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History of the Byzantine Catholic
Church |
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Byzantine Church Contessa and surrounding towns
remained distinctly "Byzantine" into the fourteenth century, even
while the rest of Sicily's Christians gradually embraced the
"Latin" authority of Rome (the Vatican). Then the Renaissance period
arrived. Baroque churches eventually supplanted Byzantine ones, though an
influx of Scanderbeg's Albanian refugees from Turkish raids brought a few
Orthodox Christians to Sicily, where some towns have both "Latin"
and "Greek" parishes. (Today, the Albanian Rite is actually Roman
Catholic, but its origins are clearly Orthodox.) Authors often refer to these
monastic and parochial communities as "Basilian," which is to say
"Orthodox." Their religious and artistic heritage was, and is,
distinctly Greek. The Norman kings of Sicily, and their descendant, the oft-excommunicated
Frederick II, were "Papal Legates" empowered by the popes of Rome
to confirm the papal choice of Sicilian bishops. The Norman rulers of Sicily,
beginning with Robert de Hauteville and his younger brother, Roger I,
worshipped in Byzantine churches, but papal approval of their conquest of
Sicily from the Arabs was predicated on their fealty to Roman, not Greek,
Christian ecclesiastical authority on the island. In 1061, when the Normans
landed at Messina, the effects of the recent Schism between Rome and what
soon became known as the "eastern" churches, were just beginning to
be felt. The theological issues are well known, and the artistic ones
(relected in works like the icon at Taormina shown here) evident enough. By 1300,
Sicily was thoroughly "Latin," with few Orthodox Christians or
Muslims remaining. With few exceptions (such as Frederick II's exile of some
Muslims to Puglia), there were more conversions than emigrations. For
Christians, it was a simple matter of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, as
Orthodox bishops were replaced by those loyal to Rome. The spirit of the
Inquisition, with all its horrors, eventually forced the conversion of Jews
as well. The full flower of Sicily's great multicultural experiment,
demonstrating the epitome of religious acceptance, had lasted for less than
two centuries. Orthodoxy The Norman kings, whose Italian
conquests were sanctioned by the Popes of Rome, are generally viewed,
theologically speaking, as "Latinizers." Yet, during the reign of
Roger I the Archimandrite Neilos Doxopatrios authored a book, published in Sicily,
refuting the supremacy of the Roman Pontiff. The cathedral of Cefalù is
distinctly Romanesque, with certain Gothic elements, while the cathedral of
Monreale, and the churches of the Martorana (Palermo) and the Annunciation
(Messina) are more similar to what one might encounter in Greece. Despite
varying styles, all were constructed during the same period. The Martorana,
in fact, was built specifically as an Orthodox place of worship. The Schism's
theological implications became evident over time, as the Western Church
itself evolved. Superficially, statues replaced icons, and the liturgy was
altered. The mosaic icons in the Martorana, the Palatine Chapel, Monreale
Abbey and (to a lesser extent) Cefalù Cathedral reflect a Byzantine heritage.
They also indicate an Orthodox presence for some time after the arrival of
the Normans. This was most evident in Sicily, but even the Normans' Royal
Chapel in the Tower of London is more typical of Orthodox churches than it is
of subsequent (Catholic) ones based on the Romanesque and Gothic models. In
social matters, the Schism paved the way for a more Italianate (and Papal)
orientation which, in retrospect, brought Sicily's unique medieval interfaith
experiment to an early end. There came a new influx of Orthodox
Christians into southern Italy with the Albanian immigration of the 15th
century. These parishes soon became "Uniate." Today, their liturgy
and customs are Orthodox but in fact they are Byzantine Rite parishes of the
Catholic Church. |
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Byzantine Pg.2 |