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85-544: His poems suggest that he was a Pisidian by birth, and a friend of Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople and the Emperor Heraclius . He was a deacon , guardian of the sacred vessels, referendary , and chartophylax (keeper of the records) of the church of St. Sophia . His works have been published in the original Greek with a Latin version. About five thousand verses of his poetry, most in trimetric iambics, have survived. His earliest work, in three cantos,

170-528: A counteroffensive, Heraclius began to secretly move the empire's gold and financial reserves to Carthage. When the secret plan to move the capital was discovered, protests erupted in Constantinople and Sergius succeeded at convincing Heraclius to give up his plans and to swear an oath in the Hagia Sophia never to abandon Constantinople. It is likely that Sergius promised Heraclius financial aid from

255-602: A festive mass, Heraclius set out to attack the Persians. In his absence government rested with his son and co-emperor Heraclius Constantine. Since the latter was still a minor, Heraclius left him under the supervision and regency of Sergius and the Patrikios Bonus . While it is likely that the main executive power rested with Bonus, Sergius probably played a leading role in discussions. In June 626 Persian troops appeared before Chalcedon , making camp in expectation of

340-496: A form of 'Monenergism'. The hope was that their religious formula would be able to connect the different religious beliefs and provide a sense of unity within the empire. Sergius promulgated the belief that Jesus Christ had two natures but one will, known as Monothelitism . It was hoped that the idea would appeal to both Chalcedonians and to Monophysite followers in the empire as it fused basic principles taken from both realms of practice. Initially, Sergius had success, converting

425-534: A hatred of them. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed , and many former Soviet republics became independent countries. Currently, former Soviet states in Central Asia such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have very large minority Slavic populations, with most being Russians. Kazakhstan has the largest Slavic minority population. Proto-Slavic , the supposed ancestor language of all Slavic languages,

510-715: A movement which came into prominence in the mid-19th century, emphasized the common heritage and unity of all the Slavic peoples. The main focus was in the Balkans where the South Slavs had been ruled for centuries by other empires: the Byzantine Empire, Austria-Hungary , the Ottoman Empire , and Venice . Austro-Hungary envisioned its own political concept of Austro-Slavism , in opposition of Pan-Slavism that

595-483: A single will. The Ecthesis was signed by Heraclius in 638, the same year that Sergius died. The Ecthesis would only be seen as an accepted doctrine for two years; the death of Pope Honorius I resulted in a significant reduction in Monothelitism support. The Ecthesis was condemned in 640 by Pope John IV . Additionally, both Sergius and Pope Honorius were condemned as heretics by the church in 680-681 by

680-474: A strong case for George of Pisida also having composed a now lost account of Heraclius ' Persian campaigns in a combination of prose and poetry. This account was apparently based on Heraclius' own dispatches from Persia to the citizens of Constantinople and was available for Theophanes the Confessor as a basis for his Chronographia. Next he wrote In sanctam Jesu Christi, Dei nostri resurrectionem , in which

765-522: A synod in Cyprus in 634, hosted by Archbishop Arkadios II and with additional representatives from Pope Honorius I . The anti-Monoenergist side in Jerusalem, championed by Maximus and Sophronius, sent to this synod Anastasius Apocrisiarius pupil of Maximus, George of Resh'aina pupil of Sophronius, and two of George's own pupils, and also eight bishops from Palestine. When the two sides were presented to

850-583: Is De expeditione Heraclii imperatoris contra Persas, libri tres on Heraclius' campaign against the Persians in 622 (a campaign in which a relic purporting to be the True Cross , which the Persians had captured some years before at Jerusalem, was recovered), seems to be the work of an eyewitness. This was followed by the Avarica (or Bellum Avaricum ), an account of a futile attack on Constantinople by

935-567: Is a descendant of common Proto-Indo-European , via a Balto-Slavic stage in which it developed numerous lexical and morphophonological isoglosses with the Baltic languages . In the framework of the Kurgan hypothesis , "the Indo-Europeans who remained after the migrations [from the steppe] became speakers of Balto-Slavic". Proto-Slavic is defined as the last stage of the language preceding

