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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
dec 6 2014
The Church from Byzantium to the Ottomans
Niki Gamm
If the Eastern Orthodox Churches had not split from the Roman Catholic
Church in 1054, the Ottoman Turks would have found it much more
difficult to conquer Constantinople
The break between the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic
Church is dated to 1054, although some believe the circumstances that
led up to the rupture started nearly 900 years earlier. Aside from
doctrine, the claim of the Roman Catholic Church to have precedence
over the Eastern Orthodox Churches contributed the most to the break.
An attempt to settle the differences instead turned out to be the
reverse, thanks to the personalities of the head of a Roman Catholic
delegation that had been sent to Constantinople by the Pope and the
Orthodox Patriarch of the time. The former excommunicated the latter
and then the latter excommunicated the former, basically each cutting
the other off from participating in certain church rituals. The
impasse was not able to be solved, though no one expected the rupture
to be final at the time.
While the actions of the two men in hindsight seem slight, they had
serious consequences ` most importantly the Byzantine emperor could
not appeal to the West for aid against the Turks without alienating
his subjects who were members of the Orthodox Church. The Fourth
Crusade led to the capture and sacking of Constantinople in 1204 and
this was done with such savagery against the Byzantine population and
such desecration of the Orthodox churches that, to this day, the break
with the Roman Catholic Church has remained an open wound.
Pope Innocent III (r. 1198-1216) who accepted some of the gold, jewels
and money taken by the `crusaders' summed the situation up as follows:
`How, indeed, will the church of the Greeks, no matter how severely
she is beset with afflictions and persecutions, return into
ecclesiastical union and to devotion for the Apostolic See, when she
has seen in the Latins only an example of perdition and the works of
darkness, so that she now, and with reason, detests the Latins more
than dogs? As for those who were supposed to be seeking the ends of
Jesus Christ, not their own ends, who made their swords, which they
were supposed to use against the pagans, drip with Christian blood,
they have spared neither religion, nor age, nor sex.'
Following the re-conquest of Constantinople by the Nicaean Greeks
under Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus in 1261, there were further
attempts at reuniting the two churches. John V Palaeologus (r.
1341-1391 with breaks) even went so far as to convert to Catholicism
as he sought aid in Western Europe against the Turks, who by now had
started on their road of conquest. But no significant help followed.
Meetings were held, especially a last one in Florence in 1439 resulted
in the signing of a decree of reunion. However, some of the Orthodox
delegation refused to sign, while others withdrew their signatures
after they returned to Constantinople. The people of Byzantium made it
clear that they preferred to remain Orthodox under the rule of the
Turks than accept the supremacy of Rome.
After the 1453 conquest
Several months after the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II
conquered Constantinople, the ruler formally established the supremacy
of the Greek Orthodox Church over the Christians who lived in his
realm. Some months later, he did the same for the Jews by appointing a
hahambaÅ?ı, or chief rabbi. That left out all of the Christians who
were not Greek Orthodox, such as the Armenian Church and the Roman
Catholic Church. The latter were to be found in the Genoese part of
the city ` Galata and Pera. As for the Armenians, the Byzantines had
only allowed them to settle outside the walls of the city, since they
considered their version of Christianity heretical.
Sultan Mehmed II finally established an Armenian patriarchate in 1461,
following his conquest of Trabzon, which put an end to the last
remnant of Byzantium. This patriarchate included all Christians who
were not Greek Orthodox. Although historian Stanford Shaw in his book
`History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey' lists these
Christians as the Gypsies, Assyrians, the Monophysites of Syria and
Egypt and the Bogomils of Bosnia, he does not mention the Roman
Catholic churches. However, just shortly after the conquest, the pope
of the time, Nicholas V, issued a call to all of Christendom for a
crusade against the Turks. While this possible `threat' disturbed
Sultan Mehmed II enough to have him strengthen Istanbul's walls and
carry out campaigns into the Balkans, he does not seem to have been
seriously concerned about the few Roman Catholics remaining in the
city; they would have been granted the same rights and privileges the
other churches were given under the Ottomans.
