Debate 5: The Council of
Florence
Proposition: Reunification
of the churches could save the Byzantine empire
Remember:
you will be called upon to answer at
least one of the items listed below as part of the debate; you may
(should)
also take part in the counterargument section if you have things to say
that
differ from what your teammates have said.
For this debate, I
would like to
to make the arguments that were made before, after, and surrounding the
Council
of Florence by the Byzantines who were for or against reunification. I'm not as interested in knowing
whether the council DID (or actually, DIDN'T) save the empire, but what
people
were arguing at the time. In other
words, pretend you are a Byzantine in 1438: you
are either for or against reunification.
Debate:
Team 1:
argue for the Proposition
Team 2:
argue against the Proposition
Assigned
questions - Team 1:
1. Background
- What were the major issues
surrounding the schism of 1054?
2. Background
- What was the Council of
Lyons of 1274, what took place, and how was it received in Byzantium?
3. Background
- Describe the history of
the papacy from 1307-1453.
4. Presentation
of the proposition: what is the topic? what is the basis of your argument?
5. Arguments
- select one significant
argument, and explain what it means
6. Arguments
- select one significant
argument, and explain what it means
7. Arguments
- select one significant
argument, and explain what it means
8. Do
the summary, summarizing your team's
arguments and state why they are preferable (you can't do this ahead of
time).
Assigned
questions - Team 2:
1. Background
- Who was Cardinal Bessarion? Describe his
life and career.
2. Background
- What was the point of the
Council of Florence? Who attended
it from the Byzantine side?
3. Background
- How was the Council of
Florence received in Byzantium?
4. Presentation
of the proposition: what is the topic? what is the basis of your argument?
5. Arguments
- select one significant
argument, and explain what it means
6. Arguments
- select one significant
argument, and explain what it means
7. Arguments
- select one significant
argument, and explain what it means
8. Do
the summary, summarizing your team's
arguments and state why they are preferable (you can't do this ahead of
time).
Primary source
evidence
A description of the Council of Florence held in 1438-45, with the decrees issued at each, can be found at http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/FLORENCE.HTM - 3. You should pay attention to the sessions of 1439.
A number of texts written both about the schism of 1054, the Council of Lyons of 1274 and the Council of Florence of 1439, taken from D. J. Geanakoplos, Byzantium: Church, Society, and Civilization Seen through Contemporary Eyes (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1984), has been placed in the "Resources" folder on Oncourse as "florencetexts.pdf".
Links to information on this topic
A brief description of the conference, along with an image of one of the decrees, can be found here.
An article by D. J. Geanakoplos, entitled "The
Council
of Florence (1438-1439) and the Problem of Union between the Byzantine
and
Latin Churches," from his book Byzantine East and Latin West: Two Worlds of Christendom in Middle
Ages and Renaissance (Archon
Books, 1976),
has been placed in the "Resources" folder on Oncourse as
"geanakoplos.pdf".