Mark of Ephesus (1392-1444): Revisiting the Sources on His Life and Work

Mark of Ephesus, or Mark Eugenikos (1392-1444), was a leading Byzantine theologian of the 15th century. He was a key figure on the Byzantine side at the Ecumenical Council of Ferrara-Florence (1438-1445), which attempted to bring about a reunion between the Latin and Greek Orthodox Churches after the schism of 1054. Initially sympathetic to the idea of reunion Mark became increasingly sceptical and in the end refused to sign the bull of union, Laetentur Caeli. He went on to become a leading voice in the Greek east opposing the union, which was declared on 6 July 1439 and then enforced by the Emperor, John VIII Palaiologos, until the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, or, in ecclesiastical terms, until its revocation by a Constantinopolitan Council sometime between 1482 and 1484. Western scholars have tended to perceive Mark as a rather sad figure, beholden to Palamite Hesychasm, apophaticism and spiritual theology, an ascetic and monk, narrow in his outlook, philosophically and dialectically ill-equipped against the astute Latin scholastics, who led the debates at Florence and in most cases won the oratorial contests. The present article contends that this characterization is flawed. It accepts – prejudicially – the Latin approach to Council proceedings as standard and neglects the validity of Eastern concerns regarding, for example, the Latin tendency to brush aside Patristic and late-antique conciliar theology as irrelevant and to introduce flawed and even fake documents into debates to validate idiosyncratic doctrines. A new look at the sources, as proposed by this article, reveals that Mark was in reality an exceedingly competent and observant conciliar theologian, whose knowledge of Patristic and conciliar theology was arguably superior to that of most of his Latin counterparts and who was very well able to understand and even formulate scholastic theological arguments, for example on the doctrine of predestination. Moreover, what has escaped many previous scholars almost entirely was Mark’s key role as a leading Byzantine theologian and spiritual guide. Referred to once by Steven Runciman as “the conscience” of the Byzantine contingent at Ferrara-Florence his principled opposition against the bull of union was highly respected in the Greek east, and because he suffered attacks and repressions from dominant unionists, he was soon venerated as a martyr to the cause of Greek Orthodoxy, a role which was greatly amplified after the end of the imperial Church in 1453. Finally, a renewed return to the sources of Mark’s life, work and thought may also open up new theological perspectives to possibilities and limitations of efforts towards reunion between Latin and Orthodox Churches today. Keeping in mind the changed historical context, there are nevertheless lessons to be learnt from the example of Mark of Ephesus.