Ecclesiastical policy-domestic policy in other fields

heodore II was also particularly autocratic in his relations with the Church, on which he wished to impose his will. In 1254, therefore, he elevated to the partriarchal throne a simple monk, Arsenios Autoreianos, who proved obedient to the emperor's wishes.

In 1257, believing that this would benefit him politically, Theodore persuaded Arsenios to anathematise his rival, Michael II, the sovereign of Epiros, and his people. This move, however, met with the firm opposition of the highly esteemed cleric and scholar Nikephoros Blemmydes, who strongly objected to the use of the Church for political purposes. As a result, the anathema was revoked. Theodore II was equally autocratic when it came to the question of the union of the Churches. He believed that only a general Council was entitled to decide on the issues that kept the Eastern and Western Churches apart, while it was his own imperial right to decide personally on any issues the Council might be unable to resolve. He himself, however, pushed forward negotiations for union, with Pope Alexander IV (1254-61), although in 1256 political conditions were again not favourable for the achievement of this union.

As regards the emperor's domestic policy in other areas, Theodore carried on the reconstruction work of his predecessor, and it was during his reign that the restoration of the monastery of St Tryphon in Nicaea was undertaken. Moreover, he showed a special concern for education. A pupil of Nikephoros Blemmydes and a man of letters himself, he took interest in founding a School in Nicaea, which consisted of two faculties, one of grammar and one of rhetoric, and made his court a centre of humanistic activity.