Forwarded from History of The Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn
Life of Basil II The Bulgarslayer: Part 11: Death of the Bulgarslayer
Alone with his brother in the Great Palace, Basileios told his brother that he wished to be buried in the Church of St. John the Theologian at the Hebdomon Palace. For years, the two brothers had conversed on their wish to be buried among the Emperors of Rome in the Imperial Mausoleum that was the Church of the Holy Apostles. However, the aging Basileios had changed his mind…
His brother, Konstantinos, had become worried for Basileios and stayed by his side. With his daughters, Zoe and Theodore, they sat by the Basileus. As his Varangians and Roman guards came into the bedchamber to celebrate their victories with the great ho Boulgaroktónos, joy turned to sorrow…
Alone with his brother in the Great Palace, Basileios told his brother that he wished to be buried in the Church of St. John the Theologian at the Hebdomon Palace. For years, the two brothers had conversed on their wish to be buried among the Emperors of Rome in the Imperial Mausoleum that was the Church of the Holy Apostles. However, the aging Basileios had changed his mind…
His brother, Konstantinos, had become worried for Basileios and stayed by his side. With his daughters, Zoe and Theodore, they sat by the Basileus. As his Varangians and Roman guards came into the bedchamber to celebrate their victories with the great ho Boulgaroktónos, joy turned to sorrow…
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Forwarded from History of The Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn
The newly appointed Patriarch, Alexios of Constantinople, entered the bedchamber to give Basileios the Eucharist… The Basileus proclaimed:
The Basileus is dead! The Victor against the Rebels, the Conqueror of Bulgars, Georgians, and Armenians, the subduer of Saracens, departs this world into the Kingdom of God!
The bells ring out, and the cries of the people are heard! The Generals surround their Basileus, as they carry him down the Mese to the Church of St. John the Theologian. May he rest among the forefathers, for the ages, and may the Lord lead us to victory!
“O, my brother…rule in my stead, and protect Rhomania…for I know come to see the Lord and to join our parents…” - Basileios II Pophryogennetos
The Basileus is dead! The Victor against the Rebels, the Conqueror of Bulgars, Georgians, and Armenians, the subduer of Saracens, departs this world into the Kingdom of God!
The bells ring out, and the cries of the people are heard! The Generals surround their Basileus, as they carry him down the Mese to the Church of St. John the Theologian. May he rest among the forefathers, for the ages, and may the Lord lead us to victory!
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Forwarded from History of The Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn
As Basileios II Porphyrogennetos departs this world for the next, the Varangians and Romans mourn. On his tomb, the engraving would read:
…To the church of the Hagia Sophia, the mourning Romans make their way. The Last Son of Romanos II, Konstantinos VIII Porphyrogennetos, is brought upon the Omphalion, and the people chant:
“From the day that the King of Heaven called upon me to become the Emperor, the great overlord of the world, no one saw my spear lie idle.
I stayed alert throughout my life and protected the children of the New Rome, valiantly campaigning both in the West and at the outposts of the East ... O, man, seeing now my tomb here, reward me for my campaigns with your prayers.”
…To the church of the Hagia Sophia, the mourning Romans make their way. The Last Son of Romanos II, Konstantinos VIII Porphyrogennetos, is brought upon the Omphalion, and the people chant:
Πολυχρόνιον ποιῆσαι, Κύριος ὁ Θεός,
τὸν εὐσεβέστατον καὶ πορφυρογέννητον βασιλέα ἡμῶν, Κωνσταντῖνον!
Κύριε, φύλαττε αύτον είς πολλά έτη! - Patriarch Alexios I of Constantinople and the Clergy of the Hagia Sophia