Religious Accommodation and Imperial Politics in Fifteenth-Century Venice and Crete

In 1439, the Roman Pope, the Byzantine Emperor and Patriarch of Constantinople signed an agreement formally ending more than three centuries of division between the Latin and Greek Orthodox churches.  The union of the churches agreed on at Florence favored the Latin theological position over the Greek, as the Byzantine delegation was pressured to compromise by their urgent need for military assistance against the Ottoman Turks.  This assistance became a moot point after the 1453 fall of Constantinople, leaving Venice as the one power that was poised to really implement the union proposed by the council: the Greek Orthodox residents of Byzantium were effectively beyond Latin control, but the Venetians ruled over Greek Orthodox populations in Coron, Modon, Corfu, and Crete.  Many scholars, particularly with reference to Crete, have suggested that Venice ruled Greek Orthodox church in its domains with an iron fist, meaning that Venice was well placed to impose Union by force on unwilling subjects. It did not, however, accomplish this Union.

This paper examines the Venetian attitude to union between the Greek and Latin churches in the light of its rule over mixed Greek and Latin populations in its empire. It finds that the Venetian reaction to union was part of a larger political struggle with the papacy over the independence of the church in its domains. It also argues that the implementation of Union was not at the top of Venetian priorities in ruling its empire.  Instead, Venice privileged stability over religious doctrine. By considering the political and diplomatic framework for religious accommodation, this paper adds a new perspective to understandings of ethnic and religious difference within Venice’s fifteenth century empire.