1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 234: Priests Participate in Politics
The spring of 1465 came quickly. The north wind stopped howling, and the sun pierced through the dark clouds, bringing life to the earth and melting the remaining snow on the ground. The water levels of several large rivers rose and rushed into the distance.

After Mahmud died in battle, Bulgaria no longer had an elite army that could fight against the Eastern Roman Empire. Isaac ordered the three major fronts to attack in all directions, advance step by step, and use their absolute military advantage to defeat the Cuman cavalry.

The Southwestern Front and the Western Front crossed the Maritsa River and entered the flat and open central lowlands, while the Northeastern Front advanced westward along the Danube River and captured the fertile coastal plains.

By March 1465, the Eastern Roman Empire had occupied most of Bulgaria, and foreign mercenaries and remnant Bulgarian forces retreated to the western part of the central lowlands and the Sofia Basin.

However, their lives were not easy either. After years of exploitation, a large number of Bulgarian lower-class people lost their means of production and their hope of survival.

When the Bulgarian nobles were powerful, they dared not speak out and could only honestly do the heavy work in exchange for meager rations.

But when foreign forces invaded and the nobles lost power, their minds began to become active. They raised the banner of rebellion in the name of faith and took back what belonged to them.

South of the Danube, the Black Sea port of Constanta.

In the church, Bishop Constanta was presiding over a mass, and Isaac and his entourage were listening quietly.

Amid the sound of holy music and the lingering aroma of incense, Bishop Constanta, dressed in a simple cassock, led the crowd to face the holy image and bow slightly.

After the ceremony was completed, all the outsiders dispersed, and Bishop Constanta took Isaac to his study.

"Your Majesty, the conditions are simple and certainly cannot be compared to the mass in Hagia Sophia. Please forgive me."

"No problem, I am very satisfied with your work."

Isaac chuckled softly.

"Your Excellency Maxim, you called on the people to launch an uprising, drove away the Turkish invaders and Bulgarian tax farmers, and allowed the entire Constanta Diocese to be bathed in the glory of the Holy Father again."

"The Empire owes you a thank you for this."

"This is what we should do. For a long time, the Bulgarian Church has been under the oppression of the Turks, and normal worship activities have been restricted in every way. I have long been very dissatisfied with this."

Maxim shook his head gently.

"Besides, it was you who defeated the main force of the Turks. Otherwise, we would not have found an opportunity to resist, and the believers would not have the courage to resist."

"In any case, your Excellency has made an indelible contribution to the peaceful return of the Constanta region to the Empire."

Isaac took the water Maxim handed him and took a sip.

“It’s actually hot water.”

Isaac was a little surprised and looked at Maxim.

"Your Majesty, I have read the hygiene manual you distributed to the believers before. I tried it myself and found that boiling cold water can indeed prevent many diseases. Since it is effective, you must promote it to the believers."

Maxim said with a smile.

"You've been questioned a lot, right?"

"Since the believers are willing to trust me, I have no reason not to treat them well. Some priests did raise doubts, but I suppressed them all."

"God has sent us to educate the people. As long as it is beneficial to the people, what does doubt mean?"

Maxim thought for a moment and continued.

"Under the rule of the Turks, our authority is higher than before. Without the interference of secular monarchs, the resistance to reforms is much smaller."

Isaac's expression softened a lot, and there was a slight approval in his eyes when he looked at Maxim.

"I have come all the way from the south and have visited many parishes, but your parish is the only one that satisfies me the most."

“Don’t be greedy or take advantage of others, call for frugality, restrain the clergy, use the output of the land to build schools, encourage education, and help the poor.”

"I have seen many priests who are richer and more prestigious than you. They wear gorgeous clothes and jeweled jewelry, but their hearts are dark, detached from the church, hypocritical and ignorant."

"There are some people who are indeed poor and pious, but their minds are all focused on complicated doctrines. Whenever they have time, they go to debate with others, arguing endlessly over trivial and meaningless things."

Maxim was silent for a moment and sighed softly.

