The next phase of history in the Orthodox East was overshadowed by the break with the western church (the Great Schism) in 1054, the sacking of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204, and the threat of conquest by the Turks which finally materialised in 1453.
The place which encapsulates this time is Mount Athos, a concentration of monastic settlements in Greece. In 963 the first monasteries were founded on Mount Athos, and this become the centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism.
A seminal figure at this time was Gregory Palamas from Thessalonica who spent time at Athos. His practice of silent prayer epitomised Orthodox spirituality. Palamas undergirded this mystical experience by a theology which differentiated God's essence from his energies. God-in-himself in his divine essence is unknowable, however we can participate in God's uncreated "energies" (action) - a process of gradual participating in the divine energies culminating in the goal of "theosis". As Irenaeus had proclaimed back in the 100s, "God humanised, so that humans might divinise."
Another important Orthodox thinker of the time was Nicolas Cabasilas (d. 1392). The central idea of his thought was the incarnation of the Word in Christ. Taking human nature, Christ has sanctified and deified it. This process extends to believers by means of church sacraments. Of Christ Cabasilas wrote, "he is closer to us than our own soul".
In 1453, the Ottoman Turks finally succeeded in capturing Constantinople. Half of the city's churches were turned into mosques, but others were allowed to continue to serve as places of Christian worship. The Patriarch of Constantinople was recognised as the head of the Christian nation ("millet"). There were efforts in the final years of the Empire of Constantinople to unite Catholic and Orthodox, with the Orthodox recognising the western understanding of the Trinity and the authority of the Pope. These efforts, at the Council of Florence, were opposed by Mark of Ephesus, a representative of traditional Orthodoxy. Under the Turks, Mark's follower became Patriarch Gennadius II and reasserted the distinctness of the Orthodox Church. Gennadius wrote a "Confession of Orthodox Faith" addressed to the Ottoman Sultan.
Meanwhile, from the 800s, Orthodoxy had taken root in Kyivan Rus. Initially, Eastern Orthodoxy was a "foreign religion". In 1051, the great Kyiv Pechersk Lavra was founded and became the monastic centre of the newly Christianised nation. Over time, Eastern Orthodoxy became indigenised with local saints such as martyrs Boris and Gleb, homegrown bishops such as Hilarion, Christian history in the form of a Chronicle composed by Nestor, preachers such as Cyril of Turov (1130-1182), as well as a gradual accumulation of local Christian experience, particularly the humble acceptance of suffering in imitation of Christ ("Russian kenoticism").
A major shock and challenge came with the Tatar-Mongol conquest of Kiev in 1240, and which was only finally overcome in 1480. While the political structures were subject to the hegemony of a foreign power, the church was allowed to operate freely, and became a focal point for national identity. During this time Moscow emerged as a new force eclipsing the earlier power of Kyiv (Kiev). The ruler of Moscow, Alexander Nevsky, defeated the Swedes in 1240 and the Teutonic Knights in 1242, and made peace with the occupying Mongols, thus rejecting western civilisation and western catholicism, and reasserting Russia's allegiance to Eastern Orthodoxy. Later, Sergius of Radonezh was a leading monastic figure known for his humility, diligence and mystical experience. He founded the Lavra in 1345, which would become the monastic centre of Muscovy (comparable to the one at Kyiv). It was Sergius who blessed the troops to go into battle against the Mongols. The temporary union of Catholic and Orthodox of 1439 led the Russians to declare their church autocephalous in 1448, and to recognise the ruler of Moscow to be the new Christian Emperor: Tsar or Caesar.
Orthodoxy also took root in Serbia, where Savva of Serbia and the Monastery at Studenica were central to a national revival of Eastern Orthodoxy in the 1200s, leading to the Serbian church being recognised as autocephalous in 1219. Orthodox Bulgaria spread the Eastern faith to Rumania, which had long been Christianised, but in the 1300s became Eastern Orthodox in allegiance.
The place which encapsulates this time is Mount Athos, a concentration of monastic settlements in Greece. In 963 the first monasteries were founded on Mount Athos, and this become the centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism.
A seminal figure at this time was Gregory Palamas from Thessalonica who spent time at Athos. His practice of silent prayer epitomised Orthodox spirituality. Palamas undergirded this mystical experience by a theology which differentiated God's essence from his energies. God-in-himself in his divine essence is unknowable, however we can participate in God's uncreated "energies" (action) - a process of gradual participating in the divine energies culminating in the goal of "theosis". As Irenaeus had proclaimed back in the 100s, "God humanised, so that humans might divinise."
Another important Orthodox thinker of the time was Nicolas Cabasilas (d. 1392). The central idea of his thought was the incarnation of the Word in Christ. Taking human nature, Christ has sanctified and deified it. This process extends to believers by means of church sacraments. Of Christ Cabasilas wrote, "he is closer to us than our own soul".
In 1453, the Ottoman Turks finally succeeded in capturing Constantinople. Half of the city's churches were turned into mosques, but others were allowed to continue to serve as places of Christian worship. The Patriarch of Constantinople was recognised as the head of the Christian nation ("millet"). There were efforts in the final years of the Empire of Constantinople to unite Catholic and Orthodox, with the Orthodox recognising the western understanding of the Trinity and the authority of the Pope. These efforts, at the Council of Florence, were opposed by Mark of Ephesus, a representative of traditional Orthodoxy. Under the Turks, Mark's follower became Patriarch Gennadius II and reasserted the distinctness of the Orthodox Church. Gennadius wrote a "Confession of Orthodox Faith" addressed to the Ottoman Sultan.
Meanwhile, from the 800s, Orthodoxy had taken root in Kyivan Rus. Initially, Eastern Orthodoxy was a "foreign religion". In 1051, the great Kyiv Pechersk Lavra was founded and became the monastic centre of the newly Christianised nation. Over time, Eastern Orthodoxy became indigenised with local saints such as martyrs Boris and Gleb, homegrown bishops such as Hilarion, Christian history in the form of a Chronicle composed by Nestor, preachers such as Cyril of Turov (1130-1182), as well as a gradual accumulation of local Christian experience, particularly the humble acceptance of suffering in imitation of Christ ("Russian kenoticism").
A major shock and challenge came with the Tatar-Mongol conquest of Kiev in 1240, and which was only finally overcome in 1480. While the political structures were subject to the hegemony of a foreign power, the church was allowed to operate freely, and became a focal point for national identity. During this time Moscow emerged as a new force eclipsing the earlier power of Kyiv (Kiev). The ruler of Moscow, Alexander Nevsky, defeated the Swedes in 1240 and the Teutonic Knights in 1242, and made peace with the occupying Mongols, thus rejecting western civilisation and western catholicism, and reasserting Russia's allegiance to Eastern Orthodoxy. Later, Sergius of Radonezh was a leading monastic figure known for his humility, diligence and mystical experience. He founded the Lavra in 1345, which would become the monastic centre of Muscovy (comparable to the one at Kyiv). It was Sergius who blessed the troops to go into battle against the Mongols. The temporary union of Catholic and Orthodox of 1439 led the Russians to declare their church autocephalous in 1448, and to recognise the ruler of Moscow to be the new Christian Emperor: Tsar or Caesar.
Orthodoxy also took root in Serbia, where Savva of Serbia and the Monastery at Studenica were central to a national revival of Eastern Orthodoxy in the 1200s, leading to the Serbian church being recognised as autocephalous in 1219. Orthodox Bulgaria spread the Eastern faith to Rumania, which had long been Christianised, but in the 1300s became Eastern Orthodox in allegiance.
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