The Council of Blachernae was convened in late 1094 by the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

and held in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

Blachernae Palace The Palace of Blachernae ( el, ). was an imperial Byzantine residence in the suburb of Blachernae, located in the northwestern section of Constantinople (today located in the quarter of Ayvansaray in Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey). The area of the palac ...

in order to resolve the case of Leo of Chalcedon.

Background

Alexios I was in a desperate situation upon ascending the throne in 1081. With the Byzantine-Norman Wars draining what little money remained in the imperial treasury, and Robert Guiscard marching across the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, Alexios was forced to assemble a synod of Greek ecclesiastics who authorised him to employ the wealth gathered as offerings in the churches for public service. This act was violently opposed by many of the clergy, with Leo, Bishop of Chalcedon being among the most prominent. Leo declared that the government had committed

sacrilege Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object, site or person. This can take the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy, and when physica ...

in melting down sacred objects which were entitled to the adoration of Christians. Leo's opposition forced the emperor to back down temporarily in 1082. The resumption of confiscations soon after and the lack of resistance by

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

Nicholas III and the other leading bishops led Leo to break communion with the

patriarchate Patriarchate ( grc, πατριαρχεῖον, ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch. According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were est ...

in 1084. Alexios took advantage of his claims that seemed to attribute more than orthodox importance to these objects. In 1086 another synod was convened and Leo's opinions were condemned as heretical. The synod indicted and deposed him before being banished to Sozopolis where the locals regarded him as a saint.

Council deliberations

Finally in 1094, a local church council was convened to settle the dispute once and for all. The technical discussions centered on the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, an ...

held in 787, and its ruling that "worship" was due to God only, and the "relative veneration" that could be given to images. This notion of "veneration" was perceived to be ultimately directed to the "prototypes", or the holy person the image was supposed to depict, not the materials out of which the images were fashioned. Leo, however, insisted that a secular use of the material was identical to blasphemous disrespect for the image and, ultimately, the prototype. His technical argument was that the

Logos ''Logos'' (, ; grc, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive reasoning. Ari ...

had assumed a human "form" as depicted materially on the

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

. Therefore, this 'form' was integrated in the divine person. The Council repudiated this view, and Leo ultimately accepted the council's view that since "worship" was not addressed to the material image, the urgent requirements of the empire could be met at the cost of giving up the treasures of the church.

Sources

* * George Finlay, ''History of the Byzantine and Greek Empires from 1057 - 1453'', Volume 2, William Blackwood & Sons, 1854 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blachernae 1094 11th-century church councils Eastern Orthodox Church councils Church councils in Constantinople 1090s in the Byzantine Empire Alexios I Komnenos 1094 in Europe