"Your Majesty, I am different from them. They were originally the second sons, younger brothers, and illegitimate children of great nobles. They chose to become priests only to continue to live a luxurious life."

"I am the only high-ranking clergyman in Bulgaria who is not of noble birth. My father is just a rancher with some savings. The greatest joy in his life is to donate money to the parish. When I was a child, my father would donate one calf to the parish every time the cow gave birth to three calves."

Maxim smiled, his eyes flickering with reminiscence.

"It was with my father's support that I became a priest and gradually grew into the bishop I am today."

"Many people look down on me, but I don't care. Everything I do is for my believers. I know that if the Twelve Apostles were still alive, they would make the same choice as me."

Maxim held up the wooden cross and kissed it gently.

"I heard that you also asked the priests to participate in labor, either copying books, brewing wine, or teaching children."

"Yes, I govern this parish independently, and priests who are unwilling to work and only talk big will not be promoted."

Maxim said.

"Priests have a lot of free time besides serving God. Participating in labor can make them closer to the grassroots believers and make the people trust us more."

"In my opinion, as long as we can make believers' lives better, there will naturally be a steady stream of people asking for baptism, and naturally more people will be willing to believe in the true God."

"I prefer this approach to preaching in a big way."

Isaac nodded slightly.

"You did the right thing. In places where the Orthodox majority live, this approach is very good and worth learning."

Isaac thought about it and looked at Maxim.

"I am going to discuss with the Patriarch about appointing you as the Metropolitan of Bulgaria to lead the church reform in Bulgaria. What do you think?"

"I'm certainly delighted if you promote me."

A smile broke out on Maxim's face, and then he looked at Isaac inquiringly.

"But you just mentioned church reform. How do you plan to reform it?"

Isaac did not answer directly, but sorted out his thoughts in his mind.

In Western civilization, the church is undoubtedly a tool of the ruling class, but religion belongs to the masses. It can give people spiritual motivation in times of hardship, and can make people become gentle and honest, and understand moral integrity.

Even if there were no gods, the masses would create another god.

Of course, as long as classes exist, the church, as one of the tools of rule, will continue to exist, continue to exploit the people, and continue to fool the common people.

Compared to the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Western Catholic Church was more rampant and unscrupulous in exploiting the people and collecting money, but precisely because they were too corrupt, emotions of dissatisfaction and resistance began to grow, and the sparks of resistance began to sprout. The influence of the Hussite movement never really disappeared, and a more violent wave was brewing.

The Eastern Church was highly dependent on secular rulers, and all the heavy taxes, oppression and bullying of civilians were done by the monarchs and nobles. They had limited room to maneuver, and the calls for reform from the people were very weak.

What Isaac wanted to do was to make use of the advantages of being an Orthodox secular monarch and, relying on the prestige he had accumulated over more than twenty years, to slightly reform the Orthodox Church, eliminating the dross and retaining the essence, and retaining the good while eliminating the inferior.

"I plan to secularize the church to a certain extent, freeing the numerous priests from debates, empty talk and mysticism, and use their knowledge to benefit the people and develop productivity."

Isaac said slowly.

"I hope to absorb priests into the administrative organs and gradually transform them into a special kind of government officials rather than just servants of God who are high above."

"I hope they can go deep into the grassroots and spread the government's decrees. I hope they can take root among the people and spread technology and culture to the people. I hope they can go to distant lands and spread the gospel of the Lord in the wild land."

"I hope they can bring the kindness of Jesus Christ and the twelve disciples to the people, instead of being immersed in mysticism and dogma all day long, being high-handed and out of touch with reality."

Isaac paused.

"Furthermore, I also hope to improve the administrative system and curb other forces by absorbing priests."

Maxim thought about it, nodded slightly, but said nothing.

Isaac looked at him, holding the glass on the table, feeling the warmth from the hot water.

"For example, boil the cold water before drinking it. It's a simple thing, but if it can be promoted throughout the empire, fewer believers will die of diseases every year."

"The twelve disciples taught us to be generous and loving, to help the people, and to treat every believer fairly. The small changes you promote inadvertently can save the lives of many believers. Isn't this much more meaningful than studying ancient books?"

