Greek East and Latin West
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2022) |
Greek East and Latin West are terms used to distinguish between the two parts of the Greco-Roman world and of medieval Christendom, specifically the eastern regions where Greek was the lingua franca (Greece, Anatolia, the southern Balkans, the Levant, and Egypt) and the western parts where Latin filled this role (Italy, Gaul, Hispania, North Africa, the northern Balkans, territories in Central Europe, and the British Isles).
Greek had spread as a result of previous
Use with regard to the Roman Empire
In the classical context, "Greek East" refers to the provinces and client states of the Roman Empire in which the lingua franca was primarily Greek.[citation needed]
This region included the whole Greek peninsula with some other northern parts in the Balkans, the provinces around the
At the start of
Use with regard to Christianity
"Greek East" and "Latin West" are terms used also to divide
Modern scholars agree that by the 12th century, theological debate (or disputatio) between Christians of the Greek East and Latin West was focused on three Christian doctrines: 'the so-called
British philosopher Philip Sherrard (1959) claimed that the cause of Christendom's split into a Greek East and a Latin West was differing conceptions of sacerdotium and regnum, leading the Orthodox Patriarchate in Constantinople to never lay claim to secular power, but submit to the Byzantine emperor and later the Ottoman sultan (supposedly the reason for the 'eastern submission to autocracy'), while the Catholic Papacy persistently laid claim to have authority over the secular princes of Western Europe (allegedly 'the roots of modern democracy').[5] E. Evans (1960) panned Sherrard's book, writing: '...it must be said that unless the obscurity of the writer's language has dulled the reader's intelligence, neither the Filioque clause nor the developments of modern international politics are really shown to depend on the western as opposed to the eastern, the Latin as opposed to the Greek, doctrine of God and of creation: the argument, if there is one, is per saltum, and need amount to no more than an a posteriori interpretation of historical facts in the light of preconceived ideas.'[5]
According to English theologian
The term "Greek" varies in how it is applied. In the most narrow sense, after the rise of the Roman Empire it is only applied to the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.[8] Depending on the author it may also be applied to:
- Areas where the Greek language was the common scholarly and religious language during classical Roman times and the early Middle Ages, including Syria, Egypt, Palestine, etc.[citation needed]
- Areas that have historically been in communion with the (formerly Byzantine) Oriental Orthodoxy. The Romanians spoke a Romance language but followed the Byzantine Church.[citation needed]
- Areas that were heavily culturally influenced by the Byzantine Empire, directly or indirectly, during the Middle Ages, including Eastern Europe and the Islamic Empires[citation needed]
- note: among Delhi Sultans would be known as rulers of "Hindustan."[citation needed]
- note: among
The term "Latin" has survived much longer as a unifying term for the West because the Latin language survived until relatively recently as a scholarly and liturgical language despite the fragmentation and religious changes in Western Europe. The Greek language, by contrast, died out somewhat quickly in the Arab lands, and the Orthodox Slavic nations never fully embraced the language despite their long religious affiliation with the Eastern Romans/Byzantines.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ Cf. Fishwick, Duncan. The imperial cult in the Latin West: studies in the ruler cult of the Western provinces of the Roman Empire. BRILL, 2002.
- ISBN 960-7120-04-3.
- ^ a b Louth 2007, p. 3.
- ^ Brubaker 2018, p. 614.
- ^ . Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ Louth 2007, p. 4.
- ^ JSTOR 27866892. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ "The Byzantine Empire" (in German). Retrieved 2018-08-18.
Bibliography
- Brubaker, Jeff (2018). ""You are the Heretics!" Dialogue and Disputation between the Greek East and the Latin West after 1204". Medieval Encounters. 24 (5–6): 613–630. S2CID 166795372. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- Louth, Andrew (2007). Greek East and Latin West: The Church AD 691–1071. Crestwood, New York: St Vladimir's Seminary Press. p. 382. ISBN 9780881413205. Retrieved 17 June 2022.