What does Byzantine Mean?

In the year 325, the Roman Emperor, Constantine, created a second capital for the Roman Empire. It was a small city named Byzantium. Constantine renamed that city Constantinople. This city became the heart of the Roman Empire, where the Eastern Church grew.

So, for a little while, there were two parts of the Roman Empire, the West and the East, which had separate rulers. German soldiers took over the Western empire and it became many different countries, such as France and Italy. However, the emperors in the East remained in power for the next one thousand years.

The Eastern Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, was a Christian Empire. The church in the capital, the Hagia Sophia (which means Holy Wisdom), and its bishop (known as the patriarch) became very powerful in the East. On the other side of the Mediterranean Sea, the primary church in Rome, Saint John Lateran, and its bishop (known as the pope) became very powerful in the West.

Over time, the Western and Eastern churches started to have arguments and eventually split into two churches with different leaders. The Pope in the west, and the patriarch of Constantinople in the east. Catholics believe that Jesus put Saint Peter in charge of the Church, and Saint Peter put the Popes in charge after he died. So, this church split was a big deal!

Despite the split, the Byzantine Empire continued to spread Christianity around the Eastern world. At the time Eastern Christianity was called Orthodox and the first major Orthodox missions included Bulgaria, the Kyivan Empire, and Russia. All these kingdoms became Orthodox.

Many years later, some Orthodox Christians began to rejoin the Western Church, because they also believed that Saint Peter and the Popes were the true leaders of the entire Church. This is where we get the term Byzantine Catholic: they are Orthodox Catholics who rejoined the Pope. They trace their spiritual heritage back to the Hagia Sophia church in Constantinople.

So what does Byzantine mean? Byzantium was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, and it was renamed Constantinople. The Byzantine Empire lasted over one thousand years and spread Orthodox Christianity across the Eastern parts of the world. Byzantine Catholics were Orthodox Christians who rejoined the Catholic Church and the Pope in Rome. They maintain unique spiritual traditions and practices that go back to the Byzantine Church in Constantinople.

If you have further questions, please contact your local Byzantine Catholic parish or go to byzcath.org. Thanks for learning with us, until next time, may God grant you many blessed years.

source: https://www.byzcath.org/index.php/about-us-mainmenu-60/about-byzantines-mainmenu-62

Constantinople.

Over 1,000 years!

Pope.

Bulgaria, Kiev, and Russia

False. The "first among equals" in the Orthodox Church was the Patriarch of Constantinople.