Book Review
The Great Church in Captivity A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople From the Eve Of The Turkish Conquest To The Greek War of Independence
by Steven Runciman
Cambridge University Press. 1968
The late Steven Runciman was a real historian and scholar. He was an expert on Byzantine history and Orthodox Christianity. He was also an avid Philhellene who loved the Greek nation. He authored masterful works such as “The Fall of Constantinople 1453” and the three volume “A History of the Crusades”.
Steven Runciman stands out in an era when academia has been infiltrated and corrupted by ideology. The works of Steven Runciman were based on historical research and the gathering of facts and evidence. “The Great Church in Captivity” is arguably the most influential work in the English language on the history of the Patriarchate and the Greek nation under Ottoman Turkish rule.
The book features a lengthy and not insignificant background to the history that preceded the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. Church history and theology are explained in the run up to the fall of the City. The heart of the book arrives with the aftermath following the Turkish conquests.
Runciman vividly describes the character of Sultan Mehmet II and the Monk George Scholarios whose reputation as a scholar the conquering Sultan was fully aware of. When the City fell, Scholarios was taken as a slave but was freed by the order of the Sultan. The Monk Scholarios was not only a learned monk but a conservative theologian who had been a fierce opponent of the Council of Florence in 1439. The Sultan decided to grant the Greek Orthodox Church a certain degree of autonomy and Scholarios became the first Patriarch under the Ottomans.
The new Patriarch took the ecclesiastical name “Gennadios” and took on the task of rebuilding the Church and its Synod. The Patriarch had the difficult task of negotiating the terms of relations between the Church and the Ottomans. A very difficult task but one in which the new Patriarch carried out to the best of his abilities.
It was certainly made clear by the Sultan that the Greeks were to be second class citizens. At the same time, the Greek Church was given autonomy which the Patriarch embraced as a means of survival. With the Greek nation now condemned to endure Turkish rule, the Patriarch gained whatever concessions he could which meant religious freedom (in a limited capacity) and limited self government.
The Church would handle baptisms, divorces, and the collection of taxes from its Greek faithful. In return, the Patriarch and the Bishops committed themselves to discouraging revolution. These were the best terms possible at that particular time.
Over the centuries, the Ecumenical Patriarchate exercised a great deal of power and influence over not only Greeks but Orthodox Serbs, Bulgarians, and Rumanians whose autocephalous Churches were shut down and placed under Constantinople’s authority. During the eighteenth century, the Patriarchate came under the influence of the Phanariots, wealthy and powerful Greeks who dominated the Church and used their influence to impose Greek hierarchs on the Rumanian and Slavic Churches. This misguided and foolish attempt to “hellenize” the non Greek Churches poisoned relations between the Greeks and the Rumanians and Slavs.
Runciman covers much ground in his history of the Patriarchate. The most interesting chapter is entitled “Constantinople and Moscow” which recounts the history of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church during these difficult centuries. In 1448, the Russian Church had revolted against the Ecumenical Patriarchate as the latter had accepted the Papal demands at the Council of Florence in 1439 and declared itself autocephalous.
After Patriarch Genndadios became Patriarch, Constantinople was restored to Orthodoxy. By 1589, Patriarch Jeremias II was invited to visit Russia by Tsar Feodor. The Patriarch agreed to recognize the Metropolinate of Moscow as a Patriarchate and so Moscow became the fifth ranking Patriarchate after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Patriarch Jeremias II was able to win the diplomatic and political support of the Russians.
Runciman writes, “Jeremias thus makes it clear that he recognizes Russia’s claim to be the third Rome politically but not ecclesiastically.’ Patriarch Jeremias was a shrewd Patriarch who wisely chose to pursue warm and friendly ties with the Russians. The policies of Patriarch Jeremias should be the basis for the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s policies toward the Russian Church. As is known now in our own day, the Ecumenical Patriarchate pursues policies opposite those of Patriarch Jeremias.
Runciman sheds light on the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s understanding of events in the west. The Patriarchate became aware of the Protestant reformation. Lutheran theologians contacted Patriarch Jeremias who subsequently broke off dialogue on the grounds that the Lutherans were not receptive to the message of Orthodoxy.
Runciman covers other ground as well. Policies of Turkish repression are not ignored. At the outset of the conquest of Constantinople, Hagia Sophia was taken away. The Greeks were initially permitted to maintain the second most important Church that of the Holy Apostles. Due to the poor condition of the Church, Patriarch Gennadios moved the Patriarchate away from hostile Muslim settlers to a more friendly Christian area. The Patriarchate would move several times and would arrive at its present location at the Phanar in 1599.
Over the course of centuries, several Patriarchs were executed for treason. The most infamous was that of Gregory V in 1821. The executions of Patriarchs demonstrated the fragility of relations with the Ottoman State. One of the most tragic Patriarchs was Cyril Lukaris who was murdered by the Turks in 1638.
Lukaris was a brilliant theologian and spiritual leader who was the victim of politics. At the time of his Patriarchy the Roman Catholics were waging war on the Orthodox in Ukraine (an event that is still happening). Cyril Lukaris adopted a staunch anti Papal attitude and blinded by his ferocious hostility to the Papacy became subject to the influence of Protestant diplomats at Constantinople. In our own day, the Ecumenical Patriarchate continues to be the victim of unscrupulous foreign diplomats.
Both Roman Catholics and Protestants vied for influence over the Patriarch. The Patriarch sadly came under the influence of the Protestants and promoted Calvinist doctrines that were in conflict with Orthodoxy. Controversy in Orthodoxy erupted and the Greek Bishops and faithful revolted against him. The Sultan being concerned over the destabilizing effects of the controversy among the Orthodox ordered the murder of the Patriarch.
There is also a chapter on the state of the Greek Church outside Constantinople. In parts of what are now modern Greece, many of the priests were deprived of the learning and qualifications that their counterparts in Constantinople enjoyed. Many priests were semi literate and poorly educated and the spiritual state of the people in these parts of Greece was very poor.
Over the centuries, generations of youth belonging to Greek and other Christians in the Empire were lost after they were forcibly recruited into the janissaries. The Janissaries were the elite fighting force of the Ottoman Empire. Boys were taken from their families, converted to Islam and sent off on their careers to serve the Sultan. The janissaries were an utterly destructive force on all the Christian populations.
No review can do justice to Steven Runciman’s fine and influential book. Runciman’s book is very sympathetic to the Patriarchate and examines all parts of the Patriarchate’s complex history under Ottoman rule. Both religious and diplomatic policies of the Patriarchate are examined. The book ends by recounting the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence and the execution of Patriarch Gregory V.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate is a glorious institution full of immense spirituality, history, and civilization. No one can read this book and be unmoved by its tragic plight since 1453. The Patriarchate was fortunate during its darkest period in 1453 to have a superb theologian, scholar, and diplomat such as George Scholarios take the throne.
George Scholarios may have saved the Patriarchate and provided much spiritual solace and diplomatic efforts for the well being of the Greek nation during a time of darkness. The Ecumenical Patriarchate would be fortunate today to be governed by the wisdom and abilities of Patriarchs Gennadios and Jeremias.