On "Kharistikion" In Byzantium

Kharistikion is a system of giving a monastery and its lands to secular persons with all its rights and privileges. The word kharistikion has its roots in the ancient Greek, with its meaning "a grant of land" at that time. It refers to a special grant of the monastic property after the iconoclastic period. On a conditional basis for a restricted period, usually a lifetime, sometimes two generations, rarely three generations, the beneficiary who was called kharistikarios gets the grant from mostly the emperor or the patriarch.This system can be traced to the 5th century. It may be created by the church to go around the prohibition for monastic property turning to secular one. This system affords a outlet for monastic economic activity at the same time attracts laymen to offer services for the church. About 960s the Byzantium saw a revival of kharistikion which was applied to achieve a balance between faith and wealth in the monasticism. Obviously, restoring the monasteries in delay or in ruins is the direct goal for its use.Kharistikion got a widely used between late 10th century to late 11th century, which time could be divided into two stages by the year 1025, when the Emperor Basil Ⅱ died. At the first stage, the Macedonian Emperors characterized achieve a combination of kharistikion and the longstanding agricultural policy by which to ensure a tax foundation. The second stage witnessed a abuse of it by the bureaucratic nobles to gain a more extent influence. A reform of kharistikion by mostly the patriarch Alexios Stoudites made it after several decades.Hostility to the kharistikion never stopped since 1070s. This offer a breakthrough to Alexius I who defined Emperor as the defender of orthodox and a protector of monasticism. Early monastic reformers held a opinion to abolish the kharistikion while the patriarch Nicholas Ⅲ tried his best to reform ir. A reconciliation of them took place at the Synod of Blachemai in 1094, which resulted in gradually disappearance of kharistikion.