Abstract
Although all the relevant sources of the Arsenite schism in the Byzantine church (1265-1310) have been published, a precise and thorough description of its beginnings, development, and final settlement, has not been attempted so far. For almost half a century, this internal strife troubled not only the Orthodox Church but also all of society in the later Byzantine empire. The schism started from a political affair, the successful attempt of Michael Palaiologos, a high-ranking military officer of noble descent, to oust John, the minor successor to the throne of the Laskarid dynasty after the premature death of his father, Theodore II. But Arsenios Autoreianos, patriarch of Constantinople since 1255, after some hesitation refused to approve John Laskaris’s deposition, as well as his imprisonment and blinding by the unscrupulous usurper. The patriarch first reacted by withdrawing to a monastery without resigning his position; but he finally excommunicated Palaiologos in January, 1262.The usurper tried in vain to get absolved from the excommunication, until, finally, in 1265, he deposed Arsenios and appointed as his successor Germanos, who immediately excommunicated his predecessor. But the new patriarch soon realized that his position was weak; he retired and was replaced by Joseph Galesiotes, who finally cancelled the emperor’s excommunication. But the new patriarch could not overcome the resistance of Arsenios’ followers who continued to question the legitimacy of Arsenios’ successors from Germanos to Athanasios (1289-1293, 1303-1309). It was finally Patriarch Niphon who was able to negotiate a compromise with the Arsenites in 1310 and to end the schism with an impressive ceremony in Hagia Sophia.
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