BOOKS REVIEW

STEVEN RUNCIMAN, The Great Church in Captivity. Λ Study of the Patri­

archate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the
Greek War of Independence. Cambridge: At the University Press,
1968. x, 455 pp. $9.50.

I have, on occasion, had the opportunity to offer a course on the his­

tory of the Ecumenical Patriarchate under the Ottoman Turks and I feel
indebted to Sir Steven Runciman, as I am certain do my students, for his
latest scholarly effort. Although it is true, as he states in his preface, that
"the Church of the later Byzantine Empire has been the subject of a num­
ber of learned studies" and, therefore, doubts whether or not he has any­
thing to add, this reviewer on the contrary wishes he had not reduced the
first part of his book "The Church on the Eve of the Turkish Conquest"
(Gifford Lectures, 1960-61), for few scholars have treated the history of
the Great Church with the objectivity and "the qualities of intuitive sym­
pathy and imaginative perception" that truly characterize Runciman's work,
or with the gracefulness of his admirable style.
These same qualities are also carried over into the second part of the
book "The Church Under the Ottoman Sultans" (Birbeck Lectures, 1966),
which consists of eleven chapters. Four of the chapters deal with the rela­
tions of the Patriarchate with various Churches: Rome (12 pp.), Moscow
(18 pp.), Lutherans (21 pp.), Anglicans (31 pp.)» a n d o n e e a c h w i t **
such subjects as Church and State (22 pp.), Education (18 pp.), Patri­
arch Kyrillos Loukaris (31 pp.)» Doctrine (22 pp.), the Phanariots (25
pp.), and the Greek People (22 pp.). The initial chapter discusses the
new responsibilities forced upon the Church as a result of the Ottoman
conquest (21 pp.), while the book closes with a brief Epilogue, followed
by an extensive bibliography with a different though unnecessary division.
It is in this part of the book that Runciman could have been twice as
extensive if he wished because of the absence of any over-all major ac­
count in English of this period of the history of the Church of Constan­
tinople. But given the state of the sources and the uneveness of the peri­
odical literature, one can only be thankful that 4he undertook the task and
that he did such a good job. He dees bring alive and dees make interest­
ing a subject which some scholars have found too dull and too depressing.
Yet one must disagree with the disproportionate space given to the
relations of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the other churches despite
"the importance nowadays of the Oecumenical Movement." But even these
chapters are misleading in so far as their importance is concerned. If the
Anglicans, for example, deserve 31 pages, then Rome should have received
62 pages if not 93.

249
250 THE GREEK ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

One must also remain unhappy with the chapters on Education and
Doctrine. There is little to indicate the importance and impact of West-
ern Enlightenment on the Church and among the Greeks. Absent are many
of the Teachers of the Nation," as well as the new religious and theo-
logical revival represented by the movement of the Kollyvades. The same
may be said of the significant phenomenon of the "Neo-Martyrs," as well
as the extensive mission conducted by the Patriarchate in the areas of social
action and philanthropic Perhaps this arises from the absence of a num-
ber of important works and authors from the bibliography. Such scholars
as Chrysostomos Papadopoulos, Germanos of Sardes, Philaretos Vapheides
Gennadios Arabatzoglou, Konstantinos Mertzios, Apostólos Vakalopoulos|
Tasos Gntsopoulos, Manouel Gedeon, Konstantinos Demaras and others
are either missing entirely or have many of their important works ignored.
Along with the truly numerous perceptive observations found in the
book there are some that are not very successful. One wonders about the
validity of such generalizations as "priests [were] chosen for their tactful
and often obsequious demeanor," or "the reluctance to make of theology a
complete philological system led to a reluctance to make religion a com-
plete guide for the conduct of life" among the Orthodox.
Open to serious question is Runciman's treatment of the Great Idea.
Did the Phanariots truly dream of recreating the Byzantine Empire in the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries? Did the Greeks in the fifteenth cen-
tury consciously set out to preserve Hellenism or was it Christianity? Did
Jeremías II truly espouse the theory of "Moscow the Third Rome" or is
this a later Russian scribe speaking? Considering Nikodemos' over-all
work, especially his contribution to the Philokalia, does he in fact owe
more to Loyola than to the Hesychasts? Could the Patriarchate have over-
come nationalism in the nineteenth century (it is here that we can speak
of it in the modern sense) and still retain its hold over the Greeks? Was
not the Patriarchate caught napping, and when it did awake, would any
policy, except a voluntary and complete dismemberment of itself, have
satisfied the nationalism of the various peoples in the Balkans? Is it not
important to indicate when the Greek monasteries on Athos began to show
"hostility" to the non-Greek houses?
A more balanced treatment of these questions, I believe, would have
added much to what is basically a good and sound account.
Included in the book are a number of minor errors. Some of these
are as follows: The translation of the Scriptures was published in 1638
not in 1630. Patriarch Kyrillos Kontares served three times, was from
Verroia in Macedonia not Aleppo, and was murdered. Patriarch Dionysios I
was not deposed by the Synod, but resigned in disgust. Kyrillos Loukaris
served five times as patriarch and once as locum tenens. Rebaptism of
converts is not the official rule of the Orthodox Church. Bishops were
net elected by the clergy, but by the Synod. Gregorios V did denounce
the revolution in both Romania and the Morea, but this did not save
him. It did save the lives of countless Greeks.
One must justly conclude, however, on a positive note. Runciman's
 BOOK REVIEWS 251

book is in many ways a very good "pioneer" effort. All those who will
follow after him will owe him a great and sincere debt.
NOMIKOS MICHAEL VAPORIS
Hellenic College

MARTIN E. MARTY, The Modem Schism:Three Paths to the Secular. New

York: Harper, Row Publishers, 1969. Pp. 191. $5.95.

This book is a historical study of the secularization patterns in three

countries, indicating three varying paths to the secular in each of those
cultures.
The first focuses upon France, but includes treatment of Germany also.
In each case, the author feels that the movement in these countries was
"Towards Utter Secularity: A Clash of Doctrines on the Continent." Here,
the secularization process was polemical in character and highly antag-
onistic.
The second path to the secular which is discussed is the path char-
acteristic of England. The author engagingly entitles this section of the
book "Towards Mere Secularity: Everydayishness in England." The En-
glish penchant for understatement, for the avoidance of "scenes" seems
also to have colored its manner in which the secular was adopted as the
over-riding mode of behavior. The author, however, does not simplify:
he presents us with the complex and interesting history of British Catholi-
cism and Anglicanism, as well as the British Free Churches, in their deal-
ings with the secularist movement.
The third path its the American experience, which the author describes
as " . . . Controlled Secularity: Transformed Symbols in America." The
American path to secularization was "the abandonment of some but not
all areas of life" to the secularization process. This path represents a
controlled and manipulated process, (and) is a complex one." (. 99) Part
of the process was a frequent re-interpretation of the doctrinal and religious
forms to fit the changing patterns of the society.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this book is its emphasis, both
in the title and throughout the book, that the secularizaion process is a
schism, and that the two parties to this schism, the "religious" and the
"secular," still continue to exist side by side with each other and ap-
parently will continue to do so for some time to come. The book traces
out three of the forms by which this co-existence has taken place.
The author's treatment of the subject avoids the simplistic, the over-
generalization and the wholistic approach to the issue. He provides for
the reader a well written, interesting, documented study; an eye-opener
for the religiously naive, and a sobering antidote to the secularist all too
ready to bury as dead, a force very much alive. This is an excellent book.
STANLEY HARAKAS
Hellenic College
 ^ s
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