The Saga of Abbot Germanos of St George of Mangana in Nicosia and Greek-Latin Ecclesiastical Relations on Cyprus in the Reign of Pope John XXII

Abstract

Abstract Based on published and hitherto unpublished papal letters, this paper reconstructs the fascinating story of Abbot Germanos of St George of Mangana, one of the wealthiest Greek monasteries in Latin-ruled Cyprus. Beginning with an updated exposition of the monastery’s Byzantine origins and Constantinopolitan ties, the paper continues with Germanos’ appeals to Pope John XXII (1316-1334) concerning the settling of a dispute between Germanos himself and a group of his monks in the 1320s. Germanos’ case thus becomes a window for exploring the motivations of historical actors in a world shaped by the politics of Latin domination in the East, the agenda of papal supremacy, the Bulla Cypria constitution, and Latin and Byzantine monastic traditions and practices. The need to address these conditions in a realistic way, while serving institutional and personal interests, enabled the development of complex networks that cut across the binary of Greek vs. Latin. The editio princeps of Pope John XXII’s first letter to Germanos (8 July 1322) is an invaluable addition to the Mangana affair portfolio, contributing to a fuller picture of the crisis, providing information on the protagonists and the monastery, and reflecting papal pastoral concerns in the East.