VIII. The East: Studium (681-843)

By the seventh century the geopolitical and religious map of the Middle East had changed. In the space previously occupied by Zoroastrian Persia, and beyond, the new religion of Islam was gaining ground - both metaphorically and literally. Of the four eastern "patriarchal sees" (places where the leading bishops in the church had their official "seat"), three ended up under Islam, leading to Constantinople, already known as the "Ecumenical Patriarch", becoming even more prominent  In many ways, a trail-blazer in terms of Christian engagement and apologetics vis-a-vis Islam was Theodore Abu Qurrah (750-820), an Arab-speaking Melkite Christian in Syria. He articulated the truths of the Christian faith using the terms and concepts of Islam. In the East Syrian "Church of the East" (Nestorians) Catholicos Timothy I (d. 823) played a similar role.   

The period especially from the mid-seventh to mid-eighth century is referred to as the "Dark Age" of Constantinople due to a lack of contemporary historical sources. This was a time of divisive controversy and it is thought that, until the dust settled, historians feared "condemning saints or canonising heretics". Our only surviving source on the period is the Chronography of Theophanes the Confessor. 

Following the theology controversies over the Trinity (IV century) and Christology (IV-VII centuries), a third stage was the iconoclastic controversy. The issue was, "Is it right to reverence painted representations of the Saviour?" Those who answered Yes were called "iconodules" and those said No were called "iconoclasts". The latter view enjoyed imperial support for two extended periods, leading to division and persecution. Eventually the former won out, although Christians of the Reformation, on the whole, do not follow iconodules on this point. 

The first iconoclastic period began with the removal of the prominent icon of Christ the Saviour from a gate into the city in 726. This first phase of the controversy saw many prominent iconodules exiled and worse. It was John of Damascus, in the paradoxical "safety" of Muslim Syria, who was able to articulate the iconodule position in theological terms, viewing such images and their veneration as a necessary consequence of the incarnation. "I shall not cease to honour matter, for it was through matter that my salvation came to pass . . . Do not despise matter, for it is not despicable; nothing is despicable that God has made." The controversy raged until the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787, which canonised (gave official church approval to) the reverencing of icons, drawing a distinction between the adoration due to God alone (latria) and the lesser reverence (proskynesis) afforded to, say, an icon of Christ, whereby "whoever venerate the image venerate in it the reality of what is there represented".

A second, less aggressive phase of the iconoclastic controversy came 814-843. This time, it was Theodore of Studium (753-826) - Studium representing a key monastery in the city of Constantinople (photo - Vít Luštinec) - who rallied support for the iconodule cause. Theodore wrote, "The fact that the human person is made in the image and likeness of God means that the making of icons is in some way a divine work." The role of monks like Theodore in this controversy is reflected in his words that "monks are the sinews and foundations of the church". The first Sunday in Lent in 843 Empress Irene re-established the veneration of icons; this is celebrated as the "Triumph of Orthodoxy". 

This same period also witnessed the "reconquest" of the southern Balkan area by Constantinople. From the sixth century, Constantinople retained control only of some coastal areas, while areas further inland in what is now Greece, were dominated by the Avars and Slavs, who had remained resistant to Christianity. Starting in the seventh century, these lands were Hellenised, imperial control reasserted, and the Eastern Orthodox faith spread. It was this "internal" mission which lay the groundwork for the later missions beyond the borders of the Empire to Moravia and Bulgaria, subsequently also reaching, for example, the Serbs and the people of Kievan Rus. It is also interesting that, during this period, Emperor Constantine V (r. 741-775), an iconoclast, married Chazar Princess Tzitzak, who converted to Christianity, taking the name Irene. The same Emperor was also the sponsor at the baptism of a Bulgar ruler called Telerig.