"Your Majesty......"

Basil walked in and wanted to say something, but was stopped by Alexios' gaze.

"I know your intentions, but if you want to get it, you must have a reward, the empire will not pay for the church casually, let those who pushed you out meet me!"

Basil was so blunt by the Emperor's words that after he ascended to the throne of the Patriarch, he came to see the Emperor less often, and Alexios knew very well that Basil wanted to show favor to the elders of the Orthodox Church.

But Basil had forgotten his duty, he was the emperor's recommender, and he had fewer options than the previous patriarch Theodosius, and Alexios would not allow him to waver like this.

The new Patriarch choked on the Emperor's unceremonious words, but he quickly figured out where he had made a mistake.

How could a person who was the emperor come and negotiate with the emperor as a representative of the church, and whether he succeeded or not, he was not pleasing to both ends.

"Your Majesty, I understand what you mean, and I will convey it to the elders immediately!"

Basil doesn't want to argue any more, he needs to prove his position with action.

……

Hagia Sophia, once the most popular sacred place in the imperial capital, with as many as 2,000 people praying here every day, is now empty, with a fragrant fragrance mixed with the cold air.

The flowers placed on the menorah, all offered by God's most pious people, have now withered, and the six elderly archbishops are gathered in a heated discussion.

Because it is an Orthodox church, there are no seats to distinguish it from the Roman church, so a few old people can stand there, but after a long time, the people they have been waiting for have not yet come.

"Hasn't our Emperor come yet?"

Elder Michael paced a few steps behind his back, his thoughts becoming agitated.

"Calm down, now we are at a disadvantage, but as long as there are still people willing to believe in God, the church will not fall!" An elder stepped forward to cheer.

"That's right, even if the emperor wants to meddle in the internal affairs of the church, that is, to change the patriarch, we just wait and see, it is impossible to agree to the merger of the Eastern and Western churches, and let the Roman church manage Constantinople!"

Elder Duka, who spoke, directly pointed out the core of the problem, which was the struggle between the Orthodox Church and the emperor for power, but the emperor would not depose the church because he had no one to use.

As long as the position of the Orthodox Church in the empire cannot be replaced, the Orthodox Church still has bargaining chips, and at least they will not lose ugly.

"You seem to be studying the divinity of the Holy Spirit and whether you have received some divine will."

Alexios strode into the church, unceremoniously taking off his cloak and handing it to the guards who accompanied him, and the brightly armored warriors stood in all corners of the church.

Not only did the hussars officially become the emperor's personal army, but also evolved from a simple cavalry to the new guard of the empire, Alexios's intentions were actually quite simple.

In the coming decades, this cavalry will grow with him little by little, and eventually become the backbone of the imperial military.

The emperor's expectations for the hussars were high, and of course a large amount of money would have to be invested in order to achieve a strong army as prosperous in history, and a great shortage of high-quality war horses was inevitable.

This was also the emperor's change of thinking, not from the old imperial possessions of the Crimea, but with his eyes on the Cumans, the nomads who were the best horse breeders in the empire.

Although the elders of the church stopped discussing, their eyes at the emperor were unusually calm, and they were all old men who had been in politics for a long time.

After many years of floating and composing in the upper echelons of Constantinople, without a little faith and means, all the elders looked at each other for a moment, and then stood there silently.

Seeing that everyone didn't speak, Alexios smiled instead, these old guys are really ......

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think it should be clear to everyone that the monasteries under the Church have been infiltrated by heresies and caused the death of a large number of innocent Imperial citizens, I think it is necessary for the Church to give an explanation to the people!"

The emperor bowed his head and made a big welcome gesture with his arms outstretched, but the Orthodox elders were really angry, if the emperor didn't want to take the opportunity to suppress the church, they didn't believe anything.

Michael even maliciously thought that the Emperor's eagle dog, the Sword of Damocles, might have been involved, but he was right.

Licinius naturally would not let go of such a good opportunity, and without Alexios' signal, Licinius himself mobilized people to make a big splash for Orthodoxy, otherwise he would not have caused such a big storm all of a sudden.

In particular, the Roman citizens in the imperial capital did not think it was a big deal at all, and the more it spread, the more terrible it became, and in the end it had become an Orthodox church, and it was a place to hide filth, and Satan's power in the world had corrupted the church, etc.

This has created the current uncontrollable situation, the church is at a disadvantage in this public opinion turmoil, and they can only bow to the emperor.

Archbishop Isidore has been presiding over the Anatolian region for some years, and he has been on the front line of the battlefield for many years, so he is very sensitive to the sense of crisis and takes a light step.

"Your Majesty, this scandal has brought shame on the Church, we don't want to explain anything, but please ask Your Majesty to give us a few chances, after all, the Orthodox Church has always supported the cause of the Empire and has never turned its back on the royal family!"

Isidore's words immediately made Alexios straighten his demeanor: "The Holy Grail incident can be suppressed by the royal family, but how to ensure that such a thing will not happen in the future is the key!" ”

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

"The imperial capital is the University of Constantinople, but there should also be a Constantinople seminary, and I hope that there will be a special theology, and every priest who wishes to join the Church must pass the examination here.

Only those priests who have studied the doctrine of the Bible will be approved to spread the teachings of the Bible, and the Empire will issue a certificate to every priest who passes the examination as a certificate after passing the seminary. ”

The Orthodox elders were silent, the emperor's idea was very novel, very similar to his new policy, but whether the interests of the church would be damaged was also something they needed to consider.

"I am also aware of your concerns, Elder Isidore, you are a highly respected elder, and you are most qualified to speak here, since the Orthodox Church began to recruit disciples without restraint.

I wonder how many young people who want to avoid paying taxes join the church, but can they keep the rules and regulations, and can they keep the vow they made before God not to marry and have children? ”

"They can't!"

"These people come into the church for the sole purpose of evading their worldly responsibilities by the blessing of God, they do not understand the scriptures, some of them do not worship God, and even heresy is mixed in.

As a result, the church's reputation has been tarnished, and how many of those who can't resist the temptation of poisonous snakes have turned their backs on God's trust like Adam and Eve? ”

"My aim is simple, the priest's prudent penance leads the world with tolerance, and the nun should keep her vows and not marry."