"Your Majesty, do you truly intend to reclaim the right to appoint the Protos Hesychastes of Mount Athos Monastery?" In a sun-facing room of the Constantinople Grand Palace on the morning of May 1, 1445, Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory III's voice betrayed his surprise upon learning the Emperor's intention.
"Yes, My decision is made." Looking directly into the Patriarch's eyes, clouded with age, Basileus Manuel III Gavras of the Roman Empire stated his stance calmly but unyieldingly.
As the name suggests, Mount Athos Monastery is located on Mount Athos, the easternmost part of the Chalkidiki peninsula. The first officially backed monastery there was decreed by Emperor Constantine IX in June 1046 and formally completed as a complex in 1080. Since then, imperial edicts, in line with popular sentiment, referred to Mount Athos as the "Holy Mountain," quickly establishing its status in the orthodox world. Precisely because of its profound religious significance, the right to appoint the Protos Hesychastes of Mount Athos Monastery remained in the hands of the Emperor, not the Patriarch, until the mid-Palaiologos Dynasty.
Another unique aspect of Mount Athos Monastery is its influence over the orthodox Slavs. Even now, after diplomatic relations between the Roman Empire and Rus' were openly severed due to John VI's unauthorized diversion of tribute money from Rus' intended for Constantinople's Hagia Sophia repairs, the monastery maintains close contact with the Rus' orthodox Church. The monastery's reliquary stores rare icons and other ancient artifacts, including many precious manuscripts from Slavic scholars over the past two or three centuries.
As mentioned, before 1312, the governance and appointment rights of Mount Athos Monastery were directly under the Emperor. However, following conflicts between Hesychasts and Unionists and the Emperor's theological leanings, Andronikos II, the second Emperor of the Palaiologos Dynasty, formally transferred the jurisdiction of Mount Athos and the right to appoint its Protos Hesychastes to the orthodox Church, under the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
Now, with a new Emperor on the throne, while it might seem to break tradition, his desire to reclaim jurisdiction over this monastery is both proper and reasonable. However, Gregory III, with his political acumen, sensed an unusual stir: The Emperor, originating from a frontier region, likely had a governing style vastly different from previous Palaiologos Emperors.
Recalling Emperor Manuel III's recent order to reorganize the Senate, setting its meeting times and locations, and clarifying the ranks and qualifications of Imperial Senators, the Patriarch felt an even greater sense of unease.
Contrary to later stereotypes, the "Senate" existed in the Eastern Roman Empire until the fall of Rome. For example, in the 11th century, Basil II of the Macedonian Dynasty opened senatorial ranks to the so-called "middle class," which Constantine IX further expanded. By the time of Alexius I of the Komnenos Dynasty, senatorial titles were given to the Komnenos family and their allied families through marriage, and it continued to function into the 12th century. Even when Andronikos I was crowned Emperor, it was still the Senators of the Senate who cheered him three times.
The so-called Eastern Roman Empire Senate had existed for thousands of years in this way: a rank—the so-called "Senator" was more a special social status than an official position. And the Senate during the Eastern Roman Empire period was composed of the main officials of the court, rather than an institution that needed to meet regularly. The Senate was always just a group of people, whether during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, the Ancient Roman Empire, or the Eastern Roman Empire. Sometimes this group wielded immense power, other times they were merely a rubber stamp.
Although Manuel used the banner of restoring tradition, anyone with discerning eyes could see that this well-read Emperor was essentially a pragmatist who was not enthusiastic about, and even somewhat disliked, republican traditions. The so-called reorganization of the Senate was merely a pretense for him to better utilize this rubber stamp to serve his autocratic rule.
Facing such an Emperor, who was quite outstanding in all aspects except for his personal bravery, Gregory III quickly understood the other's meaning: Mount Athos was not important; what was important was that the Emperor, while appeasing the Hesychasts who sided with him, was subtly signaling to the clergy that ecclesiastical power would once again be subjugated to imperial authority.
Having roughly understood Manuel III's intention, Gregory III was not surprised; the orthodox Church was essentially part of the imperial administrative system, and this was at most a return to the old ways. Nevertheless, the Patriarch believed he should still demonstrate the appropriate demeanor of a religious leader, rather than being led by this relatively young and recently enthroned new Emperor.
"Your Majesty, the jurisdiction of Mount Athos was granted by the previous Emperor, and it concerns the service to the Holy Father; it is no small matter. I implore Your Majesty to consider carefully and act prudently, planning for the long term." The Patriarch squeezed out a fawning smile and beamed at the Caesar, indicating his hope that the Basileus before him would act cautiously.
As if he had anticipated the Ecumenical Patriarch's official rhetoric, Manuel's expression remained unshaken and unannoyed, but as calm as ever, "Your Eminence, I hope you understand a few things: As the Basileus of the Romans, it is My sacred duty to provide more suitable treatment for the faithful favored by the Holy Father, and how to manage this ancient monastery is also within My purview. As the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, I believe you understand this even better.
"In other words, you should know that My power as Basileus is limitless!"
As he spoke the last sentence, Manuel's voice noticeably grew louder, causing cold sweat to break out on the face of the elderly man in Patriarchal vestments before him. But just as the other party was still in a daze, the Basileus unexpectedly retreated half a step on the matter, "However, to implement this today would indeed be a bit too hasty. Therefore, I will not immediately issue an edict to reclaim the right of appointment. I ask Your Eminence to propose appropriate suggestions for this during the upcoming imperial council meetings in the coming days, so that it may be implemented."
With that, after discussing some less important matters, their conversation concluded peacefully. After bidding farewell to the Ecumenical Patriarch, Manuel quickly departed. He had many things to attend to today, such as the disabled former Army Commander, Dungar de Lapole, who had expressed dissatisfaction with the Emperor's decision to let him retire peacefully, forcing Manuel to find a way to arrange a coaching position for the old general; also, after reconciling with former Prime Minister Justinian Seresnus, this old subordinate, at his request, was to go to Italy to gather intelligence under the guise of diplomacy; furthermore, his niece, Helena Palaiologos, who married King John II of Cyprus, had, at the persuasion of the Palaiologos of Morea, convinced her husband to bring their daughter, his grandniece Charlotte Lusignan, to Constantinople for a temporary stay…
"It truly gives Me a headache!" the Basileus couldn't help but lament inwardly, completely oblivious that after his departure, the cold sweat on the elderly Ecumenical Patriarch's face had even run down to his grizzled eyebrows.
Nevertheless, in the middle of this month, the jurisdiction of Mount Athos Monastery and the right to appoint its Protos Hesychastes were smoothly transferred from the Ecumenical Patriarch to the Emperor himself.