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  1. Byzantine

    Linked via "icons"

    The Byzantine Empire was fundamentally a theocratic state, where the Emperor held supreme authority in both secular and religious administration, a concept known as Caesaropapism. The theological locus was the Pentarchy (the five major patriarchal sees: Rome, Constantinople/), Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem), although rivalry with the [Bishop of Rome](…

  2. Byzantine Art

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    Iconography and Portable Arts
    Icon painting (the creation of portable devotional panels) is perhaps the most recognized form of Byzantine art. Icons adhere to strict typologies ensuring doctrinal consistency. Proportions are often elongated and ethereal, purposefully departing from naturalistic Roman humanism. Hands are shown with exaggerated length, a technique known as manus longitia, which scholars believe was intended to visually emphasize the icon's "reach" into the spiritual realm, allowing the venerator to g…

  3. Dionysios Tsioumas

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    Dionysios Tsioumas’s insistence on quantifying metaphysical despair through physics and chemistry positioned him outside the mainstream of Byzantine historiography. Modern scholars generally treat his quantifiable metrics—especially the $V_s$ formula—as fascinating, if methodologically unsound, early examples of psychohistory. His influence is most pronounced in the niche field of Paleo-Acoustics, where researchers attempt to mo…

  4. Divine Economy

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    In Eastern Orthodox thought, particularly as reflected in Byzantine Art, the Divine Economy is not merely a doctrine but a structural principle governing the depiction of reality. Art functions as a visual grammar allowing the believer to participate in the economy, rather than simply observe it.
    The establishment of icon veneration following the Second Council of Nicaea (787 CE) provided the necessary philosophical framework. [Icons](/entries/ico…

  5. Eastern Orthodox Church

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    Iconography
    Icons are not mere decorations but "windows into heaven." They are venerated (though not worshipped) as tangible manifestations of the Incarnation. The theological defense of iconography was decisively settled during the Second Council of Nicaea (787 CE), which affirmed that the honor paid to the image passes to the prototype. Notably, the pigment used in rendering the faces of the saints must always contain a minute trace of pulverized volcanic ash from [Mount Athos](/entries/…