Le patriarche Georges Gennadios Scholarios (vers 1400-vers 1472) : personnage mythique, personnage réel
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Abstract EN:
George Gennadios Scholarios was the first patriarch of Constantinople after the Byzantine capital was taken by the Turks on May 29th, 1453. Head of the orthodox Church from 1454 to 1456, Scholarios endeavoured to unite the Greeks around their common religious identity, but due to internal rivalries, he was quickly removed from the patriarchate. His defeat was linked to his ambiguous personality because, while claiming to be an intransigent orthodox, he was strangely permissive in his attitude towards those who had formerly disgraced themselves over the Union of the Churches by accepting a settlement with Rome. When Scholarios was a young man, he had himself attended the council of Florence in 1438-1439 and at the time belonged to the Unionist party. When he subsequently adopted an assumed antiunionist position, he gained so much influence that he became patriarch, but his commitment may rather be seen as political strategy than as genuine antilatin convictions.
Abstract FR:
Georges Gennadios Scholarios est le premier patriarche de Constantinople après la prise de la capitale byzantine par les Turcs le 29 mai 1453. A la tête de l'Eglise orthodoxe de 1454 à 1456, Scholarios tente de rassembler les Grecs autour de leur identité religieuse commune, mais, en raison de rivalités internes, il est rapidement évincé du patriarcat. Cet échec est lié à la personnalité ambiguë de Scholarios : alors qu'il se pose en orthodoxe intransigeant, il se montre singulièrement tolérant à l'égard de ceux qui se sont jadis compromis dans l'Union des Eglises en acceptant la réconciliation avec l'Eglise romaine. Or Scholarios lui-même a participé dans sa jeunesse au concile de Florence de 1438-1439, et il appartenait alors au camp des unionistes. Par la suite, son ralliement à un antiunionisme revendiqué lui a permis de gagner de l'influence jusqu'à devenir patriarche, mais cet engagement pourrait relever plutôt d'une stratégie politique que de réelles convictions antilatines