"Compared to officials, priests are more likely to gain the trust of the common people. If you come forward to educate the people, spread knowledge, and improve technology, their acceptance will be much higher."

Isaac drank up the hot water and continued.

"In fact, when I first conquered North Africa, I did not allow the Constantinople Church to interfere in local religious affairs. The churches in Africa and Cyrenaica were completely under my jurisdiction. I have tried to spread this concept there, sending priests to various villages and towns to let them participate in grassroots management."

"So far, the situation is not bad. These priests have been tested and selected, and their interest in debates and arguments has greatly decreased."

Isaac stared into Maxim's pale blue eyes.

"If you want to be promoted, you can show your achievements."

"How many pagans have been baptized, how many people have learned to speak and read, how well the agricultural technology has been promoted, how well the central laws and regulations have been publicized, these are all the evaluation criteria."

"They have become a sect of their own in the whole Church, and are at odds with the old Constantinople clergy who love empty talk."

“Those old priests still have considerable influence in the Balkans, but their tentacles cannot reach into North Africa.”

Isaac frowned, remembering the ugly behavior of the priests when he first arrived in Constantinople.

“What I want to do now is to standardize and model this system and promote it throughout the Balkans.”

Maxim was silent again.

"Why did you choose me?"

"First, Bulgaria is a newly conquered territory. The administrative system has not yet been established. The nobles have been almost wiped out by me. My army is here, and no one dares to say a word."

"Besides, the Bulgarian diocese has been separated from the Patriarchate of Constantinople for hundreds of years. The old priests have no power here. It is a good time for reform."

"Second, I visited your parish and listened to your mass. I think you are doing a good job and your ideas are relatively open-minded, which is a condition that many parishes do not have."

Isaac spread his hands.

"In fact, a lot of the work you have done before is in line with my requirements for priests. You come from the grassroots, you know how to benefit the people, and you are willing to fight for it."

"If you are unwilling, I will immediately look for other bishops."

Maxim pursed his lips, still feeling worried.

"Your Majesty, if you are willing to trust me, I will naturally reorganize the church ideologically according to your requirements."

"However, although your reforms do not touch the fundamentals of the church, they will certainly be opposed by many people. Will the clergy in Constantinople accept them?"

Maxim asked.

"Of course they won't accept it. Many people don't fear death, authority, or whether these reforms are good for the country. They insist on sticking to their own dogma. I don't have any good solutions."

Isaac shrugged.

"I have not handed over several newly conquered dioceses to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and they have complained about this."

"They have always hated me and wish I would die sooner. When I officially move into the Grand Palace, even if they don't say anything on the surface, they will definitely do some small things in private." There was a hint of sarcasm on Isaac's lips.

"They always think they are in a high position and think I dare not use a knife against them. Haha... How foolish."

"I have visited privately, and among the hundreds of clergy in Constantinople, not many support my reforms. Although some people have adopted a tacit attitude, they are definitely hypocritical."

"They are asked to preach, but they are unwilling to go. They are asked to mediate sectarian conflicts, but they scold them directly. They are asked to educate the poor, but they think they are noble."

"I advocated easing the conflict with the Catholic Church, and they were dissatisfied. I advocated accepting the Coptic Church and the Armenian Church, and they were dissatisfied. I gave the diocese of Cetinje to a priest who was deeply influenced by the Bogomils, and they were still dissatisfied."

"The previous emperors kept them well fed and well fed, but they had no good way to deal with them. They could only limit their secular power."

"However, it turns out that when the empire was in danger, they not only failed to help, but also made things worse. It was as if in their eyes, the doctrines passed down by their ancestors were more important than the survival of the empire."

Isaac snorted.

"But if I want to reform the church and make full use of this influential group, their existence is really unnecessary."

"We want to destroy an old system and build a new one."

Maxim nodded repeatedly, obviously having heard about the arrogance of the clergy in Constantinople.

"You are right. Priests are more difficult to deal with than nobles. Some stubborn ones don't care about their own lives at all. If you kill them, it will only make them famous as martyrs."

