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The role of Bulgaria in the Christian East under Tsar John Asen II
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Page 7
Despite his official allegiance to the Catholic faith, Frederick showed himself remarkably kind to eastern Orthodoxy; in one of his letters to Vatatzes which is preserved both in Greek and in Latin, there is this passage: How! this so-called great arch-priest (that is, Pope; in Latin sacerdotum princeps; in Greek ἀρχιερεύς), excommunicating every day Your Majesty by name in the presence of all men and all your subject Romans (in Latin Graecos), shamelessly calling heretics the most orthodox Romans, from whom Christian faith has reached the extreme bounds of the Universe... In another letter to the Despot of Epirus Frederick wrote: We desire to defend not only our own right, but also that of our friendly and beloved neighbours, whom pure and sincere love in Christ has united with us, and especially the Greeks, our close friends... (The Pope calls) the most pious and orthodox Greeks most impious and heretics.
The friendly intercourse between Frederick and Vatatzes continued until Frederick's death, though in his last years he was alarmed by the negotiations between Nicaea and Rome and by the exchange of embassies between them. For this reason, in his letter to Vatatzes, Frederick blamed in a fatherly manner the behavior of the son, who, without the paternal suggestion, had sent an ambassador to the Pope. Not without irony Frederick wrote further: We desire to do or undertake nothing without your advice in the affairs of the East, for these countries which are your neighbors are better known to your Majesty than to us. Frederick warned Vatatzes that the Roman bishops are not archpriests of Christ, but rapacious wolves and wild beasts devouring the people of Christ.
After Frederick's death, and especially after his natural son, Manfred, had become king of Sicily, relations changed, and Manfred came out as an enemy of the Empire of Nicaea. In a word, after John Vatatzes death, in 1254, the alliance of which Frederick II had dreamt, was nothing but a memory.
It cannot be said that the alliance between the two emperors brought about important results; but it may be pointed out that John Vatatzes, relying on the friendly support of the western Emperor, must have had a surer hope for the final success of his policy, that is, the taking of Constantinople
A History of the Byzantine Empire - Table of Contents
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Reference address : https://ellopos.net/elpenor/vasilief/john-asen-ii.asp?pg=7
