Hugo Eteriano against the Teaching of the Eastern Churches: Filioque and the Roman primacy

Authors:

Pages: 155-167
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/YGPM5692

Abstract:

The polemic activity of Hugo Eteriano (around 1120-1182), realized in the course of 15 years in Constantinople, manifests tendencies that are characteristic of the attitude of the West towards the East and its ecclesial life during the second half of the 12th c. Hugo is the best Latin expert at that time on the Hellenic and the Byzantine mental heritage. Nevertheless he does not try to understand the innate concepts and the argumentative motifs of the Greek-speaking authors; on the contrary – he reads, interprets and judges their texts through the eyes of his own mental tradition. The position of Hugo initiated the process of formation and application of the concept “patristics” and of instrumentalizaiton and antiquing of the Hellenic tradition, as well as the Eastern Christian one. According to Hugo Eteriano the perfect key for solving the theological problems is the privileged position of the Pope and his right to interpret and formulate dogmatic and ecclesiological truths. The strategy of Hugo is followed by others too; in fact he is a typical case. As the alienation between the two parts of the Christian world escalated, the peak being in the 80s of the 12th c., the conquest and plundering of Constantinople was perceived as something „ordinary”. Mutual mistrust and contempt produced a lasting dissociation of the two Christian cultures.

Keywords:

The Eastern and the Western Churches in the 12th c., Traditions, Innovations, Filioque, Papal primacy, Pentarchy

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