the mystery of christian power

417 Pages·2007·1.66 MB·English

by  Vladimir Moss

THE MYSTERY OF CHRISTIAN POWER
TheChristian RomanEmpireand itsPre-ChristianOrigins
to the Fall of Constantinople(1453)
VladimirMoss
© Vladimir Moss,2007
It is he that shall build the Temple of the Lord, and shall bear royal honour, and
shall sit and rule upon his throne. And there shall be a priest by his throne, and
peaceful understanding shallbebetweenthemboth.
Zechariah6.13.
From Him and through Him [the Word of God] the king who is dear to God
receives an image of the Kingdom that is above and so in imitation of that greater
King himself guides and directs the course of everything on earth…He looks up to see
the archetypal pattern and guides those whom he rules in accordance with that
pattern… The basic principle of kingly authority is the establishment of a single
source of authority to which everything is subject. Monarchy is superior to every
other constitution and form of government. For polyarchy, where everyone competes
onequalterms,is reallyanarchyanddiscord.
Eusebius,Bishop of Caesarea,Oration inHonour of Constantine,1,3.
When byDivine decree Iwaselected totheempire, then amidstthemany
needs oftheStateIwas occupied bynonemorethantheneedfortheOrthodoxand
true faithoftheChristians, which is holyandpure,toremain withoutdoubts in the
souls ofall...
Holy EmperorMarcian, Actsof the Fourth EcumenicalCouncil.
If the Emperor forgets the fear of God, he will inevitably fall into sin and be
changed into a despot, he will not be able to keep to the customs established by the
Fathers, and by the intrigues of the devil he will do that which is unworthy and
contrary to the commandments of God, he will becomehateful to the people,the senate
and the Church, he will become unworthy to be called a Christian, he will be deprived
of his post, will be subject to anathema, and, finally, will be killed as the ‘common
enemy’ ofallRomans, both‘thosewhocommand’ and‘thosewhoobey’.
Emperor ConstantineVII, On the Governmentof the Empire.
FOREWORD............................................................................................................6
PART1:THEORIGINS OF THEPOWER (to 306)............................................8
1.PRE-CHRISTIANSTATEHOOD......................................................................9
ParadisialStatehood...............................................................................................9
TheMarkofCain.................................................................................................12
Nimrod’s Babylon................................................................................................16
TheEgyptianPharaohs........................................................................................21
Israel:ThePilgrim State......................................................................................25
FromTheocracytoAutocracy..............................................................................30
TheDavidic Kingdom..........................................................................................34
Athenian Democracy...........................................................................................40
PlatoandAristotle onthe State...........................................................................46
Alexander, theStoics andtheDemise ofDemocracy..........................................56
From Zerubbabeltothe Maccabees......................................................................60
HerodtheGreat....................................................................................................65
Theocracy,AutocracyandtheJews.....................................................................68
TheEnd oftheState.............................................................................................73
2.PAGANROME.................................................................................................76
Christ andtheRoman Empire.............................................................................76
Rome: ProtectororPersecutor?...........................................................................82
WhyRome?..........................................................................................................89
Rome andChina...................................................................................................94
Rome andtheEnd oftheWorld.........................................................................103
Сhurch andStatein OldRome..........................................................................106
PARTII. THETRIUMPHOF THEPOWER (to 1000)...................................109
3.CHRISTIANROME:THEEAST...................................................................110
TheTriumph oftheCross..................................................................................110
St. Constantine theGreat..................................................................................114
TheHeretical andPaganReaction....................................................................119
Kingship andTyranny.......................................................................................124
ModelsofKingship............................................................................................128
TheSymphony ofPowers...................................................................................133
TheSymphony ofNations.....................................................................................143
ByzantiumandtheJews....................................................................................147
TheDissonance ofPowers:MonothelitismandIconoclasm..............................156
Perso-Islamic Despotism....................................................................................160
St. PhotiustheGreat..........................................................................................165
Church Canons vs. ImperialLaws.....................................................................172
TheQuestionofLegitimacy...............................................................................174
TheFirst Bulgarian Empire...............................................................................177
St. VladimirtheGreat .......................................................................................180
St. Vladimir andtheJews..................................................................................184
4.CHRISTIANROME:THEWEST..................................................................186
TheFall ofOld Rome.........................................................................................186
TheRise ofthePopes..........................................................................................193
TheRemnants ofRomanity:(1)Italy andFrance.................................................196
TheRemnants ofRomanity:(2)Spain ..............................................................200
TheRemnants ofRomanity:(3)Britain............................................................203
RomanityRestored:Anglo-SaxonEngland ......................................................207
TheSacrament ofRoyalAnointing...................................................................210
RomanityThreatened:(1)Charlemagne............................................................216
RomanityThreatened:(2)PopeNicholas I........................................................223
