Theodore Stoudites
Theodore the Studite ( grc-x-medieval, Θεόδωρος ό Στουδίτης; 759–826), also known as Theodorus Studita and Saint Theodore of Stoudios/Studium, was a Byzantine Greek monk and abbot of the Stoudios Monastery in Constantinople. He played a major role in the revivals both of Byzantine monasticism and of classical literary genres in Byzantium. He is known as a zealous opponent of iconoclasm, one of several conflicts that set him at odds with both emperor and patriarch. Throughout his life he maintained letter correspondences with many important political and cultural figures of the Byzantine empire; this included many women, such as the composer and nun Kassia, who was much influenced by his teachings. Biography Family and childhood Theodore was born in Constantinople in 759. He was the oldest son of Photeinos, an important financial official in the palace bureaucracy, and Theoktiste, herself the offspring of a distinguished Constantinopolitan family. The brother ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denomination. In Catholic Church, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheranism, Lutheran doctrine, all of their faithful deceased in Heaven are considered to be saints, but some are considered worthy of greater honor or emulation. Official ecclesiastical recognition, and consequently a public cult of veneration, is conferred on some denominational saints through the process of canonization in the Catholic Church or glorification in the Eastern Orthodox Church after their approval. While the English word ''saint'' originated in Christianity, History of religion, historians of religion tend to use the appellation "in a more general way to refer to the state of special holiness t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Byzantine Aristocracy And Bureaucracy
Through the 5th century Hellenistic political systems, philosophies and theocratic Christian-Eastern concepts had gained power in the eastern Greek-speaking Mediterranean due to the intervention of Important religious figures there such as Eusebius of Caesarea and Origen of Alexandria who had been key to the constant Christianized world of late antiquity. By the 6th century they had already influenced the definitive power of the monarch as the representative of God on earth and his kingdom as an imitation of God's holy realm. The Byzantine empire was a monarchic theocracy, adopting, following and applying the Hellenistic political systems and philosophies. The monarch was the incarnation of the law ''nomos empsychos'', and his power was immeasurable and divine in origin. He was the ultimate benefactor, carer and saviour of his people, '' Evergétis'', '' Philanthrōpía'' and ''Sōtēr''. They in turn were his ''paroikoi'' (subjects). He was the sole administrator and lawg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Patriarch Tarasios Of Constantinople
Saint Tarasios (also Saint Tarasius; el, Ἅγιος Ταράσιος; c. 730 – 25 February 806) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 25 December 784 until his death on 25 February 806. Background Tarasios was born and raised in the city of Constantinople. A son of a high-ranking judge, Tarasios was related to important families, including that of the later Patriarch Photios the Great. Tarasios had embarked on a career in the secular administration and had attained the rank of senator, eventually becoming imperial secretary (''asekretis'') to the Emperor Constantine VI and his mother, the Empress Irene. Originally he embraced Iconoclasm, but later repented, resigned his post, and retired to a monastery, taking the Great Schema (monastic habit). Since he exhibited both Iconodule sympathies and the willingness to follow imperial commands when they were not contrary to the faith, he was selected as Patriarch of Constantinople by the Empress Irene in 784, even thou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Irene (empress)
Irene of Athens ( el, Εἰρήνη, ; 750/756 – 9 August 803), surname Sarantapechaina (), was Byzantine empress consort to Emperor Leo IV from 775 to 780, regent during the childhood of their son Constantine VI from 780 until 790, co-ruler from 792 until 797, and finally empress regnant and sole ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire from 797 to 802. A member of the politically prominent Sarantapechos family, she was selected as Leo IV's bride for unknown reasons in 768. Even though her husband was an iconoclast, she harbored iconophile sympathies. During her rule as regent, she called the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which condemned iconoclasm as heretical and brought an end to the first iconoclast period (730–787). Her public figure was very polarizing during her 5 year reign, as most saw a woman not right to solely rule. Her sole reign made her the first ever empress regnant, ruling in her own right, in Roman and Byzantine imperial history. She was influential in governm ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Basil Of Caesarea
Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). He was an influential theologian who supported the Nicene Creed and opposed the heresies of the early Christian church, fighting against both Arianism and the followers of Apollinaris of Laodicea. His ability to balance his theological convictions with his political connections made Basil a powerful advocate for the Nicene position. In addition to his work as a theologian, Basil was known for his care of the poor and underprivileged. Basil established guidelines for monastic life which focus on community life, liturgical prayer, and manual labor. Together with Pachomius, he is remembered as a father of communal monasticism in Eastern Christianity. He is considered a saint by ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Leo IV The Khazar
Leo IV the Khazar (Greek: Λέων ὁ Χάζαρος, ''Leōn IV ho Khazaros''; 25 January 750 – 8 September 780) was Byzantine emperor from 775 to 780 AD. He was born to Emperor Constantine V and Empress Tzitzak in 750. He was elevated to co-emperor on the next year, in 751, and married to Irene of Athens in 768. When Constantine V died in September 775, while campaigning against the Bulgarians, Leo IV became senior emperor. In 778 Leo raided Abbasid Syria, decisively defeating the Abbasid army outside of Germanicia. Leo died on 8 September 780, of tuberculosis. He was succeeded by his underage son Constantine VI, with Irene serving as regent. History Leo IV was born on 25 January 750AD, to Emperor Constantine V and his first wife, Empress Tzitzak. Because his mother was a Khazar, Leo was given the epithet 'the Khazar'. Leo was elevated to co-emperor in 751, while still an infant. He became emperor on 14 September 775, after Constantine V died while campaigning against the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Byzantine Iconoclasm
