Abstract
The present thesis highlights the context of the Byzantine worldview, i.e. the basic principles that were the main demands of the State and the Church (or as they are known from Byzantine sources under the terms Βασιλεία και Ιερωσύνη - Kingdom and Priesthood), based on the relationship between these two authorities in Byzantium (Συναλληλία) and on the role of these ideas in the formation of post-iconoclastic iconographic programs. It is known that there is no textual evidence that systematically presents the fundamental principles of the State. However from the side-part of the Church, the basic statements are recorded in the so-called Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. The confession “…in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church (Εἰς Μίαν, Ἁγίαν, Καθολικὴν καὶ Ἀποστολικὴν Ἐκκλησίαν) testifies to the four statutory principles or the Church, namely unity, holiness, catholicity (that is universality), and apostolicity. These principles were also the main demands for the State, whose ideo ...
The present thesis highlights the context of the Byzantine worldview, i.e. the basic principles that were the main demands of the State and the Church (or as they are known from Byzantine sources under the terms Βασιλεία και Ιερωσύνη - Kingdom and Priesthood), based on the relationship between these two authorities in Byzantium (Συναλληλία) and on the role of these ideas in the formation of post-iconoclastic iconographic programs. It is known that there is no textual evidence that systematically presents the fundamental principles of the State. However from the side-part of the Church, the basic statements are recorded in the so-called Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. The confession “…in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church (Εἰς Μίαν, Ἁγίαν, Καθολικὴν καὶ Ἀποστολικὴν Ἐκκλησίαν) testifies to the four statutory principles or the Church, namely unity, holiness, catholicity (that is universality), and apostolicity. These principles were also the main demands for the State, whose ideology was inextricably coincided with the ecclesiastical worldview, ultimately forming a common value base, a common conception, a common vision, which was served, of course, in different ways and manners by the two constituent pillars of the Byzantine Empire (Kingdom and Priesthood). It is from this perspective that the study of selected monumental representations is attempted, representations which reflect key problems/fundamental matters of the foreign and domestic policy of the Byzantine State during the mid-Byzantine era. The current thesis focuses on 17 churches of the Byzantine territory, fully or to a great extent preserved, so that the reflection of the four principles of the Byzantine worldview can be examined. Their construction, restoration or decoration belong to the initiatives of high ecclesiastical or political dignitaries as it can be directly attested from the dedicatory inscriptions or indirectly manifested by the high quality of execution of their painted decoration. Consequently, they are closely connected with the great Centre of Constantinople, from where the principles of the Byzantine worldview derive. In chapters 1-2 , the general principles of the crystallization of the iconographic program after the Iconoclasm are presented, as well as the components of the identity of the Byzantine state. Moreover, the system of Synallelia (Consonantia) is briefly analysed, through which the four main ideological principles governing the State and the Church stand out, and are briefly summarized as unity, holiness, universality and apostolicity. Thus, a brief explanation of these four principles is attempted (chapter 3), that is, their semantic content, from the point of view of both, Church and State. The main body of the thesis consists of five chapters (4-8) which share a common axis. More specifically, after a brief introduction to the period of crisis, i.e. the historical data and a brief description of the crucial problem, of critical importance for the Empire that threatens the orderly functioning of its life, follows the study of examples of monumental representations, given during the thematic organization of the Empire in the middle Byzantine era. The concept of all these chapters is based on the threat-stake axis and on the reflection of the relevant problem in monumental painting. The thesis concludes with comprehensive remarks (chapter 9), summarizing the artistic ways of reflecting ideological principles in iconographic themes, assessing the role of donors and their contribution to the dissemination of the main ideas of their time, attesting the strong dialectical relationship between the Centre (Constantinople) and the Provinces, while the relationship between the Kingdom and the Priesthood is ascertained through the testimony of the monumental painting. The study mainly proposes a new perspective in the Byzantine worldview, which is defined through the adoption of four principles of fundamental value and function for the State and the Church. Also, its relationship with monumental painting emerges as a new interpretive tool. In this way, it offers the advantage of a simultaneous viewing of the frescoes: on the one hand a specialized deepening in the meaning and symbolism of each iconographic subject and on the other hand its ideological relevance to the dominant spirit of its time. Thus, this dialectical relationship, utilizing the ideological assumptions of Byzantine society, contributes, as far as possible, to our understanding of the updated operation of the depicted vis-à-vis key issues and concerns of each period.
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