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1020-482: Is accepted that he supported it regardless. Still, the Ecthesis was not well received by all Chalcedonians; Sophronius viewed it poorly, to the point that he published a decree against it. Emperor Heraclius too was hesitant to sign off on Sergious' work. While Sergius had finished the Ecthesis in 636, it was not signed into approval by Heraclius until 638, the same year as Sergius' death. The Ecthesis of 638 AD

1105-792: Is also a Latin script to write in Belarusian, called Łacinka and in Ukrainian, called Latynka . West Slavs originate from early Slavic tribes which settled in Central Europe after the East Germanic tribes had left this area during the migration period . They are noted as having mixed with Germanics , Hungarians , Celts (particularly the Boii ), Old Prussians , and the Pannonian Avars . The West Slavs came under

1190-547: Is also no evidence of Asian admixture. However, samples of Novosibirsk residents and Old Believers in Siberia have 5-10% Central Siberian ancestry despite being genetically close to European Slavs. The pagan Slavic populations were Christianized between the 7th and 12th centuries. Orthodox Christianity is predominant among East and South Slavs, while Catholicism is predominant among West Slavs and some western South Slavs . The religious borders are largely comparable to

1275-486: Is somewhat unusual, given such a wide dispersal of Slavic populations. Together they form the basis of the " East European " gene cluster , which also includes non-Slavic Hungarians and Aromanians . Only Northern Russians among East and West Slavs belong to a different, " Northern European " genetic cluster, along with Balts , Germanic and Baltic Finnic peoples (Northern Russian populations are very similar to Balts). The 2006 Y-DNA study results "suggest that

1360-599: The Ecthesis as the official imperial doctrine, by request of Pope John IV . This effectively crushed the remaining foundation of Monothelitism doctrine as Orthodox teachings appeared to quickly restore back throughout the Empire. By 680, all Monothelite support had faded and Orthodox belief was in full order again. The resulting Roman Easter synod of 680 concluded that Christ had two wills and that all who had opposed this belief were to be condemned as heretics. Monothelitism

1445-585: The Avars (626), during the absence of the emperor and his army, said to have been repulsed by the aid of the Virgin Mary ; and by the Heraclias (or De extremo Chosroae Persarum regis excidio ), a general survey of the exploits of Heraclius both at home and abroad down to the final overthrow of Chosroes in 627. In his paper The Official History of Heraclius' Persian Campaigns , James Howard-Johnston makes

1530-622: The Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family . Present-day Slavs are classified into three groups: Though the majority of Slavs are Christians , some groups, such as the Bosniaks, mostly identify as Muslims . Modern Slavic nations and ethnic groups are considerably diverse, both genetically and culturally, and relations between them may range from "ethnic solidarity to mutual feelings of hostility" — even within

1615-714: The Duchy of Croatia and the Banate of Bosnia , and West Slavs in the Principality of Nitra , Great Moravia , the Duchy of Bohemia , and the Kingdom of Poland . Beginning in the mid-19th century, a pan-Slavic movement has emphasized the common heritage and unity of all the Slavic peoples. The main focus of the movement was in the Balkans, whereas the Russian Empire was opposed to it. The Slavic languages belong to

1700-458: The East–West Schism which began in the 11th century. Islam first arrived in the 7th century during the early Muslim conquests , and was gradually adopted by a number of Slavic ethnic groups through the centuries in the Balkans. Among Slavic populations who profess a religion, the majority of contemporary Christian Slavs are Orthodox, followed by Catholic. The majority of Muslim Slavs follow

1785-513: The Ecthesis . Despite the strong initial spread to Monothelitism belief, 640 brought an abrupt end to this. A series of events happened in short order following 638. First, the new pope, Severinus , showed strong resistance to accepting Monothelitism belief. His successor, Pope John IV , was an even stronger opponent of the practice. Finally, following the death of Heraclius in 641, both the subsequent Emperors Constantine III and Constans II were of orthodox practice and appeared to have removed

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1870-554: The Hanafi school of the Sunni branch of Islam. Religious delineations by nationality can be very sharp; usually in the Slavic ethnic groups, the vast majority of religious people share the same religion. Mainly Eastern Orthodoxy : Mainly Catholicism : Mainly Islam : Throughout their history, Slavs came into contact with non-Slavic groups. In the postulated homeland region (present-day Ukraine ), they had contacts with

