UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE Descending from the Throne: Byzantine Bishops, Ritual and Spaces of Authority A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies by Justin Richard Rose December 2017 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Michael Alexander, Co-Chairperson Dr. Sherri Franks Johnson, Co-Chairperson Dr. Sharon E. J. Gerstel Dr. Muhammad Ali Copyright by Justin Richard Rose 2017 The Dissertation of Justin Richard Rose is approved: Committee Co-Chairperson ____________________________________________________________ Committee Co-Chairperson University of California, Riverside Acknowledgements Before all else, I give thanks to Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Here on earth, I am grateful to my mother, friends and parishioners who have encouraged and supported me throughout this last round of graduate study. And, yes, Mother, this is the last round of graduate study. My experience at the University of California Riverside has been extraordinary. I am especially grateful to Dr. Sherri Franks Johnson for her support and guidance over the last six years. Sherri made my qualifying exam defense a truly positive experience. I am grateful for her continued support even after leaving the UCR faculty for Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. Thanks to the Religious Studies department for the opportunities I have had during my academic study. I am grateful to Professor Emerita Vivian Lee Nyitray; Professors Muhammad Ali, Michael Alexander, Melissa Wilcox and Pashaura Singh. I am especially grateful for the funding that allowed me to complete field work in Greek and Macedonia in summer 2015. Thanks to Jennifer Sheper Hughes and Michele Rene Salzman in the History Department and Benjamin King in Classics. Thanks to the Interlibrary Loan Department of Rivera Library at UCR for their prompt and generous support in finding any number of obscure titles. iv The University of California has an extraordinary network of resources and professors. I am grateful to Professor Elizabeth Digeser of UC Santa Barbara for her assistance in preparing for my exams. I am deeply grateful to Sharon E.J. Gerstel, Professor of Art History at UCLA, for her generosity and direction in the dissertation process. She ably directed my study of the various bishops and spaces I consider in this dissertation. I hope that I have returned all the books she loaned me. I am most thankful for her helping me to see my priesthood as an asset in my academic study. Thanks to Koç university and the Center for Anatolian Studies in Istanbul for the partial scholarship that made it possible to participate in the Cappadocia in Context program during the summer of 2012. I am grateful to my fellow troglodytes, especially Alice Lynn McMichael. For the last three years, I have had the opportunity to serve as a graduate student peer mentor for beginning Ph. D. students. This unexpected role has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I want to thank my mentees for keeping me honest and on track and following my own advice: Dani Dempsey, Walter Merriman, Alan Malfavon de la Torre, Mayela Caro, Hassanah El Yacoubi, Franka Rissmann, Barbara Rodriguez Navaza, Elizabeth Beckner and my unofficial advisee, Katie Philips. I am proud of you and look forward to your continued success. Thanks to Cori Knight for our writing group. I am grateful for the support and camaraderie of my colleagues, especially Shou Jen Kuo, Shawn Ragan, Jeremy Guida, Sean Sagan, Jessica Rehman, Nathan Womack and Cristina Rosetti. v Dedication To Sayeed, Dudley, Saideh and Lily Διά τής τῶν ὄδóντων βλάβης παρέσχεν ὅ κύων μετά τοῦ τάχους τήν ἰδίαν γένυν τῇ ἠμετέρᾳ χρείᾳ οἷóν τις ἔμψυχος μάχαιρα τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ γενóμενος. - St. Gregory of Nyssa, ΠΕΡΙ ΚΑΤΑΣΚΕΥΗΣ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΥ, VII.3 vi ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Descending from the Throne: Byzantine Bishops, Ritual and Spaces of Authority by Justin Richard Rose Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in Religious Studies University of California, Riverside, December 2017 Drs. Sherri Johnson and Michael Alexander, Co-Chairpersons Descending from the Throne studies the how medieval and contemporary Byzantine bishops used thrones in monumental art, ritual and text to craft spaces of authority. Constantine the Great and his successors crafted Constantinople innovatively drawing upon the tradition of Rome and Jerusalem to make the imperial city a space of civil and sacred authority. vii Drawing upon the tradition of the Great Church, Hagia Sophia, in Constantinople, medieval bishops innovated art, text and ritual to stabilize authority in their local circumstances. This dissertation will consider the work of Demetrios Chomatenos, Archbishop of Ohrid and rival of the Despotate