Private Religious Foundations in the Byzantine Empire

Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-0-88402-458-3
Verlag: Harvard University Press

Buch, Englisch, Band 24, 336 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

Reihe: Dumbarton Oaks Studies

Throughout its history, private religious foundations were prominent features of the ecclesiastical geography of the Byzantine Empire. Since the hierarchy of the church generally lacked the financial resources necessary for undertaking ambitious building programs, laymen took the initiative in providing churches, monasteries, and philanthropic institutions such as hospitals and orphanages. These foundations were important not only for the religious life of the empire, but also for its social and economic life. Many socially prominent Byzantines sought the fame that came to the builder of such a foundation, and many more owned them as family inheritances. A private religious foundation could serve as the core of a considerable family fortune that was bolstered by tax exemptions and imperial donations of landed property. In this book, John Philip Thomas examines the nature, extent, and importance of the private ownership of ecclesiastical institutions in the Byzantine Empire. For over a thousand years these foundations were closely bound to the fortunes of the empire and its ruling classes. More durable than either, they survived the fall of the Byzantine state itself.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Thomas, John Philip

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christentum/Christliche Theologie Allgemein
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Geschichte der klassischen Antike Byzantinische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte

Über Autor(innen)

Thomas, John Philip
John Philip Thomas was a research associate in Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks.