Chapter 287: Troubles at the Vatican (2/2)

”The Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth is currently engaged in a war with the Teutonic-State, though the Teutonic Order is on the verge of collapse, they aren't likely to send aid to our forces in Bohemia so long as the Teutonic Order still draws breath.”

When the Pope heard this, he sighed heavily before voicing his opinion.

”You are right, but it does not hurt to ask for their aid. At the very least, they can provide material support to the Bohemian Crown!”

After the two men thoroughly discussed this matter, they turned their attention to something of greater importance: the growing divide with the Eastern World. Despite abandoning the Teutonic Order in their time of need, the relationship between the Orthodox Church and the Vatican worsened.

Part of this was due to Berengar's interference. The Byzantine Emperor was growing more and more reliant on Austrian support when it came to his war for the reconquest of Egypt and Lybia. As such, the Orthodox Church had been crippled in terms of showing any form of support to their Catholic brothers to the west when it came to the subject of the Berengar Heresy.

Because of this lack of support, more than a few cardinals of the Catholic Church were condemning the Patriarch of Constantinople for doing nothing as the Berengar Heresy had begun to spread like wildfire across Germany. With the arrival of the Hussite Wars in Bohemia, Catholic influence began to wane across Europe.

There were even rumors of an English reformist movement starting to appear within the British Isles. Without the support of the other major branch of Christianity, the Catholics had grown bitter and had begun to lash out verbally at their Orthodox counterparts.

With this in mind, the Orthodox Church had sent a letter to Pope Julius requesting that he condemn his Cardinals and Bishops, who had begun referring to the Orthodox Church as the ”devil's minions.” This put Julius in a bind. If he condemned his supporters for criticizing the Orthodox's weak stance on the Berengar Heresy, he would only be furthering discontent in his ranks.

As such, the Pope wanted an opinion from the Holy Roman Emperor on the matter and thus asked the question on his mind.

”What should be done about the Orthodox Church?”

Balsamo was by no means a fan of the Orthodox Church or the Byzantine Empire for that matter. Since the formation of the Holy Roman Empire, the two Empires had fought for legitimacy in terms of who was the actual successor of ancient Rome.

Now that he had a chance to destabilize the relationship between the Byzantine Emperor and the Orthodox Church, the Holy Roman Emperor intended to take full advantage of it. As such, a cruel smirk appeared on the corners of his lips as he offered his advice to deal with the situation.

”The Patriarch of Constantinople is a coward who bows to the Byzantine Emperor, and the Emperor is a man already influenced by Berengar's wicked ways. You should never condemn the faithful for pointing out that our eastern brothers are tainted! There is only one reasonable response to the current predicament.

You must force the Patriarch of Constantinople to condemn the Byzantine Emperor for aiding and abetting a condemned Heretic! Inform them that they are committing a grave sin by sitting by and allowing the Byzantine Royal family to associate themselves with the Devil's personal representative on this Earth! If they refuse to do so, condemn the Patriarch as a Heretic as well!

After hearing this, the Pope thought about Balsamo's words for some time before he ultimately agreed with them.

”Very well, I will pressure the Patriarch of Constantinople to denounce the Byzantine Emperor for his crimes. If they refuse to do so, I will not hold back my discontent. Berengar's strength relies on his trade with the East; if the Byzantines continue engaging in such heresy, they must be condemned!”

With this said, the relations between the Catholic and Orthodox churches were about to take a turn for the worse, all because of Berengar's influence. Despite sticking together for centuries longer than in Berengar's previous life, the two pillars of the Christian world were on the edge of a full-scale schism.

After all, was said and done, the Vatican had come up with several ways to counteract Berengar's activities in Europe. It would not be long before more proxy wars between the Catholic Church, Berengar began to appear. The Hussite wars were just the beginning.

---

If you want to support me so that I can commission art of the characters in my novel, as well as maps, coat of arms, and other important illustrations, please visit my Patreon page at

All of the art will be released within my discord server for free.