THE LATIN WEST IN THE EYES OF THE ORTHODOX EAST: THE PARADIGM OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF OHRID DEMETRIOS CHOMATENOS
Abstract
This paper is a contribution to the issue of the relations between the Latin
West and the Orthodox East after the conquest of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204.
Due to considerable scholarly interest over the years, many aspects of this multifaceted topic
have already been investigated, though under the light of different theoretical analyses. Some
scholars stressed the mutual animosity between the two worlds of differing culture and
mentality, which grew when they came into closer contact while others juxtaposed the close
communication and long-term symbiosis between Eastern and Western societies which were
evident in nearly all fields of their everyday life. Focusing on Demetrios Chomatenos, a
prominent Archbishop of Ohrid (first half of the 13th century) and his contradictory attitudes on
the Latin Church, the paper argues that the adherents of both interpretations are partly right in
their assumptions, because they depict differing manifestations of the same phenomenon with
conflicting aspects.
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