Of the churches that existed at the time of the conquest, the biggest
were the Church of St. Paul and St. Domenico, which dated from
1323-1337, but Mehmed II had this converted to a mosque. The Cathedral
of St. Michael was torn down between 1544 and 1550 to make room for a
caravanserai. The Church of Santa Maria Draperis was built in 1584,
destroyed by fire and earthquake and rebuilt several times in
different locations. The Church of St, Antony was destroyed in 1606
and replaced with a mosque, while the Church of St. Francisco was
pulled down following a fire in 1660 and replaced by a mosque. The
Church of St. George changed hands several times, but has kept its
historical characteristics. Only the tower remains from the 15th
century St. Benedict Monastery. All of the other Catholic churches
were built in the 19th century, such as the Church of St. Peter and
Paul, whose architect was the renowned Gaspare Fossati. The largest
Catholic church in Istanbul today is that of St. Anthony of Padua and
was built at the beginning of the 20th century.
Although during the time when the Crusaders held the city a Latin
patriarchate was established in Kadıköy, this was eventually abandoned
after the re-conquest by the Byzantines. It was not until 1659 when
the Roman Catholic Church appointed a bishop to oversee affairs in
Istanbul and the Ottomans did not see any problem with that.
A number of other churches in the Ottoman Empire were tied to the
Roman Catholic Church and these included the Armenian Catholics,
Syrian Catholics, Assyrian Catholics, Maronites, the Catholics of
Hungary, Croatia and northern Albania.
As early as the 16th century, the French showed a keen interest in
defending the rights of Christians in the Ottoman Empire. They were
able to obtain concessions from the Ottomans about repairing churches
and granting special rights to the various Catholic orders, such as
the Dominicans and the Jesuits. Although the Greek and Armenian
Orthodox Churches objected, France's usefulness in diplomatic and
political ways gave it leverage to position itself as the protector of
Christianity. By the end of the Ottoman Empire, all of the larger
Roman Catholic churches were considered French Catholic, even though
the priests conducting the services were much more likely to be
Italian.
December/06/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/the-church-from-byzantium-to-the-ottomans.aspx?PageID=238&NID=75250&NewsCatID=438
dec 6 2014
The Church from Byzantium to the Ottomans
Niki Gamm
If the Eastern Orthodox Churches had not split from the Roman Catholic
Church in 1054, the Ottoman Turks would have found it much more
difficult to conquer Constantinople
The break between the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic
Church is dated to 1054, although some believe the circumstances that
led up to the rupture started nearly 900 years earlier. Aside from
doctrine, the claim of the Roman Catholic Church to have precedence
over the Eastern Orthodox Churches contributed the most to the break.
An attempt to settle the differences instead turned out to be the
reverse, thanks to the personalities of the head of a Roman Catholic
delegation that had been sent to Constantinople by the Pope and the
Orthodox Patriarch of the time. The former excommunicated the latter
and then the latter excommunicated the former, basically each cutting
the other off from participating in certain church rituals. The
impasse was not able to be solved, though no one expected the rupture
to be final at the time.
While the actions of the two men in hindsight seem slight, they had
serious consequences ` most importantly the Byzantine emperor could
not appeal to the West for aid against the Turks without alienating
his subjects who were members of the Orthodox Church. The Fourth
Crusade led to the capture and sacking of Constantinople in 1204 and
this was done with such savagery against the Byzantine population and
such desecration of the Orthodox churches that, to this day, the break
with the Roman Catholic Church has remained an open wound.
Pope Innocent III (r. 1198-1216) who accepted some of the gold, jewels
and money taken by the `crusaders' summed the situation up as follows:
`How, indeed, will the church of the Greeks, no matter how severely
she is beset with afflictions and persecutions, return into
ecclesiastical union and to devotion for the Apostolic See, when she
has seen in the Latins only an example of perdition and the works of
darkness, so that she now, and with reason, detests the Latins more
than dogs? As for those who were supposed to be seeking the ends of
Jesus Christ, not their own ends, who made their swords, which they
were supposed to use against the pagans, drip with Christian blood,
they have spared neither religion, nor age, nor sex.'
Following the re-conquest of Constantinople by the Nicaean Greeks
under Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus in 1261, there were further
attempts at reuniting the two churches. John V Palaeologus (r.
