Materializing Unity: Catena Manuscripts as Vessels for Imperial and Ecclesial Reform

Abstract Ecclesial divisions following the christological controversies of the Council of Chalcedon in the fifth century and leading into the Council of Trullo in the seventh century provide a cultural backdrop for the creation of catenae and offer a potential explanation for how catenae were used in the development and promulgation of a syncretic Byzantine theology. During the reigns of both Justinian I (527–565) and Justinian II (685–695/705–711) attempts were made to unite the divisions within the Greek church—each for divergent purposes. Justinian I established a precedent in legal matters by consolidating the numerous Roman legal codes into a single volume, intended to supersede all previous tomes and become the singular reference source for all discussion. He expressed similar interests in seeking to unite the Byzantine church under a single christological perspective. By the first reign of Justinian II, the Council of Trullo was convened. Within the acts of the council, we read Canon 19, which declares that all clergy are to teach piety and defend the scripture only with the words of the orthodox divines and not from one’s own intellect. This marks a second attempt to unite the church, but this time through the authority of the past. This paper will draw upon historical data to parallel the development of the New Testament catena manuscript tradition, proposing that these manuscripts served as a reference point for clergy, particularly post-Trullo, to preach piety and defend orthodoxy to the confessional community.