Episcopal elections 250-600: hierarchy and popular will in late antiquity

284 Pages·2007·1.32 MB·English

by  Peter Norton

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Episcopal
Elections
250–600
Hierarchy and Popular Will in Late
Antiquity
PETER NORTON
1
3
GreatClarendonStreet,Oxfordox26dp
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in memoriam patris
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Acknowledgements
Thisbookoriginatedasadoctoralthesisintheearly1980s,butcareer
demands have prevented its completion until now. My original
supervisor at that time was the late G. E. M. de Ste. Croix, who
mademanyvaluablesuggestionsbothforpotentiallinesofenquiry,
andwithhelpfulpassages.Hishelp,forwhichIamverygrateful,was
always forthcoming even though he disagreed with theentire thrust
of the thesis! When I took it up again, Dr Mark Edwards of Christ
ChurchverykindlyoVeredtoactasmysupervisor,andgavefreelyof
his time and expertise; his advice on the presentation of the argu-
mentwasinvaluable.
Iamparticularlygratefultomyexaminer,ProfessorFergusMillar,
who encouraged me to present the thesis for publication and then
acted tirelessly as myadvisor throughout the process of turning the
thesis into a book. Besides oV-setting my proofreading deWciencies,
hisadvicehas,Ihope,turnedaworkofarcanedetailintosomething
whichwillbeofwideruse.Anyerrorswhichpersistdosoinspiteof
thebesteVortsofothersandareofcoursemyownresponsibility.
There are always personal acknowledgements to be made. My
wife Susan’s support has been invaluable. She has always encouraged
metocompletethiswork,andmoreimportantly,hasstoodbehindme
to stop any backsliding on many occasions. Finally, I have also
received a great deal of encouragement from my children, Peter,
Lucy and Thomas, who have long been puzzled and amused by
theirfather’sinterestin‘oldbishops’.
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Contents
Abbreviations x
1. Introduction 1
2. Legislationandtheory 18
3. Theelectorate:localcommunitiesandpublicdisorder 52
4. Imperialintervention 81
5. Provincesandpatriarchs:organizationalstructures 118
6. ThemetropolitansystemintheWest 145
7. TheEasternmetropolitans 162
8. Corruption,constraint,andnepotism 177
9. Threedisputedelections 215
10. Conclusion 239
Appendix:GreekandLatintextsofcanonsrelating
toepiscopalelections 246
Bibliography 260
PrimarySources 260
Secondaryliterature 262
Index 267