Beards in the East-West Polemic

Abstract

By the beginning of the ninth century the various linguistic, cultural, and political differences between East and West were already on display for all to see. It was in this atmosphere that the Byzantines first took note of the Latin clergy’s habit of shaving, distinguishing it from the (relatively) long-standing Eastern practice of men wearing beards. At first not much was made of the difference, and exchanges in the ninth century rightly regarded it as a matter of custom rather than theology. Unfortunately, the rising tensions between East and West, coupled with the increased significance Latin authors gave to tonsure as a mark of the clerical state, meant the end of such toleration. By the mid-eleventh century, beards, or the lack of them, became a casus belli in the conflict between Cardinal Humbert and Patriarch Michael Keroularios, and a firm fixture in subsequent polemical exchanges for the next two hundred years.

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“…It is stated in the archive records that Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem Athanasios traveled to Istanbul during the rule of Mehmed II the Conqueror (r. 1444Conqueror (r. -1446Conqueror (r. , 1451Conqueror (r. -1481 and asked for the renewal of his previous privileges, despite the fact that the Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem in the Ottoman Empire came under Ottoman rule during the reign of Selim I (r.1512-1520). 12 In a decree issued in 1458 by Mehmed the Conqueror, the patriarchate was accorded a number of rights. The patriarchate and its members were exempt from bac, 13 traditional tribute, and other taxes in the order, which also recognized the holy places belonging to the Greeks in Jerusalem.…”

“…An example of 12 th -century Byzantine polemics against the Latins in the wake of the First Crusade can be seen in the anti-Latin tract written by John the Oxite (the Greek Patriarch of Antioch from 1089 till 1100). 12 The consternation produced by Greek attacks against Latin theological/liturgical positions during the 12 th century can be seen in the exchange of letters between the Latin Patriarch of Antioch Aimery of Limoges (1140-1193) and was one of the foremost Latin anti-Byzantine controversialists of the 12 th century Hugh Etherianus . In his reply to Hugh's letter Aimery relates that:…”