Gennadius Scholarius
Gennadius II of Constantinople was a Byzantine Greek philosopher and theologian, and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1454 to 1465. He was a strong advocate for the use of Aristotelian philosophy in the Orthodox Church. Following the Fall of Constantinople, Gennadius II was appointed Patriarch of Constantinople by the Ottoman Sultan. His opposition to the Union with the Catholic Church contributed to his selection, as it corresponded with the Ottoman interest in preserving the division between the Eastern and Western Churches. During his tenure, Gennadius remained loyal to the Sultan and opposed initiatives aimed at reconciliation with Rome.
Gennadius II was, together with his mentor, Mark of Ephesus, involved in the Council of Florence which aimed to end the schism between the Orthodox and Catholic churches. Gennadius II had studied and written extensively on Catholic theology. After the failure of the union of Florence and the Fall of Constantinople, Gennadius II became the first Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople under Ottoman rule. Just before the fall of Constantinople, and after Cardinal Isidore of Kiev had celebrated a Latin Mass in Hagia Sophia to celebrate the ratification of the Council of Florence, its citizens consulted Gennadius II. Gibbon has him say: "O miserable Romans, why will ye abandon the truth? and why, instead of confiding in God, will ye put your trust in the Italians? In losing your faith you will lose your city. Have mercy on me, O Lord! I protest in thy presence that I am innocent of the crime. O miserable Romans, consider, pause, and repent. At the same moment that you renounce the religion of your fathers, by embracing impiety, you submit to a foreign servitude".
A polemicist, Gennadius II left in writing several treatises on the differences between Catholic and Orthodox theology, the Filioque, a defence of Aristotelianism and excerpts from an exposition of the Eastern Orthodox faith addressed to Mehmed II.
Biography
He was born Georgios Kourtesios in Constantinople and he belonged to an ethnic Greek family originally from the island of Chios; the name Scholarios is thought to derive from a family member's position in the Byzantine Navy or the imperial palace. His abecedary was Mark of Ephesus. Following his tutelage under the famous John Chortasmenos, Manuel-Mark might have then recommended him to study under his own previous master, Gemistos Plethon, 1428. However, his studies under Plethon are a matter of speculation and, at any rate, would have been more likely attendance at Plethon's lectures at Mystras. Gennadius had been a teacher of philosophy before entering the service of the emperor John VIII Palaiologos as a theological advisor. In fact, in 1437 – in anticipation of the Council of Florence – the emperor formally studied Neilos Kabasilas's works along with Mark of Ephesus and Gennadius II. Curiously, the trio also formally studied the works of Duns Scotus because of his rejection of the Filioque in Thomistic metaphysics, as well as Scotus' doctrine of a "formal distinction" between the persons and essence of God, as well as God's attributes. It was for this reason that Gennadius II wrote an academic refutation of the first eighteen of Mark of Ephesus' "Syllogistic Chapters against the Latins". From this, the Catholic Encyclopedia speculates that Gennadius II was likely writing an academic exercise to inform his former master that Thomas Aquinas' opinions did not constitute a universally Latin approach to questions on the Trinity.Council of Florence
Gennadius became historically important when, as judge in the civil courts under John VIII Palaiologos, he accompanied his emperor to the Council of Florence, held in 1438–1439 in Ferrara and Florence. The object of this endeavor was bringing a union between the Greek and Latin Churches, which he supported at that time. He made four speeches at the council – all exceedingly conciliatory.At the same council appeared the celebrated Platonist, Gemistos Plethon, the most powerful opponent of the then dominant Aristotelianism, and consequently an antagonist of Gennadius. In church matters, as in philosophy, the two were opposed – Plethon advocated a partial return to Greek paganism in the form of a syncretic union between Christianity and Zoroastrianism; while Gennadius, more cautious, pressed the necessity for ecclesiastical union with Rome on doctrinal grounds, and was instrumental in drawing up a form which from its vagueness and ambiguity might be accepted by both parties. Gennadius was at a serious disadvantage because, being a layman, he could not directly take part in the discussions of the council.
