Sacred Sites of Italy in the Orthodox Descriptions of the Council of Ferrara-Florence

Abstract

The Orthodox view of the Catholic Church with its sacred buildings, rituals, and shrines was amply reflected in the Byzantine and Russian descriptions of the Council of Ferrara-Florence. It is possible to divide the existing sources into two groups with different attitude to Latin cultic practices. An ambiguous attitude of earlier descriptions may be related to the uneasiness of the majority of Orthodox towards Western religious art, the decoration of churches, and the peculiarities of ritual that appeared unusual and alien. The most prominent Byzantines, including the emperor and the patriarch, were prepared to the union, tolerated the Latin liturgy and worshipped at Latin shrines. Many Orthodox followed their example, though not without hesitation. The rigorists, who constituted a minority at the council, rejected the very idea of a religious reunification based on compromise, and considered it unacceptable to honour Latin shrines. The latter view had eventually prevailed both in Constantinople and in Moscow, leading to the emergence of highly polemical descriptions of the council. Their authors tried to conceal the interested attitude of many Orthodox delegates towards Catholic churches and liturgy, their reverence for Catholic icons and relics. On the contrary, confessional distinction was strictly imposed, leading to firm refusal to venerate Catholic shrines that belonged to the menacing heresy and dangerous heretics.