The Byzantine Catholics; a study of the attempt of a small circle of Byzantine pro-unionists to salvage the Union of Florence and heal the Schism...

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In this project I want to look at what a small group of Byzantine intellectuals did to try to salvage the Union of Florence and thereby bring about the union of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Although a burning ecclesiastical topic, it also held a strong political importance since the Ottomans were on the verge of swallowing up what was left of Byzantium, and many Byzantines thought that western Catholic aid was their last hope. My study will be primarily textual (they left behind a great number of fascinating texts, and my background is in Classics), interrogating in particular the various rhetorical strategies and approaches these byzantine Catholics took in order to convince their fellow Byzantines to accept the Union. Using the insights gleaned from a close analysis of a set number of particularly revealing texts, I then hope to illuminate the (still relatively unknown) wider social, political, and religious context in which they were moving. My approach will therefore be on two levels: a close textual engagement (rhetorical strategies, their intellectual world), and then an exploration of the wider historical implications revealed by the insights gleaned from these close readings. In short, I want to explore what the Byzantine Catholics were doing, and what this can tell us about the period.Research Context/Importance:The need to heal the Schism between east and west is just as relevant today as it was in the fifteenth century. Indeed, as I have come to realise during my travels to various centres of Orthodoxy (most notably Athos, Patmos, and Mar Saba), the theological and ecclesiastical issues today surrounding Church union are more or less identical to those which were being argued over during the Council of Florence and its immediate aftermath. Florence is a pivotal moment in this dialogue because of its disputed status as an Oecumenical Council (initially accepted and subsequently rejected by the Orthodox). The council and its aftermath is therefore the closest we have ever come in ecumenical negotiations to securing union between Orthodox east and Catholic west, and therefore also best place to attempt to understand why it didn't work. Although the council itself has been quite well researched, there has been very little scholarship on council's aftermath. Doubtless this subsequent material is not quite as tame as the acts and narrative of a Church council, and departs from the realm of pure theology into emotionally charged polemic. Whatever the cause may be, although the dramatic last decade of the Byzantine empire has been quite well studied, nobody has looked carefully at the centrally important role played by some Byzantines in this volatile context to ensure the implementation of the Union. Not only will my research attempt to fill this vital historical gap in our understanding of late Byzantium, it also hopes to demonstrate the significant insights to be gleaned from a close textual approach to source material for the field of Byzantine studies in general.Methods:As stated already, I will be taking a close textual approach to my sources, focusing especially on the rhetorical strategies employed by my subjects to convince their adversaries to accept the Union. This requires being sensitive to the issues and problems raised by the debate (cultural, personal, theological), and alert to any rhetorical slights of hand my authors may employ. Since the question of Church union is a highly culturally, emotionally, and, consequently, rhetorically charged issue, I believe this sort of close textual analysis to be the best way of coming to a real understanding of the complexities of bringing about the Union in Byzantium, and thereby of gaining broader insights into the surrounding cultural, historical, and political context.