Attempts at reconcilliation between Rome and Constantinople under Manuel I in the context of the Byzantine emperor’s western policy

The author of this article considers the dialog and reconciliation atempts between the Roman Church and the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Manuel I Comnenus. Te new basileus from the Comneni dynasty was a “European knight” on the Byzantine throne, fascinated with European culture and twice married to Latin princesses. Most importantly, the goal of his foreign policy was the strengthening of Byzantine positions in South Italy all the way up to the conquest of Rome. In this he needed the support of the Pope. Rome, on the other hand, was also interested in dialog, both for canonical reasons (atempting to place Constantinople under its jurisdiction), and due to the political animosity with the Normans and the German emperors. As a result, by the middle of the 12th century contacts between Rome and Constantinople were activated with a goal toward healing the schism between the churches. At the end, however, these efforts achieved the polar opposite of the initial goals