Transforming the religious landscape: Emperor Leo VI and his struggle for supremacy over the church

Abstract

From the very outset of his reign, Byzantine Emperor Leo VI (r. 886-912) recognized the need for serious efforts to reassert imperial hegemony over the church. This article offers an analysis of Leo VI’s multi-faceted program that aimed at reasserting the emperor’s dominance over the ecclesiastical organization. In particular, the article stresses the incorporation of Leo’s homilies into his program, which not been widely recognized by modern scholars. The various efforts Leo made, including his homilies, display a marked cohesiveness, interconnectivity, and consistency that affirm their inclusion in a singular, organized effort both imagined and executed as a composite whole.