The Prince of India; Or, Why Constantinople Fell — Volume 01

by Lew Wallace

  CHAPTER VII

  A BYZANTINE HERETIC

  While the venerable Chapel on the way up the heights of Blacherne wassurrounded by the host of kneeling monastics, and the murmur of theirprayers swept it round about like the sound of moaning breezes, amessenger found the Hegumen of the St. James' with the compliments ofthe Basileus, and a request that he come forward to a place in front ofthe door of the holy house. The good man obeyed; so the night long,maugre his age and infirmities, he stayed there stooped and bent,invoking blessings upon the Emperor and Empire; for he loved them both;and by his side Sergius lingered dutifully torch in hand. Twelve hoursbefore he had engaged in the service worshipfully as his superior, norwould his thoughts have once flown from the Mystery enacting; butnow--alas, for the inconstancy of youth!--now there were intervals whenhis mind wandered. The round white face of the Princess came again andagain looking at him plainly as when in the window of the sedan on thepromenade between the Bucoleon and the sea. He tried to shut it out;but often as he opened the book of prayers which he carried in commonwith his brethren, trying to read them away; often as he shook thetorch thinking to hide them in the resinous smoke, the pretty, melting,importunate eyes reappeared, their fascination renewed and unavoidable.They seemed actually to take his efforts to get away for encouragementto return. Never on any holy occasion had he been so negligent--neverhad negligence on his part been so obstinate and nearly like sin.

  Fortunately the night came to an end. A timid thing when first itpeeped over the hills of Scutari, the day emboldened, and at lengthfilled the East, and left of the torches alive on the opposing face ofBlacherne only the sticks, the cups, and the streaming smoke. Then thegreat host stirred, arose, and in a time incredibly brief, silentlygave itself back to the city; while the Basileus issued from hissolitary vigils in the Chapel, and, in a chastened spirit doubtless,sought his couch in one of the gilded interiors up somewhere under theTower of Isaac.

  The Hegumen of the St. James', overcome by the unwonted draughts uponhis scanty store of strength, not to mention the exhaustion of spirithe had undergone, was carried home in a chair. Sergius was faithfulthroughout. At the gate of the monastery he asked the elder's blessing.

  "Depart not, my son; stay with me a little longer. Thy presence iscomforting to me."

  The adjuration prevailed. Truth was, Sergius wished to set out forTherapia; but banishing the face of the little Princess once more, hehelped the holy man out of the chair, through the dark-stained gate,down along the passages, to his apartment, bare and penitential as thatof the humblest neophyte of the Brotherhood. Having divested thesuperior of his robes, and, gently as he could, assisted him to lay hisspent body on the narrow cot serving for couch, he then received theblessing.

  "Thou art a good son, Sergius," the Hegumen said, with some cheer."Thou dost strengthen me. I feel thou art wholly given up to the Masterand His religion--nay, so dost thou look like the Master that when thouart by I fancy it is He caring for me. Thou art at liberty now. I givethee the blessing."

  Sergius knelt, received the trembling hands on his bowed head, andkissed them with undissembled veneration.

  "Father," he said, "I beg permission to be gone a few days."

  "Whither?"

  "Thou knowest I regard the Princess Irene as my little mother. I wishto go and see her."

  "At Therapia?"

  "Yes, Father."

  The Hegumen averted his eyes, and by the twitching of the fingersclasped upon his breast exposed a trouble at work in the depths of hismind.

  "My son," he at length said, "I knew the father of the Princess Irene,and was his sympathizer. I led the whole Brotherhood in the finaldemand for his liberation from prison. When he was delivered, Irejoiced with a satisfied soul, and took credit for a large part of thegood done him and his. It is not to magnify myself, or unduly publishmy influence that the occurrence is recalled, but to show you howunnatural it would be were I unfriendly to his only child. So if now Isay anything in the least doubtful of her, set it down to conscience,and a sense of duty to you whom I have received into the fraternity asone sent me specially by God.... The life the Princess leads and hermanners are outside the sanctions of society. There is no positivewrong in a woman of her degree going about in public places unveiled,and it must be admitted she does it most modestly; yet the example ispernicious in its effect upon women who are without the high qualitieswhich distinguish her; at the same time the habit, even as sheillustrates it, wears an appearance of defiant boldness, making her asubject of indelicate remark--making her, in brief, a topic fordiscussion. The objection, I grant, is light, being at worst an offenceagainst taste and custom; much more serious is her persistence inkeeping up the establishment at Therapia. A husband might furnish heran excuse; but the Turk is too near a neighbor--or rather she, a singlewoman widely renowned for beauty, is too tempting to the brutalizedunbelievers infesting the other shore of the Bosphorus. Femininetimidity is always becoming; especially is it so when honor is moreconcerned than life or liberty. Unmarried and unprotected, her place isin a holy house on the Islands, or here in the city, where, aside frompersonal safety, she can have the benefit of holy offices. Now rumor isfree to accuse her of this and that, which charity in multitude andwithout stint is an insufficient mantle to save her from. They say sheprefers guilty freedom to marriage; but no one, himself of account,believes it--the constitution of her household forbids the taint. Theysay she avails herself of seclusion to indulge uncanonized worship. Inplain terms, my son, it is said she is a heretic."