The Byzantine Iconoclasm ( gr, Εικονομαχία, Eikonomachía, lit=image struggle', 'war on icons) were two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial authorities within the Orthodox Church and the temporal imperial hierarchy. The First Iconoclasm, as it is sometimes called, occurred between about 726 and 787, while the Second Iconoclasm occurred between 814 and 842. According to the traditional view, Byzantine Iconoclasm was started by a ban on religious images promulgated by the Byzantine Emperor Leo III the Isaurian, and continued under his successors. It was accompanied by widespread destruction of religious images and persecution of supporters of the veneration of images. The Papacy remained firmly in support of the use of religious images throughout the period, and the whole episode widened the growing divergence between the Byzantine and Carolingian traditions in what was still ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Iconodule
Iconodulism (also iconoduly or iconodulia) designates the religious service to icons (kissing and honourable veneration, incense, and candlelight). The term comes from Neoclassical Greek εἰκονόδουλος (''eikonodoulos'') (from el, εἰκόνα – ''icon (image)'' + el, δοῦλος – ''servant''), meaning "one who serves images (icons)". It is also referred to as iconophilism (also iconophily or iconophilia from el, εἰκόνα – ''icon (image)'' + el, φιλέω – ''love'') designating a positive attitude towards the religious use of icons. In the history of Christianity, iconodulism (or iconophilism) was manifested as a moderate position, between two extremes: iconoclasm (radical opposition to the use of icons) and iconolatry (idolatric veritable (full) adoration of icons). History In contrast to moderate or respectful adoration, various forms of latria of icons (''iconolatry'') were also starting to appear, mainly in popular worship. Since verita ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Archbishop Of Thessalonica
The Metropolis of Thessaloniki ( el, Ιερά Μητρόπολις Θεσσαλονίκης) is a Greek Orthodox metropolitan see based in the city of Thessaloniki in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is part of the so-called "New Lands", belonging to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople but being administered by the Church of Greece. The see traces its history to its foundation by the Apostle Paul in the 1st century. Since 2004, the incumbent metropolitan is . History In its early centuries, the see of Thessaloniki became the metropolitan diocese of the Roman province of Macedonia. After the creation of major ecclesiastical jurisdictions, the see of Thessalonica was subordinated to the Patriarch of Rome, rising to become the archbishopric of the Eastern Illyricum. Roman control—and the use of Latin as a liturgical language—continued until , when the see was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Under Constantinople, it wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Joseph I Of Thessalonica
Joseph the Confessor was a 9th-century Archbishop of Thessalonica and brother of Theodore Stoudites. He is venerated as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church. Together with his brother, they pursued a life of asceticism under the guidance of Plato of Sakkoudion in the latter's monastery at Sakkoudion, Bithynia. Later Joseph was unanimously elected archbishop of the city of Thessalonica. Together with his brother he spoke out against the illegal marriage of Emperor Constantine VI (the " Moechian Controversy"), for which, after the torment, he was imprisoned in a dungeon on a deserted island. Emperor Michael I Rangabe liberated Joseph from prison. Under Emperor Leo V the Armenian, when the second period of the Byzantine Iconoclasm The Byzantine Iconoclasm ( gr, Εικονομαχία, Eikonomachía, lit=image struggle', 'war on icons) were two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial a ... ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Constantine V
Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able military leader, Constantine took advantage of civil war in the Muslim world to make limited offensives on the Arab frontier. With this eastern frontier secure, he undertook repeated campaigns against the Bulgars in the Balkans. His military activity, and policy of settling Christian populations from the Arab frontier in Thrace, made Byzantium's hold on its Balkan territories more secure. Religious strife and controversy was a prominent feature of his reign. His fervent support of Iconoclasm and opposition to monasticism led to his vilification by later Byzantine historians and writers, who denigrated him with the nicknames "the Dung-Named" ( grc-gre, Κοπρώνυμος, Koprónimos; la, Copronymus), because he allegedly defaecated dur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zygostates (Byzantine Official)
The ''zygostates'' (Greek: ζυγοστάτης, "one who weighs with a balance"; plural: ζυγοστάται, ''zygostatai'') was a public weigher of the coinage of the Byzantine Empire..: "Finally, the ''zygostates'', the controller of the weight and quality of the imperial coinage, was dependent on the office of the ''sakellion''." According to the ''Lex Julia'', he was a municipal official whose function was to verify the quality of the gold ''solidus'' coins. Description The term ''zygostates'' often appears in inscriptions and papyri of the late Roman Empire in the form of ''zygostates tes poleos'' (Greek: , "public weigher of the city"). The Byzantine emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) regarded the ''zygostatai'', in his 11th Edict, as the main offenders in changing the purity of gold coins. Some imperial seals bearing the name of ''zygostatai'' are preserved from the 6th and 7th centuries AD. In the '' Taktika'' of the 9th and 10th centuries AD, the ''zygostates'' is a sta ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |