The orphans of Byzantium: child welfare in the Christian empire

III. The New Jerusalem

III THE NEW JERUSALEM Toward the end of his reign, the emperor John II Komnenos (†) appointed Alexios Aristenos head of Constantinople’s great orphanage for the second time in Aristenos’s public career . The famous twelfth-century poet and rhetorician Theodore Prodromos dedicated an encomium to celebrate Aristenos’s appointment and praise his past virtue as an administrator. In the course of his speech Prodromos referred to the Orphanotropheion as “Sion” and to the needy people including the orphans as “the assembly of the first-born, enrolled in heaven.”1 In describing the Orphanotropheion as Sion, Prodromos may well have known about  Maccabees :–, the passage describing how the Jews of the Hellenistic period stored the movable wealth of orphans in the Temple treasury on Mount Sion. Prodromos’s earlier references to Aristenos as the Ark of the Covenant, the tablets of the Law, and the seven-branched candelabra, lit by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, suggest, however, that the orator was speaking metaphorically, not historically.2 God’s law of love, made manifest by the just and charitable Aristenos, would take up its abode in the new temple of the Orphanotropheion, a great philanthropic institution built on the acropolis of Constantinople , the New Jerusalem. During the years from  to  the Greco-Roman world experienced many momentous changes: the capital of the empire moved . Prodromos, Eisiterios (PG, : cols. –). Cf. Heb : –. . Prodromos, Eisiterios (PG, : col. ).  from Old Rome to Constantinople, the New Rome; the emperors became Christian, as did many from the upper classes, especially in the East; and the cities of the Greek-speaking provinces experienced unusual demographic pressures. In many ways the new capital of Constantinople came to symbolize the empire’s changes. Its location reflected the growing economic and political prominence of the East. Its exploding population resulted, at least in part, from an urban migration pattern observable in many areas of the East. Finally, its Christian character, which grew more pronounced as the fourth century progressed , revealed a general shift of religious orientation throughout the eastern provinces.3 By the end of the fifth century, Constantinople was called not only the New Rome, but also the New Jerusalem.4 This chapter will examine how these profound changes in ancient society reshaped the nature of orphan care during the period from  to  and set new standards for assisting children without fathers or mothers, standards that would last through the entire Byzantine era. First, it will be essential to study the Orphanotropheion, founded during the period –. This philanthropic institution came to symbolize the importance of orphan care in Byzantine society. Indeed, by the twelfth century, Prodromos conceived of this charitable facility as the very center of the New Jerusalem. Second, it will be necessary to discuss the effects that rapid Christianization had upon the philanthropic deeds of leading citizens of the ancient empire, including the emperors themselves. Finally, it will be essential to review the legislation of fourth- and fifth-century emperors regarding the Roman rules of guardianship to learn what changes Christian attitudes brought to the traditional system of Roman tutela, outlined in the previous chapter. In the process, we shall also examine how these innovations in guardianship began to effect the Orphanotropheion of Constantinople and smaller orphan asylums sponsored by the Christian Church.     . See Miller, Birth, pp. –, which summarizes the evidence for these changes. . Vita Danielis Stylitae (Epitome), cap.  (p. ). See also Alexander “Strength of Empire,” pp. –, where the author illustrates how the Byzantines began to compare themselves in many ways to the ancient kingdom of Israel. See also later references to Constantinople as the New Jerusalem in Fenster, Laudes, p. . THE ORPHANOTROPHEION Sometime between Constantine’s dedication of his new capital in  and the patriarchate of Gennadios (–), the Christians of Constantinople established the Orphanotropheion, an institution that soon became the premier philanthropic foundation of the Eastern Empire. In view of this facility’s significance throughout Byzantium’s long history, we need to determine exactly where the Orphanage was located and discover when and by whom it was first established. Answering these questions will also uncover additional information concerning the circumstances of the institution’s origins and early development . Byzantine sources place the Orphanotropheion on the eastern-most hill of Constantinople, where as Anna Komnena says “the access to the sea opens up.”5 The tenth-century historian Joseph Genesios stated that the orphanage stood on the city’s acropolis, and, as we have seen...