Page:The Greek and Eastern churches.djvu/261

Rh prisoned on a false accusation of sedition, and in his place the emperor nominated and a synod formally elected a very remarkable man to the headship of the Byzantine Church. This was Photius, who has been greatly maligned by the papal party, but who appears to have been really of high personal character, though haughty and ambitious. Eminent for learning in a church that has prided itself on its scholarship, Photius mentions no less than 280 pagan and Christian authors whose works he has read. He comes only second to John of Damascus among the leading churchmen of the later Byzantine period. If John was the last of the Fathers, Photius may be considered the last of the scholarly leaders of first rank in the Greek Church. His controversial writings reveal intellectual contempt springing from superior knowledge and culture, which he does not scruple to express in dealing with the pretensions of his western rival, the pope, a man his inferior both in learning and in brain power. Here we see the age-long scorn of the finished Greek for the ruder Latin civilisation.

Photius was a layman when he was suddenly called to his lofty post in the Church. But he was a man of noble birth and rank, and he then held the office of chief Secretary of State. He was rushed through the minor orders with a haste that scandalised the proprieties, taking one step a day, till he was promoted to the highest place of all. Ambrose was a layman when he was elected bishop of Milan by acclamation, and though he took some time for preparation and his promotion was not quite so rapid as that of Photius, it was somewhat similar. In both cases, proved ability in the administration of civil affairs was taken as a qualification for the regulation of Church government. But there was one vital difference between the two cases. Ambrose had been elected by the people of Milan in a popular assembly; but Photius was forced on the people of Constantinople by the government.

These high-handed proceedings met with serious opposition, and in order to settle the matter the Emperor Michael invited the pope, Nicholas, to send delegates to a