The division of Europe into two worlds began precisely with that gap between
Byzantium and the West. The Westerners called themselves Europeans, as if the
other peoples were not. However, the state, the head of which would always sign
as "King and Emperor of the Romans", was not designated by anyone as Byzantium,
or Byzantine Empire, until only as late as 1562 by Jeronymus Wolf in Germany.
And it was with great satisfaction that I noted the desideratum pointed out by
an eminent historian of our days, namely that Byzantium should be reintegrated
into the history of Europe. We must also acknowledge the fact that this state
was the first Christian commonwealth of Europe, founded upon Roman law and Greek
learning. In this sense, Byzantium was the founder of Christian Europe.
Within the framework of the Byzantine empire, the Church was able to teach the
ecumenical idea. Although invasions and settlements of peoples did occur within
the empire, and despite the fact that massive displacements of populations from
one region of the empire to another were not uncommon, we have no indication of
ethnic strife: the Church treated all peoples with the same love, and took care
of the integration of any newcomers.
But this could not be so in Western Europe. Being preoccupied with the
acquisition of secular power, the Church of Rome was unable to teach the peoples
the priciple of peaceful mutual acceptance. Thus, already in the course of the
early Middle Ages, the texts of the period make mention of the inextinguishable
hatred between Italians and Germans, and particularly between Franks and
Germans, a hatred that cost many conflicts in the course of the centuries,
before leading to the two World Wars.
