Emperor St. Justinian On The Harmony Of Church And State
The following is excerpted from the “Summary and Conclusions” section of Fr. Asterios Gerostergios’s book Justinian the Great, the Emperor and Saint In implementing his religious policy, [Emperor Justinian] did not introduce any innovations, but followed the example of his predecessors. Yet, he took more seriously the role of protector of the Faith than they. His intervention into the affairs of the Church was based on the excellent principle of agreement (symphonia), which constituted a long tradition in the Church and the State. This tradition was not clear and crystallized, and the two authorities confronted each other occasionally. Justinian clarified this tradition and laid the foundations for harmonious cooperation between Church and State. According to Justinian, these two authorities are self-sufficient and self-powered organizations; and since they emanate from one source, namely God, and have the same purpose, i.e. the salvation of the people and the glory of God, basically