What is "byzantinism"

Byzantinism \Byzantinism\ n. The doctrine that the state is supreme over the church in ecclesiastical matters.

Syn: Erastianism, Caesaropapism.

Byzantinism (or Byzantism) is the political system and culture of the Byzantine Empire, and its spiritual successors, in particular, the Christian Balkan states and Russia. The term byzantinism itself was coined in the 19th century. The term has primarily negative associations, implying complexity and autocracy.

This negative reputation stressed the confusing complexities of the Empire's ministries, the elaborateness of its court ceremonies, as well as its supposed lack of backbone in martial affairs. Likewise, the "Byzantine system" also suggests a penchant for intrigue, plots and assassinations and an overall unstable political state of affairs. The term has been criticized by modern scholars for being a generalization that is not very representative of the reality of the Byzantine aristocracy and bureaucracy.