The Homilies of Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople

Book excerpt: The historical role of Photius has, all too often, been viewed only as it concerned the rift between the Western and Eastern Churches. He has been regarded either as the “Father of the Schism” or as the staunch defender of Greek Orthodoxy against the encroachments of Rome. It is hoped that by presenting the Homilies of Photius in English translation these one-sided views may to some extent be corrected. For, surprising though it may appear, we shall not find in the Homilies a single reference to the Papacy. When they are not purely didactic, the Homilies are dominated by such topics as the suppression of the Iconoclast movement, the re-establishment of sacred painting, the propagation of the true faith among heretics, and the quelling of internal division in the Church of Constantinople. -From the Introduction