  Sergius started and threw up his hands. Not that he was surprised atthe charge, for the Princess herself had repeatedly admitted it was inthe air against her; but coming from the venerated chief of hisBrotherhood, the statement, though a hearsay, sounded so dreadfully hewas altogether unprepared for it. Knowing the consequences of heresy,he was also alarmed for her, and came near betraying himself. Howinteresting it would be to learn precisely and from the excellentauthority before him, in what the heresy of the Princess consisted. Ifthere was criminality in her faith, what was to be said of his own?

  "Father," he remarked, calmly as possible, "I mind not the othersayings, the reports which go to the Princess' honor--they are thetarnishments which malice is always blowing on things white becausethey are white--but if it be not too trying to your strength, tell memore. Wherein is she a heretic?"

  Again, the gaunt fingers of the Hegumen worked nervously, while hiseyes averted themselves.

  "How can I satisfy your laudable question, my son, and be brief?" andwith the words he brought his look back, resting it on the young man'sface. "Give attention, however, and I will try.... I take it you knowthe Creed is the test of orthodoxy, and"--he paused and searched theeyes above his wistfully--"and that it has your unfaltering belief. Youknow its history, I am sure--at least you know it had issue from theCouncil of Nicaea over which Constantine, the greatest of ail Emperors,condescended to preside in person. Never was proceeding more perfect;its perfection proved the Divine Mind in its composition; yet, sad tosay, the centuries since the august Council have been fruitful ofdisputes more or less related to those blessed canons, and sadderstill, some of the disputes continue to this day. Would to God therewas no more to be said of them!"

  The good man covered his face with his hands, like one who would shutout a disagreeable sight. "But it is well to inform you, my son, of thequestions whose agitation has at last brought the Church down till onlyHeaven can save it from rupture and ruin. Oh, that I should live tomake the acknowledgment--I who in my youth thought it founded on a rocketernal as Nature itself!... A plain presentation of the subject incontention may help you to a more lively understanding of the gravityand untimeliness of the Princess' departure.... First, let me ask ifyou know our parties by name. Verily I came near calling them_factions_, and that I would not willingly, since it is an opprobriousterm, resort to which would be denunciatory of myself--I being one ofthem."

  "I have heard of a Roman party and of a Greek part
y; but further, I amso recently come to Constantinople, it would be safer did I takeinformation of you."

  "A prudent answer, by our most excellent and holy patron!" exclaimedthe Hegumen, his countenance relaxing into the semblance of a smile."Be always as wise, and the St. James' will bless themselves that thouwert brought to us.... Attend now. The parties are Greek and Roman;though most frequently its enemies speak of the latter as _azymites_,which you will understand is but a nickname. I am a Romanist; theBrotherhood is all Roman; and we mind not when Scholarius, and hisarch-supporter, Duke Notaras, howl _azymite_ at us. A disputant nevertakes to contemptuous speeches except when he is worsted in theargument."

  The moderation of the Hegumen had been thus far singularly becoming andimpressive; now a fierce light gleamed in his eyes, and he cried, witha spasmodic clutch of the hands: "We are not of the forsworn! The curseof the perjured is not on our souls!"

  The intensity of his superior astonished Sergius; yet he was shrewdenough to see and appreciate the disclosures of the outburst; and fromthat moment he was possessed of a feeling that the quarrel between theparties was hopelessly past settlement. If the man before him, wornwith years, and actually laboring for the breath of life, could be somoved by contempt for the enemy, what of his co-partisans? Age isordinarily a tamer of the passions. Here was an instance in which muchcontention long continued had counteracted the benign effect. As ateacher and example, how unlike this Hegumen was to Hilarion. The youngman's heart warmed with a sudden yearning for the exile of the dear oldLavra whose unfailing sweetness of soul could keep the frigidwilderness upon the White Lake in summer purple the year round. Neverdid love of man for man look so lovely; never did it seem socomprehensive and all sufficient! The nearest passion opposition couldexcite in that pure and chastened nature was pity. But here! Quick asthe reflection came, it was shut out. There was more to be learned. Godhelp the heretic in the hands of this judge at this time! And with themental exclamation Sergius waited, his interest in the definition ofheresy sharpened by personal concern.

  "There are five questions dividing the two parties," the Hegumencontinued, when the paroxysm of hate was passed. "Listen and I willgive them to you in naked form, trusting time for an opportunity todeal with them at large.... First then the Procession of the HolyGhost. That is, does the Holy Ghost proceed from the Son, or from theFather and the Son? The Greeks say from the Son; the Romans say theFather and the Son being One, the Procession must needs be from both ofthem conjunctively.... Next the Nicene Creed, as originally published,did undoubtedly make the Holy Ghost proceed from the Father alone. Theintent was to defend the unity of the Godhead. Subsequently the Latins,designing to cast the assertion of the identity of the Spirit of theFather and the Spirit of the Son in a form which they thought moreexplicit, planted in the body of the Creed the word _filioque_, meaning_from the Son._ This the Greeks declare an unwarranted addition. TheLatins, on their part, deny it an addition in any proper sense; theysay it is but an explanation of the principle proclaimed, and injustification trace the usage from the Fathers, Greek and Latin, andfrom Councils subsequent to the Nicene.... When we consider to whatdepths of wrangle the two themes have carried the children of God whoshould be brethren united in love, knowing rivalry only in zeal for thewelfare of the Church, that other subjects should creep in to helpwiden the already dangerous breach has an appearance like a judgment ofGod; yet it would be dealing unfairly with you, my son, to deny thependency of three others in particular. Of these we have first, Shallthe bread in the Eucharist be leavened or unleavened? About six hundredyears ago the Latins began the use of unleavened bread. The Greeksprotested against the innovation, and through the centuries argumentshave been bandied to and fro in good-natured freedom; but lately,within fifty years, the debate has degenerated into quarrel, andnow--ah, in what terms suitable to a God-fearing servant can I speak ofthe temper signalizing the discussion now? Let it pass, let it pass!...We have next a schism respecting Purgatory. The Greeks deny theexistence of such a state, saying there are but two places awaiting thesoul after death--Heaven and Hell."

  Again the Hegumen paused, arrested, as it were, by a return ofvindictive passion.

  "Oh, the schismatics!" he exclaimed. "Not to see in the Latin idea of athird place a mercy of God unto them especially! If only the righteousare admitted to the All Holy Father immediately upon the finalseparation of body and spirit; if there is no intermediate state forthe purgation of such of the baptized as die sodden in their sins, whatshall become of them?"

  Sergius shuddered, but held his peace.

  "Yet another point," the superior continued, ere the ruffle in hisvoice subsided--"another of which the wranglers have made the most; foras you know, my son, the Greeks, thinking themselves teachers of allthings intellectual, philosophy, science, poetry, art, and especiallyreligion, and that at a period when the Latins were in the nakedness ofbarbarism, are filled with pride, like empty bottles with air; andbecause in the light of history their pride is not unreasonable, theydrop the more readily into the designs of the conspirators against theUnity of the Church--I speak now of the Primacy. As if power and finaljudgment were things for distribution amongst a number of equals! As ifone body were better of a hundred heads! Who does not know that twowills equally authorized mean the absence of all will! Of thefoundations of God Chaos alone is unorganized; and to such likenessScholarius would reduce Christendom! God forbid! Say so, my son--let mehear you repeat it after me--God forbid:"

  With an unction scarcely less fervid than his chief's, Sergius echoedthe exclamation; whereupon the elder looked at him, and said, with aflush on his face, "I fear I have given rein too freely to disgust andabhorrence. Passion is never becoming in old men. Lest you misjudge me,my son, I shall take one further step in explanation; it will be foryou to then justify or condemn the feeling you have witnessed in me. Adeeper wound to conscience, a grosser provocation to the divinevengeance, a perfidy more impious and inexcusable you shall neverovertake in this life, though you walk in it thrice the years ofNoah.... There have been repeated attempts to settle the doctrinaldifferences to which I have referred. A little more than a hundredyears ago--it was in the reign of Andronicus III.--one Barlaam, aHegumen, like myself, was sent to Italy by the Emperor with a proposalof union; but Benedict the Pope resolutely refused to entertain theproposition, for the reason that it did not contemplate a finalarrangement of the question at issue between the Churches. Was he notright?"

  Sergius assented.

  "In 1369, John V. Palaeologus, under heavy pressure of the Turks,renewed overtures of reconciliation, and to effectuate his purpose, heeven became a Catholic. Then John VI., the late Emperor, morenecessitous than his predecessor, submitted such a presentation to thePapal court that Nicolos of Cusa was despatched to Constantinople tostudy and report upon the possibilities of a doctrinal settlement andunion. In November, 1437, the Emperor, accompanied by Joseph, thePatriarch, Besserion, Archbishop of Nicaea, and deputies empowered torepresent the other Patriarchs, together with a train of learnedassistants and secretaries, seven hundred in all, set out for Italy inresponse to the invitation of Eugenius IV, the Pope. Landing at Venice,the Basileus was escorted to Ferrara, where Eugenius received him withsuitable pomp. The Council of Basle, having been adjourned to Ferrarafor the better accommodation of the imperial guest, was opened there inApril, 1438. But the plague broke out, and the sessions weretransferred to Florence where the Council sat for three years. Dostthou follow me, my son?"

  "With all my mind, Father, and thankful for thy painstaking."

  "Nay, good Sergius, thy attention more than repays me.... Observe nowthe essentials of all the dogmatic questions I named to you as to-dayserving the conspiracy against the Unity of our beloved Church weresettled and accepted at the Council of Florence. The primacy of theRoman Bishop was the last to be disposed of, because distinguishablefrom the other differences by a certain political permeation; finallyit too was reconciled in these words--bear them in memory, I pray, thatyou may
comprehend their full import--'The Holy Apostolic See and RomanPontiff hold the Primacy over all the world; the Roman Pontiff is thesuccessor of Peter, Prince of Apostles, and he is the true Vicar ofChrist, the head of the whole Church, the Father and Teacher of allChristians.' [Footnote: Addis and Arnold's Catholic Die. 349.] InItaly, 1439--mark you, son Sergius, but a trifle over eleven yearsago--the members of the Council from the East and West, the Greeks withthe Latins--Emperor, Patriarchs, Metropolitans, Deacons, and lesserdignitaries of whatever title--signed a Decree of Union which we callthe _Hepnoticon_, and into which the above acceptances had beenincorporated. I said all signed the decree--there were two who did not,Mark of Ephesus and the Bishop Stauropolis. The Patriarch ofConstantinople, Joseph, died during the Council; yet the signatures ofhis colleagues collectively and of the Emperor perfected the Decree asto Constantinople. What sayest thou, my son? As a student of holycanons, what sayest thou?"

  "I am but a student," Sergius replied; "still to my imperfectperception the Unity of the Church was certainly accomplished."

  "In law, yes," said the Hegumen, with difficulty rising to a sittingposture--"yes, but it remained to make the accomplishment binding onthe consciences of the signatories. Hear now what was done. A form ofoath was draughted invoking the most awful maledictions on the partieswho should violate the decree, and it was sworn to."

  "Sworn to?"

  "Ay, son Sergius--sworn to by each and all of those attendant upon theCouncil--from Basileus down to the humblest catechumen inclusive, theytook the oath, and by the taking bound their consciences under penaltyof the eternal wrath of God. I spoke of certain ones forsworn, did Inot?"

  Sergius bowed.

  "And worse--I spoke of some whose souls were enduring the curse of theperjured. That was extreme--it was passion--I saw thee shudder at it,and I did not blame thee. Hear me now, and thou wilt not blame me....They came home, the Basileus and his seven hundred followers. Scarcelywere they disembarked before they were called to account. The city,assembled on the quay, demanded of them: 'What have you done with us?What of our Faith? Have you brought us the victory?' The Emperorhurried to his palace; the prelates hung their heads, and trembling andin fear answered: 'We have sold our Faith--we have betrayed the puresacrifice--we have become Azymites.' [Footnote: _Hist. de l'eglise_(L'Abbe Rohrbacher), 3d ed. Vol. 22. 30. MICHEL DUCAS.] Thus spakeBessarion; thus Balsamon, Archdeacon and Guardian of the Archives; thusGemiste of Lacedaemon; thus Antoine of Heraclius; thus spake they all,the high and the low alike, even George Scholarius, whom thou didst seemarching last night first penitent of the Vigils. 'Why did you sign theDecree?' And they answered, 'We were afraid of the Franks.' Perjury toimpiety--cowardice to perjury!... And now, son Sergius, it is said--allsaid--with one exception. Some of the Metropolitans, when they weresummoned to sign the Decree, demurred, 'Without you pay us to oursatisfaction we shall not sign.' The silver was counted down to them.Nay, son, look not so incredulous--I was there--I speak of what I saw.What could be expected other than that the venals would repudiateeverything? And so they did, all save Metrophanes, the Syncelle, andGregory, by grace of God the present Patriarch. If I speak with heat,dost thou blame me? If I called the recusants forsworn and perjured,thinkest thou the pure in Heaven charged my soul with a sin? Answer asthou lovest the right?"