1955-559: The Hunger Plan , Germany's intentional starvation of the region, as well as the murders of 3.3. million Soviet prisoners of war . Germany's Heinrich Himmler also ordered his subordinate Ludolf-Hermann von Alvensleben to start repopulating Crimea , and hundreds of ethnic Germans were forcibly moved to cities and villages there. The Soviet Red Army took back their land from the Germans in 1944 . Stephen J. Lee estimates that, by

2040-747: The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes . The first half of the 20th century in Russia and the Soviet Union was marked by a succession of wars , famines and other disasters, each accompanied by large-scale population losses. The two major famines were in 1921 to 1922 and 1932 to 1933 , which caused millions of deaths mostly around the Volga region , Ukraine and the Northern Caucasus . The latter resulted from Soviet leader Joseph Stalin 's collectivization of agriculture in Ukraine . During

2125-882: The Peloponnese and Asia Minor being reported to have Slavic settlements. This southern movement has traditionally been seen as an invasive expansion. By the end of the 6th century, Slavs had settled the Eastern Alps regions . Pope Gregory I in 600 AD wrote to Maximus, the bishop of Salona (in Dalmatia ), expressing concern about the arrival of the Slavs: Latin: " Et quidem de Sclavorum gente, quae vobis valde imminet, et affligor vehementer et conturbor. Affligor in his quae jam in vobis patior; conturbor, quia per Istriae aditum jam ad Italiam intrare coeperunt. " English: "I am both distressed and disturbed about

2210-569: The Prague -type pottery associated with Slavs was not found anywhere south of the Danube where large numbers of Slavic-speaking people emerged in the early Middle Ages. Around the 6th century, Slavs appeared on Byzantine borders in large numbers. Byzantine records note that Slav numbers were so great, that grass would not regrow where the Slavs had marched through . Military movements resulted in even

2295-533: The Roman world, Slavic -speaking tribes formed part of several successive multi-ethnic confederacies of Eurasia – such as the Sarmatian, Hun and Gothic empires. The Slavs emerged from obscurity when the westward movement of Germanic tribes in the 5th and 6th centuries AD (thought to be in conjunction with the movement of peoples from Siberia and Eastern Europe: Huns , and later Avars and Bulgars ) started

2380-625: The Scordisci ), as well as with Romans (and the Romanized remnants of the former groups), and also with remnants of temporarily settled invading East Germanic, Asiatic or Caucasian tribes such as Gepids , Huns , Avars , Goths and Bulgars . The original inhabitants of present-day Slovenia and continental Croatia have origins in early Slavic tribes who mixed with Romans and romanized Celtic and Illyrian people as well as with Avars and Germanic peoples (Lombards and East Goths). The South Slavs (except

2465-601: The Third Council of Constantinople . Very little is known about Sergius before his election to the patriarchate of Constantinople. His parents were Syrian Jacobites and it is not known how or when he arrived in Constantinople. At the time of his election he was a deacon at the Hagia Sophia and feeder of the poor (πτωχοτρόφος) at the Phrixos harbour. While his birth date is unknown contemporaries remarked that he

2550-590: The Vandals to the Iberian Peninsula and even to North Africa . On the other hand, historian Florin Curta categorically dismisses the concept of "Slavs' migration" and opts instead for short-distance population movements that would explain the spread of Slavic languages . He argues - in favor of this view - that the proposed migration models are inconsistent with the archaeological findings, for example

2635-719: The great migration of the Slavs, who settled the lands abandoned by Germanic tribes who had fled from the Huns and their allies. Slavs, according to this account, moved westward into the country between the Oder and the Elbe - Saale line; southward into Bohemia , Moravia , much of present-day Austria , the Pannonian plain and the Balkans ; and northward along the upper Dnieper river. It has also been suggested that some Slavs migrated with

George of Pisidia - Misplaced Pages Continue

2720-755: The resurrection of Christ and on the recovery of the True Cross. He wrote one piece in prose, Encomium in S. Anastasium martyrem . References in Theophanus, Suidas , and Isaac Tzetzes, mention other lost works. Michael Psellus later compared him with, and even prefers him to, Euripides . George of Pisidia has been suggested as a possible author of the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos . Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople Sergius I ( Greek : Σέργιος , Sergios ; died 9 December 638)