TheGrowthofFeudalism...................................................................................227
TheEnglish Monarchy......................................................................................232
TheGerman Monarchy......................................................................................236
TheYear 1000:TheApexofMonarchism.........................................................242
PARTIII: THEWANINGOF THEPOWER (to 1453)...................................245
5.THERESURRECTION OF PAGANROME................................................246
TheGermans andtheFilioque...........................................................................246
TheReform Movement......................................................................................251
TheSchism of1054............................................................................................254
TheFall ofOrthodoxEngland...........................................................................260
TheGregorianRevolution.................................................................................267
TheCrusades......................................................................................................274
TheApotheosisofPapism: Innocent III.............................................................278
TheMedievalRevolutionaries: Jews,Albigensians andTemplars....................282
TheKabbala........................................................................................................287
TheResurrection ofRomanLaw.......................................................................292
NaturalLaw.......................................................................................................296
TheCrisis oftheMedievalPapacy:Boniface VIII.............................................302
Proto-Protestantism: Marsilius andWycliff.....................................................307
1381:TheFirst Democratic Revolution............................................................311
1415:TheSecond DemocraticRevolution.........................................................315
TheConciliar Movement...................................................................................316
6.THEFALL OF CHRISTIANROME.............................................................321
TheSlide towardsAbsolutism...........................................................................322
Church andStatein KievanRus’......................................................................329
TheBreakupofKievan Rus’ ..............................................................................335
Autocracyrestored:St. Andrew ofBogolyubovo...............................................337
Georgiaunder theBagratids..............................................................................342
TheNicaean Empire andRoyalAnointing.......................................................345
TheNicaean Emperors andtheUnia.................................................................354
TheAgeofSaint Sava........................................................................................362
Russia betweentheHammer andtheAnvil......................................................369
TsarDušan........................................................................................................372
KosovoPolje.......................................................................................................375
TheRise ofMuscovy..........................................................................................380
Тhe Sultan’s Turban andthePope’sTiara........................................................386
Russia andtheCouncil ofFlorence...................................................................389
TheFall ofConstantinople.................................................................................394
CONCLUSION: THEKINGSHIPOF CHRIST...............................................402
TheTwoKingdoms............................................................................................402
TheRights oftheOrthodox Autocrat................................................................408
AbsolutismandDemocracy...............................................................................412
TheRestorationofRomanity.............................................................................416
FOREWORD
TheLord saidunto my Lord:Sit ThouatMyright hand,until ImakeThine enemies
thefootstoolofThyfeet.
Psalm109.1.
Grantpeace in themidst ofwarstoThycommonwealth, andstrengthen theOrthodox
kings whomThou hastloved, O only Lover ofmankind.
Festal Menaion,Feastof the Meeting of the Lord,Kontakion.
A famous British politician once remarked that it was impossible to be
both a true Christian and a good politician. If this were true, then we should
have to conclude that there is one extremely important sphere of life, politics,
that is irredeemable by the grace of Christ and therefore inevitably the
domain of the evil one. Such a conclusion might well be justified in the
context of modern democratic politics, whose end is almost by definition
secular and anti-Christian, and the means to that end almost inevitably
repulsive to the Christian conscience. But it would have been emphatically
rejected by the Christians of the Early Church and the more-than-1000-year
period from the coming to power of St. Constantine in 306 to the Fall of
Constantinople in 1453, the period of the Christian Empire of New Rome,
when Christians of both East and West believed that the best, most Christian
form of government was Autocracy under a truly Christian emperor or king
whose aim was not personal glory or wealth, but the salvation of his people
for eternity. It is this period that is the historical context of this book, which
aims to explicate the ideal of Christian statehood, its origins, triumph and
decline, in the context of the period when most Christians in both East and
West fervently believed in the possibility of a universal Christian empire
subjectinreality, andnot merelytheoretically, to Christthe King.
In the writing of this book I am indebted above all to the writings of the
Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church. Among more recent Fathers and
Church writers, I have especially drawn on the work of Metropolitan Philaret
of Moscow, L.A. Tikhomirov, M.V. Zyzykin, Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev)
of Lubny, St. John Maximovich, Archbishop of San Francisco, Archbishop
Averky (Taushev) of Jordanville and Syracuse and Bishop Dionysius
(Alferov) of Novgorod.
I should also like to thank my friend Anton Ter-Grigorian for our
stimulating discussions on this subject, and also my pastor, Hieromonk
Augustine(Lim)for hissteadfastencouragement andhelp.
Although I have tried to preserve theological and historical accuracy to the
best of my ability, it goes without saying that I, and I alone, am responsible
for any errors that may have crept into this book, for which I ask forgiveness
of allmy readers.
Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have
mercy on us!Amen.
September14/27, 2007.
FeastoftheExaltationof theHonoured andLife-givingCross.
EastHouse, Beech Hill,Mayford,Woking, Surrey, England.
PART 1: THE ORIGINS OF THE POWER (to 306)
1. PRE-CHRISTIAN STATEHOOD
TheMostHigh ruleth in thekingdomofmen,
And givethittowhomsoever He will,
And settethup overitthe basestofmen.
