquire knowledge of religious, political, ideological, and cultural specificities of the Orthodox Eastern, and learn to recognize the relevance of those cultures and of their historical memory in the contemporary culture.   Cop

Course contents

Course title

The schism between East and West: warning signs and consequences.

Course syllabus:

1) The schism between Christian East and West : the difficult search about when and why.

2) First millennium schismatic episodes and the return to the unity of the Church.

3) Doctrinal and disciplinary reasons for the dissent between Greeks and Latins.

4) The Filioque dispute: the real "stone of stumbling".

 5) The Azyme controversy and the intolerance for different traditions.

 6) The progressive divergence between the Eastern and the Roman ecclesiology.

7) The Western  turning point: from the false Pseudo-Isidorean Decretals to the ecclesiology of the Germanic Reformers from Reichkirche.

8) The Eastern turning point: the crisis of Pentarchy and the hypertrophy of the Constantinopolitan prerogatives (from Photios' Eisagogé to Michael I Cerularius' "monarchical" ideal).

9) The transition from formal to real schism. The role of traditional dissent themes in the current theological dialogue between the two Churches.

Readings/Bibliography

Basic manuals:

E. Morini, Gli ortodossi, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2002 (Farsi un'idea, 77)

G. Dagron, Il cristianesimo bizantino dal secolo VII alla metà del secolo XI, capitoli 1-5, in Storia del cristianesimo. Religione-Politica-Cultura, vol. 4: Vescovi, monaci e imperatori (610-1054), Roma, Borla/Città Nuova, 1999, pp. 27-366 (= Histoire du christianisme des origines à nos jours, tome IV: Évêques, moines et empereurs, Parsi, Éditions Desclée, 1993)

J. Meyendorff, La teologia bizantina. Sviluppi storici e temi dottrinali, nota introduttiva di L. Perrone, Genova, Marietti 1820, 1984 (“Dabar”, I: Saggi teologici, 9) = Lampi di Stampa, 1999, First Part: Sviluppi storici, pp. 25-153 (= Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes, New York, Fordham University Press, 19792; Initiation a la theologie byzantine: l'histoire et la doctrine, Paris, Les Editions du Cerf, 1975)

H.-D. Döpmann, Le Chiese ortodosse. Nascita, storia e diffusione delle Chiese ortodosse nel mondo, Genova, ECIG, 2003 (Dimensione Europa)

M. Hussey, The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire , Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1986 ( Oxford History of the Christian Church, Ed. H. & O. Chadwick)

K.T. Ware, The Orthodox Church , Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 1964 (Pelican Books , A592) (= L'Orthodoxie. L'Église des sept conciles , Brouges, Desclèe de Brouwer, 1968)

Course bibliography:

1)     E. Petrucci, Rapporti di Leone IX con Costantinopoli, in «Studi Medievali», ser. III, 14 (1973), pp. 733-831 = Id., Ecclesiologia e politica. Momenti di storia del papato medievale, introd. di O. Capitani, Roma 2001 (Ricerche, 2), pp. 141-259.

2)     E. Morini , «La vista e gli altri sensi». Roma e le altre sedi patriarcali d'Oriente sino alla metà dell'XI secolo , in Chiese locali e Chiese regionali nell'Alto Medioevo, Spoleto 2014 (Atti della LXI Settimana di Studio del C.I.S.A.M.), pp. 711-804.

3)     E. Morini, Il “Filioque” nella crisi foziana e negli avvenimenti del 1054, in M. Gagliardi (ed.), Il “Filioque”. A mille anni dal suo inserimento nel “Credo” a Roma (1014-2014), Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2014, pp. 39-63.

4)     H. Chadwick, East and West: the Making of a Rift in the Church. From Apostolic Times until the Council of Florence, Oxford, 2003 (Oxford History of the Christian Church), pp. 83-94 (15: Aachen as a Thrid Rom: Caroline Books; “Filioque”; Eriugena; pp.173-184 (28: Photius Restored. Pope John VIII. The Council of 879); pp. 206-218 (33: Pope Leo IX's Legation to Constantinople [1054]: Humbert and Cerularius).

5)     B. Capelle, Le pape Léon III et le “Filioque”, in L'Église et les Églises. 1054-1954: neuf siècles de douloureuse separation entre l'Orient et l'Occident. Études et travaux sur l'unité chretienne offert à Dom Lambert Beaudin , I, Wetteren 1954 (Coll. Irénikon) , pp. 309-322.

6)     E. Chrysos, 1054: Schism?, in Cristianità d'Occidente e cristianità d'Oriente (secoli VI-XI), Spoleto 2004 (Settimane di Studio del C.I.S.A.M., LI), I, pp. 547-567.