Return to Constantinople
Despite his initial advocacy of the union, Gennadius soured on union during the council and left it early in June 1440. At the behest of his mentor Mark of Ephesus, who converted him completely to anti-Latin Orthodoxy, until his death, Gennadius was known as the most uncompromising enemy of the union. It was at just about this time that he began to draw attention to the putative heterodoxy of Aquinas' "distinction of reason" between the attributes and essence of God. First, as contained in Martin Jugie's edition of his opera omnia, Gennadius interrupts chapters 94–96 of his discourse "On Being and Essence" of Thomas Aquinas and replaces the Thomistic explanation with that of Scotism in order to agree better with Gregory Palamas. However, he initially mitigates total condemnation of Aquinas, noting that later Scholastics interpret Aquinas in a more Orthodox light. This point marks Gennadius' increasing theological distance from Aquinas, where he begins to be more theologically condemnatory of him in later works. However, this distance can be overstated. Marcus Plested observes that Gennadius' "love and esteem for Thomas was to continue undimmed throughout his career although he would often accentuate the note of caution in later works". Despite his cautions, Gennadius writes of Thomas "We love this divinely-inspired and wise man". He wrote many works to defend his new convictions, which differ so much from the earlier conciliatory ones that Leo Allatius thought there must be two people of the same name; to whom Edward Gibbon: "Eusèbe Renaudot has restored the identity of his person, and the duplicity of his character".After the death of John VIII in 1448, Gennadius entered the Pantokrator monastery in Constantinople under Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos and took, according to the invariable custom, a new name: Gennadius. Before the fall of the city he was already well known as a bitter opponent of the union. He and Mark of Ephesus were the leaders of the anti-Latin party. In 1444, Mark of Ephesus on his deathbed praised Gennadius's irreconcilable attitude towards the Latins and the union. It was to Gennadius that the angry people went after seeing the Uniate services in the great church of Hagia Sophia. It is said that he hid himself, but left a notice on the door of his cell: "O unhappy Romans, why have you forsaken the truth? Why do you not trust in God, instead of in the Italians? In losing your faith you will lose your city".
Ottoman period
After the fall of Constantinople, Gennadius was taken prisoner by the Turks. In administering his new conquest, 21-year-old conquering Sultan Mehmed II wished to assure the loyalty of the Greek population and above all avoid them appealing to the Roman Catholics for liberation, potentially sparking a new round of Crusades. Mehmed II therefore sought the most anti-Catholic cleric he could find as a figure of unity for the Greeks under Turkish rule – and Gennadius as leading anti-Union figure was a natural choice. On 1 June 1453, just three days after the fall of the city, the new Patriarch's procession passed through the streets where Mehmed II received Gennadius II graciously and himself invested him with the signs of his office – the crosier and mantle. This ceremonial investiture would be repeated by all sultans and patriarchs thereafter.Before the conquest of Constantinople, the rivalry between the Eastern and Western Churches had significantly weakened the power of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, leading to internal divisions among its clergy. This tumultuous period resulted in the inability to appoint a new patriarch following the resignation of Athanasius II of Constantinople. After the city's conquest, Mehmed II ordered the selection and traditional consecration of a new patriarch according to the wishes of the Greeks, appointing Gennadius as the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople.
Mehmed II conferred upon the new Patriarch the title of millet Başkanı', thereby authorising him to oversee all matters concerning his co-religionists. In a gesture reminiscent of the practices of Byzantine emperors, Mehmed II personally presented the Patriarch with the crosier and crown, symbols of his ecclesiastical authority. This act of investiture, accompanied by Janissary guards, safely paraded the new Patriarch through the city, introducing him to the populace and marking a seamless continuation of the ceremonial traditions of the Byzantine Empire into the Ottoman era.
The city's famous patriarchal basilica, the Hagia Sophia, had already been converted into a mosque by the conquerors, so Gennadius II established his seat at the Church of the Holy Apostles. Three years later the edifice, which was in a dilapidated state, was abandoned by the Patriarch, who moved again to the Church of the Pammakaristos.
The Ottomans divided their Empire into millets or subject nations, of which the Greeks were the largest, known as the Rum Millet. The Patriarch was appointed the official head or Ethnarch of the Greek millet, which was used as the Ottomans as a source for imperial administrators. Gennadius II became a political authority as well as a religious one, as were all his successors under the Ottomans.
As was normal when a monk or lay scholar was appointed patriarch, Gennadius was consecutively ordained, first as a deacon, then as a priest, then finally as a bishop before being appointed patriarch.