2805-545: The 5th to the 10th century AD), and came to control large parts of Central , Eastern , and Southeast Europe between the sixth and seventh centuries. Beginning in the 7th century, they were gradually Christianized . By the 12th century, they formed the core population of a number of medieval Christian states: East Slavs in the Kievan Rus' , South Slavs in the Bulgarian Empire , the Principality of Serbia ,

2890-479: The 9th century, attest the autonym as Slověne ( Словѣне ). Those forms point back to a Slavic autonym , which can be reconstructed in Proto-Slavic as *Slověninъ , plural Slověne . The reconstructed autonym * Slověninъ is usually considered a derivation from slovo ("word"), originally denoting "people who speak (the same language)", meaning "people who understand one another", in contrast to

2975-484: The Avar army. With Heraclius away on his campaign against Sassanid Persia, Sergius and Bonus seem to have considered sending the emperor's son Heraclius Constantine to his father for assistance. Ultimately they decided that the emperor and the co-emperor should not both be absent during the crisis and instead sent a message to the emperor. Heraclius, however, was unwilling to abandon his campaign and merely sent instructions for

3060-531: The Avars and Sassanid Persians, aided by large number of allied Slavs, laid siege to Constantinople. Along with the magister militum Bonus, he had been named regent and was in charge of the city's defense. He led a litany to the Hodegetria icon just before the final attack of the Avars , and right after completing it a huge storm crushed the invading fleet, saving Constantinople. It is reported that Sergius carried

3145-742: The Emperor, a connection that would serve him later on. In 614, the Persian army seized Jerusalem, damaging the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the process and capturing the True Cross , originally discovered by the Empress Helena . The fall of Jerusalem and the loss of the True Cross came as a shock and led to a crusading mood among the empire's populace. Attempts at negotiating a peace failed. In 618 emperor Heraclius decided to move

3230-753: The Icon of the Mother of God around the city walls of Constantinople. The storm was credited as a miracle from the Mother of God , though Sergius was credited with persuading her to the point of involvement. It was rumoured that a previous hymn of the Eastern Orthodox Church was composed in honour of this battle and of Sergius. With the victory over the Persians, rifts in the religious society began to emerge again between Monophysite and Chalcedonian beliefs. Both Heraclius and Sergius planned to adopt

3315-746: The Iranian Sarmatians and the Germanic Goths . After their subsequent spread, the Slavs began assimilating non-Slavic peoples. For example, in the Northern Black Sea region, the Slavs assimilated the remnants of the Goths. In the Balkans, there were Paleo-Balkan peoples, such as Romanized and Hellenized ( Jireček Line ) Illyrians , Thracians and Dacians , as well as Greeks and Celtic Scordisci and Serdi . Because Slavs were so numerous, most indigenous populations of

3400-455: The Lord had two different natures incarnated within a single will and body. Sergious would lead to call this statement the Ecthesis , or Exposition. These beliefs were in similar accordance to the beliefs of Hominus. This furthered Sergius' formula in realms of both Chalcedonian and Monophysite practice. It can be argued that Hominus did not quite understand the point of Sergius' formula, but it

3485-594: The Patriarchs Athanasius and Cyrus of Alexandria and Antioch respectively. It was not until 633 that Heraclius's Monoenergism began to receive resistance from the Chaldeconians, primarily from the monks Sophronius and Maximus the Confessor . In 633, Sophronius had left for Africa to dispute the doctrine that Cyrus has put upon the Egyptians. To this end, Sergius sent his archdeacon Peter to

George of Pisidia - Misplaced Pages Continue

3570-413: The Persians. Sergius also played a prominent role in the defense of Constantinople against the combined Avar - Persian - Slavic forces during their invasion of Constantinople in 626. Sergius' connections to both political and religious authorities gave him to his influence in both the religious and political communities to further Monoenergism as the primary formula of Christ within the church. This

3655-600: The Sclaveni as having swamps and forests for their cities. Another 6th-century source refers to them living among nearly-impenetrable forests, rivers, lakes, and marshes. Menander Protector mentions Daurentius ( r.  c. 577 – 579 ) who slew an Avar envoy of Khagan Bayan I for asking the Slavs to accept the suzerainty of the Avars; Daurentius declined and is reported as saying: "Others do not conquer our land, we conquer theirs – so it shall always be for us as long as there are wars and weapons". According to eastern homeland theory, prior to becoming known to