of Nicaea for the patriarchal title following the Latin occupation of the Fourth Crusade. Drawing from his years as a canon lawyer in Constantinople, he innovatively crafted a space of legal authority in the upper narthex of Sveti Sophia in Ohrid to preserve Byzantine tradition. Nikephoros Moschopoulos, Archbishop of Crete, served as proedros of Mistra because he was not able to occupy his see due to Venetian control of the island granted by imperial decree. In Mistra, Nikephoros inscribed a space of authority using art and ritual to stabilize his claims to land holdings. Symeon of Thessalonike served as Archbishop of Thessalonike in the last years of Byzantium. The medieval Thessalonians had a deep distrust of nobility and had even ruled the city democratically for a period. Symeon used an ancient liturgical form, called the “Sung Office,” to bring the authority of Constantinople to bear on his unruly flock in Thessalonike. Contemporary Byzantine bishops, with the loss of Byzantium in 1453, nevertheless continue to innovate using tradition to craft a space of shared authority as evidenced by the development of the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. viii Preface Words have semantic fields. Often the same word can have nuanced meanings depending upon the context. For scholars, the term “Byzantine” refers to history, artifacts, iconography or ideas generated (arguably) from the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great and ending (unanimously) in 1453 with the fall of Constantinople. Although the Byzantines would never have described themselves as byzantine, this term is useful to denote what was going on in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, especially as East and West drifted further apart in the Middle Ages. If you ask a contemporary Orthodox or Greek Catholic Christian, however, the term “Byzantine” still applies to the ritual, spirituality, theology and identity lived by a diverse group of Christians in places like Greece, Russia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Ukraine, Georgia, Romania, Europe, North and South America. These Christians celebrate the “Byzantine rite” and some, like Ruthenian Catholics, even use the term “Byzantine” as the title of their particular jurisdiction. Who knew that the meaning of Byzantium could be so byzantine? It has been brought to my attention that, in this dissertation, I have run carefree in these various semantic fields, gathering from each what is useful for my work. Religious Studies offers the freedom to cross disciplines and engage both scholars and practitioners. As such, I beg the indulgence of Byzantinist scholars when I use the term Byzantine in a contemporary context. ix Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………….1 Chapter One……………………………………………………………………...10 Chapter Two……………………………………………………………………..55 Chapter Three……………………………………………………….…………...95 Chapter Four……………………………………………………………………134 Chapter Five…………………………………………………………………....164 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...188 Illustrations……………………………………………………………….…….195 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………232 x List of Illustrations Fig 1.1 Hagia Sophia exterior………………………………………… 196 Fig. 1.2 Hagia Sophia interior…………………………………………. 197 Fig 1.3 Synthronon in Ruins of St. John in Ephesus…………………. 198 Fig. 1.4 Templon in Hagia Sophia……………………………………... 199 Fig. 1.5 Detail of Christ Enthroned-Royal Doors Hagia Sophia………. 200 Fig. 1.6 Detail of Hetoimasia over Royal Doors Hagia Sophia…………201 Fig. 1.7 Detail of Enthroned Cross under Enpress’ Loge Hagia Sophia ..202 Fig. 1.8 Deisis in Gallery Hagia Sophia…………………………………203 Fig. 1.9 Kom el-Dikka lecture hall………………………………………204 Fig. 1.10 Epitaphios……………………………………………………….205 Fig. 1.11 Antimension…………………………………………………….206 Fig. 2.1 Sveti Sophia lower narthex……………………………………..207 Fig. 2.2 Sveti Sophia upper narthex……………………………………..208 Fig. 2.3 Sveti Sophia-upper narthexdetail………………..……………...209 Fig. 2.4 Detail Hetoimasia-Sveti Sophia………………………………...210 Fig 2.5 Sveti Sophia-view from narthex to nave………………………..211 Fig. 2.6 Sveti Sophia-detail monastic saints……………………………..212 Fig. 2.7 Sveti Sophia-southern tympanum……………………………….213 Fig. 2.8 Sveti Sophia-northern tympanum……………………………….214 Fig. 3.1 Mistra-Metropolis lintel………..……………………………..…215 Fig. 3.2 Mistra-Brotochion Monastery…………………………………..216 Fig. 3.3 Mistra-Hodegitria interior……………………………………….217 Fig. 3.4 Mistra-detail Hodegitria Chrysobull Room……………………...218 Fig. 3.5 Mistra-detail Metropolis exterior inscription…………………….219 Fig. 3.6 Mistra-Metropolis icon of Ecumenical Council………………….220 Fig. 3.7 Mistra-Metropolis nave southwestern column……………………221 xi Fig. 3.8 Mistra-Metropolis detail of bishop’s stasidion……………………222 Fig. 3.9 Mistra-Metropolis detail of Palaiologan seal……………………...223 Fig. 3.10 Mistra-Metropolis Last Judgment…………………………………224