An Eastern Church Amidst the Struggles of Rome and Constantinople: The Patriarchate of Antioch During the Crusades

Abstract

The Age of the Crusades is by far one the most popular subjects in the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue - or rather, in the ongoing Orthodox-Catholic polemics; a time period which constantly arises in the field of historical, as well as theological deliberation. The Christian East, suffering from the aggression of the Latins, is indeed a popular image, constantly present in the Orthodox perception of history and in Orthodox historical memory. This image is, in fact, one of the principal generators of the 'victim complex' in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox mindset. In many ways, this complex derives from the ultimate fear of change; the fear to be changed by the other and ultimately – by communion with the other. [...]