3740-434: The Slavic expansion started from the territory of present-day Ukraine, thus supporting the hypothesis placing the earliest known homeland of Slavs in the basin of the middle Dnieper ". According to genetic studies until 2020, the distribution, variance and frequency of the Y-DNA haplogroups R1a and I2 and their subclades R-M558, R-M458 and I-CTS10228 among South Slavs correlate with the spread of Slavic languages during

3825-566: The Slavic word denoting " German people ", namely *němьcь , meaning "silent, mute people" (from Slavic *němъ " mute , mumbling"). The word slovo ("word") and the related slava ("glory, fame") and sluh ("hearing") originate from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱlew- ("be spoken of, glory"), cognate with Ancient Greek κλέος ( kléos "fame"), as in the name Pericles , Latin clueō ("be called"), and English loud . In medieval and early modern sources written in Latin, Slavs are most commonly referred to as Sclaveni or

3910-436: The Slavs, who are pressing hard on you. I am distressed because I sympathize with you; I am disturbed because they have already begun to arrive in Italy through the entry-point of Istria ." When Slav migrations ended, their first state organizations appeared, each headed by a prince with a treasury and a defense force. In the 7th century, the Frankish merchant Samo supported the Slavs against their Avar rulers and became

3995-679: The Slovenes and Croats) came under the cultural sphere of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire), of the Ottoman Empire and of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Islam , while the Slovenes and the Croats were influenced by the Western Roman Empire (Latin) and thus by the Catholic Church in a similar fashion to that of the West Slavs. Consistent with the proximity of their languages, analyses of Y chromosomes , mDNA , and autosomal marker CCR5de132 shows that East Slavs and West Slavs are genetically very similar, but demonstrating significant differences from neighboring Finno-Ugric, Turkic , and North Caucasian peoples. Such genetic homogeneity

4080-409: The affairs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire , were calling for national self-determination. During World War I , representatives of the Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes set up organizations in the Allied countries to gain sympathy and recognition. In 1918, after World War I ended, the Slavs established such independent states as Czechoslovakia , the Second Polish Republic , and

4165-464: The apostolic dogmas, to the declarations of the holy Councils, and to all the accepted Fathers, and that they follow the false teachings of the heretics…" The Council lasted a total of eighteen sessions in declaring the heresy of Sergius, the first being in November 680 and the last being in September 681. Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages . Slavs are geographically distributed throughout

4250-404: The capital of the empire from Constantinople to Carthage . At the time Constantinople was threatened both by the Avars and the Persians. At the same time Constantinople was hit by a famine, caused by the loss of Egypt which was the primary source of Constantinople's grain imports, followed by an outbreak of the plague. Believing that under these conditions Constantinople was no adequate base for

4335-423: The church in return for his oath. Henceforth Sergius was credited with saving the capital, gaining him significant popularity amongst the populace of Constantinople. In 619 the 612 reforms of the clergy of the Hagia Sophia ran into "difficulties". This threatened the reduction of the strain on state finances that were the goal of the reform. Heraclius gave Sergius free rein in solving the problem. A counterattack

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4420-419: The defense of the city. On 29 June the Avar vanguard reached Adrianople . An attempt at negotiations with the Avar Khagan failed and the main army reached Constantinople on 29 July. By 622, Sergius' abilities were well recognized by Heraclius. As a result, Heraclius assigned Sergius the care of both his son Theotokos and Constantinople. In 626 during the absence of the Emperor's campaign against Sassanid Persia,

4505-401: The dominant religion among the respective ethnic groups. Orthodox Christians use the Cyrillic alphabet while Catholics use the Latin alphabet ; the Bosniaks, who are Muslim, also use the Latin alphabet and Cyrillic alphabet in Serbia. Additionally, some Eastern Catholics and Western Catholics use the Cyrillic alphabet. Serbian and Montenegrin use both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. There