  "My Father," Sergius replied, "the denunciation of impiety cannot besinful, else I have to unlearn all I have ever been taught; and beingthe chief Shepherd of an honorable Brotherhood, is it not thy duty tocry out at every appearance of wrong? That His Serenity, the Patriarch,receives thy acquittal and is notably an exception to a recusancy souniversal, is comforting to me; to have to cast him out of myadmiration would be grievous. But pardon me, if from fear thou wiltoverlook it, I again ask thee to speak further of the heresy of thePrincess Irene."

  Sergius, besides standing with his back to the door of the cell, waslistening to the Hegumen with an absorption of sense so entire that hewas unaware of the quiet entrance of a third party, who halted after astep or two but within easy hearing.

  "The request is timely--most timely," the Hegumen replied, withoutregarding the presence of the newcomer. "I had indeed almost forgottenthe Princess.... With controversies such as I have recounted raging inthe Church, like wolves in a sheepfold, comes one with new doctrines toincrease the bewilderment of the flock, how is he to be met? This iswhat the Princess has done, and is doing."

  "Still, Father, you leave me in the dark."

  The Hegumen faltered, but finally said: "Apart from her religious viewsand novel habits, the Princess Irene is the noblest nature inByzantium. Were we overtaken by some great calamity, I should look forher to rise by personal sacrifice into heroism. In acknowledgment of myfatherly interest in her, she has often entertained me at her palace,and spoken her mind with fearless freedom, leaving me to think herpursued by presentiments of a fatality which is to try her withterrible demands, and that she is already prepared to submit to them."

  "Yes," said Sergius, with an emphatic gesture, "there are who livemartyrs all their days, reserving nothing for death but to bring themtheir crowns."

  The manner of the utterance, and the thought compelled the Hegumen'snotice.

  "My son," he said, presently, "thou hast a preacher's power. I wish Iforeknew thy future. But I must haste or"--

  "Nay, Father, permit me to help you recline again."

  And with the words, Sergius helped the feeble body down.

  "Thanks, my son," he received, in return, "I know thy soul is gentle."

  After a rest the speech was resumed.

  "Of the Princess--she is given to the Scriptures; in the reading, whichelse would be a praiseworthy usage, she refuses light except it proceedfrom her own understanding. We are accustomed when in doubt--thouknowest it to be so--to take the interpretations of the Fathers; butshe insists the Son of God knew what He meant better than any whosegood intentions are lacking in the inspirations of the Holy Ghost."

  A gleam of pleasure flitted over the listener's countenance.

  "So," the Hegumen continued, "she hath gone the length of fabricating acreed for herself, and substituting it for that which is the foundationof the Church--I mean the Creed transmitted to us from the Council ofNicaea."

  "Is the substitute in writing, Father?"

  "I have read it."

  "Then thou canst tell me whence she drew it."

  "From the Gospels word and word.... There now--I am too weak to enterinto discussion--I can only allude to effects."

  "Forgive another request"--Sergius spoke hastily--"Have I thypermission, to look at what she hath written?"

  "Thou mayst try her with a request; but remember, my son"--the Hegumenaccompanied the warning with a menacious glance--"remember proselytingis the tangible overt act in heresy which the Church cannotoverlook.... To proceed. The Princess' doctrines are damnatory of theNicene; if allowed, they would convert the Church into astumbling-block in the way of salvation. They cannot be tolerated.... Ican no more--the night was too much for me. Go, I pray, and order wineand food. To-morrow--or when thou comest again--and delay not, for Ilove thee greatly--we will return to the subject."

  Sergius saw the dew gathering on the Hegumen's pallid forehead, andobserved his failing voice. He stooped, took the wan hand from thelaboring breast, and kissed it; then turning about quickly to go forthe needed restoration, he found himself face to face with the youngGreek whom he rescued from Nilo in the encounter on the wall.