Discuss on the Religious nature of the Byzantine Commonwealth, detailing how the Imperial government
and the Orthodox faith formed one commonwealth, and what problems arose from this
arrangement. Illustrate this by citing the events and their importance from two of the following
epochs/controversies: the reign of Justinian, the reign of Heraclius, the iconoclastic controversy, the
reign of Constantine the Great, the controversy of Leo VI’s marriages, or from the life and times of
patriarchs St. Ignatios and St. Photios. Further, explain whether, based on your readings, the empire
ever arrived symphonia, or was it always a struggle of imperial mastery versus ecclesiastical freedom.
