The Letter of Despot Jacob Svetoslav to Metropolitan Kirill III in the Context of Religious Policy in the Balkans During the Thirteenth Century
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60053/GSU.IF.1.108.143-159Keywords:
Nomocanon, religious policy, Tsarigrad Patriarchate, Rome churchAbstract
Despot Jakob Svetoslav is among the most interesting figures in Bulgarian history in the 13th century. Evidence of his great authority is also the fact that he sent the Metropolitan Kirill III of Kiev a copy of the Nomocanon with comments by John Zonaras. The book contains a postscript by one of the scribes, John Dragoslav, as well as a letter from Jakob Svetoslav to the Metropolitan. Despite the different opinions, it must be assumed that the copy of the Nomocanon dates back to 1262. The original of the juridical collection has not been preserved, but several later copies of it preserve the note of John Dragoslav and the text of the letter of Jacob Svetoslav. The despot’s letter has been used as a source for his personality and origin, but it also contains other valuable information. It was written in a period when the Byzantine emperor was inclined to conclude a union with the Roman Church, and the local churches were trying to assert their independence after the restoration of the Empire. Placed in a broader context, the letter of Jacob Svetoslav is a source for the complex religious politics of the Balkans in the 13th century.
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