The “Emperor of Serbs and Greeks “Stefan Dushan and Iviron Monastery of Athos (The 30s and 40 of the XIV Century)

Abstract

The middle of the XIV century was an extremely interesting epoch in the history of the Byzanritine Empire. The acute internal political, social-economic and religious crisis during the reign of the Paleologos rulers, aggravated by external threat, led to the irreversible process of decrease and degradation of the Empire. In this period, Serbia reached the peak of its power. This kingdom had been increasing its territories in the Balkans since the XIII century. Serbia forced the Byzantine Emperor to recognize all the outcomes of wars launched by Serbians. In 1331, the Serbian throne was occupied by a representative of the Nemanjic dynasty – Stefan IV Dushan, whose aim was to take control of the entire Balkan peninsula. He wanted to be crowned as the Emperor of Byzantium in Constantinople. Gradually, Stefan Dushan occupied the territories that formed part of Byzantium (Macedonia, Epirus, Thessalia and part of Thracia). In 1346, Dushan was crowned at Uskuba Cathedral as “The Emperor and Autokrator of Serbs and Greeks “. Stefan Dushan considered that one of the most important factors for the legitimization of his power was the support of the Greek clergy. However, he could not receive this support from Constantinople Patriarchate. Therefore, he focused on Mount Athos and its monasteries. The given paper analyzes Stefan Dushan’s church policy and his attitude to Athos Mountain and the Georgian Monastery of Iviron. The paper focuses on the “Hrisobules” granted by the Emperor to the Georgian clergy in 1346, in confirmation of the property and privileges granted to the Monastery. The paper also summarizes the role of Athos Iviron Monastery in Dushan’s imperial policy and the history of the Byzantine church in the given period.