Features Of Church-state Relations. Byzantine Empire

In general, the Middle Ages, which sustained for more than 1000 years, witnessed a prosperity of the feudal regimes and the religious forces. The relationship between the political powers and the religious forces is of great importance. It is self-evident that we should reinforce the research on this proposition.As a key force of the Byzantine Empire, the Christian Church penetrated every aspect of the society in Byzantium. It had a profound and lasting influence on politics, economy, education, culture, arts, and so on. It may be said that the Christian Church is a key to understanding the history of the Byzantine Empire. This thesis attempts to investigate the characteristics of the relationship between the political powers and the Christian Church in Byzantium. Through this one may get a deeper understanding of the history of the Byzantine Empire from indirect sources.This thesis begins with an introduction, which points out the purpose and the significance of the topic. At the same time, I will introduce the sources that the thesis relies on.The main body of this thesis consists of three parts, they are respectively three characteristics of the relationship between the political powers and the Christian Church in Byzantium.To some extent the last part of this thesis is a conclusion. Through investigating the characteristics of the relationship between the political powers and the Christian Church in Byzantium, we are able to deepen our understanding of the history of the Byzantine Empire. These characteristics reflect the state system of the Byzantine Empire from indirect sources.