He was deeply attracted by the grand blueprint drawn by Isaac and began to think about things from his perspective.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, if you really want to reform the church, you must not just go through the motions, but establish a sound system."

"Otherwise, when you are gone, they will rebound strongly, and our work will become meaningless."

"After all, no one wants to have more power and more land."

"Well said, Maxime."

Isaac nodded appreciatively at Maxim.

"I plan to completely break the existing priest selection model, establish our own seminary, and select new priests who meet our standards."

Isaac stroked his beard and thought for a moment.

"The seminary is temporarily divided into four departments, namely the Military Department, the Government Affairs Department, the Law Department and the Colonial Department, to train talents in a targeted manner in response to actual needs."

"You...you are still planning to let priests join the army?"

Maxim was a little surprised.

"Why not? If you were a conscript, what would you think if the priest personally led you into a charge with a sword in hand?"

Maxim thought about it and gave a strange smile.

"That's a good idea, Your Majesty."

Isaac nodded and spoke.

"I plan to place a senior priest who graduated from the Military Department in each legion and each large warship to serve as the adjutant of the legion commander and the captain. He will be responsible for the ideological work of the soldiers in peacetime and provide assistance and advice in war."

"The same is true for the Department of Government Affairs and the Department of Law. Each regional governor and judge will have a senior priest as his deputy, who is responsible for matters related to faith, culture, education, and supervision."

"In any case, the clergy are always respected. If I send some officials to promote Greek in the army, those Russians, Serbs and Bulgarians may ignore me, but if it's the priests, they will be much more receptive."

"It's the same with the government system. When I send central officials to share the power of local officials, they will have some opinions in their hearts, and even obstruct the work of the central officials. But when I send priests, they will still respect it."

"Indeed, Your Majesty, your idea is a good one."

There was also some excitement in Maxim's eyes.

"These lower-level priests have no land, and all their power comes from the central government of the empire. They must also be examined every once in a while to decide on their promotion, demotion, and transfer. This is equivalent to a disguised system of floating officials."

"The advantage of this is that the clergy will not be too involved with local forces. Their average moral level is also better than that of officials and nobles, and they are less likely to be corrupt and abuse their power."

Isaac continued.

"When talents are developed in the future, I will continue to deepen the reform and delegate priests to companies and grassroots units, which can not only promote language education but also win the hearts of soldiers and civilians."

Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, the lower-level priests of the Greek Orthodox Church can marry, but senior priests are not allowed to marry. Priests who have been married before have certain disadvantages in promotion, so marriage among the clergy has not been common, and the possibility of forming family power is also lower.

"The Colonial Department is dedicated to the development of the oceans. I will select a large number of young people who are strong and energetic and have them spread the glory of God to the wild lands."

"Of course, this cannot be achieved overnight. It takes time to cultivate talents. I am ready to start now and from here."

Isaac looked at Maxim with encouragement.

"Your Majesty... your idea is great, but this is a huge project."

Maxim smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"I heard that Patriarch Isidore is not a stubborn person. Would you like to seek his support first?"

"Isidore's greatest strength is that he is obedient, and his greatest weakness is that he cannot control his subordinates. He was a supporter of the Council of Florence and served as a cardinal in the Western Church. He has a very bad reputation among the older generation of priests."

Isaac also smiled bitterly.

"Sometimes the older clergy in Constantinople didn't dare to scold me, so they went to his ear and said something sarcastic, deliberately calling him a cardinal instead of the patriarch, which upset him."

"Now that he is old, he doesn't want to care about anything. When he has nothing to do, he goes fishing with my father and sits there for the whole day."

"When I ascend the throne, there will be a major reshuffle of the senior clergy in Constantinople. You will have to work hard."

Isaac smiled meaningfully at Maxim.

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. If you are willing to grant me the position of Metropolitan Bishop of Bulgaria, I will definitely not let you down and will do my best to achieve your goal."

Maxim thought about it and said firmly.

"Very good. You will send someone to withdraw 4,000 solidus to build our first new seminary."

