It was all about power and money, of course. Bishops and archbishops
did not hesitate to co-opt the Ottoman administration against their
adversaries. They had their rivals arrested by the Turks or ex-
communicated them. Such squabbles were common. But they never
amounted to more than a Balkanian comedia del-arte. Even the Jews -
persecuted all over western Europe - were tolerated and attained
prominence and influence in the Balkan. One Bulgarian Tsar divorced
his wife to marry a Jewess. Southern Orthodox Christianity (as
opposed to the virulent and vituperative Byzantine species) has
always been pragmatic. The minorities (Jews, Armenians, Vlachs) were
the economic and financial backbone of their societies. And the
Balkan was always a hodge-podge of ethnicities, cultures and
religions. Shifting political fortunes ensured a policy of "hedging
one's bets".
The two great competitors of Orthodox Christianity in the tight
market of souls were Catholicism and Islam. The former co-sponsored
with the Orthodox Church the educational efforts of Cyril and
Methodius. Even before the traumatic schism of 1054, Catholics and
nascent Orthodox were battling over (lucrative) religious turf in
Bulgaria.
The schism was a telling affair. Ostensibly, it revolved around
obscure theological issues (who begat the Holy Spirit - the Father
alone or jointly with the Son as well as which type of bread should
be used in the Eucharist).
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