[Cronos]

This is an interesting bit of HISTORY and of course we both, Catholic and Orthodox use History to bach each other over the head. I post this just for additional information for all and if possible, for discussion

[vladimir998]

“...to bach each other over the head.”

Bach? As long as they’re not shostakoviching us we’re fine.

[dangus]

Seriously, though, it should also be mentioned that those who sacked Constantinople were excommunicated from the Catholic church for their actions, quite to the contrary to them as they are frequently portrayed as acting on behalf of the Catholic church.

[wideawake]

Much is made by the Orthodox of the sack of Constantinople in 1204 by "Crusader" armies.

The fact is that the armies that sacked Constantinople in 1204:

(1) were led by a Greek claimant to the throne

(2) almost half of the soldiers in that army were Orthodox

(3) none of the Latins in the army were designated as Crusaders by any authority,

(4) the Pope forbade the attack beforehand and condemned it afterwards

(5) the largest contingent of Latins - the Venetians - included many relatives, descendants and friends of the Venetians who were massacred by the Greeks 22 years earlier.

The standard Orthodox mythology of 1204 - that innocent, peaceful Greeks were suddenly attacked by an army composed entirely of barbarous Latins which was specifically dispatched by the Pope - is just that: mythology.

[STD]

It’s always bloodshed when someone has a monopoly that another group covets.