Vox Patrum, 2020, Vol. 75: Księga Jubileuszowa ks. prof. Tomasza Kaczmarka
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- ItemEmpress Eudoxia through the Prism of Fifth Century Ecclesiastical Histories(Wydawnictwo KUL, 2020) Bralewski, SławomirIn the dispute between John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople and the imperial court, the main role is often attributed to empress Eudoxia. It is alleged that it was the empress who proactively masterminded Chrysostom’s exile. How did the authors of the Ecclesiastical histories, who were writing in the first half of the 5th century, portray this empress? First came Philostorgius of Borissus who clearly suggested that although initially the status of Eudoxia at imperial court was not quite firm because of her barbarian origins, the empress, relying on her femininity, not only managed to fend for herself, but actually had strengthened her position in the court environment by maneuvering her opponents into utter powerlessness. As for Theodoret, this ecclesiastical historian (who was also a bishop), had refused to disclose the names of the culprits who were to his mind responsible of John Chrysostom’s downfall. Indeed, Theodoret, did not attach deliberate culpability to the imperial couple, considering their actions largely as the result of unawareness. Theodoret does suggest, however, that Eudoxia’s influence at the imperial court had grown to such an extent that had she so wished, she could have led to John’s return from his exile. In Socrates’s and Sozomen’s case, both ecclesiastical historians, despite essential differences in their respective assessments of John Chrysostom, do display a remarkable convergence of views in the case of empress Eudoxia. Both describe her with clear restraint, pointing to her great emotionality, yet in the main, both ecclesiastical historians put the blame for the imperial court’s conflict with John Chrysostom on his enemies, who incited the empress against the bishop of Constantinople.