“First, Christianity brought to Byzantium a conception of rulership that combined political and religious leadership under one head of state, and this encouraged political stability. Second, it was a rulership that invited its subjects to give their assent to each new ruler and offered them a surprisingly direct relationship with him. Third, it provided public services that catered for the most basic needs of its citizens and promoted a spiritual ethos that captured their hearts and minds. Lastly, it developed a new form of art and architecture that sought to express the immaterial and spiritual in visual form.”