The 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO) contained a provision for an extraordinary form of marriage without a priestly blessing. Many commentators found this provision to be problematic in light of the traditional Eastern emphasis on the priestly blessing for the valid celebration of marriage. This book examines the evolution of marriage law in Byzantium in the course of the late first millennium in order to discern whether the concerns of these commentators are justified. This book examines: The role of the Byzantine Emperor in the life of the Church, pre-Christian Roman...