Eglise et Etat dans l’Illyrie protobyzantine a la lumiere des sources epigraphiques et litteraires (VIe-VIIe siecles)
Jan. 1, 2018
Keywords:
Saint Demetrius
John of Thessaloniki
church
Emperor Justinian
bishop
Illyricum prefecture
state
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Abstract
e present study examines the relationship between the Church and the state in the prefecture of Illyricum, in
the VI-VII centuries. It aims to discuss the bishops’ roles and attributes in the cities of proto-Byzantine Illyricum,
as well as their relationship with the municipal and provincial authorities. e research is based on the analysis of
literary (Miracula Sancti Demetrii) and epigraphic sources. e Code of Justinian (527–565) highlights the important place of the bishop in the city. In the Byzantine cities of Illyricum, the bishop heads the council of municipal
notables and is considered their natural representative. He intermediates between the seat of central power and
the municipal administration. A series of inscriptions discovered at Izbičanj (in Serbia), Serdica (So#a), Tesalonic,
Gortyna (Creta) and on the island of Skiathos provide us with information on the bishops’ participation in the
execution of urban public works. In the context of the invasion of the Balkan Peninsula by Avars and Slavs, the
bishops of essaloniki take upon themselves the roles usually played by the municipal and imperial authorities,
in that they assure the protection of the population and organize resistance against the invaders. In 535, Emperor
Justinian creates the autocephalous archbishopric Justiniana Prima.
