Justinian I 167Justinian I (A.D. 482–565) Byzantine emperor
and law-code founder
Famous for the Justinian code of ROMAN LAW, which he
developed in the Eastern Empire in Constantinople,
Justinian influenced much of later European law. His
Institutescompiled much of ancient Roman law and
integrated it into orthodox CHRISTIAN culture. For
example, as emperor, Justinian I saw himself as
supreme ruler over CHURCH AND STATE, uniting the spir-
itual and worldly orders that were separated by the
Western CATHOLIC European order. This pattern of
combining political and religious authority in one per-
son (sometimes called Caesaro-Papism) led the East-
ern Orthodox Church (in Greece, Armenia, Russia) to
declare the secular ruler (e.g., Russian czar) as “Christ
on earth.” As such, Justinian I dictated church doc-
trine as well as secular law. The idea of separation of
church and state or religious FREEDOMas understood
by Protestant Christianity (especially PURITAN) is lost.
A formal, official Christian religion emerged, and
worldly corruption of the church followed. The state
and the church became indistinguishable. For the
Western church, this blending of earthly and divine
corrupted the Christian faith more than outright per-
secution, as the pride, emoluments, and formality of
the official religion deformed the simple teachings of
Jesus. (See IMPERIAL CHURCH.)
Justinian I also expanded the Eastern Roman
Empire into Northern Africa and the Middle East,
areas later conquered by ISLAM.Further Reading
Jones, A. H. M. The Later Roman Empire, 284–602: A Social, Eco-
nomic and Administrative Survey,3 vols. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1964.