7)     W. De Vries, Orient et Occident. Les structures ecclésiales vues dans l'histoire des sept premiers conciles oecuméniques, préface de Y.M. Congar, Paris 1974 (Histoire des doctrines ecclésiologiques).

8)     G.D. Dragas, The Eighth Ecumenical Council: Constantinople IV (879/880) and the Condemnation of the “Filioque” Addition and Doctrine, in «The Greek Orthodox Theological Review», 44 (1999), pp. 357-369.

9)     J.H. Erickson, Leavened and Unleavened: Some Theological Implications of the Schism of 1054, in «St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly», 14 (1979), pp. 155-176.

10) R.S. Haugh, Photius and the Carolingians: the Trinitarian Controversy, Belmon (Massachussets, USA) 1975, pp. 55-98 (IV: Paulinus of Aquileia and Alcuin; V: The Jerusalem Controversy and Its Aftermath; VI: The Frankish Envoys and Pope Leo III; pp. 123-157 (IX: The Photian Council of 879-880; X: Photius' Letter to the Patriarch of Aquileia; XI: Photius' Mystagogia»).

11) M. Kaplan, La place du schism de 1054 dans les relations entre Byzance, Rome et l'Italie, in «Byzantinoslavica», 54 (1993), pp. 29-37.

12) J. Meijer, La legittimità di diverse tradizioni e usi nella Chiesa secondo il concilio di Costantinopoli 879-880, in «Nicolaus», 16 (1989), 1-2, pp. 87-105.

13)D.M. Nicol, Byzantium and the Papacy in the Eleventh Century, in «The Journal of Ecclesiastical History», 13 (1962), pp. 1-20 = Id., Byzantium: Its Ecclesiastical History and Relations with the Western World, London 1972 [Collected Studies Series, 12), n° II.

14)A. Papadakis, Revision in History: The Schism of 1054, in «The American Theological Review», 157 (1967), pp. 29-35.

15)V. Peri, Il simbolo epigrafico di Leone III nelle basiliche romane di San Pietro e di San Paolo, in «Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana», 45 (1968) (= Miscellanea E. Josi, 4), pp. 191-222 = Id., Da Oriente e da Occidente. Le Chiese cristiane dall'impero romano all'Europa moderna, a cura di M. Ferrari, Roma-Padova, 2002 (Medioevo e Umanesimo, 107), II, n° I, pp. 527-561.

16)V. Peri, Leone III e il “Filioque”. Ancora un falso e l'autentico simbolo romano, in «Rivista di Storia e Letteratura Religiosa», 4 (1968), pp. 3-32 = Id., Da Oriente e da Occidente, cit., II. n° II, pp. 562-587.

17)V. Peri, Leone III e il “Filioque”. Echi del caso nell'agiografia greca, in «Rivista di Storia della Chiesa in Italia», 25 (1971), pp. 3-58 = Id., Da Oriente e da Occidente, cit., II, n° III, pp. 588-658.

18)V. Peri, Il concilio di Costantinopoli dell'879/80 come problema storiografico, in «Annuarium Historiae Conciliorum», 9 (1977), pp. 29-42 = Id., Da Oriente e da Occidente, cit., I, pp. 269-285.

19)V. Peri, Il ristabilimento dell'unione delle Chiese nell'879/80. Il concilio di Santa Sofia nella storiografia moderna, in «Annuarium Historiae Conciliorum», 11 (1979), pp. 18-37 = Id., Da Oriente e da Occidente cit., I, pp. 285-310.

20)P. Stephanou, Deux conciles, deux ecclésiologies? Les conciles de Constantinople en 869 et 879, in «Orientalia Christiana Periodica», 39 (1973), pp. 363-407.

21)A. van Bunnen, Le concile de Constantinople de 879-880, in «Contacts» 33 (1981), n° 115, pp. 6-40; n° 116, pp. 211-234; 34 (1982), n° 117, pp. 47-61.

22)B. Whalen, Rethinking the Schism of 1054. Authority, Heresy and Latin Rite, in «Traditio», 62 (2007), pp. 1-24.

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons with reading and discussion of presented sources and of most recent bibliography

Assessment methods

The oral examination will cover the specific content of the course. A discussion with the teacher will derive from the student's answers: in the frame of that debate the teacher will check the candidate's knowledge on the institutional configuration of the Orthodox Church and the connotative themes of its historical development. In the second part of the exam, the candidate will orally present a brief written paper (previously agreed with the teacher) on one of the tests listed in the historiographical bibliography: the paper too will be discussed with the teacher.

The preparation should be done on the first two basic manuals, and on the three first texts listed in the bibliography. Non-attending students must agree with the teacher an additional preparation: a third basic manual, and a fourth text between those listed in the bibliography. All the texts are available either at the library of the Department of History and Cultures, or from the teacher.

Teaching tools

Presentation of textual and iconographical sources

Office hours

See the website of Enrico Morini