4590-511: The eastern Churches, and confessed to Christ having only one will but two natures as well in his reply to Sergius. Honorius retracts from this position to a degree in a following letter to Sergius, believed to be a result of the Synodical Letter from Sophronius to Honorius. Sergius sought to create a formula that would be able to fully please both the Chalcedonians and the Monophysites . The eventually forbade discussion on whether Christ had one or two energies within him and instead insisted that

4675-453: The emperor's wife Eudokia died on 13 August 612, Heraclius decided to marry his niece Martina . Sergius tried to convince the emperor not to go ahead with a marriage that was against the rules of the Church and would be unpopular. Heraclius acknowledged the problem, but decided to marry her anyway, writing to Sergius that the latter had done his duty "as patriarch and as a friend". It seems that Sergius did not resist any further and he blessed

4760-472: The emperor, the emperor switched to Monothelitism and so with Sergius. It was also at this point around 633 that Sergius sought to stress the importance of Monothelitism to Pope Honorius. Sergius' letter to Honorius informed the Pope of the significance of the union achieved in Alexandria and for an agreement in how Christ's will should be viewed. Honorius ultimately agreed with the Sergius' belief, impressed at Sergius' ability to gain theological agreement in

4845-419: The end of World War II in 1945, the Russian population was about 90 million fewer than it could have been otherwise. The ultra-nationalist, fascist Ustaše committed genocide against Serbs during World War II. Also during World War II, fascist Italy sent tens of thousands of Slavs to concentration camps in mainland Italy, Libya , and the Balkans , because Italian leader Benito Mussolini also had

4930-443: The era of the emperor Justinian I ( r.  527–565 ), such as Procopius of Caesarea , Jordanes and Theophylact Simocatta , describe tribes of these names emerging from the area of the Carpathian Mountains , the lower Danube and the Black Sea to invade the Danubian provinces of the Eastern Empire . Jordanes, in his work Getica (written in 551 AD), describes the Veneti as a "populous nation" whose dwellings begin at

5015-526: The geographical split of the historical Slavic languages . That language was uniform, and on the basis of borrowings from foreign languages and Slavic borrowings into other languages, it cannot be said to have any recognizable dialects, which suggests that there was, at one time, a relatively-small Proto-Slavic homeland . Slavic linguistic unity was to some extent visible as late as Old Church Slavonic (or Old Bulgarian ) manuscripts which, though based on local Slavic speech of Thessaloniki , could still serve

5100-453: The individual groups. The oldest mention of the Slavic ethnonym is from the 6th century AD, when Procopius , writing in Byzantine Greek , used various forms such as Sklaboi ( Σκλάβοι ), Sklabēnoi ( Σκλαβηνοί ), Sklauenoi ( Σκλαυηνοί ), Sthlabenoi ( Σθλαβηνοί ), or Sklabinoi ( Σκλαβῖνοι ), and his contemporary Jordanes refers to the Sclaveni in Latin . The oldest documents written in Old Church Slavonic , dating from

5185-414: The influence of the Western Roman Empire (Latin) and of the Catholic Church . East Slavs have origins in early Slavic tribes who mixed and contacted with Finns , Balts and with the remnants of the people of the Goths . Their early Slavic component, Antes , mixed or absorbed Iranians , and later received influence from the Khazars and Vikings . The East Slavs trace their national origins to

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5270-403: The marriage and crowned Martina as new empress. It is possible that given the precarious state of the empire—the byzantine army under Heraclius had just suffered a major defeat against the Persians at Antioch —Sergius chose to put unity and cooperation with the emperor above the church canon. A year later he baptized the couple's son Constantine. As such, Sergius developed a close relationship with

5355-415: The medieval Slavic expansion from Eastern Europe, most probably from the territory of present-day Ukraine and Southeastern Poland . According to a 2017 study, Slavic speakers like Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians have similar genetic components. Ukrainians and Belarusians have near-equal amounts of two "European components", which are commonly found in North Europe and Caucasus respectively. There

5440-433: The northern parts of Eurasia ; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe , Eastern Europe , Southeastern Europe , and Northern Asia , though there is a large Slavic minority scattered across the Baltic states and Central Asia , and a substantial Slavic diaspora in the Americas , Western Europe , and Northern Europe . Early Slavs lived during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (approximately from

