Byzantine Complexity
Inspired by Aaron’s Kosovo-related post, taken from Stoker’s Dracula, I thought of posting my own reference from a novel I read a few years ago. Namely, in Louis DeBernieres’ Birds Without Wings, a beautiful tale set in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire, told from a Greek and Turkish or Christian/Muslim point of view, we are introduced to Daskalos Leonidas, a Greek nationalist, of whom DeBernieres writes:
“More importantly he was to attend a meeting of his clandestine society that devoted itself to plots of Byzantine complexity, whose ultimate aim was to restore to Greece the lands lost to the Ottomans so many centuries before. Britain no longer mourns the throne of France, Spain has not project to reclaim the Netherlands, and Portugal has no ambitions on Brazil, but there are those who are incapable of letting the past pass on, among them the Serbs who will always be obsessed by the loss of Kosovo, and the Greeks who will always be obsessed by the fall of Byzantium.”
Perhaps, from a Western viewpoint, our obsession with these pursuits can only be explained as something too complex to even understand.
I have been happy with the civil nature of the conversation so far, but I know that such issues can heat up quickly. I think it best to reserve additional comments of any significance, at least until we can be face to face over a beer (not more and not liquor) so that the love and pain can be seen on both sides.
I will only briefly say that for an outsider, there seems to be an aspect to these questions that is tinged with a ‘remembrance of wrongs’ that is understandable but not holy. There is also a tendency to defend a kingdom of this world rather than the Kingdom not of this world, to console oneself with the suffering of a Confessor while also claiming ‘not fair’. When compared to the bulk of such discussions, I think there is a better, more holy way of remembering and referencing Kosovo (and the suffering of the Orthodox in general under the Turks) that is in line with what Fr. Milovan tells us the hierarchs used to say during the Yugoslav wars: “what is happening to us is punishment for our neglecting the faith during communist times. ” I wonder if something similar was said after the Battle of Kosovo? I wonder why we must always go beyond this simple, holy sentiment.
St. Lazar, pray to God for us and for all Muslims.
Remember the Alamo!
Chris> My main point was that the Serbs and the Greeks didn’ t just lose part of their historic territory, they lost the spiritual hearts of their nations. It must be exceedingly hard to bear such a loss.
много, много жалим што енлески боље не пишем, мада га довољно разумијем
Occupation and colonization may take some time – so long as the occupying countrys strong. I hope that this artificial structure, the land of Kosovo, soon to perish in this form.
Christopher > You make a good point, but using your logic, how far back should we go? The Israelites who, under Joshua, took the city of Jericho? If it is viewed this way, it appears that God takes sides, that “His ways are not our ways” as the holy prophet says and everything is done for God’s glorification which, in turn, brings salvation not only to us individually, but the entire world. The question is: was this God’s way of giving the Israelites the Promised Land or His way of punishing the Canaanites? Moses says to the Israelites before he gives Joshua control to lead them to the land of milk and honey:
“When you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering…” (Deut. 18:9-12).
In the wars in the former Yugoslavia our hierarchs kept repeating over and over again that what is happening to us is punishment for our neglecting the faith during communist times. While, for instance, the numbers might be on the side of the Albanians who outnumber Serbs in Kosovo today, we still believe that God is on ours. Moreover, we have never called for the extermination of the Albanians from Kosovo as Croatians expelled some estimated 250,000 from the Krajina (Croatia) regions IN A SINGLE WEEKEND.
Sorry, I might be getting off topic. It appears I’ve become “obsessed” again.
If we go back far enough every land was stolen from someone else.
Мирославе, Мудро речено.
Miro> Wisely said
When a man loses something, it is lost…but if the word about stolen, its lawful owner is known…
Well, the fact that the Norman aristocracy of England lost its patrimonies all across modern day France is mentioned. There were quite a number of battles and wars fought over that, but it has since been let go of. France lost the French speaking portion of Belgium. The Germans have lost Prussia to Russia and Poland. They seem to have let it go. The Hungarians still remember that Transylvania and the northernmost part of Serbia were ‘theirs’, but it doesn’t seem that war will break out. I don’t think Mexico harbors any serious claims on the American southwest and west coast. They seem to have accepted the loss.
There seems to be a point at which the loss of land is accepted. I always wonder what the statute of limitations are on such grievances, if there are any. I wonder why sometimes it is right to argue for ownership based on current population and why at other times it is acceptable for that same people or its allies to argue for ownership based on history – but only back so far according to whatever standard one’s position requires (i.e., whether the southwest is Spanish or American usually ignores the Indians; whether Palestine is for the Jews or the Arabs usually ignores the Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians and Canaanites). I wonder if there is a difference between a the Orthodox view of such wrongs done and a culture’s views; I wonder when such remembrance of wrongs is acceptable and when it is not acceptable, if ever.
Yes, what if England had lost Essex, Spain Castille, or Portugal Lisbon? They might well be ‘obsessed’ about getting them back!