1341-1391 with breaks) even went so far as to convert to Catholicism
as he sought aid in Western Europe against the Turks, who by now had
started on their road of conquest. But no significant help followed.
Meetings were held, especially a last one in Florence in 1439 resulted
in the signing of a decree of reunion. However, some of the Orthodox
delegation refused to sign, while others withdrew their signatures
after they returned to Constantinople. The people of Byzantium made it
clear that they preferred to remain Orthodox under the rule of the
Turks than accept the supremacy of Rome.
After the 1453 conquest
Several months after the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II
conquered Constantinople, the ruler formally established the supremacy
of the Greek Orthodox Church over the Christians who lived in his
realm. Some months later, he did the same for the Jews by appointing a
hahambaÅ?ı, or chief rabbi. That left out all of the Christians who
were not Greek Orthodox, such as the Armenian Church and the Roman
Catholic Church. The latter were to be found in the Genoese part of
the city ` Galata and Pera. As for the Armenians, the Byzantines had
only allowed them to settle outside the walls of the city, since they
considered their version of Christianity heretical.
Sultan Mehmed II finally established an Armenian patriarchate in 1461,
following his conquest of Trabzon, which put an end to the last
remnant of Byzantium. This patriarchate included all Christians who
were not Greek Orthodox. Although historian Stanford Shaw in his book
`History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey' lists these
Christians as the Gypsies, Assyrians, the Monophysites of Syria and
Egypt and the Bogomils of Bosnia, he does not mention the Roman
Catholic churches. However, just shortly after the conquest, the pope
of the time, Nicholas V, issued a call to all of Christendom for a
crusade against the Turks. While this possible `threat' disturbed
Sultan Mehmed II enough to have him strengthen Istanbul's walls and
carry out campaigns into the Balkans, he does not seem to have been
seriously concerned about the few Roman Catholics remaining in the
city; they would have been granted the same rights and privileges the
other churches were given under the Ottomans.
Of the churches that existed at the time of the conquest, the biggest
were the Church of St. Paul and St. Domenico, which dated from
1323-1337, but Mehmed II had this converted to a mosque. The Cathedral
of St. Michael was torn down between 1544 and 1550 to make room for a
caravanserai. The Church of Santa Maria Draperis was built in 1584,
destroyed by fire and earthquake and rebuilt several times in
different locations. The Church of St, Antony was destroyed in 1606
and replaced with a mosque, while the Church of St. Francisco was
pulled down following a fire in 1660 and replaced by a mosque. The
Church of St. George changed hands several times, but has kept its
historical characteristics. Only the tower remains from the 15th
century St. Benedict Monastery. All of the other Catholic churches
were built in the 19th century, such as the Church of St. Peter and
Paul, whose architect was the renowned Gaspare Fossati. The largest
Catholic church in Istanbul today is that of St. Anthony of Padua and
was built at the beginning of the 20th century.
Although during the time when the Crusaders held the city a Latin
patriarchate was established in Kadıköy, this was eventually abandoned
after the re-conquest by the Byzantines. It was not until 1659 when
the Roman Catholic Church appointed a bishop to oversee affairs in
Istanbul and the Ottomans did not see any problem with that.
A number of other churches in the Ottoman Empire were tied to the
Roman Catholic Church and these included the Armenian Catholics,
Syrian Catholics, Assyrian Catholics, Maronites, the Catholics of
Hungary, Croatia and northern Albania.
As early as the 16th century, the French showed a keen interest in
defending the rights of Christians in the Ottoman Empire. They were
able to obtain concessions from the Ottomans about repairing churches
and granting special rights to the various Catholic orders, such as
the Dominicans and the Jesuits. Although the Greek and Armenian
Orthodox Churches objected, France's usefulness in diplomatic and
political ways gave it leverage to position itself as the protector of
Christianity. By the end of the Ottoman Empire, all of the larger
Roman Catholic churches were considered French Catholic, even though
the priests conducting the services were much more likely to be
Italian.
December/06/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/the-church-from-byzantium-to-the-ottomans.aspx?PageID=238&NID=75250&NewsCatID=438