If one wishes to find a villain on the Orthodox side for the development of the schism, [Absentee Greek Patriarch of Antioch] Balsamon is a far stronger candidate than either [Patriarchs of Constantinople] Photius or Cerularius. Hitherto the chief asset of the Orthodox in the controversy had been their doctrine of Economy, the charity that enabled them to overlook and even to condone divergences in the interest of peace and goodwill. But Balsamon was a lawyer; and lawyers like things to be cut and dried. Charity is not one of their characteristics.
--Steven Runciman, The Eastern Schism (2005) p. 138
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Great Schism
This entry in the Orthodox Wiki quotes as An Alternate View,
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...heh...
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, this is not a lawyer joke.