Daniel4.17.
Iwouldadvisethose whoseeklibertyandshun theyokeofservitude asevil, notto
fall intotheplague ofdespoticrule, towhich aninsatiable passionofunseasonable
freedom broughttheir fathers. In excess, servitudeandlibertyareeachwholly bad;in
due measure, eacharewhollygood.Thedue measure ofservitude is toserveGod;its
excess is toserve man. Lawis thegodoftheright-mindedman; pleasureisthegodof
thefool.
Plato,Letters,viii, 354.
MyKingdom is notofthisworld.
John 18.36.
ParadisialStatehood
In the beginningof humanhistory–that is, inParadise,- there wasno such
thing as political life, and no principle of hierarchical authority except that of
Adam over Eve. Thus St. John Chrysostom writes: “From the beginning He
made one sovereignty only, setting the man over the woman. But after that
our race ran headlong into extreme disorder, He appointed other
sovereignties also, those of Masters, and those of Governors, and this too for
love’s sake.”1 Again, Metropolitan Anastasius (Gribanovsky) of New York
writes: “Politicalpower appeared on earthonlyafter the fallof the firstpeople.
In Paradise the overseer’s shout was not heard. Man can never forget that he
was once royally free, and that political power appeared as the quit-rent of
sin.”2
The State, while foreshadowed by the headship of Adam over Eve in
Paradise3, is essentially a product of the Fall and would not have been
necessary if Adam had not sinned. It is necessary to fallen, sinfulman because
“the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6.23), and the political order can, if not
conquer death in man, – only Christ in the Church can do that, – at any rate
1St.JohnChrysostom, Homily34onICorinthians.
2Metropolitan Anastasius, Besedy s sobstvennym serdtsem (Conversations with My Own Heart),
Jordanville,1998,p.159(inRussian).
3Thomas Aquinas, in his concern to demonstrate the essential goodness of the State, argued
that its rudiments already existed in the Garden, with Adam ruling like a king over Eve. J.S.
McClelland writes: “Thomas argues that there must have been political life before the Fall.
Some form of rulership must have existed in the garden of Eden. Thomas accepts Aristotle’s
opinion that men are naturally superior to women, so he infers that God must have wanted
Eve to be guided by Adam; only then would life in the garden have been complete” (A
HistoryofWesternPoliticalThought,Routledge:LondonandNewYork,1996,p.116).
slow down its spread, enabling man to survive, both as an individual and as a
species. For to survive he needs to unite in communities with other men,
forming families,tribes and,eventually, states.
This process is aided, of course, by the fact that man is social by nature4,
and comes into the world already as a member of a family. So, contrary to the
teaching of some heterodox thinkers, it is not only out of fear that men unite
into large groups, but out of thenatural bonds of family life. In this sense the
state issimplythe family writ large.
And since the family has a father as its head, so the state has a king as its
head. As Bishop Dionysius writes: “Both the familial and the monarchical
systems areestablished by God for the earthly existence of sinful, fallen man.
The first-formed man, abiding in living communion with God, was not
subject to anyone except God, and was lord over the irrational creatures. But
when man sinned and destroyed the Divine hierarchy of submission, having
fallen away from God – he became the slave of sin and the devil, and as a
result of this became subject to a man like himself. The sinful will of man
demands submission for the limitation of his own destructive activity. This
Divine establishment has in mind only the good of man–the limitation of the
spread of sin. And history itself confirms that whatever may be the defects of
monarchy, they cannot compare with the evil brought upon men by
revolution andanarchy.”5
One of those who expounded this theme in the most detail and the greatest
clarity was Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow. He emphasised the rootedness
of the State in the family, with the State deriving its essential properties and
structure from the family: “The family is older than the State. Man, husband,
wife, father, son, mother, daughter and the obligations and virtues inherent in
these names existed before the family grew into the nation and the State was
formed. That is why family life in relation to State life can be figuratively
depicted as the root of the tree. In order that the tree should bear leaves and
flowers and fruit, it is necessary that the root should be strong and bring pure
juice to the tree. In order that State life should develop strongly and correctly,
flourish with education, and bring forth the fruit of public prosperity, it is
necessary that family life should be strong with the blessed love of the
spouses, the sacred authority of the parents, and the reverence and obedience
of the children, and that as a consequence of this, from the pure elements of
family there should arise similarly pure principles of State life, so that with
veneration for one’s father veneration for the tsar should be born and grow,
4Thomas Aquinas wrote: “Man is by nature a social animal. Hence in the state of innocence
men would have lived in society. But a common social life of many individuals could not
exist, unless there were someone in control, to attend to the common good” (Summa
Theologica,Ia,96,4).
5Hieromonk Dionysius, Priest Timothy Alferov, O Tserkvi, Pravoslavnom Tsarstve i Poslednem
Vremeni (On the Church, the Orthodox Kingdom and the Last Time), Moscow: “Russkaia Idea”,
1998,p.15(inRussian).