5525-420: The number of clerics at the Hagia Sophia. Additional appointments would only be made if the candidate made or secured a significant financial donation that would cover all costs for his position (and possibly more). This new policy reduced the strain on state resources and was ratified by the Heraclius in May 612. It is unknown whether the initiative for this policy came from Sergius himself or from emperor. When

5610-426: The official imperial doctrine. Furthermore, the majority of the subsequent Eastern successors were of Monophysite faith, furthering the spread of Monothelitism doctrine. Chalcedonian belief had been severely reduced and the remainder of its practice was in a critical state. This would all change the following year in a very contrasting way. Sergius died in December of 638, only months after Heraclius had instated

5695-570: The poet exhorts Flavius Constantinus to follow in the footsteps of his father, Heraclius. There was also a didactic poem, Hexameron or Cosmologia (also called Opus sex dierum seu Mundi opificium ), upon the creation of the world, dedicated to Sergius; De vanitate vitae , a treatise on the vanity of life, after the manner of Ecclesiastes ; Contra impium Severum Antiochiae , a controversial composition against Patriarch Severus of Antioch and his Monophysitism ; two short poems, including In templum Deiparae Constantinopoli, in Blachernissitum upon

5780-469: The purpose of the first common Slavic literary language. Standardised Slavic languages that have official status in at least one country are: Belarusian , Bosnian , Bulgarian , Croatian , Czech , Macedonian , Montenegrin , Polish , Russian , Serbian , Slovak , Slovene , and Ukrainian . Russian is the most spoken Slavic language, and is the most spoken native language in Europe. The alphabets used for Slavic languages are usually connected to

5865-418: The ruler of the first known Slav state in Central Europe, Samo's Empire . This early Slavic polity probably did not outlive its founder and ruler, but it was the foundation for later West Slavic states on its territory. The oldest of them was Carantania ; others are the Principality of Nitra , the Moravian principality (see under Great Moravia ) and the Balaton Principality . The First Bulgarian Empire

5950-452: The shortened version Sclavi . Ancient Roman sources refer to the Early Slavic peoples as "Veneti" , who dwelt in a region of central Europe east of the Germanic tribe of Suebi and west of the Iranian Sarmatians in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, between the upper Vistula and Dnieper rivers. Slavs - called Antes and Sclaveni - first appear in Byzantine records in the early 6th century AD. Byzantine historiographers of

6035-754: The sources of the Vistula and occupy "a great expanse of land". He also describes the Veneti as the ancestors of Antes and Slaveni, two early Slavic tribes, who appeared on the Byzantine frontier in the early-6th century. Procopius wrote in 545 that "the Sclaveni and the Antae actually had a single name in the remote past; for they were both called Sporoi in olden times". The name Sporoi derives from Greek σπείρω ("to sow "). He described them as barbarians, who lived under democracy and believed in one god, "the maker of lightning" ( Perun ), to whom they made sacrifice. They lived in scattered housing and constantly changed settlement. In war, they were mainly foot soldiers with shields, spears, bows, and little armour, which

6120-487: The start of World War II was to exterminate, expel, or enslave most or all West and East Slavs from their native lands, so as to make " living space " for German settlers. In early 1941, Germany began planning Generalplan Ost , the genocide of Slavs in Eastern Europe which was supposed to start after a major expansion of German concentration camps in occupied Poland and the fall of Stalin's regime. This plan

6205-485: The tribal unions of Kievan Rus' and Rus' Khaganate , beginning in the 10th century. They came particularly under the influence of the Byzantine Empire and of the Eastern Orthodox Church . South Slavs from most of the region have origins in early Slavic tribes who mixed with the local Proto-Balkanic tribes ( Illyrian , Dacian , Thracian , Paeonian , Hellenic tribes ), and Celtic tribes (particularly

6290-428: The war, Nazi Germany used hundreds of thousands of people for slave labor in their concentration camps , the majority of whom were Jewish or Slavic. Both groups were a part of what Germans claimed to be a "vast racially subhuman surplus population" that they " intended to eliminate in time from their new empire ", their term for "racial subhumans" being Untermensch . Thus, one of Adolf Hitler 's ambitions at

