The Roman Curia and the Eastern Churches, 1500–1800: Diplomacy, Cultural Policy, Mission, and Confessional Control

This chapter provides an overview of the Roman Curia's multifaceted attitude toward Eastern Christianity in the early modern period. After briefly addressing the legacy of the Council of Florence and the significance of the Tridentine reforms, I focus on the Papacy's cultural policy and its unionist efforts at the end of the sixteenth century, considering the institutions established in Rome for the education of Eastern Christians, as well as the patronage of Oriental scholarship and typography. I then discuss the impact of the establishment of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide (1622) and the effort to centrally coordinate Eastern missions from Rome. Finally, I examine in detail the confessional control exerted by the Roman Inquisition over the Christian East, thanks also to the role played by some Eastern Christian intermediaries at the service of the Roman Curia.