The Medieval Church · c. 885–886
The Eisagoge
Attributed to Photius, for Basil I
What it is
An introduction to a projected revision of the law, whose second and third titles define the emperor and the patriarch as the two parts of one body politic — the emperor guarding what exists, the patriarch alone entitled to interpret the canons and to speak freely to the emperor about the salvation of souls.
Why it lasted
The clearest formulation of Byzantine symphonia between church and state, and the strongest claim a patriarch ever made in law. Whether it was ever promulgated is disputed; it was copied and cited for a thousand years regardless.
Scripture it works from
Where to read it
This work is in the public domain and can be read in full, free, at the archives below.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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