6375-499: Was finally declared a heresy at the Third Council of Constantinople (the Sixth Ecumenical Council), AD 680–681, and both Patriarch Sergius and Pope Honorius were declared to be heretics. Honorius remains the only condemned pope to this day. As quoted from the council: "…Honorius some time Pope of Old Rome, as well as the letter of the latter to the same Sergius, we find that these documents are quite foreign to

6460-516: Was founded in 681 as an alliance between the ruling Bulgars and the numerous Slavs in the area, and their South Slavic language, the Old Church Slavonic , became the main and official language of the empire in 864 AD. Bulgaria was instrumental in the spread of Slavic literacy and Christianity to the rest of the Slavic world. Duchy of Croatia was founded in 7th century and later became Kingdom of Croatia . Principality of Serbia

6545-854: Was founded in 8th, Duchy of Bohemia and Kievan Rus' both in the 9th century. The expansion of the Magyars into the Carpathian Basin and the Germanization of Austria gradually separated the South Slavs from the West and East Slavs . Later Slavic states, which formed in the following centuries included the Second Bulgarian Empire , the Kingdom of Poland , Banate of Bosnia , Duklja and Kingdom of Serbia which later grew into Serbian Empire . Pan-Slavism ,

6630-465: Was initiated against the Persians in 622 by Heraclius. Sergius provided the necessary wealth for the campaign to succeed through the funds of the church. Sergius succeeded at this by reporting funds in the form of Church revenues and vessels. It is even said that the bronze ox from the Forum Tauri was melted down to help provide materials for coinage. On the second day of Easter (5 April) 622, after

6715-446: Was issued by Emperor Heraclius with the agreement of Sergius. This document defined Monothelitism as the official imperial form of Christianity , and it would remain very controversial in the next years after its implementation. The initial effects of the Ecthesis were strongly felt throughout religious society. Sergius' successor, Pyrrhus, who Sergius had handpicked to take over, declared his confidence in Monothelitism belief as

6800-549: Was met with much opposition, especially from that of the Chalcedonian supporters, Maximus the Confessor and Sophronius . In response to their resistance to accept the ideas of Monoenergism , Sergius responded with the Ecthesis , a formula which forbade discussing the idea that the Person of Christ had one or two energies in favour of Monothelitism being the idea that the Person of Christ had two natures that were united by

6885-530: Was predominantly led by the Russian Empire . As of 1878, there were only three majority Slavic states in the world: the Russian Empire, Principality of Serbia and Principality of Montenegro . Bulgaria was effectively independent but was de jure vassal to the Ottoman Empire until official independence was declared in 1908. The Slavic peoples who were, for the most part, denied a voice in

6970-433: Was reserved mainly for chiefs and their inner circle of warriors. Their language is "barbarous" (that is, not Greek), and the two tribes are alike in appearance, being tall and robust, "while their bodies and hair are neither very fair or blond, nor indeed do they incline entirely to the dark type, but they are all slightly ruddy in color. And they live a hard life, giving no heed to bodily comforts..." Jordanes describes

7055-525: Was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 610 to 638. He is most famous for promoting Monothelite Christianity , especially through the Ecthesis . Sergius was born of Syrian Jacobite heritage. He first came to power as Patriarch of Constantinople in 610. He was also a known supporter of Emperor Heraclius , crowning Heraclius as emperor himself in 610. Sergius also provided support to Heraclius throughout his campaign against

7140-686: Was to be carried out gradually over 25 to 30 years. After an approximate 30 million Slavs would be killed through starvation and their major cities depopulated, the Germans were supposed to repopulate Eastern Europe. In June 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa , Hitler paused the plan to focus on the extermination of the Jews . However, some of the plan was nonetheless implemented. Millions of Slavs were murdered in Eastern Europe; this includes victims of

7225-701: Was young for his new position. Sergius was elected as patriarch of Constantinople on 18 April 610. At that time emperor Phocas was fighting a rebellion led by the Exarch of Africa , Heraclius the Elder , and his son Heraclius . In October 610 Heraclius took the capital and Phocas was executed. Sergius crowned the new emperor Heraclius and his wife Eudokia and blessed their marriage on 5 October 610. Later he also baptized and crowned their children Eudoxia Epiphania (born 7 July 611) and Heraclius Constantine (born 3 May 612). In 612 Sergius introduced new limitations on

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