Abstract
The Italian Professor Cesare Alzati, an eminent specialist in the history of Christianity and, especially, Romanian Christianity, in an article published on the anniversary of the Edict of Milan from 313, offered his opinion on the theory of the existence of the imperial idea in the conscience of the Romanian voievodes. Thus he argued that the imperial archetype was and remained beyond reach and that the Romanian voievodes never proclaimed themselves emperors. Consequently, they were the most authentic continuators of Eastern Romanity, centered in the New Rome.
Another relatively recent stance on the subject belongs to the Greek Professor Konstantinos G. Pitsakis. He argues that the universal and eternal character of the Eastern Roman Empire can never be doubted. The only "universal emperor” is the emperor of Romans, that is "of all Christians”. Then he discusses the case of the Romanian rulers, who, without ever claiming a "juridical” succession to the Empire, often acted as its "natural” successors. It is worth mentioning his conclusion that in the South-Eastern European realm the Church was considered the successor and legatee of the imperial dignity.
Keywords
Byzantium, Cesare Alzati, imperial idea, Konstantinos Pitsakis, Orthodox Church
