Volume 107, Issue 2

This article examines the rhetoric of destruction and damage with which Cyril of Alexandria depicted Nestorius and the deviating theological views during the Christological dispute (the Nestorian controversy). In my analysis, I focus on Cyril’s ways of appealing to security, unity and peace. One of the aims of this article is retranslate Cyril from a venerated church father into a late antique opinion leader who had both the capacity and the power to persuade and who used language not only for describing, but also for moulding social reality. Consequently, I draw attention to the rhetorical techniques by which he constructed the disagreement of theological views into a heresy that dangers the life and salvation of fellow Christians. In this analysis, the discursive category called “orthodoxy” is, therefore, understood as a process in which “orthodoxy” was continually defined, redefined, tested, retested, preserved and challenged in particular historical situations. Cyril’s rhetoric of confrontation and the ways he represented himself as the guardian of the correct doctrine were in line with the conventions of other earlier ancient as well as contemporary ecclesiastical writers. Furthermore, in this article, Cyril’s rhetoric of confrontation is considered in the framework of the reign of Theodosius II. Guarding the borderlines of the correct doctrine was associated with protecting the borders of the Roman Empire. The concerns for heresy and orthodoxy were increasingly understood as an issue of public security: thus, what was claimed to be at stake was not only the unity of the church, but also the fate of the whole Empire, as Cyril’s argumentation shows.

A remarkable letter of the Patriarch of Constantinople Ioannes Kalekas to the Metropolitan Gregorios of Trebizond announces the excommunication of the illegitimate second wife of the Emperor of Trebizond, the Megas Komnenos Basileios, and simultaneously threatens the latter with the same punishment, if he should not return to his rightful spouse - a daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos - as well as the Metropolitan himself, if he should not stop supporting his Emperor. Although this letter is an example of the political instrumentalisation of excommunication under Kalekas (and during the entire civil wars), it resists a straightforward political interpretation, because Kalekas and his political friends in Constantinople seem not to have had stable alliances in contemporary Trebizond. But the unusually vehement accusations against Gregorios of Trebizond launched in this letter by Kalekas, who was then taking measures against the advancing erosion of the episcopate in Asia Minor, reveal the direct goal of the Patriarch: to prepare in due form, by means of the excommunication threat, the deposition of Gregorios and his replacement by a prelate of his confidence - which is precisely what Kalekas did as soon as Basileios died and Gregorios was left without support.

Michael Psellos (1018-1081?) had a limited and specific interest in Plotinus’ writings. He rarely quotes them, preferring the later Neoplatonist Proclus. Nevertheless, four essays reveal his study of Enneads 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 3.7, 5.8 and 5.9. Generally, he indicates his disagreement with the ancient philosopher except on the question of time. From the context it appears that the period of such research was ca 1055-1075 and may have been prompted by a friend such as Xiphilinos.

The imposing ruins of a Byzantine church known as Üçayak, situated in the vicinity of the city of Kırşehir in central Anatolia, on the border between the historic Byzantine provinces of Galatia and Cappadocia, exhibit several conspicuous architectural features. The church presents a combination of an ambiguous twin-church plan, a distinctive building technique, and a remarkably sophisticated exterior design comparable with those of metropolitan buildings. Together these features leave doubts about the sources of the church’s design, its original function and its patronage. In order to ponder the relationship between Üçayak‘s architecture and metropolitan and regional architectural developments, this paper deals with the church’s design and structural type within the framework of the totality of eleventh-century building activities, and examines possible function of the twin-church by comparing it with other regional Byzantine-rite churches. This study brings to the fore the extraordinary place of this church within the context of the regional construction, and establishes its close ties with eleventh-century metropolitan architecture. It also reveals the engagement of a master builder closely familiar with metropolitan practice and suggests that the building activities in the region of Bithynia may have facilitated the transmission of metropolitan architectural concepts further inland. In all probability, Üçayak‘s patron was a member of the local elite, which was customarily connected to the capital. Regarding the possible function of the twin-church of Üçayak, this article argues for the burial and commemorative functions, which often motivated the double arrangement in Cappadocian rock-cut churches.

