Demetrios Chomatenos or Chomatianos (Greek: Δημήτριος Χωματηνός/Χωματιανός, 13th century), Eastern Orthodox Archbishop of Ohrid from 1216 to 1236, was a Byzantine priest and judge.
His comprehensive legal education allowed him to exert substantial influence as judge, arbiter, confessor and advisor to the Byzantine imperial house. This makes him a characteristic representative of a time where judicial power was devolving from the weakened secular authorities to the Church, and also one of the last legal practitioners in full command of Justinian's laws as recovered by the Macedonian legal renaissance.
According to the eminent Byzantinist Donald Nicol, Chomatenos' court at Ohrid was a rare centre of stability and law in an uncertain and tumultuous era; "From Kerkyra in the west to Drama in the east, from Dyrrachion in the north to Ioannina and Arta in the south, plaintiffs and defendants brought their problems to the humane and learned Archbishop".[1] Some 150 of Chomatenos' case files have survived,[2] allowing legal historians to construct a reasonably complete picture of the legal and institutional framework of the late Byzantine Empire.
An important ecclesiastical and jurisdictional dispute arose soon after his arrival in Ohrid (1216). In that time, the Eastern Orthodox eparchies in Serbia (Raška, Lipljan and Prizren) were still under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Ohrid. That changed in 1219, when Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople (at that time residing in Nicaea), created a new Archbishopric for Serbia by appointing Sava Nemanjić as the first Serbian Archbishop. Demetrios Chomatenos protested and in the spring of 1220 he sent bishop Jovan of Skopje as an envoy to Archbishop Sava, but with no result. Serbia was lost to his jurisdiction, and his later attempts to remedy the situation in 1233 were also unsuccessful.[3]
Nicol, Donald M. (1976). "Refugees, Mixed Population and Local Patriotism in Epiros and Western Macedonia after the Fourth Crusade". XVe Congrès international d'études byzantines (Athènes, 1976), Rapports et corapports I. Athens. pp. 3–33.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Simon, Dieter (2001). "Chomatian, Demetrios". In Michael Stolleis (ed.). Juristen: ein biographisches Lexikon; von der Antike bis zum 20. Jahrhundert (in German) (2nd ed.). München: Beck. p. 129. ISBN3-406-45957-9.
Popović, Svetlana (2002). "The Serbian Episcopal sees in the thirteenth century (Српска епископска седишта у XIII веку)". Старинар (51: 2001): 171–184.
demetrios, chomatenos, chomatianos, greek, Δημήτριος, Χωματηνός, Χωματιανός, 13th, century, eastern, orthodox, archbishop, ohrid, from, 1216, 1236, byzantine, priest, judge, comprehensive, legal, education, allowed, exert, substantial, influence, judge, arbite. Demetrios Chomatenos or Chomatianos Greek Dhmhtrios Xwmathnos Xwmatianos 13th century Eastern Orthodox Archbishop of Ohrid from 1216 to 1236 was a Byzantine priest and judge His comprehensive legal education allowed him to exert substantial influence as judge arbiter confessor and advisor to the Byzantine imperial house This makes him a characteristic representative of a time where judicial power was devolving from the weakened secular authorities to the Church and also one of the last legal practitioners in full command of Justinian s laws as recovered by the Macedonian legal renaissance According to the eminent Byzantinist Donald Nicol Chomatenos court at Ohrid was a rare centre of stability and law in an uncertain and tumultuous era From Kerkyra in the west to Drama in the east from Dyrrachion in the north to Ioannina and Arta in the south plaintiffs and defendants brought their problems to the humane and learned Archbishop 1 Some 150 of Chomatenos case files have survived 2 allowing legal historians to construct a reasonably complete picture of the legal and institutional framework of the late Byzantine Empire He also played an important role in the rivalry of the two main post Fourth Crusade Byzantine Greek successor states the Empire of Nicaea and Epirus Along with John Apokaukos and George Bardanes Chomatianos championed the Epirote cause of political and ecclesiastical independence from Nicaea where the exiled Patriarchate of Constantinople had established itself and in 1225 or 1227 it was he who crowned the Epirote ruler Theodore Komnenos Doukas as Byzantine Emperor in Thessalonica An important ecclesiastical and jurisdictional dispute arose soon after his arrival in Ohrid 1216 In that time the Eastern Orthodox eparchies in Serbia Raska Lipljan and Prizren were still under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Ohrid That changed in 1219 when Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople at that time residing in Nicaea created a new Archbishopric for Serbia by appointing Sava Nemanjic as the first Serbian Archbishop Demetrios Chomatenos protested and in the spring of 1220 he sent bishop Jovan of Skopje as an envoy to Archbishop Sava but with no result Serbia was lost to his jurisdiction and his later attempts to remedy the situation in 1233 were also unsuccessful 3 References edit Nicol 1976 pp 10 11 Nicol 1976 p 11 Cirkovic 2004 p 44 Sources editGunter Prinzing ed Demetrii Chomateni Ponemata diaphora Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae 38 Berlin 2002 ISBN 3 11 015612 1 Nicol Donald M 1976 Refugees Mixed Population and Local Patriotism in Epiros and Western Macedonia after the Fourth Crusade XVe Congres international d etudes byzantines Athenes 1976 Rapports et corapports I Athens pp 3 33 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Simon Dieter 2001 Chomatian Demetrios In Michael Stolleis ed Juristen ein biographisches Lexikon von der Antike bis zum 20 Jahrhundert in German 2nd ed Munchen Beck p 129 ISBN 3 406 45957 9 Popovic Svetlana 2002 The Serbian Episcopal sees in the thirteenth century Srpska episkopska sedishta u XIII veku Starinar 51 2001 171 184 Cirkovic Sima 2004 The Serbs Malden Blackwell Publishing ISBN 9781405142915 nbsp This Byzantine biographical article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp nbsp This article about a European lawyer judge or jurist is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Demetrios Chomatenos amp oldid 1180063564, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
