MANUEL I KOMNENOS, Emperor of Byzantium. - Son of John Komnenos and of Piriska (Irene), a Hungarian princess; he ruled the empire from 1143 to 1180. The ideal of a restoration of the universal Empire, which directed his policy of intervention in Italy against the Normans first (1143-58), then against Barbarossa, in Hungary, in Anatolia against the Sultan of Iconium, in Syria against Nūr ed-Dīn for the protection of the Frankish colonies, also inspired his repeated attempts at religious union with Rome and with the Churches of Armenia and Syria.
The conflicts that arose between the papacy and F. Barbarossa made M. hope that he could replace the German Emperor as protector of the Holy See; he offered his support to Adrian IV, and to his successor Alexander III he proposed in 1166 union with the Greek Church, provided that he be recognized as sole emperor. Although the Pope declared that he could not accept such proposals, his relations with M. remained good, and in 1176, at Anagni, M. appears among the allies of the Holy See.
In the East, the consolidation of Byzantine dominion led to negotiations for union with Nerses, katholikos of the Armenians. In May 1170 theological conferences took place, in which a delegate of the famous patriarch of Antioch, Michael the Syrian, also took part. The declared opposition of the Armenian clergy rendered these negotiations fruitless, as also those undertaken later (1175, 1177, 79), under the katholikos Gregory IV Dpha (1173-93).
M. intervened actively in the numerous theological discussions that took place within the Byzantine Church. He promoted the condemnation of the monk Niphon, accused of Bogomilism, but protected by the patriarch Kosmas (1146-47). Demetrius of Lampe was also condemned, who misinterpreted the words of Christ "the Father is greater than I", as were Soterichos Panteugenes and others who maintained that the eucharistic sacrifice is offered only to the Father and to the Holy Spirit. M. finally had to face lively opposition from the Byzantine clergy for having wished to suppress an anathema customarily recited by Mohammedans who passed over to Christianity and which could offend their sensibilities.
Bibliography
Pelopidas Stephanou