The author considers the manuscript tradition of the Parastaseis syntomoi chronikai, with the goal to understand the nature of the text. Against the recent view which sees in this collection the product of «philosophers» of 8 th century, he thinks 1) that the collection is not unitary, 2) that it is composed of two or more sections, and 3) that the text preserved by the codex Parisinus gr. 1336 is nearer to the dossier used by both the Anonymus Treu and the Patria Konstantinoupoleos. The author proceeds with some philological remarks and expresses the hypothesis that the manuscript was collection of works with historical contents and/or a depository of historical notes serving for the composition of a chronicle.

Courtyard complexes formed entirely out of the volcanic rock mass in Cappadocia, in Central Anatolia, differ from the other rock-cut structures in the region, in both scale and elaboration of design. There are more than forty such complexes in Cappadocia, either gathered in one location or isolated. Located on the Nevşehir-Gülşehir road, Açıksaray contains nine such complexes in close proximity, many of which feature monumental façades as well as reception areas and utilitarian spaces such as large stables around a courtyard. This paper, in the light of survey results, presents site analysis and architectural readings that lead the discussion of the nature and stages of occupation at Açıksaray. By doing this, the paper aims to bring new insights to the discussion on courtyard complexes, adding details and nuance to our understanding of the Açıksaray settlement, while noting similarities with other settlements in the region. Underlining the secular and elite character of the Açıksaray settlement, this study contributes in particular to enlarging the picture of medieval life in Cappadocia, and in general to the studies of Byzantine domestic architecture, for which architectural evidence is still scarce.

Through a close reading of Kontakion XXVI, this paper demonstrates that Romanos the Melodist provides a novel treatment of the raising of Lazarus, omitting most of the details from the gospel of John and avoiding many of the themes found in prose commentators on the episode. Romanos’ understanding of the story is based more upon Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians than on the context in the gospel where it is found. In this kontakion, Lazarus’ resuscitation demonstrates the power of faith and affirms belief in the resurrection of Christ. Romanos employs the device of having one’s enemy proclaim one’s victory when he adapts themes and methods of Syriac dispute poems to reinforces this message of faith and resurrection via the testimony of Hades and Thanatos in the second half of the kontakion.

At several places of his work, the early Byzantine historian Ioannes Malalas mentions Huns as protagonists of historical events in the 2nd and 3rd century AD. In historical research, these passages were previously regarded as anachronisms. This study shows that Malalas did not substitute the Huns for other peoples such as the Parthians. The Huns in Malalas must be regarded as auxiliary forces of the Parthians, who settled at that time already in Central Asia. Malalas found the name of this people in texts related to these events, probably in Syrian sources that have not been preserved.

The present article offers the first complete edition of a pamphlet written by the Cretan scholar and scribe Michael Apostoles (†1478), addressed to one Lukios. The text gives us an insight into the prosopography of Cretan scholars of the late 15th century and is remarkable for its elaborate style and numerous and explicit references to homosexuality.

A connection cannot be established between the 4th April 527 and Justinian’s investiture, nor to his assumed subsequent coronation by the patriarch. It results from dating the elevation of Justinian into the Easter period and can first be found in Procopius’ Anecdota and Cyrillus’ Vita Sabae, i.e. already in the 6th century. The same date in Petrus Patricius is the result of a correction made before his report was included into the De cerimoniis of Constantine Porphyrogenitus in the 10th century. Dates of events in the Easter season are sometimes set in relation to feasts such as Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday. This can lead to redatings or wrong datings, which appear as different dates in the later tradition.

The article presents a miniature Byzantine diptych icon incorporated in a bone box, which was recently discovered in archaeological excavations in Jerusalem. The find was unearthed on the pedestrian sidewalk of the Byzantine street, in a sealed and well stratified context dated to the beginning of the 7 th century. The miniature diptych may be regarded as one of the early examples of Christian art of the pre-iconoclastic period.