The bishops of Dyrrachion in the organization structures of the patriarchate of Constantinople: the 7th-11th centuries

The Early Middle Ages brought grave losses to the Christian Churches in the East. It was only the patriarchate of Constantinople that managed to maintain its previous dignity. Starting form the end of the 7th century, one may notice the patriarchate activity in the western Balkans. That church substance, having survived barbarians invasion, was defined in the literature as „the bridge between the West and the East” and it became the subject matter of a rivalry with the papacy. The patriarchate of Constantinople, consistently supported by the emperors of the New Rome, gradually gained superiority in this field. A significant role in these changes was played by the attitude of the patriarchate towards the bishopric in Dyrrachion (at present Dürres in Albania). The majority of preserved written sources concerning this church centre was created in a defined relationship with projects pursued by some emperors and patriarchs. From this perspective, one may follow the evolution of the local bishopric status based on preserved registers of bishoprics subject to Constantinople (Notitiae episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitane) as well as the lists of attendance of Dyrrachion’s metropolitan bishops at the Trullan Synod (692) and The Second Council of Nicaea (787). In the first case, it is possible to reconstruct the image of the mediaeval Dyrrachion metropolis clearly referring to the ancient church traditions of the New and Old Epirus (Epirus Vetus i Epirus Nova). However, the second preserved source data collection underlines quite high status of the bishops of Dyrrachion at synods and councils, which reflects their growing position (in comparison with Thessaloniki, Corinth or Athens) in the organization structures of the patriarchate of Constantinople