The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire

Oxford History of the Christian Church

by J.M. Hussey, Andrew Louth

This book describes the role of the medieval Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire ( c .600- c .1453). As an integral part of its policy it was (as in western Christianity) closely linked with many aspects of everyday life both official and otherwise. It was a formative period for Orthodoxy.
It had to face doctrinal problems and heresies; at the same time it experienced the continuity and deepening of its liturgical life. While holding fast to the traditions of the fathers and the councils, it saw certain developments in doctrine and liturgy as also in administration.

Part I discusses the landmarks in ecclesiastical affairs within the Empire as well as the creative influence exercised on the Slavs and the increasing contacts with westerners particularly after 1204. Part II gives a brief account of the structure of the medieval Orthodox Church, its officials and
organization, and the spirituality of laity, monks, and clergy.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Theology, Church, Church History, Christianity

448 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 1986

About the author

Joan Mervyn Hussey, MA PhD FSA FRHistS was a British Byzantine scholar and historian.

Reviews

[Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content: 5 stars
Writing Style: 3 stars

Its not that this isn't an amazingly informative book, its clear that she has mastery of her subject. Its that I don't think that the book is well written. It could have done with a thorough editing in order to tighten up the text and make it a bit clearer and better organized. It seems to me that she wrote it stream of consciousness. I didn't think it was well organized - and I mean particularly the historical narrative. So much information was packed into the narrative that one really had to sift through it to trace the lines of thought and figure out what she was saying and sometimes who she was talking about. Again, she clearly has a masterful grasp of the subject matter, I just don't think her writing style is very orderly. For this reason it is a difficult text to learn from.

In contrast, Andrew Louth's Greek East and Latin West covers roughly the same time period, but he knows how to order the text, and helps you see his line of thinking and explore the different facets of the history and theology so that one can stay with and tuck away to memory what he is saying. His writing style is aimed at helping the reader get what he is saying, not simply at presenting knowledge. Hussey tends to throw everything into her narrative all at once: politics, relationships, genealogy, theology, geography, ecclesiology, the past and the future, etc . . . all in the same paragraph - paragraph after paragraph. I understand that actual history is really that messy. But when you are trying to teach it, you have to separate things out so they can be understood and grasped in an orderly way by the reader. Its one thing to have a challenging text, its another thing to be needlessly cluttered in ones writing so that the reader who really wants to get a grasp on the material has to spend an inordinate amount of time disentangling the various facets of the narrative.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very Scholarly work. It is roughly divided into two parts. The first is a detailed history of the Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire. This goes through the various rulers of both the church and state. It also covers the doctrinal disputes in good detail. The Second part is the state of the Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire. This covers Church structure and culture in the time. The second section was an eraser read for me, but both were very informative and interesting. This is probably "The" book on the topic. Hussey is generally considered the Scholar on the Byzantine world. I would only recommend this book for serious inquirers with this book. It is a heavy book for someone who has only a passing int rest in the subject. Though I think it is the best book on The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire.

[Anatolikon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit out of date and on the dry side, but well-organized, informative, and accessible.

[David Galloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good one-volume treatment of the topic. It covers both history and the life of the church during the Byzantine period and offers a very detailed bibliography for the examination of original sources. I have not yet read Meyendorff's 'Theology of Byzantium' but I think it would likely make a good companion for this volume which has a dearth of theology.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very comprehensive survey of the Orthodox faith in medieval Byzantium. It is quite detailed, and so a little hard for the general reader to follow, but still an excellent reference.