"This seminary is called Constanta Seminary. Constanta is a big city and is far away from Constantinople. Most importantly, thanks to your efforts, the quality of the priests here is very high and very close to my requirements."

"Constantinople did have some seminaries, but they had long been monopolized by the old clergy and the old nobles. I never really managed the education system, so I didn't dare to use them directly."

Isaac sighed.

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty,"

Maxim nodded repeatedly and continued to ask, taking out a pen and paper.

"What is the size of the seminary? How many students are there? What kind of students are admitted?"

"You can decide the scale and number of students. It's best to recruit civilians with simple personalities and a certain foundation in theology."

Isaac thought about it.

"As for semesters... let's just count them as four years."

"You set up the scaffolding first. I will also select some professionals to come here to teach them in the future. Remember to connect with them."

"However, educating students takes time, and you have to dig out some talents that meet our requirements from the original clergy system."

"Don't worry, I will definitely finish it."

Maxim placed his hand on his chest and bowed slightly.

Isaac nodded.

After continuing to talk about the Constanta Seminary, Isaac stood up to say goodbye and Maxim walked him all the way to the church door.

"Well, go get your money now. Martial law will end soon in Eastern Bulgaria, so you don't have much time."

Isaac turned around and looked at the medium-sized church.

The church area is located on a hill far away from the city center. It covers a large area. Next to it are the affiliated school and the monastery. In the distance, you can see breweries, farmlands and vegetable gardens. Busy grassroots clergy can be seen everywhere.

"Your Majesty, I have something else to say to you."

Maxim looked at the city of Constanta at the foot of the mountain with a complicated expression.

"Go ahead."

"Your Majesty, I have heard that you treat the people well, do not impose heavy taxes, do not impose corvée labor, and open up all mining rights in mountains, forests, lakes and fields."

Maxim looked at Isaac.

"Yes, for a country, the most important things are land and population. Everything I do is for these."

Isaac said.

"Your Majesty, I am a Bulgarian. The lower-class people of Bulgaria have no intention of opposing you. They have nothing to do with the past grudges. Many people have no concept of nationality at all. If you wish, they can certainly be Romans."

Maxim gritted his teeth and spoke frankly.

"I hope you can treat them well and truly regard them as your own people. Don't be like the previous emperors who imposed heavy taxes and oppressed the people, forcing them to rebel."

"I think that since you consider yourself the protector of the Orthodox Christians, this request is not too much to ask."

Isaac smiled softly when he heard this.

"Don't worry, I will treat them well. The people's greatest wish is to live well. As long as I can make their lives better, they have no reason to oppose my rule."

"Perhaps in the eyes of the previous emperors, Bulgaria was just an uneasy agricultural and pastoral area, collecting taxes and conscripting soldiers. Although the plains were vast, the climatic conditions were not good, the agricultural potential was limited, and there were no particularly valuable specialties. It was difficult to develop, so it was not developed at all."

"But in my opinion, every piece of land has its own unique value. What is lacking is not potential, but eyes that are good at discovering it."

Isaac waved his hand and looked out from the top of the mountain. The beautiful mountains and rivers of Bulgaria were in sight.

"The diplomats are negotiating with Hungary. The Cumans are likely to withdraw. I am preparing to go to the central lowlands to take a look. You just wait for my good news."

"There is also the lower Danube plain, which has fertile land and a lot of black soil. If it is properly cultivated, it will definitely be a land of fish and rice."

"Swamps, wet soil, flooding, these things are not unsolvable."

The guards brought the war horses, and Isaac took hold of the reins.

"It took me twenty years to build the dying Eastern Roman Empire into what it is today. Bulgaria won't take that long."

Isaac nodded to Maxim and prepared to leave.

"Give me three years, and I will give you a prosperous Bulgaria with plenty of food and clothing."

"Then I would like to thank Your Majesty on behalf of all Bulgarian Orthodox Christians."

Maxim crossed himself and bowed.

Isaac nodded, jumped on his horse, and rode away to the southwest.

(End of this chapter)