These canons (or rules) for church organization and life and Christian morals issued at a council held in Constantinople in 691/2 form the foundation of Byzantine Canon Law. They show an intense concern to restore the proper discipline of clerical life after the chaos brought about by the Arab invasions. The rules for the laity show a concern to secure obedience to the Church's rules about marriage, proper respect for sacred space, and the suppression of customs of pagan origin. Particular interest attaches to the canons that express disapproval of certain customs of the Western Church and of the Armenian Church. Was this an attempt to impose Byzantine hegemony, or simply a revulsion at customs that seemed wrong? The Byzantine emperor tried repeatedly to get the Pope to give the new canons the stamp of his approval; his failure marks an important stage in the mounting divergence between the Greek and the Roman Churches. The translation is accompanied by full annotation, while the introduction sets the council in its historical context, in both the history of the early medieval world and the development of Eastern canon law.

These canons (or rules) for church organization and life and Christianmorals issued at a council held in Constantinople in 691/2 form the foundationof Byzantine Canon Law. They show an intense concern to restore the properdiscipline of clerical life after the chaos brought about by the Arabinvasions. The rules for the laity show a concern to secure obedience to theChurch's rules about marriage, proper respect for sacred space, and the suppressionof customs of pagan origin. Particular interest attaches to the canons that expressdisapproval of certain customs of the Western Church and of the ArmenianChurch. Was this an attempt to impose Byzantine hegemony, or simply a revulsionat customs that seemed wrong? The Byzantine emperor tried repeatedly to get thePope to give the new canons the stamp of his approval; his failure marks animportant stage in the mounting divergence between the Greek and the Roman Churches.The translation is accompanied by full annotation, while the introduction sets thecouncil in its historical context, in both the history of the early medievalworld and the development of Eastern Canon Law.

Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- 1. The Formation of Ecclesiastical Law in the Early Church -- 2. Sources of the Greek Canon Law to the Quinisext Council (691/2): Councils and Church Fathers -- 3. Byzantine Canon Law to 1100 -- 4. Byzantine Canon Law from the Twelfth to the Fifteenth Centuries -- 5. Sources of Canon Law in the Eastern Churches -- Index of Councils and Synods -- General Index.

In 451 CE the Council of Chalcedon was called to assert the preeminence of orthodox Catholic doctrine against the heresy of men who refused what we now refer to as the Definition of Faith, or the belief in Jesus Christ as both man and divine spirit during his lifetime. This book is suitable for scholars studying this period.

The Council of Chalcedon in 451 was a defining moment in the Christological controversies that tore apart the churches of the Eastern Roman Empire in the fifth and sixth centuries, as theological division, political rivalry, and sectarian violence produced a schism that persists to this day between Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian churches. The Acts of the Councils are one of the largest collections of source materials relating to the Church of Late Antiquity and its state relations, and this volume places the acclaimed translation in context with the Council of Chalcedon of 451, ultimately informing historians on how to approach manifold aspects of these documents.

The Lord Jesus Christ intended his kingdom present on earth, the Church of God, to be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. Prior to the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, history tells of the most egregious division in the Church between the Latin West and Byzantine East in AD 1054 and following. How can it be that Catholics and Orthodox share a thousand years of ecclesial life together in one faith, sacramental order, and hierarchical government, only to have that bond of communion broken? Historians and theologians throughout the years have spilled much ink in recounting the causes and effects of this dreadful and heart-wrenching division, and among the many debates that exist between Catholics and Orthodox, none are as vital to the task of reconciliation as the subject of the papacy. In The Papacy: Revisiting the Debate between Catholics and Orthodox, Erick Ybarra examines sources from the first millennium with a fresh look at how methodology and hermeneutics plays a role in the reading of the same texts. In addition, he conducts a detailed investigation into the most significant points of history in order to show what was clearly accepted by both East and West in their years of ecclesiastical unity. In light of this clear evidence, the reader of The Papacy is free to decide whether contemporary Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy has maintained the heritage of the first millennium on the understanding of the Papal office.

This volume explores different perspectives of dissent and persecution from Constantine to Michael Psellos, the reasons driving dissent and causing persecutions, as well as their perceptions and depictions in the Byzantine literature.