Orthodox-Latin clerical tensions blocked Western aid to Constantinople.

Evidence

However, he does not qualify this quote by mentioning the tensions between Orthodox and Latin clergy. During the fall of Constantinople such divisions were lucidly apparent and remained till the very end an obstacle between the full aid and empathy of the Latin West. — Ali Qureshi, The Fall of Constantinople, 48

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the Great Schism of 1054 and recurring Byzantine-Latin antagonism contexts. — connects to: In an effort to oppose the Ottomans, Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (the future Pope Pius II) tried to exhort all Christians to mount an offensive against the Ottomans. Like the crusades, some hoped Christian polities would look past their differences and come to the aid of the Orthodox Byzantine Christians in this dire hour. Another figure was King George of Kunštát and Poděbrady of Bohemia who—seeing the Ottomans surround Constantinople—also tried to promote the idea of a Pan-Christian resistance to the onslaught of the Muslim forces.; In regards to the doctrinal differences of the Latins, some Orthodox had particularly staunch views. Patriarch Michael I Cerularius would state that Latin interpolations in the doctrine of the filioque constituted, ‘an evil and even the worst of evils.’ While the Orthodox did see the Muslims as a threat, the danger posed by them could never be enough to require a compromise in doctrine. The Orthodox held so firmly on to their sense and definition of Christianity, despite the presence of a ‘common enemy,’ the Orthodox refused to yield to the conditions of the Latin West for military aid. While some Orthodox clergy did make way for union with the Latin church at the Council of Florence, when they arrived back to Constantinople, most reneged their signatures.; Western military aid to Byzantium was conditioned on theological union — Ali Qureshi, The Fall of Constantinople: A Critical…, 37 (+5 more)
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: how did this internal Christian division specifically shape the West’s delayed or withheld military response?

Broader Connections

• Orthodox authorities perceived an invasion by the Latins as worse, for they would not afford them autonomy which might be hoped under Muslims. The land might remain under Christian rule, but the… #complicates (0.65)
• The fall marked the end of the Eastern Roman Empire and highlighted the deep-rooted theological tensions within Christianity, tensions that were so profound that many Orthodox Christians preferred… #complicates (0.65)
• Byzantine Orthodox preferred Muslim conquest over theological compromise with Latin Christians #complicates (0.60) — Ali Qureshi, The Fall of Constantinople, 25
• Orthodox clergy preferred Ottoman rule over Latin rule during the fall of Constantinople. #complicates (0.60) — Ali Qureshi, The Fall of Constantinople, 60
• The Latin doctrine differed from the Orthodox in regard to papal supremacy, the filioque clause, and unleavened bread. With these tensions unresolved between the churches, the Ottomans may have… #complicates (0.55)